BIRDCHAT for Friday, May 9, 2008

Messages are displayed in the order they were received.  Subject  From  Time   BirdLife News Alert   Carol Anderson   7:19am   So.Cent.TX goings on   Mitch   8:25am   Tufted Flycatcher photos   Borealowl(AT)aol.com   8:56am   Warbler migration and diversity   Robert Straub    9:44am   Wisconsin Whooping Cranes abandon their nests   Chuck Hagner    11:39am   New WINGS trivia question (and answer to old question)   Rick Wright   12:51pm

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Subject: BirdLife News Alert
From: "Carol Anderson" <mayancarol(AT)gmail.com>
Date: 9 May 2008 7:19am

BirdLife News Round-up: April 2008
http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2008/04/April_news_round_up.html

-- 
Carol C. Anderson
San Pedro La Laguna
Guatemala
mail to:
mayancarol(AT)gmail.com
www.monterey-bay.net/birds

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Subject: So.Cent.TX goings on
From: "Mitch" <mitch(AT)utopianature.com>
Date: 9 May 2008 8:25am

Hi all,

It is interesting to read about e.g. warblers arriving
at places northward, in comparison to what we have 
down here at the 99 x 29 latilong in south central TX.
I'm on the southern edge of the Edwards Plateau at Utopia,
near Lost Maples St.Nat.Area, if any of you know that.

By comparison on May 7 I was guiding a group there and we 
saw Louisiana Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, and 
Golden-cheeked Warblers, all feeding already fledged young.  

Also there and of interest was a dark morph Short-tailed Hawk.
Two weeks ago leading a group there I found a light morph
Short-tailed Hawk.  We may have a pair?

This winter Green Jays invaded the southern plateau for
the first time ever, and some are staying and still present!

This morning a pair of Audubon's Orioles brought a 
fledgling by to show it the water and sugar water.
The adults duetted for some time while in the yard.
The summer resident Scott's don't seem to care about them,
whereas the male Scott's chased a male Baltimore migrant
away day before yesterday.  

There are a couple singing male Tropical Parula in the 
area too, another example of south continuing to move north.

Warbler migration in general is weak beyond belief in this 
area though, unless you like Nashville Warblers, a lot.
If you see 10 sps. of warblers in a day here there will be
several of them that are not migrants, but breeding species.
Whereas circa 60+ air miles east at San Antonio you can get
15+ migrant species in a day on the right days in late April
or early May.

happy feathers!
Mitch

Mitch Heindel
Utopia, TX
www.utopianature.com

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Subject: Tufted Flycatcher photos
From: Borealowl(AT)aol.com
Date: 9 May 2008 8:56am

I have posted additional photos of the Herb Martyr Tufted Flycatcher on my 
photo site at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jroldenettel/

Jerry R. Oldenettel
Socorro, NM

**************
Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists 
on family favorites at AOL Food.
      
(http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001)

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Subject: Warbler migration and diversity
From: Robert Straub <straub_robert(AT)yahoo.com>
Date: 9 May 2008 9:44am

Greetings,
Warbler report in Mexico...
We recently had an outing of our Veracruz birding club in the southern part of
the state, in the Catemaco/Los Tuxtlas area. Although the peak warbler migration
 has passed, we still had many lovely Chestnut-sided Warblers, a few male
Bay-breasted Warblers, several Black-and-White Warblers, lingering Yellows and
Wilson's, and other migrants such as 2 or 3 male Scarlet Tanagers (a transient
and not common here), and many Empidonax sp. flycatchers. This is now the peak
of the Empidonax migration.

This brings up a question: Where is the highest diversity of warbler species
found?

For many years I have been curious if anyone has the number of species we have
here in Central Veracruz. I once counted warbler species for what we call
Central Veracruz (found in eastern Mexico), and I came up with a list of 53
species of warbler. We generally define central Veracruz as a narrow east-west
swath from the Gulf of Mexico coast (near Veracruz City) up into the Sierra
Madre Oriental  (near Xalapa), from sea level to over 2,000 meters (over 7,000
feet), and about 100 km (60 miles long). Obviously this includes several habitat
 types, but it also includes eastern NA migrant species as well as western
species, sometimes in the same flock (39 of the species are true migrants), in
addition to resident species, many endemic to Mexico. I compared our 53 species
with the Yucatan Peninsula's 38 species, all of Mexico's 66 species, Costa
Rica's 52 species, and North America's (US and Canada) 46 species (correct me if
 I am wrong with any numbers,
 please).

Anyone else have numbers they wish to share? It will be difficult to compare
lists within our various defined areas, but we could include geographic and
political areas, for example a state's list, a region of a state or country, a
park, etc.

Regards,
Robert Straub
Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
straub_robert(AT)yahoo.com

P.S. I came up with this warbler list for a small article of mine "The Amazing
Birds of Central Veracruz, Especially the Warblers!"

 ..................................................
Aveoptica
Tienda de binoculares, telescopios, guías de campo, y más...
Distribuidor autorizado: Eagle Optics, Vortex Optics, Audubon
Avenida R. Murillo Vidal #149 Int. 201
Fracc. Ensueño
Xalapa, Ver. C.P. 91060
tel. 228.818.1894 / 01.800.018.1894
aveoptica(AT)yahoo.com
www.aveoptica.com

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Subject: Wisconsin Whooping Cranes abandon their nests
From: Chuck Hagner <chagner(AT)kalmbach.com>
Date: 9 May 2008 11:39am

Hi everyone--

Associate Editor Matt Mendenhall just posted a story on our blog reporting that
the 11 pairs of Whooping Cranes that nested in central Wisconsin this spring
have all abandoned their nests. Biologists collected at least seven fertile
eggs, however, and transported them to the ICF for incubation. You can read
Matt's posting here:

Wisconsin Whooping Cranes abandon their nests
Birder's World Field of View Blog
http://bwfov.typepad.com/birders_world_field_of_vi/2008/05/cranes-abandon.html

Chuck Hagner
Editor, Birder's World Magazine
Waukesha Co., Wisconsin

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Subject: New WINGS trivia question (and answer to old question)
From: "Rick Wright" <birdaz(AT)gmail.com>
Date: 9 May 2008 12:51pm

The May 2008 issue of the WINGS e-letter is now 'up' at
http://wingsbirds.com/newsletters/ . At the bottom you'll find the answer to
the last issue's trivia question and the new question, too.

A birdful weekend to all,
-- 
Rick Wright

Managing Director, WINGS
http://wingsbirds.com
http://birdaz.com, http://birdaz.com/blog

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