Peer Review Analysis Underway on Whooping Crane

The peer review process underway appears to be another example of the FWS inhibiting public involvement. Your agency is supposedly responsible for conservation of the Whooping Crane but the staff seem to be doing its best to limit involvement of the public and to making questionable decisions that might make the survival of the crane questionable for now and for future generations.

The peer review appears to be a statistical analysis. Many people know numbers can be erroneous if the right numbers are not used. The language of the review in some sense indicates confusion on the purpose of the process as there are obvious discrepancies.

The public has no clue what particular details are being reviewed. We also apparently will not have any opportunity to analyze the report before it is finalized.

I also find in extremely troubling that there is no one involved on the peer review that has any familiarity with the Sandhills region and its unique habitat essential to the cranes. This perspective is essential to truly understand the crane and its occurrence. How does familiarity with Sandhill Crane on the gulf coast translate to knowing about our special endangered species in the sandhills.

Also, how can an agency that has ignored essential telemetry data be trusted to prepare a accurate and honest appraisal. The participants may have integrity but they represent a government agency that might be swayed to benefit a "sister" agency.

My self and others want this review to be done in a manner for the benefit of the Whooping Crane, but at this time there are no facts to make certain this is the case.

Whooping Cranes Along Birdwood Creek

Information has been received that Whooping Cranes occur along Birdwood creek in the immediate vicinity of the R-Project. Three of these birds were observed April 19, 2004 along the creek, about 0.5 mile south of the preferred r-project line crossing, according to Fish and Wildlife Service records.

Whooping Cranes are an endangered species, and the Nebraska Public Power District is required by state and federal laws to conduct an environmental assessment to evaluate how the r-project may affect this bird as well as other listed species.

Commentary of Hawaii Birds Killed by Wind Turbines

Courtesy of Jim Weigand. A PDF listing the turbine fatalities was included in the email received, but is not included here.

Last week a story broke from Hawaii that has exposed this wind industry secret. The wind turbines in Hawaii have been killing endangered species since 2006-2007. In fact a list was published showing 50 endangered species having been killed by wind turbines. For seven years this has been kept from the public and as I have found out from years of researching this industry's bogus documents, there are many other dark secrets pertaining to this industry.

Making matters worse I have read over some of the studies used at these turbine sites. The studies from Hawaii have been rigged to hide mortality. My estimates are that 300-500 endangered species have been killed by the 200 MW of wind power in Hawaii. Most of these deaths have been recent because of this wind energy was not in production in 2006 and 40 of the 50 reported endangered species carcasses were reported after 2011.

The availability of carcasses to be found in any mortality study depends on the scientific methodology, search intervals, search plot size, crippling bias, searcher efficiency, and scavenging rates. All wind industry mortality studies are severely flawed and far from being scientific. When taking into account the severely flawed study methodology used for Hawaii's wind turbine studies, it is very obvious that the real death toll of endangered species killed by Hawaii's turbines is in the hundreds.

The Kaheawa Pastures wind energy facility (First Wind) on the island of Maui wind turbines were built in the nesting habitat of the world's rarest goose, the Nene. This wind energy facility has reported 18 Nene killed by the Kaheawa Pastures turbines with ridiculously small search areas for 300 ft tall turbines. Of these 18 reported Nene fatalities, 11 were recorded during their Aug-April nesting season. This species lays 3-5 eggs and during their nesting cycle, the death of an adult will likely lead to a complete nest failure or the death of their offspring. So not only are the fatality numbers of Nene being under reported, their offspring are being
killed by these turbines.

On top of this entire charade, the fatality data in the mortality studies is being processed with bogus calculations and a Huso program that further reduce the estimated mortality taking place by this wind project.

What has taken place in Hawaii this is an eye opening example of the character of this industry and the extinction of species coming to the world from wind turbines. Hawaii has plans to install thousands of MW of wind power. If this takes place most of the endangered species being killed by their wind turbines will not survive.

Extinction of species is neither renewable nor green.

---

These are some additional details provided by Mr. Weigand.

On the list I sent there are 50 total that have been reported. These 50 represent 4 species and 40 of the 50 have been killed since 2011. Below are some of my notes from the Kaheawa Pastures wind energy facility. These are as rigged as they get and it is very obvious to me wind crews are pre-scanning ahead of formal searches. They even petitioned to get search areas reduced to 48 meters for their 325 ft tall turbines. They have been using 73 meter search areas..

At KWP they are only using a 73 meter radius search area. This is equal to 16733 sq meters. Proper search areas for these turbines should be at least 150 meters out from turbine bases. This is an area of 70650 square meters or an area 4.22 times larger. A more accurate search area of 175 meters would be an area of 96162 sq meters or an area 5.7 times larger. This factor alone is proof that far more endangered species are being killed by these turbines.

But with any honest study all carcasses or cripples seen no matter how far they are from turbines should be reported and included in the data. It should also be a felony for not reporting or concealing the carcass of an endangered species. Presently because of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service voluntary regulations there are no penalties for this behavior at wind farms

Wind turbines and geese found far beyond 73 meters...

These are some pertinent links available at WindAction.org

¶ Geese slaughter: two eyewitness accounts

¶ Dead geese seen on roads near turbines

¶ Wind turbines a risk for waterfowl, expert tells audience

¶ Species-rich Hawaii poses unique challenges for wind power industry

Comments on Draft Wind-Energy Guidelines

Comments in response to the details given in the draft Land-based Wind Energy Guidelines

Submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via email on August 3, 2011

There should be no incidental take permits allowed for federal and state listed threatened or endangered species.

Wind farms should be sited away from habitats known to regularly used by threatened or endangered species, especially and certainly including the Whooping Crane and within its known migratory corridor.

Wind farms should not be allowed to be placed in association with wetland habitats/areas. All effort should be made to ensure they are sited on "disturbed land" and do not get placed within areas of native habitats such as prairies or woodland tracts.

If incidental take for birds that are not threatened or endangered is allowed, there should be mitigation required that will conserve/manage habitat nearby for the benefit of migratory birds. This requirement should not be fulfilled by obtaining a conservation easement. Mitigation efforts should occur within ten miles of the project site. A specific limit to incidental take should be established, and if the project should exceed the designated limit, it should remove the troublesome turbine(s) or take other measures to reduce the take - killing of birds or bats.

Turbine farms should not be allowed within a particular distance of known breeding areas for sensitive birds or species in peril.

No turbine farms should be allowed within any national wildlife refuge or other wildlife lands owned by the FWS.

Every effort possible should be made to avoid the ruination of important scenic vistas, along scenic rivers or other sensitive and unique lands.

Presite evaluation should be required for turbine farms at areas known to harbor numerous migratory birds with a valid scientific evaluation done to ensure there will be no or minimal impact to migratory birds.

Developers should be required to bear the cost of a suitable analysis, as a proper environmental review is a cost of doing business. The burden should not be placed on the regulatory agency. The cost of energy obviously includes its impact on the environment and natural resources.

There should also be an opportunity for the public to know of FWS involvement in the process, preferably through an online site which presents pertinent details such as project name, FWS contact, project size, stage in review process, potential impacts and findings. This information could be easily presented in a data-format where it is kept timely and available, which is an advantage of using an internet format.

The FWS should promote wind energy at sites close to where the energy developed would be put to use and do not require extensive construction of transportation wires. This would mean near urban centers and not out in the rural countryside where the power would have to be transported long distances. Developers should be required to adhere to particular aspects of the guidelines before they will receive authorization for a project. If a developer chooses to build a project without authorization and there is "incidental take," they should be fined (i.e., Migratory Bird Treaty Act) and the turbines shut down until they suitably adhere to required measures.

Wind energy can provide power for America, but it needs to be developed in a safe and responsible manner which does not harm migratory species, especially those in peril. The proposed guidelines should be implemented as soon as possible.

Editorial Cartoonist Erroneous

The editorial cartoonist for the local daily newspaper was off the mark on the strip for June 15, 2011.

This strip is wrong in many ways by what it conveys, including:

1. Indicating that extensive flooding was the result of water management for endangered and threatened species
2. Conveying a perspective that people were suffering due to birds and fish
3. Is a lame commentary attacking fish and birds which have few advocates for their interests
4. Shows a disregard of the need for conservation of important natural resources within the Missouri valley
5. Does not convey that the bird species have also lost their seasonal homes

For these reasons, the artist was nominated as a "butthead of the week" on the Tom Becka show, on Friday evening, June 17. The talk-show host also tried to make the discussion one of birds versus people.

This erroneous perspective shows a lack of awareness and is an easy stance to take rather rather than to understand the issues. There are compromises involved and finding common ground is preferable to antagonizing the situation.

This cartoon is included through the fair-use provision of the copyright law.

Seven Brazilian Bird Species Proposed for Listing as Endangered Species

A proposal to protect seven Brazilian bird species was published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Federal Register on August 12.

The birds proposed for listing are the Black-hooded Antwren, Brazilian Merganser, Cherry-throated Tanager, Fringe-backed Fire-eye, Kaempfer’s Tody-tyrant, Margaretta’s Hermit, and southeastern Rufous-vented Ground-cuckoo. They are all native to the Atlantic Forest and and neighboring regions of southeastern Brazil and

The FWS has determined that these species “should be identified under a single proposed rule for three reasons:

1) "all seven species are found in the Atlantic Forest and southeastern region of Brazil.

2) "the species are subject to similar threats including small population sizes, habitat loss due to deforestation, and ongoing landuse practices.

3) "combining species that face similar threats allows the Service to maximize limited resources and increase our ability to complete the listing process for warranted-but-precluded species."

Additional information on the status of these seven species is being sought from "all available sources, including peer reviewers, scientific researchers, non-government organizations, government agencies, range countries and individuals."

Comments will be accepted for up to 60 days after the publication of the notice in the Federal Register, and may be submitted at the Federal eRulemaking Portal. (Follow the instructions on the Web page for submitting comments).

Revised Recovery Plan Issued for Endangered Hawaiian Crow

A revised recovery plan for the critically endangered Hawaiian Crow, or Alalā (Corvus hawaiiensis), was released in mid-April by the U.S. Fish and Wildife Service. The species is recognized as being one of the "world’s rarest forest birds."

An Alalā. Photograph by D. Ledig, U.S. F.W.S.

"With the release of this recovery plan, we reach out to Big Island communities asking for their support in helping restore the alalā to its native forests," said Patrick Leonard, field supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office. "Wildlife does not recognize property lines or jurisdictional areas. Working together, we hope to bring this charismatic bird back to its rightful place in Hawai‘i."

"Current threats," to the Alalā, according to the updated, 104-page recovery plan released in January, 2009, "include potential predation by non-native mammals and the `Io or Hawaiian Hawk (Buteo solitarius), introduced diseases, and habitat loss and fragmentation. Inbreeding depression may be reducing the reproductive success of the captive population, and loss of wild behaviors in captivity might reduce survivorship of captive-raised birds released into the wild. Because the population is small and confined to captivity, the `Alalā is highly susceptible to stochastic environmental, demographic, and genetic events."

The plan calls for spending $14,380,000 to implement each of the recovery actions, with an ultimate goal of establishing multiple, self-sustaining populations on the island of Hawai’i - its historic range - that would allow the species to be removed from the list of endangered and threatened species.

"Alalā recovery actions," according to a F.W.S. press release, "call for expanding captive propagation to minimize loss of genetic diversity, protecting suitable habitat and managing threats to the species, establishing new populations in managed habitat, establishing a program to increase public support, and continuing research and adaptive management practices for species recovery.

The Maui and Keauhou Bird Conservation Centers managed by the Zoological Society of San Diego – are currently maintaining 60 ‘alalā at their captive propagation facilities. These birds are the sole surviving Alala, and provide the nucleus for increasing the species' population.

Several pairs are currently nesting, according to Jeff Burgett, of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and Alala Recovery Team Leader.

"The population needs to grow to at least 75 birds in order to avoid further loss of genetic diversity and to begin reintroduction into the wild."

In 2002, the last Hawaiian crow existing in the wild was observed, with the last known breeding in the wild in 1996.

The ‘Alalā Recovery Team directing the recovery of the species, is comprised of two private landowners, two avian captive propagation specialists, and representatives from the Hawai‘i Audubon Society, the Hawai‘i Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the U.S. Geological Survey’s biological resources discipline, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cornell University and Stanford University.

News on efforts to conserve the Alalā is available on the Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Efforts Underway to Understand Rare Owl in Far-east Russia

Adult Blakiston's Fish Owl. Picture taken in 2007. All images courtesy of Jonathan Slaght.

Rare and elusive in a wintery lair, some few Blakiston’s Fish Owl (Bubo blakistoni) exist in the remote Sikhote-Alin Mountains of far-east Russia. Here on the frontier, a team is working to document the distribution and discover how to conserve this endangered species with an estimated population of about 5,000 birds.

"Sergei Surmach, an energetic ornithologist with Vladivostok’s Institute of Biology and Soil Science, has chased these brown ghosts around Primorye’s rivers for more than ten years," Jonathan C. Slaght wrote in his article about the owl and his research, for Wildlife Conservation Magazine, March-April issue. "In 2005, Sergei and I began collaborating on a telemetry project to collect ecological information that will be the basis for the conservation plan."

Seven pairs have been monitored thus far during the 2009 survey underway in recent weeks for the Amgu portion of the owl survey, in the Amgu river drainage, including the Leonovka, Granatnaya, and Saiyon Rivers.

The party consisted of Slaght, Andrei Katkov, Shurik Popov and Kolya Gorlach. They started west of Amgu, a town on the frontier, arriving on March 9th.

Andrei Katkov, Jonathan Slaght and Shurik Popov in the kitchen of the GAZ-66, during recent field work. Picture taken by S. Avdeyuk.

"The excitement at finding the Leonovka nest," Slaght wrote in the first update sent after returning from the field in early April, "was muted by the realization that our tagged female was sitting firm, and we will not be able to attempt recapturing her until May or June, when her young chick has fledged and a capture attempt is safe. So, we refocused our efforts on her mate. He found our prey enclosure quite quickly, and we set our trap the next day. After scaring a mink away from our enclosure with a stick, the fish owl came in and was easily captured. Like most male fish owls he was calm and docile to handle, and after release he sat in a nearby spruce and hooted at us for an hour or so before flying off."

"Their chosen hunting spot was a wide section of the Amgu River, about 30 meters across, very shallow, and right on the edge of the village itself. There, with a background chorus of baying village dogs, logging trucks and ocean static, the Granatnaya family" hunt in the evening.

The team lived in their GAZ-66 vehicle, which was reliable but tinkered with.

"Kolya was constantly adjusting and tightening some hose ... I am not mechanically-oriented so do not know the exact problem," Slaght said. 

GAZ-66 at Sanyon Camp.

"Although we had been in the Amgu area for almost two weeks, we had not gone into the town itself until the afternoon of 18 March, when we drove to Vova Volkov’s banya (sauna and bath house) for a well deserved wash."

Other locales visited earlier in the season, were the Mineralnaya and Sadoga Rivers at their confluences with the Avvakumovka River, near the town of Olga, and the Serebryanka and Faata fish owl territories at Ternei, Slaght describes in two February updates. Details convey the trials of field research in remote country, and the people and places visited, and it all relates to the known Blakiston’s Fish Owls being visited.

Notable for the season: "We were constantly being harassed by county and provincial game inspectors looking for poachers, and many assumed that we were indeed poachers," Slaght said in an email.  Nothing like staying all night trying to catch an owl, then have a bunch of inspectors wake you up at 7 a.m. demanding to know where we are hiding our poached meat."

Quick Statistics (2009) Of Seven Monitored Pairs, Number Nesting: 2 Of Seven Monitored Pairs, No. With Year-Old Juveniles: 3

The next stop was the Saiyon territory, some 20 km north of Amgu.

"We quickly found where the birds hunted and set our trapless prey enclosures. We were delighted thathere, as at Granatnaya, the pair seemed to hunt in different places, and that their year-old juvenile was with them. On 21 March we set prey enclosures at two sites, and quickly captured the male. He had a wealth of information on his back: 175 locations over six months! We caught the juvenile two days later, weighed him, and gave him leg bands."

This bird is pictured in Slaght's article in Wildlife Conservation Magazine.

Information gathered from the GPS dataloggers, "is unprecedented for the species," Slaght explained. "As of now we have good data on winter, spring and summer habitat use, but because of the limitations of rechargeable dataloggers (only last six months), coupled with the difficulty of recapturing fish owls outside of winter, we do not yet have any autumn habitat use data. At present, we have one six-month datalogger and seven year-long dataloggers on fish owls; all will be retrieved next winter."

Each unit costs about $1700 he said, and since they do not transmit, the owls need to be recaptured to retrieve the unit and its information. Two types, from a company in New Zealand are being used.

At Leonovka, though the nest was found abandoned, the female bird was captured and found to be "quite thin," Slaght said. The team retrieved the datalogger which contained information on her movement during three months and at 52 locations.

The field season ended with a "banya and banquet" on April 6.

"This was a highly successful field season; we captured ten individual owls, which is twice as many as we captured in 2008," Slaght said in his final update for the season. "We placed GPS dataloggers on eight of these birds (the remaining two were juveniles), and next winter will return to retrieve these data."

Slaght was at Ternei, finishing up final details in the country, and then at Vladivostok, before returning to Minnesota about mid-April. He will be back again in August-September to conduct habitat and prey density surveys, and again winter 2010 to check on the same birds and retrieve dataloggers with telemetry information.

"The current focus of the research is the conservation and management implications of resource selection by this species in Primorye," according to the mission statement of the Blakiston’s Fish Owl Project.

Slaght is working for a PhD. degree in wildlife conservation from the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota. His advisor is Dr. Ralph (Rocky) Gutierrez.

Slaght indicated that funding for the 2009 field season has been provided by the University of Minnesota, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, National Birds of Prey Trust, Columbus Zoo, Minnesota Zoo, Denver Zoo, Bell Museum, and a Wildlife Conservation Society Fellowship.

Links to these organizations, previous project updates, an article archive and other information about fish owls are at the project website which is maintained by Slaght.

Ongoing Efforts to Conserve Severely Endangered Birds of Hispaniola

Adult male, Ridgway's Hawk. Photographs by Lance Woolaver, unless otherwise designated.

For Lance Woolaver, efforts to get an advanced degree in ornithology focused on helping to understand the life and times of one of the most endangered hawks on the planet, and an equally as rare cuckoo.

Ecology and conservation of the Ridgway’s Hawk (Buteo ridgwayi) of which an estimated 300 exist, is one topic, and the Bay-breasted Cuckoo (Coccyzus rufigularis), another as he continues working for species’ protection on Hispaniola and in the Dominican Republic.

"The Peregrine Fund was the first conservation organization to focus on the Ridgway’s Hawk in 2002, when they carried out preliminary surveys to get an idea of the remaining population size, distribution and threats and they have played the leading role in conserving this species since then."

"When I arrived in 2004, none of the local people had any idea that this was a special bird that was only found near their village and nowhere else on the planet."

Each season since then, Woolaver, first as a student at York University, journeyed to the Caribbean to study the hawks.

Teatro for the Ridgway's Hawk, 2007.

In 2007 The Peregrine Fund (TPF) and Sociedad Ornitologica de la Hispaniola (SOH) organized an amazing play or "teatro" that made a huge impact on the awareness throughout local villages.

"These plays were written and acted by a professional theater group," said Russell Thorstrom, with The Peregrine Fund. "The play was based on the life of a Ridgway’s Hawk near a local community. The play highlighted as a nesting pair of Ridgway’s Hawk, the local community, conservation and biodiversity and protected the species for future generations. The play was presented at seven communities around Los Haitises National Park and one showing in Santo Domingo, the capital of Dominican Republic."

Three significant achievements during the 2008 season from January to August were:

1) "monitoring and protection of hawk nests, and the banding of nestlings. Thirty-nine nest attempts were monitored, 18 of which were successful producing 23 fledglings. Seventeen nestlings were banded, bringing the total number of hawks banded since 2005 to 108 (36 adults and 72 nestlings)," Woolaver said in his report.

2) compiling a Conservation Management Plan for the Bay-breasted Cuckoo, funded by the American Bird Conservancy.

3) SOH produced an educational pamphlet about endemic psittacines which are in need of conservation - the Hispaniolan Parakeet (Aratinga chloroptera) and Hispaniolan Amazon (Amazona ventralis) for use in community awareness programs. WPC provided advice in preparing this publication.

Lance Woolaver holding a nestling. Photograph by Eladio Fernandez.

Measuring a juvenile Ridgway's Hawk. Photograph by Rina Nichols.

TPF translocated four young during the 2008 season to an area outside the Park. They are planning on establishing other populations in other areas of the hawk's historic range through translocations and hacking of young birds collected from the Los Limones area this season.

Wildlife Preservation Canada will be working closely with SOH and TPF to provide assistance in the translocation of young to areas outside of Los Haitises.

Woolaver’s efforts this coming season, working for Wildlife Preservation Canada (WPC), are "slightly scaled down due to lack of funding and the end of the intensive research for my PhD. But the same three local men are continuing to monitor and protect nests, band fledglings and adults, and collect date on breeding and feeding ecology. We now have many young birds that we banded that are beginning to breed so we are learning a lot about survival and dispersal."

The local team is managed by Jorge Brocca, director of Sociedad Ornitológica de la Hispaniola, and the fieldwork carried out by Timoteo Hernandez, Pastor Leon and Hilario Pollanco from the village of Los Limones.

This team continues to talk with landowners (building mutual respect and trust, etc.) and visiting local schools and taking older grades on field trips.

Their initiative gets a positive reaction by "local villagers who now protect the hawks and nests on their conucos, which are the small farms in the valley basins, primarily with root crops mixed in with some beans and some fruit trees," Woolaver said. "Since the first start of a project to protect this unique hawk, the situation has changed and "the people are genuinely proud of ‘their’ hawk."

"The rainforest is so productive that just these hilltop patches could provide plenty of food (tree snakes and anolis lizards, skinks in the undergrowth) for the hawks and their young.

"A good example of local residents protecting the hawks comes from 2006. We had a nest and nestling fall to the ground due to stormy weather. The nest was about 9 km from the village so not easy to get to. The local landowner that was working his conuco moved the nestling and what was left of the nest onto a rock outcrop, added material to the nest, and built a crude shelter to protect the nestling from the shade. He then protected the nestling for nearly a week until he was able to get word to the local hawk guys and myself in Los Limones. The adults continued to diligently feed the nestling on the ground. We promptly went out as soon as we could, rebuilt the nest in the palm tree and climbed up and put the chick back. That chick fledged and is alive today.

"There have been situations like this every year. Just this year a landowner told the team of a nest that was falling down and the local team climbed up and fixed the nest and the nestlings are now safe."

Habitat changes are having a drastic impact on the local flora and fauna.

Fire at Los Haitises National Park.

"The Dominican Republic covers the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola," Woolaver said in his 2008 report. "Less than 10% of the Dominican Republic remains forested and the remaining areas of native pine, rain and cloud forests are highly fragmented and in immediate danger of further loss due to unregulated logging, slash-and-burn agriculture, and cutting for charcoal production. In addition, hunting and persecution of birds for food and as crop-pests has also had a significant impact. Currently, 21 of the 32 endemic bird species are considered threatened and very little data exists regarding the ecology and status of the majority of these species.

"There is still a massive problem from slash-and-burn agriculture and this is out of necessity as the people have no other choice at the moment if they are to feed their own children, but they are no longer cutting down hawk nest trees. It is a bit surreal though to see an entire valley wiped out yet all the Royal Palm trees which the hawks use for nesting still standing. If the next step could be made whereby locals practice sustainable agriculture in the valleys and leave the tops of the hills forested then everyone would benefit and the hawks and people could easily live side-by-side, and I honestly think the local people would want this as well."

During his field studies, "my most satisfying moments have come from quietly sitting and watching hawks on their nests, either females fussing over their nests (moving the same twig back and forth on the edge of a nest until she feels it is just right) or gently turning eggs, or patiently holding food for a one day old chick while it learns to feed," Woolaver said. "These quiet moments one-on-one with the hawks bring peace and a feeling that everything will be alright and that all the long days and effort are worthwhile.

Ridgway's Hawk nestlings.

Pastor Leon with Ridgway's Hawk nestling. Both photographs by Timoteo Hernandez.

"In 2007 I watched a young female with her first nesting attempt care for and fledge two healthy and strong fledglings. I had first seen her as an egg and then banded her as a nestling at one of the first nests we found in 2005.

"I am also grateful for the friendships I have made in the village and seeing the three local men take charge and being more than able to carry on the work of protecting and monitoring the hawks. They are exceptional people and very well respected members of the community. I think this is the very best that a conservation biologist can hope for when going to another country and working with an endangered species.

"Wildlife Preservation Canada has a long and successful history of providing expertise and funding work with critically endangered species in other countries (Mauritius Kestrels for example)" Woolaver added, "and also realise that a long-term commitment is almost always needed to bring a species back from the brink once it has reached a critically low level. WPC also has a history of working on several levels, locally with species in Ontario (eastern Loggerhead Shrike), nationally (Burrowing Owls) but also internationally (Mauritius Kestrel, Pink Pigeon, Echo Parakeet, Madagascar Teal) are just some examples.

The project to learn more about the Ridgway’s Hawk was part of the WPC program called the Canadian Collection.

"They fund Canadian students to carry out research on endangered species, Woolaver said. "My PhD. thesis was on the ecology and conservation genetics of Ridgway's Hawk, hence the initial funding. Even though the funding was initially for this thesis research they recognized the need for a long-term commitment and the value of working with one of the world's rarest hawks."

Timoteo measuring a Ridgway's Hawk.

A repaired Ridgway's Hawk nest.

"It is one of WPCs strengths that they have this wealth of experience that has come from working on projects at different levels worldwide. There is also the very pragmatic reality that WPC is a relatively small organization and a small amount of money can go much further in a developing country than it can in North America so a small amount of money can make a very real difference in a country like the Dominican Republic.

"WPC has done an amazing amount of work in the past even though they are a small organization and I think this is due to their staying very focused and you can't get much more focused than trying to help the rarest hawk on the planet."

The Sociedad Ornitológica de la Hispaniola, a Dominican Republic non-governmental organization (NGO), "is a strong partner and they are WPCs main partner organization implementing and overseeing work with the hawk this year. They are planning to increase the education and awareness component this year through funding provided by The Peregrine Fund and BirdLife International and in cooperation with another experienced Dominican NGO (Grupo Jaragua Inc.). We will also all be jointly producing a much needed Action Plan this year and this will be funded primarily by BirdLife."

Hawaiian Refuge to Build Fence to Restore Habitat

Construction of a fence to restore habitats on the big Island of Hawaii by excluding unwanted livestock is pending, following the release of the final environmental assessment. Plans call for 88,500 feet of fence to protect 5,300 acres at the Kona Forest Unit of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge.

The selected alternative calls for “pig and cattle-proof fences (5-foot tall)” to be constructed “around the two lower units and pig, cattle and sheep-proof fences (7-foot tall)” to be “constructed around the upper unit,” according to a Fish and Wildlife Service news release.

The selected alternative would provide “a 15-foot wide, bulldozed access corridor along the entire fenceline.”

“Fence construction supports the management plan approved in 1997 when the Kona Forest Unit was established,” when a portion of the private Kai Malino Ranch was purchased. “Management is focused on endangered species recovery actions including biological research and monitoring, prevention and suppression of wildfires, and habitat restoration through feral ungulate control, non-native predator control, invasive plant control, and reforestation.”

“The Kona Forest Unit is located in the South Kona District, Island of Hawai‘i on the leeward slope of Mauna Loa at elevations between 2,000 and 6,000 feet,” the news release said.

View of the Kona Forest. Image courtesy of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Forest types represented in the tract include a “mixture of introduced and native trees, shrubs, and grasses”; a mixture of koa (Acacia koa) and ‘ohi‘a trees and an understory of native shrubs and hapu‘u”; and a “mamane-sandalwood community” at higher elevations.

This forest “supports four species of endangered forest birds, the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat, and a high diversity of native plant species, of which several are threatened or endangered. Until 2002, the Kona Forest Unit also supported the last wild ‘alala or Hawaiian crow,” the news release said.

“The Kona Forest Unit also offers protected areas for other endangered faunal species, including the Hawai‘i ‘Akepa (Loxops coccineus), Hawai‘i Creeper (Oreomystis mana),‘Akiapola‘au (Hemignathus munroi), Hawaiian Hawk or ‘Io (Buteo solitarius), the Hawaiian hoary bat or ‘ope‘ape‘a (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) and an endangered picture wing fly (Drosophila heteroneura).”

Additional representative bird species, according to the environmental assessment, include: “several species of endemic forest birds including the native flycatcher ‘Elepaio (Chasiempis sandwichensis), and several Hawaiian honeycreepers including ‘I‘iwi (Vestiaria coccinea), Hawai‘i ‘Amakihi (Hemignathus virens), and ‘Apapane (Himatione sanguinea).

Although the Hawaiian thrush or ‘Oma‘o (Myadestes obscurus) has been extirpated from Kona, proposed habitat improvements in the project area could allow its future reintroduction onto the Kona Forest Unit. Pacific Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis fulva) occur as migratory winter visitors...”

Letters of support for the project were submitted by the State of Hawai‘i, local residents, and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.

“The cost of the fence will be determined through a competitive bidding process that will take place after the fence corridor is cleared”, says James Glynn, acting Refuge Manager for the Big Island NWR Complex which includes Kona Forest and Hakalau Forest Units. “Once the fence corridor clearing project, scheduled to begin in 2008, is completed, the fence construction project will be started, likely in 2009.”

“Once the fence is constructed, and the feral ungulates removed, in 5-10 years, we should expect to see a dramatic increase in native understory plants and canopy density,” says Jack Jeffrey, Refuge Biologist. “The refuge will also be out-planting endangered native plant species that have been eliminated from the area by 100 or more years of ungulate presence. With the increased forest canopy density, native forest birds will find a safe haven to live. It is also likely that ‘Alala will also be re-introduced, but there needs to be many years of forest recovery before that happens,” Jeffrey said.

Bird Reserve of Soata Province Protects Endangered and Endemic Birds

James Ed. Ducey

The newly established Soata Reserve conserves habitat for endangered and endemic species of Columbia, and other migratory bird species, according to the Bird Group of Soata.

Members of the group - Alejandro Hernandez, Oswaldo Cortes, Sandra Alarcon, Daira Ximena Villagran, Jose Gil and Giovanni Chaves - have conducted surveys and research in the dry valleys and premontane forests of the Soata Province for several years, Cortes said.

Chestnut Bellied Hummingbird. Pictures courtesy of the Soata Bird Group.

The initial reserve, comprising 700 hectares, was based on the occurrence of the Chestnut-bellied Hummingbird and Niceforos Wren in the region around Soata, Boyaca department, Cortes said. This region is in central Columbia.

Findings of their reserach were recently published in a report titled: “Reserve Birds Of Soata - Saving the Chestnut Bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia castaneiventris), Niceforos Wren (Thryothorus nicefori) and Mountain Grackle (Macroagelaius subalaris).”

The report summarized finding for two of the most notable species.

Chestnut Bellied Hummingbird: “…inhabits promontane forest occuring principally between 2400 and 1800” meters. There was “evidence that the species should not be rare due to a specialised diet and the most frequently used, Yatago are widely distributed in the birds’ range. It is likely that flowering patterns of these and other species are responsible for the seasonal movement of the hummingbird; this is supported by the fact that most records of the species from Soata occur after May when flowering peaks in the area.”

“This species is critically endangered because it has an extremely small known range in which suitable habitat is severely fragmented and continuing to decline,” according to the species factsheet at Birdlife International. The estimated population was given as less than 100 birds.

Niceforos Wren.

Niceforos Wren: “The highest altitudinal record was at 2000 m in vereda La Costa (Soata), and the lowest altitudinal record was at 1800 m. The largest group recorded was 20 birds recorded in a river forest in madre de agua (Trichanthera gigantean) and Manila tamarind or Monkeypod (Pithecellobium dulce) trees. Niceforos Wrens were mainly recorded singing in the morning.”

Other bird species found in oak forests of the Soata Reserve were the Mountain Grackle, Rusty Faced Parrot (Hapalopsittaca amazonina), Yellow flamed Parakeet (Pyrrhura calliptera) and Black Inca (Coeligena prunellei).

“The immediate need for the protection of these bird populations is to establish some form of reserve around known foraging areas and areas of mature forest,” Cortes said. “This does not have to take the form of Nature Reserve, but may involve identifying species protection areas. This would help assure that certain activities, such as wood burning, felling of trees over 20 meters tall, and other activities such as housing development could not take place in these areas. Any development would be carried out in accordance with ecologically sensitive guidelines.”

Also, to assist in habitat conservation, Cortes said, “no non-native plants should be introduced to gardens, native trees should not be cut down, and that stands of trees must be planted along roadsides to soften the habitat damage. Use of pesticide chemicals should be banned or strictly controlled.”

Legal protection is another important focus of the Bird Group of Soata.

“As has proved useful in the Soata” Cortes said in an email, “the introduction of legal protection of the Chestnut Bellied Hummingbird, Niceforos Wrens, Mountain Grackle, Rusty Faced Parrot would allow criminal charges to be brought against anyone proven to intentionally or recklessly disturb or harm any hummingbirds, whether in the roost or foraging.”

Although we don't have the facilities of other reserves in our country,” Cortes said, “this is one step for the conservation and research of our bird heritage.”

Members of the Soata Bird Group.

The Bird Group “would like to thank several individuals and organizations who provided advice, support, resources, logistical help and encouragement throughout the period of this project. These include important contribution by Neotropical Bird Club, Corporacion Ocotea, Fundacion Quincha, The Birdfair/RSPB Research Fund for Endangered Birds, American Bird Conservancy, Birdes Exchangers, Fundacion Colibri y Fundacion Proaves which made possible field research and information gathering. Special thanks to family Sanabria and Marquez and all volunteers for their hard work in the field. The Sanabria Family, gave permission to work on their property and Alcaldia Municipal de Soata, for their genuine interest in the protection of the species which lead them to support this study.”

Release Program for Falcon Showing Early Signs of Success

Fledgling Aplomado Falcons at the Armendaris Ranch. These are the first falcons successfully raised in New Mexico in several decades. Copyrighted photo courtesy of Mark Lockwood, and used with permission.

James Ed. Ducey

After just two seasons, the release of Aplomado Falcons into New Mexico is already showing signs of success.

“Two birds released in 2006 formed a pair and successfully fledged two chicks” this year at the Armendaris Ranch, said Mike Phillips, director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund. “This is the first time that falcons less than a year old have been known to raise young.”

Successful nesting by the pair of falcons was the highlight of the season, Phillips said. “It speaks well to the procedures of the project, and to the ability of the land to provide what is needed for the birds to survive.”

Fifty of Aplomado Falcons have been released in the region during 2007 and 2006. Twenty-eight were released from two different hack sites on the Armendaris Ranch, owned by Ted Turner, and 22 on the adjacent White Sands Missile Range, state of Utah and Bureau of Land Management lands.

The released falcons originate at the breeding facilities of the Peregrine Fund in Idaho, and are designated as an “experimental, non-essential population” not protected by the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service and White Sands Missile Range are also partners in the project.

“An aggressive food provisioning program” was used to help the falcons survive during their release,” Phillips said. Supplemental food was provided for an additional seven months, until early spring, which is a longer period of time than is normally done when hacking raptors.

The introduced birds are given leg bands for identification purposes. The freed birds disperse, but 6-8-10 birds may be seen regularly around the Armendaris, Phillips said.

There have been no banded falcons reported by bird watchers in the region.

A habitat improvement grant of $7,728 provided to the TESF by the Fish and Wildlife Service Private Stewardship Grants Program, will fund the installation of nesting structures and an evaluation of their use through 2009. The artificial nest structures will be installed during the coming winter months, Phillips said.

The two sub-adult birds that successfully fledged young, built their nest on the cross bar of a high voltage transmission line.

The grant called for placement of 20 nest structures, but this is being reevaluated since an alternate design is being considered, Phillips said. “Mobile nest structures - although more expensive to build - would allow a better response to bird movement” and could be placed at sites preferred by the falcon pairs. A permanent nest platform could then replace the temporary structure.

The biggest question of the reintroduction program is how the released raptors will settle into the landscape, Phillips said. One big question is whether there is a sufficient prey base in this area of New Mexico.

The breeding success this year may indicate this raptor may be “far more tolerant of land use practices than people may realize,” he said. This may improve the chances to eventually establish a self-sustaining population in this portion of its historic range, the primary goal of this project.

Aplomado Falcon at the Armendaris Ranch. Copyrighted photo courtesy of Pat Obrien and used with permission.

“The restoration creates an opportunity for the falcons to succeed or fail on their own,” Phillips said. “If food is available, recovery is eminently possible.”

“Team Turner will continue its efforts during the next few years,” Phillips added. “If we get in a groove, we will keep doing more of the same. Our goal is to improve the conservation status of the Aplomado Falcon.”

About 100 birds are expected to be released in the region during a five-ten year period.

“We are years away from saying a population is in place,” Phillips said. After five years, a report of reintroduction efforts and results will be prepared for study and scientific evaluation by project participants.

Phillips said the project is ahead of schedule and under budget.

The focus on birds in peril such as the Aplomado Falcon fits well with the management goal at Turner Ranches properties to ensure survival of native species, he said.

The Northern Aplomado Falcon subspecies was classified in 1986 as an endangered species in the Texas portion of its range in the United States.

“Between 1986 and 1994, 58 nestlings were fledged for release by The Peregrine Fund at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Texas,” according to FWS information. The first successful nesting occurred in 1995.

“Aplomado Falcons once were widespread in the American Southwest, from southern Texas to eastern Arizona. By the 1950s their range was restricted to a few areas in Mexico, most likely due to the combined effects of habitat changes, pesticides, and human persecution,” according to information at The Peregrine Fund website.

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Reintroduction of the Aplomado Falcon is one of a score of conservation projects being carried out on ranches owned by Turner. The management strategy for all of the properties is to: “Manage the land in an economically sustainable and ecologically sensitive manner while promoting the conservation of native species.” Turner currently owns about two million acres, mostly in North America.

The 358,643-acre Armendaris ranch, in Sierra County, New Mexico, was bought in 1994, and “lies in south central New Mexico and contains some of the most pristine Chihuahuan desert grassland in the Southwest,” according to the Turner website. “Other features include desert scrub and riparian habitats along the Rio Grande and the Fra Cristobal Mountains.” Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is at the northern end of the ranch.

Populations of the Scaled Quail have been studied by researchers from Texas A&M University.

Other research projects in progress or completed on the ranch include radio collared sheep, cougars, bobcats, kit foxes, bison plus studies on prairie dogs, kangroo rats, willow flycatchers, grassland response to fire, livestock grazing, antelope population response to climate, according to Tom Waddell, ranch manager.

The fourth largest bat cave in North America, used by the Mexican Free-tailed bat, is present on the ranch.

The southwestern Willow Flycatcher - listed as endangered in the Southwest - and Yellow-billed Cuckoo - a species of local concern - occur at riverine habitats at the Armendaris.

Turner Enterprises Inc.

Record Year for the Endangered Whooping Cranes in Central Canada

With the onset of nesting and hatched young of the Whooping Cranes this summer, wildlife officials flew in to conduct the annual census of this endangered species at Wood Buffalo National Park, in Canada. Aerial surveys were done “soon after most of the chicks had hatched to try to maximize the number” observed.

The wetland region west of Lake Athabasca and south of Great Slave Lake, is the sole breeding habitat for the species. These plains of the Peace-Athabasca Delta are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Ramsar wetland of international significance.

A May survey by Brian Johns and Lea Craig-Moore of the Canadian Wildlife Service, located 62 nests during the survey of breeding pairs, according to the May 19 online survey report.

Fish and Wildlife Service pilot “Jim Bredy along with Brian Johns and Tom Stehn conducted whooping crane production surveys June 13-18, 2007. Three additional nests were located... The surveys located a record 65 nests and record 84 chicks, including 28 sets of twins.”

There were 62 nests in 2006 at the national park habitats, with 76 chicks that included 24 sets of twins.

“Fifty-six of the 65 nests (86.2%) produced one or more chicks. This is a very high percentage and comparable to other excellent production years (3% in 2005, 85% in 2004 and 86% in 1997). Of the 9 pairs that failed to hatch an egg, 2 of those pairs had their eggs predated in May and one bird was sitting on a nest with no eggs.

“Of the pairs that potentially could have had chicks in June, 56 of the 62 actually did. Thus, the record chick production in 2007 resulted from both high productivity and a large number of nests. Two pairs that are well known at Aransas (Lobstick and Big Tree) both had twin chicks in June.

“An estimated 4 known adult pairs failed to nest but were sighted present on their territories, comparable to the 10 pairs that failed to nest in 2006. Thus, there are a minimum of 69 breeding pairs in the population.

“A record 65 nests and 84 chicks, including 28 sets of twins, were surveyed. This compares to 2006 when 62 nests, 76 chicks and 24 sets of twins were found.

“This year’s record chick production was a result of both high productivity and the high number of nests,” said Tom Stehn whooping crane coordinator, based at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

“Favorable, warm weather” was “a big factor in the chick’s survival,” according to the aerial survey report. During the season, “habitat conditions were better than expected with water levels thought to be slightly above average. The weather during the June production surveys was exceptionally warm with no cold, wet weather.” “The North American population of whooping cranes now exceeds 500 birds for the first time in 100 years,” Stehn said.

This number of adult pairs on the surveys were “close to the 67 adult pairs identified present” during the 2006-07 winter at Aransas NWR.

Whooping Crane Recovery Program

Other wildbirds of the park area include "a typical community of boreal forest and wetland birds including Yellow-rumped Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Swamp Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, and Bald Eagle," according to information at Birdlife International. The Peregrine Falcon also occurs.