Waterfowl Symposium

This weekend past, Columbus Audubon and the Ohio Ornithological Society jointly hosted a "Waterfowl Symposium" at the fabulous new Grange Insurance Audubon Center in downtown Columbus, Ohio. In spite of inadvertently choosing one of the winter's worst weekends for snow, everything came off fine and nearly everyone made it. We were greatly looking forward to hosting Jesse Barry and Chris Wood of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and hearing their presentation, but the weather and aircraft gods conspired to prevent that. Jesse and Chris made it to the Detroit airport, where multiple snafus prevented them from making the next leg - either by car or plane - to Columbus. We missed you guys, and hope you made it back to New York just fine. Paul Baicich drove in from Maryland, and reported that the drive was harrowing in places. Planning late winter events in Ohio is always a dicey proposition, and we are grateful that everything worked out as well as it did.

Following are a few photos of the event, but first a few much-deserved acknowledgments. Pulling off events such as this one are a ton of work, and both of the partnering organizations are indeed fortunate to have numerous talented and hard-working volunteers that are willing to put them together. Their work makes it possible for the rest of us to just show up, have a good time, and learn about birds. The planning committee deserves major props; they were: Ann Oliver, Peter King, Andrea Cook, Julie Davis, Warren Grody, Jen Sauter, Nadya Bennett, Darlene Sillick, Randy Rogers, and Barb Fate. Many other volunteers helped in various capacities, as did a number of field trip leaders. Thanks to all, and a special thanks to Heather Starck, Doreen Whitley, and Wade Walcuut of the Grange Insurance Audubon Center for graciously hosting us. We hope to do future events at this facility.

We sponsored six young birders to attend, and major kudos go to the sponsoring organizations for committing the funds to make that possible.

Not deterred by the elements one bit, the amazing Swinging Orangatangs swung up all the way from Marietta, Ohio, and rocked the house on Friday night. That's Bill Thompson on the ar left, his much better half Julie Zickefoose is to Bill's left. If you haven't heard the SO, you must. It was a great time, the acoustics were superb, and the sound was hot.

We pretty much filled the facility with vendors, and thanks to all who came and pitched their wares or promoted their groups. The center is open and airy, with lots of windows and a really nice layout for hosting this sort of thing. If you are casting about for a venue, you might check them out.

The focus of the conference was Saturday's speakers. We had a bit of a wrench thrown in the gears when Jesse and Chris were unfortunately marooned in Detroit, making for a last-minute bit of improv. No problem; Randy Rogers stepped up and dusted off a sensational program and delivered it flawlessly. Keith Lott of the Ohio Division of Wildlife gave a synopsis of his work conducting aerial surveys of birds on Lake Erie as part of a wind power study. He has lots of great data, including information that is essentially new regarding the diversity and numbers of avian species on the lake at certain times of year.

Paul Baicich came over from Maryland and spoke about birds, birders, and conservation, especially the role that waterfowl have played. Great stuff, as always, and if you ever get the chance to hear Paul speak, do it.

A real standout was Dr. Gwen Myers of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. She's been involved in a project on Spectacled Eiders (some of us call them "Spectacular" Eiders) on Alaska's north slope. Her program was incredible and filled with standout images and information. So much so that I'm going to try and slap up a blog about that later.

After a wonderful catered affair, we sat back to listen to Dr. Azzam Alwash, who came in from Iraq. That's Azzam, with Ann Oliver on the left and Randy Rogers on the right. Randy and Dr. Alwash estabished a rapport when Randy - a Major in the Ohio National Guard - was serving his two tours of duty in Iraq. One of the upshots is that Randy helped forge a relationship between Ohio birders and Alwash's organization, Nature Iraq, which is dedicated to conserving the country's wildlife and habitats.

To say that Alwash is a passionate and knowedgable speaker would be an enormous understatement. He delivered a spellbinding program on one of the world's most significant wetland complexes, the vast marshes that flood the land where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet. Saddam Hussein did his best to drain the wetlands and nearly succeeded; Alwash is doing his best to put them back, and doing very well at it. Among many great photos, he shared a shot of thousands of Marbled Teal darkening the sky.

Dr. Alwash holds the ceremonial check, flanked by Major Randy Rogers on the right, your narrator on the far left, and Julie Davis, president of Columbus Audubon. Unfortunately, the check blocked Julie and this is the only shot I've got. She's far more photogenic than the rest of us!

As part of our conference, we were able to raise $1,500.00 to donate to Nature Iraq. I believe that over $3000.00 has been donated by Ohioans over the past year. This is money well spent, and has helped Iraqi biologists purchase optics, field guides, and other essentials. Thanks to everyone who has helped to support this important work!

Field trips radiated out this morning, scrabbling about for open water. Where ice-free conditions could be found, there were ducks. My group first went to the Scioto River at the Greenlawn dam, then shot over to Green Lawn Cemetery. We had lots of goodies, and that massive oak harbored one of them.

Ensconced within a hole in the tree was an incubating Great Horned Owl. Look closely. Through the scope, we had great looks of her piercing yellow eyes shooting needles at us. Most Great Horneds use old stick nests appropriated from raptors, but many also use semi-open tree cavities such as this one.

A highlight at the cemetery were great and extended views of the resident Merlin, which was a lifer for a few in the crowd. They express their jubilation with the Victory sign; either that or everyone is trying to make those stupid rabbit ears over people's heads.

Thanks again to everyone who came out, and all who worked to make the event a success.

Common Goldeneye: Aquatic Break-dancer

Photo: John Pogacnik

NATURE
The Columbus Dispatch
February 7th, 2010
Jim McCormac

Goldeneye striking in looks, action

Probably no other group of birds has had the impact on conservation that waterfowl has. Most people are familiar with the mallards and Canada geese that frequent ponds, but there is much more to the ducky crowd. Forty-three species of ducks, geese, and swans have occurred in Ohio, and most of them are common, at least in migration.

In the 1930’s, Dust Bowl droughts had depleted North America’s waterfowl to perilously low levels. From the dusty ashes of near catastrophe arose a group that is now one of the world’s most effective conservation organizations. The year 1937 marked the formation of Ducks Unlimited, and in their 73 year history they’ve raised $3 billion which has gone to protect well over 12 million acres of habitat.

A good thing, as waterfowl rank high among our most interesting, beautiful birds. And protecting their habitat also safeguards scores of other animals, and lots of plants, too.

Hardy beasts, waterfowl are among the very first migrants to push north in spring. Today’s date is February 7th – very much winter in our eyes – but already the spring wanderlust is striking some ducks.

One of the toughest of this crowd is the common goldeneye. These diving ducks will stay about as far north as open water can be found, cavorting in the icy water of open leads as comfortably as if afloat in a tropical sea. Goldeneyes are already chomping at the bit, moving north as fast as thaws open up water, in their quest to reach northern breeding grounds.

Drake goldeneyes are art sculpted in feathers. Black and white is the dominant theme, creating a gorgeous piebald pattern. It’s as if the male’s head was dunked in inky paint, the jet-black noggin marked with an oval white spot just aft of the bill. Brilliant yellow eyes appear as topaz jewels imbedded in coal, their contrast lending the duck a perpetually surprised appearance.

Some ducks merely tip up in shallow water to feed, their butts sticking above the surface. Not so the goldeneye. These are divers, plunging down deep to harvest goodies unavailable to fowl that only dabble at the surface. Watching feeding goldeneyes cavorting among ice floes gives one a real respect for avian engineering and the insulating ability of feathers. A human submerged in such waters would be lucky to last 20 minutes.

About now, hormones flood drake goldeneyes and their thoughts turn to the ladies. Coy and aloof, the somber brown hens require work to woo. So, stud goldeneyes become aquatic break-dancers, pulling out all the stops to get the girl. A courting male throws his head back till his bill is vertical, folding into a floating pretzel. It’ll then scoot forward, thrusting a pair of brilliant orange webbed feet from the water, all the while shaking its head and pirouetting about.

It must work. Common goldeneyes are still common.

Jim McCormac

Further Afield

One of the easiest, most effective ways to help waterfowl and wetlands is by purchasing a Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, more popularly known as the “Duck Stamp”. The 2010 stamp features a gorgeous American wigeon . Since its inception in 1934, Duck Stamp sales have generated over $750 million, and protected nearly 5 ½ million acres.

Duck stamps will be available at a waterfowl symposium to be held the weekend of February 27-28 at the new Grange Insurance Audubon Center in Columbus. Keynote speaker is Dr. Azzam Alwash, who leads restoration efforts of the massive wetlands flanked by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq. Conference details are HERE. Stamps can also be purchased at many post offices, and at: http://www.duckstamp.com/mm5/

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Space limitations in the newspaper sometimes lead to editing down my column. I am able to reprint the entire, original column here.

Waterfowl Symposium!

Walk, swim, fly, or waddle your way to the Grange Insurance Audubon Center this February. The Ohio Ornithological Society, partnering with Columbus Audubon, will present a Waterfowl Symposium, the weekend of February 26-28, 2010 at GIAC along the Whittier Peninsula in downtown Columbus. Through lectures and speakers, we’ll travel to the marshes of Iraq, visit the breeding grounds of the Arctic, fly above the stopover habitat of Lake Erie, and look inside nests to learn about the secret life of waterfowl. Just $80 for the entire weekend (Friday-Sunday) if you are a member of OOS or CA/GIAC.

The weekend swings into action Friday evening with a special performance by The Swinging Orangutangs featuring Julie Zickefoose and Bill Thompson III. The event is a special fundraiser for Nature Iraq. Question: will they play "Disco Duck"? Bring your dancing shoes, leave your hiking boots in the vehicle, and find out! We’ll serve beer, wine, and appetizers including a taste of the Middle East. Also, take a behind the scenes tour of the green-design, LEED-certified GIAC building while admiring the lights of downtown Columbus in the distance. Bring a friend or guest Friday night for just a $10 donation.

Saturday’s line-up includes a day of great speakers. We’re honored to present Dr. Azzam Alwash, the Chief Executive Officer of Nature Iraq, as our keynote speaker Saturday evening. Alwash, and NI’s efforts to restore the critical Iraqi wetlands and marshes drained by Saddam Hussein, were recently featured on CBS’s "60 Minutes". But folks in Ohio have long known about the good works of Dr. Alwash and efforts to restore Mesopotamian marshes deemed a Ramsar wetland site of international importance. As you may recall, CA’s Randy Rogers, while serving with the Ohio Army National Guard in Iraq, mobilized an armada of support for Iraqi environmentalists and ornithologists through his fundraising efforts on behalf of Nature Iraq. Randy also distinguished himself by providing crucial bird sightings from the Al Asad Air Base.

Two speakers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology will join us. Jessie Barry, the Assistant Curator of the Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds, will share "The Secret Life of Ducks" highlighting fascinating and unique waterfowl life history traits through photos, audio, and video of courtship displays. Learn more about evolutionary adaptations, intriguing natural history, and the role waterfowl play in wetland conservation. Also from Cornell, Mr. eBird himself, Chris Wood, will talk about the roles birdwatchers can play in tracking duck populations to ultimately better conserve species. Wood is the project leader for Cornell’s eBird database and a tour leader for the birdwatching tour company WINGS. GIAC also hosts a sculpture installation called "Lost Birds" by a Cornell professor of art: the display laments the extinct Great Auk, Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet, and Heath Hen through larger-than-life artistic versions.

Legendary birder, author, and duck stamp supporter Paul Baicich, will share the inside scoop on 75 years of Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, better known as Duck Stamps. More than $750 million dollars has been raised since 1934 in Duck Stamp sales supporting 5.3 million acres of waterfowl habitat in the National Wildlife Refuge system. Other speakers include Dr. Gwen Myers, Associate Veterinarian from The Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, who will share her research on Spectacled Eiders. Keith Lott, Ohio Division of Wildlife, will reveal what’s currently being discovered about concentrations of migratory waterbirds via Lake Erie aerial surveys and how the information relates to future installation of wind turbines.

Sunday morning, we’ll travel independently to Central Ohio’s reservoirs, rivers, and ponds including Hoover Reservoir, Deer Creek Wildlife Area, Pickerington Ponds, Slate Run Metro Park, the immediate vicinity of GIAC (the Scioto-Audubon Metro Park and Green Lawn Cemetery), and more!

Details and registration are on the OOS website and on Columbus Audubon’s website. You have two options for registration: 1.) online through the Columbus Audubon website or, 2.) mail-in registration by check sent to OOS (PO Box 14051, Columbus, Ohio 43214).

Hope to see you there!