ABC WELCOMES James Watson, raptor expert with the Department of Fish & Wildlife.  $10 honorarium.  James Watson will tell us the latest on Golden Eagles in Washington on November 29, 2016, 6:45 PM.  VENUE: Pierce County Library Administration Bldg, 3005 112th Street East, Tacoma, WA 98446-2215, near Hwy 512 & Waller Rd.

Ironically, recent interest in North America’s other eagle, the Golden Eagle, stems from impacts on this species from green energy development. Yet throughout history the species has continued to survive human interaction from their prized value and use in Native American cultures, large scale aerial gunning and poisoning in the mid-20^th century, and ongoing impacts from electrocution and lead poisoning.  Join us as we explore what current research reveals about natural history of Golden Eagles in Washington including population dynamics, aspects of breeding and wintering ecology, and major threats potentially limiting the future population. Bring your questions, whether related to field identification or weight-lifting capacity of an eagle, and we’ll attempt to “de-myth” their secretive lifestyle.

James Watson is a raptor expert with the Dept of Fish&Wildlife

Jim Watson is a Wildlife Research Scientist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the lead researcher for statewide raptor studies.  He has spent the past 40+ years studying raptors in the western United States and abroad.  Jim’s research focus includes raptor population dynamics, migration ecology, and management of raptors in human landscapes. His recent work evaluates impacts of wind energy and lead contaminants on golden eagles and ferruginous hawks.

Banding a young Golden Eagle

BIRDS OF THE WIND – ABC welcomed Dennis Paulson, one of the world’s experts on the fascinating and confusing shorebirds, who gave us a great overview as well as little known factoids in his illustrated presentation. Thanks to the University of Puget Sound for hosting this event and to Peter Wimberger, the director of the Slater Museum at UPS. Dennis is the past director of the museum.

We went with Dennis in photos to Cambridge Bay where he spent a season literally on the ground with nesting shorebirds, many of which went through Washington on their way north to nest. We looked at the nests, the eggs, the food, the predators, the camouflage of nest and bird, as well as the incubating parents, often the father, in a dozen different species in the up-close-and-personal photographs he took. This area at that time was blessed with a dearth of Arctic Foxes, so most eggs hatched, although of course there were a number of predators on the precocial chicks who did their own foraging as soon as they hatched, returning to their parent only for warmth and protection for a short time.

Dennis gave a number of time-lines on our Washington coastal birds, showing when the adults and then the young birds come through here, dramatically illustrating the long migration season in the fall as opposed to the short season in the spring. Maps were shown illustrating migratory routes of adults versus immatures, highlighting how different they can be. Dennis said it takes a year for the programming to kick in. No one knows how THAT works, but since they leave after their parents, it’s obviously not taught.

Many more factoids amazed some of us. Vera Cragin said on the way home that she had never seen or heard of the fact that shorebirds regurgitate pellets. Many of us were amazed at the photo of the Dowitcher, I think, with its upper mandible bent upwards when needed by the bird. Most amazing was Dennis’ uncanny vocal imitations of several really weird “songs” of shorebirds, rarely heard on these wintering grounds.

The group had many questions, many centering around changes in population, human-caused habitat loss and even humans’ contribution to the currently growing El Nino. However, Dennis says there is no evidence that these birds have changed their timetables in response to any of this, being extremely hard-wired in that regard.

Click on photo to enlarge.

Part of the appreciative crowd, some wearing UPS Slater Museum t-shirts! Center: Kay Pullen, MC for the ABC Club; Dennis Paulson; Ken Brown, founder of ABC; and Peter Wimberger, host and director of the Slater Museum at UPS. Bottom: Dennis with groupies, some of the Willettes wearing shorebird shorts: Carol Smith, Diane Y-Q, and Laurel Parshall.

March 22 – Round Table Pizza, University Place — 7 PM – Faye McAdams Hands will do a presentation on feathers. Come early if you want to order food.

April 26 – University Place LIbrary — 7 PM — Carole Breedlove will do a presentation on her recent trip to Madagascar in her pursuit of all of the world’s Kingfisher species.

Thanks to Rolan, Ken and Diane the Feb 23, 2012 ABC Birding meeting will be in the meeting room of Round Table Pizza in University Place, 7-9 PM.

Round Table Pizza  (253) 565-3000