Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2018 i Audubon Magazine

Each circle represents one of the 274 parks analyzed for climate–driven changes in the ranges of North American bird species. Summer population distributions are modeled from North American Breeding Bird Survey data; winter distributions are modeled using data from the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Turnover rate Current number of species Climate is just one factor in where a species ends up. Future ranges will also be influenced by availability of food, water, and shelter. And there’s the question of whether birds will travel to places that match their preferred conditions, or simply adapt to their surroundings. While this report only looks at precipitation and temperature, other climatic impacts like sea-level rise, wildfires, stronger hurricanes, earlier snowmelt, and invasive species are already affecting avian distribution and habitat. Certain seabirds and species often…

To take action for Year of the Bird in March, turn your home into a refuge of healthy habitat. Learn what species need to thrive where you live by entering your zip code at audubon.org/native-plants. You can also sign up for future resolutions and action alerts at birdyourworld.org. TIP 1: PROVIDE TONS OF SNACKS Birds are hungry year-round, not just during peak planting times. Pick species that bloom both early and late in spring and mix them with ones that flower in summer and fall. By sowing the right varieties in your plot, you'll always have something for birds to snack on, whether it’s the insects that feed on nectar or the nectar itself. TIP 2: PLANT IN BUNCHES Just as we humans love a good lunch buffet, birds and…

ON A BRIGHT MORNING IN LATE JANUARY, AMANDA Wilhelm stood inside an observation tower nestled among Joshua trees at the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area, monitoring the movements of a California Condor. She wasn’t peering outside at the hundreds of brilliant white turbines, but down at a string of letters and numbers on a monitor. To the uninitiated, the code—SB#=237 … Ant 1-North SS=77—looks like gibberish. For Wilhelm, field operations manager for Alta Environmental Services, those numbers were clues. No. 237 is an endangered condor, one of 80 that inhabit this pocket of Southern California. At 2:48 p.m. the previous day the north antenna picked up its radio transmitter signal. “The signal strength is 77, which means it wasn’t very close,” she said. The modest beige tower is the nerve center of…

EVER FIND A BIRD THAT SORT OF looks like two species but doesn’t quite fit either description? Maybe it’s a hybrid … or maybe it’s just funky looking. Sadly, the bird can’t show you its family photos, so you’re going to have to use context clues. Here are three to get your synapses firing. Look for a Resemblance The easiest way to ID a hybrid is physical features passed down from each of its parents. With that in mind, pick out field marks that remind you of a similar-looking bird. For example, if you come across a duck with a partial green head and a dark brown body, it’s probably the offpsring of a Mallard and an American Black Duck. Listen for an Odd Mashup Song While it’s possible to…

CROSSES BETWEEN SPECIES CROP UP in practically every big avian group—but there are a few that mix it up more than average. Ducks and hummingbirds are two striking examples. They seem utterly different in most ways, except that they both tend to bend species boundaries. We don’t know exactly why, though they do share some traits in their mating habits: Typically the females wear cryptic camoufl age, while the males are adorned with colorful plumes. Males also put on elaborate courtship displays to advertise their studliness. In the process, they may overlook the species of nearby females. What's more, hummingbirds never form pair bonds—they mate, and then the male splits. Ducks are just as promiscuous. Males stay with their mates until about the start of incubation, but they may actively…

John F. Kennedy International Airport One of New York City’s most famous birding sites, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is only 15 minutes away from JFK. Foot trails from the visitor center provide access to ponds, marshes, and tidal flats that attract great numbers of waterfowl, wading birds, and shorebirds throughout the year, while the woods and gardens are productive for songbird migrants in spring and fall. More than 300 species have been recorded here, including many rare visitors. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport A $5 entry fee provides access to seven miles of well-marked trails through woodland, prairie, and marsh habitat at Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area, located a few miles north of DFW. Red-shouldered Hawks and Eastern Bluebirds are among the more common year-round resident birds. The park also…

Keep Bins Handy Always have binoculars in your carry-on bag, even if you don’t expect to use them. Unplanned travel delays can turn into birding opportunities. Find Hotspots At eBird.org, under Explore, select Explore Hotspots and zoom in on the map to look for potential birding sites near the airport—or near any other destination. Prep for Weather Regardless of season, a lightweight, waterproof windbreaker will extend the range of conditions in which you can be comfortable outdoors. Embrace Apps Save space in your bags by installing a field guide on your phone, and avoid the hassle of a rental car by using an on-demand transportation company like Lyft.…

When braving rain and wind, the Outdoor Research Interstellar Jacket ($299, below) provides a superbly stretchy, breathable, and, of course, waterproof barrier—our tester endured both downpours and the full force of her showerhead. Even if you rent a boat, you’ll want your own Stohlquist Edge personal flotation device ($100) for its low profile, ventilating mesh sides, and nifty top-loading front pocket. The Pelican 1485WD Air Case ($135) is durable, waterproof, and 40 percent lighter than similar cases. Protect your other gear with Sea to Summit’s light and collapsible eVAC Dry Sacks ($18) and the grain-draining CGear Original Sand-free Mat ($60). Like their namesake bird, Sunski’s Plover polarized shades ($58) are light and resilient.…

American Hero [RE: “Passing the Torch”] Such a heartwarming story about how one man with a sincere desire to help injured wildlife can affect others to follow in his footsteps. The United States is blessed by these people and the legacy they leave for others to enjoy. Thank you for such an inspiring story, and kudos to all of those who work so hard to keep this endeavor going forward. MARK STORRS Living on the Edge [RE: “Permanence Is Just an Illusion”] Being a Florida resident for the past 53 years and living on a barrier island for the past 30, I’ve witnessed firsthand the price paid for building for the “view” rather than building smart. The most important emphasis the article made was on learning from nature and incorporating…

THE EARLY MORNING HOURS at the Leopold-Pine Island Important Bird Area in Wisconsin are typically the most lethal for roosting Sandhill Cranes. The floodplains are dark and quiet, and they’re edged by power lines. If a coyote were to scare the cranes up, they might crash straight into the wires and be electrocuted. But in this case, local conservation groups worked with the utility company to build towers with lower, specially marked lines that the birds could clear while making their escape. Now tens of thousands of cranes, pelicans, and waterfowl can migrate through the wetlands without facing considerable mortalities. Credit is due in part to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). For the past four decades, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has interpreted the 100-year-old law, which…

NATHAN COOPER IS DRIVING AS FAST AS HE dares, through murky April twilight along a twisting road with an unsettling number of pedestrians, free-range chickens, loose dogs, and feral cats. The grandly named Queen’s Highway is a narrow, unmarked strip of potholed macadam that runs the 48-mile length of Cat Island. We need to be at the southern end by sunrise, and we’re late. Cat Island is well off the main tourist drag in the Bahamas. Shaped like a long, narrow fishhook, it covers just 150 square miles and is so slender that for much of its length it’s only about half a mile wide. Cat is largely flat and featureless, a lot of dry scrub forest bisected by few roads, with barely 1,500 residents. Slash-and-burn farming, raising goats, or…

After Audubon released its 2014 Birds and Climate Change report, which showed that climate change will threaten more than half of North America’s birds if we don’t rapidly reduce emissions, it became abundantly clear that the organization needed to focus more on expediting properly sited renewable energy. Audubon’s goal is to ensure that 50 percent of America’s energy comes from renewable sources by 2030. Audubon members believe this transition is important and the organization has a role to play: In a January 2018 survey of more than 2,300 members nationwide, every respondent supported more renewable energy investments. Eighty-nine percent said that renewable energy is critical to the health of the planet, and 78 percent said that fossil fuels harm global bird populations. Further, more than 90 percent said that Audubon…

Domestic Mallard Worldwide, there are about 20 breeds of hand-raised Mallards, ranging from the silly-looking Crested Mallard to the fly Blue Swedish Duck. Escapees can sometimes be found in parks. House Finch Most male House Finches sport a beautiful reddish coloration on their throats and upper breasts, but on occasion you’ll find some orange or yellow in there. The cause of the aberration is diet: Carotenoids from berries can have a strong influence on the birds’ plumage. Red-tailed Hawk There are at least seven U.S. subspecies and numerous color morphs of Red-tailed Hawks, from the blackish Harlan’s Hawk to the whitish Krider’s morph. That odd raptor you saw is probably a variant Red-tail, not a rare hybrid.…

Stretching between British Columbia and Alberta, the Canadian Rockies aren’t just astonishingly beautiful, they also offer one of the best places to find hybrid birds. This is partly due to the last ice age, says Darren Irwin, a zoologist at the University of British Columbia who studies the bonkers breeding activity in the region. Species summering at the foot of the mountains were once isolated by frozen stretches of land, but when the ice melted about 10,000 years ago, it was like lifting a curfew—birds used their newfound freedom to mingle and mate with new species. This led to the formation of many stable hybrid zones (overlapping ranges where cross-breeding is rampant). Nowadays, binocular-toting visitors can find blends of Mourning and MacGillivray’s Warblers, Myrtle and Audubon’s Warblers, and Yellow-and Red-shafted…

Carry-on Kit Don’t fret about over-packing the Tortuga Outbreaker backpack ($269); made from durable and water-resistant sailcloth, it’s unquestionably one of the most comfortable and best-organized backpacks out there. Pair the small-but-mighty Celestron Hummingbird micro spotting scope ($360, 9-27x, 56mm) with the Manfrotto Befree Carbon Tripod ($290), whose carbon-fiber legs fold to a mere 15.7 inches, and attach the Phone Skope digiscoping adaptor ($75 and up) to capture rare finds. Breeze through bird IDs with the Audubon Bird Guide: North America app (free), which features 800-plus species, thousands of photos, and hours of calls. A dead battery won’t slow you down with the lightning-quick Jackery Bolt 6000 portable charger ($27). Inclement weather is no match for the waterproof, featherlight Patagonia Alpine Houdini Jacket ($99).…

Remain steady Rest your lens on the boat’s side to stabilize it (tripods and monopods won’t work on a soft-bottomed boat) and make sure the engine’s been cut before you start shooting. Travel light Image-stabilized zoom lenses such as 100-400mm or 150-600mm are well suited for this kind of photography and will be easier to manage than very large lenses. Freeze motion Shoot in bursts at the fastest frame rate possible (at least 5 frames per second), set your autofocus to continuous mode, and focus on the bird’s head and eye.…

Unlike their larger cousins the murres, which lay their eggs in the open on rocky ledges, Atlantic Puffins dig burrows into whatever soil they can find along the cliffs or on the grassy slopes leading up to them. Photographers should take extra precautions to avoid disrupting the sensitive nesting season, or even injuring the birds: Instead of walking up to the edge of a cliff, which could cause puffin burrows to collapse beneath your feet, try using a military crawl, which will both distribute your weight more evenly and may also allow you to get closer to your subjects without disturbing them. In places where the burrows have overflowed onto grassy areas, take care to avoid positioning yourself near any burrow entrances so that you don’t prevent the puffins from…

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, Wallace Stegner hailed the national parks as America’s “best idea.” As the climate changes, these landscapes could prove to be even more valuable than the writer and environmentalist had anticipated. In an expansive new report, scientists from Audubon and the National Park Service analyze how temperatures and precipitation in the year 2050 might alter bird populations in parks, by comparing data from models with the recent distributions of 513 avian species. The results reveal which parks will see the biggest shift in species, and underscore the importance of taking action to safeguard sweeping habitats. Explore the full report at audubon.org/nps. Summer Winter Denali National Park, Alaska Since the 1950s, Alaska has warmed rapidly—twice as fast as the rest of the United States—and Denali’s landscape is keeping pace.…

Radio/GPS Tracking TECH: Radio antennas and a “geofence” automatically send alerts when tagged condors approach; employees then track birds and curtail turbines as needed. TARGET BIRD: California Condor STATUS: In use Artificial Intelligence TECH: IdentiFlight’s cameras detect birds near turbines; if its artificial intelligence software determines any are eagles at risk of collision, it sends operators a shutdown signal. TARGET BIRDS: Golden and Bald Eagles STATUS: On the market Audio Deterrence TECH: When DTBird cameras detect a bird, speakers emit warning sounds; if it comes closer, a more alarming noise plays and a curtailment can be automatically triggered. TARGET BIRDS: Eagles, falcons, and more STATUS: On the market Radar TECH: U.S. Geological Survey researchers are examining whether the nation's network of weather radar could be used to measure the density…

The male hybrid’s mottled belly contrasts the typical blue or orange uniform. Called the Brewster’s Warbler, this cross is often marked by whitish underparts and a black cat eye. Compare this combination with more bona fide Mallards. It should have a curly tail, pale back, and green fade. This hybrid has an unusually shaded rump and belly that’s not quite orange or white like its parents.…

Alcid photography isn’t a home-before-lunchtime deal. We asked four pros about their favorite place to get a shot that will make all the time and effort worth it. Fair Isle, Scotland This remote island off the northern coast of Scotland is famous for two things: cozy sweaters and incredible birding. The Fair Isle Bird Observatory and Guesthouse provides three squares a day and easy access to Atlantic Puffin colonies (top right). By late June, the puffin bills are full of fish for nestlings and the subarctic days are deliciously long. “You get this lovely orange glow of light from 10 o’clock at night all the way through 3 or 4 in the morning,” says Richard Shucksmith. Pro tip: Layer up. “You need to be prepared for four seasons in one…