RESULTS OF THE 18 DECEMBER 2010 KODIAK CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

This was the 38th consecutive Kodiak Christmas Bird Count. Sixty four people participated this year. We tallied 80 species and 11,805 individual birds on count day, and an additional 6 species in Count Week (the period three days before, and three days after Count Day). Count Week birds were Eurasian Wigeon, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Sanderling, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, and White-throated Sparrow. The Count Day total was very good in spite of a dearth of birds at feeders. Our best ever Count Day total, 86, is the high count for the State. The post-count compiling party, held at Claudia and Stosh Anderson's house, was fabulous. Lots of people and lots of great food. A good time was had by all. Thank you Claudia and Stosh.

Fourteen upland field parties included three Ptarmigan SWAT teams, a Great Blue Heron SWAT team and, for the first time, a Frugivore SWAT (FSWAT) team. As usual, we had two boats participating. This year, as last, they were the Ursa Major II and the Mythos.

Bird feeder Counts were made from Monashka to Bells Flats at 15 feeders. The number and diversity of birds at feeders this year was extremely low, following a pattern established early in the fall. Only 11 species were found at feeders this year, compared to about 21 last year. The two most abundant species at feeders were Black-billed Magpie (46) and Pine Grosbeak (46). Sparrows were extremely scarce all around. No crossbills, no redpolls, and only one Pine Siskin were reported from a feeder. One species (Golden-crowned Sparrow) was found only at a feeder on Count Day, compared with four species unique to feeders last year. Across the board, the feeder statistics are dismal. Even the rare White-throated Sparrow, that has been attending the Heitman feeder since November, failed to show on Count Day, although it did make an appearance in Count Week.

There were all-time high counts of five species this year: Tundra Swan (1), Golden Eagle (4), Black-billed Magpie (425), American Dipper (30), and Lapland Longspur (1). All three eiders were seen in very low numbers: Steller's Eider (310), King Eider (1), and Common Eider (18). This is the smallest number of Steller's Eiders seen on the count since the first count in 1973-1974. Two regularly occurring sparrows went entirely missing (all winter): American Tree Sparrow and Lincoln's Sparrow.

Two species, Tundra Swan and Lapland Longspur, were new to Count Day, although Tundra Swan had been seen once previously in Count Week. The Sanderling seen in Count Week was new to the count. Other species seen this year that have been seen fewer than ten times on Count Day, with the number of times seen, are: Northern Shoveler (6), Northern Harrier (3), Rough-legged Hawk (2), Gyrfalcon (4), and Thayer's Gull (8). Count Week species seen this year that have been seen fewer than ten times in Count Week (all seven days) are: American Three-toed Woodpecker (8), White-throated Sparrow (3; all at Heitman feeder!).

What are the commonest wintering birds in the Kodiak area? These 29 species have been seen on all 38 consecutive Kodiak CBC's: Mallard, Greater Scaup, Steller's Eider, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Horned Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Bald Eagle, Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Black-billed Magpie, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Winter Wren, American Dipper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Varied Thrush, Song Sparrow.

For the third time in many years, Kodiak did not have the highest Count Day species total in the state. For the third straight year, the title goes to Ketchikan, which this year mustered 82 count day species. Although Juneau had a relatively modest seventy species on Count Day, they found a phenomenal 17 Count Day/Week species for a combined total of 87 species.

We are very fortunate to have large vessels covering the marine waters in the count circle. This year's vessels were the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge's Ursa Major II, skippered by Jeff Lewis, and Dave Kubiak's F/V Mythos. We appreciate the major effort they make to support the count.

These results will be posted on KodiakBirding, the Yahoo Group for Kodiak birders. You can find all CBC results, as they are posted, at: http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/

Cheers, Rich MacIntosh, compiler

PARTICIPANTS: Claudia Anderson, Wendy Beck, Celeste Beck-Goodell, Shirley Berns, Rae Jean Blaschka, Stephen Bodnar, Cindy Bower, Kathy Cole, Chris Cooney, Diane Cooney, Robin Corcoran, Pete Cummiskey, Josh Fitzgerald, Sam Friedman, Harvey Goodell, Carolyn Heitman, Pat Heitman, Doug Hogen, Eva Holm, Iver Holm, Oliver Holm, Donna Hurley, Gunnar Johnson, Jeffrey Johnson, Katya Johnson, Dave Kubiak, Debra Kubiak, Linda Lance, Tom Lance, Jeff Lewis, Mary Lukens, Molly MacIntosh, Rich MacIntosh, Mike Milligan, Karen Millstein, Kevin Murphy, Dale Nelson, Rachael Nelson, Hildur Olsen, Dan Olsen, Deedie Pearson, Doug Pederson, Laurie Pederson, Suzanne Peschier, Jeanne Pontti, Bill Pyle, Cecil Ranney, Jacob Resnick, Dick Ross, Patrick Saltonstall, Dave Schuckman, Art Schultz, Lila Schwantes, Tom Schwantes, Mike Sirofchuck, Stacy Studebaker, Pat Trosvig, Tom Trosvig, Cindy Trussell, Annie VanDyke, Paul VanDyke, Esther Waddell, Elizabeth West, Denny Zwiefelhofer.

BIRDS OF THE 2010 KODIAK CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

Emperor Goose 592
Canada Goose 22
Tundra Swan 1
Gadwall 55
Eurasian Wigeon cw
American Wigeon 5
Mallard 588
Northern Shoveler 1
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 35
Greater Scaup 761
Lesser Scaup 1
Steller's Eider 310
King Eider 1
Common Eider 18
Harlequin Duck 658
Surf Scoter 229
White-winged Scoter 399
Black Scoter 863
Long-tailed Duck 758
Bufflehead 115
Common Goldeneye 223
Barrow's Goldeneye 49
goldeneye sp. 1
Common Merganser 110
Red-breasted Merganser 103
Rock Ptarmigan 33
Pacific Loon 9
Common Loon 22
Yellow-billed Loon 1
Horned Grebe 72
Red-necked Grebe 46
Double-crested Cormorant 59
Red-faced Cormorant 19
Pelagic Cormorant 388
Great Blue Heron 2
Bald Eagle 694
Sharp-shinned Hawk cw
Northern Harrier 1
Northern Goshawk 6
Rough-legged Hawk 3
Golden Eagle 4
Gyrfalcon 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black Oystercatcher 392
Black Turnstone 20
Surfbird 18
Sanderling cw
Rock Sandpiper 194
Dunlin 40
Wilson's Snipe 2
Mew Gull 161
Herring Gull 2
Thayer's Gull 1
Glaucous-winged Gull 504
Glaucous Gull 1
Common Murre 169
Pigeon Guillemot 63
Marbled Murrelet 39
Rock Pigeon 219
Belted Kingfisher 18
Downy Woodpecker 6
American Three-toed Woodpecker cw
Northern Shrike 1
Black-billed Magpie 425
Northwestern Crow 465
Common Raven 568
Black-capped Chickadee 243
Red-breasted Nuthatch 28
Brown Creeper cw
Winter Wren 28
American Dipper 30
Golden-crowned Kinglet 399
American Robin 15
Varied Thrush 36
Bohemian Waxwing 9
Fox Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 11
White-throated Sparrow cw
Golden-crowned Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 12
Lapland Longspur 1
Snow Bunting 40
Pine Grosbeak 115
Red Crossbill 19
Common Redpoll 105
Pine Siskin 119
siskin/redpoll 30


cw = seen count week only

Christmas Bird Count on Saturday December 18

Kodiak's in town CBC is Saturday, December 18, 2010
Contact Rich MacIntosh (number in local phone book) to participate.


The Narrow Cape CBC is on January 2, 2010

Interested in more information about the count? http://birds.audubon.org/get-involved-christmas-bird-count

Kodiak Audubon's December Program 2010

Kodiak Audubon’s December Program is being presented by Rich MacIntosh. He will present a slide show with identification tips on the Winter Birds of Kodiak on Friday, December 10, 2010 in room 106 at the Kodiak College in the Benny Benson Building.


Join us at 6:30 p.m. for pizza and to sign-up for this year’s Christmas Bird Count. Rich’s talk will begin at 7:00 p.m. This is a wonderful opportunity to sharpen your skills for the 2010 count. This year’s count will held in town on December 18 and at Narrow Cape on January 2.

For more information about the December program on the 10th you can contact Cindy at 486-1224. For more information about the Christmas Bird Count you can contact Rich MacIntosh at 486-3087

October 15 - Meadow to the Manuscript

Join Kodiak Audubon and Kodiak College Professional Development Committee on Friday evening the 15th of October at Kodiak College for a presentation and book signing by Stacy Studebaker. Stacy will share how she self-published her new guide to Kodiak wildflowers and other plant life.

Kodiak Audubon awarded Together Green Volunteer Days Grant

Kodiak Audubon applied to have some extra funding to help increase our volunteer involvement and conservation awareness for two of our current programs:

1) Woody Island Bird Walks
2) International Migratory Bird Day

To read more about the Together Green program you can visit the website here: http://www.togethergreen.org/Volunteer/VolunteerEvents.aspx

Summer 2010 Hiking Schedule

Kodiak Whalefest 22 April to 3 May

Join in on the fun of lectures, art shows, sea shanties sing alongs, whale watching, and much, much more at this year's whalefest. For a complete schedule, visit:

http://www.whalefestkodiak.com/2010%20Schedule.html

Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Open House

The Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation has received funding through the cruise ship tax fund to address long standing issues at Ft. Abercrombie State Historical Park. Much of the focus for the use of this funding has centered on correcting safety issues at Miller Point but development concepts for the entire park are also being evaluated. As part of the site planning process, the Division is hosting an open house on March 16th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Kodiak High School Cafeteria to provide the public an opportunity to view revised site plan concepts, ask questions and get more information. For more project information visit: http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/kodiak/ftaber.htm

By Air and By Sea: Understanding Kodiak's Sea Ducks

Kodiak Refuge is welcoming a great public talk to the Center this Friday, February the 26th (lobby opens at 6:30 pm)--"By Air and By Sea: Understanding Kodiak's Sea Ducks." Robin Corcoran, Kodiak Refuge bird biologist, will be sharing the latest in Refuge sea bird winter bird surveys, just completed last week and will have some beautiful images to share. This talk also syncs up with our temporary exhibit of the tribe Mergini--19 amazing sea duck carvings on loan from Nancy Hillstand's collection. We'll have the whole Center open special for the evening event! Fore more information, folks can call our information desk, 487-2626.

February 19th Program

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council: 18 March 2010

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council is seeking public comment on proposed focus areas for remaining restoration funds, concurrent with a NEPA update of its 1994 Restoration Plan. Comments are due by April 1, 2010 For more information, and instructions for submitting comments, please visit www.evostc.state.ak.us/nepa.

If you need special accomodations to participate, please call our office at 907-278-8012 or Toll-Free at 800-478-7745. The following public meetings will also be held to obtain input and comments from members of the public:

February 16, 2010 - Homer, Alaska

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center
95 Sterling Highway
Homer, AK 99603


February 17, 2010 - Anchorage, Alaska

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Dena'ina Civic & Convention Center- Kahtnu Room #1
600 West 7th Ave.
Anchorage, AK 99501


February 18, 2010 - Cordova, Alaska

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Cordova Public Library
622 First Street
Cordova, AK 99574

March 16, 2010 - Seward, Alaska

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
K.M. Rae Building
125 Third Avenue
Seward, AK 99664


March 17, 2010 - Valdez, Alaska

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Valdez City Council Chambers
206 Pioneer Drive
Valdez, AK 99686


March 18, 2010 - Kodiak, Alaska

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Kodiak Refuge Visitor Center
402 Center Street
Kodiak, AK 99615

TogetherGreen 2010

Applications are now being accepted for Round III of the TogetherGreen Innovation Grants and Conservation Leadership programs! (See below for more info.)

In addition, year II of Pennies for the Planet has launched and we'd love your help in getting additional publicity for this program. It will be benefitting three conservation programs:Panther Island in Florida, the coastal marshes in Louisiana, and the protection of the Western Snowy Plover and other species on the California coast. And finally, for those of you interested in the Volunteer Days program, applications and information will be released on March 1, 2010.

Deadlines: Applications for Year 3 of the Conservation Leadership program and the Innovation Grants program will be due May 7th, 2010. The application process will again be online. Applications for Volunteer Days grants will be due on March 29th and will be distributed by March 1 via email by Chuck Remington, Director of the Volunteer Days program.

To Find Out More: To see the new materials and information, please visit:

INNOVATION GRANTS: http://togethergreen.org/grants

Innovation Grants Planning Grants: Once again, those wishing to conduct preliminary work for a potential Innovation Grant project are encouraged to apply for a planning grant of $5,000 or less. We will award three to five planning grants again this year. Preliminary work might include building a relationship with a prospective partner, establishing credibility with a prospective audience, or conducting mapping work to determine priority conservation areas.

Details about how to apply can be found at http://togethergreen.org/Projects/PlanningGrants.aspx.

FELLOWS: http://togethergreen.org/fellows

Pennies for the Planet: Pennies for the Planet Year II is well underway! The program is designed to help kids learn more about conservation and what they can do in their communities, and help support three important conservation projects around the country. This year, all three programs focus on coastal and wetland projects. Find activities, donations forms, and more here: www.penniesfortheplanet.org.

Thank you all for your guidance and help in making the first two years of TogetherGreen such a great success. We are now in the middle of our second year and have learned a tremendous amount thanks to the great feedback we've received from many of you, including last year's applicants and our current Grantees and Fellows. You'll see much of this feedback incorporated into this year's application materials. We also will be conducting online training for potential Innovation Grant applicants during the application period to answer any questions they might have about the application process or the program.We are anticipating another great group of Innovation Grant projects, Volunteer Days participants, and Fellows this year - and look forward to seeing the applications. Please talk to your staff and colleagues to let them know about the program and continue to build a buzz about TogetherGreen and the opportunities for funding.

Transition in National Audubon Leadership

For some time now it has been my privilege to tell you about Audubon's latest conservation victories and of how your support is making a difference. Now, I want to share the news of my decision to step down as Audubon¹s leader.

I am completing my 15th year as President of Audubon. That's longer than anyone has served in this position for more than half a century. For me and for Audubon, it's time for a change.

After much contemplation, I have decided to leave my post as President, but anticipate continuing to work with Audubon in another capacity to advance our conservation agenda. Our Board of Directors met yesterday by conference call to accept my resignation and appoint former Audubon Chief Scientist Frank Gill to serve as Interim President while the organization conducts a nationwide search for a new leader.

I am very pleased and grateful that Frank has graciously agreed to step in as Interim President. I originally recruited Frank to Audubon from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, where he served as Vice President. He is also the past President of the American Ornithologists¹ Union and author of the acclaimed textbook Ornithology 3e. Most recently, he has been a Member of Audubon¹s Board of Directors. Anyone who knows Frank will attest to his exceptional knowledge of birds and habitat, his tremendous analytical skills, his creativity, and his commitment to conservation and to Audubon. Frank understands both the unique power of the Audubon network and the many challenges facing the natural world. With your help, he will ensure that the organization meets those challenges and seizes new conservation opportunities. He has my full confidence and support.

On a personal note, I am very proud of all this organization has accomplished over the past 15 years. With your help, we refocused Audubon to better protect birds, other wildlife and their habitats, to build the next generation of conservation leaders. We decentralized the organization to bring our mission of nature discovery and conservation closer to people through our network of Chapters, State Programs, Audubon Centers and Important Bird Areas. We demonstrated our capacity to achieve landscape-scale conservation in key areas from the Everglades to the Arctic, and to protect Important Bird Areas internationally through our partnership with BirdLife International. And we used our urban Audubon centers to inspire and engage a new cadre of conservationists who better reflect the changing face of America.

I plan to take some time off to "go birding." But I am not retiring. I will continue working in conservation, and it is my hope and desire to do so in another role connected with the Audubon team.

For now, let me thank you for your support of this great organization and for the privilege of having played a role in Audubon's conservation legacy. It has been an honor.

Sincerely,
John Flicker

2010 Great Backyard Bird Count: 12-15 February

The 2010 Great Backyard Bird Count (February 12 - 15th) is a great opportunity to connect people with nature, and further the Audubon mission.

- The Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way for people of all ages to connect with nature. Audubon and Cornell invite you to get involved February 12 - 15, 2010-- President's Day weekend.

- It's easy - just count the birds in your backyard, local park or another location and report what you see online at www.birdcount.org"Count for Fun, Count for the Future"

- Taking part in the GBBC helps give scientists important information about birds and the environment we share. When you volunteer to help you become part of a large team of Citizen Scientists across the country. You can see what birds are being reported in your own neighborhood and throughout the United States and Canada by visiting www.birdcount.org

- Bird-watching is the second fastest growing hobby in the USA, right after gardening. The Great Backyard Bird Count combines the two. Find out why people love to combine them. Discover how you can create a bird-friendly yard. http://www.audubonathome.org/birdstohelp/

- You can count anywhere you choose - at a local park, a school yard, even a city garden. Any one can join the fun; no experience required. It's FREE.

- The Great Backyard Bird Count is perfect as a family exercise. Bird watching is a stress-reducer. Listening to bird songs helps too!Introducing a relative or friend to bird watching is a wonderful gift. Set up a Binocular Boot Camp to urge newcomers to learn how to identify birds at your local Audubon Center or Chapter.

- Develop you own version of Birding Basics http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/bird_watching/index.shtml

January Program: 15 January at Kodiak College