January-February 2003 Big Bluesterm Flyer Big Bluestem Audubon Society

8/9/2019 January-February 2003 Big Bluesterm Flyer Big Bluestem Audubon Society

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Big Bluestem FlyerBig Bluestem Flyer

Volume 38, Number 3 January/February 2003

ProgramsJanuary

16-Lyne t te Poh lm an Director of Universit y

Museums - Wetlands to the Artlands: Prints of J.N. Darling and Contemporary Iowa Artists.

An opportu nity t o see how Ding Dar lings ar t a nd

conservat ion efforts continu e to inspire a rtist s an d

conser vat ionist s yet t oday. (See Pa ge 4.)

( No t e S p e c i a l L o c a t i o n : B r u n n i e r Ar t M u s e u m

o n t h e t o p f lo o r o f t h e S c h e m a n B u i l d i n g , 7:3 0 p m )

February20 - Carl Ku rtz Platte River Sandhill Cranes

and B ru ce E hresm an Up-date on thecolonization of Greater Sandhill Cranes in Iowa

We will follow the daily activities of the Lesser

Sandh ill Cranes in spring migrat ion as they roost in t he

river, feed and loaf in su rr ounding fields and consider

their intera ctions with the hu man population in th e

Kearney -Gran d Island Plat te River sta ging area.

March20 - R ic Za rw el l "Audubon Iowa's ImportantBird Areas (IBA) Program"

__________________________________________

Program meetings ar e held month ly, September -May

(except as noted above) on the third Thursday of the

month a t 7 :30 pm , R oom 2226 Ve te r ina r y M edic ine

B ui ld in g , Iow a S t a t e U nive r s i ty , Am es , Iow a .

If you would like to meet an d din e with th e speaker and

the BBAS Board before the monthly meeting, please

contact John Snyder to confirm space and location at

515-232-8824 or jesn yder @ix.ne tcom.com

Field TripsJanuary

18 Holst State Forest to look for owls, winterfinches an d spa rrows.

February22 Lake Red Rock to watch Bald Ea gles at one of

the best locations in the state, look for other waterfowl

and gulls, then h ead into Pella for lun ch a nd/or load u p

on Dut ch letters.

March15 Greene County to see some of the water fowl

ha bitat of Greene Count y, including Squ irr el Hollow

Wildlife Area and Dunbar Slough

April19 Woodland Mounds Preserve and LakeAhquabi (Warren Co.)

Page 2 Officers and CommitteesNew MembersPresidents Column

Page 3 Mortensen Mounds UpdateOak Forest FeedersKarls BackyardMeetz Prairie Winds

In This Issue

Newsletter of the Big Bluestem Audubon Society

Page 4 Field trip reportsDing Darling Story

Page 5 Ames Christmas Bird Count ResultsSaylorville Christmas Bird Count Results

Page 6 Great Backyard Bird CountPage 7 Membership Form

CouponsPage 8 Old Bird Names Quiz

Unless otherwise indicated, regular field trips leave

p r o m p t l y at 8:00 a m from the public parking lot west

of (behind) the Ames Wild Bird s Un limited (WBU),

located sout h of the ra ilroad tr acks at 213 Duff Ave. Trip

destinations are su bject t o change based on recent r ar e

bird sightings an d th e desires of the par ticipants.

Cont act J eff Nichols for m ore inform at ion a t

515-795-4176 or [email protected]

Daniel S Kilby


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2 Big Bluestem Flyer January/February 2003

Presidents ColumnI hope everyone took advantage of the opportunity

to join in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. It was a

great da y for th e Ames coun t, even if the birds didn t

show up. I spent th e morning in Nevada with Ha nk

Zalatel, Barb Bettis and Stev e Lekwa. I dont think we

saw an ything really rare, but it was st ill fun to see a

Redhead du ck on Nevada s east side an d th e Red-

bellied Woodpecker at th e coun tr y club. Maybe I was

easily entertained. I have often pondered if it is a great

day for birding when you only see a few birds but you

ha ve a r eal n ice day being out doors enjoying th e birds

habitat . Or is it only a great day when you ha ve seen

at least th ree rar e species that you kn ow no one else

will get to see. Or do you n eed to see a ma ss qua nt ity

of birds for it t o be great . Hmmm .

Tha t sam e sort of mood has me wonder ing wha t you

expect from Big Bluestem Audu bon to help you h ave a

great day. Is it our newsletter articles? Is it our

program s? The field tr ips? Do we ha ve enough

informa tion a bout conser vat ion issu es? Do we haveenough birding in form at ion for your likin g? Would you

like to write an ar ticle? Please recognize I am not

trying to revamp our organization but just seeking

your input. Tha t is something every board tr ies to do.

You see, the total membership is down a hu ndr ed to

385 from last year a nd th at has all of us on t he board

pondering t he cau se. Is it cyclical, is it world

economics or was it something that I said? Hmmm.

Well, anyway let me list a few of the things that we

already a re involved in. We provide Audubon

Adventure into 13 schools in Boone an d St ory coun ties.

We have prairie education with Mortensen Moun ds.

We have contr ibuted money to help pur cha seadditional habitat near Harrier Marsh. We have

provided scholarships for kids to attend the Young

Natu ralist Camp at the Y-Camp in Boone. And in an

effort to attract some new audience participation, we

will meet in the Brun nier Art Museum on J anu ary 16

where we will see some fine ar t from conser vationist

J ay N . Ding Darlin g. And of cour se we will ha ve

Birdathon in the spring.

We have t hings coming up t oo, like the Back Yard

Bird Coun t. We hope to sta rt month ly Bird Walk s at

th e new Hayden Pa rk wh en (if) it opens next fall. We

ha ve inform at ion a bout t he I-Call program, a way for

you t o give input into th e legislat ive process in r elation

to conser vation issu es. Well, my ponderings seem to go

on an d on. I am su re th at you see ma ny different

activities for your inter est. Please let a ny of us on th e

boar d kn ow if you h ave ideas or suggest ions. And so,

the n ext time you ar e out t here birding and ha ving a

great day, I hope you can ponder Was Big Bluestem

somehow conn ected? Hm mm. John Pohlman

Big Bluestem Audubon SocietyOfficers and Committees

OfficersPresident: John Pohlman 232-6816 [email protected]: Linda Thomas 292-7534 [email protected]: [vacant]Treasurer: Donna Flanagan 268-0458 [email protected]

Board Members

Bruce Ehresman 296 -2995 [email protected]: Nichols [email protected] Jackson 515-964-0140 [email protected] Oesterreich 515-232-3285 (h) [email protected] Wetrich 956-4299 [email protected]

Committee ChairsArchivist: Hank Zaletel 382-427 [email protected] Co-chairs: Karl and Carmen Jungbluth, 432-5057weatherbird.opencominc.comConservation Chair: Bruce Ehresman 296 [email protected] Chair: Ida Johnson 233-4831 iwindj@aoLcomField Trip Chair: Jeff [email protected] Chair: Al Johnson 233-4831 awindj@aol. com

Program Chair: John Snyder 232-8824 [email protected] Chair: Linda Thomas 292-7534 [email protected] & Electronic Media Co-Chairs: David Edwards [email protected] and Joyce Bahrenfus 275-3263 [email protected]

BBAS Web Site:http://www.wyalusing.org/BBAS.htmIowa Bird Sightings Hotline 319-338-9881Wildlife Care Clinic 515-294-4900

The mission of the Big Bluestem Audubon Society to

enjoy the observation and study of birds and natural

ecosystem s, cont ribu te to th eir conservation an d

restoration, engage in educational activities to benefit

humanity, and gain a broader understanding and deeper

appreciation of the world we live in.

1-A, 2-B, 3-C, 4-D, 5-E , 6-F , 7-G, 8-H , 9-I, 10-J , 11-K, 12-

L, 13-M, 14-N, 15-O, 16-P, 17-Q, 18-R, 19-S, 20-T, 21-U,

22-V, 23-W, 24-X, 25-Y, 26 -Z, 27-AA, 28-BB, 29-CC, 30-

DD, 31-EE, 32-FF, 33-GG, 34-HH, 35-II, 36-JJ, 37-KK, 38-

LL, 39-MM, 40-NN

Old BirdNames Quiz Answers

FFNew MembersEECar ol Bousqu et

Mr-Mrs M Vandenberg

Mrs. Douglas P ine

Daniel S Kilby


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January/February 2003 Big Bluestem Flyer 3

Mortensen Mounds UpdateS outh of IS Us Tower Dorms

A big tha nks to all who helped maint ain Mortensen

Mounds du rin g 2002. It ta k es a lot of people to car e for

a wild flower teaching lab- even a small one! Tha nk s

especially to David, my hu sban d, who cam e mu ltiple

times when wanting to be elsewhere. Other faithful

helpers included Ida J ohnson, Liz Carbrey, Miriam

Pa tt ers on, an d J oyce an d J on Bahr enfus. Of cour se,man y tha nks t o Joe Kooiker an d J ames Devig who

provided an indispensable service by ha ndling bur ns. Jeanne Edwards

Karls BackyardNorth edge of Ledges SP Boone Coun ty

December 18, 2002- After a beau tiful weekend of

Christmas Bird Counts, the chilly east wind is kicking

up some drizzle. Maybe this will ma rk a cha nge from

the dry, suspended late fall weath er patt ern.

The bluebir ds t ook off in late October, an d h avent

been seen or heard sin ce. We ha ve a good num ber of

birds at t he feeders, but without s now, we havent seen a

lot of cardina ls or jun cos. Carm en sa w two grackles on

Satu rday. They usually dont visit u s in th e winter, so

th eyre welcome this time of year. Even more un usu al,

on December 3rd , a dozen Rusty Blackbirds walked

around under the lilac bush, then disappeared.

A petite little opossum, Petunia, cleans up under the

feeders every night just after dar k. Sometimes she

brings a friend.

Unfortu nat ely, we are seeing th e results of land u se

chan ges in our neighborhood. House Sparr ow nu mbers

ha ve exploded in the past year . Dozens and dozensinvade th e feeders every day. One doesnt h ave to look

far t o find th e reason. J ust t o our n orth , what was once

a h ayfield, now sport s a h orse grooming sh ed, 15 horses

an d a couple of acres of bar e dirt. The spar rows love the

horse feeding bins, the s helter of our other neighbors

bird-friendly shrubby yard, and our feeders an d shr ubs.

My New Year s wish for you: Do somet hin g good for

bird habitat in your yar d, and hope tha t th e neighbors

join it!

Karl Jungbluth

Meetz Prairie WindsNortheast of Am es a few m iles

A thin crescent m oon is qu ickly waxing to first qua rt er

as I gaze across th e night sky a nd listen for sounds of

our Golden Retriever shuffling about in the leaf litter

sear ching th e nort h fencerow for fur ry night -critt ers. It

is hard t o believe tha t a few days ear lier tempera tu res

were in th e single digits out here.

Our prairie pothole lost its battle with the fiercenorthwesterly winds, freezing on Thanksgiving Day.

The Mallard Ducks and Can ada Geese resting there a t

night have had to seek bigger wat ers. The night air no

longer carr ies their music.

Some nights a rooster phea san t will soun d off, flush ed

from its pra irie night roost by an u nseen intr uder.

Other n ights a Grea t Horned Owl reports from the cedar

row or the tall Gran dmother cott on wood tr ee. If th e

owl remains in the cottonwood at daybreak a small crow

escort will insist that it find another roost. Later, t ha t

perch ma y again be occupied, th is time by a m agnificent

Red-Tailed Hawk. It scans th e surr oundings, hoping to

spot a car eless or inexperienced critt er like a young cot -

tontail rabbit.

We often see a male Northern Har rier as it glides just

above the catta ils and pr airie grasses. We also have a

but cher bird in the neighborh ood again th is year . A

port ion of a White-footed mouse wa s h an ging for display

on a strand of barbed wire near one of the Bluebird

houses. Snow an d colder temper at ur es will ma ke life

more difficult even for the sh rike. I ha ve been slowly re-

placing the bar bed wire so our horses do not get in tr ou -

ble with it, but I ma y need to reth ink r eplacing all of it.

The par tial frozen remains of a Tree Spar row lay

nea r th e iced-over pond. A Coopers Ha wk hu nt s fromthe mulberry trees, swooping at sparrows, Goldfinches,

an d th e mixed flock of Red-winged Blackbirds a nd grack-

les. Tracks a nd dr oppings ar ound th e kill tell of a

mink feast ing here. A couple of steps pa st th is story, a

group of five Gra y Pa rt ridge feeding in a t hick growth of

ast ers flush in an explosion of seed hea ds an d down.

The pra irie growth is h igh en ough to provide h awks

and other predators with a r eal challenge to spot prey. I

recently found the scattered remains of a fresh kill

rooster phea sant without en ough other sign in the ar ea

to indicat e who enjoyed this tas ty meal. I am hopeful

this was a bird I dropped in an earlier hu nt but never

recovered, the bird ha ving out -ru n th e dog.Nature wastes nothing.

Mike Meetz

Oak Forest Feeders

S outhw est edge of Am esBird visits to our feeders are fewer t his year t han any

year we can r emember. Our reliable t itmouse pair,

visiting daily for many years, has not been seen since

mid fall. House finch come only spora dically (it isn t a ll

bad) an d goldfinch come in very sma ll groups . Only the

House Sparr ow seem to have th rived and increased th eir

squa bbling feed frenzies .Dave and Jeanne Edwards

Steven DAmato


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January/February 20034 Big Bluestem Flyer

October 19, 2002 - Voas Nature Area and BuffaloGrove.

Windy and cold weather diverted us from our original

prairie destinat ion to more protected area s. We first

explored t he Voas Na tu re Area in Da llas Co., where we

were greeted by flocks of American Goldfinches and a

good var iety of spar rows (Fox, Lincolns, Ha rr iss,

Swamp, Song, White-th roated, a nd Dark-eyed J uncos).

We also sa w a Sh ar p-shinned Ha wk and enjoyed up-

close looks at Ruby - an d Golden -crowned Kin glets . After

lunch in P err y, our next st op was Bu ffalo Grove, a

property recently acquired by Boone County

Conservat ion Board. We added a Turk ey Vultu re,

Wint er Wren, Hairy Woodpecker and a late Ora nge-

crowned Warbler t o end the da y with 49 species.

November 2, 2002 - Ada Hayden Heritage Park,Little Wall Lake, and Anderson Lake.

Nine people enjoyed a beautiful fall day of birding in

norther n Story and south ern Ha milton coun ties. Of th e

40 species we tallied, the h ighlights were a Great Egret,

an immat ure Black-crowned Night Heron, and a Great er

Yellowlegs on t he ice at Little Wall La ke.

Field Trip Reports

November 16, 2002 - Big Creek State Park,Saylorville Lake, and Polk City Wildlife Area.

Seven participants enjoyed another exceptionally

beautiful fall day outdoors on this trip. The highlights of

th e 38 species we observed were Common Loon an d

Hooded Mergansers.

Jeff Nichols

Steven DAmato

Kirsten Munson

J. N. (Ding) Darling (1876-1962)

An excerpt from D ing by David L. Lendt

Darling had been involved in party politics with

[Henry A.] Wallace when the secretary had been a

Republican and took at least part of the credit for

tur ning him into a Democrat. The incident h ad gr own

out of the Repu blican convent ion of 1932, wher e Dar ling

had served on the Resolutions Committee. "Th at was the

year when Prohibition an d the Depression were theabsorbing topics," Darling later wrote, "but t here was a

brief and m eaningless plank on the agricultu ral subject."

Darling objected to this, and the chairman of the

commit tee ap pointed a su bcommit tee of five to rewrite

the plan k. At lun ch time, the subcommitt ee retired to do

its work. When its members returned, "completely sold"

on t he two or t hree issues Darling thought most

importa nt, th e Resolutions Committee was embr oiled in

a heated discussion of Prohibition, which went on until

about 4:00 P.M. Finally the chairma n congrat ulat ed the

committee members on t heir work a nd, noting th ere wa s

nothing more to add to th e platform, sa id he would

welcome a m otion t o adjour n.

Darling was outra ged: "With the special a gricultu ral

comm ittee farm plank in m y han d I arose and protested

that the report of the special comm ittee on agricultu re

had not been called for and asked for the privilege of

presenting the farm p lank ." The surprised chairman

replied tha t t he farm policy had already been a dopted.

He had found a copy of the amended plank on his table

following lunch. It had been approved and sent to the

printer s. Ding an d his subcommitt ee had been

sabotaged. Dar ling went t o the phone to report t o

Wallace, his mentor in a gricultu ral ma tt ers:

At th at tim e Henry Wallace was a Republican an d Ihad called h im on long-distance and read him the

amended farm plank as the special committee had

written it . He thought our farm plank was all right and

as I look back up on it I presum e man y of the ideas

expressed [in it] had come out of the numerous sessions I

had had with Henry before going to th e convention. Wh en

Henry heard my story of what happened in the

Resolutions Committee he promptly repudiated his

m embership in th e Republican ranks an d tu rned

Democrat, cam paigned vigorously an d becam e S ecretary

of Agriculture. (p. 61)

Cookie ContributorsWe than k you all for bringing generous a mounts of

cookies and trea ts t o the BBAS par ty. The extras were

us ed for th e end -of-day chili su pper following th e Ames

Christma s Bird Count . They were appr eciated by the 34

or more birders who met to hear the tally, eat, and enjoy

conversation.

Dave and Jeanne Edwards


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Big Bluestem FlyerJanuary/February 2003 5

Newsletter Material DeadlinesBecau se we would like to ha ve the n ewsletter to each member before th e first day of its coverage, th e editor

needs to have mat erial at least two weeks before th at. Hence t h e d e a d l i n e w i l l b e t h e fi ft e e n t h o f t h e s e

m o n t h s : Februar y, an d April. David Edwards, Editor

Great Blue Heron 4

Sn ow Goose 3

Cana da Goose 1851

Wood Duck 1

Mallard 447

Norther n Pinta il 1

Lesser Scaup 1

Bufflehead cw*Common Merganser 7

Bald Ea gle 7

Northern H arrier 1

Shar p-shinned Hawk 2

Cooper's H awk 7

Red-tailed Hawk 70

Rough-legged Hawk 1

American Kestrel 12

Gray Part ridge 3

Ring-necked Pheasa nt 87

Ring-billed Gu ll cw*

Rock Dove 375

Mourn ing Dove 35

East ern Screech-owl 1Great-horned Owl 3

Barr ed Owl 7

Belted Kingfisher 9

Red-hea ded Woodpecker 2

Red-bellied Woodpecker 116

Downy Woodpecker 170

Hairy Woodpecker 27

Northern Flicker 9

Northern Shrike 1Blue Ja y 145

American Cr ow 7000

Black-capped Chickadee 465

Tufted titmouse 4

Red-breasted Nuth atch 1

White-breasted Nut hat ch 198

Brown Creeper 45

Winter Wren 2

Golden-crowned Kin glet 3

American Robin 17

Gray catbird 1

Eur opean St arling 1777

Cedar Waxwing 103

American Tree Spar row 257Fox Sparrow 2

Song Sparr ow 13

Swamp Sparr ow 1

White-thr oated Sparr ow 75

Har ris' Sparrow 17

White-crowned Spar row 4

Dark-eyed Ju nco 1001

Northern Car dinal 302

Red-winged Blackbird 5Meadowlar k sp. 1

Rusty Blackbird 15

Common Gra ckle cw*

House Finch 206

American Goldfinch 199

House Sparr ow 849

57 species

15968 individuals

40 observers in 16 part ies

* seen in count week but not on 14th

Ames Christmas Bird Count Results (Preliminary)December 14, 2002

Saylorville Christmas Bird Count Results (Preliminary)December 15, 2002

Double-crested Cormoran t -75

Great er White-fronted Goose-6

Can ada Goose-2150

American Wigeon-1

American Black Duck-8

Mallard-6720

North ern Sh oveler-97

Northern Pintail-6

Green-winged Teal-1Lesser Scaup-3

Common Goldeneye-3

Common Mergan ser-3500

Red-breasted Merganser-3

Bald Eagle-10 adult s, 14 imm.

Northern Ha rr ier-3

Shar p-shinned Ha wk-4

Cooper s Ha wk-5

Northern Goshawk-1

Red-tailed Hawk-101

Rough-legged Ha wk-1

American Kestrel-16

Ring-necked Phea san t -35

Wild Turkey-7

Ring-billed Gull-400

Herr ing Gull-40

Tha yers Gu ll-1

Rock Dove-428

Mour ning Dove-110

East ern Screech-Owl-13

Great H orned Owl-21

Barred Owl-7

Long-eared Owl -20

Belted Kingfisher-5

Red-headed Woodpecker-9

Red-bellied Woodpecker -122

Downy Woodpecker-163Ha iry Woodpecker-32

Northern Flicker-63

Northern Shrike-1

Shr ike species-1

Blue J ay-189

American Crow-1082

Black-capped Chickadee-373

Tufted Titmouse-11

White-breasted Nuthatch-101

Brown Creeper-5

Carolina Wren-1

Winter Wren-3

Golden-crowned Kinglet-1

East ern Bluebird-3

American Robin-24

Gray Catbird-1

Eur opean Star ling-1897

Cedar Waxwing-157

Yellow-rumped Warbler-3

Spotted Towhee-1

East ern Towhee-1

American Tr ee Sparr ow-990

Chipping Spar row-1

Fox Sparrow-3

Song Spar row-112

Swamp Spa rr ow-10

White-throated Sparrow-91Har ris Spar row-41

White-crowned Sparrow-4

Dark-eyed J unco-702

Snow Bunt ing-52

North ern Cardinal-477

Red-winged Blackbird-3320

Comm on Gr ackle-29

Brown-headed Cowbird-24

Pur ple Finch-5

House F inch-90

American Goldfinch-508

House Spa rr ow-992

74 species,25,510 individua ls

26 observers in 9 part ies


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January/February 20036 Big Bluestem Flyer

We have a window of opport un ity. Today, th e vast

ma jority of the species of birds in North America st ill

exist in viable numbers in some remna nt of suitable

habita t. Today, we who love birds a nd t he n atu ral world

in general exist in greater n umbers t han ever before,

and t hose numbers ar e growing rapidly. And today, we

have th e tools tha t a llow us t o know and monitor th at

fragile world with depth a nd breadt h th at wa sunimaginable 10 years ago, let alone 102 years ago when

th e first Chr istma s Bird Coun t (CBC) was held. With

these elements in place, we are all able to participate in

conser vation effort s. In fact, it is our ma nda te our

obligat ion to become citizen scient ists.

Over one hundred years ago, a handful of Christmas

Bird Count ers began a tra dition by recording t he species

and t heir nu mbers in 25 circles around t he continen t.

This year you can be a mong th e10s of th ousands who

gather data in some of those same circles and in over

1900 additional sites. But now, rat her tha n waiting

month s to enjoy or s tu dy th ose data , youll be able to see

the r esults as soon a s they ar e entered into the on-linedata base. And right now 102 years of reports ar e

available for many uses, but especially conservation.

Using this immense vau lt of CBC data (found at h ttp://

au dubon.org/bird/cbc/hr /index.ht ml ), you can now

condu ct your own local, regional, or na tional st udy with

relative ease. Please tell us what you find.

More than 15 years ago, Project FeederWatch (visit

htt p://www. birdsour ce.org/pfw ) became a cont inent -

wide project s ponsored by th e Cornell Lab of

Ornithology, the Can adian Nat ure F ederation, Bird

Stu dies Cana da, and National Audu bon. Following a

careful protocol, th ousand s of dedicat ed observers

some elderly, some housebound have collected d at aabout th e sta tus of feeder birds across th e continent

from November through April. When part icipan ts

reported an illness among House Finches, the n etwork of

FeederWatchers made it possible to track th e disease,

identified as avian conjunctivitis. as it spread

thr oughout t he easter n h alf of the count ry. Additionally,

the h uge amount of data gat hered dur ing this project is

preciou s to th e un derst an ding of climat es impa ct on bird

populations as well as of the general health of these

populations. All of this informa tion is now subm itt ed

an d quickly available on -line.

Th e G r e a t B a c k y a r d B i r d C ou n t or GBBC

(available at http://www.birdsource.com/gbbc/ ) will be 6

years old th is Februar y 14-17. Submitted entirely on -

line, the ap proximat ely 50,000 checklists from every

stat e an d province provide a winter snapsh ot of the

sta tu s of our birds on th at coun t weekend. A monitoring

project t ha t is designed to allow beginn ers a nd expert s

alike to part icipate, GBBC aims to engage an d educate

families and individuals in th e hopes tha t t hey will

cont inue th eir involvement thr ough other bird

monitoring projects. As with other pr ojects, GBBC dat a

become more an d more valuable with each year th at the

inform at ion is compiled. Explore the resu lts from your

sta te or pr ovince, a region of th e cont inent , or all of

North America.

When we began to receive letters, emails, and phone

calls in August about dwindling bird nu mbers in avariety of neighborhoods a round the east and mid-west,

we were alarmed an d concerned. These reports s eemed

to coincide with th e sprea d of th e West Nile Virus . As

th is years war m mont hs came t o an end, we could do

little but pr ovide inform at ion (available at h tt p://

au dubon.org/bird/westnilevirus.ht ml ), caution against

inappropriate reactions like rampa nt pesticide

application, and educate regarding alter nat ive

responses. We ha d no broad scale, sum mer monitoring

data for comparison to recent 2002 surveys.

However, th is wint er, we can a ll do much more. While

no one was t hink ing of a scena rio like th e West Nile

thr eat when t hese citizen science monitoring projectswere developed, in th e end, we ha ve built a p latform for

an informed response to just su ch an event. The winter

projects are in place and years of data have been

collected. So lets use t hese tools to learn as m uch a s

possible about the impact of this disease on our winter

bird populat ions as we continu e to collect l ong-ter m

dat a. It is, of cour se, critically importa nt t ha t we

maint ain t he sa me protocol as in previous years when

we collect data this winter.

Heading into the futur e, take a look at eBird

(available at ht tp://www.birdsour ce.org ), a n ew

BirdSource tool th at allows anyone to report an y

species, anywhere, and an ytime. eBird opens a n ew eraof citizen science when we can ha ve all of the baseline

data as t hey ar e needed, which will help our birds in a

time of increasing threats from habitat loss to West Nile

virus. All citizen scientist s can pa rt icipate in eBird an d

other projects through BirdSource at their level of

expert ise and as t heir t ime allows.

The window of conservation opportunity through

which we gaze mu st become a door th rough wh ich we

step int o action. Report ba nded, tagged, and ma rked

birds as well as your observations of rarities and

un usu al occur rences. Get involved with your local

Important Bird Area program http://audubon.org/bird/

iba/index.htm l , helping to monitor birds at some of their

most important places. And participate in citizen science

projects a t your level of ability and comfort. Remember ,

you will double your impa ct if you t ak e along a friend ;

an d youll mult iply it man y times over if you in clude a

scout tr oop or a class of kids.

Karl Jungbluth (compiled from Cornell La b, Audubon,

and other sources)

Act for the Birds - Great Backyard Bird Count


7/8

Big Bluestem FlyerJanuary/February 2003 7

Present the coupons below at the time of your purchase and a donation will be given to BBAS.Donations will fund the various habitat restoration and educational projects undertaken by BBAS.

Brekke'sBrekke's TownTown && CountryCountry Store,Store, Inc.Inc.

1 1/2 miles east of I-35 on new U.S. 30 and 1/4 mile north

Hours: 8-6 M-F, 8-4 Sat. (515) 232-7906

Purchase DonationUp tp $15 $1.50$15 and over $3.00$35 and over $5.00Over $70 $7.50

Brekkes offers Big Bluestem Audubon Society a donationwhen bird seed or other bird products are purchased.Present this coupon with your purchase and a donation will begiven to BBAS.

Offer good until February 28, 2003

Membership Application forms

Clip and JoinDont forget gift memberships!

New member of the National Audubon Society. You will

receive theAudubon magazine, theBig Bluestem Flyer,membership card. $20Please make your check payable to National Audubon Societyand include Chapter Code H-57 on the check

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Send your check and this coupon toAl Johnson, Membership Chair3912 Squaw Road, Ames, IA 50014

Name _________________________________________________Address _______________________________________________City_______________________ State____ ZIP_______________Phone __________________ E-mail ________________________Please do not use this form for renewals to the National Audubon Society

OR

213 DUFF AVE.

AMES, IA 50010

(515) 956-3145

Your Backyard Birdfeeding Specialist

D o n a t e 10% o f yo u r N e x tP u r c h a s e

T o Bi g Bl u e s t e m Au d u b o n S o c i e t y

& Rece ive 2 lb s . FREE o f ou r D e luxe B lend

Coupon must be presented at time of purchaseMay not be combined with any other offerNot valid on specially -priced merchandise

Monday Friday 9:30am 5:30pmSaturday 9am 5pmSunday Noon 4pm Offer Expires: 02/28/03

We Bring People and Nature Together

BIRDSEED FEEDERS HOUSES BIRDBATHS

HARDWARE BINOCS BOOKS NATURE GIFTS

Kirsten Munson


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PermitNo.131Ames,Iowa

BigBluestemFlyerDavidC.Edwards,EditorBigBluestemAudubonSociety2308StateAveAmes,IA50014

Printed on Recycled paper

Wewelcomenewmembers!

January/February 2003Vol 38 No. 3

Old Bird Names QuizMany birds have other names by which they were commonly known, before our times of widespread birding and

systematic nomenclature of birds. See if you can match those in the left columns with their identity in the right.

1-Corn Thief

2-Rusty Crow

3-Cow Bun tin g

4-Mocking Wren

5-Tri-color

6-Chewink7-Snowflake

8-Skunk Blackbird

9-Bee Mar tin

10-Bridge P ewee

11-Chebec

12-Crest ed Tomtit

13-Black-capped Thrush

14-Snowbird

15-Tree-mouse

16-Butcher-bird

17-Bloody-sided War bler

18-Blue Robin

19-Halcyon20-Brown Thrush

21-Tawny Thrush

22-Bellbird

23-Swamp Angel

24-Yellowhammer

25-Mosquit o Ha wk

26-Rain Crow27-Sand Mar tin

28-Cherry-bird

29-Social Sparrow

30-Foxy F inch

31-Winter Chippy

32-Peabody Bird

33-The P rea cher

34-The Teacher

35-Wild Cana ry

36-Torch-bird

37-Hang-nest

38-Crested Redbird

39-Pocket-bird40-Robin-redbreast

A-American Crow

NN-American Robin

EE-American Tree Spar row

KK-Balt imore Or iole

AA-Ban k S wallow

S-Belted KingfisherJJ -Blackburn ian Warbler

H-Bobolink

T-Brown Thrasher

C-Brown-hea ded Cowbird

D-Carolina Wren

BB-Cedar Waxwing

Q-Chest nu t -sided War bler

CC-Chipping S par row

Y-Common Night ha wk

N-Dark-eyed Junco

R-Eastern Bluebird

II-East ern Goldfinch

I-East ern KingbirdJ-Eastern Phoebe

F-Eastern Towhee

DD-Fox Spa rr ow

M-Gra y Catbir d

W-Hermit Thrush

K-Least Flycat cher

LL-North ern Cardina lP-North ern Shr ike

HH-Ovenbird

GG-Red-eyed Vireo

E-Red-headed Woodpecker

B-Rust y Blackbird

MM-Scarlet Tanager

G-Snow Bunting

L-Tufted Titmouse

U-Veery

O-Whit e-breasted Nuth atch

FF -White-th roated Spar row

V-Wood Th ru sh

Z-Yellow-billed CuckooX-Yellow-sh afted Flicker

Documents

January-February 2003 Big Bluesterm Flyer Big Bluestem Audubon Society