SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
August 2003 - Volume 10, No. 7
Jody Shimp, a Regional Natural Heritage Administrator for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) will present a program on he strategies used by the IDNR to assess the management of two invasive exotic plant species; Kudzu and Chinese yam on August 22rd, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Jody writes that inventory, monitoring and data base coordination are necessary components of any integrated weed management plan and are important steps needed in order to determine the overall severity of the invasive exotic plant problem, to determine control strategies, prioritize control efforts (i.e. spread potential, pathways, ecologically sensitive sites, ownership....), and assess the success of the plan. IDNR has integrated these tools in a cooperative interagency venture to eradicate kudzu from the Illinois landscape and control Chinese yam at the watershed level.
Illinois is perhaps unique among states in embarking on an interagency program of kudzu eradication - not just control. Jody will share the details of IDNR's management plan for kudzu and Chinese yam, a strategy that integrates prevention and control to achieve the most efficient control.
The program will be held in the Fellowship Hall of First United Methodist Church, 214 W. Main St., Carbondale. The public is invited to attend. A parking lot is located on the west side of the church and can be accessed from University Avenue or Main street. Enter from the right of he west side.
To view kudzu's aggressive, choking growth pattern first hand take a drive along Poplar Ridge Road, west from Orchard Hill Road (south of Murphysboro.)
It won't be anything like labor as you enjoy the almost autumn woodlands at Giant City State Park. From 10:00-11:00 a.m. you will experience the magnificent oaks and hickories beside gargantuan sandstone cliffs covered in colorful fichens and mosses. For more info phone the Park Visitor's Center at 457.4836.
Dare to venture on a 4-mile section of the River to River Trail to explore Max Creek and the infamous vortex phenomenon at night, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. The hike is moderately difficult. Bring flashlights, walking stick and waterproof boots. Meet at the intersection of U.S. Rt. 45 and Taylor Ridge Rd, 3.2 miles north of I-24 on U.S. Rt. 45. For more info phone the Cache River State Natural Area at 634.9678.
Illinois Audubon Society's 106th annual meeting, Springfield. Check http://www.illinoisaudubon.org for registration information, field rip sites, and programs.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources will mark the 40th anniversary of the Nature Preserves Commission with an all-day program at he Henry Barkhausen Wetlands Center near Karnak on 09/20.
Jim Waycuilis, Mark Guetersloh, Max Hutchison and John Schwegman will be leading tours to Wildcat Bluff, Section 8 Woods and Little Black Slough. More info to follow in September's newsletter.
This trip is being lead by Dan Kassebaum and Keith McMullen and is
open to all but there will be a $20 fee to
cover the boat rental and gas. Last year the group filled 3 boats and
were able to "cruise" the lake for 3 hours. This trip has been very
successful in recent years with such notables as long-tailed jaeger,
Sabine's gull, laughing gull, and red-necked phalarope to name a few.
The day will start with woodland birding at Eldon Hazlet State Park. Normal boat time is around 10 AM. Lunch will be after boating. In he afternoon plan on looking for shorebirds and waders at Carlyle's north end Wildlife Management Area's, (home to a roseate spoonbill and recently a white ibis).
For more info or to place your reservation with
$10 deposit, contact Keith McMullen, 1405 DeSoto, O'Fallon, IL
62269; warbler@intertek.net; 632.1057. Space is limited to 25.
Dan Woolard will be banding wood ducks and has invited SIAS to join in on the process. The complete details will be printed in the September newsletter.
Laraine Wright is leading a beginning birders' outing for the Shawnee National Forest on Saturday, 09/27. The site is the Natural Bridge/Cave Valley area beginning at 8:30 a.m. For more info contact Laraine at 457.8769 or imabirder@earthlink.net.
Come meet the trees of the forest. Discover why leaves change color in the fall. Learn the ways we identify trees as their leaves disappear. For more info phone the Park Visitor's Center at 457.4836.
If you missed the ride in the spring, here's your second chance. The Tunnel Hill Fall Bicycle Ride will begin in Harrisburg and end at the Cache River Wetlands Center near Karnak (45 miles).
Refreshments will be offered at seven rest stops along the way,
return transportation will be provided if necessary, and participants
will receive a tee-shirt. A $20 registration fee is required if you
sign up before the bike ride. A $25
registration fee will be applied on the day of he ride. For more info
or to request registration forms, phone the Cache River State Natural
Area at 634.9678.
Fall is one of the best time to experience the Cache and it is even better from a canoe! Trips will depart throughout the day and meander hrough ancient bald cypress and tupelo swamps. Reservations required. For more info or to reserve your spot, phone Cypress Creek NWR at 634.9678.
Wrap up a long weekend with a relaxing hike through the Cache River State Natural Area. A morning hike at 9:00 a.m. to Heron Pond highlights he natural and cultural history of the area, and features a boardwalk that winds through a pure stand of bald cypress trees.
At 1:00 p.m. a hike to Wildcat Bluff and Little Black Slough will meander along an exposed sandstone shelter bluff and continue to Boss Island, the site of a cypress cabin that dates back to 1853. For more info phone the Cache River State Natural Area at 634.9678.
The Fifteenth Annual Acorn Round-Up is planned for 11/8-9 at Horseshoe Lake Conservation Area. Seed collected during previous events has provided much of the plant material used to plant over 21,000 acres of rees in the Cache River Watershed in recent years. Maps of the watershed conservation effort will be available at the event.
Patches will be provided by an anonymous donor and Conservation Technologies. Tee-shirts will be available for sale at the collection site. For more info phone Conservation Technologies at 201.1694.
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From Missouri, Steve Juhlin reports that on 07/03 he went down to he Dexter (MO) rice fields. Upon arriving at the location there was a peregrine falcon perched on the powerline pole near the road.
While at Crab Orchard NWR monitoring his blue-bird trail on 07/05, David Kvernes stopped at Heron Flats and found two species of fall migrating shorebirds. Present were 2 greater and 5 lesser yellowlegs.
W. Douglas Robinson's book, Southern Illinois Birds; An Annotated List and Site Guide, lists the early migration date of 07/08 for greater yellowlegs. The two seen by David obviously can't read. :-)
During the week of 07/10, Mike Baltz was at Grassy Slough and counted 10 black-necked stilts on the 50 acre Nature Conservancy "wetland 1". He added that lots of agitated flight and calling suggested they were breeding/nesting.
On 07/13 Dennis Hale reported finding a white-winged dove at the grain elevator in Waltonville, IL. He stated that it had been hanging out with the Eurasian collared-doves (about 10) and mourning doves also present at the elevator.
Since Dennis' report, birders from all around Illinois, Missouri, and even Indiana have flocked in to see the collection of doves.
On 08/01, an upland sandpiper crossed in front of Laraine Wright's car as she drove just south of the Pinckneyville Airport. She saw an upland sandpiper at the airport last summer, too.
Trevor Hinckley counted more than 600 great egrets in the East Bay impoundment area of Crab Orchard NWR on 08/06, as part of his bird surveys for Mike Brown. Among other birds present were little blue and great blue herons, snowy egrets, solitary sandpipers, dunlin, semipalmated plovers, and yellow- and black-crowned night herons.
On 08/16 Don Mullison visited Rend Lake in search of shorebirds. He brought along his bike in order to shorten the trip to some of the hot spots around the lake. At the Ken Gray access Don located Forster's terns, great and snowy egrets, lesser yellowlegs, pectoral and least sandpipers, a stilt sandpiper and a ruddy turnstone. At Ward Branch Don found Forster's and Caspian terns, little blue heron, least and semipalmated sandpipers, and semipalmated plovers. Don also visited Nason point finding greater and lesser yellowlegs, a stilt sandpiper, dowitchers, pectoral and least sandpipers, cattle egrets, and his "bird of the day" a marbled godwit.
Dennis Hale made the loop around Rend Lake on 08/17. Dennis located a blue grosbeak near Ward Branch as well as a green heron, yellow-billed cuckoo, and great blue herons. At Turnip Patch boat ramp he saw both blue and white phase little blue herons, great egrets, a belted kingfisher and his "bird of the day", a black-bellied plover still in full breeding plumage. Dennis also visited Nason finding some of the same shorebirds as Don and a bald eagle, sharp-shinned hawk and a hairy woodpecker.
Frank Bennett reports spotting 7 black-necked stilts, 4 adults and 3 juveniles, at the Nature Conservancy property in Johnson County on 08/17.
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With just 3 known wild birds in existence, the Hawaiian Po'ouli is considered to be the world's rarest bird species. The Po'ouli is one of 5 endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers. It's Hawaiian name means "black face," referring to its dark facial feathers. The po'ouli is a stocky bird, about 5.5 inches long. Its cheek and breast feathers are wihte, turning a light red-brown towards the posterior. The top of its head is grayish, turning o dark brown on the back.
It is a secretive species. All three remaining birds live in separate parts of the forest on the remote slopes of the Haleakala Volcano on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. A February 2003 attempt to pair a female with the last remaining male failed with the female returning to her isolated territory.
-The American Bird Conservancy, Bird Calls March 2003
All of us have heard the term swansong and some of us may even have used it. The dictionary defines it as "a farewell or final appearance, action, or work." This figure of speech grows out of a second dictionary: "the beautiful legendary song sung only once by swan...as it is dying." The key work here is legendary since, so far as I know, our American swans don't sing as they die, and the mute swan, a Eurasian specie not fairly common in this country and about which this legend probably arose, doesn't either. The mute swan is indeed mute since it has no vocal powers, but it does make hissing and snorting sounds when alarmed. The two species native to America, the tundra (formerly whistling) and the trumpeter swan, do vocalize, the tundra emitting "a mellow, high-pitched cooing -- woo-ho, woo-woo, woo-ho," according to Roger Tory Peterson or, as the National Geographic guide has it, "a noisy, high-pitched whooping." Since I have never heard a tundra swan, I can't judge which is more accurate. The trumpeter swan is obviously named for its sonorous, trumpet-like voice. It doesn't, as E. B. White maintains in his popular children's book, actually play the trumpet.
The name swan derives from an Old English word swen, which means, in its most basic sense, to sound. Words like sonorous, sonogram, and sonata come from the same root. The question I can't answer but would like to know is how this marvelously romantic legend of the swan's dying song arose. If any reader knows, I'd like to hear from you. -David Kvernes
Fishing and longline nets, communication towers, West Nile Virus, fenthion, and invasive species are just a few threats to our avian friends. The list of threats goes on and on. To find out more about the ever increasing list of threats to birds and what you can do to help save birds, check out The American Bird Conservancy at http://www.abcbirds.org or The National Audubon Society at http://www.audubon.org,
Invasive species infest more than 100 million acreas of land in America. A new Audubon Society Report "Cooling the Hot Spots" maintains hat "invasive species are the leading cause of bird extinctions, having entirely or partially caused the majority of all extinctions since 1800" . Over a third of the 200 species on Audubon's WatchList of birds in danger or decline are primarily threatened by loss of habitat to invasive species. For example non-native Chinese tallow trees have transformed more than 55,000 acres of grassland habitat into woodlands at Texas' Aransas NWR, impacting millions of migratory birds and depriving the imperiled short-eared owl of wintering habitat essential to its survival.
To address the widespread threat of invasive species across American, the National Audubon Society (NAS), in conjunction with other agencies and scientists, is working to develop a campaign against these invasive species. NAS has identified ten hot spots across America, focusing on controling invasives on lands within the National Wildlife Refuge System with a primary mission of conserving birds and other wildlife. For more info on this campaign visit: http://www.stopinvasives.org/camp.asp
The US Navy is looking to build a jet landing field just 3 miles from Pocosin Lakes NWR, a Globally Important Bird Area and the wintering home for tundra swans and snow geese. Up to 100,000 of the large birds spend the winter on this NWR located along a coastal North Carolina peninsula.
Through the release of an Environmental Impact Statement, the Navy is recommending the development of an outlying Landing Field near the refuge to support new F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft. The National Audubon Society, many other conservation groups, state and federal biologists, and even a senior military safety expert warn of the severe risk of birds hitting planes and the massive disruption to refuge operations and wildlife the 150 low-level flights per day would cause.
In an attempt to "manage" the risks, the Navy has announced plans to buy-out or condemn 30,000 acres of family farms around the 2,000 acre landing field and to make it unappealing to birds. If land conservation won't drive the birds away, the Navy is proposing to harass the birds and even kill them if necessary.
The National Audubon Society asks that folks contact the Navy Secretary and congressional reps to let them know that this project is a bad investment of tax-payers dollars and is unsafe for man and wildlife alike. For more info visit: http://www.audubon.org/.
Citizens Against Reckless Expansion (CARE) is a new local group formed to oppose projects such at the expansion of IL Rt. 127 north of Murphsyboro into a 4-lane freeway. They are also opposing the proposed I-64 through southernmost Illinois. More info on CARE will be provided as it becomes available.
The Important Bird Area (IBA) program is an international effort to identify, conserve, and monitor a network of sites that provide essential habitat for bird populations. BirdLife International began the program in Europe in 1985. Since that time, partners in more than 100 countries have joined together to build the global IBA network.
In 12/02, the Chicago Region Audubon Society began an Illinois IBA program with the goal to quickly identify the state's most important bird areas and the threats to them. Illinois IBA is accepting nominations for areas to be included until 09/30/03. For more info including nomination forms and a chance to win prizes for contributing the most accepted forms, visit: http://www.habitatproject.org/.
On 08/18 Governor Blagojevich used his amendatory veto on the Recreational Trails of Illinois Act with respect to the Off-Highway Vehicle Trails Fund. The Governor's veto recommends that at least 70% (instead of 85%) of the money used from Off-Highway Vehicle Trails Fund be allocated for motorized recreation leaving more for lawn enforcement. He also used his veto to recommend that the Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) be prohibited from using money from the Off-Highway Vehicle Trails Fund for construction of motorized recreation trails on land owned or managed by the IDNR unless the recreation areas are acquired after the effective date of he Act. For more info visit the state website and reference SB1521 and SB1804. http://www.legis.state.il.us/numreslt.asp
In July, Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced more than
$70 million in grant to 29 states to support conservation
planning and acquisition of vital habitat for threatened and endangered
species. The grants will benefit species ranging from the endangered
red-cockaded woodpecker to the hreatened spectacled eider.
On 08/11 the USFWS released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on he management of double-crested cormorants in the United States. The document analyzes various options for managing rapidly growing cormorant populations to reduce resource conflicts. Cormorants have been documented o have negative impacts on resources such as commercial aquaculture, recreational fisheries, vegetation, and the habitat of other colonially nesting birds. The preferred alternative in this EIS will give local authorities a more active role in double-crested cormorant management.
This week marks the beginning of a 30-day comment period on the EIS. After this period, the Service will publish a final rule and record of decision. The EIS evaluates six management alternatives including continuing current management practices, implementing only non lethal management techniques, issuing depredation permits with more flexible criteria, issuing a "public resource depredation order" to address public resource conflicts, reducing regional cormorant populations, and establishing frameworks for a cormorant hunting season. The Service believes a "public resource depredation order" will be the most effective alternative. Such an order would apply to 24 states including Illinois.
Cormorants have been federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act since 1972 after their populations dropped precipitously due to factors such as the use of the pesticide DDT. Today, the population is at historic highs in many areas due in large part to the presence of ample food in their summer and winter ranges, federal and state protection, and reduced contaminant levels.
Requests for copies of, or comments on, the EIS may be mailed to he Division of Migratory Bird Management, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MBSP-4107, Arlington, Virginia 22203. In addition, requests or comments may be submitted by email to: cormorants@fws.gov, or via fax at 703.358.2272.
For more info on this and other USFWS news releases visit their website at: http://news.fws.gov OR phone 202.208.5634.
Folks who get their drinking water from the Summerfield/Lebanon/Mascoutah Water District, New Athens Water Plant (Lenzburg, Marissa, Washington County Water Co., New Athens,) or a well near Albers, IL get their water from the Kaskaskia River or the Pearl Aquifer. Exxon subsidiary Monterey Coal Co., Albers, IL, plans to discharge polluted runoff waters (from their 200 acre coal waste pile) into he Kaskaskia River at Highway I-64. A Public Hearing will be held 08/27/03 at 6:30 p.m. at the Albers American Legion (Post #1026) 600 N Bertha St., Albers, IL. Copies of the Permit and Update are available at: Albers City Hall (248.5154) or Germantown Village Hall (523.4243).
Help these folks protect their water from polutants. Send opposing comments to: Hearing Officer Connie Tonsor #21, IEPA, 1021 N Grand Ave East, PO Box 19276, Springfield, IL 62794-9276. (Written comments must be postmarked by midnight, 09/26/03).
Happy Trails Lucille
SIAS would like to wish Lucille Busenhart all the best in her move o Galveston Texas. Lucille has been a member of SIAS for several years and will be missed.
Happy Trails to you Lucille!
We welcome new members JoAnn Nelson add Mary Schmid both of Carbondale.
-Where do kingfishers keep their nest egg?
In a river bank.
Southern Illinois Audubon Society P.O. Box 222, Carbondale, IL 62903-0222
Affiliate of the Illinois Environmental Council and the Illinois Audubon Society
(Written on a contantly reused computer! Are you using recycled paper?)
:-)