Warming Up Birdbath
Is A Hot Winter Idea

By Scott Shalaway
WATER SUSTAINS all life. Without it, plants could not convert sunlight into sugars, animals could not function and humans could not live.

Water makes up 70 to 90 percent of all living cells. So it should come as no surprise that birds drink water whenever it is available--even in the winter. Backyard birdwatchers satisfy this need by maintaining birdbaths throughout the warmer months. Providing water is like providing food--birds can survive without it, but if it's there, they use it. It's too convenient to ignore.

(Eastern Bluebird takes energetic bath by Tom Patrick)

Winter water attracts late migrants, bluebirds, robins and even nocturnal screech owls as well as the usual assortment of finches, cardinals, woodpeckers and chickadees. In many cases, winter water proves as popular as food.

And, despite the term, "birdbath," winter water is for drinking. Birds stay on the edge of the saucer and usually don't even get their feet wet.

This fall has been surprisingly cold. I've had single digit temperatures on the back porch several times this month, and winter hasn't arrived. So the key to providing winter water is to keep it from freezing.

To provide winter water in the backyard, a freeze-proof saucer is the first requirement. Concrete and ceramic baths crack when the water they hold freezes; so put these baths away for the winter. A plastic birdbath specially designed to withstand freezing temperatures works best. Plastic baths also have textured surfaces that provide much better footing than metal or ceramic surfaces.

No matter what type of container or bath you decide on, a submersible, thermostatically controlled water heater is essential in frigid conditions. Submersible birdbath heaters are variations on livestock water heaters that have been around for years. They can keep at least a small pool of water from freezing even in sub-zero temperatures. And built-in safety features insure that if the bath runs dry or the weather warms up, the heater shuts off.

All winter water devices require some routine maintenance. Daily cleanliness is a must. The heating element also requires regular cleaning. If it gets encrusted with mineral deposits, it won't operate efficiently. A vinegar solution removes these deposits.

Finally, place baths away from feeders. Seeds, hulls and droppings foul water quickly. Save yourself a lot of cleaning time by keeping baths away from feeders.

On the other hand, birdbath heaters aren't cheap; expect to pay at least $50 for a quality heater. Consequently, some birders wonder if heaters are really beneficial or just a gimmick to sell more birdbaths.

It's true birds survived freezing winters quite well for millennia before anyone ever thought of providing winter water. Birds adapted to sub-freezing winters and can extract water metabolically from the foods they eat, even from seemingly dry seeds.

Why, then, would anyone bother with winter birdbaths? Quite simply, because they are bird magnets. And, that's the whole idea behind backyard birding.

Winter birdbaths make life a whole lot easier for birds, especially in northern climates. When streams, ponds and puddles freeze, heated birdbaths assure a reliable (and often the only) water supply. While apparently not physiologically necessary, birds prefer to drink when possible. Perhaps drinking free water is energetically cheaper than extracting it metabolically from dry food.

Finally, if a heated birdbath sounds like too much bother and expense, there is an alternative. Just put out a dish of warm water every morning. Birds quickly learn to arrive before the water freezes.

Birds that find their food and water in one spot will naturally spend more time there. So regardless of the season, birdbaths make backyards more appealing to many birds. Providing winter water is just one more way to make your feeding station more attractive to a greater variety of birds. –Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Try Fielding These
Tough Ethical Questions

MANY PEOPLE choose a rural lifestyle because it includes almost daily contact with wildlife.

Unfortunately some of these interactions lead to difficult ethical dilemmas. Ask yourself how you would respond to the following scenarios posed by naturalist Scott Shalaway in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Assume your nearest neighbor lives at least a mile away, so no one will be watching. Your responses are between you and your conscience.

1. With your permission, a friend legally shoots an eight-point buck on your property. As a landowner, you are permitted to kill several does. But you know your friend does not have a doe tag. Do you ask him to kill a doe for you and then check it in as your own kill, knowing that both of you would be in technical violation of game laws? Yes (zero points) or No (10 points).
2. Your neighbor owns 500 acres of field and forest, which hosts healthy populations of deer and other wildlife. His property is liberally posted with "No Trespassing" and "No Hunting" signs. You see a stranger drag a nice buck out of your neighbor's woods and load it into his pickup truck. Do you ignore it (zero) or write down the truck's license number and give the information to the neighbor (10).
3. Now suppose you see the same neighbor shoot a deer out of season. Do you ignore it (zero) or report it to the local conservation officer (10)?
4. It's early May and every morning at 5:30 a woodpecker drumming on your wood siding rudely awakens you. You know that woodpeckers communicate by drumming rather than singing. You also know that woodpeckers, like all native birds, are protected by state and federal law. Do you shoot the woodpecker (zero), hire a wildlife damage control specialist to take care of the problem (5) or buy earplugs (10)?
5. You raise a flock of about 100 chickens mostly for fun, but you cover expenses by selling eggs to neighbors. You notice that chickens are beginning to disappear, and, thanks to irrefutable evidence, conclude that Raccoons are responsible. Do you shoot Raccoons on sight, regardless of season and bag limits (zero); contact a wildlife conservation officer to obtain a permit to kill Raccoons as needed (10); hire a wildlife damage control specialist to take care of the problem (10)?
6. You invite a group of skilled birders to spend a day enjoying your property. The leader of the group spots a bird you've never seen. Everyone else sees the bird, but you only see a dark shape moving through the vegetation. Would you add the species to your life list? Yes (zero) or No (10).
7. You wake one morning to find all your bird feeders destroyed. Tracks indicate a Black Bear has found your backyard. You know the state bear population is increasing and that there is a brief one- week bear season in late fall. You also know that the open season on bears is limited to the state's wilder regions. Because bears are rare in your county, they may not be legally killed. Do you bait the bear into your yard and kill it illegally (zero), call conservation officer and report the problem (10), stop feeding birds until bears begin hibernation (10)?
8. You discover a live 5-ft. Rat Snake in your unfinished basement, which is clearly not critter- proof. Knowing your spouse is terrified of snakes; do you kill the snake (zero) or catch it and relocate it several miles away (10)?

Total your points. If you scored 80 points, you're a conservation angel. If you scored zero points, you're a conservation scofflaw. If you scored somewhere in between, you're human.

All of us at WindStar Wildlife Institute wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Back From the
Brink Of Disaster

By Nick Gevock
BUTTE, MT--When Lewis and Clark paddled into Montana in 1805, they entered North America's Serengeti.

Wildlife teemed in the plains surrounding the Missouri River in staggering numbers. Lewis described a herd of at least 10,000 buffalo in one view, as well as throngs of elk and antelope. The explorers also encountered Grizzly Bears, Bighorn Sheep in the bluffs above the river and plentiful deer. (American Bison herd)

Within a century, however, market hunters and settlers had almost exterminated big game from the Treasure State.

"They couldn't come up with more than 3,000 antelope in the entire state by 1900," said Terry Lonner, a Butte native and retired chief of wildlife research for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. "Subsistence hunting and habitat desecration took these species down."

But, thanks to a broad effort that brought together sportsmen, landowners and government officials to restore habitat and transplant animals, Montana today has an abundance of wildlife.

Lonner, with the help from the FWP Foundation, has chronicled the demise and rebirth of wildlife in Montana over the past two centuries in a new film titled "Back from the Brink, Montana's Wildlife Legacy."

It's a story that few young people are aware of, said Harold Picton, a retired FWP biologist and former professor of wildlife science at Montana State University. Picton began researching the history of wildlife restoration in Montana eight years ago and is writing a companion book for the film that he hopes to complete within the next year. His goal is to educate young people about how far Montana has come in replenishing wildlife.

"Most students think that the wildlife populations in Montana today are lower than they ever have been," he said. "That's one of the things that really bothered me and motivated us to continue this program."

Wide Open
In the 19th century, market hunters killed hundreds of animals, sometimes taking only the hides. Bison were the hardest hit, with thousands slaughtered by passengers from trains who would shoot them for sport, or take only the tongues. Struggling settlers whose crops were failing also killed game animals, although they were doing so to survive.

"In the 1800s, there were no regulations," Lonner said. "It was wide open."

And, wildlife was taking a hit from severe habitat desecration caused by over-cutting timber, poisoning of insects and a severe drought, among other things. It wasn't until the late 1800s that a movement began to re-establish wildlife populations.

Sportsmen in local rod and gun clubs began a push to establish bag limits and seasons, and charging for licenses to pay for game wardens. And sportsmen throughout the state began paying for transplants of game animals and birds to suitable habitat.

Eventually, the federal government got on board, with new legislation taxing guns and sporting goods to provide funding for habitat restoration and protection. After decades of hard work, wildlife has been restored to the point where FWP today often is charged with how to manage overpopulated herds.

"It's just really difficult to fathom that things could get that bad and then bounce back to what we have now," said Tony Schoonen, former president of the Skyline Sportsmen's Association in Butte. "There had to be a lot of really super dedicated people to bring it back."

Documentaries
The film project began when Picton started videotaping stories from some of the key players in the restoration effort, many of whom were in their late 70s and older.

As men who spent their careers in wildlife, both Lonner and Picton were aware of how wildlife had been depleted and restored. But both said they learned a great deal by making the film, and that they hope younger generations will learn from it as well.

"You hear so many negative things about how wildlife is going extinct, we thought it would be nice to tell a success story," Picton said. "That's certainly what Montana has had." –Jackson Hole Star Tribune

So Picton set out with an 8-millimeter video camera and went to people's houses throughout the state to record their tales. He recorded nearly 50 interviews.

"Once people got to thinking about it, they wanted to tell their story," he said.

At the same time, FWP biologist Jim Williams in Kalispell began collecting historic photographs of wildlife transplants and other things. Williams saved some photographs from being thrown out.

"He literally pulled them out of the Dumpster," Picton said.

They collected hundreds of photographs from people involved in the restoration effort and had them stored away in boxes tucked in their attic or basement. When Picton realized the project's scope, he enlisted Lonner, who owns Media Works in Bozeman, to produce a film. They secured some funding from the FWP Foundation and the film project was off the ground. The historical research was daunting.

Lonner poured through whatever records he could find, and meticulously cross-referenced facts to ensure accuracy. He spent many days at the Montana Historical Society in Helena, gathering old film clips to match the script of the movie.

"Sometimes he'd have a good day and get maybe 30 seconds done," Terry's wife Martha Lonner said.

As men who spent their careers in wildlife, both Lonner and Picton were aware of how wildlife had been depleted and restored. But both said they learned a great deal by making the film, and that they hope younger generations will learn from it as well.

"You hear so many negative things about how wildlife is going extinct, we thought it would be nice to tell a success story," Picton said. "That's certainly what Montana has had." –Jackson Hole Star Tribune

Jack says:
I have often used the phrase, "Just when you think you have seen it all." Well, we have an albino Black Vulture hanging out in the area! Andy "The Bird Man" called me last week and told me where to see it--about five minutes away. To begin with, it’s not white--sort of a drab grey, the color of a snow bank in Buffalo. NY. It has a pink beak and pink feet...certainly an albino....certainly a bird that only a mother vulture could love. Next--who knows? Nothing would surprise me now.

To respond to this subject or others or simply view messages, go
to the Wildlife Habitat Forum on WindStar's web site. Register and tell
us your favorite wildlife stories, answer or ask a question and our
naturalists and visitors will try to provide you with helpful answers.
This is a great place to pass on those tips you have learned over
the years about attracting wildlife to your property or photographing
or just watching them.

Loves Pumpkin Seeds

This little critter found a seed mine, in fact, he found two. It only took this Gray Squirrel two days to empty two pumpkins of their seeds. Who knows, he might also be preparing a snug nest for winter! More action photos of the squirrel will be coming in the new American Wildlife blog soon.

====================== ==========

IF YOU HAVE an unusual or excellent photograph of wildlife that you would like considered, send a jpg to wildlife@windstar.org and put "Photo of the Week" in the subject line.

A Visit from Santa Owl

SHE WAS FIXING breakfast 2 days before Christmas one year when she heard a thumping noise coming from the family room, writes Bonnie R. of Westfield, IN. “I went to take a look and discovered the commotion was coming from our fireplace. I peered inside and saw that it wasn’t Santa making an early visit. Instead, it was an Eastern Screech Owl trapped behind the glass doors! “After giving the matter some thought, my husband gathered a 5-gallon pail, a blanket and a fishing net. We opened the doors enough to maneuver the net inside, and I held the blanket over the top of the doors so the owl couldn’t escape. My husband captured the owl after just a couple of tries and placed it in the pail. Then he carried the pail outside and let the little owl go. “After resting on our barn roof, the owl flew away, leaving us with a memorable story that we shared with friends and family during the holidays.”— Birds & Blooms

(Eastern Screech Owl)

========================= ==============

Turn Christmas Tree into a Treat

TWO READERS remind that recycling your Christmas tree can be a real treat for feathered friends. “We’ve been doing this for years, securing it to our bird feeder during the winter to provide protection from hawks and other predators, plus shelter from inclement weather,” says Barbara R. of Great Falls, VA. “We scatter seeds beneath the tree when it snows, giving the birds a reliable food source despite the weather. The tree usually stays green until April. Then we chip it up and use it for mulch.”

In Bryan, OH, Kathy P. puts her tree in a winter feeding station that brings lots of winged activity to her backyard. “My son Kent is an architect and a woodworker,” Kathy explains. “He built the feeding station like a small gazebo and put it close to my patio doors so I can watch all the action from a comfortable chair.

“I place our Christmas tree in the center of the gazebo and decorate it with strings of popcorn and cranberries. I also make pinecone ornaments filled with peanut butter and rolled in sunflower seeds. This way, the tree provides both treats and protective cover for my special backyard birds.” – Birds & Blooms

Bird Flu:
Vectors Or Victims?

AS 2005 COMES to a close and we start a new year, millions of wild birds have arrived at their wintering destinations across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Fortunately they have accomplished this without the widely predicted outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu that some experts feared might be associated with their migration. (Cartoon by John Fewings)

"The most obvious explanation is that migrating wild birds are not spreading the disease," said Michael Rands, Director and Chief Executive of BirdLife International.

While migratory wild birds have been blamed for spreading bird flu westward from Asia, there has been no spread back eastward, nor to South Asia and Africa this autumn. Although outbreaks might have been expected to occur along regular migratory flyways for Asian birds, such as in the Philippines, Taiwan and Australia, flu outbreaks have not been recorded.

The limited outbreaks in Eastern Europe are on southerly migration routes but are just as likely to be caused by other vectors, such as the import of poultry or poultry products. "The hypothesis that wild birds are to blame is simply far from proven," said Dr. Rands. "Wild birds occasionally come into contact with infected poultry and die: they are the victims, not vectors of H5N1 bird flu."

Better biosecurity is key to halting the spread of bird flu. In particular, BirdLife has been urging governments and other relevant agencies to concentrate their control and detection efforts on the poultry and cage-bird trades, banning the movement of poultry and poultry products from infected areas, and restricting the international movement of captive birds.

Domestic bird waste is widely used as food and fertilizer in fish farming and in agriculture, and infected poultry are known to excrete virus particles in their feces. The use of untreated chicken feces in fish farming was recently described by the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization as a "high risk production practice."

Russian fish farms have begun using chicken feces as fish farm fertilizer, and this practice is also employed in Eastern Europe on agricultural land. The Government of Vietnam has warned its population against the risk of dumping tons of chicken feces into rivers and lakes as fish food. One boy in Vietnam has already died of bird flu after swimming in a river where infected chicken carcasses were discarded, and in October Mute Swans similarly died at fish farms in Croatia and Romania.

At the same time, Vietnam has reportedly begun to cull wild birds in Ho Chi Minh City. Juan Lubroth, an FAO officer in charge of infectious animal diseases, said that culling wild birds is likely to be ineffective.

In contrast, implementing measures to regulate the movement of poultry and poultry feces are proven to work. "For example," said Dr. Rands, "Malaysia and South Korea both experienced bird flu outbreaks through importing infected poultry products, but stamped the disease out and have remained disease free through improved biosecurity. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of waterbirds have arrived to winter in South Korea, and many migrant waders have successfully passed through Malaysia."

Because the virus has the capacity to mutate, it is still essential to monitor wild bird populations to look for any evidence of new flu strains arising. – Birding Community e-Bulletin

NOW IS THE TIME TO
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(Baby Green Iguana by Javier Flores )

Hummingbirds That
Don't Go South

By Scott Shalaway
DECEMBER may seem an odd time to write about hummingbirds, but thanks to some adventurous western species, they're getting hard to ignore. Since October, Rufous Hummingbirds have been seen in Ohio, Pennsylvania and several other eastern states.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, the common species in the east, head south by mid October. Any hummingbird seen after that time is likely to be a stray from the west, and it should be reported. In recent years the Hummer/Bird Study Group has documented 13 species of hummingbirds wandering east in the fall and winter. Most have been Rufous Hummingbirds. (Ruby-throated Hummingbird by Adam Jones)

I first learned of winter hummingbird sightings in October 1997 when a female Rufous hummer, I called Ruthie, showed up at a feeder in Delmont near Greensburg, PA.

In December 1997, banders from the Hummer/Bird Study Group captured and banded the bird. Amazingly Ruthie returned to the same backyard in October 1998. She died in January 1999 and is now a specimen in the bird collection at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Since then, numerous Rufous hummers have shown up throughout the east each fall. Some stay for several months before heading south to warmer climates. What's most remarkable about this is that the normal range of Rufous Hummingbirds is the Pacific Northwest--from Oregon and Idaho north to Alaska. They are tough little birds and easily survive sub-freezing nighttime temperatures. Their normal migratory path takes them south through the western states to wintering grounds in southern California, the Gulf coast and Mexico.

Birds' migratory routes are at least partly encoded in their genes, and hummingbird bander Scott Wiedensaul believes the wandering hummers that appear in the east are the result of genetic mistakes.

"If a Rufous Hummingbird's innate fall migratory instructions send it west, it will die in the Pacific Ocean," Weidensaul said. "If it goes north, it will die in the Arctic. But, if its bearing takes it to Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Virginia, it has a good chance of surviving and working its way south to Florida or the Gulf Coast. And, those genetic instructions remain in the population to be passed on to the next generation."

That's a reasonable explanation for why oddball hummers keep showing up in the east. And, thanks to Robert Protz, a hummingbird enthusiast from the Pittsburgh area, I've learned that Pennsylvania's Rufous sightings date back to 1975. The first one was reported that year in Chester County outside Philadelphia and the bird ended up in the Philadelphia Zoo. To access Protz's information, visit his web site (pahummers.tripod.com).

If you'd like a chance, and I emphasize "chance," to see a winter hummingbird, expert Bob Sargent of the Hummer/Bird Study Group suggests keeping a nectar feeder filled all winter. You just might be one of the lucky few to see a wandering winter hummingbird.

The Hummer BSG Web site (www.hummingbirdsplus.org) offers instructions for heating a nectar feeder to keep the nectar from freezing.

And the possibilities aren't just limited to Rufous hummers. Just last week, an Anna's Hummingbird was reported near Cincinnati, a first record for Ohio. Normally Anna's Hummingbirds nest from southern Arizona north to British Columbia and their migratory habits are not well known. In fact, many do not migrate at all, so an appearance in Ohio is noteworthy.

To keep abreast of unusual bird sightings, consider joining your state birding organization. Google "birding list serve" for your state to work your way to many sources of valuable current information.

How To Participate
In Christmas Count

THE AUDUBON Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is the oldest and largest citizen science event in the world.

For over a hundred years, people have gathered together during the winter holiday season to count birds. For many people, this is an annual tradition that has passed from one generation to the next.

In the process, they have created a vast pool of bird data that is the most comprehensive available for mid-December to early January. It is a fertile source of information on the status and distribution of early winter bird populations and is studied by scientists and interested people the world over. And it all starts with you!

While there is a specific methodology to the CBC and you need to count birds within an existing Christmas Bird Count circle, everyone can participate! If you are a beginning birder, you will be able to join a group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher.

If your home is within the boundaries of a Christmas Bird Count circle, then you can stay home and report the birds that visit your feeder or join a group of birdwatchers in the field. If you have never been on a CBC before and you want to participate in a count this year, including feeder counting, please contact your count compiler prior to the count and prior to signing up for the count here.

Christmas Bird Count (CBC) season is December 14 through January 5 each year. Your local count will occur on one day between those inclusive dates. If you have more than one local count, they will probably be conducted on different dates within the CBC season. You can pick the most convenient date, or participate in more than one count. –National Audubon Society

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NEWS SOURCES

This week's news contributors are:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, http://www.fws.gov
Environmental News Service, http://www.ens.lycos.com
Associated Press, http://www.ap.com;
Daily Grist, http://www.gristmagazine.com
Leisa's Images, http://www.leisasbackyardhabitat.com
Birds & Blooms Newsletter, http://www.birdsandblooms.com
Birding Community E-bulletin, http://www.refugenet.org/birding/birding5.html
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, http://www.post-gazette.com
Jackson Hole Star Tribune, http://www.casperstartribune.net

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