CITIZEN SCIENCE

Kalmiopsis Audubon members can participate in several bird counts and other bird monitoring activities year round:

For Beginners:

Great Backyard Bird Count (February)-- Birders from across the nation contribute sightings to create a real-time snap shot of where birds are. Check out their website to learn how to participate in this year's count. It's fun to get sightings from Curry County on the national map!

For Skilled Birders:

North American Migration Counts

Spring Migration Count- 2d Saturday in May

Fall Migration Count- 3d Saturday in September

The count compiler is Diane Cavaness. Her address is: birder_1@ charter.net. She can e-mail you the form to send in your observations.

Christmas Bird Count

The Christmas Bird Count is typically held just after Christmas Day, that wonderful stormy time to bird. For more information about the Christmas Bird Count, contact Jim Rogers at 332-2555.

For results of past Christmas Bird Counts, click here.

For a 2009 National Audubon Society report based on 40 years of Christmas Bird Count Data, click here.

2009 BLACK OYSTERCATCHER SURVEY
The 2009 Coastwide Black Oystercatcher Survey was held in May with the assistance of several KAS members. The Black Oystercatcher is a relatively rare species with only a few hundred individuals in Oregon and about 11,000 individuals range-wide. According to Liz Kelly, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, “That’s why, it is really important to monitor this species every year.”

During land-based surveys conducted along the Oregon Coast between 2005 and 2007, only about 250 individuals were found. While this number does not include oystercatchers on the seaward side of offshore rocks and islands too distant to survey, it is estimated that the population on far-off rocks does not exceed a hundred.

“We are very concerned about the species because of its small population size, limited range and habitat threats. Nests accessible at low tide may be especially vulnerable to disturbance by humans and their pets. These nests often fail, likely due to native or non-native predators such as ravens, raccoon, fox and feral cats,” said Kelly, who helped coordinate this year’s surveys. “But even off-shore nests and chicks may be vulnerable to river otters and avian predators such as bald eagles and gulls.”


“We rely on many dedicated volunteers to conduct surveys and monitor nests,” said Elise Elliott-Smith of U.S. Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center in Corvallis who has taken the lead in studying the reproductive success of oystercatchers in Oregon. “This May, 52 people turned out to survey 103 locations along the coast.”


“These surveys are very important,” said Peg Boulay, ODFW sensitive species coordinator who participated in the project. “Prior to 2005, we didn’t have any good data on where oystercatchers were reproducing and where they are having success.” When priority sites are identified, it’s possible to minimize disturbance during critical times of the year.

Black oystercatchers are a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species of Concern. They are counted in the spring, when the monogamous birds return to the same nesting territories to pair with the same mate. Survey results from 2005-2007 are available on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Newport Field Office Web site: http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/Species/Data/BlackOystercatcher/default.asp

Information about how to help with next year's survey and results of more recent surveys will be posted here when they become available.