BORNEO BIRDBANDING WITH JERRY & CLARICE, 10/24/16

Here’s where the banding station is!  Zoom in to see Jerry & Clarice.

Jerry Broadus and Clarice Clark went birdbanding in Borneo and joined long-time friend and Morse Preserve bander, Suzanne Tomassi, who is running a 10-year study and banding project in the Danum Valley in northern Borneo, an unforgettable and remote area with perhaps the oldest rainforest in the world with many species still unrecorded by Science. They were there through SEARRP (South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership http://www.searrp.org/) and Suzanne’s group, the Borneo Rainforest Project.

The Sabah region, featuring the Danum Valley where the banding was done on the right.

Being in Borneo near the end of Ramadan

Suzanne has a fundraising website for the Borneo Rainforest Project wtih an entertaining video that you should watch — both to understand what they need and for the sheer enjoyment of vicariously visiting the place, as we did with Jerry and Clarice. If you send in any amount to them through INDIEGOGO, they will give you a token gift that you couldn’t get anywhere else: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/borneo-rainforest-project#/backers

Jerry and Clarice vividly protrayed the highs (the birds) and the lows (leeches and bad trails with disappearing bridges and slimy mud) and the interesting facilities and accommodations. It’s not the Ritz (though the only other place you can stay in the vicinity is — the very expensive Borneo Rainforest Lodge). They also talked about the available bird books with their competing sets of Latin names for the birds. With all the photos they took, Jerry and Clarice practically made a new field guide, judging by the many great slides they showed us.

Some trails were washed away

Apparently not the first to get lost here.

Concerning bird stories they told us concerned Hornbills (the Chinese have now turned to Hornbills’ bills since Rhino horns have become so hard to obtain) and Swifts with edible nests, now “farmed” and sold in grocery stores.

Bushy-crested Hornbills.

Swiftlet nests on special at the grocery store.

These can cling to branches, so not too closely related to North American swifts.

They recommended if you hire guides to be sure to get the Sticky Rice Guide Service for real birders. Other “guides” available are only there to keep you from getting lost, but not to help in any other way.

 
Banders are forging new territory, as there nothing like the Pyle guides to help them catalog what they’re banding. They take blank bird drawings and fill them in as they go along, basically making the banding guide as they go.

No Pyle guide. Had to take blanks and make the guide themselves as they banded.

Other great birds they interacted with included Kingfishers and Trogons and many many more!  It was interesting to hear that Kingfishers just lie still for banding as long as they’re on their backs.

Oriental Dwarf and Blue-eared Kingfisher

Not your western hemisphere trogons!

It’s not just birds in Borneo! Insects, reptiles, and mammals were everywhere! The logo of SEARRP is one of those unforgettable tiny Tarsiers (pause for people to say “aaaahhh!”). And Orangutans are the critters most people think of when they think of Borneo, and they deserve some thought and protection.

Cute Tarsier decorates Jerry’s SEARRP shirt.

Orangutan, a Borneo specialty, eating a tree (not just the fruit!)

Flying lizards? Stuff of nightmares.

Watch out in the leaf litter!

Not a friendly guy. Jerry has good movie footage of him.

Botanists go crazy there, too! Of course there were plenty of Clarice’s favorites, native Rhododendrons (check out her bumpersticker), including Vireyas, among others. Some of these rhodies are actually epiphytes, and many of them dangle from trees above the trail. Of interest was that many trees have smooth bark (koompassias, for example), which protect the trees and nesters from climbing vines. Eyecatching Durian fruit are loved by Orangutans and people, but are outlawed in hotel rooms due to a lingering odor.

Yes, Clarice has a bumpersticker on her car that she brakes for rhodies.

Clarice always likes to end her presentations with a diabolical quiz, but this time it was like no other. She wasn’t trying to catch us or teach us, but rather she was hoping WE could help HER identify a bird! She and Jerry have a difference of opinion what it could be, and the references available differ widely in possible plumages. I’m afraid we didn’t give them a definitive answer. Hey, it COULD be a bird not previously described to Science, even though it did appear just outside the dining hall…

Kitsap Author Leigh Calvez will discuss her new book, The Hidden Lives of Owls, tomorrow night (Sept 27) at The Tacoma Library, sponsored by King’s Books in Tacoma at 7 PM.  For more info:  http://www.kingsbookstore.com/event/owls.

Several of us had already heard her talk about The Hidden Lives of Owls  and sign it when she appeared at Eagle Harbor Books on Bainbridge, her home base, on 9/15/16, as well as having heard her speak about it pre-publication at the WOS conference this year.  That event in Bainbridge was an overflow crowd that included many of her friends including Washington owl expert Jamie Acker.

Owl author Leigh Calvez discusses her new book 9-15-16.

Leigh Calvez’s (pronounced Cal-VAY) previous history is as a naturalist studying marine mammals.  This seeming stretch to owls came about slowly until one day she realized she was obsessed with owls and needed to follow that obsession.  As a naturalist, she knew it would take expert guidance, and she also knew how to find those experts and cajole them into bringing her along.  The resultant book is therefore a combination of the most up-to-date knowledge on several critical species as well as a personal odyssey.  She didn’t just interview the experts — She went with them.  She experienced the same cold, wet, dark, afraid-to-breathe, long and sometimes boring stakeouts and now knows how hard it is to study owls first-hand.

Spotted, Great Grays, and Flammulated Owls are among the hardest to find and are covered in the book with a sense of adventure, as well as many others.

Line drawings by noted local bird artist Tony Angell are added for each species, in a more whimsical style than he usually employs, somewhat reminiscent of his own recent owl book, The House of Owls (thanks for loaning this to me, Vera!).

This is an easy-to-read book that will leave you educated effortlessly as you hurry to turn the page.

By the way, Eagle Harbor Books on Bainbridge will be hosting Paul Bannick on October 30th 4-5 PM when his new book, OWL, comes out.  His photographic study will be a good companion book to Leigh Calvez’s book.

John Klicka explains it all to ABC on September 22, 2016.

JOHN KLICKA AT ABC! 9/22/16

ABC welcomed Burke Museum curator of birds and intense researcher, John Klicka, on September 22nd. The new director of Tahoma Audubon, Emily Kalnicky, was also introduced to the group by TAS president (and noted birder/bander) Jerry Broadus. We are happy she made her debut public appearance to the birders!

Professor Klicka is a dedicated researcher with very specific points of view on recent taxonomy work on birds due to his personal hands-on  research.  After Kay Pullen asked him to tell us about the changes going on at the Burke (all new facilities in new building!), he was eager to show us what he has been up to, studying genomes of House Wrens and other birds and discovering temporal, geographical, and geological connections, some of which was very surprising!

ABC group soaks up Prof Klicka’s morsels of knowledge on 9/22/16

Before getting down to the specifics of the House Wren, Prof Klicka touched on how modern technology has discovered major diet changes (smaller prey) in the Marbled Murrelet that may be as important, or more so, than habitat loss. This was possible through the specimens collected over a hundred years ago looked at with new technology. Thus, specimens collected now by the museum may seem more important at some unforeseen time in the future, making growing and preserving museum collections their #1 purpose. #2 and #3 are the obvious purposes of education and research.

A discussion of genetic mutations followed with numerous examples, the most “colorful” of which was Trogon species color differences. Doing the molecular analysis shows that it is the head/breast hue and not the belly color that distinguishes different clades (descendants of the same ancestor). The other fascinating finding is that there is a molecular clock, which shows within 2% in millions of years when two descendants diverged.

Molecular research found that it was the head/breast color, not the belly, that was species-related.

That molecular clock leads directly to the profound theory of the Great American Interchange — the period of time when species from the north pioneered south and vice versa. It turns out that there is much correlation here with the point 3-1/2 million years ago when the Panama isthmus filled in. Even though birds can fly, they apparently still want to see the land below them when they move their households.

Check out what happened after Panama solidified 3-1/2 million years ago!

Troglodytes aedon might really be a bunch of different species spread throughout the Americas including some strange strains endemic to small islands off the north coast of South America. They are of temperate origin, but once pioneers cleared that isthmus, they radiated enthusiastically and now live in every corner of South America. Of the 75 Troglodytes species, 45 now inhabit the southern continent.

All the same species? These and many more show major diversifications.

An even more extreme case is the true Tanagers, of which all 413 species crossed that Panamanian landbridge from the north and never looked back. One of the ah-hah moments was realizing that once they’ve tasted the tropics, they never want to leave. The reverse is rare.

Thanks, Professor Klicka for a peek into molecular taxonomy! We are discussing visiting your museum in 2017 and look forward to seeing you again.

John Klicka takes questions from Diane Y-Q, Laurel Parshall, and ABC program director Kay Pullen

OCT 24, 2016, 6:45 PM, UPlace Library: Borneo Bird Monitoring by Jerry Broadus & Clarice Clark!

Our own Jerry and Clarice spent three weeks recently in Sabah, Malaysia, Island of Borneo. The primary reason for the visit was to help with a 10-year project monitoring bird populations in old growth and secondary jungle rainforest. We helped with the project in the old growth area, the famous Danum Valley Conservation Area.

Borneo birds as photographed by Jerry Broadus & Clarice Clark, 2016

We stayed at the Danum Valley Field Station with the research staff and met with scientists from around the world working on projects such as carbon sequestration from the atmosphere. Danum Valley is one of the oldest rain forests still standing on earth. It houses several primates including Orangutans, reptiles such as Monitors, and species of birds such as you will never see in the Americas.

Orangutan as photographed by Jerry Broadus & Clarice Clark, Borneo 2016

We spent some time helping with the project banding birds and some time birding with an excellent local guide. After leaving Danum we also birded (and botanized) in Kinabalu National Park.

Birds of Borneo as photographed by Jerry Broadus & Clarice Clark, 2016

This slide show will feature all three–primates, reptiles, and birds. We will show birds in the hand as well as in the bush. We will also show the terrain and forest types. You can expect a short “little brown job” quiz at the end.

Osprey nests on the peninsula had some good news compared to last year, but some bad news, too.

The Purdy Osprey nest almost completely disappeared for the first time in the 28 years I’ve watched it.  Tacoma Water’s website claimed they were using deterrents to discourage Osprey from nesting since they would be tearing those power towers down after osprey season.  When Laurel Parshall and I went to their informational meeting we found that the timeline had been extended over a year and that the osprey could have nested.  Furthermore, the Tacoma Water biologist at the meeting said he knew of no deterrents that had been used and didn’t know why they hadn’t nested.  We have photos of the spikes placed on the towers.  Because of the extended timeline, they could still nest next year if the deterrents don’t work.  The birds have been able to use the towers as fishing perches.  Tacoma Water claims they will “relocate” the osprey, although in the past a tower they put up on the Purdy side was spurned by the birds.  It seems to me that “relocation” can only be done by the Osprey themselves.  More info: https://www.mytpu.org/tacomapower/fish-wildlife-environment/cushman-hydro-project/henderson-bay-project.htm

Osprey will feeble attempt at nest amid spikes

Speaking of Tacoma Water’s power tower project, the Victor/Allyn nests were part of that same project.  Two nests were lost (plus the Heronry on one set of towers), and one platform was erected on the Victor side.  That platform was successful for the second year in 2016, and there was one ready-to-fledge chick seen on 7/24/16 and again on 7/28/16.  Due to extreme height of the platform, no birds were seen prior to that except the occasional adult flyby.

Ready to fledge on Victor mitigation tower,7-28-16

A suspected nesting site from last year on the very tall cell tower at the corner of Highway 302 and Elgin-Clifton Road on the Key Peninsula was confirmed this year, but possibly unsuccessful.   An osprey has been seen there frequently, but the bird there on July 28^th was an adult.  That cell tower was filled with random sticks and one smallish nest.  The traffic pattern and no pullouts make this one very difficult to view.  Of course, they could have already fledged by then.

This Osprey on the Key Peninsula likely did not succeed this year.

Meanwhile, there was Osprey success at the cell tower off north Peacock Hill Road for the first time in 3 years or so.  On July 30, there was lots of flapping going on from at least 2 hard-to-see birds with a possible adult there as well tearing apart a fish.

On July 30, 2016, appeared to be 2 or 3 birds, an adult eating and up to 2 kids flapping

Good news at the Wollochet Bay nest.  Last year, this WDFW-Cam nest featured a dead Osprey chick on its photo feed, which was then stopped.  This year, there was 1 young ready to fledge and 1 adult in the nest on July 28, but the webcam has remained turned off (according to WDFW: “out of alignment and cannot be repaired this season”).

Adult and ready-to-fledge chick smile for camera

Lastly, the nest on the cell tower by the Inn at Gig Harbor has been active again.  Due to the angle of this tall tower, no chicks were observed until August 1, although an adult was frequently on guard there.  On August 1, at least one chick was flapping like crazy in the nest, so success, but no camera with me!

Osprey nest on left tower, adult on guard on right tower.

Still no nests at all on the cell tower off Highway 16 just north of the cemetery on the east side and no nest in Port Orchard in the subdivision cell tower east of the China Sun buffet on Bethel-Burley Road.  These were undoubtedly removed by the cell companies.

Birding with ABC at Bill’s Spit, August 2014

If I were trapped in the wilderness with just one other person, I would want it to be Donna La Casse. She knows how to survive, hunting, fishing, dealing with danger, what’s edible, when to run. But just 2-1/2 years ago, I didn’t know her. When her husband died, she knew exactly how to handle her grief, by sharing her expertise and learning more every day. The Batkers introduced her to me at the 2013 CBC count dinner and mentioned she was ready to start birding again, having birded with the Ramseys decades earlier. She took Ken Brown’s Advanced Birding Class until it finished and joined ABC; and she grabbed the Tahoma Audubon scholarship to take the banding training in 2014.

Donna received one of Tahoma Audubon’s banding scholarships in 2014.

When I asked for more volunteers to count swifts, she joined us; she joined Great Old Broads for Wilderness and has been all over the West with them, doing the dirty work to preserve the wilderness; and she’s with COASST when they’re out on the beach counting bird carcasses.

Picking up stinky dead stuff is part of what Donna does.

And of course she’s been with the Washington Nature Conservancy. They have just put their Volunteer Spotlight on our Donna! Lately she’s been working with them to census and try to save the last Pygmy Rabbits in the northwest.

Pygmy Rabbit project, Nature Conservancy. Photo/Hannah Letinich

Read the Conservancy’s article about Donna and congratulate her when you see her, if she’s not out saving the world!
http://www.washingtonnature.org/fieldnotes/2016/7/10/july-volunteer-spotlight-donna-lacasse

Donna carries a weight in her backpack to help her bad back. That weight is her cat, Stoney.

Ken Brown & Ryan Wiese took a group of ABC’ers over to the coast on a sunny windy weekend.  On Saturday July 23 we covered the Hoquiam sewer pond (record stinkiness!) with a surprise finding of a family of Swainson’s Thrushes and the usual birds.

7-23-16 – Swainson’s Thrush in molt across from Hoquiam sewer pond

From there we headed for the Point Brown jetty where there were record numbers of Heermann’s Gulls and our first Brown Pelicans.

7-23-16 – Heermann’s Gulls

Ocean Shores jetty

Then, not having enough of sewer ponds (!), Ken directed us to eat lunch at the Ocean Shores sewer plant, which luckily was not stinky!   Then off to Washout Beach where we continue our gull study there and at the Oyhut game range.

7-23-16 – Oyhut game range

Then off to Bill’s Spit where we hit the tide right and had thousands of gulls, terns, godwits, and whimbrels to sort through!

On Day 2, Ed & Kay Pullen and Chazz Hesselein joined us, and you can read about that on Ed’s blog:

Coast Trip Sunday

Some of my photos are on FLICKR now (more to follow): https://www.flickr.com/photos/76552838@N03/albums/72157668638371674

Will be updating as Laurel and others post photos.  Ed’s photos and Richard’s digiscopes of the Franklin’s Gull are on Ed’s blog.

Thanks to Ken, Ed, and others who helped with the eBirding!

On July 19, 2016, ABC’ers did our version of a relaxing summer movie, with Ordinary Extraordinary Junco, complete with popcorn.  A little skeptical going in that we’d find out anything new about Juncos, we happily found out there was more to know, with speciation going on before our very eyes, as well as mysteries still to be revealed, such as how those Juncos got out to that island way way way off Baja?

The Ordinary Extraordinary Junco, viewed by ABC’ers July 19, 2016

For those wanting to know more about this movie from Indiana University and the National Science Foundation, or to watch it again, go to the website:  juncoproject.org.

Ordinary Extraordinary Junco movie comes to ABC

Thanks to Melissa Sherwood for sharing her unique Junco story, as seen here:  http://abcbirding.com/local-juncos-make-history/

Melissa and Dennis Sherwood of Gig Harbor had a nest box of Juncos this spring, which is the first time in over a hundred years that Cornell could find any record of Juncos using a nest box.  Project NestWatch signed up Melissa and made her jump through a bunch of hoops to verify this, and now it’s in the history books!

The nest box was designed for swallows, but a rodent had apparently enlarged the entry hole, and these extra-smart Juncos knew what to do with it in April 2016.

A swallow house with a gnawed-out entrance hole was used by Juncos! (Photo by Melissa Sherwood)

Cornell required Melissa to climb a ladder at two different stages to check on the viability of the nest, take photographs and measurements, and log the trips to the box by the parents.  Melissa was shaking the first time she went up and looked into the box and accidentally pushed it askew, but all was well.

Measurements were among the requests from Cornell’s Project NestWatch (Photo/Melissa Sherwood)

Finally in May, Melissa went up the ladder one last time and startled a nestful of chicks out of the box, but they could fly well enough that they weren’t hurt.  The Sherwoods quit worrying when they observed the parents continuing to feed the young for quite some time.

The now-famous nestbox Juncos successfully fledged young! (Photo/Melissa Sherwood)

The experience has now been published by Cornell’s Project NestWatch, and you can see it here: http://nestwatch.org/connect/news/nestwatcher-finds-first-dark-eyed-junco-nesting-in-a-birdhouse/?utm_source=Cornell+Lab+eNews&utm_campaign=b800c90c02-Cornell+Lab+eNews+06_13_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_47588b5758-b800c90c02-302790209