birding ethics, unintentional disturbance, and potential harmful effects on birds

Every year the topic of reporting roosting owls and other "sensitive species" is raised again when birders find and report locations of Long-eared Owls as well as some other species.

Guidance on reporting species is expertly described and summarized at this eBird link.

An "Issues Paper" prepared by the WBCI Issues Committee is also available, here.

To provide some background on the current science regarding the impacts and effects of potentially excessive disturbance to birds, see the following linked publications: 

http://escholarship.org/uc/item/43m7b2d5#page-7

http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3bio205/conservation_physiology.pdf

http://mmc.gov/drakes_estero/pdfs/jouranimalecology_04.pdf

http://obpa-nc.org/DOI-AdminRecord/0050268-0050280.pdf

https://mmc.gov/drakes_estero/pdfs/conservationecology_02.pdf

never heard of John Francis?

The Planetwalker: John Francis has a great story to tell, if you've never read it, it's really worthwhile.   A story  of an environmental and human awakening.

a long walk for birds - part 2

Starting in mid-April of 2013, I'll be walking across Wisconsin to raise funds for the Bird Protection Fund of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. Learn  more about NRF's Great Wisconsin Birdathon at this link. My effort will be slightly different, in that I will be asking folks to make a pledge amount per mile that I cover. Funding on these projects gets divided between the Bird Protection Fund and one's "home organization" - but I will divide it once more: 50% to the Bird Protection Fund, then 25% to the Western Gr. Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory, and the remaining 25% to Bird City Wisconsin. I expect this "long walk for birds" to take about 3 weeks, and cover approximately 240-260 miles. I'll be starting at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve in Ozaukee County, on the shore of Lake Michigan. I'll walk generally westward, and end up on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien, in Crawford County. If you'd like to pledge an amount, or follow the progress and planning, see updates here periodically, or e-mail me. Some folks may like to join me for a few miles or a morning - let me know if you'd like to do that. About 20 people have so far already indicated they will do that. More to come, on the route, and preparations...in the coming weeks and months.

Why it will be noteworthy if you see an Ivory Gull

Ivory Gull - ph. by Will Sweet - Wikim. Commons

Seeing an Ivory Gull - even in the geographic regions where they normally appear - is becoming more difficult. A dramatic decline is occurring for this species, due to a number of factors. Read more at this link.

rare and declining bird species of the world and their conservation

(Ph.: Wikim. Commons -- Leandro Prudencio)

Go to this BirdLife International page to learn about current happenings in international bird conservation and an array of rare or declining bird species. One of my favorites (the Gouldian Finch) is pictured here. This species, while popular with aviculturists and cage bird fanciers, is threatened in the wild, in its home country of Australia.