In 1996, W. Douglas Robinson published Southern Illinois Birds: An Annotated List and Site Guide, a resource that documented the birds of southern Illinois by surveying published literature and the field notes of active observers.
Challenged by his publisher to update his twenty year old book, Robinson took on the arduous task using the field notes of The Meadowlark: A Journal of Illinois Birds and data contributed to eBird. Once completed and faced with the prospect of having to pay $3000 of his own money to publish it, Robinson decided to forego printing and distribute the book as widely as possible via the Internet.
The result is Birds of Southern Illinois, an online resource summarizing knowledge of birds in the seventeen southernmost counties of Illinois and designed to be regularly updated. Site guides are missing from the updated version, but Robinson mentions that “all of that information is easily accessible on eBird via the Hotspot Explorer.” What remains are species accounts with comments on status and abundance, arrival and departure dates for migrants, preferred habitat, and records of note.
Check out this great resource and help the author keep this book current by adding your data to eBird. And, who knows? Maybe your records will make it into the next version.
Where have all the whip-poor-will’s gone? This is a common question I am confronted with. I think it is a good question and one that leads into a larger discussion question that asks “Are current bird monitoring programs capable of estimating population trends for nocturnal species”. While current standardized monitoring programs, such as Christmas Bird Count (CBC), Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), and Spring Bird Count (SBC), are exemplary monitoring programs, they take place primarily during daylight hours, so unfortunately they cannot reliably monitor population trends for cryptic, nocturnal birds. Anecdotally, we know some may be declining, and, because of this, many organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada have put together monitoring programs for nocturnal species that aim to generate statistically powerful data that can be used to generate population trends over a shorter period of time. If species are declining we can further investigate the causes and in turn try to make beneficial conservation management decisions.
Eastern Screech-owl by Matthew Cvetas
In 2008 Illinois enlisted the guidance of ongoing nocturnal monitoring programs and piloted Monitoring of Owls and Nightjars in Illinois (MOON). MOON is a volunteer based program that occurs throughout the state of Illinois. MOON’s target species are breeding owls and nightjars. In Illinois we have four nocturnal owls that we monitor for; Barn Owl, Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl, and Eastern Screech-Owl. The Barn Owl is listed as threatened on the Illinois Endangered Species List. The Eastern Screech-Owl is found in low numbers according to BBS data, but population trends are absent. Barred Owl, which was once rare in the state, is now found throughout the state as is the Great Horned Owl. MOON also targets nightjars; Illinois has have three species: Eastern Whip-poor-will, Chuck-will’s-widow, and Common Nighthawk. Nightjars are aerial insectivores and aerial insectivores of North America are in decline and the reasons why are poorly understood. The Chuck-will’s-widow has recently been listed as threatened on the Illinois Endangered Species List. The state of the birds report listed Common Nighthawk as a species in steep decline. Audubon’s climate model projects the Eastern Whip-poor-will to lose 78% of its breeding range by 2080 and 55% of its non-breeding range. By establishing MOON census routes that are consistently monitored we seek to be able to not only track trends in abundance and distribution for these species but to also develop suitability models and best management practices for them. Volunteers are critical for this program to succeed.
Because these routes are run anywhere from dusk until dawn, as opposed to during daylight hours, it can be a challenge to recruit and retain volunteers. Unlike other monitoring programs, where you have to learn to identify a large number of birds species often by sight and sound, MOON volunteers only need to learn a small handful of calls. The calls of these birds are relatively simple to learn and fun to hear. Volunteers monitor routes located along suitable habitat for owls and nightjars 2 times from April to June when the moon is at least 50% illuminated. Routes are 9 miles long with 10 stops per route. MOON volunteers are also encouraged to record “other” species they hear during the listening period if they can identify the sounds. These additional data can give us insight into the life histories of other species.
Interested in becoming a part of the MOON team? We are always looking to recruit more volunteers, so if you would like to volunteer, please e-mail me. You can also visit our website.
As the state organization “Dedicated to Illinois Birds and Birding,” the IOS board thought it was time to form an IOS conservation committee to work on behalf of this motto. Myself and Ted Wolff volunteered to take up this endeavor and have already been meeting and talking with members interested in joining the committee. As this committee continues to solidify its role, we are looking for any IOS members interested in being a part of the conservation committee.
Matt Igleski, Conservation Committee
There are many responsibilities that this committee will immediately be taking on. One, to send representatives to the Birding Conservation Network (BCN) quarterly meetings; BCN is a Chicago area coalition focused on conserving Chicagoland birds. Two, to communicate Illinois bird conservation issues to members via email and regular contributions to the IOS website. Three, to evaluate issues and develop IOS’s stance on these issues, especially when issues might be particularly complicated.
Our aim is to focus on few issues with greater potential impact, this overarching strategy will allow us to concentrate on issues that will be both actionable for members and high impact for bird conservation. In addition to rallying support around actionable issues, we intend to follow up on and communicate outcomes from past conservation actions to keep members feeling up-to-date and informed. We believe meaningful and actionable notification of conservation issues to members will make a difference within the state and community overall.
Please consider reaching out to us if you have any interest in Illinois bird conservation and want to help guide this committee.
Plain Chachalaca, Rio Grand Valley Texas (Photo: Matt Igleski)
If you haven’t already heard, there is talk of building a wall along the entire US-Mexico border. Without going into all the political and logistical minutia, the big takeaway is that the wall cannot go on the border itself and will actually be several feet to miles into the US from the border. Due to the placement of the potential wall, many areas will be trapped in a “no-man’s land” and one of these areas includes the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas. All the experts agree that this will be devastating to wildlife and will further fragment habitat vital to many birds in the region, many of which aren’t readily found anywhere else in the US, and other animals such as the Ocelot—only found in the US in south Texas. Access for birders is still unclear, there may well be a way to access the area after the wall is built, but nothing has been confirmed and no one will be holding their breaths even if promises are made.
Alright, so we recognize that this is not an Illinois conservation issue per se, however it does have the potential to impact migratory birds traveling through this area. And it has the potential to impact Illinois birders looking to explore an exciting part of the country for birding. It is undoubtedly one of the most important bird conservation issues we are currently facing in the US. However, it is also an issue that all of us can take action on today!
As Congress continues to debate the 2018 budget there are ongoing attempts to attach money for Trump’s border wall. Construction in Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge is poised to begin as soon as money is allocated! You can help by calling your members of Congress today and tell them no money for walls! Call the Senate switchboard, 202-224-3121, and read the script below. You’ll have to call it twice to leave a message for both Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin. Calls are the preferred mode of communication as it’s been shown that it is more effective than letters or emails, and brings immediate attention to the issue.
Green Parrots, Rio Grande Valley Texas (Photo: Matt Igleski)
Example script:
“Hello, I am a constituent and I am calling to ask _____________ to oppose all money for border walls. The Trump administration has already announced that the first border walls they would build will slice through the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. This is a refuge that is so biodiverse that it is called the “Crown Jewel of the National Wildlife Refuge System.” I ask that _________ protect this jewel for its wildlife and for future generations of Americans by voting down ALL funding for border walls.”
