[cayugabirds-l] Wolfe Island Mortality
I was asked by some for the source of the quote that said Wolfe Island avian mortality was the second highest in NA. After some searching we find that it came from an analysis by our own Bill Evans. The link to that article is below. Not to belabor the point but John Confer's last paragraph goes to the heart of our concerns for Amherst Island...the importance of habitat. I was sent a second source, a PDf outlining deaths across Canadian wind farms and it does show Wolfe to be the highest and second for tat year only to Altamont in CA.It was written by Lyle Friesen of the CWS for the OFO (Ontario Field Ornithologist) Journal. Unfortunately I can't get that PDF to link in acceptable form. john http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/windfarm-turbines-deadly-for-birds-bats/article4392511/ -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ Conserve and Create Habitat -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Ice mid lake/Snowy Owl Genesee Co.
Re our string 2 + weeks ago about ice on Cayuga Lake, I arrived home from Fla yesterday when I awoke after a zero degrees night, today, I see huge sheets of ice floating on lake here at Lansing Sta Rd where lake is 430 feet deep! This has not happened here in many years. Was in Batavia yesterday before returning here, saw one of the Snowy Owls at Genesee County Airport, sitting on big chimney of long, dark blue, new house just south of airport. Sent from my iPhone Donna Scott -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Ice mid lake/Snowy Owl Genesee Co.
Fingerlakes Weather guy on Facebook said it was -9 in Rochester this morning and that is the coldest EVER March temperature recorded. The closest was -7 in 1872. Let's hope this warming trend takes hold. Linda Orkin Ithaca where it was -10 this morning... On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 8:51 AM, Donna Scott d...@cornell.edu wrote: Re our string 2 + weeks ago about ice on Cayuga Lake, I arrived home from Fla yesterday when I awoke after a zero degrees night, today, I see huge sheets of ice floating on lake here at Lansing Sta Rd where lake is 430 feet deep! This has not happened here in many years. Was in Batavia yesterday before returning here, saw one of the Snowy Owls at Genesee County Airport, sitting on big chimney of long, dark blue, new house just south of airport. Sent from my iPhone Donna Scott -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- Don't ask what your bird club can do for you, ask what you can do for your bird club!! ')_,/ -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] CBC Owl Prowl this Saturday, March 8
All, Just a reminder and an invitation. John Confer will be leading a group to look and listen for owls this coming Saturday, March 8. It promises to be a fun evening, John has been out scouting his route. Here's the description as is on the calendar. Dress super-warmly related to weather of the day because the trip will involve walking and a lot of standing still, which can be especially cold. We will try for a mix of species, which are often hard to get to respond. Try for Long-eared Owl by walking along Thomas Rd, Screech Owl along hiking trail on Game Farm Rd, and Saw-whet at Park Preserve and Saw-whet and Barred Owl at Star-Stanton Rd. It is possible to strike out on all four, but it is a good time of year to see if they respond. Trip will end at about 9:30. Call 539-6308 before 5:00 PM if there is a concern about weather that night. John Confer Meet at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at 7 PM. All are welcome regardless of membership status or level of expertise. Hope you can make it. -- If you permit this evil, what is the good of the good of your life? -Stanley Kunitz... -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds
I recently wrote about cedar waxwings consuming snow, while at the time they were eating the dried fruit of Korean Ash. I raised the question whether they were perhaps doing this to dilute the alcohol in the fruit. Kevin expressed the opinion that there would be no juice, fermented or otherwise, in the fruit. He then asked, if I had ever gotten drunk eating raisins. The answer to that is no, particularly since raisins are _not_ made from overripe fruit. As to his statement about no juice being in dried fruit, there is some water content in raisins (up to 15%), although, of course, that is controlled in the drying process. If there were no moisture at all in raisins, it would be like eating hardtack! I would hazard to guess that there is some residual water, albeit very little, in naturally dried fruit. As I understand, alcohol is produced as fruit becomes over ripe. As moisture leaves the fruit, the alcohol will become more concentrated, with the highest concentration occurring during the winter months. The alcohol may help to preserve the fruit. I recall reading a post to Cayuga Birds long ago about someone observing unusual behavior in robins that had become tipsy from eating overripe fruit. Since cedar waxwings feed exclusively(?) on fruit, I could imagine that they could be more susceptible to becoming inebriated, if they were to consume fruit that has alcohol concentrated in it. This can be dangerous for the birds, since it makes them more susceptible to predation, and if they were to consume enough of it, they could die. All this made me wonder whether waxwings could have developed an adaptation for consuming water when eating overripe fruit in order to dilute their drink. Kevin may well be right that the birds coincidentally were very thirsty at the same time they were consuming the fruit. By the way, I have no idea what the alcohol content might be in dried, overripe fruit of Korean Ash. I have not bothered to do a taste test! Does anyone know someone who might be willing to run an analysis? Larry -- W. Larry Hymes 120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 (H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
RE: [cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds
Larry, You nailed it. I had forgotten you were in the Fruit and Vegetable department of Cornell University! The fruits will contain some amount of moisture, I think in crab apples there is much higher water content, almost 50 to 60% (at least in my fruits). I was going to write this but decided against it, so I discarded the email I had written. Also, if the stomach contents are drier then the snow or water will help the stomach contents to become softer and easily digestible, so may be birds were not thirsty, but they knew that the food becomes palatable by moistening it. So technically you are right about concentrated juices. And secondly alcohol content raises another point. The melting point of alcohol solution (with fruit contents) is much lower than pure alcohol and alcohol itself has much lower melting point (-116 oC)than water (0 oC). So it makes the fruits/and contents lot more easily drinkable? I have been thinking of checking out the sugar contents of the fruits (crab apple) at various stages as to know when is the fruit best edible. Just a few thoughts of mine! Cheers Meena -Original Message- From: bounce-112957444-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-112957444-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of W. Larry Hymes Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 11:40 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds I recently wrote about cedar waxwings consuming snow, while at the time they were eating the dried fruit of Korean Ash. I raised the question whether they were perhaps doing this to dilute the alcohol in the fruit. Kevin expressed the opinion that there would be no juice, fermented or otherwise, in the fruit. He then asked, if I had ever gotten drunk eating raisins. The answer to that is no, particularly since raisins are _not_ made from overripe fruit. As to his statement about no juice being in dried fruit, there is some water content in raisins (up to 15%), although, of course, that is controlled in the drying process. If there were no moisture at all in raisins, it would be like eating hardtack! I would hazard to guess that there is some residual water, albeit very little, in naturally dried fruit. As I understand, alcohol is produced as fruit becomes over ripe. As moisture leaves the fruit, the alcohol will become more concentrated, with the highest concentration occurring during the winter months. The alcohol may help to preserve the fruit. I recall reading a post to Cayuga Birds long ago about someone observing unusual behavior in robins that had become tipsy from eating overripe fruit. Since cedar waxwings feed exclusively(?) on fruit, I could imagine that they could be more susceptible to becoming inebriated, if they were to consume fruit that has alcohol concentrated in it. This can be dangerous for the birds, since it makes them more susceptible to predation, and if they were to consume enough of it, they could die. All this made me wonder whether waxwings could have developed an adaptation for consuming water when eating overripe fruit in order to dilute their drink. Kevin may well be right that the birds coincidentally were very thirsty at the same time they were consuming the fruit. By the way, I have no idea what the alcohol content might be in dried, overripe fruit of Korean Ash. I have not bothered to do a taste test! Does anyone know someone who might be willing to run an analysis? Larry -- W. Larry Hymes 120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 (H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edumailto:w...@cornell.edu -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
RE: [cayugabirds-l] Ice mid lake/Snowy Owl Genesee Co.
That large ice flow could be the chunk that broke off from the north end of the lake. It floated past Aurora the other morning. When the winter is cold enough so that good ice forms to the north (according to my fishing depth guide, where the lake is less than 100 feet deep), late winter and spring are enlivened by the sight of floes traveling south. I particularly like it when the floes are populated with geese going for a ride. Enjoy this perfectly beautiful day- Linda VB From: bounce-112957098-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-112957098-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Linda Orkin Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 10:39 AM To: Donna Lee Scott Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Ice mid lake/Snowy Owl Genesee Co. Fingerlakes Weather guy on Facebook said it was -9 in Rochester this morning and that is the coldest EVER March temperature recorded. The closest was -7 in 1872. Let's hope this warming trend takes hold. Linda Orkin Ithaca where it was -10 this morning... On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 8:51 AM, Donna Scott d...@cornell.edumailto:d...@cornell.edu wrote: Re our string 2 + weeks ago about ice on Cayuga Lake, I arrived home from Fla yesterday when I awoke after a zero degrees night, today, I see huge sheets of ice floating on lake here at Lansing Sta Rd where lake is 430 feet deep! This has not happened here in many years. Was in Batavia yesterday before returning here, saw one of the Snowy Owls at Genesee County Airport, sitting on big chimney of long, dark blue, new house just south of airport. Sent from my iPhone Donna Scott -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- Don't ask what your bird club can do for you, ask what you can do for your bird club!! ')_,/ -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basicshttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME Rules and Informationhttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES Subscribe, Configuration and Leavehttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm Archives: The Mail Archivehttp://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html Surfbirdshttp://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds BirdingOnThe.Nethttp://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBirdhttp://ebird.org/content/ebird/! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
RE: [cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds
Ah…one of my favorite topics! Here's what BNA online says about waxwings and fermented fruit: Cedar Waxwing is vulnerable to alcohol intoxication and death after eating fermented fruits. Two cases from s. California implicate fermented palm (Phoenix sp.) fruits in mass mortality of Cedar Waxwings. Forty-two birds from flock of about 200 died in late Feb after eating fermented palm fruits (Miller 1932). Similarly, 31 birds that were eating palm fruits died in a 2-wk period in late Apr (McClure 1962). Two Cedar Waxwings died from falling to the ground after apparently becoming intoxicated from eating fermented hawthorn fruits; their crop contents and livers showed elevated concentrations of ethanol (Fitzgerald et al. 1990). Bohemian Waxwings can metabolize alcohol more rapidly than European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and Greenfinches (Chloris chloris) can (Eriksson and Nummi 1982), but capacity of Cedar Waxwings to metabolize alcohol has not been evaluated. Cedar Waxwings are able to smell volatile chemicals (Clark 1991). Olfaction may be important in detection and evaluation of fruit foods, but this area remains unexplored. In terms of why waxwings would eat snow/drink water, why could not both theories (they're thirsty, they're trying to dilute any fermented juices) be true? Certainly fruits at this time of year are pretty dried up, so the direct reason waxwings need to drink is likely dehydration…but in doing so they also dilute any residual fermented juice. BTW, from my observations, in late summer and fall, Cedar Waxwings preferentially select more rotten-looking, overripe fruits rather than underripe ones. My theory is that the squishier overripe fruits are easier for them to swallow. But those fruits aren't as photogenic as slightly less ripe ones…oh dear….what we poor photographers have to contend with! OK enough from me about fermentation…I'm feeling woozy already. Marie Marie Read Wildlife Photography 452 Ringwood Road Freeville NY 13068 USA Phone 607-539-6608 e-mail m...@cornell.edu http://www.marieread.com ***NEW*** Music of the Birds Vol 1 ebook for Apple iPad now available from iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/music-of-the-birds-v1/id529347014?mt=11 From: bounce-112957444-5851...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-112957444-5851...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of W. Larry Hymes [w...@cornell.edu] Sent: Thursday, March 6, 2014 11:39 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds I recently wrote about cedar waxwings consuming snow, while at the time they were eating the dried fruit of Korean Ash. I raised the question whether they were perhaps doing this to dilute the alcohol in the fruit. -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds
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RE: [cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds
Besides, the FAA will not allow the birds to fly with elevated blood alcohol levels. Kathy C. Weinberg Jenner Block LLP 1099 New York Avenue, N.W. Suite 900, Washington, DC 20001-4412 | jenner.comhttp://www.jenner.com (202) 639-6868 | TEL (214) 673-1300 | MOBILE (202) 661-4930 | FAX kweinb...@jenner.commailto:kweinb...@jenner.com Download V-Cardhttps://svcs.jenner.com/JBvCard/vcardhandler/getcardbypid/69373 | View Biographyhttp://www.jenner.com/people/KathyWeinberg [cid:image7d3276.JPG@82ff616e.4cb649fd] CONFIDENTIALITY WARNING: This email may contain privileged or confidential information and is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). Any unauthorized use or disclosure of this communication is prohibited. If you believe that you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete it from your system. From: bounce-112957669-62235...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-112957669-62235...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Dave Nutter Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 12:20 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds I am just speculating, but my thoughts are: * The drying process would preserve the fruit because the yeasts might be unable to function without water (I surmise), just as the bacteria cannot function with low water and high sugar concentrations (my understanding of why drying preserves fruit). * Any alcohol in the fruit would be as apt to evaporate as the water, or maybe more so, ethanol boiling at a lower temperature than water. * The birds would need water to reconstitute and digest the concentrated fruit. When I eat very dry food, my stomach hurts unless I also drink water, I think because the dried food draws too much water from my stomach. Water is needed for digestion generally to break up many larger molecules, although oxidation later on also creates water which I assume can be used for this. Birds don't carry around extra water. I often see waxwings drinking, and I think that's why. * I'm skeptical that birds who rely on old fruit have issues with inebriation. Birds are so finely tuned for flying that the drunks wouldn't survive, either hitting something or getting eaten. The selection pressure would be enormous. I think either there isn't much alcohol out there, or they know how to avoid it. * Cedar Waxwings are a bit quirky and different from other birds, which might be misinterpreted as tipsy. * A big difference between the dried fruit we eat, such as raisins, and the fruit birds eat is that we dry ours quickly and then keep it dry, stored out of the weather, whereas fruit on trees is exposed to precipitation, and wild fluctuations in temperature and humidity. It's a really good question what actually goes on inside a fruit hanging on a tree for several months. I bet it's very different depending on the size of the fruit (full-sized apples v crabapples v buckthorn nannyberry). The skin of the fruit must play a huge role, too, in shedding and repelling water, and keeping out microorganisms. --Dave Nutter On Mar 06, 2014, at 11:40 AM, W. Larry Hymes w...@cornell.edumailto:w...@cornell.edu wrote: I recently wrote about cedar waxwings consuming snow, while at the time they were eating the dried fruit of Korean Ash. I raised the question whether they were perhaps doing this to dilute the alcohol in the fruit. Kevin expressed the opinion that there would be no juice, fermented or otherwise, in the fruit. He then asked, if I had ever gotten drunk eating raisins. The answer to that is no, particularly since raisins are _not_ made from overripe fruit. As to his statement about no juice being in dried fruit, there is some water content in raisins (up to 15%), although, of course, that is controlled in the drying process. If there were no moisture at all in raisins, it would be like eating hardtack! I would hazard to guess that there is some residual water, albeit very little, in naturally dried fruit. As I understand, alcohol is produced as fruit becomes over ripe. As moisture leaves the fruit, the alcohol will become more concentrated, with the highest concentration occurring during the winter months. The alcohol may help to preserve the fruit. I recall reading a post to Cayuga Birds long ago about someone observing unusual behavior in robins that had become tipsy from eating overripe fruit. Since cedar waxwings feed exclusively(?) on fruit, I could imagine that they could be more susceptible to becoming inebriated, if they were to consume fruit that has alcohol concentrated in it. This can be dangerous for the birds, since it makes them more susceptible to predation, and if they were to consume enough of it, they could die. All this made me wonder whether waxwings could have developed an adaptation for consuming water when eating overripe fruit in order to dilute their drink. Kevin may well be right that the birds
Re:[cayugabirds-l] Wolfe Island Mortality
I've been involved challenging the wind energy build out in Ontario since 2007, and along the way I've grown very appreciative of the wind energy siting process we have in NYS, as guided by the NYDEC USFWS. The science has been much better in NY and the resulting wind build out in NY arguably has a lower avian fatality rate per turbine than that in Ontario. But this is I think partly due to geographic circumstances - New York has relatively good wind resource areas in upland areas of western and northern NY (areas of less potential bird impact) whereas Ontario's best wind resources for serving its population are along the shores of the Great Lakes (areas with more potential avian impact). These shorelines tend to concentrate diurnal and nocturnal bird migration and there is accordingly more risk of wind turbine collision impact. New York has only one wind project on the Great Lakes shoreline (Steel Winds project near Buffalo) whereas Ontario now has many. The whole northern lake shore of Lake Erie is essentially under wind development and the north shore of Lake Ontario is not far behind (e.g., the Amherst Is. wind project). To give an egregious example of the lack of wind energy science in Ontario, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (equivalent of our NYDEC) only required the fatality study at Wolfe Island Wind Project (and other wind projects in Ontario) to survey out 50 m from the base of wind turbines for bird and bat carcasses. The resulting avian fatality rate figures were then reported to the public as the actual fatality rate of the project(s). The problem with this is that US fatality studies show that similarly high turbines toss bird carcasses out to at least 100 m away from the wind turbine support tower. This was demonstrated in fatality studies at NY's Maple Ridge Wind Project, 70 km southeast of Wolfe Island, part of which preceded and was in print prior to the Wolfe Island fatality study. This latter study and other US studies are the basis for concluding that 50% of the bird carcasses at modern wind turbines are lofted beyond 50 m. In order to estimate avian fatality rates at wind projects, one must not only make a statistical correction for carcasses lost to scavengers (raccoons, etc.) and surveyor efficiency (measured skill of surveyors in finding carcasses), one needs to correct for the full area where carcasses may fall that is not surveyed. So, for most of the existing Ontario wind energy fatality data, one needs to begin by multiplying by two to get closer to reality on the number of birds killed. This was recently noted by Environment Canada in the following paper published last year: Zimmerling, J. R., A. C. Pomeroy, M. V. d'Entremont, and C. M. Francis. 2013. Canadian estimate of bird mortality due to collisions and direct habitat loss associated with wind turbine developments. Avian Conservation and Ecology 8(2): 10. http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00609-080210 This paper is one of the better overviews I've seen. Unfortunately the authors conclusions regarding the impact of wind energy on Canadian bird populations is tainted by the fact that they used antiquated Partners in Flight (PIF) population estimates from the 1990s without informing the reader. Updated PIF population estimates were released last year, apparently after the paper went to press. So, for example they estimate, based on Canadian fatality data, that 465 Purple Martins are currently killed by wind turbines in Canada every year. They conclude that this is inconsequential because they cite a population estimate (base in 1990 PIF data) of 523,000 martins. This translates to less that 0.1% of the population and doesn't tend to raise any red flags. But the more recent PIF estimate for martins (based on early 2000s data) is only 200,000. And what they don't tell you is that based on the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas, the martin population in Ontario (where almost all of the martin-killing wind energy is located) is only estimated to be 25,000. The martin population has been in a long-term free-fall of 5-8% per year in Ontario for other reasons, but current wind collision mortality to martins is estimated to be adding an additional 3% to the annual decline -- and the wind energy build out in Ontario continues unabated. The future of the Purple Martin in Ontario looked grim, but now looks increasingly grim. Three years of fatality data are publically available for the Wolfe Island Wind Farm.* These studies indicate that only 8, 5, and 3 martin carcasses respectively were found in each of the three years. What you won't find, unless you look at the transcripts of my written testimonies for two wind project appeal hearings in Canada, is that when you factor in the statistical corrections, the martin fatality estimates at the Wolfe Island Wind Project jump to 112, 126, and 36 for each of the first three years of the study. The drop in the
[cayugabirds-l] Freese Road Larks, Compost Glaucous
Hi all, After lunch today (at about 1:15), Tim Lenz and I had a group of between 30 and 50 HORNED LARKS in the field across from the Ithaca Community Gardens on Freese Road. They seemed to be frequenting the patch that had truck tracks all over it. Many of the birds were very dull and brown, appearing pipit-like from a distance. They may move closer to Hanshaw later when the farm crew is done spreading manure there. We also had a pair of GLAUCOUS GULLS at the compost piles before that. - Brad -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] chickadees and climate change
Scott Taylor, a postdoc in Irby Lovette's Evolutionary Biology lab at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is lead author on a study of Black-capped and Carolina Chickadee hybridization and the effects of climate change on their distribution. (Current Biology 24, 1-6, March 17, 2014, Climate-mediated Movement of an Avian Hybrid Zone.). Here's an article in the Cornell Chronicle describing his work. http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/03/warming-temperatures-push-chickadees-northward Laura Laura Stenzler l...@cornell.edumailto:l...@cornell.edu -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Robins and cedar waxings
A large group of robins and cedar waxwings have been coming and going from the red oak tree just north of Olin Library in the Arts Quad for hours. Many more cedar waxwings are gathered in the pine trees near the southeast corner of Olin Library by Stimson Hall right now. Michael + Michael Engle | m...@cornell.edu Reference Librarian Selector: Olin/Uris Reference Anglo-American Newspapers 106 Olin Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Mt. Pleasant = eagles, etc.
As the day looked good for eagle watching, I went up on Mt. Pleasant, arriving at 1100 and vowing to stay until 1400. There was an active flock of 25 SNOW BUNTINGS foraging about, and at one point, most perched on the utility wires near the towers. The wind picked up, gusting from the SE, which was not pleasant, but typical. I was contemplating a hot lunch at 1350 when the dark phase ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK appeared, flapping and gliding, over the conifers to the south. While watching it, a very large, dark bird loomed up beyond, which proved to be an adult GOLDEN EAGLE. It spiraled up, eventually getting lost in the sun. Juiced up, I decided to stay a bit longer, and at 1410 an immature BALD EAGLE appeared to the east. Eagle quota filled, hands numb, outta there. Steve Fast Brooktondale -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds
Clearly, the FAA is not acting in a responsible manner. The IC campus has numerous ornamental cherry trees, some very close to the center of campus and in locations with heavy human traffic. Cedar Waxwing flocks, occasionally as large as several hundred, eat the berries on these trees in late fall and on spring return in early spring. If you squeeze the berries, they sure do smell like an alcoholic fruit drink. Without any scientific evidence, I've always assumed that it was fermented. Supporting the fermentation possibility is that 1. The birds eating the fermented berries can be absurdly tame, allowing nearly a hundred students to walk by with 2 to 15 m as class changes. 2. A great many of the birds kill themselves against the nearby plate glass windows, far more than I would expect if they weren't flying while under the influence. I suppose I have seen at least 20 dead below windows. 3. Even more convincing, I have seen an additional 10-20 lying dead beneath the trees. I never thought of alcohol poisoning, which now seems possible. In several instances the birds had berries half swallowed in their throat or in the gap of their mouth. I thought they got drunk and then suffocated themselves. Keven mentioned the major selective pressure against eating fermented berries and drunken behavior. Similarly, there have been fatal consequences among students on our campuses due to drinking in the last several years, yet students do continue to get smashed (a quite appropriate word). I guess that for waxwings, the choice at some time and place may be starvation or drunkenness. John On 3/6/2014 12:56 PM, Weinberg, Kathy C. wrote: Besides, the FAA will not allow the birds to fly with elevated blood alcohol levels. Kathy C. Weinberg Jenner Block LLP 1099 New York Avenue, N.W. Suite 900, Washington, DC20001-4412|jenner.com (202) 639-6868 | TEL (214) 673-1300 | MOBILE (202) 661-4930 | FAX kweinb...@jenner.com Download V-Card|View Biography CONFIDENTIALITY WARNING: This email may contain privileged or confidential information and is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). Any unauthorized use or disclosure of this communication is prohibited. If you believe that you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete it from your system. From: bounce-112957669-62235...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-112957669-62235...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Dave Nutter Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 12:20 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds I am just speculating, but my thoughts are: * The drying process would preserve the fruit because the yeasts might be unable to function without water (I surmise), just as the bacteria cannot function with low water and high sugar concentrations (my understanding of why drying preserves fruit). * Any alcohol in the fruit would be as apt to evaporate as the water, or maybe more so, ethanol boiling at a lower temperature than water. * The birds would need water to reconstitute and digest the concentrated fruit. When I eat very dry food, my stomach hurts unless I also drink water, I think because the dried food draws too much water from my stomach. Water is needed for digestion generally to break up many larger molecules, although oxidation later on also creates water which I assume can be used for this. Birds don't carry around extra water. I often see waxwings drinking, and I think that's why. * I'm skeptical that birds who rely on old fruit have issues with inebriation. Birds are so finely tuned for flying that the drunks wouldn't survive, either hitting something or getting eaten. The selection pressure would be enormous. I think either there isn't much alcohol out there, or they know how to avoid it. * Cedar Waxwings are a bit quirky and different from other birds,
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds
This may be of interest to the discussion. I cannot find it now, but there was one other common berry (Serviceberry? I think not) connected with waxwing suicides against glass. We have had regular deaths on (stupid) reflecting glass (-my hawk shapes do help) when the birds ate off one tree that I believe as service berry. Now the tree has been sacrificed to an underground water system, problem solved. Anne Vet Med Int. 2010; 2010: 818159. Published online Dec 9, 2010. doi: 10.4061/2010/818159 PMCID: PMC3005831 Feeding Behavior-Related Toxicity due to Nandina domestica in Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) Moges Woldemeskel* and Eloise L. Styer Author information ► Article notes ► Copyright and License information ► Go to: Abstract Dozens of Cedar Waxwings were found dead in Thomas County, Georgia, USA, in April 2009. Five of these were examined grossly and microscopically. Grossly, all the examined birds had pulmonary, mediastinal, and tracheal hemorrhages. Microscopically, several tissues and organs were diffusely congested and hemorrhagic. Congestion and hemorrhage were marked in the lungs. Intact and partly digested berries of Nandina domestica Thunb. were the only ingesta found in the gastrointestinal tract of these birds. Due to their voracious feeding behavior, the birds had eaten toxic doses of N. domestica berries. N. domestica contains cyanide and is one of the few berries readily available at this time of the year in the region. The gross and microscopic findings are consistent with lesions associated with cyanide toxicity. This paper for the first time documents toxicity associated with N. domestica in Cedar Waxwings. On Mar 6, 2014, at 3:57 PM, John Confer wrote: Clearly, the FAA is not acting in a responsible manner. The IC campus has numerous ornamental cherry trees, some very close to the center of campus and in locations with heavy human traffic. Cedar Waxwing flocks, occasionally as large as several hundred, eat the berries on these trees in late fall and on spring return in early spring. If you squeeze the berries, they sure do smell like an alcoholic fruit drink. Without any scientific evidence, I've always assumed that it was fermented. Supporting the fermentation possibility is that 1. The birds eating the fermented berries can be absurdly tame, allowing nearly a hundred students to walk by with 2 to 15 m as class changes. 2. A great many of the birds kill themselves against the nearby plate glass windows, far more than I would expect if they weren't flying while under the influence. I suppose I have seen at least 20 dead below windows. 3. Even more convincing, I have seen an additional 10-20 lying dead beneath the trees. I never thought of alcohol poisoning, which now seems possible. In several instances the birds had berries half swallowed in their throat or in the gap of their mouth. I thought they got drunk and then suffocated themselves. Keven mentioned the major selective pressure against eating fermented berries and drunken behavior. Similarly, there have been fatal consequences among students on our campuses due to drinking in the last several years, yet students do continue to get smashed (a quite appropriate word). I guess that for waxwings, the choice at some time and place may be starvation or drunkenness. John On 3/6/2014 12:56 PM, Weinberg, Kathy C. wrote: Besides, the FAA will not allow the birds to fly with elevated blood alcohol levels. Kathy C. Weinberg Jenner Block LLP 1099 New York Avenue, N.W. Suite 900, Washington, DC 20001-4412 | jenner.com (202) 639-6868 | TEL (214) 673-1300 | MOBILE (202) 661-4930 | FAX kweinb...@jenner.com Download V-Card | View Biography Mail Attachment.jpeg CONFIDENTIALITY WARNING: This email may contain privileged or confidential information and is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). Any unauthorized use or disclosure of this communication is prohibited. If you believe that you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete it from your system. From: bounce-112957669-62235...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-112957669-62235...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Dave Nutter Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 12:20 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Inebriation in birds I am just speculating, but my thoughts are: * The drying process would preserve the fruit because the yeasts might be unable to function without water (I surmise), just as the bacteria cannot function with low water and high sugar concentrations (my understanding of why drying preserves fruit). * Any alcohol in the fruit would be as apt to evaporate as the water, or maybe more so, ethanol boiling at a lower temperature than water. * The birds would need water to reconstitute and digest the concentrated fruit. When I eat very dry food, my stomach hurts unless I also
[cayugabirds-l] Inebriated robins in FL
My Mother used to tell about when she lived there back in the '70s, how robins became inebriated nearly every yr. in St. Petersburg, FL from eating the fruit of the Florida Holly, a non-native invasive tree known as the Brazilian Pepper, an exotic that can grow to 40 ft.. Newspapers usually printed pictures ... seemed the colder the weather, the more the fruit would ferment. The same unripe fruit can be fatal to horses. It causes allergic reactions severe intestinal problems in some people. Fritzie -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Ithaca Red-necked Grebes, etc
Today I walked to the lake along NYS-89. The main ice shelf was just shy of the piling cluster in the middle of the lake (out from #877), but considerable extra ice extended farther north along the shores. On the east, thin sheets, not all of them attached, were in front of the houses but not to the hill on NYS-34. On the west an irregular but more solid shelf ended near #971 NYS-89, where I scoped between houses and through trees. I was hoping I might track down Carl's Surf Scoters, because I'd seen some dark ducks from the taxi yesterday, but either they left or it was a mistaken backlit impression. I saw no scoters at all, and diversity and numbers of waterfowl were down. I suspect they are gathering at the north end of the lake. There were COMMON GOLDENEYES and COMMON MERGANSERS dispersed on the lake, the latter around the ice edge as well, as were CANVASBACKS, but there were only a few REDHEADS, a handful of MALLARDS, LESSER SCAUPS, BUFFLEHEADS, and HOODED MERGANSERS, and a single male RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. One unusual find was an immature GLAUCOUS GULL on the ice near the east shore, standing slightly apart from the numerous HERRING and not-so-numerous GREAT BLACK-BACKED and RING-BILLED GULLS. The most exciting find for me was 3 winter plumage RED-NECKED GREBES fairly close to the west shore, 2 resting near one another (1 with head tucked) and the third diving. These are new for my Ithaca and Luddite lists for the year. Thanks for all the examples of inebriated birds. I still find it surprising and wonder how often it happens. The fact that I've never seen it myself makes me feel like I don't get out enough. I want to plant trees that will bear fruit attractive CEDAR WAXWINGS and other frugivores, but I don't want to intoxicate them, so I'd appreciate more notes on what trees' (other than palms) fruit ferments dangerously.--Dave Nutter -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! --
