The Battle of the Blades

Six months ago, all of us here in northwest Ohio were at the center of the birding world. Six months ago we were awash in a whirl of warblers and their watchers. Vast numbers of migratory birds poured in from the tropics, while semi-vast numbers of birders poured in from all over the United States and beyond to celebrate the “Biggest Week in American Birding” here in the “Warbler Capital of the World.”   

 Six months in the future, in May 2011, we expect it all to happen again. But right now, as fall migration fades in November, the scene in northwest Ohio is getting quieter. The traveling birders are mostly elsewhere now, celebrating specialties in south Texas, chasing rarities in California or Florida. They haven’t necessarily forgotten about us, but at the moment, we might not be on their minds.


And that’s unfortunate.

The timing of this is bad for the birds, from one particular angle. Right now there are threats to the stopover habitats here in northwest Ohio, the very spots that sustain all those migratory birds when they pause here on their travels. Various energy companies are pushing projects to set up noncommercial sized turbines very near the Lake Erie shoreline, some of them practically right on top of critical bird habitats and it's important to note that these "smaller" turbines can still exceed 300 feet.


Many of them are being proposed for schools, which is particularly problematic.  Many schools in this area are in serious financial trouble and searching desperately for ways to reduce costs.  Wind turbines (especially when the wind energy company gives them at no cost, as they have in some cases along the lake shore) seem like the perfect solution.  And in the right location, maybe they are. 

Unfortunately, some of the schools involved here are deep within the areas of highest concern for migratory birds and within a mile of active Bald Eagle nests. When you speak out about these concerns, many people simply label you as "The crazy tree huggers who are more worried about their little tweety birds than they are about helping kids learn."


Building wind turbines on school grounds is also a brilliant marketing plan and it's worked very effectively. That is, until they started proposing them in areas of migratory bird stopover habitat, and the ideas of science and due diligence became the proverbial "flies in the ointment."

And as we are discovering, there are virtually no regulations of any kind controlling where such noncommerical, "midsized" turbines can be erected. Compounding the problem is the fact that there's currently no data available on the impacts these "midsized turbines" have on birds and wildlife. Many people we've talked to question just how much damage a single wind turbine (even one 300+ feet tall) can really do. While we don't have hard data, when asked this question, we share this true story.


Several years ago, when the first cell phone tower stabilized by guy wires was erected in this area, the farmer who had leased that section of his field to the communications company for the tower came into a local wildlife research facility one spring morning with a bushel basket filled with dead adult male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.  He had picked them up until the basket was full (he said there were lots more, but he only picked up what the basket would hold) and brought them in to see if anyone could tell him what they were. 
One night.
One tower.
One set of guy wires.
One bushel basket of dead birds.

So, the answer is, yes.  One wind turbine (or any tall structure) in an area of major stopover habitat like the Lake Erie Marsh Region has the potential to do significant damage. Now just imagine if there's another, and another, and another.

The people of this area are intelligent, caring, superb people.  They understand that Lake Erie is a precious resource that brings billions of tourism dollars to the area each year and they are passionate about caring for it and protecting it. And yet, many remain unaware of the massive bird migration that takes place here or the amount of ecotourism dollars generated by visiting birders.

Black Swamp Bird Observatory, along with the local visitor's bureaus:  Lake Erie Shores and Islands, and other organizations, is working very hard to raise awareness of just how essential this stopover habitat is for the birds and the marvelous asset it represents for the region.

The good news is that it's not too late. We still have an important opportunity to get this right and, rather than view this as a challenge -- one side versus the other -- we're trying to present it as an opportunity to prove to the world that we can find a reasonable solution. If we can make this work here in northwest Ohio, it could set a valuable  precedent and send a powerful message about the potential for responsible renewable energy.

Here's how you can help.

1) Tell Others
If you're a fellow blogger, we encourage you to share this issue with your readers. If you're a writer (or you know someone who is) please consider an article about this issue.

2) Sign a Petition
Black Swamp Bird Observatory, Ohio Ornithological Society, and Greater Mohican Audubon Society have created an online petition and we urge you to support our efforts by signing it, here:  Protect Critical Migratory Bird Stopover Habitat in Northwest Ohio

3) Write Letters of Support
For more information, please visit BSBO's website at: http://www.bsbobird.org/

And please read:  A Long Night's Journey Into Death.

Thank you so much! ~Kimm and Kenn

Extreme Bird Feeding

From Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kim writes: While the weather here in northwest Ohio the last few days has been downright balmy, we suffered through a stretch of incredibly brutal weather for several days. Temps at or near zero, 25+ mile per hour winds, and everything was coated with a thick layer of ice. It was really hard to force ourselves to even go outside. Several Christmas Bird Counts scheduled for last weekend were canceled. You KNOW it's rough outside when birders decide not to do CBCs.

As a result of the weather, I spent a great deal of time last weekend keeping the feeders filled at the Observatory. Turns out, that can be interpreted in a couple of ways, depending upon your perspective. What I meant by "filled feeders" was this....

A human's idea of "bird food"...

And, here's what "filled feeders" means from a different perspective...

Oh yeah! Look at all that bird food...

This immature Red-tailed Hawk must be really desperate. It was haunting the feeders all weekend, making pass after unsuccessful pass at the starlings and Mourning Doves at the feeders. The poor thing finally took a break on top of one of the feeders. What a contrast in style from the accipiters that often stalk the birds at our feeders. When a Cooper's or Sharp-shinned Hawk makes a pass it is with such swift precision as if to almost seem like it happened in your imagination. A feathered arrow, swift and true. But, this poor Red-tail was more like a lawn jart (remember those?!) and it came flopping in like a sumo wrestler arriving at a tea party.

Here's a closer look at this magnificent animal.

Note the brown tail that helps to identify it as a young bird.

Here in northwest Ohio we see Red-tailed Hawks on a daily basis, and we sometimes get a little jaded. "Oh, that's just another red-tail," you'll often hear people say. But, encounters like this one, up close and personal, remind us of just how blessed we are to have these creatures in our world.

I feel really bad for the bird. I know that it's hungry. And I know that the mortality rate in young raptors is high. If I can find some road kill, I'll scrape it up and toss it out near the Observatory and hope that the bird finds it. I've done this kind of thing before with great success.

Believe it or not, I once convinced a friend to help me lift and load the carcass of an eight-point buck that I found lying in a field (it had been struck by a car) into the back of his pickup truck. We hauled it to my house and dragged it out into the field about 300 yards from the house. This was late fall / early winter, and 300 yards seemed like plenty of cushion between the house and the large dead rotting thing.

The first birds to discover the prize were 13 American Crows, and I had an absolute blast watching these amazing birds feeding on the carcass. The hierarchy was immediately evident. The entire group would come in and roost in a large dead elm tree about 20 yards from the deer. After much calling and jostling, a small number of the birds (usually just 3) would come to the buffet to feed while the others kept watch. Once the first group was finished, they would return to the elm tree while another group came to dine, and so on, until all the birds had had a chance to feed. It was great fun observing the group dynamics of these incredibly intelligent birds.

Next to dine at the Road Kill Cafe was an immature Bald Eagle. He approached with extreme caution, using the crows' trusty dead elm as an observation deck to get the lo-down of the situation before finally deciding it was worth it and getting down to business. Eventually an adult eagle arrived and the youngster was driven out of the area.

Here's a terrible photo of the adult Bald Eagle that visited the carcass.

(Now, be kind about the quality of this photo! This was pre-digiscoping revolution!)

Early spring arrived, and with it, the Turkey Vultures. It was icky and gross, but at the same time, strangely captivating to watch them stick their heads way up inside the remains of the deer and get the goodies that were out of reach for the feather-headed feeders. That naked red head may be short on looks, but it sure comes in handy for extreme feeding conditions like a dead rotting deer carcass!

Okay, I know these photos are getting progressively worse, but if you squint your eyes, tip you head to the left, and now close your right eye part way, you can see that the fourth dark blurry lump from the left is a dead rotting deer carcass being visited by hungry Turkey Vultures!

Now, as I mentioned earlier, my friend and I drug the carcass about 300 yards away from my house. That was great during the winter, but then suddenly it was July. P--and might I add--U! If you decide to try out my extreme bird feeding method, please make sure that you select the location and distance of your feeding "station" with the thought that it might very well persist until those steamy 80+ degree days! You (and your neighbors) will be thankful for the consideration.

Feeder Highlight Reel...

From Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kim writes: In Kenn’s last post he offered great information about White-winged Crossbills, including areas to focus your search for them in the field. I just wanted to add that you shouldn’t rule out a visit to your feeding station! Several years ago a White-winged Crossbill visited one of my feeders (in central Ohio) for a couple of days. This individual went strictly for sunflower seeds, and had no trouble using that wicked-cool bill to reach through the screened sides of the feeder to pull out seeds, which it scarfed down like a champ!

The feeder was a large hopper-style with plastic-coated wire sides. I actually got a photo of “my” bird, and--if you stop looking at the cool bird for a second--you can see the type of feeder I’m describing so rottenly.

Aren't they just the coolest birds?!

Kenn and I don't keep life lists, per se, but we do keep a list of birds that we see in our yard. Ahem...Okay, we also count birds that we see FROM our yard. In fact, full disclosure here, there have been a number of times that we were out running, spotted a bird that we thought we could see from our yard, and sprinted all the way home to get it for the yard list. Crazy? Yeah. But hey, wouldn't you race home to get a Bald Eagle or a Trumpeter Swan on your yard list? Be honest now....

We've had some really great birds on our yard list, (and lots of good exercise racing home so we could count some of them too...) but the crossbill remains one of my all-time “yard bird” highlights.

If anyone else is willing to share their own favorite yard birds, I'd love to hear about them.

Black Swamp Bird Observatory Needs Your Help!

CITIZEN CALL TO ACTION: Help BSBO's efforts to stop a wind turbine proposed for a Globally Important Bird Area 

We hope you will email your Name, City, State, Zip, to: ResponsibleWindEnergy@bsbo.org to support our efforts on the troubling issue outlined below. Your name will then be included along with an official letter that BSBO, along with many other conservation organizations, will be submitting to local, state, and federal officials. 

Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) has learned of proposal to place a huge wind turbine at the Camp Perry National Guard facility on the Lake Erie shoreline, just a few miles east of the world-famous birding hotspot of Magee Marsh.   The Camp Perry facility itself includes wooded areas near the Lakeshore that provide important stopover habitat for migratory songbirds.  The site also lies directly between the Darby Unit of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and the Navarre Marsh, site of BSBO's primary songbird banding research station, where we have banded more than 500,000 songbirds over the last 20+ years.  In other words, the site lies deep within one of the most sensitive migration stopover habitats in the Midwest.   Many birders are familiar with the Camp Perry site since the public access beach on the facility provides important habitat for migratory shorebirds.  Local bird enthusiasts are also likely to recognize the facility as home to an active Bald Eagle nest visible from State Route 2. 

BSBO filed for all relevant documents from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources under the Sunshine Law. The documents show that both our federal and state wildlife agencies have listed multiple reasons why this site is not suitable for wind turbines.  Reasons cited in these documents include, but are not limited to:

- The site’s proximity to an active Bald Eagle nest

- The high number of Bald Eagles that have been documented using the area

- The site lies deep within a highly sensitive area for migrating passerines, waterfowl, shorebirds, and raptors

- The site poses high potential for impact on the Federally Endangered Kirtland's Warbler and Piping Plovers

- The site is part of a National Audubon designated Important Bird Area

- The site is part of a Partners In Flight designated Globally Important Bird Area

- The site is part of a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network designated area of Regional significance for shorebirds

Based on these documents, and on the staggering amount of data that BSBO has gathered to demonstrate the volume of migratory birds that rely on the stopover habitat in this region, BSBO's position is that this site is unsuitable for a wind turbine.  However, BSBO is not simply saying no to wind energy; rather, we have expressed a sincere willingness to work with any and all stakeholder groups to develop alternate sites and alternate technologies that will allow us to support Responsible Wind Energy.  We are asking for your support of our position.

If you are willing to include your name in support of our position, or if you know an organization or agency that would be willing to sign on to the official letter BSBO will be submitting to all parties involved with this project, please email the following information to: ResponsibleWindEnergy@bsbo.org 

Name

City, State, Zip

Thank you for helping BSBO protect and conserve migratory bird habitat. 

Naturalist of the Year

From back home in Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kenn writes: The Toledo Naturalists’ Association (TNA) has a proud history going back more than 75 years. This organization has always counted some of the finest field biologists in Ohio and Michigan among its membership -- not just bird experts, but experts on every aspect of natural history. Once a year, the TNA honors someone as their Naturalist of the Year. Tonight, at their annual banquet, the Toledo Naturalists’ Association presented the prestigious 2009 Naturalist of the Year award to my wonderful wife Kimberly.

I am so thoroughly bursting with pride at this point that I can hardly write a coherent sentence, but I wanted to let all our friends know about this. In presenting the award for the TNA, bird expert Greg Links acknowledged Kim’s background in natural history -- the thousands of hours observing and monitoring Bald Eagle nests, the volunteer work at Killdeer Plains in central Ohio, the tens of thousands of songbirds that she has banded as part of research projects, the waterbird surveys and butterfly surveys, the photography of so many different creatures and plants all over several countries -- but his main focus was on her work in educating people about birds and nature. And there is a LOT there to celebrate!

Kimberly with a European Robin at Falsterbo, Sweden, in 2005

Kimberly 100 feet above the ground in the Amazon Basin at Sacha Lodge, Ecuador, in 2006


On this blog we have talked about some of these things. As executive director of Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO), Kimberly has been reaching out to the local community to educate them about the value of local bird habitats. She has arranged for school groups to come out, and hundreds of local students have come to programs at the observatory. And her brainchild of the Ohio Young Birders Club has been so successful that organizations in 14 other states have set up their own young birders’ organizations, directly modeled on the OYBC.

Although it made for a long and exhausting day, it was particularly fitting that today was also the third annual conference of the Ohio Young Birders Club! We had a packed house in the conference room at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, and once again we had remarkable programs presented entirely by these talented teenaged members of the club. Five of the young birders (and a lot of members and volunteers from BSBO) came along with us to the Toledo Naturalists’ Association banquet as soon as the young birders’ conference was over, and the presence of these enthusiastic young people and young-at-heart people made for a graphic demonstration of just how much Kim has done, and is doing, to educate and inspire people.

Kimberly with Mike Gordon, president of the Toledo Naturalists' Association. As part of the Naturalist of the Year award, TNA presented Kim with an original painting of a Bald Eagle done by artist Ann Geise, recognizing all of Kim's eagle work from a decade and a half ago.

It was a beautiful evening all around, with lots of good friends and good conversation and a fine banquet address by our friend Julie Zickefoose. But the high point for me was seeing Kim recognized for some of the wonderful things she has done. I know this post is totally inarticulate but I had to try to write something. Kimberly, I am so incredibly proud of you.

The honoree, with her insanely proud husband, after the banquet.