Falcated Duck (Anas falcata) Male photos by Larry Jordan

A vagrant Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), a bird you would normally see in Asia, was first spotted at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge on December 8th (click on photos for full sized images). Colusa National Wildlife Refuge is part of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex located about 90 miles North of Sacramento, California’s state capitol.

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge is part of this complex of five national wildlife refuges (NWR) and three wildlife management areas (WMA) found in California’s central valley. It is located about 6 miles east of Interstate 5 on Highway 20. A map of the refuge can be found here showing the location of the viewing platform, auto loop, restrooms and photography blind.

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge occupies 4,567 acres, including seasonal marsh, permanent ponds, and uplands¹. It includes a three mile auto loop, a one mile walking trail and a photography blind that you can reserve like I did this weekend

I didn’t see this Near Threatened (NT) species from the photo blind though, it has been visible to everyone from the observation deck at the refuge entrance!

Birdlife International and the IUCN Redlist categorize the Falcated Duck as Near Threatened mainly because of its rapid decline in China due to over hunting². You can read more about the status of this duck by clicking the link above.

This Falcated Duck drake has been seen in the constant company of a pair of American Wigeon near the observation platform almost daily since it was discovered. Notice I said almost daily. I missed seeing the bird in my first attempt a few weeks ago but I figured I had another shot at him this weekend since I had the blind reserved anyway.

It was lucky Friday the 13th for me when he showed up at about 2 o’clock in the afternoon and moved to within about fifty yards of the platform to the thrill of the birders in wait. He spent most of his time foraging with the American Wigeon pair but I caught this video of him as he bathed and preened.

As you can see, this drake is beautiful with his iridescent green and bronze head and the elongated, arched tertial feathers after which it is named.

Here is a sweet shot of him preening. A good time was had by all!

This post is linked to Bird Photography Weekly and will be linked to World Bird Wednesday on Tuesday morning. Please go check out both of these wonderful bird photography memes.

References: ¹Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, ²BirdLife International

(Washington, D.C., November 9, 2011) American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation’s leading bird conservation organization, has called on the mayors of U.S. cities to stop the epidemic spread of feral cats that threaten national bird populations as well as scores of other wildlife. Letters were mailed to mayors of the fifty largest cities in the United States, urging they support responsible pet ownership and oppose Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) programs that promote the feeding of outdoor cats. You can download a copy of the letter here.

“Cat overpopulation is a human-caused tragedy that affects the health and well-being of cats, our native wildlife, and the public,” says Darin Schroeder, Vice President for Conservation Advocacy for ABC in a letter to the mayors. “Numerous published, scientific studies have shown that trap, neuter, re-abandon programs do not reduce feral cat populations, and that outdoor cats, even well-fed ones, kill hundreds of millions of wild birds and other animals each year in the U.S., including endangered species. Birds that nest or feed on the ground are especially vulnerable to cat attacks.”

“What few people seem to understand is that the domestic cat is an extremely effective predator that has been introduced by modern man into an environment whose species have evolved few, if any natural cat defenses. Non-native, well-fed, inoculated, healthy cats versus defenseless prey is about as fair in the world of nature as the proverbial shooting of fish in a barrel,” he said.

Studies indicate that there are 95 million outdoor and feral cats in the United States that kill at least 532 million birds, and possibly significantly more. Given the well-documented impacts of cat predation on wildlife, ABC urges the mayors to oppose TNR programs and the outdoor feeding of cats as a feral cat management option.

Specifically, ABC asks the mayors to issue a policy directive opposing TNR, and to halt city funding for the practice if any is currently being expended. The ABC letter says that dog overpopulation problems aren’t solved by simply turning unwanted dogs loose onto the streets; the same should be true for cats. Ensuring responsible pet ownership is at the core of any long-term solution to the cat overpopulation problem.

“This is a problem in every city in America including our most populous, New York City,” said Schroeder. “Unfortunately we see too many cities abdicating their responsibility to public welfare and wildlife, and embracing TNR programs. We urge Mayors to take a closer look and recognize this doesn’t work to reduce cat populations.”

ABC suggests communities concerned about feral cats work to enact mandatory licensing programs, the fees from which can fund programs to help find homes for the unwanted pets and educate pet owners about keeping their cats indoors. Through the Cats Indoors! Campaign, American Bird Conservancy and its many partners encourage people to keep their cats indoors, train them to go outside on a harness and leash, or build outdoor cat enclosures. Cats should be spayed or neutered before they can produce an unwanted litter, and should never be abandoned. Abandoning cats is illegal in many areas, is extremely cruel to cats, and is harmful to birds and other wildlife. Further, the sanctioning of cat colonies by local officials only serves to encourage cat owners to dump more unwanted cats at these sites.

“TNR is not humane to the cats or the wildlife. Free-roaming cats are in constant danger of being hit by cars, contracting diseases and parasites, or being attacked by other animals or people,” said Schroeder. “Colonies often become dumping grounds for unwanted pets, thus continuing the inhumane cycle.”

Cats can also transmit diseases such as rabies, toxoplasmosis, and cat scratch fever to humans. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared that cats are the top carrier of rabies in domestic animals. In just the last month, about 30 feral cats in northwestern Florida were euthanized following tests that confirmed two feral cats in the area were indeed rabid.

Food left out at TNR colonies attracts not only more cats, but hungry wildlife as well, which increases the chances for interactions with rabid animals. Three people in Florida living in the vicinity of TNR feeding sites were bitten last year by rabid cats and had to undergo rabies treatments.

Federal, state, and local governments have responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act to protect birds. Failing to do so can result in legal penalties and civil liability.

The National Association of Public Health Veterinarians, The Wildlife Society, and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have joined ABC in opposing TNR programs.

If you haven’t heard about “The Big Year” yet, I don’t know where you’ve been.  Check it out.

Spotted Owl photo by Chris Warren

Press release from the American Bird Conservancy (You can always find the latest bird news from the American Bird Conservancy by clicking on the “Birds In The News” page listed in the right hand column of my blog) -

(Washington, D.C., December 16, 2010) As the public comment period on the Administration’s latest draft Northern Spotted Owl Recovery Plan closed yesterday, peer reviews by three scientific societies reveal substantial flaws in the Plan. A key concern of the reviewers is that the plan calls for extensive logging of owl habitat to reduce fire risks, a course not backed by science, and one that may harm Spotted Owls and reduce the likelihood of their recovery. The Plan for the threatened owl species was being rewritten to address previous criticisms that it ignored existing science and an Inspector General investigation that found the original plan had been undermined by political interference.

“The release of this revised owl plan was a good first opportunity for the Administration to show they were serious about following the best available science,” said Steve Holmer, Senior Policy Advisor for American Bird Conservancy. “It was an opportunity missed. The Administration needs to take a hard look at the peer reviews and scale back their plans to log owl habitat. This is a real disappointment with potentially disastrous consequences for owl recovery unless this plan is overhauled.”

Following intensive criticism of how science was misused during the last administration, this Administration promised a renewed commitment to the government’s use of sound science and issued the Presidential Memorandum of Scientific Integrity in 2009. In 2010, responding to internal investigations that found that political interference had previously undermined the use of the best available science at the Department of the Interior, Secretary Ken Salazar issued a similar science directive (Secretarial Order 3305) in Sept. 2010.

Peer reviews by The Wildlife Society, Society for Conservation Biology, and American Ornithologists’ Union concluded that the current draft was incomplete because the design for the owl reserves was not included in the draft and therefore could not determine whether the amount of habitat being conserved was sufficient. The reviews also found that there were significant shortcomings regarding maintenance of reserves in dry forest types and fire management. Recent peer reviewed studies were not included in the draft, while non-peer reviewed material was heavily relied on to justify the plan’s management direction.

For example The Wildlife Society review states: “The Service’s strategy for no reserves in dry forests in the eastern Cascades is exacerbated by the proposals for aggressive management of these dry forests because the treatments will reduce the amount of closed canopy forests in the landscape and reduce the amount and suitability of habitat for the subspecies. These proposals are not based on a complete review of the available science and they rely on unpublished reports.”

Twenty organizations, including American Bird Conservancy, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and partner organizations in the Bird Conservation Alliance signed a December 15 comment letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raising these concerns and recommending changes to ensure owl recovery.

A key paragraph in the letter states:  “… a number of deficiencies identified in peer reviews by the scientific societies that reviewed the original plan have yet to be adequately addressed in the areas of active management and fire. Of particular concern are recommendations for extensive thinning treatments without empirical studies on the effects of these treatments on Spotted Owls or their prey. Further, estimates of owl habitat loss from fire are not based on defensible data sources and we are concerned that the Service has not adequately addressed post-fire logging, which may be an even greater threat to owls than fire.”

To view the letter, click here.  The letter was based on a comprehensive set of comments developed by plaintiff groups in the Spotted Owl case which are available here. Click here for The Wildlife Society peer review and click here for the review by the Society for Conservation Biology and American Ornithologists’ Union.

American Bird Conservancy conserves native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas by safeguarding the rarest species, conserving and restoring habitats, and reducing threats while building capacity of the bird conservation movement. ABC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization that is consistently awarded a top, four-star rating by the independent group, Charity Navigator.

Photo Courtesy of  Boreal Songbird Initiative

Seattle, WA – Millions of Canada’s migratory birds, representing more than a hundred species, could be at risk when they return this fall to areas in the Gulf of Mexico affected by the oil spill. The Gulf Coast serves as important habitat for hundreds of Canada’s bird species which use the region for wintering grounds and migratory stopover habitat.

“The world’s largest migration occurs every year when billions of birds fly from Canada to areas south, including the Gulf Coast,” said Dr. Jeff Wells, senior scientist at the Boreal Songbird Initiative. “We’re not sure what these birds will face when they return to areas hit by the oil spill, but certainly a large number of birds could be vulnerable to illness or even death.”

The migratory birds of Canada’s Boreal Forest represent a significant percentage of the birds that winter in the Gulf Coast region or stop during their travels further south. Canada’s Boreal Forest is the world’s largest intact forest and is home to more than 300 bird species, including 80 percent of North American waterfowl species, 63 percent of finches and 53 percent of warblers.

“There’s been a lot of attention to oil spill effects on local resident species,” said Wells. “But there’s a lurking time bomb for many waterfowl and shorebirds that breed in Canada’s Boreal Forest and winter or stop in the Gulf.”

Nearly 5 billion of Canada’s migratory birds fly south every fall, Wells adds. He and other experts worry these birds could face both long- and short-term adverse effects to shoreline habitat, necessary winter food sources and health.

The Gulf Coast is vitally important for many wetland bird species. The marshes, beaches and tidal flats provide ideal nesting areas and habitat for millions of waterfowl, seabirds, shorebirds and other water birds. These habitats also house fish, mollusks and other marine life that provide the food supply for many of these birds. The impact on smaller food sources like plankton could have a ripple effect on the entire food chain. There may also be longer-term effects stemming from physiological impacts of ingested oil that could lead to lower breeding success rates.

Currently, nesting birds such as terns, gulls and pelicans are hit hardest by the oil spill. Louisiana’s coast supports an estimated 77 percent of the U.S. breeding population of Sandwich Tern, 52 percent of Forster’s Tern and 44 percent of black skimmer. Many of North America’s most at-risk species also live in the region during a portion of the year, including Yellow Rail, Black Rail, Snowy Plover, Piping Plover, and Short-billed Dowitcher. The oil spill could pose long-term implications for the health of their total populations.

“We’ve really only seen the tip of the iceberg so far,” said Wells. “Species from the Boreal and other areas may encounter habitats and food sources contaminated with oil on their journey south that may cause illness or even mortality. These birds, and the generations to come after them, are endangered by the oil spill’s impact to critical marsh and beach habitat.”

While there isn’t much that can be done to mitigate effects of the oil spill on wildlife, he adds, there are ways to protect bird populations in the future through prevention of habitat loss and fragmentation—one of the leading causes of declining bird populations worldwide.

“By protecting intact ecosystems such as the 1.4 billion acres of Canada’s Boreal Forest,” said Wells, “we can give these critical populations of migratory birds a fighting chance of recovering from devastating occurrences such as the Gulf oil spill.”

The following video is an informational piece from Ducks Unlimited.

Click here to donate to the Boreal Songbird Initiative!

Interviews and Additional Information:

Jeff Wells, Boreal Songbird Initiative, 207.458.8492 mobile, jeffwells@borealbirds.org

About the Boreal Songbird Initiative:

Dr. Jeff Wells is the Science and Policy Director for the Boreal Songbird Initiative (BSI).  BSI is a non-profit organization dedicated to outreach and education about the importance of Canada’s Boreal Forest to North America’s birds.