I and the Bird #5 is now available. John of A DC Birding Blog pays tribute to last week's American Ornithologists’ Union 2005 Conference by modeling the 19 carnival entries in the style of a conference agenda. It's an excellent line-up with several new participants, so make sure to catch it.

As always, if you'd like to participate in an upcoming carnival, check out the "I and the Bird" info page. Submissions for the next carnival are due by September 13.

• Golden Eagle escapes from its trainer in Dechmont Woods in the Deans area of Livingston, West Lothian in Scotland. If you spot it, keep your distance and call the police.
• Five endangered Clapper Rails (Rallus longirostris) released in the Wildlife Preserve in Mission Bay in San Diego, California. It's hoped they will stay and breed with the other five Clapper Rail pairs that are known to live there. The Western subspecies is endangered; there's only 365 breeding pairs in Southern California.
• Prairie Falcons found to make three migratory flights each year. Scientists from the US Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center discovered that nesting female falcons in Idaho headed northeast immediately after nesting and then southeast in the fall, returning again to Idaho in February and March.
• Spain to use "electric sheepdogs" to help teach endagered Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) chicks to avoid power lines. Posts placed near the nesting sites will administer a harmless mild shock in hopes the chicks will learn to stay away form them. It's estimated that less than 220 of the birds inbabit the Iberian Peninsula.
• Man smuggles two Grassquits in his underwear from Cuba to Miami. He also faces another indictment, which could add an additional 10 years of prison time and a $500,000 fine. The birds were headed for an underground bird market, which federal and state agents later raided. They recovered Indigo Buntings (Passerina cyanea), Painted Buntings (Passerina ciris), Blue Grosbeaks (Passerina caerulea), and Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis)...birds all protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
• Four-month-old Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) on the mends after it was found shot by a pellet gun in a Queens cemetery in New York. Rescuers have named the hawk "Ruby". It may be months before it's known if the hawk will be able to fly again.
• Tasmania extends habitat for endangered Swift Parrots (Lathamus discolor) after part of their habitat in the Weilangta State Forest was mistakenly logged.
• Two-year-old Golden Eagle released back into the wild. It was found with a broken wing in California and underwent three months of rehabilitation at the Wildlife Rescue at the Cubberley Community Center

• Two new species of birds identified in Columbia. The Stiles’s Tapaculo (Scytalopus stilesi) and Upper Magdalena Tapaculo (Scytalopus rodriguezi) are from the Cordillera Central mountains of Colombia and were identified as new species by their songs. Experts suspected the existence of Upper Magdalena Tapaculo since the 1980s but were unable to make a positive identification because of political instability.
• Oregon man dives into the Willamette River to rescue injured Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). He saw the bird try to take off, but it instead ended up in the river. The eagle was taken to the Salem Wildlife Rehabilitation Association where an x-ray determined that it had soft tissue damage. It's now in the care of Chintimini Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Corvallis.
• The State of the UK's Birds 2004 report shows that climate changes are the major cause of population variations in UK birds.
• Royal Tern spotted in Iowa. Caspian, Common and Black Terns are commonly seen, but it's a first for the Royal Tern (Sterna maxima).
• Pajarito Environmental Education Center in New Mexico to show off small raptors at its final Summer Sundays Family Event. Volunteers from the Santa Fe Raptor Center will be introducing the Flammulated Owl (Otus flammeolus), the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia), and the Merlin (Falco columbarius).
• Metro Manila malls in Mandaluyong City, Philippines under close watch after reports of a stall selling endangered mynahs and cockatoos.

In the last week, I've touched a bit upon the Salton Sea. "Sultry Salton Sea" reported some of the birds I'd seen while on a trip there on August 14. It's quite amazing the number of species and overall amount of birds that the Salton Sea is responsible for supporting. "Help Restore the Salton Sea" called for help in urging the California congress to allocate state funds to necessitate the restoration and preservation of the sea.

As I passed by the Salton Sea on the way to Arizona about ten years ago, I was really impressed by its size, but couldn't really appreciate what it had to offer since I only saw it from the highway doing 60 miles per hour. At a Los Angeles Audubon meeting earlier this year, I was reminded of the Salton Sea by a presentation given by Kathie Satterfield, Salton Sea Campaign Coordinator with Audubon California. Kathie did a wonderful job narrating the history and beauty of the Salton Sea, the importance of the sea to both wildlife and humans alike, and also the incredible political challenges that the sea faces just to keep its shores from drying up.

I now understood the significance of the Salton Sea and the impact it has on the area wildlife. I also realized the urgency to save it. I talked with Kathie afterward and she later sent me some information from her program that I am passing on to you:

Audubon and the Salton Sea

What happens at the Salton Sea is as important to birds as was the first Audubon fight to keep them from being slaughtered in the name of fashion. Not only because of the sheer numbers of birds affected, (literally millions), but also because water is rapidly becoming so scarce that it is imperative we backup the fight we started at Mono Lake and continue ensuring that wildlife has a legal right to water and that providing water for wildlife is considered a "beneficial use" of water.

So, why won't the birds just go somewhere else if the Salton Sea dries up? In the 1800's California had 5 million acres of wetlands. In the year 2000 California had about 450,000 acres of wetlands left – so birds from the Pacific, Central and Atlantic flyways, all use the Salton Sea as a stopover spot. This translates into literally MILLIONS of birds using the Sea and surrounding agricultural lands, some traveling from as far north as Russia and as far south as Peru. The Sea hosts HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of shorebirds (44 different species) during their winter migration.

Scarcity of water is the threat to the Salton Sea ecosystem right now. California has been forced to reduce its use of Colorado River water and an agreement, known as the QSA, was signed in September of '03 that enables the transfer of water from the Imperial Irrigation District to the San Diego County Water Authority. This is water that is currently used to irrigate agricultural fields and then runs off into the Salton Sea. Thus, when implemented, the size of the Salton Sea will be reduced, by as much as half. It is foreseeable that this will also entail fallowing of agricultural lands, further reducing bird habitat in the area.

An important point to remember is that many of the bird species need both the flooded fields and the sea to survive. So it isn't enough to simply save the Salton Sea – we must also save the surrounding agricultural lands that provide habitat. Or, we may wind up winning the battle, but losing the war.

It also seems likely that there will be additional water transfers in the future – further degrading this ecosystem and facilitating growth in the surrounding cities of San Diego and Riverside counties.

You can make a difference for the millions of birds depending on the Salton Sea Ecosystem. From time to time, as events warrant, Audubon California will send out mailings or urgent notices concerning actions being taken at the Salton Sea. If you are willing to join me in ensuring the continued survival of our migratory birds, please send an email with your contact information to: advocate@audubonsaltonsea.org (This information will not be shared with anyone).

Kathie Satterfield
Salton Sea Campaign Coordinator
Audubon California

• Mass Audubon's Wayne Petersen to host slide presentation of seabirds at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Wednesday, August 24th at 7:30. Petersen is the director of Mass Audubon's Important Bird Area program.
• Loon population at Lake Winnipesaukee threatened by lack of protection. A cove in the lake has traditionally been New Hampshire's most prolific loon sanctuary.
• Eagle survives after being run over by train in Minnesota. Miraculously, x-rays showed only a dislocated shoulder and lacerations; no broken bones. It will be nursed back to health by the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center in St. Paul.
• Conservationists using puppets to feed abandoned Ground Hornbill chicks in Africa. Ground Hornbills lay up to three eggs at a time, but only one of the chicks get fed.
• Kenai, a Bald Eagle that died at Phillips Park Zoo in Aurora, Illinois last week, being tested for West Nile virus. Conclusive results won't be in for two or three weeks, but preliminary toxicology reports suggest it had a virus, suspected to be West Nile.
• Conservation activist J. Willcox Brown dies at age 90. His contributions include helping to convince the federal government to take acid rain seriously and aiding in the creation of an 800-plus-acre town forest. He was also an environmental counselor for Bill Clinton and Al Gore.
• Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals rescues injured Black-crowned Night-Heron from crows in Sewri, India.
• Australian man pleads guilty to sixteen counts of possessing protected and notable wildlife in his mother's freezer. In March, police found two kookaburras, two brown goss hawks, an owl and a galah in his home, and an additional 19 species in a big freezer. He got a six-month suspended jail term and a AU$4,000 fine. He claims he was interested in taxidermy and didn't know a permit was required.
• Red tide bloom in Florida affecting shorebirds.

Last Sunday Carol and I went on a birding trip with Los Angeles Audubon to the Salton Sea, about an hour and a half east of San Diego. We took off from Los Angeles around 11:30 am and arrived at our motel in Brawley around 3:30...the hottest part of the day. (Although, at this time of year there, I'm not so sure there isn't any thing but the hottest part of the day.) It was well into the hundreds...and humid. It wasn't much of a surprise though; we were told ahead of time that "This is the gauntlet of SoCal car birding" and that we haven't really birded until we've been to the Salton Sea. It sounded like a challenge.

We met up for dinner at Aspen in the Desert, joined by Bob Miller, a birding guide with Southwest Birders. Bob grew up in Brawley, so he was able to give us some insight as to what we should be seeing, and where. After dinner, we went on a little mini-trip in Bob's neighborhood in a search of a resident Western Screech-Owl. Bob has placed nest boxes in his neighbor's yards in order to encourange owl nesting and it's been working. Despite Bob's owl calls, there wasn't any answer. The outing wasn't for naught though, we did catch glimpses of some birds flying over: a Barn Owl, a small flock of White-faced Ibises, and some Cattle Egrets. As much as we wanted to continue our search, it was nearing 10 pm and we had a busy day ahead of us. Special thanks go out to Bob for being our guide for the evening. He's a great guy and if you ever get a chance to meet him, make sure to ask him about the poodle/jaguar/monkey joke.

Our meeting place was Cattle Call park in Brawley at 5:30 am on Sunday. It was the coolest part of the day and everything was in "shade". I estimated that the temperature was probably around 80 degrees. We could hear the birds waking up and shortly thereafter we had enough light to make visuals. The hour-plus jaunt around the park was a great way to break in the day. Among the list of birds seen were Lesser Nighthawk, Loggerhead Shrike, Cattle Egret, American Kestrel, Great Horned Owl, Red-shouldered Hawk, Great-tailed Grackle, Cactus Wren, Mourning Dove, Costa's Hummingbird, European Starling, Common Ground-Dove, Black Phoebe, Northern Mockingbird, and the rare Abert's Towhee. The bird that we were especially hoping to see made an appearance as well...the Gila Woodpecker.

Around 7 am we all hopped in our cars and headed for the east side of the Salton Sea, via Calipatria. Once we hit Calipatria, we made a left onto Eddins Road and continued for a couple miles before turning off and stopping. It turned out to be a dove stop. There were three different species of doves all in the same vicinity: Ruddy Ground-Dove, Common Ground-Dove, and Inca Dove. We watched a bit before continuing west on Eddins, where we made a quick stop for some Burrowing Owls, also catching fly-bys of Red-winged Blackbird, White-faced Ibis, and Black Tern.

Winding up north to Alcott Road, we added some water birds such as Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Wood Stork, Common Moorhen, Dowitcher (not sure whether it was of the Short-billed or Long-billed variety), American White Pelican, Greater Yellowlegs, and American Coot. Also seen were Killdeer, a Yellow-headed Blackbird, and a Greater Roadrunner.

Down to Hazard Road, we were able to add Snowy Plover, Greater Flamingo, and Stilt Sandpiper before heading on to the intersection of Red Hill and Grant Roads where the list continued to grow with Black Skimmer, Ruddy Duck, Turkey Vulture, Great Blue Heron, Double-crested Cormorant, Forster's Tern, and Brown Pelican.

My note-taking at this point started to get really spotty. We stopped at a couple more places, but I didn't add any birds since they were already noted previously in the day. Plus, it was up to 101 degrees with enough humidity that you'd almost have to go into the water to dry off. Anyway, somewhere in there was our bird of the day: the Yellow-footed Gull. At our last stop on Lack Road, we got another good look at the Wood Stork, with sometimes-mingling Great Egret and Snowy Egret. They were all lined up like they were watching a comedy show or something. Maybe they were just panting. I expect it was the latter.

We wrapped it up around 2 pm and started heading back up the 111 towards LA. Just before the 10 Freeway south of Coachella, we stopped at a date farm and had our last treat of the day: a delicious frosty date shake!

I was thankful for the air conditioning in the car on the way home, but I think one tends to ignore or forget (at least a little) about some of the extreme weather one encounters when out observing nature. Out of all the photos I took, I only ended up with a fraction that were keepers...mostly because of all the heat waves. It's nice to be able to revisit and share everything you saw when you were out, but being able to appreciate nature and creatures in their natural habitat first hand is the real pay-off. There's just something magical about it that can't be replicated.

See how you can help save the Salton Sea.

It's time once again for another edition of "I and the Bird". Edition #4 is now available thanks to milkriverblog. From Magoosh the roadrunner to Barred Owl encounters, Tony G has crafted a montage of 19 different blogs, each telling a different tale.

If you have a story you'd like to include in a future edition of the carnival, check out the "I and the Bird" info page to see how you can participate. The deadline for the next edition is August 30, and the time passes by quickly!

This past Sunday, I went on a birding trip to the Salton Sea, which is about 130 miles east of San Diego. What an amazing place and an excellent area to see birds! I will have a full report, along with photos online in the next few days, but right now the Salton Sea Coalition, of which I belong, needs your help.

The Salton Sea Coalition has asked that $300 million in funding for implementation of restoration at the Salton Sea be included in SB 153. We need each of you to write to senator Chesbro urging him to do this. Any of you who reside in assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia’s district or are represented by senator Jim Batten, please write to them as well. Please also forward this to anyone else you can think of that would be willing to help us get this funding.

This action needs to be taken prior to Thursday, August 25th.

If you would like to read SB 153, go to http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_0151-0200/sb_153_bill_20050711_amended_asm.html. Also forward this message to anyone else you can think of that would be willing to help us get this funding.

Below are sample letters and contact information.

• Female Peregrine Falcon found in Auburn, New York. Rescuers are asking people to report any chicks that may look abandoned.
• US Fish & Wildlife Service agrees to develop recovery plan for the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). It's been listed as threatened since 1990 and nine months ago the USFWS reaffirmed its decision to extend Endangered Species Act protections.
• California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) in Arizona saved by its tracking device. Biologists noticed that it hadn't been seen in two days, so they tracked it down and rescued it. It was apparently attacked by another animal. The California Condor is one of the most endangered birds in the world. It is the largest flying bird in North America, with a wing span reaching 9-1/2 feet.
• Two Piping Plovers released back into the wild at Scarborough Beach in Maine after surviving an attack that killed their parents and one sibling. Two other sibling chicks remain in rehab.
• Osprey nest found in central Illinois. It's the first in a century and was actually discovered in the spring of 2004, but no chicks were found. It was kept secret to allow the parents to nest this year and successfully fledge their chicks at the end of July.
• Scientists figure out the color scheme of the Eclectus parrot. It's been no secret that females are bright red and blue, while the males are green. But now we know why.
• Georgia Department of Natural Resources reports eighty-two breeding pairs of Bald Eagles. It's one less than last year, but eighty-two more than in the 1950s.
• Bird found on a porch in Ohio returns to the wild. It was found on June 21 and nursed back to health by the Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky.
• Garibaldi the Bald Eagle continues to survive on his own. He escaped from the Carolina Raptor Center near Huntersville, North Carolina when a storm hit on July 28th.

• Live webcam set up on Matinicus Rock, 22 miles off the shore of Maine. Matinicus Rock is home to Maine's largest Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) colony, more than 230 pairs of Razorbills (Alca torda), and about 1,000 pairs of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea). Make sure to check out the host of the webcam, Maine Audubon's Project Puffin.
• Report names the six most threatened national wildlife refuges in the US. The National Wildlife Refuge Association lists Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina, Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin, Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in California, White River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, and Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada.
• Maui's first wind farm to include a million dollar endangered species mitigation program. In preparing their environmental impact statement, they installed a bird radar and night vision telescopes to count birds and bats flying at night. This could be the first renewable wind energy project in the US with a Habitat Conservation Plan. It's also been a long road for this project.
• Barn Owl (Tyto alba) population in Britain making a comeback. They went through a 70 percent drop from 1932 to 1980 and were given endangered species protection, but the population stagnated until recently.
• 69th annual autumn hawk watch to begin at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania on Monday, August 15.
• Mix of heat and rainfall in Maryland being blamed for botulism deaths of 60 Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).
• 19th Annual Oregon Shorebird Festival to be held September 9, 10 and 11 in Charleston.

• Hawaii to receive $14 million in federal funds for conservation efforts. The initiative includes expansion of Haleakala National Park; habitat protection for the endangered forest bird Ou (Psittirostra psittacea); programs to release captive-bred Hawaiian Crows (Corvus hawaiiensis), which are extinct in the wild; and Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program's captive breeding programs of endangered Hawaiian birds.
• Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopts conservation plan to help protect and promote Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations in Oregon.
• Australia DSE mistake causes loss of 21 hectares of habitat for the vulnerable Superb Parrot (Polytelis swainsonii) in the Barmah Forest.
• Third bird in New Hampshire found dead of the mosquito-borne illness Eastern Equine Encephalitis in the past week. EEE kills 35 percent of the humans it infects. People who find dead crows, blue jays or ravens, should report to the state by calling (866) 273-6453.
• Development set to begin at the Khor al-Beidah lagoon in the United Arab Emirates. The lagoon is a "pristine tidal flat teeming with wildlife, including endangered birds, sea turtles and manatee-like dugong that swim among its tangles of mangroves." 1500 acres of this land is being turned into homes, shops, and beach resorts.
• Juvenile Bald Eagle in Washington released back into the wild. It was found injured in April and nursed back to health by the Sarvey Wildlife Center.
• Mass Audubon's Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield offering Kid's day camps.
• Litchfield Hills Audubon Society members celebrate its 50th year. Happy birthday!

• The Audubon Society of Central Arkansas has increased the reward for information about arson fire that destroyed a viewing area at the Dagmar Wildlife Management Area. It became a popular site when it was announced the Ivory-billed Woodpecker had been found.
• Key Andean wildlife sites under threat. More than a quarter of the world's total bird species are found in the five tropical Andean countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
• Conservation groups calling for an emergency Endangered Species listing for the Red Knot (Calidris canutus). There's been an 80 percent decline in the population over the past ten years.
• Federal officials moving to remove the Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum cactorum) from the federal list of threatened and endangered species. If it goes through, it will make way for development of 1-1/2 million acres of land currently deemed as critical habitat.
• Half a million migratory birds at risk after Bulgaria's Minister of Environment and Water gives the green light to windfarm at Cape Kaliakra. The location is designated as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
• New Jersey Meadowlands Commission takes criticism for killing 155 Canada Geese. The increasing goose population is threatening the food source for endangered birds.
• Study shows that UK organic farms support 32 percent more birds than non-organic farms. Only three percent of English farmland is organic.

It's hard to believe that two weeks have already gone by since the last issue, but "I and the Bird" #3 is now available. B and B has done a wonderful job of tying together all the stories of bird encounters by their avian admirers. I'm not going to pick any favorites; make sure to check 'em all out for yourself.

If you've written any stories you'd like to share, you can always check out the "I and the Bird" info page to see how you can participate. The deadline for the next edition is August 19 August 16, and it can sneak up on you really fast!

• All 18 albatrosses die during the 2005 Big Bird Race. They were part of a 10,000-kilometer race from Tasmania, Australia to South Africa in an effort to build international awareness about the dangers of longline fishing. All twenty-one albatross species are endangered species.
• Asociacion Armonía (BirdLife in Bolivia) team makes first curassow sighting in thirty-six years. They discovered the Southern Helmeted Curassow (Crax unicornis koepckeae) in the Sira mountains of central Peru.
• Birds on Gough Island in the South Atlantic being threatened by "monster mice". The island is home to 99 percent of the world's Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) and Atlantic Petrel (Pterodroma incerta) populations. The estimated 700,000 mice on the island are eating the chicks alive.
• Farmer in North Yorkshire, UK puts hay harvesting on hold to allow four breeding pairs of one of Britain's most endangered birds, theYellow Wagtail (Montacilla flava), to raise their young.
• European zoo authorities planning international database to help recover the growing number of stolen animals.
• Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) making a comeback on the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire. Eight years after the Audubon Society of New Hampshire and the state Fish and Game Department started the program, more than 2,500 pairs have nested there this summer. See the restoration notes from 2003.
• Fallen juvenile American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) in New York City getting a helping hand from New York City Animal Care & Control. They've rescued 15 Kestrels so far this year.
• Pair of Osprey makes nest atop an athletic field light pole at Irondale High School in New Brighton, Minnesota.
• Washington orchards using falcons to ward off birds. Nuisance birds are the cause of 3-10 percent loss of one of the local cherry crops. Falcons are already used in California vineyards.