Original habitat is best, but restoration still makes a big difference

Date:  June 13, 2018

Source:  American Ornithological Society Publications Office

A new study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications presents some of the best evidence to date that restoration efforts in Missouri's Ozark Highlands make a difference for nesting songbirds that breed there. Recent studies support that these efforts are making a positive impact on the ecosystem and increasing the survival of bird species that breed there.

A new study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications presents some of the best evidence to date that restoration efforts in Missouri's Ozark Highlands make a difference for nesting songbirds that breed there. The reduction of Missouri pine savannah and woodland areas has caused birds that rely on these habitats to decline. Current efforts to bring these habitats back are under way and include prescribed fire and thinning tree stands. Recent studies support that these efforts are making a positive impact on the ecosystem and increasing the survival of bird species that breed there.

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Arctic ookpik boom sees many snowy owls head south this winter

"Snowies" have been seen in south-central United States

JANE GEORGE

Snowy owls have become the new Canadian “snow birds” this winter, migrating south of the border in great numbers, and some of the birds, called ookpiks in Inuktitut, have gone as far south as the state of Missouri where their presence on power poles, hay bales and fences has attracted a lot of attention.

In Missouri—more than 3,800 kilometres south of north Baffin, where many snowy owls nest and breed—the big owls, which can weigh up to more than six pounds and have a wingspan of nearly five feet, find a varied diet: they may eat rabbits, squirrels and other rodents, mink and muskrats, and waterfowl and other birds, which they find “usually by sitting on a fence post or from other vantage point and looking and listening for prey,” the Missouri Department of Conservation said in a recent update on snowy owls.

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New Website Suggests Places to Birdwatch and More

By MICHELE SKALICKY • APR 14, 2016

You can find out the best places to birdwatch in Missouri on a new website.  The site, greatmissouribirdingtrail.com, includes maps of the best birding sites around the state along with information on bird conservation.  There’s also birding tips, beginner basics, landscaping for birds and how to get involved with local bird organizations.

The Great Missouri Birding Trail project was started by Mike Doyen of Rolla, president of the Missouri Bird Conservation Foundation. It’s now a partnership between the Foundation and the Missouri Department of Conservation with support from other state and federal agencies and birding organizations.

According to MDC, the St. Louis and Kansas City sections of the Great Missouri Birding Trail are complete, but work continues on four remaining sections including southwest, southeast, northeast and central, which will be completed in the next few years.

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Kansas logs first sighting of tropical piratic flycatcher

BY MARIA SUDEKUM 

May 24, 2015 

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — A small bird that's typically found hundreds of miles away in Mexico and South America apparently made its way to western Kansas, watchers say, giving the Sunflower State a couple of possible firsts in the birding world.

The piratic flycatcher, a migratory bird that nests as far away as Argentina, has been seen as far north as New Mexico, Texas and Florida. But it never had been reported in Kansas until earlier this month, said Mike Rader, wildlife education coordinator for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

If the May 8 sighting at Scott State Park by Chris Lituma, a research associate at the University of Tennessee's Institute of Agriculture, is confirmed by the Kansas Bird Records Committee of the Kansas Ornithological Society, it would be the most northerly sighting of the bird, Rader said.

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Conservation agents narrow search for goose killer

Police said the driver of a silver Dodge Journey intentionally killed the goose earlier this month.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -

Missouri state investigators said Friday they are closing in on the person responsible for killing a federally-protected bird in Springfield. The Canada goose was trying to protect its nesting mate in a parking lot near Battlefield and Kansas when police said the driver of a Silver Dodge Journey intentionally drove over it twice.

"It's a federal law for a reason. We have these for a reason. They all serve a purpose," said Shannon Ohrenberg, a state conservation agent.

This nesting mother goose, now protected by barricades, is also protected by federal law, as was her lifelong mate.

"The males they stand by and guard the female they try to intimidate anybody that comes up," Ohrenberg said.

But the 4-to-10 pound water fowl was no match for a 4,000 pound Silver Dodge Journey, captured in surveillance video at Grizzly Industrial, intentionally targeting the bird and driving over it twice.

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Why are owls attacking people in Missouri?

Strange days in Missouri. Why strange? KY3 News has been receiving multiple reports that people in southeast Springfield have been “attacked” by owls, plural, or perhaps just one particularly aggressive owl.

There’s Timmery Clark, who sent the station a picture of a bird just hanging out on the back of her head. Clark told KYTV, “It was very gentle--I thought it might hurt me, but both times it very calmly and gently settled on my head (even though I was laughing and screaming). It was pretty surreal, but a funny moment to have caught on film!”

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Hunters have few excuses for not pursuing doves

If you are looking for an excuse not to hunt doves, don’t look to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Its staff has prepared 178 fields in 95 of Missouri’s 114 counties especially for dove hunting. No one in the state is far from a dove field.

Missouri’s dove season runs from Sept. 1 through Nov. 9. The daily limit is 15. In years past, the possession limit was twice the daily limit. This year, however, the Missouri Conservation Commission increased the possession limit to 45.

Mourning doves make up the vast majority of Missouri’s dove harvest, but Eurasian collared doves and white-winged doves also are found in the Show-Me State and are legal during dove season. Missouri residents age 16 through 64 must buy a small game hunting permit to pursue doves. All dove hunters 16 and older must have a Missouri Migratory Bird Hunting Permit.

More than 20,000 Missourians hunt doves. Why do so many people pursue such a small bird? Partly because doves are challenging game. They fly at speeds of up to 55 mph and perform aerial maneuvers that would inspire a “top gun’s” envy.

Doves’ popularity also stems from their abundance. When they aren’t humiliating hunters (who average approximately five shots per dove taken), doves are nesting. They start in March and continue well into September, often rearing six clutches in a year. This year’s nesting season got off to a slow start on account of cool weather. On the whole, however, weather has been favorable, and the Conservation Department predicts a strong hatch.

Each year, the Conservation Department plants sunflowers, corn wheat, sorghum and other crops at conservation areas to provide food for doves and other wildlife. These fields typically are treated in the weeks leading up to Sept. 1 to create prime feeding spots for doves. This practice also creates excellent hunting.

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Bird blizzard: More than a million snow geese blot out the sky as they make epic journey to Arctic tundra

More than a million snow geese take flight over the skies of Missouri - creating the illusion of a blizzard - in these awe-inspiring pictures.

The spectacle was captured in Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge as the birds began their annual summer migration back to the Arctic tundra found in Greenland, Canada, and Alaska.

Groups of birds numbering between 100 and 1,000 make the journey together alongside others, their swooping mass blotting out large swathes of sky.

Photographer Doug French, from Nebraska, captured the jaw-dropping scenes earlier this year.

He said: 'This flock of more than one million geese were seen leaving the refuge early in the morning at sun rise.

'At times more than 100,000 geese would erupt from the lake in a solid white and black wall of geese and the sound of their wing beats would drown out everything else.

'You could not see through these giant walls of geese.'

More:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2346886/Bird-blizzard-More-million-snow-geese-blot-sky-make-epic-journey-Arctic-tundra.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Follow Up: Bird Deaths Over the Weekend Remain a Mystery

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Last weekend, we told you about the strange sight of up to 100 dead starlings found at the intersection of E. Erieand Fremont Ave.

On Monday, Francis Skalicky with the Missouri Department of Conservation told KOLR10 News the nature of the starlings may help explain what happened.

"A multiple starling death such as this may be unique for the intersection of Fremont and Erie in Springfield, but each year in North America it's not that uncommon to have an event like this."

Skalicky says during the winter months, this species of birds flies in huge flocks from hundreds to thousands for safety reasons. He says there are several theories to why birds would suddenly die.

Starlings are ground feeders, so Skalicky says the birds may have been feeding and were hit by a large vehicle. Or perhaps they were startled overnight and flew into buildings or wires.

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Birds killed by truck?

A big vehicle plowing through a flock of startled starlings may have left 50 to 100 birds dying in the street over the weekend.

That’s one theory the Missouri Department of Conservation has come up with to explain the birds’ demise, according MDC Media Specialist Francis Skalicky.

“A Conservation agent investigated the scene and there’s no evidence of foul play,” Skalicky said late Monday. “He did collect two birds and the Health Department was asked if they wanted to test them, but they said no. We believe it was a single event at that location. It may be unusual to see on a street within the city limits, but it’s not an uncommon event in the wild for large numbers of starlings to die all at once.”

People began reporting the presence of a large number of dead birds at the intersection of Fremont Avenue and Erie Street on Saturday. Skalicky said starlings tend to form large flocks, especially in cooler weather.

It’s possible a flock was feeding on the ground in the area and flew into a large vehicle as it passed by, he said.

“It has happened in other places,” he said. “A second theory is that there may have been an overnight roost disturbance, but we don’t really know what caused them to die.

“It’s a head-scratcher.”

Because the incident happened in one small location — and no other bird species appear to have been affected — Skalicky said MDC isn’t planning any further inquiry into the bird deaths.

“We’re certain it was a single event, but we don’t know for sure what that event was,” he said.

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http://www.news-leader.com/article/20121120/NEWS01/311200024/springfield-bird-kill-caused-by-truck?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp

Exotic Bird Scam Separates Woman From Cash, BBB Warns

St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 24, 2012 – The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning bird fanciers to be wary of buying feathered friends from unknown sellers – even sellers using the address of a St. Louis City government building.

“I’m so mad at myself,” said a woman from Plainwell, Mich., who lost more than $1,100 to a thief who had promised to sell her two rose-breasted cockatoos. The con-man used addresses in Michigan, Maryland and 1520 Market Street in St. Louis. The Market Street building, sometimes known as St. Louis City Hall-West, houses several city offices.

The woman said she found the parrots on the website www.birdsnow.com, a site where sellers can advertise birds for sale. She said she communicated via email with the supposed seller for several days before sending payments to what she thought were addresses in St. Louis and the Republic of Cameroon in Africa. She said she realized she had been scammed when the birds never arrived and the seller demanded more money.

Worried that its site can be exploited by thieves, Birdsnow.com has provided its users with an extensive warning on potential scams. It suggests to consumers that “dealing locally, where you can see the other party face-to-face, is always best.” The site also warns buyers to avoid Western Union or MoneyGram payments for online purchases. The Michigan woman used MoneyGram to send payments to the scammer.

Michelle Corey, BBB president and CEO, said exotic bird scams are a twist on what have become known as “puppy scams,” where potential buyers send money for purebred puppies they never receive.

Read more: http://interact.stltoday.com/pr/business/PR092412085010433#ixzz27VjZFGqS