A Virtual Pelagic Trip!

10-23-18 – Opening slide. Thank goodness it wasn’t a quiz!

On October 23, 2018, ABC’ers delved deep into Pelagic birding with presentations by Ed Pullen and Ryan Wiese, as well as additional information by Bruce LaBar and Art Wang.

Ed Pullen starts his slides

Ken Brown opened the meeting by recapping upcoming ABC events, and then Clarice Clark presented information on an upcoming guided tour of SE Arizona for Tahoma Audubon this coming spring featuring guide Chris Chappell, formerly of Pierce County. There were only one or two spots left open by the end of the evening! For more info on those spots, contact Clarice or Jerry Broadus at jbroadus@seanet.com.

Ryan Wiese gets into his slide presentation

All pelagic bird species occurring off the coast of Washington were discussed in depth including likelihood of seeing, world populations and scarcity, life histories, etc. The slides were extremely informative and are now available to ABC’ers here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CkekblylR_ufUXRB-FS-DCNJgRiXBOs2/view

Bruce LaBar discusses the underwing patterns of Sooty and Short-tailed Shearwaters

Pelagic trips discussed included Westport, Monterey Bay, Maine, Cape Hatteras, and Hawaii. The concepts of going onboard in shorts and flip-flops (Cape Hatteras) or in swimsuits and then jumping in the water to swim ashore (Hawaii) were happily contemplated!

Art Wang, wearing his Stormy Petrel Hatteras shirt. discusses various pelagic trips

Chumming was discussed. Bruce, a longtime spotter for Westport Seabirds, explained that one reason chumming didn’t happen on their trips until the furthest point was reached was to get accurate counts of the birds. Westport Seabirds has the best data available for this reason. Other trips chum all the way out and have a parade of the same birds following the boat the entire ride. It was revealed that Monterey Bay has banned chumming altogether with the exception of Debi Shearwater’s trips, which should end soon with her retirement. The alternative to chumming is to get chummy with fishing boats.

Fine points were discussed, such as the recent split of Xantus Murrelet into Scripps and Guadelupe.

Some highlights included the fact that Rhino Auklets are OUR birds with approximately 90% of the lower 48 population breeding in Washington waters. Also, Short-tailed Shearwaters, rare as they might seem here, are actually the most populous shearwater species on the planet! Red Phalaropes like to feed in the spume of whales! And yes, those South Polar Skuas really are the thugs you thought, guilty of all possible crimes and some even unimaginable.

Red Phalarope

The very interested group asked excellent questions and kept the meeting going until we got kicked out and all the cookies were gone (thanks, Faye)!

Maine pelagic birders reunited! Presenter Ed Pullen flanked by Carol, Diane, and Faye, wearing Atlantic Puffin shirts

The sentinel calls the troops

On October 14, 2018, Adam and I proceeded to the UW-Bothell campus, north parking garage roof at 6 PM, which Tweeter Scott Ramos had described as a major crow roosting route. Two other carloads of people showed up to see the big show, but had left disappointed when nothing much had happened before sunset (6:23 PM), just a few small streams of birds in the distance. The roof looked out over the North Creek Wetlands. We stuck it out and were rewarded, or possibly punished, by crows!

Adam told me to turn around slowly

Five minutes after sunset the nice evening got horrendously noisy, and suddenly we were surrounded by crows. We did in fact feel like we were in the eye of a crow cyclone, as they closed in on us from every side! We took lots of pictures, but truly a much wider-angle lens and possibly a drone would have been needed to give the true feel of the onslaught!

Sunset at UW-Bothell

I just wouldn’t have been a bit surprised had Alfred Hitchcock made one of his famous walk-ons at the height of the cawcaphony! As it got darker, they started landing on the floor next to us, blocking our exit from the roof. In fact, they were pushing ever so relentlessly closer to us and covering every tree and building top. Just when my fight-or-flight instinct started to turn on, very suddenly it all stopped almost as if a clock had chimed at 7 PM! The silence was deafening, too, as every bird suddenly dropped into the nearby trees and faded away.

Air traffic controller

They noticed our car and moved to block our exit!

We put down 5000 on eBird, but there could very well have been 10,000, as Scott had estimated. Just couldn’t tell which birds we’d already counted, as they were on all sides of us, seeming to circle us. We drove away feeling a little relieved that we weren’t the center of their universe after all.

Diane’s crow shirt attracts attention

Adam has to wave away the crows

No Halloween Haunted House could compare to this real experience. There was definitely a ghostly vortex on this rooftop with no one but the two of us and thousands of crows on a lonely Sunday night in October.

Just before they suddenly departed a full dark

See more of our photos and short videos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/76552838@N03/albums/72157702433592684

Ken Brown took our group to Eastern Washington for a check on migration for 4 days from Sept 7 to 10, 2018.  Some really great sightings as well as the inevitable disappointments.

Looks like a pothole!
(Photo/Laurel Parshall)

Forster’s Tern with fish
(Photo/Laurel Parshall)

I missed the trip, but lucky participants were Ken, Ed Pullen, Laurel Parshall, Kay Schimke, Mary Pearse, Richard Smethurst, Carole Breedlove, Kathryn Cooper, Eric Dudley, Fred Matthaei, Jody Hess, and Petrea Stoddard.

The rest of the group makes it through the critter tunnel, leader Ken in back on right
(Photo/Laurel Parshall)

Critter tunnel works for Kay and Richard
(Photo/Laurel Parshall)

Some of their eBird reports are here, including the remarkable report from Lyons Ferry where they had EIGHT warblers, including Chestnut-sided!

Lyons Ferry: https://ebird.org/pnw/view/checklist/S48429808

Columbia NWR: https://ebird.org/pnw/view/checklist/S48395221

Potholes State Park: https://ebird.org/pnw/view/checklist/S48404447

Chestnut-sided Warbler!
(Photo/Laurel Parshall)

Cassin’s Vireo
(Photo/Laurel Parshall)

Roadside specialties included Kestrels and Wild Turkey!

Turkeys!
(Photo/Laurel Parshall)

Kestrels galore
(Photo/Laurel Parshall)

The scenic highlight was Palouse Falls.

Palouse Falls
(Photo/Laurel Parshall)

Lesser Chipmunk at Ryegrass Rest Area
(Photo/Laurel Parshall)

More of Laurel Parshall’s photos can be found on her FLICKR site, and she’d appreciate seeing others’ photos.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/llp_unesolitaire/albums/72157700280625731/with/30045465397/

On September 18, 2018, we got a chance to share some of our birding experiences and photos with each other and really enjoyed it.

Joe & Maggie Tieger on Australia

First up was Faye McAdams Hands, who had a really great trip to Papua-New Guinea with stops in Australia.  With just a cell phone, she managed to capture the magic of that alternate universe including Yellow Robin, Whipbird, Bowerbird, Topknot Pigeons, and Birds of Paradise, as well as being in the right place for a total lunar eclipse seen only on that side of the planet!

Lisa Pedersen showed slides of her trip to the Galapagos with her daughter and brought in her talented artist daughter’s comics from that trip, as well as other souvenirs.  Multi-media!

Joe & Maggie Tieger went way south again and brought back Rockhopper Penguins and Albatross, as well as a video of the dance of the Blue-footed Boobies.

Newlyweds Eric Dudley and Mary Kay Elfman showed slides from their pre-honeymoon cruise of the Galapagos, a totally different type of experience from Lisa’s trip which was land-based.  They showed educational photos of various Darwin’s finches, among many others.

Kathleen Miller showed some terrific slides from Bolsa Chica in southern California, including a stunning shot of a winter-plumaged American Avocet.

Kathleen Miller stands as Ryan Wiese shows her slides

John Riegsecker showed a few shots from his massive collection of birds with prey, not for the faint-hearted.  He actually knew what the prey species were in most cases, too.  He ended this display with an Osprey projectile-muting.

A real ending to John Riegsecker’s collection!

Blair Bernson was our final presenter, giving a hint of the Big Year he’s in the middle of, starting with his Big Month.  He has big plans for bird travel, and ABCers were able to give him some tips.  We look forward to more about this when we do our Big Year reports in January.

Blair Bernson gives us some provocative hints of the Big Year he’s doing

We had such a good time with this program that we may do it again next year.  We even finished on time!

PURDY SPIT: Long-time use of power towers by Osprey has come to an end as the towers are now being dismantled after 2 years of Osprey discouragement (see red spikes). A new pole/platform has been erected at the corner of Purdy Drive and Goodrich, but the Osprey have ignored it completely. Maybe the discouragement protocol will make the entire area unfriendly to them. Very sad for me, as this was my “home” nest for 30 years.

8-7-18 – Purdy Spit towers about to be taken down

PURDY DRIVE: The pole erected around 25 years ago to offer the Osprey an alternative to power towers, and which had been roundly ignored by them in favor of the towers, has been retrofitted to new guidelines, which the birds apparently did not write themselves. It now resembles the new pole put up on the spit (which the birds have ignored for the one season it has been in place) as well as the new pole put up 3 or 4 years ago in Victor, which came into use in its second year.

8-8-18 – Old unused post on Purdy Drive, now “enhanced.”

PEACOCK HILL NORTH: The cell tower was occupied again this year and has two young ready to fledge. Apparently no undue interference with eagles this year, which had been a problem at this tower. Don’t know where they fish. John Riegsecker has been monitoring this one.

Peacock Hill nest on 8-10-18 by John Riegsecker

GIG HARBOR HIGH SCHOOL PLAYING FIELDS: Success again on the light standards!  The Osprey seem to enjoy the fluttering tinsel designed to scare off birds.

8-8-18 – Gig Harbor High School with Ospreys on light standards

WOLLOCHET BAY: The long-used platform appears to have not been used this year, a first in the 20 years I’ve been watching it. Again, the state has not funded the cam set-up, and the hardware appears to have been stripped off it.

8-7-18 – Wollochet Bay abandoned nest. That’s a Redtail overhead, not an Osprey.

THE INN AT GIG HARBOR: Another joyfully successful season at the cell tower complex, worrisome with all the new construction going on around there for the new Fred Meyer complex. Recommend watching from the Tanglewood restaurant parking lot, then going into the restaurant and having dinner or a drink to celebrate in late July to early August.

7-28-18 – The Inn at Gig Harbor with nest and 2 young on left tower & adult watching from right tower

KEY PENINSULA HIGHWAY at W302 INTERSECTION: Cell tower with sticks in every possible cranny, but seemingly successful again, with at least one Osprey observed in attendence every time I’ve gone by for 4 months.

Key Peninsula Hwy nest on 7-26-18

VICTOR: This platform was erected as mitigation for taking out TWO NESTS when the power towers in North Bay were removed several years ago, such as is going on now in the Burley Lagoon at the Purdy Spit. Tall pole on hill is hard to see into, but a bird was seen there on half the visits in 4 months, so good likelihood of success, but not as obvious as last year when young were obviously seen on the nest. Not sure the bird seen was a juvenile, but there’s been ongoing work on decorating the nest with green ribbon lately.

Victor nest on 7-26-18

UZZELL & NELSON RD, S. KITSAP: John Riegsecker told me he’d seen a nest here on the cell tower, but no birds. I visited it on August 1 and saw a beautiful full nest, but no birds. Perhaps they had already fledged, or perhaps they were harassed enough to abandon it. A very nice looking nest. Will check it earlier next season.

8-1-18 – Uzzell Rd in S. Kitsap. No sign of birds.

PORT ORCHARD: The nest just northeast of the intersection of Sedgwick and Bethel is on the edge of stormwater retention ponds on the dead-end road of a fancy subdivision. This nest had been observed several years ago to be successful, then seemed to have been removed. This year it’s back! An Osprey was on hand to greet us. Nest can be observed well from the Les Schwab Tire Center on Sedgwick.

8-4-18 – New nest on formerly occupied cell tower just off Sedgwick

ACROSS THE BRIDGE: Lots of good reports from Chambers Bay, being monitored by Max Warner and John Riegsecker, among others. John got pictures of the two young still in the nest recently, where one youngster had a crossed bill, but seemed to be growing well. He reported it to Bud Anderson of Falcon Research Group, who is monitoring raptors with crossed or overgrown bills.

7-30-18 – Chambers Bay nestling with crossed bill. Photo/John Riegsecker

SUMMARY: Some big disappointments, but some gains, too. One interesting observation is that the nests so far from water that I don’t know where they go to fish are doing better than the ones on the water. Happy birds at the Inn at Gig Harbor, for example; whereas Wollochet Bay failed this year.

Compare with last summer’s survey: http://abcbirding.com/summer-2017-peninsula-osprey-survey/

ABC, JULY 17, 2018:  We held our annual book discussion on July 17th.

The meeting started off with a recap of the recent wildly successful field trip to Cassia County, Idaho, for those Cassia Crossbills, with subsequent stops for other good stuff. We met Marcus Roening for dinner in Twin Falls upon arrival, when he and Heather had gotten the bird and were headed elsewhere. He gave us some good and timely tips, mainly to go to Porcupine Springs, which we did with great success! After getting the bird, the two carloads (Car #1: Faye, Diane, Carol, and Art; Car #2: Ken, Ed, Teri, Laurel) split up. Car #1 headed home with stops at the Chat spot Marcus had told us about; at Shoshone Falls (wow!); a new wildlife refuge in Idaho; in Ontario, Oregon, for 2 Long-tailed Grackles; and Vernita Bridge with 11 Nighthawks! Car #2 headed into Nevada where they all got another lifer, Himalayan Snowcock in the Ruby Mountains; then into Oregon with lots and lots of Pinyon Jays! See Ed’s report: http://abcbirding.com/4-day-cassia-crossbill-trip-report/

7-17-18 – Joe Tieger in yellow shirt led book discussion

On to the main event! Joe Tieger led a lively discussion on Noah’s book, Birding Without Borders. Of course most of us had met Noah when ABC had him report right after his big year before the book was published, an event concocted by Kay Pullen, which turned out to be the biggest event ever for ABC, where we had to involve Tahoma Audubon and the Slater Museum at UPS, where it was held in the UPS rotunda. (See: http://abcbirding.com/april-12-2017-abcs-new-best-friend-noah-strycker/).

So we all felt a personal connection to Noah. Joe had a list of discussion points which really brought lots of talk, such as what we might have added to his sparse equipment list? In this particular case, Joe had a compelling sales pitch, telling us we should never go off into the wilds, especially if alone, without a Personal Locator Beacon, which he showed us. He explained how it worked, and we’re all ready to go buy one! If you want to know more about Joe’s particular choice, you can ask him at: jmhornbeam@comcast.net.

There was a lively discussion about listing, Big Years, and personal styles of birding. Most of us wouldn’t have wanted to expend the single-minded energy that Noah did, even if we had the money, although Noah’s expenses were amazingly low, considering what he was willing to put up with and his sponsorships.

The discussion turned weird when it came out that Noah said one thing he could have left home was his pair of leech socks.  No one agreed with this, and horrific stories were told!

Much conversation about Noah’s book

One educational topic that Joe touched upon was Birding Pals. Several had experience with Birding Pals, with satisfaction up and down the scale from high to low, kinda like computer dating.

Thanks, Joe, for a lively discussion!

6-28-18 – ABC joined forces with Tahoma Audubon for a report on the Vaux’s Swifts at JBLM.  Diane Yorgason-Quinn, coordinator for volunteer swift counters, presented, along with help from Burney Huff, who started the count; Heather Voboril, who has liaised with JBLM brass to do chimney fixes, etc.; and Faye McAdams Hands, who accompanied Diane to Israel to present Larry Schwitter’s paper on Vaux Swifts to the 5th World Swift Conference in March.

Vaux’s Happening logo and World Swift Conference logo, showing Vaux vs Common Swift

The importance of these chimneys at JBLM was stressed, in a world where chimneys are being torn down or capped at a rapid rate.  Larry Schwitters was able to gain IBA (International Important Bird Area) status for 4 chimneys in Washington including stack 2068 at JBLM.  Since then the base has put signs up on known chimney buildings to not tear them down.  Heather gave some history of that chimney.  The other 3 chimneys we watch were shown, as well.

Diane Y-Q shows the big swift stack at JBLM against a backdrop of Mt. Rainier (Photo/Lalenia Maria)

Special thanks was extended to Chuck Bergman, longtime member of Tahoma Audubon and former Towhee editor, who wrote a major article on JBLM Swifts and Vaux’s Swifts in the October issue of the national magazine, BirdWatching, which was available to browse through.  And of course thanks to Larry Schwitters, a hero for swifts, who has now been coordinating counts and other data at all known Vaux’s Swift chimneys, amassing data that no one could even guess at in the past, which should help save the diminishing population.

All Swift counters in attendance were asked to stand, and since so many of you are counters, it was half the people there!  Hurray!  Several had comments about it.  And we’re still recruiting!  There are a lot of chimneys out there to count, not to mention the ones we haven’t found yet.

Vaux’s Swifts enter JBLM chimney 2068 at dusk

The evening ended with a short recap of the trip to Israel, how our swifts are so different than old-world swifts, and going birding in Israel as told by Faye.

6-28-18 – The map of major stacks clearly outlines swift migration routes (Photo/Lalenia Maria)

MORE INFO:      VauxHappening.org

Diane Yorgason-Quinn at Avosetta@hotmail.com

AUG 25, 2018 — SELLECK SWIFT FIELD TRIP 5:45 PM to 9:30 PM

Watch these crazy little birds go to bed around sunset inside the chimney at the old schoolhouse in Selleck (now a private home where we have permission). Meet at 5:45 PM at the Auburn Supermall (AKA The Outlet Collection) theater parking lot, south side near Panda Express. We’ll carpool from there. Please RSVP here AND sign up with Diane Yorgason-Quinn, Avosetta@hotmail.com. No children. No limit. No exertion, good for people with can’t walk far. No bathrooms (go to the supermall early to find one). Bring lawn chair or blanket.

SEPT 8, 2018 — SWIFT NIGHT OUT at Monroe, Wagner School on Main Street.  A true festival with food, vendors, fun stuff, docents, AND SWIFTS!  Just show up anytime after 4 PM.  No need to sign up.

SEPT 16, 2018 — JBLM SWIFT NIGHT.  Find a friend with base privileges to bring you.  6 PM until the swifts are all in.  Meet at Building 2068.  Contact Diane for directions at Avosetta@hotmail.com.

SWIFT COUNTER TRAINING:  Any Sunday night at JBLM starting Aug 26.  Contact Diane Y-Q at Avosetta@hotmail.com.

Faye McAdams Hands and Diane Y-Q in the swift finery they wore to the International Swift Conference in Israel (Photo/Adam Trent)

PEREGRINES NESTING AGAIN IN DOWNTOWN TACOMA!

UPDATE, June 25, 2018, from Fergus Hyke:

6/11 Monday, Rescued Pacific from Pacific Avenue. Looked ok. Taken and released to the roof. (Sorry for the cut-off picture, I needed to know which one this was and focused on the band.

Pacific ID’d by band after rescue

6/13 – Rescued Blue from the middle of the street. Was first spotted on a ledge 2 stories up from the front entrance to my building. After about 2 hours, it tried to fly and ended up landing in the street. I gave chase and eventually got a towel over it. Again, looked ok to me, and was pretty feisty. Placed in rescue box and after about 15 minutes to calm down, released to the roof.

Blue after her big adventure

Blue after rescue

What made me smile after this rescue, when I released to the roof, five minutes later it hopped onto the roof ledge, and flew along the roofline stopping at a few spots before disappearing around the building.

Blue: “I can fly!”

6/13 7:30, I get a call from WF Security. Says a pair of crows were “ca-cawing” and chasing a falcon on the plaza. By the time I got there with my kids (and ice cream in the trunk) it had managed to get itself trapped in a garbage can (that’s a first). I did a quick evaluation and it looked ok. This one ended up being Starbuck. So I removed her and released to the roof.

Starbuck in garbage can

Starbuck after release from garbage can

(The following is from June 15^th)

I did some observing at lunchtime, and it was nice seeing all three up on the ledge during that time. After about an hour, I was able to identify each, including a stop-by by Harriett. Pacific seems to be hanging out by himself lately, while his sisters have been together more so than not.

Sisters Starbuck and Blue

Blue stretches her wings

Pacific visits his nest box

Pacific in box with mother Harriett checking on him.

Since the above observations, I have sporadically seen one or two of them around the building, and as of yesterday I have not seen much of them at all. Other than the one week of the three rescues, with no injuries requiring rehabilitation, it so far looks to be a successful 2018 Banding and Fledging.

***********************************

PREVIOUS POST from MAY:

Fergus Hyke again has been following Peregrines nesting on his building in downtown Tacoma, the same site they’ve used for a decade now.  Jerry Broadus reports that the birds are “as noisy as ever and have 3 eyasses.  Ed Deal and Martin Muller banded them already with Clarice helping to hold their little talons. Actually, the couple (Harriet and Murray) have been hunting around downtown for quite a while this spring, and I have taken some students to see them.  Roger Orness has been taking notes on them and at least one other pair.”  There was apparently also a reporter from Grit City Magazine present at the banding.

Here’s Fergus’ illustrated history of the chicks (all photos by Fergus Hyke, click to enlarge):

It has been another busy season for our falcons. Murray and Harriett had four eggs, and three were viable, one was unfertilized. Jerry and Clarice took it to the Slater Museum for research and future educational purposes.

First hatching occurred around May 3^rd. First verification of three chicks was May 4^th.

Hatching May 3

May 12, 2004     – Approximate hatch date of Murray, the resident Male. 14 years old!

Murray, the reliable father

May 23, two days before banding

May 25 – BANDING DAY!

May 25 Banding Day – Male “Pacific”

May 25 Banding Day – Female “Starbuck”

May 25 Banding Day – Female “Blue”

May 30, 2018 – Harriett continues to watch over the three. Murray is also nearby.

May 30 – Harriet watches the kids

For details on the location of the building and last year’s chicks, see: http://abcbirding.com/peregrine-flash-mob-memorial-day-2017/

JULY 7, 8, 9 – CASSIA COUNTY, IDAHO: Scouting for Cassia Crossbills, led by Faye & Diane, limited number. Sign up with Diane at Avosetta@hotmail.com.

This is not the usual field trip where the leaders have been before, but actually a scouting trip for everyone on this Very First Field Trip to search out sites together for this newest species in the U.S.!

We will spend a day traveling to Twin Falls, then a day going south into Cassia County looking for Crossbills, then back to Twin Falls that night, and home the 3rd day. Participants may stay in the hotel in Twin Falls where Faye and Diane will be or camp in one of the many campgrounds that we will be investigating Sunday for crossbills. If you want to camp and find out the details on campground reservations, please share with the group once we have a participant list.

Recommend 4WD or AWD high clearance vehicle, and be ready to help in case any of us has a flat tire. We will be on dirt roads in the mountains. Should be dry by July with campfires prohibited. Bring your FRS radios, as there will be doubtful cell coverage.

Cassia Crossbill with Lodgepole pine cone (Ornithologi.com)

From Cornell: “Cassia Crossbills are year-round residents in Idaho’s South Hills and Albion Mountains in the county that gives the crossbill its name. They tend to be more numerous in older and more open lodgepole pine forests.”

Dr. Julie Smith told me in an earlier e-mail: “Even if other call types are passing through, the other call types will be rare compared to the Cassia crossbill. The vast majority of birds that you see will be the Cassia crossbills.”

Other study materials:
1. ABC meeting report with Dr. Julie Smith of PLU: http://abcbirding.com/september-2014-meeting-report-crossbills/
2. An eBird report that includes photos and sonograms from last summer: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S38430005
3. A really great article from High Country News by Nick Neely: https://www.hcn.org/issues/49.13/endangered-species-will-the-wests-newest-species-go-extinct
4. A site guide from BirdWatching magazine to the area we’ll be exploring, with tips for camping: https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/hotspots/266-porcupine-springs-campground-sawtooth-national-forest-idaho/
5. An excellent blog post, new this spring: https://ornithologi.com/2018/03/05/idahos-endemic-the-cassia-crossbill-loxia-sinesciuris/

DAVE SLAGER ENTERTAINS ABC’ERS April 24, 2018

BE SURE TO SEE UPDATE AT BOTTOM!

Dave Slager at ABC

ABC loved Dave Slager. He was a fount of the kind of info that we want to know and ready to talk on anything we wanted. He is a doctorate student at the U. His areas are research science and ornithology, but he says these are colored by the fact that he is a lifelong birder.

Dave and Slater Museum director Peter Wimberger examine crow specimens

ABC now has the lowdown on the Northwestern Crow vs American Crow question. Picture Dave in a Clean Room wearing a Hazmat suit to make sure nothing sullies his extraction of DNA from antique crow specimens from several museums. Then you’ll know why he was selected to present his paper on the crow question a couple of months ago, results of which should be published soon and will cause a sensation among corvid scholars and birders. We are just the second group after that august gathering to hear his crow results.

Why we are at the epicenter of the Northwestern Crow controversy

Antique specimen DNA studies do not differ much from modern Haplotypes

Dave’s conclusions are that there are definitely two haplotypes that our crows fall into, but that interbreeding occurs at all levels and has been occurring since before “civilization” befell our corner of the continent. But the two types tended toward speciation in prehistoric times, which stopped at some point, and has led now to crows in the northwest breeding together and having various amounts of both signatures.

Some of Dave’s conclusions

Because he has shown two historic types, even though they are evolving away as we read this, he says we should enjoy having Northwestern Crows on our lists while we still can, and he will probably add them to his personal list when he birds Alaska this summer.  In the event of a lump by the AOS checklist committee, he says birders will also gain from many upcoming splits, so don’t mourn the loss.

The Corvid Family Tree

He showed a relationship chart of the Corvids, which was pretty interesting on its own, showing that our Ravens are more closely related to Old World Ravens than to our Crows, and the same for New and Old World Crows. He mentions how poor the western hemisphere is in Corvid species compared to the eastern hemisphere, as well. And the Fish Crow appears to be more closely related to ravens than the crows!

Dave talks about more than just crows.

After discussing some eBird complaints, Dave took some time at the end to talk about sound recording and how exciting that is. He said he can take a photo, and it won’t add much to the body of knowledge since there are so many good photos of any given bird, but a song recording might, since there are many fewer recordings. He was able to take a course from Cornell/Macaulay that really inspired him, and of course eBird is encouraging us to post sound recordings these days. Two of his tips were about amplifying your recordings to an acceptable level, as well as using wav vs mp3 to capture more nuances of birdsong. And try to get recordings of crossbills!  We are still learning many things about the occurrence and distribution of the different call types, and what a challenge they are to record as they fly off into the distance!

Dave had to be dragged away from avid ABC’ers due to his willingness to answer any and all questions, including that he agreed Willets are two separate species, and much more. We’ll definitely be wanting him back at some point!

UPDATE FROM DAVE!  DEC 11, 2018:

Some of you might be interested in reading about our recent UW research on the American Crow / Northwestern Crow hybrid zone, which is currently in the peer review process.

Short version:  Our crows are hybrids!

I posted a summary explanation on Twitter here:
https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fdlslager%2Fstatus%2F1072353359041085440&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cc0f27135155a475ad62208d65fb9fecb%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636801649774470123&sdata=inD%2B%2BXfVgVF1ZQu2D3EPg7AFKpVtNgzpqwhhu0brklM%3D&reserved=0

For those interested in the nitty gritty, you can read the full
manuscript for free by going to this link and clicking “Download PDF”
<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.biorxiv.org%2Fcontent%2Fearly%2F2018%2F12%2F10%2F491654&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7Cc0f27135155a475ad62208d65fb9fecb%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636801649774470123&amp;sdata=9u0Ewhc%2FX%2Fts1yFk0zK725U9TCS68E%2Bqsyd1RkQtb4k%3D&amp;reserved=0>.

Happy crow watching,

Dave Slager
Seattle, WA
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