February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day

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February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day
Volume 54 Number 2
                                                                                                  February 2022

February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental
Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day
  We are in the midst of rapid              images and videos of Beringian

                                                                                                               Left, Short-tailed Albatross and Below—Crested
climate change, and the Arctic and          seabirds and colonies that few
Subarctic are warming three to              ornithologists have seen. He
four times faster than the rest of          will work to convince you that
the world. In order to get a better         cormorants are probably the most

                                                                                                               Auklets; Photos by Douglas Causey
idea of how these environmental             interesting seabirds in the world.
changes may affect breeding                   Dr. Douglas Causey is Professor
seabirds in the Bering Sea, Douglas         of Biological Sciences at the
Causey and his students have been           University of Alaska Anchorage
looking closely at rapid changes            and Senior Fellow of the Arctic
in the past 15 years as a way to            Initiative, Harvard Kennedy
understand what the future may              School. An ecologist and
hold. But before we can understand          evolutionary biologist by training,
how great or quick the effects              he has authored over two hundred
may be, it’s important to know              publications on topics as diverse as
how seabirds reacted to past                the biology of Arctic marine birds,
environmental events.                       policy issues related to the Arctic
  Join us on Zoom on February               environment, Arctic environmental
18th at 7:30 p.m. for Dr. Causey’s          security, and bioterrorism and
talk about what the archeology of           public health.
early Aleut middens tells us about                     Join us on Zoom,
the abundance and distribution                   February 18th at 7:30 p.m.
of all breeding seabirds over the             Pre-Registration is required at:.
past 3000 years. Doug will present                 https://bit.ly/3ruWUad

                                            Mark Your Calendar — Yellowstone Stories-
   INSIDE THIS ISSUE                        A Summer in America’s First National Park
Climate Change and Birds.......2              Our March program will feature nature photographer, writer and
Conservation & Legislation ....3            naturalist Kyle Dudgeon. He will take us through his journey as an
                                            interpretive guide in one of America’s wild places, Yellowstone National
2022 Optics Raffle....................3
                                            Park. Experiences amongst grizzly bears, wolves and bison represent
Eagles Next Door ....................4
                                                              the true embodiment of the American west still found
Bird Sightings .........................5                     in this place; but drastic growth in annual visitation
Christmas Bird Count.............6                            threatens the security of that wildness moving
Upcoming Activities ...............7                          forward. Join us by Zoom on March 18th at 7:30 p.m.
Great Backyard Bird Count.....8                               Register at https://doas.us/yellowstone-stories/ .
February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day
Climate Change and Birds in 2022                                                 Delaware - Otsego
                                                                                Audubon Society, Inc.
by Co-president Susan O’Handley                                                          Founded 1968
                                                                               Newsletter Editor: Janet Potter
   I cannot count the number of        should present a good indication
times in the past few years that       of range changes.                       Board of Directors
we have received email, FaceBook                                               Co-Presidents Becky Gretton
or phone messages about changes                                                              Andrew Mason
in what people in our region are                                               			           Susan O’Handley
seeing in their backyard birds.                                                Treasurer     Charlie Scheim
Birds they had seen often may                                                  Secretary    Dorian Huneke
not be there this year and people                                              Directors
are noticing a difference. In                                                  		 Jane Bachman
many cases, these observations                                                  		 Nathan Cutting
will happen during the summer                                                  		 Kathryn Davino
breeding season or in the fall         Red-breasted Nuthatch
                                       Photo by Landa Palmer                   		 Rob Katz
months when the weather is                                                     		 Landa Palmer
typically good. Those differences        DOAS does not currently               		 Pamela Peters
can mostly be explained by             participate in the Audubon              		 Janet Potter
shifting focus to raising young        Climate Watch surveys, mostly           		 Tom Salo
or the availability of natural food    due to the lack of our ability to
sources. That being said, there        coordinate another project on top       Committee Chairs*
are birds that can be targeted for     of what we already do. And we           and Assignments
observations that can be indicative    do a lot! (View our annual report        Conservation*: Andy Mason
of population changes or shifts that   video here: https://doas.us/2021-        Education*: Susan O’Handley
are a result of climate change.        doas-annual-report/ ). Volunteers        Fundraising*: Dorian Huneke
  Species that are indicators for      are our primary limiting factor in       Hawkwatch*: Andrew Mason
tracking in our region include         what we can accomplish each year.       			                   Tom Salo
Eastern Bluebird, Red-breasted         If we have members or friends            Hospitality*: Kathryn Davino
Nuthatch, White-breasted               who are interested in working on         Membership*:      Janet Potter
Nuthatch, American Goldfinch           projects like this, or if you have an    Programs*:        Becky Gretton
and Eastern Towhee. Surveying for      idea for something you might like        Publicity*:   Susan O’Handley
these birds during specific times of   to do for birds or conservation,         Sanctuary*: Andrew Mason
                                                                                Bird Counts:      Sandy Bright
each year can provide information      please reach out to us by email
                                                                                Charter Dinner: Kathryn Davino
about range changes and can add        at info@doas.us. We have some
                                                                                Finance:          Gray Mason
important data to the predictions      great projects planned for 2022
                                                                                Historian:        vacant
for the impacts of climate change.     including additional improvements
                                                                                Sales*:           Jane Bachman
  As an example - our Red-             and new accessibility features
breasted Nuthatch is expected to       for the DOAS Sanctuary and              Address Correspondence to:
face a 66% loss in summer range if     Hawkwatch, a Native Plant Sale          Delaware Otsego Audubon Society
we see a +3.00 C change. Our           fundraiser, a how-to presentation       		P.O. Box 544
                                                                               		 Oneonta, NY 13820
DOAS regional bird checklist,          to get a native plants program in
                                                                               		Email: info@doas.us
updated in 2020, (find it on our       your community, and continued
web site at https://bit.ly/3rgugcD )   work in engaging our region in          On the web: https://doas.us/ and
indicates that both Red-breasted       climate action initiatives, reducing    www.facebook.com/
                                                                               DelawareOtsegoAudubonSociety
and White-breasted are common          our carbon impact and more.
in our region throughout the year.     Please let us know if you would         To contribute notes or articles for
So watching this species closely       like to be more involved!               The Belted Kingfisher, email:
                                                                               editor@doas.us

Page 2                                   THE BELTED KINGFISHER                                      February 2022
February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day
Conservation and Legislation
By Andy Mason
Priorities for 2022 in Albany —          quality improvement.
With a tumultuous political scene          The Governor also called for
nationwide, it is unlikely any           expanding the state’s wetlands
significant environmental legis-         protections by including smaller
lation will be forthcoming from          wetlands under state law. She also
Congress in this election year. So,      proposed shifting responsibili-      Wetlands at the DOAS Sanctuary on
activity on the state level becomes      ty for proper disposal of plastic    Franklin Mountain
even more pertinent and that is          waste from the consumer to the       Photo by Andy Mason
certainly true in New York.              producer, a long overdue and
  In her State of the State address,     sensible change. And she contin-     Albany. But for now, the budget
Governor Kathy Hochul put forth          ued her push for electrifying New    is the number one priority. We
some promising messages. She             York’s transportation sector and     should urge our state Senators and
called for increasing to $4 bil-         for zero emission buildings.         Assemblymembers to support the
lion the size of the Clean Water,          All good proposals that will       expanded bond act and to pro-
Clean Air, and Green Jobs Envi-          need support from our legisla-       vide dollars for the state’s envi-
ronmental Bond Act that will go          tors to come to fruition, which      ronmental needs, including the
before voters this fall, after being     is where Auduboners and other        Environmental Protection Fund,
postponed in 2021. The bond act          conservationists can help.           alternative energy production, and
would provide funding for open           What You Can Do —                    promotion of electric vehicle use
space conservation and recre-              We will be providing infor-        and infrastructure.
ation, flood risk reduction, climate     mation on specific legislation as      Contact information can be found
change mitigation, and water             the 2022 session moves ahead in      in the Advocacy section of our web-
                                                                              site https://doas.us/ .

 2022 Optics Raffle—Winners
             Raffle Winners Choose from Four Prizes!
 Win a Spotting Scope or Binoculars and Support DOAS.

                                  $15 Donation per ticket. Only 250 tickets available.
                                       Drawing will take place on Friday, April 15, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
                                              during the online monthly DOAS program.
                                             More information at https://bit.ly/3A5PkGZ
                                         Proceeds to benefit the DOAS Sanctuary and Franklin
                                                         Mountain Hawkwatch.

 Notes: You must be 18 years of age or older to purchase tickets. Winners need not be pres-
 ent to win. If you live outside our pick-up area, we will coordinate for first class mail to you.
 Shipping and Handling fees will be charged at cost.

February 2022                              THE BELTED KINGFISHER                                            Page 3
February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day
are still around, apparently find-
Next Door Neighbors                                                          ing enough food to sustain them
By DOAS Director Dorian Huneke                                               through snow and cold.
                                                                               Most likely few birds of any
  Here in the little village of        fall, and even quite a bit in the     species were flying in the brutal
Treadwell we are blessed with a        winter, I see one or both adult ea-   wind and cold of January 10th.
nesting pair of bald eagles. I have    gles almost every day. Most often     But leave it to the Bald Eagle to
been watching this pair for quite a    they give me a fly-by, going up or    brave the weather. I was out in my
few years now and never get tired      down the creek valley in the early    yard with my dog and happened
of observing their behavior.           morning or late afternoon. Some-      to look up at just the right mo-
  I believe the female is the same     times I’m out in our village’s park   ment. If you have ever watched
bird that moved into this area         with my dog and they fly right        two raptors challenge each other
many years ago, nesting on the         smack over my head; other times       in the sky, you can imagine the
mountain that is just north of the     I’m at my barn uphill from the        twisting, turning, darting and
current nest. A logging distur-        creek and have gone outside for       diving that takes place. Well, this
bance forced the eagles to move        some reason and there’s one, ap-      eagle was the only bird in the sky,
downstream from the village cen-       pearing to fly right at me! Some-     but the wind had it diving, dip-
                                       times one or both are perched in      ping, ducking, twirling, and many
ter, where they took over a Red-
                                       a tree along the creek, and I am      more kinds of contortions, trying
tailed Hawk’s nest in a white pine
                                       lucky to be far enough away not to    to stay aloft and keep moving
stand. This only lasted a couple of
                                       disturb them, but close enough to     forward. It appeared as though it
years when a storm dumping 30
                                       watch them until I am the one that    was competing with a ghost eagle!
or more inches of snow on all of
                                       has to leave.                         Move forward it did though, and
us destroyed much of this nest—
                                         So far, I don’t believe they have   finally disappeared downstream.
and they had just started sitting on
                                       ever migrated away for the winter.      I will always keep looking up—I
eggs! They moved to the current
                                       Even in very cold weather they        don’t want to miss any of those
location, and survived that year’s                                           great aerial displays!
nesting season, but a year or so

                                                                                                          Banded Adult Bald Eagle in Treadwell
                                                                                                               Photo by Patricia Leitenberger
later it was noted that one of the
pair is banded. So, at some point a
new mate was taken and this nest
has been thriving ever since.
  From the bridge on Case Hill
Road you can look upstream and
just about see their nest—in the
winter, that is. Too much foliage in
the summer. The nest is near the
top of a very tall white pine that
stands away from the base of that
mountain. I imagine this provides
some advantages for both hunting
and protection from predators.
When I’m outside, which is much
of the day in spring, summer, and

The mission of Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society is to protect our natural environment and connect people
with nature to benefit birds and other wildlife through conservation, education, research and advocacy.

Page 4                                   THE BELTED KINGFISHER                                   February 2022
February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day
December—January
December January Bird Sightings
By Sandy Bright

  In mid-December, Bald Eagles         where in Oneonta. The following
were active in the area. Jeff Waf-     day, she saw a Merlin feasting on
fle reported two eagles feeding        the leftovers, leaving behind just a
on a dead deer at the 14th green       small pile of feathers. Barb Palmer
of Colonial Ridge Golf Course          photographed a Red-tailed Hawk
near Laurens. Near the Elk Creek       posing against a clear blue sky in
Fishing Access, my husband and         Middleburgh.
I noticed a large flock of Canada         On New Year’s Day, Leigh Eck-       Partial Leucistic Female Cardinal
Geese peacefully foraging in a         mair noticed a half dozen or so        Photo by Sandy Bright
field. Suddenly, hundreds of wings     Dark-eyed Juncos in her ancient
were desperately flapping as they      Quince Bush in Gilbertsville.            A partial leucistic female Car-
frantically scrambled toward the       Though the Quince was extra-pro-       dinal returned to our feeders in
water; an adult Bald was lazily        lific this year, she did not observe   Oneonta after spending the sum-
following the path of the creek,       any birds taking advantage of the      mer and fall elsewhere. She’s quite
seemingly oblivious to the panic it    bounty. In the following days,         striking with her snow-white
had caused below. Another eagle        Becky Gretton had the good for-        head, and sports a pink eyebrow,
flew over Susan Brunswick in           tune of seeing a Northern Harrier      buffy cheek, and fashionable
Oneonta, dove at something, and        working a field in the Town of         red-and-white crest. Selectively
knocked some dead branches to          Springfield. David Diaz reported       intolerant of competition at the
the ground as it landed in a Maple     a small owl – probably an Eastern      feeders, she chases other female
tree. Crows harassed it for a while,   Screech-Owl – perched in the Vil-      cardinals away but tolerates the
then aggressively escorted it out of   lage of Cooperstown. Stan Salthe       male when he’s around. Observ-
the neighborhood.                      had a Hairy Woodpecker coming          ing bird behavior such as this
  Susan also spotted a Belted          to his suet feeder and noted that,     makes these cold winter days
Kingfisher at the Mill Race in         though they appear every winter,       more bearable, but I do look for-
Neahwa Park and found a decap-         he never sees them at other times      ward to warmer days and spring
itated pigeon on a sidewalk else-      of the year.                           migration!

If you have bird sightings to report, contact Sandy Bright, brights@hartwick.edu or 607 287-4465.

                           Support our business sponsors.

Bird-Friendly Coffee
  You may order bird-friendly coffeeby emailing Jane Bachman (bachmanj@hartwick.edu or call 607-431-9509).
Contact her to arrange for payment and pickup from Jane’s front porch in Oneonta. Cash, checks and credit
cards are accepted. More information at https://doas.us/bird-friendly-coffee/ .

February 2022                            THE BELTED KINGFISHER                                                    Page 5
February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day
Christmas Bird Count Wrap-up
Oneonta Christmas Bird                 Great Blue Heron and Gold-
Count (CBC) by Sandy                   en-crowned Kinglet. As Bob stat-
                                       ed about his group’s results, “Any
Bright
                                       day with more kingfishers than
  The 53rd Oneonta CBC took
                                       pigeons is good.”
place on the worst day, weath-
                                         Many thanks to our 17 field
er-wise, of the entire count week,
                                       participants: Bob Ciganek,
with steady rain, sleet, and snow.
                                       Jennifer Hyypio, Peter Fauth,
No records were set, as many birds
                                       Becky Gretton, Gerianne Carillo,
seemed determined to stay either
                                       Susan Brunswick, Andy Mason,          Red-bellied Woodpecker
too far away to be identified or out
                                       Bruce Milavec, Rob and Mary           Photo by Landa Palmer
of sight completely. Scant numbers
                                       Kate Katz, Dave and Ann Kiehm,        spectively, and a healthy number
of species generally represented by
                                       Randy and Carol Lynch, Charlie        of Bald Eagles were counted, at
multiple individuals were found,
                                       Scheim; and 7 feederwatchers,         21. Wild Turkey (31) and Red-
including a lone Purple Finch
                                       Cheryl Boise, Janice Downie,          tailed Hawk (10) had the lowest
and single Song Sparrow. The
                                       Margo Graham, Linda Pearce,           numbers in the five years we have
3,371 birds tallied was well below
                                       Meg Preston, Merry Lou                been doing the count. The mixed
average. Despite that, our hardy
                                       Wickham, and Hannelore Young.         precipitation forecast was much
groups of participants scrounged
                                       Delaware County Christmas             milder and not as bad as all had
up a decent 46 species and a few
                                       Bird Count by Pam Peters              anticipated. It had rained much of
good finds. Two birds that were
                                         The 5th year for the Delaware       the previous week and tempera-
absent during the first three de-
                                       County Christmas Bird Count           tures hovered in the 30s, dropping
cades of the CBC, Hooded Mer-
                                       (CBC) on January 2nd fielded          by end of the day. Possibly as a
gansers and Eastern Bluebirds,
                                       six teams that found 3,611 birds      result of the weather, feeder ac-
were found in multiple locations
                                       and 48 unique species. Highlights     tivity was quiet, and homeowners
this year. Perhaps the most color-
                                       include 10 Eastern Bluebirds          testified to the lack of birds.
ful sighting was the Ring-necked
                                       observed in three different sectors     Many thanks to our awesome
Pheasant photographed in West-
                                       of the count territory, two Belted    counters: Lance Verderame, Re-
ville by Randy Lynch. Bob and
                                       Kingfishers, and two large flocks     nee Davis, Kate Yard, Matt Walter,
Karen Donnelly hunted down 3
                                       of Cedar Waxwings totaling 149.       Landa Palmer, Linda Burkhart,
species of owls (Eastern Screech,
                                       A lone Brown-headed Cowbird           Sandy Bright, Charlie Scheim,
Great Horned, and Barred), 3
                                       and a Field Sparrow made first-       Kathryn & Al Davino, Kathy
Belted Kingfishers, and the only
                                       time appearances for the CBC,         Mario, Kay Crane, Tom & Lau-
                                       both observed in Downsville.          rie Rankin, Chris DeCesare and
                                       Black-capped Chickadee earned         yours truly, Pam Peters.
                                       the highest number of all birds       Complete results, current and
                                       reported, at 533, and 65 Common       past, for both Oneonta and
                                       Ravens is a record for the count.     Delaware County CBCs are on
                                         American Goldfinch and              our web site at
                                       Slate-colored Junco both had high     https://doas.us/bird-counts/
                                       numbers with 110 and 192 re-

Ring-necked Pheasant
Photo by Randy Lynch
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Page 6                                   THE BELTED KINGFISHER                                   February 2022
February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day
Upcoming Activities
February                                                   Tessier will begin at 7:30 p.m. Register at
February 18 – DOAS Public Program: “Bering                 https://bit.ly/3zTxK8E .
Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years         April 15– Optics Raffle Drawing during April Public
Ago to the Present Day,” presented by Dr. Douglas          Program: Prizes include spotting scope and binocu-
Causey. See article on page 1. Our Zoom program will       lars. Tickets only $15! More information on page 3
begin at 7:30 p.m.                                         and at https://bit.ly/3A5PkGZ .
Register at https://bit.ly/3ruWUad .                       April 19 – DOAS Board Meeting: 6:30 p.m.
February 18-21 – Join the 25th Annual Great                April 22 – EARTH DAY. Details coming soon.
Backyard Bird Count as people from around the              May
world come together to watch, learn about, count, and
                                                           May 7 – Susquehanna Greenway Bird Walk: Meet at
celebrate birds. More information on page 8 and at
                                                           8 AM in the parking lot by the fields near the school
https://www.birdcount.org/.
                                                           district bus garage, just past the transfer station for a
March                                                      two-hour walk to view returning migrant birds on the
March 1 – DOAS Board Meeting: 6:30 p.m.                    Greenway trail, located on Silas Lane, off Rte. 205 in
March 15 – Native Plant Sale Kickoff and DOAS Panel        Oneonta. This will be an easy hike on level ground.
Discussion on Zoom: “Delhi Homegrown National              Contact Charlie Scheim at 607-434-4880 or scheimc@
Park - Project Presentation.” Register at                  hartwick.edu.
https://bit.ly/3Goy7L8 .                                   May 14 – DOAS Big Day Bird Count: The Big Day is a
March 18 – DOAS Public Program: “Yellowstone               group effort in which birders, working alone, in pairs,
Stories- A Summer in America’s First National Park.”       or in small groups, will try to locate as many bird spe-
During our Zoom program beginning at 7:30 p.m.,            cies as possible. Contact is Charlie Sheim (607-434-
Kyle Dudgeon will take us through his journey as an        4880 (voice or text) or scheimc@hartwick.edu).
interpretive guide in Yellowstone National Park. Reg-      May 17 – DOAS Board Meeting: 6:30 p.m.
ister at https://bit.ly/3tlOwMw .                          May 20 – DOAS Public Program: “Breeding Bird At-
April                                                      las: 2022 Update.” The program will begin at 7:30 p.m.
                                                           Venue to be determined. More information at https://
April 15 – DOAS Public Program: “Landscaping with
                                                           bit.ly/3K5D4uw .
Native Plants.” Our Zoom program featuring Lisa
In Case You Missed It — Past Webinars Are Available Online at https://doas.us/webinars/. To stay up-
to-date about events, visit the DOAS website (https://doas.us/events/) or Facebook Page and sign up for our
ENews at https://doas.us/sign-up-for-doas-news/. ENews is a monthly email notification and is different from
the Belted Kingfisher.

                                            DOAS Membership
  Cost is $25 annually or $35 for two years; family memberships $30 annually or $40 for two years.
Memberships can also be purchased online at https://doas.us/membership/ or make your check payable
to “DOAS” and mail payment to: DOAS Membership Chair, PO Box 544, Oneonta, NY 13820-0544.
Support DOAS education and conservation programs with an additional donation!

Is your Membership Current? Your mailing label on the back page of this newsletter will inform
you of your membership expiration date. This is the only notice you receive to let you know you
need to renew your membership. Thanks for rejoining when your membership expires.

 “ I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” — John Burroughs

February 2022                             THE BELTED KINGFISHER                                              Page 7
February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day
Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society, Inc.
             PO Box 544, Oneonta, NY 13820
             www.doas.us

                                     people are invited to spend time       Each checklist helps researchers
February 18-21, 2022                 in their favorite places watching      at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 Join the 25th Great                 and counting as many birds as          and the National Audubon Soci-
Backyard Bird Count                  they can find and reporting them.      ety learn more about how birds
                                     These observations help scientists     are doing, and how to protect
  For four days each February,       better understand global bird          them and the environment we
the world comes together for the     populations before the spring          share.
love of birds. To celebrate birds,   migration.                               Anyone can take part in the
participants watch, learn about,       Participants are asked to count      Great Backyard Bird Count,
and count birds during the Great     birds they see or hear for as little   from beginning bird watchers to
Backyard Bird Count, organized       as 15 minutes (or as long as they      experts, and you can participate
by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology,   wish) on one or more days of the       from your backyard, or anywhere
National Audubon Society, and        four-day event. The count should       in the world. Learn more at
Birds Canada. Over the four days     be reported online with par-           https://www.birdcount.org/
from February 18th to the 21st,      ticpants choosing eBird or another     participate/ .
                                     tool at https://www.birdcount.org.
February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day February Program: Bering Seabirds and Environmental Change from 3,000 Years Ago to the Present Day
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