Birders Rock, version 09.2

From Port Clinton, Ohio, Kenn writes: When we came back from the Antarctic, with a million things to do after a month away, I wasn't that thrilled about the fact that our band had a performance scheduled just over a week later. But as it turned out, our gig last night was a total blast. The band has a new sound system and it inspired us to play our hard-rocking best. Our month without practice seemingly was erased by three intense sessions in the last week, and in fact we were able to add several new songs to the set list. Kim was amazing as always, and no one who heard her soaring vocals would have guessed that she was fighting off the remains of a cold.

Once again, Mango Mama's in Port Clinton was packed for the event. This town provides great support: the mayor was there again, and three county commissioners, and a couple of hundred other people who know how to have a friendly good time.

I was pleased to see that once again, in addition to having a couple of serious birders in the band, there were several out in the crowd -- including long-time friends of ours like Delores, Laura, Hugh, and Judy, and others whom we've just met for the first time, like Linda, Jim, Dave, and Sal. Thanks, fellow birders, for supporting the music. And here's a salute to our friends Julie and Bill, who, with The Swinging Orangutangs, will be rocking the walls off of the Whipple Tavern down in southeastern Ohio on February 13th.

I repeat: Birders Rock!

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

It's spring, the Red-winged Blackbirds are all pumped up and making music, and so are we.

From Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kenn writes: In my most recent book, Flights Against the Sunset (published by Houghton Mifflin in 2008), there was a whole chapter ("Nightland") that was an extended essay on sleep deprivation. None of our friends were surprised about that. For Kim and me, sleep is usually pretty far down the list of priorities. There are always too many other interesting things to be doing.

Right now we're a little more crazed than usual. This weekend is the big annual banquet / celebration of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO), and we've been swamped with trying to prepare for it. The observatory has a great staff and a lot of wonderful volunteers, without whom nothing would ever happen (come to think of it, I'm a volunteer). But still, Kim has been going like crazy all week, like a hummingbird on overdrive, dealing with a zillion details relating to the weekend. I never move as fast as she does, but I've been preoccupied with prep for the weekend as well.

Most of the action is taking place in Port Clinton, on Ohio's North Coast. It kicks off tonight (Friday night) with a show by our band, 6-7-8-OH, playing classic rock from 8 to 11 in a benefit concert for the observatory. Tomorrow morning (Saturday) I'm teaching a workshop on field identification of ducks, geese, and swans, a two-hour intensive course (and no, I'm not finished preparing for it yet). Saturday afternoon there's a tour of local businesses in Port Clinton, focusing on the many who have offered support to BSBO. Then in the evening we have the annual banquet, with awards, silent auction, etc., and a featured presentation by Norm Smith from Massachusetts Audubon, showing pictures and talking about his amazing research on Snowy Owls. Then Sunday morning we have field trips followed by a celebratory brunch.

And then maybe we sleep, or at least lie around on the floor with our tongues hanging out.

Ah, Spring! It's such an exciting time of year, the birds are all jazzed up, and so are we! But if you've called or written to us recently and haven't heard back, this is my attempt to explain why!

Birders and Rockers

From Port Clinton, Ohio, Kenn writes: So, yeah, we're crazed about birds, but that's not the only thing in our life. We're also crazed about everything else in nature, from butterflies to bats, from fish to ferns, from reptiles to rocks. Especially rocks. We spent last night rocking out with our classic-rock band, 6-7-8-OH, playing a major gig at Mango Mama's in Port Clinton. There were probably more than 200 people there at the peak of the night. Kim is the lead singer, and I'm not exaggerating when I say she's fabulous; people go crazy when she launches into hits from Led Zepplin or Pat Benatar or Bon Jovi. I'm the bass player, so I get to hang out on the back of the stage with the drummer and enjoy the scene from that perspective. The local paper did a story about the band a couple of nights before the gig, and it was the first time I'd seen myself referred to in print as "a noted bird expert and bass guitarist" -- no kidding! But there are surprising numbers of keen birders who are also rock musicians. Maybe we'll write about that in more depth at some point. In the meantime, we're going to be playing at Mango Mama's again on December 5th, for anyone who happens to be in the area.

The Quest for Responsible Wind Energy Continues

From Homebase in Oak Harbor, a very tired Kimberly Writes:
Today, Black Swamp Bird Observatory hosted a meeting in Port Clinton, Ohio, to discuss the far reaching implications of wind turbines in migratory bird stopover habitat. We approached the issue from several angles, with experts speaking on ecotourism and the preservation of our last remaining scenic landscapes, the bird and bat mortality issue, and even the efficiency and economics of these machines. We gave a large gathering of community leaders--as well as representatives from the wind energy industry who were in attendance--a great deal to consider. Certainly no one there today can continue to claim ignorance about the fact that wind turbines in this region will share the air column with millions of migratory birds, including the critically endangered Kirtland's Warbler, the state endangered Sandhill Crane, and one of the largest concentrations of Bald Eagles in the lower 48 states.


Today, we took the first step in working toward some reasonable solution to the need for renewable energy and the need to be responsible stewards for migratory birds, ecotourism, and the scenic vistas that we must cling to so fiercely if they are to be preserved for future generations. We have learned that nothing is sacred in our quest to generate more and more and more electricity. Nothing is sacred -- unless we kick and scream that it is.


An example of some of the information brought out today: Thanks to one of our experts, Bill Evans, the audience learned that the plan to target schools in the Lake Erie Marsh Region as places for wind turbines (many deep within the area deemed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to be the highest area of concern for birds and bats) has some serious flaws. School yards are frequently lighted throughout the night for safety purposes. The combination of large banks of lights -- that have been proven to attract nocturnal migrants -- coupled with 300 foot structures with spinning blades is a potentially lethal combination.



Many organizations and agencies were represented at today's meeting, including: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ohio Division of Wildlife, Ohio State Parks, Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, the American Birding Association, two of the three Ottawa County Commissioners, the Mayor of Port Clinton, SureEnergy, Erie and Ottawa County departments of tourism, Audubon chapters, Ottawa County Community Improvement Corp., and local business owners. We also invited the press, and reporters from The Beacon (Ottawa County) and The Metropress (Lucas County) were there covering the discussion.



Here are the seven items we presented as desired outcomes from today’s meeting. These points resulted in some great dialogue and left us with at least a glimmer of hope that we can continue to work together to ensure the integrity of the quality habitat (for birds and humans) in this region.



Desired Outcomes:
 • Support for our three-year moratorium on additional wind turbines within three miles of the Lake Erie shore in Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, and Erie Counties until research on nocturnal migrants (including radar studies) can be completed


• Expansion of the current voluntary wildlife review process for industrial turbines to include midsized turbines 100 feet or more in height and/or 10 Kilowatt or greater



• Explore the potential for consortia of local schools to install turbines in areas outside the zone of highest concern, sharing the energy benefits



• Explore the potential for other sources of renewable energy within the zone of highest concern

• Explore the potential of bringing economic growth to the area by encouraging wind turbine manufacturing plants to locate here



• Permanent ban on any wind turbines 300 feet or higher within the zones of highest concern as identified by Ohio Department of Natural Resources



• Development of a local level Western Basin Wind Working Group



Being a part of the birding and conservation community means that you are frequently blessed by the outpouring of support from your fellow warriors. Today, our team at Black Swamp Bird Observatory, Ohio Ornithological Society, and Greater Mohican Audubon Society, was bestowed great gifts of knowledge and expertise from none other than:
Ted Eubanks (http://www.fermatainc.com/)
Bill Evans (http://www.oldbird.org/) and (http://www.towerkill.com/)
Keith Lott (Ohio Division of Wildlife)
Dan Boone (http://www.VAwind.org/).


---Talk about the bird conservation dream team!


Also part of today’s dream team were Kenn Kaufman, Cheryl Harner, Jen Sauter, Mark Shieldcastle, Julie Shieldcastle, Ken Keffer, Paul Baicich, Dana Bollin, and Guy Denny. Larry Fletcher and the staff at the Ottawa County Visitors’ Bureau hosted today’s meeting and we offer them our gratitude for their hospitality.


I’d also like to mention that our online petition is having an impact. I know most of you have signed it, but if you haven’t please do, and consider encouraging others to as well.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/924/482/794/ 

You can also visit http://www.bsbobird.org/wind_energy.htm for more information.


We’ll keep you posted as we continue to work toward a solution.

Thanks!  ~kimberly

Rocking With The Mayor

From Port Clinton, Ohio, Kenn writes: A few years ago I was the keynote speaker at the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer, Alaska. It was in May, before the rush of tourists that flock to Homer in summer but at the peak of the shorebird migration. The crowd at the festival was getting an eyeful of huge numbers of birds, in addition to educational programs, the spectacular scenery of the surroundings, and the hospitality of the locals. In the spirit of America's last frontier, that was the first time I recall giving a keynote talk wearing jeans, sweatshirt, and hiking boots! But another thing that struck me about the festival was that the mayor of Homer recognized the value of having all these visiting birders in town. The mayor came to my keynote talk, said a few words of welcome to the crowd, and he even came out birding with us the next day.

I concluded, right then and there, that it's a good thing if you can get the mayor to attend your special events.

Tonight our band rocked the walls at Mango Mama's, the big party hall at the Kokomo Bay Restaurant here in Port Clinton. A good crowd braved the cold to come out and hear us, which was a doubly good thing because this gig was a fund-raiser for the Salvation Army. A contingent from the fire department showed up, and fire chief Kent Johnson got up and played guitar with us on a couple of songs. And the dynamic mayor of Port Clinton, Debbie Hymore-Tester, was there for the entire evening -- mingling with the crowd, supporting the cause, moving on the dance floor. Her Honor The Mayor even got on stage with us and sang lead on a couple of songs, rocking out in duets with Kim. After the show was over, of course, Kim and I spent some time talking with the mayor and her husband about the importance of birding to the local economy. Port Clinton is catching on to the fact that thousands of birders come here in spring and fall, but we've been able to draw attention to that in a completely unexpected way through this musical connection.