The President Taps A Birder

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Treasury Secretary John Snow resigned Tuesday and President Bush nominated Goldman Sachs Chairman Henry M. Paulson Jr. to replace him.

The Washington Post reports that Paulson is a birdwatcher who can often be found in Central Park with his binoculars, he is known as a conservationist also serving as co-chair of the Asia/Pacific Council of the Nature Conservancy, and the chair of The Peregrine Fund, which works to conserve wild populations of birds of prey.

In an article in CNN Money/Fortune Paulson was approached by the Nature Conservancy in 2001 to serve as its CEO. "The timing isn't right," Paulson said then. Now instead he takes the helm of Treasury.

* CNN Money/Fortune article on Paulson's Secret Life
* Article in The Washington Post
* Financial Times Profile
* Remember these birds at the Treasury

Red Knots in Decline

The population of North American red knots has been in the midst of a sharp decline for a decade, falling from over 100,000 in the 1980s to 17,000 last year. This year, the numbers have fallen even further. Aerial surveys around the Delaware Bay have counted only 12,000 red knots.

Increased harvesting of horseshoe crabs has been blamed for this species's rapid decline. Before a sudden boom in the horseshoe crab market, watermen took only about 100,000 crabs per year; at the height of crab harvesting in the mid 1990s, about 2.5 million crabs were taken. Horseshoe crabs are used as bait for conch fishing.

Red knots depend upon a plentiful supply of horseshoe crab eggs when they arrive at the Delaware Bay in the midst of their long migration from the southern tip of South America to their breeding grounds in the Arctic Circle. Their migration is timed to coincide with the spawning of horseshoe crabs, when millions of horseshoe crabs come ashore on the beaches to mate and lay their eggs.

The Delaware Sparrow

The tidal salt marshes of Delaware, which DC Audubon toured on a recent field trip, are home to a unique subspecies of Swamp Sparrow, the Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana nigrescens). This subspecies is small in number and declining due to changes in the vegetation of coastal marshes. Because little is known, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center is currently studying the life history of the coastal plain subspecies.

It was only 55 years ago that the coastal plain swamp sparrow was identified and categorized as a subspecies of the more common swamp sparrow, says Shriver. And just last year Smithsonian researchers discovered where the bird winters -- a stretch of marshland from Charleston, S.C., to Beaufort, N.C. It's not a very long trek; most migratory birds fly far greater distances between their winter and summer homes. But Shriver explains that there's one crucial difference between the habitats -- freezes don't occur regularly in the coastal Carolinas. Coastal plain swamp sparrows feed on insects and spiders, which they find by poking around in the mud, so moving 500 or 600 miles south ensures a steady food supply in the winter months.

Mid-May marks the start of nesting season for the coastal plain swamp sparrow and the start of field research. Studies in Chesapeake Bay marshland have shown a steady drop in the number of sparrow nests since the late 1980s. Shriver and Greenberg want to see if that pattern is occurring in Delaware marshes. Coastal plain swamp sparrows like to nest in high marsh, which features a mix of tall and short grassy vegetation with shrubs mixed in. They often attach their nests to the base of the Hide Tide Bush, a common shrub, and then use tufts of Salt Hay to camouflage the nests. Finding these small, well-hidden nests is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, the female vocalizes a distinctive "chip, chip, chip" call when
leaving the nest.

Coastal plain swamp sparrows like to nest in high marsh, which features a mix of tall and short grassy vegetation with shrubs mixed in. They often attach their nests to the base of the Hide Tide Bush, a common shrub, and then use tufts of Salt Hay to camouflage the nests. Finding these small, well-hidden nests is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, the female vocalizes a distinctive "chip, chip, chip" call when leaving the nest.

Learn more about coastal plain swamp sparrows.

Mystery Seabird in DC

Mystery Seabird in Wasington, DC

Peter Vankevich took this photograph on May 13, 2006 on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC. Several excellent birders have had varying opinions as to its identification. Feel to offer your opinion in the comments.

DC Audubon BIRDATHON 2006

Audubon Society of the District of Columbia
BIRDATHON 2006
May 13, 2006


Celebrate the diversity of resident and migratory bird species on International Migratory Bird Day (http://www.birdday.org/) by participating in a fund-raising Birdathon to benefit the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia.

The Birdathon counting is between 5:00 a.m. through midnight. Teams will count American Bird Association (ABA) recognized species of birds within the terrestrial and nautical boundaries of the District of Columbia. Birds seen on the boundary lines with MD and VA will count.

Rules are the same as the 2005 ABA Big Day Rules with the exception of the time of the Birdathon and each bird species must be seen or heard by 2/3 of the team members. If you are a team of only two members, you both must identify the bird.

To refer to the additional rules visit here:
http://www.americanbirding.org/bigday/2005bigdayform.pdf

All teams must seek pledges for donations to the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia. Non-residents of DC may participate. Non-members of the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia may participate. Participants are recognized when their lists are submitted no later than May 20. There is no entry fee. Please create a team name and enter it with your submission. We are operating on the honor system for sightings, but the Society has the right to question and challenge unusual sightings.

Typically, ask for a pledge per bird seen or heard and tell your donors how many species you hope to target.

Winners – everyone that cares about bird conservation is a winner, but the team with the most sightings will be recognized on the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia’s Web site. Please include a team picture and your names with your submission so that you may bask in the glory of your victory.

Make checks payable to the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia.
Submit checks, team information and final counts using the ABA form to the following:

Send checks to Audubon Society of the District of Columbia, c/o Denise Ryan, Treasurer
5726 Lockwood Rd, Cheverly, MD 20785
Participation or rules questions to Denise Ryan at savetheocean@yahoo.com

Trip Report: Cockpit Point Road

Sunday, April 30th, was the inaugural DCA trip to southeastern Fairfax County to Cockpit Point Road. Seventeen hardy birders turned up and the trip was successful although there were logistical snafus and ornithological disappointments. While trying to cut down the unneccessary number of cars the group split. Those who came with me and returned to the embarking spot at the entrance to Cockpit and Possum Point stopped at the power station on the ridge and were treated to great looks at Summer Tanager and Prarie Warbler with a Baltimore Oriole flying into the same tree for some coloration diversity. Orchard Orioles also flitted around to make their presence known. Below in the reservoir, several Bald Eagles held the point with some scurrying around by Spotted Sandpipers and Killdeer below. In the pines Yellow-rumped Warblers abounded and then a Yellow-throated Warbler gave an upclose demonstation of his song, breeding colors, and ownership of his section of trees. House Finches, Goldfinches, Song and Field Sparrows were singing along the shrubs by the power plant and an Osprey carried nesting materials to his perch amidst the power lines.... Read more