From the Field: Christmas Bird Count Scouting in the Palos Area

The weather has been great in Chicago over the last few weeks, which has greatly assisted us in our Christmas Bird Count (CBC) scouting. The CBC that I have done for almost the last 10 years is the Lisle/Morton Arboretum CBC, which for many years has been sponsored by the Chicago Ornithological Society (COS). The compiler has divided the count circle into six different areas, with each area having essentially a team leader. Our merry little crew of insane birders has been tasked with birding Area 6 for the past couple of years; Area 6 includes a good chucnk of the forest preserves in the Palos area, a couple of old quarry lakes, the I&M Canal, the Des Plaines River, some marshes and sloughs, as well as some highly suburban areas. As the CBC season progresses, we'll keep you informed about some of the tricks we use to ensure a high species count.

Right now we're concerned with two environmental conditions that could greatly influence our species totals: abnormally high temperatures, combined with a long drought. Since most small bodies of water freeze up by the time of our count, we rely on flowing water (ie the Des Plaines River) and the deep quarry ponds to hold a few waterfowl species into December. In extremely cold seasons, almost all of the water in the circle freezes up, leaving the quarries and the Des Plaines River as the only areas with waterfowl. Last year, an extreme cold snap even froze the quarries and the river to a certain extent, but we still managed.

This year, the drought has completely dried up almost all of the smaller ponds, marshes, and sloughs. This means that many of our "duck spots" are bone dry, but as we lose waterfowl habitat, we gain sparrow habitat, and the edges of these sloughs have receded so much that they can be walked, for the first time in the 10 years or so that I have been birding in this area. And the warm temperatures mean that there are some great mud flats, and those mud flats are holding large numbers of Killdeer well into November. (It is extremely rare for a Killdeer to be in our count circle for the CBC, and I don't think we have ever had one in Area 6). However, these low water levels also mean that even a mild freeze will quickly freeze over any sloughs that still have water in them.

It is in this context that the BINAC core team (hey, only 9,990 birds to go!) went a-scouting last weekend, October 29, 2005. We had a modest 43 species, but our goal when scouting is not to maximize species counts or numbers, but to learn where the pockets of birds are hanging out.

Our first early-morning stop was at Bergman Slough, where the first bird I saw was a Northern Harrier. We started to walk the scrubby areas west of the slough, and stumbled upon a large (about 1500 birds) blackbird congregation, mainly Common Grackles, with a few Red-winged Blackbirds thrown in. We almost *never* get Common Grackle in Area 6 (or in rest of the circle, for that matter), so if these birds stick around, it would be quite the find. There was just a huge amount of activity in this scrubby area, an area which, in recent years, we have not always even covered on count day. There were tons of Blue Jays, at least 10 Eastern Bluebirds, along with White-crowned and Swamp Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a Golden-crowned Kinglet. The slough still had some water, and we found a Killder, plus Gadwall, Wood Ducks, Black Ducks, and Green-winged Teal. Probably the best bird of the day was a very elusive sparrow that we felt was likely a Vesper Sparrow. Hopefully this sparrow will stick around for a few more weeks.

We continued on to find a Rusty Blackbird, Red-headed Woodpecker, and more warblers and Blue Jays in a dried-up marsh near the Cap Sauers preserve. I must say that I expect Blue Jay numbers to be large this year, they seem to have really rebounded from a recent decline.

We walked the Will-Cook Road mudflats, and saw a few ducks, at least 15 Killdeer, and more Yellow-rumped Warblers.

The Mt. Vernon Cemetery was dead, so we headed to the John J. Duffy Preserve, where we found more Bluebirds and Grackles, along with a bunch of American Coots, more Gadwall, Woodies and GW Teal, with a couple of American Wigeon and Northern Shovelers thrown in for good measure.

After a quick lunch break, we headed out to a veeeeery long walk into uncharted territory along the Des Plaines River. We call this area "Goose Lake" because some old maps give this name to the largest pond that is in this area; the preserve as a whole really has no name, and is split between Cook and Will Counties. Nobody ever birds this area because it is hard to get to, no one knows where it is, and it is a long walk if you don't know a few short-cuts. We basically walk along the power line right-of-way; in some years when water levels are high, you have to cross an area between Goose Lake and the river that we call the "rocky point" and some winters the water level is about chest-deep, making the area beyond completely inaccessible. (Someone has recently cut a dirt road dwon from the bluffs into this area, just past the rocky point, possibly in preparation for the I-355 highway extenstion that is planend for this area.)

Anyway, to make a long story short, one of the Will County forest preserve gates was locked, so we ended up trying a new trail, getting lost, and retracing our steps for about a four-mile round trip. Our payoff for this was a decent selection of ducks, and more Rusty Blackbirds, but not much else.

After we split up, I checked the Worth Quarry, which is on the edge of Palos but not in the count circle. Nobody -- and I mean nobody -- checks this place, despite the fact that is has hosted some rarities in the past. I don't think it is even mentioned in any of the Chicago or Illinois birding guides, and I can count on one hand the number of birders who even know how to access this location. Anyway, there was a Mute Swan and a couple of Mallard there, along with an impressive total of 30 Killdeer. My count for the entire day was 49 Killdeer, which is an amazing number for Palos in late October. Warm weather + drought = late shorebird habitat.

My final stop was at Lake Katherine, where I viewed the semi-resident Trumpeter Swan, 6 Mute Swans, a couple of Coots, and not much else.

It was a long and full day of birding, and we learned a lot that will help us in our CBC scouting over the next few weeks. Who knows what the rest of November will bring...

Imperial Woodpecker Rediscovered??????

So, the Night Parrot has been rediscovered (supposedly), the Ivory-billed woodpecker has been rediscovered (allegedly), and now there is a recent (second-hand) report, posted to the Mexico birding list, of a sighting of the Imperial Woodpecker!!!! What in the world is going on? Can a "rediscovery" of the Eskimo Curlew be far behind???? Check it out:

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Ron and Sarojam Makau are bird-watching friends of mine. They are avidbird watchers, who live (part-time) near Cabo Pulmo, BCS. They are both professors at UC Riverside in the Biology Dept. They just got back from the Copper Canyon trip. They had somefantastic news ... they are sure, absolutly sure, that the saw an Imperial Woodpecker (!) near Divisadero on the north rim of Copper Canyon.

I questioned them closely, but they were sure, based on the description in Peterson. Howell says that the bird is extinct and last sighting in 1956. Peterson says very rare but not extinct. They swear that they saw the female that has a very unusal reverse crest. They both are experienced birders and are biology professors at UC Riverside.

They have birded all over the world and are really good birders. I belive their sighting. They saw the bird about 30 ft up a pine tree, clinging to the trunk. They were about 50 to 60 feet away, with good light. They observed the bird for about 2 minutes, during that time the bird turned her head and the crest was seen at several angles, definitaly matched thedrawing in Peterson for the female. The bird flew off with slow heavywingbeats (descriped as Raven-like flight). No sounds were heard.

The sighting was about 0700 on the trail near the big hotel on the canyon rim. If they aren't mistaken (and I don't think they are) I'm going tos pend several days birding that area. Wow, to get a photo of a bird that is listed as extinct. I haven't been following reports, but have there been any othersightings of this bird? After Thanksgiving I'm crossing to the mainland and spending a week or so in that area trying to get a photo verification. I know that this is an unconfirmed and second-hand report, but I personaly know the reporters and belive their sighting. Any comments from the group?

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It will be interesting to see the response to this sighting!

Found money/Birding Olive Park

I love "found money." You know, that extra $20 you find in your pokect, or in a hidden corner of your wallet; $20 that you didn't think you had, and now you don't know what to do with it. The only thing I like better than "found money" (well, one of the only things) is "found birding." You're stuck in the house, or at work, or with the family, and all of a sudden you unexpectedly get the chance to get out and go birding. Found birding.

Today I woke up in Nashville to commence on my long-planned business trip, only to discover that the matter had essentially resolved itself, and rather favorably, I might add. Lawyers and magicians are the only two classes of people (almost wrote "asses"-Freudian slip!) who can make an entire week disappear with a snap of their fingers. So I resolved a few lingering issues and had a nice barbecue lunch at Jack's on Broadway and planned my race to the airport. I also wandered through a couple of "evergreened" plazas in downtown Nashville and was surprised to find a Carolina Wren, but not so surprised to find a small flock of White-throated Sparrows. What is it with White-throated Sparrows and urban landscaped migrant traps? This is exactly the same kind of stuff I find them in during migration in Chicago, and they try to breed in those sort of areas, too. I know it's the same thing in NY and Toronto, during migration, at least.

Anyway, I hopped onto my flight and got back to Chicago with just a wee bit of light left, hence I had an hour or so of "found birding." I though about heading to Northerly Island, but that would have wasted some of my light, so I just walked over to Olive Park instead.

There were a few birds around, the usual suspects for this time of year: 18 Dark-eyed Juncos, 25 White-throated Sparrows, 1 Hermit Thrush, 1 American Robin, and 3 Song Sparrows. Birding will start to get really slow here and at NI until spring, unless a big flock of diving ducks or a Snowy Owl show up. So I usually head off to the burbs and start doing CBC scouting, which is how I'll spend most of my local birding time until early 2006.

Stranded in Music City U.S.A.

Well, we have temporarily relocated the BINAC home office to Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville is a great city, especially the downtown area with all of the honky-tonks, bars, and restaurants.

They have some decent open space right downtown along the banks of the Cumberland River, but no birds...unless you count Rock Dove, House Sparrow, and one Mallard. I did get lucky and saw a Cooper's Hawk chasing the local flock of pigeons around for a bit, but other than that, nothing.

It's a shame to waste such a beautiful day non-birding, but c'est la vie. Should have brought my camera, I did have a bit of time to walk around, but oh well.

I will be here for most/all of the upcoming week, but hopefully I will have a bit of time to post a few thoughts, or maybe catch up on some old trip reports. I did speak with John the Fisherman yesterday about some CBC stuff, and we are gearing up for the Chicago-area CBCs. We will also hopefully have a few reports later in the year from some of the top counts in the country, including West Pasco in Florida.

Possible GRAY KINGBIRD in Northern Indiana/FIRST STATE RECORD!!!!!

Apparently there may be a GRAY KINGBIRD in LaPorte County near Kingsbury in Northern Indiana. So check out the Indiana birding list for further information.

UPDATE: Ken Brock just posted (see below) that the Gray Kingbird is confirmed, a first state record for Indiana!!!!!!!!

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The bird perched on a transmission wire along the west side, and immediately adjacent to, U.S. 35 about a quarter mile south of the Kankakee River. It is at the intersection of LaPorte C.R. 1100 south and U.S. 35. It was still present at 3:05 Chicago time.

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North American vagrants in the Azores/amazing MASSIVE fallout in Canada

Check out the amazing number of North American vagrants that have been found in the Azores recently. Tons of Chimney Swifts, swallows, and shorebirds.

At about the same time, there was a massive fallout of migrants in Nova Scotia , including many Chimney Swifts, Tree, Barn, Bank, Cave, Northern Rough-winged, and Cliff Swallows, Purple Martins, Royal, Caspian, Forster's, Common, Sandwich, and "Cayenne" Terns, Black Skimmer, American Avocet, Magnificent Frigatebird, Common Nighthawk, Snowy and Cattle Egret, Summer and Scarlet Tanagers, Dickcissel, Philly Vireo, Black-throated Blue Warbler, and thousands of other migrants, including hundreds of Yellow-billed Cuckoos.

Geographically-challenged readers are reminded that Nova Scotia is in freakin' CANADA, and all other readers are reminded that it is now freakin' NOVEMBER!!!! Apparently ol' Wilma took a big chunk out of a couple of days of migration and swept many of those birds up all the way to Canada. And Cayenne Tern? You gotta be kidding me.

Prior Night Parrot Sighting

Here is a brief excerpt from the article describing the 1990 discovery of a Night Parrot specimen in Australia. Click here for the entire article.

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Yet many discoveries in science depend on chance rather than a predetermined course of action. Many apparent observations have been incidental to the activities at the time. Stockmen working at night are among the most frequent non-ornithologists glimpsing the bird. And, in the 1970s, about 20 scattered but unsubstantiated reports of Night Parrots were made by amateur bird watchers while preparing surveys for the RAOU's The atlas of Australian birds. Our rediscovery of the Night Parrot in October 1990, confirmed by a specimen, was the outcome of a serendipitous sequence of events.

The Australian Museum had planned an extensive trip through northern Australia, where Walter Boles, ornithologist at the Museum, and Ross Sadlier, one of the Museum's herpetologists, would work on birds and reptiles respectively. Walter invited Wayne Longmore, an Associate of the Australian Museum, currently employed at the Queensland Museum, and Max Thompson, Professor of Biology at Southwestern College, Kansas (USA), to join the trip.

Heading out in two Australian Museum vehicles, our trip took us from Sydney to Broome, Western Australia, through the Kimberley, and into the Top End of the Northern Territory. Ross returned to Sydney midway through the trip.

After six weeks, we started our return through western Queensland. Rather than taking a direct route back, we headed south from Mt Isa along the Diamantina Developmental Road (Highway 83). On 17 October 1990, 36 kilometres north of Boulia, we stopped at the side of the road to look at some Australian Pratincoles (Stiltia isabella). When the birds flew and landed down the road behind the vehicles, Max turned one vehicle around to follow them for a better look. Wayne and Walter remained parked on the side of the road in the other vehicle so as to reduce the disturbance to the birds. After obtaining a suitable look, Max returned, pulling up and parking behind the first vehicle.

Walter got out and walked back to speak to Max through the window of the passenger's door. After speaking, he turned away from the vehicle and happened to look down. There, next to his foot on the roadside, was the carcass of a Night Parrot. He picked it up and handed it through the vehicle window to Wayne, then returned to tell Max what he had found. The discovery was made without overt demonstrations of excitement, tempered no doubt by a combination of disbelief and another week of field work in hot, dry conditions still to come. The thrill and wonder of the find surfaced only during breaks in our other activities.

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Ivory-Billed Woodpecker: Invitation to Program at the Field Museum

OK, so the scan didn't turn out that well, but below is a copy of just a part of the invitation for the IBWO presentation coming up at the Field Museum. The entire invite has a cool IBWO print, and a black cover that folds out into the print and the text I scanned below.

From the Field: Birding Olive Park, Chicago

Well, I decided to take advantage of the nice afternoon, so in-between watching the Bears beat the Lions and doing some chores around my place, I walked over to Olive Park to see what was around.

Olive Park is another great little migrant trap along the Chicago lakefront, in the shadow of the John Hancock Building. Not too many people bird there any more because there is no cheap parking and it is not really close to anything else.

The park was essentially created to compensate for the construction of the Jardine water treatment facility along the lakefront. When Jardine was constructed, they also built Olive Park, so the park is technically run by the Water Department and not the Park District.

One other reason people don't really bird Olive Park much any more is because it just hasn't been that great in recent years. I know when they were banding birds there years ago they had a number of great rarities, but the "restoration" done at Olive Park in the last few years has really killed the birding. (Hey, when a site has *no* significant nesting species, here's a thought...let's manage it for migrating birds, not local nesters that won't nest there anyway. Especially when the "restoration" efforts kill a roosting spot for the only truly "high-priority" species that regularly occured at Olive Park--Black-crowned Night Heron. But I digress.)

Anyway, the birding was pretty slow today. Saw my FOTS Brown Creeper, along with 2 Fox Sparrows, 1 Song Sparrow, and 39 White-throated Sparrows. I saw exactly zero Tree Sparrows. Now, Northerly Island is, as the crow flies, maybe 2 miles directly south of Olive Park, but NI was loaded with Tree Sparrows today and had few WT Sparrows, but Olive was full of WT Sparrows and had no Tree Sparrows. I guess that shows how important it is to have different types of habitat along the lakefront. If you build it, they will come.

P.S. Am having trouble uploading photos from the Florida trip, as soon as I get that sorted out I will post a couple of new reports.

P.P.S. A couple of big projects at work may slow down the blog for a week or two, but we shall return...

Clint Eastwood comes to Blue Island.

Well, a brief non-birding post...here is a photo of my Mom (wearing the Hard Rock jacket) with Clint Eastwood on Tuesday. Clint was in my hometown of Blue Island directing "Flags of Our Fathers," the story of the men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. They tried to keep the filming a bit of a secret, but word gets out...

This is the second major film to be filned in Blue Island, "Light of Day" with Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett was filmed in town when I was a kid, maybe around 1985??? They also filmed an episode of "Cupid" (with Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall, I think) and two episodes of "Early Edition" in town in the 1990s.

From the Field: Birding Northerly Island October 30, 2005

Well, a full day of birding on Saturday tired me out, so I slept in a bit and made a quick trip to Northerly Island this morning.

That's NI at the left; the old terminal building is in the foregroud, that funky glass thing on the left towering over the terminal building is the "new" Soldier Field, with the South Loop skyline (including the Sears Tower and 311 S. Wacker) visible on the right in the background. You can see why birders love this place; it's right in the city, the perfect spot for a migrant trap, but it's also safe and has free parking, something that is becoming increasingly rare in Chicago. The habitat is really crap, essentially it's just a big old open field right along the lakefront, but it is really the only "habitat" of that kind along the Chicago lakefront.

Things were a bit slow today, I only had about 20 species, but there were a few goodies. The coolest bird was a very pale Short-eared Owl that was migrating high overhead. I don't do a lot of hawkwatching, so this may be the first time I have ever had a really great look at a high-flying SEOW; usually I see them hunting, or flushing up and flying away, but today's bird just sort of glided over us for a few minutes until it disappeared. A crow was sort of following the SEOW for a bit, almost like the crow was a fighter plane escorting another plane out of restricted airspace.

Two other highlights were 17 Horned Larks and 1 Lapland Lonspur. Now I know that in most of the USA those birds would not be considered "highlights," but in downtown Chicago, you don't see a lot of larks or longspurs. Some of the other birds around include a Peregrine Falcon, 2 American Kestrels, both kinglets, and plenty of Dark-eyed Juncos and sparrows (mainly American Tree, with a few Song and Swamp mixed in).

From the Field: Birding Joe Overstreet Road, south of Orlando, Florida.

Let's go back into the wayback time machine, back before the White Sux won the World Series, before Hurricane Wilma, all the way back to September 18, 2005. On that day, I took another birding jaunt out to Joe Overstreet Road in Central Florida.

I can't give you directions, because I left my dog-eared copy of Bill Pranty's guide in Florida (btw the new edition is -- FINALLY --- supposed to be out in a few weeks; I have seen the last edition going for some pretty decent money on eBay and Amazon.com.), but Joe Overstreet Road is a fairly popular birding spot that is only 30 or 45 minutes away (south of Kissimmee) from the Disney attractions in Central Florida. It would make a pretty nice birding spot for Disney visitors, especially Brits that are on a family vacation to Orlando and can only spare a few hours each morning to go birding.

I have birded JOR (hey, I just made up a nickname!) four or five times over the last few months, and there are always some nice birds there. The gravel road starts at a blacktop state highway, and continues through farmland and grazing land for a couple of miles before reaching a large lake with a boat launch, campground, and store. The lake itself is a possible spot for Limpkin, and on one of my first visists there I had killer views of a Snail Kite perched about 20 yards away from me.

Anyway, on this day I had a modest 20 species (can that be right? my notes are crap!); JOR is a lot of open-country birding so you won't get a lot of migrant warblers or thrushes if you bird from the car/road like I usually do.

However, I was very surprised to spot two Whooping Cranes, the first time I have ever seen them in Florida. I am not totally up-to-date on the status of the (released) birds in Florida, I know there have been a few spotted in past years near JOR, but I think that they are still a fairly unusual sight there. (Not too many people post to the Florida birding lists about JOR, even though I passed by some other birders while I was out there, so I'm not sure if anyone is regularly birding this spot year-round.)

I was also surprised, while watching a dead cow be devoured by vultures, to see a Crested Caracara, which was also a state bird for me. I know they are not impossible to find in Central Florida, but I haven't seen one in the area in the 5 or 6 times I have been birding in Florida, so that was pretty neat.

BINAC World Exclusive: First Report From A Volunteer Cornell Ivory-billed Woodpecker Searcher!

Some of the birding blogs out there have been complaining about the release that Cornell is requiring its "volunteer" IBWO searchers to sign. Astute readers will note that I complained about this several weeks ago, even though I lacked the effort to even fill out the application.

However, all is not lost, because Cornell apparently will allow the volunteer searchers to talk about their search as long as Cornell gets the chance to edit any report before it is distributed to the public.

I received the following report this afternoon, and I think that it will be of great interest to anyone who is interested in the Search for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.

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Dear BINAC:

My name is ________. I am a ________ from ________. Recently, I was selected by Cornell to be a volunteer IBWO searcher in ________, Arkansas.

I arrived in ____ on _______, where the team was greeted by __________ from Cornell. There were __ volunteer searchers there, including well-known birders such as _________, ________, and _________. I even got to meet the ________, who has her own birding blog, and she is much nicer than _______________ says she is.

Anyway, yesterday I had a 90% certain sighting of an ___________!!!! I was near _____ at about ____ in the morning. First, I heard what sounded like a toy ________, I would describe it as "_____-______."

Then I saw a large black ________, with white on the ______, black on the _____, and white on the ____ of the _____. I did not see the white ____ on the back. The head had a red _____, and the bill was _____.

I am virtually certain that this bird was a _________, even though I have never seen an _____ before, and the bird was more than ______ yards away from me.

I had my camera with me, but I could not _______, so I did not get a _______, and since Cornell would just ____ any _____ that I took anyway, to make _____, t-shirts, _______, and coffee mugs, why even bother?

After I reported my sighting to _____ of Cornell, he ______, and after wiping his eyes, he told me that I should _____ _______ ______ _______ ________. He also told me to ______ ______ ________ _______. And I did.

I also asked ______ what he thought of the blog by that guy named ______ from _______, and he told me that "his thoughts" were that ______ was full of _______ ; he feels that _____ is a _____ ______, a real __________. _________ promised me that they would shut ______ up by releasing a new video that would be sure to silence the critics.

This video, taken at a distance of 200 ______, clearly shows a bird that could be an ______, or possibly an aberrant_______, or maybe even a regular old __________. Nobody is really sure, and the video is a bit suspicious, because it is in black-and-white, but since Cornell has already seen an ______ in that area, ______ is the most likely bet. The video will be relaesed on the ______ Springer show sometime in early __07. It will also be sold on the Home ____ ______ for $__.__ on dvd. I can't wait to get my royalty checks from Cornell!!!!!

I hope you found my report to be _________, or at least a bit _______.

Sincerely,

____________

__________@________._____

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I hope that we get more reports from this volunteer searcher in the future!!!!!

Australian Night Parrot rediscovered?

The Night Parrot has not been seen in Australia since 1990, when a mummified specimen was found, probably of a bird that was hit by a vehicle. That was the first confirmed sighting in almost 80 years. Now, apparently, there has been a fairly reliable sighting near where a large mining operation is being proposed: Night Parrot Management Plan

Ornithologist to testify at Brown's Chicken Massacre trial????

I'm back from Florida, and hopefully I'll get caught up on posts today or tomorrow, depending on how long my jury duty lasts.

A few years ago, there was an infamous murder in the Chicago suburbs that was only cracked after several years based on a DNA sample that was taken from some half-eaten chicken. As crazy as it seems, the prosecutors apparently consulted with someone from the Field Museum in an attempt to identify the bone in questions. Check out the very end of this article:

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Brown's `last meal' evidence hit

Juan Luna's "last meal," which prosecutors in the Brown's Chicken massacre say is a key to the case, is a myth, defense lawyers for Luna said Monday. Cook County prosecutors have alleged that Luna ordered a four-piece chicken dinner just before the 1993 massacre he is accused of committing along with co-defendant James Degorski. Luna allegedly put the boxed meal in the garbage, and in 2002 DNA testing performed on saliva found on one of the pieces of chicken linked Luna to the crime. But defense lawyers said at a hearing in Circuit Court Monday that they don't buy the argument that Luna had the "last meal."

They plan to argue that the chicken piece with Luna's DNA on it--known as "Bone C"--came from older loose scraps already in the garbage. "We think the evidence excludes the possibility [that Luna's DNA] came from the last meal," defense lawyer Stephen Richards said outside of court Monday. The piece that yielded the DNA was nearly picked clean of meat, Richards said, but the chicken in the box was almost completely uneaten. Richards said that although the killer or killers ordered the meal--it was shown on the last register receipts from the restaurant--the evidence shows it was not Luna who ordered it.

It's not possible to tell exactly what chicken pieces had Luna's DNA on them--pieces found in a meal box or in scraps under it--because forensic scientists in 1993 dumped the contents of the box into a garbage bag before preserving the evidence for testing. But prosecutors argue that photographs of chicken in the box before it was dumped into the bag show one piece was almost completely eaten. That is Bone C, they contend. Issues surrounding the chicken evidence were raised during the hearing Monday after an expert for the defense said he needs more access to evidence, including the bones. The expert, Alva Busch, told Judge Vincent Gaughan he thinks the chicken, much of which is now frozen in a single block, should be thawed so it can be determined exactly how many pieces are in evidence.

Defense lawyers said they think there could be as many as seven pieces, which helps their claim that Luna's piece of chicken was not from the killer's last meal. Prosecutors said they believe all the scraps in the bag, along with french fries and biscuits, are from a single four-piece meal.

Before allowing closer inspection of the chicken, Gaughan asked defense lawyers to speak with an ornithologist from the Field Museum who initially looked at the bones.

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From the Field: Birding Celebration, Florida

I think we finally have our flights arranged for Sunday, and hopefully I will be back in Chi-Town by Sunday evening.

There were periodic storms rolling through Central Florida today, so I took advantage of the down time to do some local birding in the town of Celebration, Florida.

Celebration is a planned community that was started by Disney about 10 years ago. The town was built on swamp and pasture land that Disney has owned for many years. As mitigation for the development, Disney (among other things) created the Disney Wilderness Preserve (in connection with the Nature Conservancy) outside of Orlando. So while the development of Celebration obviously destroyed a lot of habitat, the mitigation project has been pretty widely acclaimed (I have not been to the Wilderness Preserve yet), there are still nice patches of swampy woodland left adjacent to the town, and the developers left small interconnected ribbons of habitat that are connected by walking/bicycle trails.

I have been pleasantly surprised by the abundance of wildlife in town, including armadillos, White-tailed Deer, and tons of lizards, butterflies, and the like. And of course there are some birds. I haven't seen many migrants, but there are plenty of local breeders. I took just a short walk (maybe 15-20 minutes) from a residential neighborhood to the downtown cemtral business district and here's what I saw (in no particular taxonomic order):

Common Moorhen 2
Palm Warbler 6 (heard plenty more)
Carolina Wren 6
Blue Jay 2
Loggerhead Shrike 1 (a family nested in the parking lot of the tennis courts his year)
Northern Mockingbird 4
Limpkin 1 (a semi-tame bird that has been hanging around for at least a month)
Mottled Duck 3
Anhinga 6
Gray Catbird 2
Mourning Dove 4
Double-crested Cororant 1
Tricolored Heron 3
Wood Stork 1 (flyby, there were a few hanging earlier in the year)
White Ibis 6 (but after afternoon rains a flock of *140* was feeding on the sports fields)
Great Blue Heron 2
Snowy Egret 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 3 (nesting?)
Great Egret 2
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
Common Grackle 3
Wild Turkey 4
plus a couple of barnyard geese.

Those are some pretty good birds for a landlocked Yankee.

I have also seen a family of Pileated Woodpeckers, and at least one family of Sandhill Cranes, in the past couple of months. No Barred Owls yet, but I'm still trying.

Actual birding content on the way--promise!!!

Well, leave it to me to pick the exact *wrong* time to head down to the Keys and South Florida. Today I finally made it the BINAC branch office in Celebration, Florida, and if I cannot get a flight out to Chicago I will ride out the storm here. That eight-hour drive from Ft. Myers to Clearwater just about killed me, it is amazing that they still don't have an accurrate prediction for a storm that was supposed to hit Florida on Saturday morning...I guess now it's looking more like Monday, so my bright idea to fly out on Monday (*after* the storm was supposed to pass) is not looking so bright anymore.

I have done some actual birding in the last few days, and I have the photos to prove it. I will try to post some summaries when I get back to Chicago, or if I'm stuck in Florida I guess that will give me some time to catch up as well.

In the meantime, I have gotten quite a few comments and e-mails on the Mike Hendrickson vs. BirdChick post, so scroll down and check that out if you haven't done so already.

"Excuse me, but do you mind if I flash these at the stage?"

Being a true gentleman, I could not refuse such a polite request from such a fine lady. After a hard day of birding, I often like to "wind down" by listening to some mellow music. Last night was one of those nights. A little gambling, a little rock and roll, and a wee bit of nudity. Sometimes when you're up front at a really good rock show, you don't know if you should be watching the crowd or the guys wearing the lime green suits on stage. I guess there is such a thing as a "win-win" situation. Bet you don't get this kind of entertainment on a VENT or Field Guides trip. So come birding with BINAC, and you can see first-hand why the ability to bird by ear is overrated. At least I've got an excuse.

Blog on the run.

Well, I have finally gotten back to the "connected" world. You don't know how much you miss Internet access until you lose it. Anyway, as some of you have probably already figured from the last photo I posted, I have been in some areas that are smack dab in the middle of the projected path of Hurricane Wilma. Luckily, we have already started our drive north, and the storm seems to have slowed down a bit, so we should be ok. There has been a bit of a run on gas in Ft. Myers where we are staying right now and most of the stations I checked were out, but we ought to be able to get at least to Tampa tomorrow where hopefully gas will be a bit more plentiful. This is not entirely a birding trip, so I spent a good part of the day working, but there were a few fun things that I will talk about in future posts. If we get stormed in over the next few days at least that will give me a chance to post where I have been over the past few days.

Where am I????

So, this is a place that should look familar to many North American birders...although spring is definitely better than fall here.

A full report will be online soon.

Presentation at the Field Museum (Chicago) on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker featuring John Fitzpatrick and Gene Sparling!

Donnie Dann sent this very interesting announcement today about the IBWO:

***

The Nature Conservancy and the Field Museum are co-sponsoring a program at the Field Museum to celebrate the rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Arkansas last spring. It will be on the evening of Wednesday November 30at 7:00 PM at the Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive.

Featured participants are John Fitzpatrick, the former curator ofornithology at the Field and currently the Director of Cornell Lab, who ledthe discovery team effort, Scott Simon from TNC in Arkansas who was so instrumental in protecting the birds' habitat, and Gene Sparling, the volunteer who saw the bird first!

Participants from other institutions will talk about the project and the implications for conservation. A wine and cheese reception begins at 6 pm will feature other scientists who were part of the expedition including the Field's own Doug Stotz and DaveWillard. Some of the Museum's specimens will be on hand for observation and Audubon prints will be for sale.

Advance reservations are required with tickets available for $25 ($20 formembers of Field Museum or Nature Conservancy). To register call 312 665 7400. For any questions contact Laurel M. Ross, Conservation ImplementationRegional Director of Environmental and Conservation Programs at the FieldMuseum, 312 665 7432 (direct).

***

I think this will be my first-ever wine-and-cheese birding event. Most birding events are whiney-and-cheesey. I wonder if anyone will have any interesting questions to welcome John back to his old stompin' grounds...

On the road again...the rants will have to wait.

Well, I had a few good rants that I planned to post on a couple of different issues, but those will have to wait...I have been working late and travelling a lot and finally got a bit of a let-up today, but I'm on the road again tomorrow, just finished packing. At least I will be going to what is one of the hottest birding spots in the United States right about now, and while my trip is not really a birding one, you can bet that I'll see a few goodies along the way. Hopefully I will have wi-fi at the hotel so I can post a bit of a travelogue on what I see.

In the meantime, watch the 60 Minutes piece on Sunday on the IBWO. Remember, this is the film crew that supposedly saw an IBWO but couldn't get a photo of it. (Sound familiar?)

Do the Mannakin Moonwalk!

Here is a new dance that is sweeping the birding world: the Mannakin Moonwalk!!!

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2005/moonwalk-immitator-p1.php?emf=1

Stop, Hawk-Thief!

According to this AP article, people are apparently stealing hawks -- one hawk in particular, twice! -- in Illinois. I guess the zoo never figured that the same hawk would get stolen twice! (Note the zoo director's first name; he *must* be a raptor guy!)

***

Man arrested for freeing hawk raised in captivity

The Associated Press
Published October 13, 2005, 3:12 PM CDT


SPRINGFIELD -- A man who felt sorry for a caged hawk stole the bird and set it loose, although the bird was raised in captivity and may not be able to survive in the wild, police said.

The red-tailed hawk named "Mani" had lived at Springfield's Henson Robinson Zoo for 25 years.

"I can sympathize with the fact that he didn't like seeing the bird caged, but ... all of us who work out at the zoo (are) very worried for the bird," said zoo director Talon Thornton.

Zoo officials discovered Mani had been stolen on Oct. 6.

Glenarm resident Sean J. Coleman, 19, was arrested Wednesday after police got a Crime Stopper tip about the missing hawk. He was released and could face charges of theft, burglary and trespassing, officials said Thursday.

Coleman allegedly took Mani about 3 a.m., drove him a few miles out of town and set him loose. Authorities said he cut a set of leather cuffs, which would have been a distinct identifier for those looking for the bird, off Mani's legs.

Police said Coleman told them he wanted Mani "to be free and happy in a non-caged world." He felt better for himself and the bird after setting Mani loose, police said.

A public telephone listing for a Sean Coleman in Glenarm could not be found.

Zoo officials want to know specifically where Mani was released so they can more effectively search for him. But Thornton said Coleman and a companion who was with him at the bird's release do not remember exactly where they were. The friend was not arrested.

This is the second time Mani has been stolen from the zoo. In 1998, someone broke into the facility, took him and tried to sell him.

"We use Mani in educational programs all over the state," Thornton said. "He is very much in the public eye. ... I think that's one of the things that has made Mani a target."

Zoo buildings have entry alarms, but the birds of prey are kept in an outdoor enclosure with no alarm. The thief had to break through two locks to reach Mani.

Thornton said zoo officials plan to make some changes in security.

Bird Collision Monitors on Spike O'Dell's Radio Show

I heard that Spike O'Dell(morning host on WGN 720 radio, one of the largest radio stations in the country), who is very interested in bird issues, had a great discussion (this morning?) with some of Chicago's Bird Collision monitors. This sort of publicity is great, as it reaches a segment of the population that might not normally be listening to bird-related issues. Just as an example, the President of the firm where I work just came up to me and was talking about it, he even remembered the web site and everything. So this sort of thing does stick in people's heads.

I could not find a link to a transcript on the WGN site, if anyone has a link or transcript they could send me, I will gladly post it.

Bushmen of Montrose to become extinct?

Mike Miller noticed an interesting item in the local paper concerning the Chicago Police Department's recent efforts to clean up the lakefront's premier birding spot, the Magic Hedge at Montrose Point. I hope nobody Googling for porn sites is disappointed by this post. It is a bit graphic, so you are forewarned:

***

12 men in 14 days
Due to numerous CAPS complaints of lewd sexual activity, police officers have conducted aggressive patrols of the 4400 block of N. Simmonds Drive, which is the Bird Sanctuary located at Montrose Ave. and the lakefront.
At 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, a man was arrested for masturbating. At 6:25 p.m. the same day, another man was arrested for the same offense.
At 5:25 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, police observed a pair of men facing each other and masturbating, and arrested both. At 9:45 p.m. that night, another man was arrested for the same offense.
At 5:25 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19, two men engaged in oral sex were placed in custody and transported to the 23rd District.
At 6:25 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, one man was arrested for
masturbating.
At 7:10 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, another incident of masturbation resulted in an arrest.
At 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, three men engaged in mutual masturbation were arrested.
Those arrested were residents of Edgewater, Uptown, the South Side, Rogers Park, the West Side, Kenosha, WI, Lake View, North Center and Lincoln Square.

***

Birding Blog Feuds: Mike Hendrickson vs. BirdChick, Round 2!

Well, I don't like to link to very many other birding blogs, especially not to political blogs masquerading as birding blogs, or to product placement sites designed to look like true birding blogs. But I do thoroughly enjoy Mike Hendrickson's blog, and I simply *love* the BirdChick blog. So imagine my sheer pleasure when, sitting in my hotel room in Nashville, I surfed on over to Mike's blog and saw his hilarious attacks on both BirdChick and on Tom Nelson's IBWO site!!! Now, Tom can take care of himself, so I won't address Mike's comments about the IBWO. (Hey Mike, I do know that people at Cornell *are* reading Tom's blog, they even stop by here at BINAC once in a while, too!!!) But I simply CANNOT pass up the chance to disSECT the Hendrickson vs. BirdChick feud. There must be some history there that I don't know about. Anyway, it's not much of a feud yet, because BirdChick has not responded to Mike's posts, so I will try to fan the flames with a cogent and educated legal analysis of Mike's charges against the BirdChick.


First, Mike charges that BirdChick is an overnight success like John Denver. Even though John Denver sucks, I don't think he was an overnight success, and since he's dead and can't defend himelf, I say NOT GUILTY and give BirdChick the victory on this one! SCORE: BIRDCHICK 1, HENDRICKSON O.

Next, Mike accuses BirdChick of being a name-dropper, and of tirelessly self-promoting herself and her web site. I don't know if everything Mike says is true, but I'm gonna vote GUILTY on this one, since the name-dropping is definitely annoying when done by anyone other than myself. SCORE: BIRDCHICK 1, HENDRICKSON 1.

Mike then makes some comments about BirdChick's cleavage and lipstick. I think cleavage is a good thing under just about any circumstance, so even though I find BirdChick GUILTY of having cleavage, I award her one point anyway. You know, because of the cleavage. SCORE: BIRDCHICK 2, HENDRICKSON 1.

The cleavage complaint is followed a general comment about birding being about seeing the birds, and not about publicity or money or stuff like that. I wholeheartedly agree, so this is a GUILTY, one more point to Hendrickson! SCORE: BIRDCHICK 2, HENDRICKSON 2.

Finally, Mike attacks BirdChick's constant references to a pet rodent named Cinnamon . This attack includes a picture of several wascally wabbits strung up on some barbed wire. That's cool, BirdChick is GUILTY, Hendrickson scores another point and wins the match!!!! FINAL SCORE: BIRDCHICK 2, HENDRICKSON 3!!!!!!!

Hendrickson wins this bout, will there be a rematch???????????

From the Field: Birding Northerly Island Sunday October 9, 2005

I was out of town this past weekend and missed all of the goodies that showed up at Northerly Island over the last few days. So I decided to sneak in a quick pre-dusk sweep to see what I could find. It was very birdy, and, unfortunately, very dark, so I didn't see too much. I was specifically trying to relocate some of the flycatchers that had been reported from earlier in the day but all I was able to find were two Eastern Phoebes. (Did I mention it was getting dark?)

I did pick up most of the usual common sparrows, including a ton of immature White-crowned Sparrows. Also flushed up a Wilson's Snipe and a couple of Meadowlarks. Best bird of the day, though, was the Yellow-billed Cuckoo that flushed up then perched in the densest part of the large tree along the horizontal corner of the island. Funny thing is, this is the 2nd or 3rd time thisw year that I have flushed a cuckoo from the same spot into this very same tree. Either there is something about that little micro-habitat that cuckoos really like, or the same bird has been sticking around for a couple of weeks.

Significant cold front to result in massive migration push???

Well, warbler migration is starting to slow down a bit here in Chicago and in the Midwest generally, but sparrow migration is just starting to pick up, and I haven't seen any significant waterfowl migration (no diving ducks at all) yet. It was almost 80 degreees here in Chicago today. But the times they are-a-changin'.

There is a pretty brisk cold front that is supposed to arrive here in Chicago sometime late in the day on Wednesday or early Thursday morning; we'll go from nearly 80 today to highs in the 50s on Thursday. This will very likely open the doors wide open for the last big push of warblers, and for a really huge push of sparrows, waterfowl, and maybe even raptors. There might be a really neat nocturnal migration tomorrow night, with tons of birds appearing, literally, overnight in some of the migrant traps. Northerly Island and Montrose ought to be rockin', Palos ought to be really good as well.

This big fall migrant push can mean only one thing: Christmas Bird Counts are right around the corner!

I've got quite a bit of travel (work and personal) planned for the next few weeks in about five different states, so hopefully I will post from some new and exciting (think: Caribbean vagrants)hotspots in October.

In the meantime, I still hope to have some other folks step up and submit things for me to post when I am too busy or travelling, but sometimes it's easier to just make something up myself than to hound somebody to send something in.

Village of Orland Park proposes dumping storm water into McGinnis Slough.

McGinnis Slough is located in Chicago's southwest suburbs, the main parking area is located at about 139th and LaGrange Avenue. McGinnis Slough has been perhaps the best place in Chicago to view waterfowl over the last few years, and also hosts huge roosts of waders (mainly Great Egrets) and decent numbers of shorebirds. There is also a nice population of nesting birds, including many Pied-billed Grebes, and this year a pair of Trumpeter Swans attempted to nest.

There was a story in the local paper (can't find it anywhere online)about the Village of Orland Park seeking to build a 60-inch storm water pipe that would flow directly into the slough. This pipe, which would supposedly only be used during "10-year storms," would be capable of dropping up to 70,900 gallons of dirty storm water PER MINUTE into the slough.

Thankfully, the Cook County Forest Preserve is, for once, doing the right thing and currently opposes this plan. However, I suspect that this plan will rear its ugly head again sometime in the near future, right after people have forgotten about it.

I can't say for certainty what 70,900 gallons of dirty, salt- and oil-adulterated storm water will do to the bird life at McGinnis Slough, and I for one sure don't want to find out the hard way.

Harris's Sparrow at Northerly Island

Today's DuPage Birding Club trip to Northerly Island was quite successful. Although the birding was a bit slower than it has been the last few days, we did see about 40 species, the highlight being at least one Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow, and a very nice Harris's Sparrow.

The Harris's Sparrow was found on the rocks at the base of a small Maple tree. The tree is right at the "corner" of the Island; if you're walking south (from near 12th Street Beach) along the eastern edge of the Island, you'll hit a short east/west section of shoreline. Follow that shoreline west until it makes a 90 degree turn to the left/south; the Harris' was basically hanging out at this last corner, it seemed pretty loyal to that spot.

I think this might be the first (or maybe the second?) Harris's Sparrow reported from Northery Island. That general area (Grant Park, Museum Campus, Northerly Island)is probably the best spot in Illinois for Harris's Sparrows. They are seen there just about every year, I probably have seen them about 10 times in that general area.

Also seen were Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, five species of warblers, plenty of sparrows (Savannah, Sharp-tailed, Fox, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-crowned, White-throated, Harris'sn and Dark-eyed Junco), plus two Lapland Longspurs. I probably missed a few species that others saw, but you get the picture.

No Budgie today.

Ash-throated Flycatcher at North Pond

Our buddy Mike Miller found an Ash-throated Flycatcher today at North Pond in Chicago's Lincoln Park area. Congrats to Mike for finding a bird that I still don't have on my Illinois list, but unfortunately the bird could not be re-located later in the day, so it may be a one-day wonder.

Ash-throated Flycatchers do show up on a regular basis (for a vagrant, at least) in the Chicago area, but I can't think of one that has been around in the last few years that was truly "chaseable," i.e. one that was in an accessible location and stuck around for a few days.

From the field: A quick Northerly Island report

I snuck over to Northerly Island before work to do a bit of scouting for Saturday's trip. One of the great things about this site is that I can hop into the car, zip over, do about an hour of birding, and still be back home early enough to get ready to go to work. All of this right in the middle of downtown Chicago. Amazingly, it's actually easier to get there early in the day during the week (even during rush hour) than it is on the weekend, because of all of the typical Chicago weekend events that mess up traffic and parking.

The birding was decent but not great. Steve had a Nelson's Sharp-Tailed Sparrow before I got there; the best bird I saw was a Vesper Sparrow that perched out in the open several times. Also had a couple of fly-by Longspurs. Other than that, it was the expected stuff: juncos, Savannah Sparrows, flickers, Yellow-rumps, Winter Wren, sapsucker, etc etc.

One of these days I will start posting some site guides, and the guide to NI will be one of the first I'll finish.

Field Trip to Northerly Island on October 1.

Just a reminder that we will be leading a field trip to Northerly Island this Saturday for the DuPage Birding Club. It should be a lot of fun, and the timing ought to be pretty good for sparrows. We'll be scouting there tomorrow morning, and probably Friday morning as well. (If I can fight off this cold that re-hit me today.) Actually, after reading the directions, if you're headed south on Columbus to 18th Street I think you technically have to get onto LSD first in order to get off on 18th Street. I usually just take LSD anyway so I don't take Columbus too often. Anyway, if you're in the City, just take the Drive south and 18th Street will be just past Soldier Field. We will be visible from the parking lot anyway (NI is a flat, wide-open space) so even if you show up late you should still be able to find us. NI can be surprisingly wet if it has rained, you might not need boots, but if you're just wearing regular gym shoes your feet might get wet.

Details:


Saturday, October 1, 2005
7:30 a.m. Northerly Island (Chicago)

Formerly Meigs Field, this spot is proving to be a great migrant area on the lakefront. We will meet in the terminal building parking lot. The building should open at 9:00 am with bathroom facilities.

Directions: From South: take I-55 north into Chicago all the way east to northbound Lake Shore Dr. Exit LSD at the 18th St. exit. Follow the signs to the Adler Planetarium/Burnham Harbor. From West: I-290 (Eisenhower) east to Congress Parkway. Congress Parkway to Columbus Dr. Right on Columbus south to 18th St. exit. Follow signs as above.

From the Field: Birding Shawnee Mission Park, Johnson County, Kansas

Well, this falls under the category of "better late than never" I suppose. I found myself in Kansas City over the Labor Day weekend, and, of course, I had my binoculars along and decided to do a bit of birding.

I was staying in Overland Park, a nice suburb of Kansas City, and since my time was rather limited, I decided to stay local and forget about making a trip to one of the great N.W.R.'s that are found further west in Kansas. As a result, I didn;t really have much of a chance to get any western species, and most of the birds I were likely to see could be seen pretty easily in Illinois. After driving around a bit, I found myself at Shawnee Mission Park in Shawnee, Kansas. The Bluebird Capital of Kansas, or so I'm told. (And I can believe it-one flock of Bluebirds I saw contained at least 40 birds!)

Shawnee Mission Park was a very cool park, with a big lake and a bunch of nice walking trails. The lake itself is about 150 acres, while the entire park is about 1,250 acres, I bet this is a heck of a birding spot year-round. Didn't see any other birders there -- I rarely do on any of my U.S. trips except in true hotspots like the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

I basically stuck to car- and parking lot-birding, but that allowed me to cut through a couple of different parts of the park fairly quickly.

I was hoping to find some migrants to pad my (non-existent) Kansas state list. I pretty much struck out on the migrants, but still had a nice morning of birding. About 40 species total, including the flock of Bluebirds, a couple of Wild Turkeys, and a Red-headed Woodpecker. Nothing spectacular, but hey, the worst morning birding is better than the best morning working.


Shawnee Mission Park

From the field: Birding Olive Park

Today I decided to stay close to home, due to the generally crummy/rainy weather and the expected Sunday traffic, with the Bears, Cubs, White Sux, and Blackhawks all playing at home today. (Northerly Island is tough to access on days when the Bears are playing.) The rain wasn't actually too bad, but it looks like it will be raining off and on all day. (Right now it's raining at Soldier Field but not at my place a mile or two north.)

So I decided to hit Olive Park, on the Chicago lakefront near Navy Pier at about Ohio Street. I used to regularly bird Olive Park, but lately much of my free time has been spent at Northerly Island, so this is only the first or second time I have gone to the O.P. this fall. Hopefully I will do a site guide for Olive Park in the next few weeks.

Anyway, the birding was a bit slow, but there were decent numbers of birds, including :Northern Flicker (14), House Wren (2), Sedge Wren (1), Nashville (1), Magnolia (1), Yellow-rumped (11), Palm (1), Blackpoll (2), Wilson's (1), Lincoln's Sparrow (3), White-throated Sparrow (19), and White-crowned Sparow (1).

Area where Ivory-billed sightings occurred now open to the public?

Unless my geography skills are off, it looks like the authorities have now opened at least limited access to the areas where the original Elvis sightings occurred. I wonder if this was something that had been planned all along, or if the powers-that-be have concluded that any bird that may have been moving through that area has now departed.

***

Daily access permits now available for managed access area of Cache River National Wildlife Refuge

BRINKLEY - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now has permits available for the managed access area where the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was spotted in 2004. The managed access area on the Cache River NWR was established to regulate public access in light of the recent rediscovery of the bird in the Big Woods of eastern Arkansas.

Currently, the managed access area affects only 5,000 of the existing 61,000 acres on the refuge. Daily access permits are now available and will be required for each individual sub-unit within the area on a first come basis.

The permits will be made equally available to consumptive users (anglers/hunters) and non-consumptive users (birdwatchers/nature observers). The number of daily access permits available per sub-unit will be as follows:

Sub-Unit A - 10 total permits (5 each) -- Bayou DeView area from Hwy 38 south to Hwy 17

Sub-Unit B - 6 total permits (3 each) -- Bayou DeView area from Hwy 17 south to Dagmar WMA

Sub-Unit C - 20 total permits (10 each) -- Robe Bayou/Dark Corner area north of Dagmar WMA

Sub-Unit D - 20 total permits (10 each) -- Bull Lake areaSub-Unit E - 20 total permits (10 each) -- SW Brinkley area south of Hwy 70

Permits are available free of charge and may be picked up at the Cache River NWR office (26320 Hwy 33 South of Augusta) Monday thru Friday from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm. Permits for Saturday - Monday will be available on the preceding Friday. A holiday schedule is in place for all federal holidays.

The daily access permits are non-transferable and must be picked up in person. A valid hunting or fishing license will be required to obtain a permit for consumptive use permits and the appropriate equipment must be possessed in the field. Consumptive use permits for hunting will only be valid during refuge open seasons and all permit holders must adhere to all applicable state, refuge and federal laws and regulations.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel are not eligible for daily permits for Sub-units A and B. No guiding or commercial fishing will be allowed in the MAA. For more information contact the refuge at 870-347-2614.

Anglers and hunters (consumptive users) and all others (non-consumptive users) on or off the MAA are strongly encouraged to report Ivory-billed Woodpecker sightings to 1-800-843-2473 or by email at ivorybill@cornell.edu.

The Chicago Way: Feds root out "cash for trees" bribery scandal in City Forestry Department

So, we know from a past indictment that you can bribe your way into landscaping contracts for natural areas in the City of Chicago. Now, another indictment has been handed down, alleging that the "boss" of the City's Forestry Department took bribes to cut down trees! Here's the scoop:

Did scandal go to trees? City forestry boss charged in extortion

September 22, 2005

Not even trees were spared from the corruption at City Hall, federal authorities alleged Wednesday.When two healthy trees in Lincoln Park got in the way of a home builder, developers were allegedly told that city workers would take care of the problem for $5,000, according to court documents. The alleged scheme was stymied by outraged neighbors who awoke one morning in the summer of 2004 to find city crews lopping off branches.

In a criminal complaint filed Wednesday, prosecutors charged Bruno A. Bertucci, a retired boss in the forestry bureau of the city's Streets and Sanitation Department, with obstruction of justice for his role in the failed scheme.

Court records suggest that former city worker John "Quarters" Boyle, a central figure in the city's Hired Truck scandal, also was a go-to man for such mundane favors as tree removal. Boyle pleaded guilty to extorting bribes and was sentenced in August to 7 years in prison. He was not charged Wednesday.

The charges against Bertucci stemmed from conversation in February in which he allegedly told a city employee not to tell federal agents about the scheme, according to court records. Bertucci, 53, of Bridgeview, allegedly told an underling to lie to FBI agents investigating the alleged bribe. "All you do is stick to your story" that an alderman wanted the trees removed, Bertucci allegedly told the worker, according to court records. "You just stick to your story because there ain't no way they could prove anything."

The alderman, Vi Daley (43rd), said in an interview Wednesday that she had opposed cutting down the trees. Bertucci was a member of a political group run by Daniel Katalinic, a retired high-ranking Streets and Sanitation Department official, according to two former department workers. The group was allegedly one of many pro-Mayor Daley political street armies whose members performed campaign work in exchange for city jobs and promotions. Katalinic is cooperating with the federal corruption probe. He secretly recorded a conversation with Robert Sorich, the mayor's patronage chief, who allegedly played a central role in the hiring scheme.

According to court records, developers wanted two trees removed to make room for a driveway between 1905 and 1907 N. Burling St., but they could not obtain city permits. They turned to Boyle, who agreed to pay a $5,000 bribe to a person identified in the complaint only as "a former high-ranking [city] employee."That employee contacted Bertucci, who, for half the $5,000, agreed to contact another city forestry bureau worker to cut down the trees, the records show.

That city worker took a crew out to the property at 7:42 a.m. on July 21, 2004, to cut down the trees. Dr. Alan Buchman, a gastroenterologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said that when he returned home from work late one night, he noticed that Streets and Sanitation workers had posted signs informing neighbors to remove their cars from the block in the morning. Buchman got up early the next morning to find city crews on the street and a tow truck preparing to remove cars. The tow truck driver told Buchman the crews were there to cut down the two trees across the street. Buchman said he called his lawyer, city forestry and then called Ald. Daley. "I said to her, `You know, there's got to be some kind of conspiracy,'" Buchman said. "I was semi-serious. I was not joking."

Another neighbor who complained about the attempted tree removal was Donna Filippo, who lives at 1909 N. Burling. Filippo said she became annoyed when she saw a city crew beginning to cut off the top of one of the trees. When she confronted the workers, one of them told her that the woman who lived in 1907 had asked that the tree be removed because its roots were blocking the storm drain. Filippo said she told the man he was nuts because 1907 was vacant. Filippo went inside her house and called the city's 311 city-services number to complain. The crew left several minutes later, but Filippo said she believes it was Buchman's intervention that halted the work.

John McNaughton, who developed the homes along with Tinkers Development president Pamela Hostert, said Wednesday that he had done nothing wrong. He said he was unaware of allegations that someone offered a $5,000 bribe to city workers to get the job done."I don't know anything about that," McNaughton said. "We have been going through the regular process with the city to get the trees removed."

Bertucci is the 33rd person charged in the City Hall corruption probe. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was released on his promise to appear in court. He is due back in court on Oct. 3.

Run, run Rita!!!

Well, a number of my friends in Houston have already evacuated (some of whom live in the *western* subrubs), and Rita looks like she will be at least a Category 4 hurricane by the time she (it?) makes landfall on Friday.

While this is not good for folks living on the UTC, the current projected post-landfall track is almost perfect for blowing storm birds into Illinois. And, for once, we might get some storm birds on a weekend. Of course, a lot could change between now and the weekend, but we will be watching this storm very closely here at the BINAC World Headquarters.

This is, coincidentally, the weekend of the annual IOS "pelagic" trip to Carlyle Lake. So while that trip (if it is not washed out) has a great chance of providing a Rita-blown pelagic rarity, it also means that many of the better birders in the southern portion of the state will be concentrated in one place, meaning that some other large southern Illinois lakes may be under-birded.

Lunatic fringe "Anti-Birders" crawl out of their holes!!!

The lunatic fringe has made an appearance on the Wisconsin birding list, lead by people who should know better.

Here is one of the suggestions, made by somoene who masquerades as a birder regularly:

***

"I suspect there's no way on earth birders would go along with it, but I personally believe that the "sport" of birding, with published lists that look like scores, should be limited to the American Birding Association, and that state ornithological societies should not be fostering competitive birding at all."

***

Well, I don't usually spend my time telling other people to do things that I *know* they won't do, but I guess some people have more time on their hands than I do.

The moronic idea excerpted above is yet another example of why "Birding is NOT a crime!!!!" exists. There is a small minority -- a vocal minority, though -- of birders that seem to want to consistently tell other birders how to run their lives. Well, those Anti-Birders can kiss my ass. No one has a right to tell me what lists I should or shouldn't keep. No one has the right to tell me how much gas I should or shouldn't use on a birding trip. And, most importantly, no one has the right to complain to me about how I enjoy my life. I like birding. I think it's fun. And I do keep a few lists, but not as many as most hard-core listers. But NO ONE has a right to make me feel guilty about it.

There are so many real environmental tragedies out there in the world today...rain forests being levelled, oil spills, pollution, toxic waste...that I cannot fathom why anyone with the intelligence of a snail would think that the small number of really competitive birders (maybe a thousand or two in the entire U.S.?) makes any difference at all.

You can have my binoculars when you pry them out of my cold, dead figners.

Lesser Sand Plover in Florida

Just got back from a quick birding adventure in Florida. DEtails to follow. There is a bird being seen at St. Marks NWR that is being considered as a Lesser Sand Plover. Not sure how many (if any) Gulf or East Coast records there are for this species.

Coming soon: Reports from Florida and South America.

We have been busy birding, but hopefully we will have some reports from Florida and Brazil/Argentina posted in a few days.

What happened to the North American Fall Migration Count??????

Is anybody out there still doing a fall count?

In Illinois, the Spring Bird Count is still pretty popular, but the fall count is virtually nonexistent.
Is anyone in Illinois doing the North American Migration Count this Fall? I have not heard anything about a "fall count" here in Illinois for several years.

I know that some states, including Florida, do have county coordinators and are attempting to hold their fall count this Saturday, September 17. I found some info on the web but it all seems to be local, I couldn't find any national group or organization that seemed to be in charge of things.

So, what's the deal?

UPDATE: The deal is, apparently, that there used to be some coordination through someone in Maryland (through the MOS?), but areas that are continuing the fall count are pretty much on their own. Some states seem to be pretty active (Alabama was one I noticed), and there are quite a few states (including California, Florida, and Maryland) that are making an effort as well.

Counts like this are, I think, exactly the kind of thing that readers of this site would be interested in. So I propose that we try to resurrect the fall count. Let's start on a small scale first: here in Illinois, everyone try to keep track of what they see this weekend, and just hold on to those results for right now.

I would envision that the IOS or some other group would be the umbrella organization for the count. Maybe it would be possible to use the system that is already in place for the Spring Count...use the same county compilers, etc.

Article on Magnificent Frigatebird in DuPage County--how the media works.

The first person that called me this morning told me to check the Chicago Sun-Times for an article on the Mag Frigatebird seen a few days ago by Bob Fisher. The short story is prominently featured on the Sun-Times website:

***

Magnificent: Gulf Coast bird sighted here
September 16, 2005
BY DAN ROZEK Staff Reporter

The bird's long, narrow wings and its lazy, effortless glide caught Bob Fisher's eye as he drove near his Downers Grove home.

An avid birder for more than 15 years, Fisher said he quickly recognized it as a magnificent frigatebird, which boasts a 7-foot wingspan and is almost never seen in Illinois.

Fisher, 63, has spotted such birds before, but usually in the Florida Keys or along the Gulf Coast -- their usual habitat.

He and other avian enthusiasts say the lone bird he spotted late last week likely is a straggler that rode the dying winds of Hurricane Katrina all the way to the Chicago area. "This is not a bird you'd at all expect to see in this area, except when they're pushed out of their usual environment by hurricanes,'' he said.

A Field Museum ornithologist agreed, saying the last accepted frigatebird sighting in Illinois was in 1988 after Hurricane Gilbert.

Fisher said he saw the bird for only 30 to 40 seconds and didn't get a picture of it, but is confident it was a frigatebird -- in part because it glided so smoothly.

***

So, how does a story like this get into the paper? Well, here's how: Last week I got a call from a reporter I know at WBBM 780 radio. That reporter talked to me about West Nile, and the story aired last week. I gave him a tip about the Mag Frigatebird sighting, and gave him Bob Fisher's phone number. So the WBBM reporter called Bob and put the story on the radio.

I have been surprised to learn how many print reporters get their stories or leads from WBBM. The Sun-Times reporter must have heard the story, and then called Bob to talk to him. One time I talked to WBBM and the Sun-Times picked up the story, including a reference to things I had said, without even talking to me!

So, this is a lesson for birders out there that are trying to get publicity for their efforts...conservation, birding clubs, whatever...if you place the first story in the right media outlets, other media will pick up on it.

Snipe hunt/rail stomp scheduled for Saturday!

Well, I have regained (nearly) full control of my faculties, thanks to about 12 hours of sleep last night.

And we are happy to announce that there will be an impromptu field trip to Northerly Island this Saturday. Josh Engel came up with the idea (whichI think is a great one), and it came together pretty quickly.

We will meet at the terminal building at 6:30 am on Saturday morning.

Our focus will be on rails, snipe, and sparrows. This is right in the middle of the migration window for Yellow Rails in the fall, so we do have a slim chance of seeing one. The more people we get on the trip, the more territory we'll be able to cover, and we'll have a better chance of seeing rails. Not quite the rail buggy I rode in on a Texas CBC a few years ago, but still pretty cool.

This is the first organized birding trip to N.I., and will be a good dry run for trip I am leading there in early October for the DuPage Birding Club.

So join us for a chance to see Yellow Rail in Illinois.

From the Field: Birding Northerly Island.

When I first arrived at N.I., very few birds were present except for large flocks of migrating cormorants. However, when I reached the far eastern edge of the Island, there were birds all over. I did not see a single thrush, but there were dozens and dozens of warblers.

The large majority of the warblers were Palm Warbler, with a few Yellow-rumps and American Redstarts thrown in. I also saw small numbers of Common Yellowthroat, Magnolia, Blackpoll, and Ovenbird.

Other interesting birds included one cuckoo sp., a handful of Wilson's Snipe, at least six rails (1 Virginia, 2 Sora, 1 additional probable Sora, 1 additional probable Virginia, and a "sixth rail", which was not seen well as it scurried underfoot but it appeared to be smaller than a Sora or Virginia and my undocumentable guess would be Yellow Rail), 3 Lincoln's Sparrows, and one Nelson's Sharp-Tailed Sparrow.

I think Steve Huggins had a Yellow Rail at NI a while back so this may be a bit of a spot for them.

The first bird I actually saw was a Virginia Rail huddled against the terminal building. No one was available to try to check out the bird so, as instructed, I gently tried to nudge it away from the corner. The bird had been walking around when I first saw it. It would not budge, however, not even as I approached within an inch or two. So I gently tapped it with my foot. Still nothing. Another very gentle tap, and it scooted (the wrong way) towards the parking lot. I outflanked it and got between it and the parking lot, trying to convince it to turn around and head back to the safety of the tall grass. It stopped, looked at me, then ran right between my legs into the parking lot. I tried to head it off again but somehow it finally got the right idea on its own, did a 360 and darted into the grass.

Heavy nocturnal migration underway. UPDATES

I just got back from my roof top (about 43 stories high in downtown Chicago) and there is a fairly heavy nocturnal migration underway. The skies are clear, winds are moderate, and most of the downtown lights are off, so most of the birds seem to be making their way south quickly and safely. This is certainly not the heaviest migration I have heard from my roof, but its still pretty early, and is probably the heaviest I have heard this year. The birds sound like they are a bit low but probably not low enough for a significant fallout unless a storm arises. It will be interesting to see tomorrrow morning if a lot of birds come down in the lakefront parks, or if most of them just fly over the City without stopping.

I will post throughout the night if I see or hear anything interesting happening.

12:05 UPDATE: Just took a walk around the neighborhood. Migration is audible (barely) above the traffic noise at street level. Still hot and muggy out, so the front hasn't hit here yet. Winds are starting to pick up a bit, though. No downed birds around the John Hancock Building, no birds trapped or circling anywhere. Back up to the roof.

12:20 UPDATE: Back from the roof. Getting a bit windy. Migration still underway, a bit heavier than before. My hearing is not that great, so I can't really pick out species, but it seems lick there were a few more thrushes flying overhead. Radar is still pretty clear, but I could see heavy lightning to the south, some lightning to the north, yet only a few sporadic drops of rain on the roof. I meant clear weather-wise, but I'm wondering how hard it is to distinguish bird images from very light rain on nights like tonight.

Might get interesting if I can stay awake!

12:40 UPDATE: Very heavy audible migration still underway. I actually saw one bird migrating (that happens someimes--so cool!!!!) from the roof. Most of the calls seem to be pretty high in the sky, but a few sounded like they were below the height of my roof. Weather seems to have cleared a bit.

I did a timed count: in two minutes, I heard 190 flight call notes. Obviously, I'm hearing some birds more than once as they fly over, and some are probably circling, there's no wya for me to sort that out, especially with all the ancillary noise (Lake Shore Drive, generators, etc.). But that at least gives you an idea of how constant the flow of birds is.

12:45 UPDATE: I just checked the radar again. Looks like the flow of birds headed south from N. Illinois and Wisconsin are headed straight towards a line of thunderstorms that is moving (roughly) northeast through Central Illinois. Someone is going to have a big fallout tomorrow morning, but probably south/southwest of Chicago proper, so will anyone see it? Palos might be a good place to be tomorrow morning?

1:30-2:50 UPDATE: Dark side of migration. NEED SLEEP! Went for a cruise around the Loop. Minute-by-minute account later. Large fallout occurring in the Loop. 80% warblers, some thrushes, a few flycatchers. Birds caught in lights at AON Building, Blue Cross Blue Shield Building, Bank One, Hyatt Center. Roll down your car window in the Loop and you hear chip notes everywhere. 50+ birds grounded at Hyatt Center. Bucket full o' dead birds in car. Back to the roof, more details later. Hope the lightning is kind to me.

2:40 Steady rain starts, lightning increases.

3:05 UPDATE: Migration has noticably slowed on rooftop. 125 chip notes in two minutes. Steady rain and lightning. Did the migrants "ride" in front of the front? How long can they stay aloft in a medium steady rain, with periodic lightning? Where are all the thrushes? And sparrows? Weather conditions make further rooftop observtaions unlikely. Choice: Sleep or stand on roof of tall building in thunderstorm? Sleep!

Sick day tomorrow?

More later.

3:15 Can't sleep. Fill in some gaps:

1:15 Checked Lakeshore East and Randolph Street. I hereby declare myself the first person to proclaim that the new private park at the Lakeshore East will be a fantastic migrant trap! Check it out! No kills here or on Randolph. Can hear many birds circling near Grant Park/Blue Cross Building.

1:30 1 dead and 1 alive at Blue Cross

1 dead at Two Prudential

1:45 two more dead at Blue Cross

Important to note that kills are occurring as early as 1:30 am.

1:48 No kills at Daley Plaza.

1:52 No kills at Bank One, but birds heard circling the building.

1:56 Slight drizzle begins. 1 dead at Madison & Wacker.

1:58 birds heard circling at Sears Tower. Birds heard circling at AT&T Building

2:00 Major fallout underway at Hyatt Center, 71 S. Wacker. First count, 18 dead or injured. One full circuit of building: 30+ dead, about as many injured, most of the injured fly off quickly when appraoched.

Chip notes heard everywhere on way to Randolph Street, especially along Chicago River, but no dead birds seen.

2:41 Still nothing at Illinois Center. Six dead at Blue Cross Building. Couple more at AON and Two Pru.

7:15 UPDATE: Sleep is overrated! Mini-fallout at Northerly Island. Rails rails rails! More later!

From the field:Birding Northerly Island

I took a nice walk around Northerly Island on Chicago's lakefont this morning.

The birding was pretty slow. The only obvious migrants were four Palm Warblers and 1 Lincoln's Sparrow. Still a few Song and Savannah Sparrows, along with a Kestrel, a large flock of about 60 Red-winged Blackbirds and 32 Killdeer. Still nice to see these birds right in teh heart of the City.

There were also thousands of butterflies (mostly Monarchs, I think, and those little white moths, with a few other species mixed in), probably the most I have ever seen at one location in Illinois. I counted over 300 perched on a single tree, and there were many more in flight.

Also had an Ovenbird near Seneca Park in Streeterville.

The most inpressive sight of the day, though, was probably the dozen or more buses for the Rolling Stones crew that were parked near the Field Museum. That is probably the largest road crew I've ever seen, the production for tonight's show must be huge.

Mike Hendrickson's Blog and a Minnesota story.

Some of you may know Mike Hendrickson, a well-known MN birder who has been leading tours in Duluth and surrounding areas for many years. A couple of us hired Mike for a day a few years ago and he was a real hoot! The thing I remember most is that it was like twenty degrees out and everyone is bundled up and Mike is wearing short pants! Classic. We had a pretty crappy day and didn't see too much, but it was still a fun birding day.

That whle trip was pretty entertaining. At one point (not when Mike was with us) our group was at the north end of County Road 2 (I think that's the name) looking (unsuccessfully, as usual) for Spruce Grouse. Anyway, there is a port-o-john there, and since we had been out all morning, and this is pretty much the middle of nowhere without any bathrooms, the group took the opportunity to line up to use the restroom. A car comes screeching up to the intersection, a guy jumps out and runs towards the outhouse, stops when he sees all of us, and says to me: "I didn't think there would be a line here." Before I could say anything, he sprinted back into his car and took off.

Anyway, I guess Mike has a blog now (or he re-started one) and it is, as you would expect, a lot of fun. He slams the author of the BirdChick Blog in one of his posts. Now, I love the Bird Chick, but smack talking is cool, so props to Mike for telling it how he sees it and speaking his mind. There is some important stuff in there about conservations in the Sax-Zim area as well, so anyone who has birded in that area and cares about what happens to it should see what Mike has to say.

So check out Mike's site and blog: http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/

End of an Era: "King of the Hill" to enter last season.

It is with great sadness that I note that the best show currently on television, Fox's Tex-centric "King of the Hill," will apparently end after completing the 2005-06 season, which will be its tenth season.

I always tried to figure out what town KOTH's fictional "Arlen, Texas" was modeled after, and although I could never pin it down exactly, I always thought that Harlingen was a strong possibility. (Arlen always had a rivalry with "McMaynerberry" -- McAllen, perhaps?)

The show had a few episodes actually involving birds, the gang even did the Backyard Bird Count in season 7 and hey, what other show on television makes Whataburger references?

BINAC on the radio.

Listen for yours truly on WBBM 780 Radio today discussing the impact of West Nile on Blue Jays. I always think I sound like an idiot when I give interviews like this, because you don't really have time to prepare yourself, or look up the precise facts and figures you need. But any minor factual or grammatical errors in a story about birds are probably outweighed by the benefit derived from having people think about birds and how to help them.

Also, WBBM may be doing a story on storm birds as well, so keep your ears open for that.

Canoeman River Guide Services offers Ivory-billed Woodpecker Tours.

So, I stumbled onto another site offering Ivory-billed Woodpecker tours: http://canoeman.com/CRGS/docs/birdwatching.html At least he's quite a bit cheaper than the Mallard Pointe tours.

I am sure that more of these operators will be popping up on the web as we get closer to fall. I have heard that Wildlife Farms will also be offering tours this year, but there is nothing on their web site about woodpecker tours yet. We would be very interested in hearing from anyone who takes any of the IBWO tours being offered in Arkansas this fall. Anyone who has hired a birding guide before knows that it is kinda hit-and-miss, so it would be nice to be able to "rate" the tours and guides in Arkansas.

Frigatebird in Iowa.

There has also been a recent sighting of a Mag. Frigatebird in Iowa. Check out a great photo at: www.icbirds.org

UPDATE: There has also been a Frigatebird seen in Ohio. So we've got birds in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

Epitaph for a Blue Birdmobile

I was very pleasantly surprised to open up the new issue of Birding and see an article (p. 528) by DuPage County's own Bob Fisher (no, not the Missouri Bob Fisher!) lamenting the demise of what was perhaps the most recognizable birding vehicle in the State of Illinois: The Fishers' Blue Birdmobile!

I remember the first time I ever saw the Blue Birdmobile, on a windy fall day at the Palos West slough. You could also count on the presence of the Blue Birdmobile when a rarity was around, often sharing a parking lot with cars bearing license plates like Falcon or Avocet. Oh, the birds that Suburban has seen; I bet it had a longer life list than most of the birders in Illinois!

Volunteer to help Cornell search for the IBWO -- and sign away all of your rights!

So, Cornell is seeking volunteers now to search for the IBWO. Check out the waiver they want birders to sign. In my view, the most egregious provision of this "volunteer agreement" is that Cornell is asking you to sign over your intellectual property rights if you take a photo of the bird! This means that if you volunteer and are lucky enough to take "the" photo of the bird, Cornell can put that photo on t-shirts and coffee mugs and thongs, and you'll get nothing!!!

I have no problem with Cornell requiring that searchers keep the location of any sightings confidential, but why would they need to keep photos or field notes or sound recordings confidential? (If you read it carefully, I think that in paragraph 6 they also ask you to sign over your first-born to Cornell.) I personally would never even consider signing such a release, and I would strongly advise any "volunteer" searcher to consult with their own personal attorney before signing such a draconian "agreement." You have been warned.

***
Volunteer Agreement

Ivory-billed Woodpecker SearchDecember 5, 2005- April 23, 2006

I, __________ (name), agree to the following terms and conditions governing my participation as a Volunteer in the Ivory Billed Woodpecker Search Project (hereinafter “Search Project”) in the Cache River and White River National Wildlife Refuges:

1. I agree that as a Cornell University Volunteer, my participation in the Search Project is without pay or other compensation. Any data, drawings, field notes, audio or visual recordings (including, without limitation, photographs and motion picture video) that I may generate or assist in creating during my participation in the Search Project will be the sole property of Cornell University, and I hereby assign any and all rights that I might assert in the same (including copyright) to Cornell University. I may not distribute, copy, release or disclose any such data, drawings, notes or recordings personally or through any form of media to any third party without the prior written consent of an authorized representative of Cornell University. In addition, I agree to keep confidential any information I learn as a direct result of my participation in the Search Project that is identified by Cornell as sensitive information, including (without limitation) information on the location of Ivory-Billed Woodpecker roosting or nesting sites.

2. I understand that Cornell University may, in its sole discretion, terminate my participation in the Search Project without prior notice. I understand that I am not a University employee and that I do not have a formal work appointment for any services I may render as a participant in the Search Project. Notwithstanding the above, I agree to abide by all applicable University policies during my participation in the Search Project.

3. I understand that as a University Volunteer, Cornell does not provide me with accident or medical insurance and is therefore not responsible for any accident or medical expenses incurred by me. Further, I understand that I am neither covered by Worker’s Compensation nor entitled to employee benefits as a result of my participation in the Search Project.

4. Cornell University agrees to provide me with third party liability insurance to protect me from any third-party claims filed against me related to my good faith performance of any activities described in the attached Cornell University Description of Volunteer Duties. In exchange, I, on behalf of myself, my heirs and my representatives, do hereby release, indemnify, and hold harmless Cornell University or any of its officers, agents, or employees from any and all liability, damages, or claims of any nature arising out of or related to my volunteer activities.

5. I understand the terms and conditions of this agreement and I am signing this agreement of my own free will. Further, by signing this agreement I attest to the fact that I am eighteen years of age or older.

6. This agreement will be valid from [date] to [date]. The insurance and indemnity provision in paragraph 4 will survive the termination of this Agreement. This agreement may only be modified in writing with the consent of both Cornell University and the above-named Volunteer.

This agreement shall be construed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflicts of laws principles.

Signature of Volunteer: Date: Home Address of Volunteer: Telephone: Emergency Contact:

***

P.S. OK, this is BINAC again...here is a great law-school hypothetical: If the federal goverment closes access to a particular piece of federal land, without *any* public input or comment, and grants access to that land to one or two favored groups, to the exclusion of all others, and that favored group makes money off of their activities in that area...for example, in selling photos taken on that land...has any federal law or regulation been violated? Interesting, eh?

MAG FRIGATEBIRD SIGHTED IN DUPAGE COUNTY!

SIX-STAR UPADTE******: Bob Fisher just reported a Frigatebird soaring near his house in DuPage County, Illinois!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FRIGATEBIRD IN INDIANAPOLIS!

There has just been a frigatebird reported from Eagle Creek near Indianapolis!

This almost guarantees that something good will show up at Miller Beach or the Chicago Lakefront this weekend when I am gone!!!!

Swallow-tailed Kites in Northern Indiana!

There have been two Swallow-tailed Kites reported from Northern Indiana today.

Be on the lookout for this species to appear in Illinois, possibly even in the Chicago area, over the next few days. I am out of town for the holiday so expect them to show up along the lakefront on Saturday morning!

FIVE-STAR UPDATE*****: FRIGATEBIRD SEEN AT EAGLE CREEK NEAR INDIANAPLOIS!!!!!

Storm birds.

An incomplete list of some of the interesting storm birds pushed inland (mostly KY and TN)would include Mag Frigatebirds (TN), Band-rumped Storm Petrel (KY and TN), Greater Shearwater (!) (TN), and an unidentified large skua (?) (TN).

If anyone has any further info on these or other extraordinary storm birds (especially the skua), please let us know at birdingisnotacrime@yahoo.com .

FIVE-STAR UPDATE::: FRIGATEBIRD REPORTED FROM EAGLE CREEK NEAR INDIANAPOLIS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mo' money, mo' money...distributor of "Kill the Ivory-billed Woodpecker" t-shirts now sells "IBWO Found" merch...plus IBWO thongs!!!

So, here are a bunch of IBWO items you can buy: http://www.cafepress.com/dutchguard

Funny, though...cafe press is the same outfit that caused a furor when it sold "Kill the IBWO" merchadise a month or two ago. Playing both sides of the coin, pretty sweet deal for cafe press.

And hey, ladies, you can even buy "intimate apparel"--get your IBWO thong while they're still in stock! And no, I am *not* making this up!

Are Ivory-billed Woodpecker sightings being suppressed for profit?

Question based on the preceding post: If there has been a sighting of the IBWO on the Mallard Pointe property, has this sighting been reported to the proper authorities? If so, why has it not been publicized? Has the sighting been kept secret to allow Mallard Pointe to milk more money from us po' old birders?

And can someone clarify another point for us: Will these Mallard Pointe tours have access to any areas that are off-limits to the general public?

Oh yeah, one more question: I think it's great that Mallard Pointe and Little Rock tours are apparently giving some of the tour money to TNC; the question is, are they getting anything in return?

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Tours: The Fleecing Becomes More Organized!

We here at BINAC were the first blog to highlight the "deluxe" $2300 tours from Mallard Pointe Lodge. Tom Nelson just pointed out on his web site www.tomnelson.blogspot.com a very interesting post from the "always-entertaining" Missouri birding list:

***

I received a solicitation in my mailbox today from a well-known birding tour company. It offers a 4-day, $1550 "Ivory-billed Woodpecker Tour." Persons who take the tour will stay in "an extremely nice hunting lodge (which normally charges $500 per night)" near Brinkley, Arkansas.

They will be fed "high quality, basic food." (Does that mean the bread will be fresh?).

The lodge's land holding is said to be "the only private land adjoining the Restricted Zone. In fact, the lodge's lands are bordered by the Bayou de View, very near the point from which the bird was first seen."

The solicitation goes on to say, "THE BIRD has been seen once on this property since the announcement." (The solicitation does not make it clear that "THE BIRD" is an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, but why should anyone think otherwise?)

Notwithstanding the high end lodge accommodations, the solicitation goes on to say, "Participants will be taken each day before dawn using 4 wheel-drive vehicle to one of our new blinds or to one of the boats built especially for this tour and will be returned around dark. "Each participant gets two trips in the boats and two in the blinds.

A day in a boat will not be too different from a day in a blind. The boats will go northeast as far as allowed on the Bayou de View and then "hold position for the day." The blinds are said to be "rain resistant." The boats are "completely camouflaged and weather protected." "Rough sanitation facilities" will be provided with the blinds. "Crude sanitation set-ups" are available on each boat. The 19-foot long, 5-foot wide boats are "mounted with swivel chairs having back rests."

The solicitation contains reassurance that those who tick IBWO right away will not waste the rest of the tour. It says, "Should you see Ivory-billed Woodpecker early in the tour there will be opportunities to bird the 2500 acres of private land or take a guided tour down steam on the Bayou de View."

The solicitation, which altogether is 7 pages long, contains a page each from US Fish & Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Also included is an "Enrollment Form." One page consists entirely of "Special Rules and Regulations."

These require participants to:1. Swear to keep the location secret.2. Not take GPS equipment outside the lodge.3. Drink and smoke only in designated areas of the lodge.4. Use cameras only after all members have seen the bird and then "only without extending lenses beyond the shelter or using flash."5. "Each group will have a captain to enforce stealthy movement within the blinds, soft voices and restriction to the interior of the shelter."

Persons who disobey the rules after warning can lose their payments and not be allowed to return to the field.From the special rules and regulations page, I also learned the following:1. The group will be divided into teams of up to 12 persons with each team having a specific site for the day. The accommodations inside each blind are described as "tight quarters."2. The well-known tour company, which sent the solicitation is not the entity actually conducting the tour. That entity is named "Little Rock Tours, Inc." (I have not heard that name before).3. Some of the rooms for which the lodge "normally charges $500 per night" are evidently "'dorm' type accommodations." Every attempt will be made to put married couples in a room together, but this cannot be guaranteed.

In contrast to the $1550 package, designated an "Ivory-billed focus trip," the solicitation also offers an "Ivory-billed and other birds" package at the reduced rate of $1295. I'm not sure what the difference is.I do not quite know how to evaluate the following additional paragraph of the solicitation:"

We definitely hope that you will try to raise some money for The Nature Conservancy beyond that which is included in the trip price. Conversion of the successful hunting lodge into a birding lodge is very much desired. Further, there are needs for additional hunting lands to relieve pressure from the local population to replace areas of the Refuge which are now restricted.

Further, we urge you to purchase a Federal Duck Stamp and to bring it with you as an aid in the political struggles."(How does one handle political struggles while huddling from dawn to dark with 12 people in the tight quarters of a blind? Will there be bubbas with shotguns wandering the 2500 acres who need reassurance that the blind contains NRA-certified good 'ole boys and good 'ole gals who have bought duck stamps?)

I must say this solicitation is very tempting, but I probably won't do it for the following three reasons:1. I really don't want to bird 2500 acres of Arkansas swampland for three days after I tick IBWO on the first day.2. In view of the difficulties a Cornell team of 60, spending 14 months in the field, has had getting a satisfactory photo of IBWO, I really don't want to hold off getting a good picture of the bird until all 12 people in my blind say they've seen it. I mean, what do you do if someone keeps saying he/she has not had a good enough look yet?3. I guess I'm a selfish SOB, but when I pay 1550 bucks to see an IBWO, I want to drink my champagne right away! Making me wait until we get back to the dorm is too much delayed gratification for me!

Bob Fisher
Independence, Missouri

***

BINAC here again...actually, I think Bob's post may have been to BirdChat and not the Missouri list, I got that part wrong...but still pretty entertaining. There is an entertaining thread on the Missouri list right now entitled "Chasers are scum."