Bird-a-Thon Challenge 2020

Because of COVID-19, MRVAC has moved the 2020 Bird-a-Thon Challenge back a month to June.  So don't panic:  You haven't missed it.  Polish up your birding skills for the 2020 MRVAC Bird-a-Thon Challenge.

We were only $25 short of raising $2,200 last year. Let’s see if we can reach $2,300 this year. This is open to all levels of birders and is a great opportunity to give back to MRVAC. Not quite ready to enter the Bird-a-Thon Challenge? Seek out a participant and offer to sponsor her/him.

What: Birding to raise money for MRVAC to fund grants
When: Any day between May 1, 2020 and May 15, 2020
Where: Anywhere in the world (This could be an opportunity for that dreamed about birding trip)
How: Sign up sponsors. Choose a day. Bird any time, or all the time between 12:01am and 11:59pm. Bird alone, in a group (socially distanced, of course), or both. Submit all donations to Walt Stull by July 1, 2020.

Some Helpful Tips:

  1. Don’t be afraid to ask! Most people are reluctant to ask for donations, but it is surprising howmany people are willing to help. This is especially true when they understand how the money will be used. Let potential sponsors know that they can pledge a flat rate, or to make it more of a challenge, encourage them to pledge on a per bird species basis.
  2. Plan your route! Pay attention to the weather and the latest reports on MOU, e-bird, and Facebook. The best results are achieved if you can visit a variety of habitats on a nice day.
  3. When you collect your pledges, share your birding day with your sponsors! Most will enjoy hearing about your day, especially any highlights. Making them part of your experience will help in asking for repeat sponsorships in future years.
  4. Be certain to use a 2020 Birdathon Sponsor Pledge Form which will help you track who your donors are and how much they have pledged. Forms can be obtained from our website here or by contacting Walt Stull at 612-889-3550 or mathemagicland@Q.com.

All donations that you collect should be submitted to Walt Stull by July 1, 2020. It is best to give the donations directly to Walt at the general meeting (4th Thursdays). If that is not possible, mail them to MRVAC at PO Box 20400, Bloomington, MN 55420.


Red-headed Woodpecker Recovery

By Jim Stengel, Red-Headed Woodpeckery Recovery 

The Red-headed Woodpecker Recovery project (RhWR) is now in its twelfth year of working to halt the decline and promote the recovery of Red-Headed Woodpeckers (RHWOs) in Minnesota through habitat preservation and restoration, research, and public education. Volunteers have done surveys of RHWOs from the project’s beginning. 

At the University of Minnesota’s Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve in East Bethel, trained citizen science volunteers locate breeding pairs of RHWOs and their nest trees, and many continue to monitor the birds through their breeding season. Since 2017, we have also sponsored collaborative research there. Our lead researcher, Dr. Elena West, is currently planning this year’s field work, procuring tracking devices for the birds and hiring field assistants, while we are also welcoming new members, engaging new volunteers, and raising money to fund this research. We hope that you can join us in this exciting endeavor! 

You Can Help 

You can help by reporting RHWO sightings on eBird. If you find one or more active nests outside of Cedar Creek, let us know. If you own or manage oak savanna or property with dead or decaying trees of any kind, save the snags wherever safety and health permit, and limit understory growth in support of RHWO habitat. 

If you’d like to join us as a trained citizen scientist to survey and monitor RHWOs at Cedar Creek, plan to attend an orientation there on Saturday, April 13. Or sign up for a guided tour of Cedar Creek’s RHWO nesting territory. For more on these and other opportunities, visit www.cedarcreek.umn.edu 

You can also help us and the birds by joining Red-headed Woodpecker Recovery project for just $20/year. 

Contributions of $150 and $210 will purchase radio-transmitters and geolocator devices that we attach to birds to study their habitat use and incubation in cavities. Contributors get to name and follow the bird wearing their device. Any amount you donate would help us match a current pledge of $2500. For updates and more information please see www.rhworesearch.org. 

Donate online or make checks payable to Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis (RHWR on the memo line) and mail to Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis, P.O. Box 3801, Minneapolis, MN 55403-0801. 


Book Review

Butterfly Gardening: North American Butterfly Association Guide, by Jane Hurwitz 

Published by Princeton University Press 

This very attractive book is a good introduction to gardening for butterflies. Interspersed with lots of great photos you will find an overview of the main butterfly families and some guidance on identification. If you have enjoyed some butterflies in your yard and are thinking about making it more attractive to a wider variety of butterflies, this book is a good place to start. 

Some butterfly books and articles focus only on nectar plants for your garden, but this book spends equal time on the plants that support the caterpillars. You will see that various species feed on grasses, forbs, shrubs and trees. 

I also learned that not all butterflies consume flower nectar; some eat tree sap, rotting fruit and animal dung. This isn’t going to help you select plants for your front yard, but you might consider setting up a hanging shelf for watermelon rinds or other fruit. 

Nearly half the book describes gardens and gardening tips for different parts of the country. The two chapters most relevant for our area are “Butterfly Gardening with Trees: Eastern Deciduous Forest” and “Prairie-Plant Inspired Butterfly Gardens: the Grasslands”. 

In the Resources – Plant and Garden Design section of Butterfly Gardening, I was pleased to see Heather Holm’s book Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants. 

You will also want to look for local plant information – e.g. the plant list at http://nababutterfly.com/regional-butterfly-garden-guides/ and click on the Minneapolis one, written by Kathy Heidel. Some of you will remember Kathy Heidel from her years as a naturalist with Three Rivers Park District and the MRVAC bird ID classes she co-taught with Karol Gressor. 

Or try the plant list from the Xerces Society: https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/plant-lists/ 

If you want detailed information on Minnesota native plants including photos of the plant in all stages of development with details on growth habit, bloom time, color and where it is found in the state, visit https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/ 


Book Review: Birds of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East

Birds of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle EastBirds of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East: A Photographic Guide 

  • By Frédéric Jiguet & Aurélien Audevard; translated by Tony Williams
  • Published by Princeton University Press
  • Paper list $29.95; ISBN 9780691172439
  • 448 pages; 5x7 ½ ; 2,200 color photos and maps
  • Publication date: March 22, 2017

This is a new field guide for the birds of Europe. It’s small enough to carry with you in the field (if you don’t mind toting a 1 ¾ lb. book). It has photographs, not drawings, and the authors have pointed out the field marks for each bird commonly found in the area, but the field marks are not emphasized as much as they might be in a drawn guide.

There are photos of the male, female, and juveniles where the plumage differs, and flight photos for many species where that might help identification. There are also some photos of vagrants that do not have the field marks identified. (European warblers tend to look pretty drab—to me—so you can get a warbler “color fix” by looking at American warblers in the vagrant section in the back, although most are shown in winter plumage.)

In the identification section of each species they give the average length or wingspan, and note any characteristic behaviors, as well as differences between races or subspecies where relevant. Where appropriate, they describe the male’s song and often the normal species contact call. Then a description of the normal habitat for the species is given where not obvious (e.g., at sea). Range maps showing the breeding, wintering and resident areas are included.

All the data is located on the same page; you don’t have to refer to a different section for any data. They have followed the “modern” taxonomic order as far as possible, but recognize that the order(s) has been subject to change in light of recent developments. Due to the changes, the scientific names may have changed from earlier guides, even if the common names are the same.

This claims to be the first comprehensive field guide to all the species recorded in Europe, including resident winter visitors, common migrants, and rarities. The guide covers 860 species, with 2,200 photographs. This is probably the best guide to have for the most recent scientific data on each species.


Birders and Birding

The older I get the more I like birders, the younger ones especially. Yes, we older birders are OK, even with our faults and some of us, who are really old, with our ignorance of the digital age. I would like to ask your indulgence while I do my best to relate a story of a recent bird trip made up of young birders and one old guy.

In early September I was leading a bird class for North House Folk School at the end of the Gunflint Trail. Josh Watson of Grand Marais was my very able and experienced “young” assistant. Josh did a great job in finding birds like a Golden-crowned Kinglet which I can no longer hear because of their high pitched song. A few weeks after the class my phone rang and it was Josh saying “let’s plan an October trip to Cass County to get your list for the county up to 225”, I replied “That would be just great”. The phone call ended with Josh saying, “I will get the guys (John and Chris Hockema, and Shawn Conrad) together and we will go to Cass County at the end of October and get you three species”. I didn’t have a single scoter species for Cass County so they would be the target birds for our trip. Our plans were to go to Cass County on October 26, 27 and 28.

October 26 came and it was snowing but that did not stop our heading north. I picked up Josh at his grand-mothers house in Ham Lake and we headed for our motel In Pine River, Cass County and the meeting with Shawn Conrad. The three of us headed for Walker and the sewage ponds to look for the reported Harlequin Duck, a really “choice” bird for Cass County. It didn’t take long for us to find the Harlequin Duck, # 223 for Cass County. A Harlequin Duck, a good dinner in Walker and a sound night’s sleep in Pine River really were a good start for the trip.

Early the next morning we were joined by John and Chris Hockema and to my surprise we were joined by Becca Engdahl and her friend, Alex Burchard, two young, up-and-coming and enthusiastic Minnesota birders. Our first stop was the Walker Sewage Ponds to look for the Harlequin Duck which Chris needed for his list. A long search proved futile, we could not find the bird, our first disappointment.

To make a long story short, we spent the rest of the morning touring Leech Lake, Cass Lake, and the Cass Lake Sewage Ponds in hopes of finding any species of Scoter, no luck. Shawn knew of some bogs in the area where we might find a Boreal Chickadee. Beautiful Pine Grosbeaks and Gray Jays were present but no Boreal Chickadees. The day wore on and my list stayed at 223. We were all concerned that our target species, scoters, had all but disappeared or were just not here as we had hoped. Shawn said “let’s try Lake Winnibigoshish, I know some good spots where there should be scoters”. On the way to “Winnie” we traveled through some beautiful wooded evergreen areas, all of us were thinking Black-backed Woodpecker. Mile after mile no luck, all of a sudden Shawn said “STOP”. I wondered why, I hadn’t seen or heard a thing. We stopped and we were all quiet when we heard the tap of a Black-backed Woodpecker stripping bark from a tree. We had difficulty pin-pointing the sound but finally we saw the bird on a downed log, # 224 for Cass County. It was a life-bird for Becca and she crept within 15 feet of the bird, and took wonderful photos and she said it was one of the most rewarding birding experiences she had ever had. Her experience with the woodpecker was a real treat for all of us.

Then Shawn said once again “Let’s go to Winnie, there have to be ducks on there”. We searched the bays and shoreline for over an hour without finding a single duck. Finally our luck changed and we found a bay full of water birds, grebes, both Red-necked and Horned plus a few Pied-billed Grebes and a few Long-tailed Ducks and Lesser Scaup. All of a sudden Josh hollered “there is a scoter”, all scopes went to that spot and there was a White-winged Scoter, #225 for Cass County. This turned out to be the only scoter we saw on the trip but it was a “big” one.

The light was fading but we still had time to check further on “Winnie” but to no avail. There just were not any more waterfowl to be found. We had a great meal together in Walker that evening, a few bottles of beer, lots of bird talk and then a great night’s sleep in spite of Chris’s snoring which shook the whole motel at times.

The next morning we tried the Walker Sewage Ponds again but the Harlequin had disappeared. Birding strategy was discussed and it was decided that we would go over to Lake Superior and look for the reported Red Phalarope in Lake County and the Pacific Loon in Cook County. We failed on the Red Phalarope and then we decided to split up, the young birders would go north for the Pacific Loon and I would head south for home. They got the Pacific Loon and I stopped in Two Harbors where I spotted a small group of birders looking through scopes. They were looking at a Mountain Bluebird which was a new Lake County bird for me. I drove back home a very happy birder, 225 for Cass County and a new county bird for Lake County!

Driving home from Two Harbors I was thinking about how fortunate I was to have young birding friends who were great companions and most helpful with their enthusiasm about finding and enjoying birding, it was a good ride home!


Citizen Science Opportunity: Phenology & Changing Seasonal Patterns

The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge has recently mapped out a series of observation points to collect data on the effects of seasonal change for several plant and animal species. These observation points are connected in a series of three "phenology trails" along the refuge. These observations provide important information to scientists in the National Phenology Network, along with our own biologists, as they seek to better understand how species are effected by changing seasonal patterns.

Their research depends on people like you, the citizen scientists, to help collect invaluable field data all across the nation. The data collection is done through a citizen science initiative known as "Nature's Notebook", which utilizes a user-friendly website and mobile application to aid in simple and accurate data collection.

  • If you are interested in joining this campaign, please consider attending an upcoming (as yet unscheduled) workshop, where you will learn about the importance of phenology and how to use Nature's Notebook to collect data, along with finding opportunities to get involved.

For more information please contact Cortney Solum at cortney_solum@fws.gov


Support a Great Native Plant Resource

The website https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/ is a great resource for learning about Minnesota native plants; you can find flowers by bloom date or color, for example, and lots of great photos.

From the website:

Our mission is to educate Minnesotans on our native plants, raise awareness on threats like invasive species, and inspire people to explore our great state, appreciate its natural heritage, and become involved in preserving it.

Over 1,300 plant species and more than 11,000 high quality photos are cataloged here, with more added each week, working towards recording all 2100+ plant species in Minnesota.

Help support this wonderful resource by contributing now to their fundraising campaign – at press time they were half way to their $10,000 goal.


Trumpeter

MRVAC Newsletter Distribution

TrumpeterMRVAC's newsletter, The Trumpeter, is a valuable tool for communicating what is going on in the environmental community, great book reviews, updates on birding events and more.

However, the challenge is that printing the Trumpeter costs MRVAC close to $4,000 per year. That is a substantial part of our budget that could be invested in supporting youth programs, birding events, and more. Therefore, we are asking those who have access to the internet to go to our new website - mrvac.org/newsletter - and download or read the Trumpeter on-line.

If you want an email reminder when the new Trumpeter has been posted on the web site, you can sign up on the Newsletter page.

If you are unable to get the Trumpeter on-line, you can opt-in and have a hard copy of the Trumpeter delivered to you. Please complete the card that came with the May/June Trumpeter and send it to us or bring it to the next refuge meeting. If we don’t hear from you, we will assume you will be enjoying the Trumpeter on-line.


Bald Eagle

Support Lead-Free Public Lands and Waters

Ashley J. Peters, Audubon Minnesota 

Bald EagleAudubon has a long history of working to remove toxins from our environment and toxic lead shot is no different. Every year, eagles, swans, ducks, and other birds get sick and die when they ingest lead shot that remains in wetlands, waterways, and injured or leftover game after a hunt. Just one or two lead pellets is enough to kill a Bald Eagle.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has proposed a rule change that would ban the use of toxic lead shot within certain wildlife management areas (WMAs) and when hunting rails and snipe statewide. Audubon Minnesota supports this proposed rule change because it allows for a reasonable, phased-in approach toward minimizing unintended bird deaths and reducing lead shot deposited on our public lands.

As the DNR works to finalize the rule change next year, we'll need you to advocate for the use of nontoxic ammunition on WMAs. Learn more about this issue by visiting mn.audubon.org and watch for updates in the next newsletter.


Frontenac – Minnesota’s Best Birding

By Bob Janssen, MRVAC President Elect 

It was May 11, 1947, a Saturday morning, and I was on my way to look at birds at Frontenac, the warbler capital of Minnesota. I was 14 years old and I couldn’t drive so my dad said he would take me and a friend on my first birding trip outside the Twin Cities area. We arrived at the old cemetery and it was loaded with birds, Blackburnian Warblers sitting on picnic tables near us. There were Mourning Warblers in the dense undergrowth that surrounded the cemetery. Black-throated Green Warblers were singing their “see-see suzy” song from the tall trees nearby. American Redstarts were everywhere. We spent the whole day watching migrating birds, sparrows, vireos, warblers, thrush’s, flycatchers and wrens pour through the woods at Frontenac. What an experience for a young teenager. I am forever grateful to my father for taking me on this magnificent trip.

A couple of weeks ago I saw the report of a Carolina Wren being seen at the old cemetery in Frontenac. I thought it was time to renew my acquaintance with this area and go and see if I could find the Carolina Wren which would be a new bird for my Goodhue County list. Sunday morning, November 27, 2016, I said to my wife lets go birding and see what the old cemetery at Frontenac looks like after the passage of 60 plus years; I didn’t mention that I wanted see a Carolina Wren. Suzanne is not a birder but she has put up with my birding activities for well over 60 years.

It was a cloudy, dreary day when we got to the cemetery, not a bird in sight, but the area looked just the same as it was many years ago. I decided to play the Carolina Wren song on my tape. No response, after several tries with the taped song. A White-breasted Nuthatch did respond. The best response was from a six foot six human who asked if I had heard the Carolina Wren. I said “No, but I did play the song from my tape”. His name was Ben and he looked disappointed. He said the bird had been seen and heard earlier down the road but he and his group had not seen it. I drove to this area and found five more birders, all of whom I knew. They had heard me play the tape. I suggested we play the mobbing tape and within two minutes the Carolina Wren put on a “show” right in front of us. There were over 25 Black-capped Chickadee’s, numerous Downy Woodpeckers and White-breasted Nuthatches with the wren that had been attracted by the tape. We had beautiful views of the Carolina Wren and it was a life bird for Ben! The Frontenac cemetery once again lived up to its reputation as one of Minnesota’s best birding destinations.