As a fledgling birder in the 1960’s, my chief source of bird information was my cherished Golden Guide Birds of North America by Chandler Robbins and the artist Bertel Bruun. At the time, the Robbins guide and Roger Tory Peterson’s guide were the only two field guides available. To be sure, Peterson’s illustrations were far superior to those of Bruun but the text, the plates and the range maps were in different parts of the Peterson guide. The Robbins guide had text, illustrations, maps and sonograms of each species on facing pages. Plus, all of the bird species in North America were covered.
These memories spring to mind because Chan recently passed away at the age of 98. His contributions to ornithology and to birding were immense. The Golden Guide was just one of his many accomplishments.
Chan took a job as a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1945. He was based at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Maryland until his retirement in 2005 after 60 years or service! Even in retirement, he continued to work as an emeritus biologist for another 13 years.
Early in his career, he conducted research on the effects of DNA on birds. He worked closely with Rachel Carson, one of Maine’s own, and his work on the deleterious impact of DDT provided scientific support for Carson’s Silent Spring, published in 1962.
Concerned about tracking the effect of DDT on bird populations, Chan realized that we lacked a rigorous method to assess changes in bird populations at the regional and continental level in North America. Chan remedied that problem by designing the Breeding Bird Survey (hereafter, BBS), a citizen-science project that provides a view of the changes of breeding bird populations throughout North America.
A BBS is conducted along a 24.5-mile stretch of secondary roads. Once during the breeding season, an observer starts at the designated starting point about half an hour before sunrise. The observer listens and looks for birds for three minutes, drives 0.5 mile to the next stop, observes for three minutes and so one until 50 stops are sampled.
The observer samples the same route each year, reporting the data to the BBS office.
Nearly 3,000 BBS routes are sampled yearly. Modest contributions from many yield a powerful tool for detecting declines or increases of our avifauna.
The BBS data are available to researchers. Over 400 papers been published with the data. One of the most influential of these papers was a 1989 article written by Chan and his colleagues. They showed that an alarming number of long-distance migrants showed decreasing abundance on the breeding ground in North America. Related species that did not migrate to the tropics were not showing such steep decreases in abundance. Hence, the authors could infer that deforestation and other habitat degradation in the tropical wintering areas of these long-distance migrants could explain lower densities in North America. This work provided a strong impetus to redouble efforts at habitat conservation.
Chan visited Midway Island in the Pacific ten times during this career. His work involved banding Laysan Albatrosses that nest there. In 1956, he banded an albatross, subsequently named Wisdom. Wisdom is still alive and reproducing at the ripe age of 60! Wisdom is the oldest banded bird ever.
I got to know Chan from ornithological meetings. I well remember chats we had after presentations I made. He was a kind, soft-spoken and generous man. He was also a highly skilled observer. His eyes and ears were amazing.
For many years, I conducted BBS routes in Maine. After conducting my 50th BBS census, I received a certificate of appreciation from the BBS Office along with a signed copy of the Chan’s Birds of North America. I am very proud of the book, which sits on my shelf next to my tattered childhood copy.
In the middle of January, my wife, two other couples and I made a 12-day trip to Costa Rica, following by a few months the billions of North American birds that migrated south for the winter.
Waiting to pick up our rental van near the San José Airport, we saw some birds flitting in a few trees adjacent to the building. And our first birds of our trip were . . . . Chestnut-sided Warblers, Tennessee Warblers and a bright male Baltimore Oriole. Not the exotic tropical species were we expecting!
Those three species were the first of many Neotropical migrants we would see on our trip. We tend to think of Chestnut-sided Warblers and Baltimore Orioles as “our” North American birds. But they spend less of the year in North America than they do in tropical areas. We get them on loan for the breeding season.
We spent our first night at the Hotel Bougainvillea, north of the airport. The ten acres of gardens there were delightful for a pre-breakfast bird walk. Clay-colored Thrushes, the national bird of Costa Rica, were common. Other highlights were Lesson’s Motmots, Crimson-ringed Parakeets and some old friends, three Yellow Warblers.
On to the La Selva Biological Station in northeastern Costa Rica, a center of rain forest research in the New World tropics. We took advantage of the extensive trail system there for a glorious three days.
Neotropical migrants included Broad-winged Hawks, House Wrens, Wood Thrushes, abundant Chestnut-sided Warblers, and Summer Tanagers.
Toucans were abundant, loud and easy to see. We found three species: Yellow-fronted Toucan, Keel-billed Toucan and Collared Aracari.
We saw small flocks of Great Green Macaws in flight several times and once had the delight of watching two perched macaws through a spotting scope. Fewer than 300 individuals of this species exist today.
Bronze-tailed Plumeleteers, Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds and Steely-vented Hummingbirds were the most common hummers. We also had great looks at a Rufous-tailed Jacamar. This woodpecker relative has a long, thin bill for capturing insects on the wing. It looks like a giant hummingbird!
We had the pleasure of seeing a number of Green Ibis. They are so different from the Glossy Ibis that nest along the southern Maine coast. Glossies are rather quiet birds, sedately probing in the mud with their long decurved bills.
Green Ibises like to perch in treetops and they are extremely vocal, giving an accelerating hooting call. They are most active at dawn and dusk.
Numerous species of tanagers delighted us, each gaudy and spectacular in its own way. But sometimes, an understated appearance can be the most beautiful. For me, that applies to the Snowy Cotingas we saw: white (male) or light gray(female) feathering with a dark eye and bill. Stunning birds!
We had long looks at a perched Rufous Motmot. Another beautiful bird with subtle coloration.
Birds of prey included a Semiplumbeous Hawk, a Gray-headed Kite and a Laughing Falcon (whose call really does sound like a person laughing).
On our final afternoon at La Selva, we signed up for a boat tour of the Rio Sarapiquí that flows through La Selva.
Greater Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpipers, Great Blue Herons and Little Blue Herons were foraging on the banks. Most of the swallows wheeling overhead were familiar Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Some had gray rumps indicating a different species, Southern Rough-winged Swallows. A few Mangrove Swallows with their blue-green upperparts were mixed in.
Our guide spied a well-hidden Green Kingfisher, only 7.5 inches in length. A delightful imp! We also had a good view of the much larger Amazon Kingfisher.
We had a brief view of a soaring bird that came back into view for a good look. It was a King Vulture. We knew it was a particularly good sighting because our tour guide was so excited to see it.
We saw several Anhingas as well.
Anhinga
We departed westward from the tropical rain forests in La Selva to higher elevation. En route, we passed many cow pastures with Cattle Egrets, Great-tailed Grackles and an occasional Crested Caracara consorting with the bovines.
Ultimately, we arrived at the Arenal Observatory Lodge. The lodge is at the base of the Arenal Volcano, the youngest and most active volcano in Costa Rica. Standing nearly, 5,400 feet high, this cone-shaped volcano is a wonder to behold. Steam and other gases emanate from several craters. The last eruption was in 2010.
The lodge has an expansive deck with chairs with a full view of the volcano. It’s also a great platform for birding. A fig tree only 30 feet away is a magnet for many fruit-eating birds. The lodge staff also puts out fruit on a large feeder to attract birds.
The highlight was the diversity of tanagers, each seemingly more colorful and beautiful than the next. You can get an idea of the colors from the names: Blue-gray Tanager, Blue-and-Gold Tanager, Crimson-collared Tanager, Emerald Tanager, Silver-throated Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Green Honeycreeper and my favorite, the Bay-headed Tanager.
Montezuma’s Oropendolas, large members of the blackbird family, were abundant. The males continually performed their bow display.
Montezuma’s Oropendola
From a perch on a branch, a male rotates on the perch to put its head down and tail sticking up, all the while giving a distinctive, loud metallic gurgle.
Great Currasow male
From the deck we had great looks at a Great Curassow, a distinctive ground-dwelling bird as well as a Black-and-white Becard.
Long-nosed Coati
Delightful long-nosed coatis, a raccoon relative, roamed around in small packs.
We hired a guide to take us on an early morning bird walk along some of the many trails and roads of the Lodge property. The highlight was a Yellow-eared Toucanet. Our guide had not seen one at Arenal in over a year. Other goodies included a Laughing Falcon, a Violet-headed Hummingbird, Blue-black Grosbeaks and a Black-cowled Oriole.
We departed Arenal for three days in Monteverde, one of the most popular birding sites in Costa Rica. This area has some large tracts of cloud forest with a distinctive bird fauna.
We hired a guide for a morning walk. Usually the cloud forest is foggy with water dripping from the trees. For our walk, the weather was clear and dry.
We enjoyed the beautiful songs of Ochraceous Wrens and Gray-breasted Wood Wrens, eventually getting a good look at each. An Azure-hooded Jay gave us great looks. Slate-throated Redstarts, mostly yellow and black, darted around at eye-level.
We heard the dry trill of a Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, a small songbird that mostly forages on the forest floor. Our guide told us that seeing one of these birds is extremely difficult.
The highlight of the walk was a sighting of a male Resplendent Quetzal. The male we saw was perched in the top of an avocado tree, calmly digesting a meal of avocados.
Resplendent Quetzal male
The word spread quickly about the quetzal and many tour groups converged. Everyone got a good view through a spotting scope. With an iridescent emerald-green head, back and chest, red belly and a long tail with green and white feathers, this species is the most beautiful bird I have ever seen. The quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala as well as the name of their currency.
Lesson’s Motmot
We also had a fine look at a Lesson’s Motmot high overhead.
Some of us went on an afternoon walk on our own. I saw a bird flitting about on the ground. It was a Silvery-fronted Tapaculo. I was ecstatic!
At the Café Calibri just outside the reserve, hummingbirds visit the many feeders hanging there. We saw seven species including the stunning Violet Sabrewing and Green Hermit. Bananaquits, currently classified into the tanager family, competed for their chance at the sugar water.
Now that 2016 has ended, it’s time to check on the Big Year efforts. John Weigel shattered the old North American record of 749 species seen in a calendar year by finding 781 birds! Three of his species are new to North America and must be accepted by rare bird committees before their official inclusion.
Olaf Danielson did nearly as well, finding 778 species (two pending). Danielson also spent time birding in Hawaii and has set a new record of 827 species in a year in the United States.
Laura Keene ended her Big Year with 759 species and Christian Hagenlocher exceeded his goal of 700 species by documenting 750 species. I’m sure all four of these birders are glad to get a chance to rest!
On a more local level, Josh Fecteau of Kennebunkport did a Big Year in Maine in 2016 and found 305 species. An extraordinary effort! You can read about Josh’s Big Year at joshfecteau.com
The Effects of Bird Feeding
Feeding the birds is a common practice for hundreds of thousands of Americans. Over 40% of American households maintain a bird feeder. We know that bird feeding does increase the survivorship of birds and improves their physiological condition. Birds do not become dependent on our handouts. What’s the downside of feeding birds?
Jenn Malpass and two colleagues have recently published a paper describing their more nuanced perspective on impacts of bird feeding. Jenn is a Colby College alumna who recently completed her Ph.D. at Ohio State University.
Jenn’s work investigated the impact that bird feeders have on nest predators over the period of 2011 through 2014. On the one hand, if bird feeders increase the abundance of Blue Jays, American Crows or gray squirrels, other birds nesting in the area may be at a higher risk of losing their eggs or nestlings to those nest predators. On the other hand, providing food to Blue Jays may satiate them, reducing their tendency to take eggs or nestlings.
The research team used seven study areas in residential neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio. Each neighborhood was about nine acres in area. The team got permission from most home owners to visit their yards. The team carefully canvased each area and noted the location of every American Robin and Northern Cardinal nest. The nests were checked every one to four days for evidence of nest predation. This project was an ambitious one; nearly 1,000 nests were monitored. The researchers also did visual searches for 18 different potential nest predators.
Unsurprisingly, multiple houses in each area had feeding stations. The research team placed additional bird feeders in three of the seven neighborhoods, essentially doubling the number of feeders. This supplemental food provided a direct test of the influence of bird feeding on nest predator abundance. Many of the potential nest predators could take advantage of the bird seeds (squirrels and several bird species). Others, like cats and raptors would not be directly attracted by tasty sunflower seeds, peanuts or millet.
As you can imagine, the statistical analysis is complicated. The authors first tested the effect of year-to-year variability and the amount of supplemental food available on the abundance of the various potential nest predators. Next, they tested the effect of nest predators and bird feeders on nest success.
The results showed that bird feeders do increase the abundance of American Crows and Brown-headed Cowbirds. However, this increase in nest predator abundance did not translate into reduced nesting success of robins or cardinals. The one negative effect was a reduction in robin nest success in the presence of high American Crow abundance and high bird feeder density. The main effect of bird feeders on nesting success is neither a positive or negative effect. Our joy in feeding birds, at least for two species, does not entail unintended negative consequences.
