Tracking the Birds of Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge--TN Conservationist Magazine

The November/December issue of the Tennessee Conservationist magazine is now in the hands of subscribers and it includes my article on bird banding--Tracking the Birds of Seven Island Wildlife Refuge.  What a delight to see this article in print, a culmination of over a year of research, co-ordination, and the best part--participation in bird banding at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge.

Below, you can read the introduction to the article which features information about how the refuge is helping grassland birds, and how banding is not only telling us about the birds on the refuge, but contributing to a wider knowledge of bird populations.

In the pre-dawn darkness, a cluster of small glowing head lamps slowly fans out in all directions on a river peninsula in east Knox County, TN.  Field Sparrows, Eastern Bluebirds, and Indigo Buntings sing as mist nets are erected prior to the day's first light.  In July this occurs around 5:30 a.m., the rising sun bathing the fields in rose gold just as the first net-run takes place at 6:40.  When there is no breeze stirring or cloud cover, banding team members expect to face rising heat and humidity as the morning progresses.

Winter banding sessions call for mittens, caps, layered clothing, hot drinks and chemical hand warmers for comfort, and even then, finger tips numb before the first bird is processed.  Yet, none of these discomforts dampen the enthusiastic spirit of banding activities conducted year-round at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge (SIWR).

Established through the vision and generosity of the Pete Claussen family through their Seven Islands Foundation, SIWR is a 360-acre nature preserve and wildlife refuge located on the Kelly Bend peninsula of the French Broad River.  Bordering three miles of the river, the refuge's mission includes the restoration of native warm-season grasses, the enhancement of riparian and wetland areas and habitat diversification for the benefit of wildlife species, all under the watchful planning and direction of natural resource advocate and land manager, Wayne Schacher.  In addition to light recreational activity for the public, including nature trails and a small boat ramp for kayaks and canoes, the refuge offers educational and research opportunities. Partnering with members of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society to conduct bird banding studies is just one of the many on-going research activities taking place on the refuge.

To read the entire article, visit the TN Conservationist website (link below) and subscribe to the magazine or contact the editor, Louise Zepp, to obtain a copy.  The award-winning magazine is funded entirely by subscriptions and is relatively inexpensive to purchase.  Published six times a year, it brings news about natural and cultural conservation efforts in Tennessee, including descriptions of parks and preserves people can visit in Tennessee.

A special thank you to Louise Zepp, TN Conservationist editor, and to bird-banding team members, Mark Armstrong, Wayne Schacher and Billie Cantwell for their assistance in making this article possible.

Links:
TN Conservationist Magazine
More about the TN Conservationist and about bird-banding at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in this blog.  You may also want to visit the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge website.

Upcoming:
A visit with birds at Dockweiler Beach, CA
The endangered El Segundo blue butterfly
A review of Ghost Birds, by Stephen Lyn Bales
The proposed sandhill crane hunt in Tennessee

TN Conservationist Magazine--Helping Cavity Nesters

The March/April issue of the Tennessee Conservationist magazine is in the hands of most subscribers now and includes my article on Helping Cavity Nesters--A Nestbox Trail for Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows.

The article is the result of time spent with Billie Cantwell, Vice-president of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS), as she monitored the nestbox trail at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in Knoxville, TN.  She is part of a team that includes husband Colin Leonard, refuge manager and resource advocate, Wayne Schacher, and Mark Armstrong, KTOS President.

It was a delight to spend this time with Billie as we found and recorded eggs and nestlings in the 40-plus boxes we visited.  Carolina Chickadees, Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows and Carolina Wrens all nested in the boxes along the trail last season.  I was also on hand to assist with bluebird nestling banding, a new experience for me, but one that Billie handles with skill and tenderness.

Below, I've included an exerpt from the article that includes a story told by Colin Leonard:

Monitoring begins in March, Cantwell explains, and closes in August when nesting activities have ceased.  Once nesting is underway, the boxes are checked every 10 days, or sooner if nestlings are present, and in late fall, boxes are checked to make sure old nests are removed and needed repairs are identified.  For Leonard, the challenge is often these repairs and innovative renovations, like improving predator guards.

Leonard tells the story of one of these challenges, "I wanted to make and put predator guards on the front of the boxes.  To do so, I needed to know the average length of a racoon's arm.  No one could tell me, not even Mr. Google.  One day, we were on vacation somewhere in the boonies of Georgia and stopped for a drink at a bar.  Lo and behold, on the bar was a stuffed racoon!"  Leonard improvised to take the arm measurement and says, if any one is interested, it's nine inches long.  He adds this caution, "The shop-bought predator guards are only four inches and not long enough. Ours are now six inches and our loss to predation is almost zero."

In addition to discussing the monitoring activities of the nestbox trail at the Refuge, the article focuses on the conservation history of bluebirds and why it is so important to continue providing safe, predator proof nest boxes for this species, as well as, other secondary cavity nesters.  

To read the entire article, visit the TN Conservationist website (link below) and subscribe to the magazine or contact the editor, Louise Zepp, to obtain a copy.  The award-winning magazine is funded entirely by subscriptions and is relatively inexpensive to purchase.  Published six times a year, it brings news about natural and cultural conservation efforts in Tennessee, including descriptions of parks and preserves people can visit.

A special thank you to Louise Zepp, TN Conservationist editor, and to Billie Cantwell, Colin Leonard and Wayne Schacher for their assistance in making this article possible.

Links and informaton:
Third image:  Billie Cantwell banding an Eastern bluebird nestling.  Image four:  Cantwell removing the top of a nest box to monitor its contents.

TN Conservationist Magazine

More about my articles in the TN Conservationist and about bird-banding at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in this blog.  You may also want to visit the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge website.

Raptor Walk-About at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge

Raptors.  I love them.  Not only their grace and beauty, but the incredible stories that surround their lives.  Birds of prey not only survive on their instincts but they must learn to hunt during their fledgling year through trial and error.  And that is only one of many fascinating details that make learning about birds of prey so intriguing.  

If you are in the Knoxville area on Saturday March 19th, you have a unique opportunity to not only see raptors in their natural habitat but listen to Stephen Lyn Bales, master story-teller and naturalist from Ijams nature center, as he interprets their behavior during a Walk-About program at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge.

Bales, a nature interpreter with Ijams Nature Center and author of two books, is also the coordinator of Knoxville's county wide Walk-Abouts sponsored by Ijams Nature Center and designed to help people get better acquainted with the nature that can be enjoyed in our city and county parks.   The possibilities for raptor species include American kestrels, wintering northern harriers, ospreys just returning from migration, bald eagles and nesting red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks.   

The program begins at 3:00 pm on Saturday and is free for Ijams members, $5 for non members.  Call 577-4717, ex 10 to register, since group size is limited.  Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge is located on the eastern edge of Knox County bordering the French Broad River.  Directions can be found at the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge website.  I will be there.  Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorite places to visit for both its avian wildlife and beautiful grassland wildflowers.

Links and Resources:
Top image:  Red-tailed hawk; second:  Stephen Lyn Bales holding a non-releasable Red-tailed hawk at Ijams Nature Center.

More information about Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in this blog:  TN Conservationist and Bird Banding

Visit Stephen Lyn Bales at Nature Calling.  There you will also find information about his books, Natural Histories--Stories of the Tennessee Valley, and Ghost Birds.

Other links you may enjoy:  Ijams Nature Center and Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge

Welcome 2010!

The human species is programmed to examine, identify beginnings and endings, take stock of what is behind and to look ahead. It's part of our nature and our desire for meaning, contribution, purpose and participation. And because we are all unique as well, this takes different forms for each individual. I'm sometimes surprised to see how many things I actually accomplish that are on my list of goals for a new year. It's fun to review them and see how I did.Sometimes it means carrying over something that got pushed aside, like my novel query letters. That means a renewed commitment to stick with it and face those rejection letters with persistence. This is part of what commitments do for us. They move us right through the rough spots.

Here are some highlights from 2009:

Partnering with Operation Migration to make the Craniac Kids Whooping Crane Activity Book become a reality. Available to kids everywhere now--FREE!

Joining Operation Migration in Washington D.C. for the presentation of the Partners in Conservation Award.

Participating in bird banding at the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in Knoxville, TN

Observing a nesting pair of Red-shouldered Hawks and creating a sketchbook about my experience.

Plenty of painting, sketching and learning about art and how much I love it.

Enjoying a fun canoe drift down the French Broad River with bird-loving friends.

Learning to make a sketchbook loaded with watercolor paper. (More on this later).

And here is a short list of activities and events I'm looking forward to in 2010:

Monitoring Bluebird boxes at SIWR
Writing articles for the TN Conservationist
More bird banding at SIWR
Sketching in nature
The Space Coast Birding Festival, Titusville, FL
Launching another book project
Lots of watercolor and nature journaling!

Happy New Year everyone!

Wild Turkey and Eastern Bluebirds

What could they possibly have in common? My yard comes to mind at the moment.

It was the turkeys that caused me to grab my camera and step outside. They were headed around the front of the house. I caught the tail end of the parade and since pursuit is a doomed activity, I didn't follow them. I paused instead and looked around. That's when I discovered a family of Eastern bluebirds dining on privet growing at the edge of the yard.

What is glorious about this, I've seen a pair, or possibly more than one pair, frequent the yard to hunt and check out my two nest boxes, one near the house, the other lower in the yard near the woods.

After this pair foraged on berries, they moved about the yard selecting various perches for hunting.  I captured the female hunting from the nest box near the woods. Dandy!  The more she likes the nest box, the happier I am. Now whether selection as a hunting perch has any relationship to nest box selection, I have no idea. I suspect not. But I'm optimistic just because of the frequency with which I'm seeing them.

As I was watching the bluebirds and snapping images, I noticed movement in the woods. The flock of turkeys had circled around the house and into the woods. But something changed their direction and suddenly out into the open yard they came. Ah! Look at the displaying that begins as the Toms encounter the flock of hens.

I have been privileged to see Toms displaying twice this winter, but this was the most spectacular. The beauty of the morning light against their fanned tails as they puffed up to more than twice their size was magical.

Not a combination I would have expected, bluebirds and wild turkeys.  But I will say, it made for a very satisfying morning in the yard! And when I looked through the photos later, I became intrigued with the Tom's faces. What a menacing expression they create by engorging their skin and enhancements.

I didn't quite capture that expression in my sketch, mostly because I think they are so much fun! I'll show you a portrait still in progress. There is nothing like the wonder and the intimacy of trying to capture a turkey's expression in watercolor!

Related Links:
More about the turkey's anatomy with sketch: A Turkey Work of Art
Click here to see Wild turkey in the snow and learn about their unique feather characteristics.
More about Eastern Bluebirds.  Watch for my upcoming article on the bluebird and Tree Swallow nestbox trail at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in the March/April issue of the TN Conservationist.