Birds of the Future

Birds of the Future

By Paloma MacKenzie

 

During the winter, I always seem to notice crows in the neighborhood more often. It’s become a common occurrence to see them in groups in the late afternoon. The caw of the crow is not what some would call a mellifluous bird song, but I find it endearing anyway. Almost as if they are crying for the sunset, I can see the birds atop the bare branches where their nests can be seen until springtime brings back their foliage.

 

A murder of Crows by Ingrid Taylor

 

It seems that they’ve become more numerous in recent years. Previously I’d always considered the urban bird to be the pigeon. And if you’re near the ocean, you know that seagulls rule the beaches and wharfs. I can’t think of anyone who hasn’t had a picnic interrupted when they unknowingly left their snacks out of view and in the vicinity of a curious gull. But crows are beginning to take up these spaces, too. Culture has dictated for so long that the presence of these birds is a curse—that they bring bad omens with them. For instance, their flocks have been referred to as “murders.” And for ravens, “conspiracies.”

 

Photo by Stefon Linton

 

Crows are cunning. Corvidae—the crow family, which includes ravens and scrub jays—have proven themselves to be some of the smartest birds because of their strong memories. In the PBS documentary, A Murder of Crows, I’ve seen scientists teach a group of birds the face of a predator (in this case, a masked man), who then pass on the information to their offspring. In this instance, a young crow sounds the alarm when he sees the masked figure he was warned about but had never personally seen. They show complexity in their communication with the variety of calls they make. They function as a family for years after they’ve grown up. They hold funerals for lost ones in which they all participate in a choir.

It’s believed that human development has cleared the way for them to flourish. It’s easy to see why: they’re intelligent and adaptable. And any creature with a penchant for picking food out of human garbage will find more opportunities the further we spread into what was once the wilderness. Still, I often see crows picking wild food from trees and bushes, unlike pigeons, who seem to only go for human food scraps.…

Palm Springs and the Salton Sea: Reflections

By Marjorie Powell

 

If you’d like to begin planning your 2021 outings or want to jump-start next year’s eBird list, consider joining the GGBA birding trip to Palm Springs and the Salton Sea, by Nature Trip. This past January, eight birders (including me!) joined the two guides, Eddie Bartley and Noreen Weeden, to look for birds in this area east of Los Angeles. Eddie and Noreen planned 5 days of birding, including the afternoon of our arrival day and the morning of our departure day.

We visited varied habitats, upland forest, desert, shoreline, and saw many of the birds that nest there, or visit for all or part of the winter, as well as one rarity. Several of us saw life birds during the week.  

California Gulls and Bonaparte’s Gulls on the waterway. Photo by Noreen Weeden

The Salton Sea is California’s largest inland lake and one of the important saline lake ecosystems, supporting large portions of some bird species in the winter. Audubon California is heavily involved in efforts to restore habitat and improve the environment at and around the Salton Sea for birds and humans.

As the Sea gets less and less water from the Colorado River and agricultural run-off, the lake is drying up and getting saltier. It’s now too salty to support many fish, so fewer fish-eating birds like American White Pelicans winter there. Currently bird species that eat insects that can survive in saltier water, such as Bonaparte’s Gulls, are wintering at the Sea. As marshlands at the edge of the Sea are created or restored, they support increasing numbers of birds for all or a portion of the winter and in migration. 

Bonaparte’s Gulls by Harley Mac

Eddie Bartley, of Nature Trip, described how they came to run this tour for GGBA: “We began visiting Palm Springs area in the late 80s when a friend moved there, then a couple of more friends moved to Joshua Tree in the late ‘90s. Soon we were going each winter for a week or two to visit and bird -especially the Sea. We did several birding tours for out of state and international Nature Trip guests and quite a few Bay Area friends asked about birding down there so, starting about 2014 we offered GGBA field trips in non-consecutive years. It was long way to go for folks for a few days though so we would share a list of favorite places and routes.…

Passage of Emeryville Bird-Safe Building Standards

By Noreen Weeden

The Emeryville City Council and Mayor evaluated, and by a 5-0 vote, unanimously approved, Bird-Safe Building Standards. These standards will become effective in August 2020. The standards will greatly reduce bird deaths and injuries resulting from collisions with buildings in the city. Bird building strikes are one of the main causes of bird mortality in the U.S. Reasonable, affordable measures can prevent these bird deaths. The City of Emeryville has taken positive action by adopting the Bird-Safe Building Standards to protect birds into the future.

The Emeryville Planning Commission had considered and unanimously approved the standards on May 26, 2020 and forwarded the “Bird-Safe Building Standards” to the City Council. The standards address building design and reducing night lighting.

Mayor Christian Patz said of the approval, “I’m really excited about a bird safe Emeryville.”

Reduction of bird strikes in new or remodeled buildings and glass structures can be achieved in a variety of simple and cost-effective means. For example, fritting – the use of ceramic lines or dots on glass – is often used to lower heat gain or loss from windows. Fritting applied in patterns increases the visibility of the window to birds and reduces the likelihood of impacts with little effect on the transparency of the glass. It does not affect views or light passing through the window for people. Insect screens are another option and are also considered bird safe.

The standards also cover the effects of light pollution, which disrupt birds’ ability to navigate by the stars during migration.  Artificial light at night can draw birds off course, where they land in unfamiliar areas, then building collisions pose a threat. The standards reduce unnecessary interior and exterior lighting, reducing these risks to birds.

Photo by Bridget Cogley

Bird-safe measures can provide benefits for building owners and operators. Bird safe design can result in savings on heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and cooling costs. Turning off unnecessary lights saves money and natural resources, while reducing risks to birds.

A US Fish and Wildlife study found over 46 million people are actively bird watching, spending $80 billion annually in this activity. Another US FWS study reported over 1 million bird-building collisions per day in the US.

The Emeryville Bird Safe Building Standards is ordinance number 20-002. City Councilmember John Bauters said, “The Emeryville Crescent is a hidden jewel which is important for birds and people. The Emeryville Bird-Safe Building Standards are a big step forward in support of the city’s sustainability goals and ecological stewardship.”…

Crow Watch

By Tobey Hiller

 

For some time—years, actually—I’ve been feeding a pair of crows on my backyard fence. Well, not the same pair. This seems to be a generational thing, with new crow companions replacing the old.

 

American Crow by Lonnie P.

 

My reading has suggested to me that crow “culture” involves teaching the young ones about good places to feed as well as friendly and unfriendly neighborhood humans. Like us, they pass things along. So I figure I’ve got some kind of name in the local Crow nation archives. I’ve watched lots of corvid dramas and developed distinct relationships with these black and—to my mind, beautiful know-it-alls of the avian tribe. I know that many people—birders included so far as I can tell—consider crows noisome pests. But once you start watching corvids, it’s hard not to become fascinated. And, luckily, I don’t have a whole conclave settling in the oaks beyond the fence and carrying on in their gravel-tongued cacophony (pun intended) from 4:00 am. on (which has happened to my neighbor down the way). Just a twosome always, apparently protecting their territory. And these avian neighbors don’t seem to discourage the songbirds that visit our feeders just a few feet away (the crows can’t get into the feeders and have quit trying).

Over the years, I’ve read a lot about corvid and avian intelligence. I’m particularly fascinated by the animals that inhabit marginal common territories with us, come into our gardens, observe and adapt to our ways. Animals claiming territories, like us. And then there are the discoveries and pleasures of the playfulness, inventiveness and humor that crows and other animals exhibit. Their ways and means. I’ve watched a lot of videos of crows and ravens sliding down windshields in snow, ambushing dogs and ducks from behind, tweaking their tails, etc. We’re all animals together, and watching crows is instructive in thinking about our own species.

Crow by Eric Anderson

They’ve certainly got my number now, these crows. I have a large water dish I refresh daily for them, and I put out food, currently bread crusts with peanut butter, sometimes nuts, cut-up figs, a few blueberries. They fly in about breakfast time and hang around, bright eyes on my figure behind the sliding glass door. Ok, what about breakfast, then? Can’t you see I’m waiting? Supposedly omnivorous, these familiars are rather picky, and make their preferences known.…

Artists Reflect on GGBA’s Auction

Editor’s Note: Our first ever online bird art auction was a major success thanks to your support and thanks to the hard work of our featured artists! In this blog, some of our featured artists reflect on their experiences in our online auction, and elaborate on why they chose to collaborate with GGBA.

 

Scott Partridge

Black-headed Grosbeaks by Scott.

Daryl Goldman reached out to me about participating in the auction. I welcomed the opportunity to share my work with bird enthusiasts in the San Francisco area. I live and work on the other coast, in Charlotte, NC. The auction worked out well for me. I make affordable art prints that I can produce at home as needed, so we could offer multiple prints of the designs we made available through the auction.

If you’d like to see Scott’s online store, click here. His Instagram can be found here.

 

Sandra Whipple

I learned about the auction through my art group, Salinas Valley Art Association. I received an invitation and was very happy to participate. The auction was well organized, easy to access and I was very happy with the outcome. I look forward to participating in future events with the Golden Gate Bird Alliance.

If you’d like to contact Sandra directly about her work, please email her at ar*************@***il.com.

 

Molly Hashimoto

California Quail and Poppies by Molly

I heard about the auction from Daryl. She invited me via email, as she’d seen the bird cards and calendars that Pomegranate publishes. I decided to participate because I am a Seattle Audubon member and I wanted to help a sister organization. I was also very grateful that Golden Gate was considerate of artists and offered a generous portion of the sales.

My work is inspired by the natural world. I enjoy watching birds in my back yard and in parks and wilderness areas. When I see something especially beautiful or interesting I usually write about it and make art about it. My books Colors of the West: An Artist’s Guide to Nature’s Palette and Birds of the West: An Artist’s Guide, help me to reach a wider audience where I share ideas about art techniques and inspirations. The children’s books I have illustrated:  Birds: Season by Season and Trees, and Molly Hashimoto’s Art & Nature Activity Book, each written by Zoe Burke of Pomegranate Communications, further widen the audience; I love the idea of getting children involved with nature at a young age.…