Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society sponsors a field trip to Ninestone Land Trust in Carroll County Saturday October 3. Meet at 9 AM. Free & open to the public. Everyone is welcome. You do not need to be an Audubon member to participate. We expect to see both southward-moving migrants and newly-arrived winter residents. Come and go on your own schedule. Very causal lunch will be pot luck style; bring something to share or if you prefer, bring your own lunch. Habitats: Piney Creek, classical Ozark upland fields, sandstone glades, soaring blufflines, a stand of mature native shortleaf pine, etc., and especially Ozark birds and transients associated. Birding is our business BUT the affair tends toward the fun and leisurely. Everyone and every skill level & age equally welcomed. We will accommodate mobility or other limitations with appropriate alternatives. Please send me an email or call (479-521-1858) for more information. Hosts: Judith Griffith & Don Matt, Ninestone Land Trust
, 870-545-3559 or waterfall@hbeark.com.
Directions to Ninestone:
1.For those coming from Berryville or north- directions from intersection of Hwy. 62 E & Hwy. 21 S just east of Berryville: From Hwy. 62 east of Berryville, take Hwy. 21 South for 10 + miles to the Cedar Creek Country Store on the RIGHT. IMMEDIATELY after the store & parking lot, turn RIGHT onto a gravel road. The gravel road is CR 512, but is not well marked, so just turn RIGHT immediately after the store. Do not cross the bridge over Cedar Creek! Continue on the gravel road for 1 MILE, staying to the LEFT at any choices.
You will pass 3 mailboxes on the LEFT, one is a large blue mailbox. Continue on to log cabin on the LEFT.
2.For those coming from Fayetteville or south- directions from intersection of Hwy. 412 & Hwy. 21 N: From Hwy. 412 take Hwy. 21 North for about 7 + miles. Cross the Cedar Creek Bridge first & turn LEFT onto the gravel road (CR 512) before you get to the former Cedar Creek Country Store on the LEFT. Continue on the gravel road for 1 MILE, staying to the LEFT at any choices. You will pass 3 mailboxes on the LEFT, one is a large blue mailbox. Continue
on to log cabin on the LEFT.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
League of Women voters sponsoring discussion of Arkansas' electric future on September 23, 2009
Concerned about a proposed SWEPCO rate increase and developing energy efficiency?
A panel of experts will discuss the electrical power dilemma facing
Arkansas and ratepayers during a public information program
moderated by Hoyt Purvis, University of Arkansas Journalism Department.
Wed., Sept. 23, 2009, from 6:00 to 8:00 at the Fayetteville Public Library
This is also a special LWVWC membership invitation event. Come early, 5:30 to 6:00, for refreshments and visit the membership table before the program for more information.
Topic:
Arkansas finds itself with a need to expand electrical production at the same time it has overcapacity. A controversial coal-fired generating plant, choice of what fuels should be used in the future, an urgency to upgrade transmission, serious environmental concerns and ratepayer costs combine for a perfect “electrical” storm. Learning what Arkansas is facing and what that means to ratepayers is the focus for this League of Women Voters of Washington County’s public program.
Panel Participants:
Sandra Byrd, VP, Strategic Affairs, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation and former chair of the Arkansas Public Service Commission
Nicholas Brown, President and CEO of Southwest Power Pool, Inc.
Ken Smith, Executive Director of Audubon Arkansas, an organization involved in the lawsuit over the J.W.Turk, Jr. coal-fired plant
Eddie Moore, an attorney working with Audubon on electric efficiency and ratepayers issues and representing the Arkansas Public Policy Panel on energy issues during the 2009 legislative session
A panel of experts will discuss the electrical power dilemma facing
Arkansas and ratepayers during a public information program
moderated by Hoyt Purvis, University of Arkansas Journalism Department.
Wed., Sept. 23, 2009, from 6:00 to 8:00 at the Fayetteville Public Library
This is also a special LWVWC membership invitation event. Come early, 5:30 to 6:00, for refreshments and visit the membership table before the program for more information.
Topic:
Arkansas finds itself with a need to expand electrical production at the same time it has overcapacity. A controversial coal-fired generating plant, choice of what fuels should be used in the future, an urgency to upgrade transmission, serious environmental concerns and ratepayer costs combine for a perfect “electrical” storm. Learning what Arkansas is facing and what that means to ratepayers is the focus for this League of Women Voters of Washington County’s public program.
Panel Participants:
Sandra Byrd, VP, Strategic Affairs, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation and former chair of the Arkansas Public Service Commission
Nicholas Brown, President and CEO of Southwest Power Pool, Inc.
Ken Smith, Executive Director of Audubon Arkansas, an organization involved in the lawsuit over the J.W.Turk, Jr. coal-fired plant
Eddie Moore, an attorney working with Audubon on electric efficiency and ratepayers issues and representing the Arkansas Public Policy Panel on energy issues during the 2009 legislative session
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Webcast on Clean Water Act quality standards FREE by registration
Still Time to Register!
To register, visit http://www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts
Free September Watershed Academy Webcast -- Second in Clean Water Act Series
Join us on Thursday, September 10th at 1-3pm Eastern for an "Introduction to Water Quality Standards," a second in series of Webcasts on the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA is the cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the United States and it sets broad goals for restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's water. Water quality standards (WQS) are aimed at translating the broad goals of the CWA into waterbody-specific objectives.
Tune into this Webcast to learn about WQS, which are the foundation of the water quality-based pollution control program mandated by the CWA.The Webcast will highlight the three major components of state and tribal water quality standards e.g., designated uses, water quality criteria, antidegradation, and will include a case study of how one state is working to strengthen its WQS program. Future Webcasts will highlight other aspects of the CWA including monitoring and assessment, total maximum daily loads, programs for managing point sources and nonpoint sources, and wetland protection.
Speakers:
Dr. Thomas Gardner, Environmental Scientist, U.S. EPA's National Water Quality Standards Branch; Heather Goss, Physical Scientist, U.S.EPA's National Water Quality Standards Branch; and William (Bill) Cole, Research Scientist, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Water Quality
Standards Unit
To register, visit http://www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts.
To register, visit http://www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts
Free September Watershed Academy Webcast -- Second in Clean Water Act Series
Join us on Thursday, September 10th at 1-3pm Eastern for an "Introduction to Water Quality Standards," a second in series of Webcasts on the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA is the cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the United States and it sets broad goals for restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's water. Water quality standards (WQS) are aimed at translating the broad goals of the CWA into waterbody-specific objectives.
Tune into this Webcast to learn about WQS, which are the foundation of the water quality-based pollution control program mandated by the CWA.The Webcast will highlight the three major components of state and tribal water quality standards e.g., designated uses, water quality criteria, antidegradation, and will include a case study of how one state is working to strengthen its WQS program. Future Webcasts will highlight other aspects of the CWA including monitoring and assessment, total maximum daily loads, programs for managing point sources and nonpoint sources, and wetland protection.
Speakers:
Dr. Thomas Gardner, Environmental Scientist, U.S. EPA's National Water Quality Standards Branch; Heather Goss, Physical Scientist, U.S.EPA's National Water Quality Standards Branch; and William (Bill) Cole, Research Scientist, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Water Quality
Standards Unit
To register, visit http://www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Leased riparian areas to be restored to protect Illinois watershed
The Morning News
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
State, Federal Government To Lease Land To Protect River
By Doug Thompson
THE MORNING NEWS
ROGERS — More than 20 square miles of land along the Illinois River and its tributaries will be planted with trees, native grasses and other plants under a project launched Tuesday.
The program's goal is to stop 10,000 tons a year of pollutants and sediment from getting into the river, state and federal organizers said. The 15,000-acre, $30 million program will be the largest of its type in Arkansas, by far, said Randy Young, director of the state Natural Resources Commission.
"Northwest Arkansas, growing economic gem that it is, is also cognizant of the need to protect our natural resources," said Gov. Mike Beebe. The governor publicly thanked the Walton Family Foundation for a $1 million contribution to the project.
The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is voluntary, organizers said. Landowners can apply to sign 15-year contracts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for their plots of land along the river and streams.
Cropland and poor quality pastures are sought under the $30 million project. Those lands will be planted with native plants to stem erosion and provide food and shelter to wildlife, organizers said. The contracts will pay an estimated average of $85 per acre annually with a starting bonus amounting to as much as $350 an acre.
"I'm very interested. I'd sign up today if the forms were here," said dairy farmer Bill Haak of Gentry. "This is very farmer friendly and, if you look at the details, you can see that the people who wrote this up have the insight into what will make it work."
"I have grandkids," Haak said when asked why he was interested. "You need another reason than that? Well, this is a chance for farmers to step up to the plate and help preserve water quality."
Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson is suing Arkansas poultry companies in federal court over pollution in the Illinois River. The case is scheduled for trial Sept. 21.
"We hope this project will help prevent pollution from reaching the waters of the Illinois and its tributaries and support these types of efforts in both states," Edmondson said in a prepared statement about Tuesday's announcement.
The conservation program in Arkansas will match up with a similar one in Oklahoma. The two programs will cover the entire Illinois River watershed, Young said.
Of the $30 million, $24 million will come from a federal appropriation sought and obtained largely through the efforts of 3rd District Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, organizers said. Most of the rest will come from a $1.5 million appropriation from the state and in-kind services provided by the state, such as planning for each plot's project by the state Game and Fish Department and other agencies and water quality monitoring by the state Department of Environmental Quality.
Contact Information
Watershed Leases
Those interested in the project can call the Washington County office of the federal Farm Service Agency, 479-521-4520, or the Benton County office, 479-273-2622. Information is also available at www.fsa.usda.gov.
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
State, Federal Government To Lease Land To Protect River
By Doug Thompson
THE MORNING NEWS
ROGERS — More than 20 square miles of land along the Illinois River and its tributaries will be planted with trees, native grasses and other plants under a project launched Tuesday.
The program's goal is to stop 10,000 tons a year of pollutants and sediment from getting into the river, state and federal organizers said. The 15,000-acre, $30 million program will be the largest of its type in Arkansas, by far, said Randy Young, director of the state Natural Resources Commission.
"Northwest Arkansas, growing economic gem that it is, is also cognizant of the need to protect our natural resources," said Gov. Mike Beebe. The governor publicly thanked the Walton Family Foundation for a $1 million contribution to the project.
The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is voluntary, organizers said. Landowners can apply to sign 15-year contracts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for their plots of land along the river and streams.
Cropland and poor quality pastures are sought under the $30 million project. Those lands will be planted with native plants to stem erosion and provide food and shelter to wildlife, organizers said. The contracts will pay an estimated average of $85 per acre annually with a starting bonus amounting to as much as $350 an acre.
"I'm very interested. I'd sign up today if the forms were here," said dairy farmer Bill Haak of Gentry. "This is very farmer friendly and, if you look at the details, you can see that the people who wrote this up have the insight into what will make it work."
"I have grandkids," Haak said when asked why he was interested. "You need another reason than that? Well, this is a chance for farmers to step up to the plate and help preserve water quality."
Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson is suing Arkansas poultry companies in federal court over pollution in the Illinois River. The case is scheduled for trial Sept. 21.
"We hope this project will help prevent pollution from reaching the waters of the Illinois and its tributaries and support these types of efforts in both states," Edmondson said in a prepared statement about Tuesday's announcement.
The conservation program in Arkansas will match up with a similar one in Oklahoma. The two programs will cover the entire Illinois River watershed, Young said.
Of the $30 million, $24 million will come from a federal appropriation sought and obtained largely through the efforts of 3rd District Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, organizers said. Most of the rest will come from a $1.5 million appropriation from the state and in-kind services provided by the state, such as planning for each plot's project by the state Game and Fish Department and other agencies and water quality monitoring by the state Department of Environmental Quality.
Contact Information
Watershed Leases
Those interested in the project can call the Washington County office of the federal Farm Service Agency, 479-521-4520, or the Benton County office, 479-273-2622. Information is also available at www.fsa.usda.gov.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Joe Neal reminds people to listen to his reports and bird songs on KUAF FM radio and online
Joe Neal reports
Some folks might enjoy my recent short piece for Ozarks At Large (OAL) on KUAF, the National Public Radio affiliate at UA-Fayetteville. It involves Great Egrets nesting on a sandy island in the Arkansas River near Alma. You can get the program on this page:
http://www.kuaf.org/
I have been doing such programs as a volunteer for KUAF off & on since 2001. Quite a few are now readily available from the OAL archives. Producer Jacqueline Froelich (with additional technical help from other KUAF staff) taught me to use a compact digital recorder (current model is Sony Hi-MD Walkman MZ-RH1 & a Sennheiser shotgun mic) & Cool Edit sound editing software. I go out and find the sweet spots where birds are singing -- or as in the case of Chesney prairie Natural Area -- where prairie mole crickets are courting -- get a bunch of recordings, bring them home & edit them, and write a brief descriptive commentary. Froelich then packages into a program of 4-5 minutes.
What birds, frogs, crickets say interests me quite a lot, especially when our social air is often so heavily polluted. I rarely feel that way when some of the earth's other residents are talking...and I'm just listening in to catch the latest...
Joe Neal
Some folks might enjoy my recent short piece for Ozarks At Large (OAL) on KUAF, the National Public Radio affiliate at UA-Fayetteville. It involves Great Egrets nesting on a sandy island in the Arkansas River near Alma. You can get the program on this page:
http://www.kuaf.org/
I have been doing such programs as a volunteer for KUAF off & on since 2001. Quite a few are now readily available from the OAL archives. Producer Jacqueline Froelich (with additional technical help from other KUAF staff) taught me to use a compact digital recorder (current model is Sony Hi-MD Walkman MZ-RH1 & a Sennheiser shotgun mic) & Cool Edit sound editing software. I go out and find the sweet spots where birds are singing -- or as in the case of Chesney prairie Natural Area -- where prairie mole crickets are courting -- get a bunch of recordings, bring them home & edit them, and write a brief descriptive commentary. Froelich then packages into a program of 4-5 minutes.
What birds, frogs, crickets say interests me quite a lot, especially when our social air is often so heavily polluted. I rarely feel that way when some of the earth's other residents are talking...and I'm just listening in to catch the latest...
Joe Neal
Monday, August 10, 2009
Brown, Oakley and Neal enjoy August 9, 2009, in the Arkansas River valley
Joe Neal reports:
Jacque Brown, David Oakley, and I spent Sunday morning, August 9, in the Arkansas River valley, in the vicinity of the U of A vegetable experiment farm & a private sod farm southeast of Kibler in Crawford County. We saw a Black-bellied Plover still in immaculate nesting plumage, plus a good sprinkling of other migrating shorebirds: Greater Yellowlegs (2), Solitary Sandpiper (6), Spotted (1), Upland (8, including 1 flock of 6), Semipalmated (1+; many peeps), Least (2+), Pectoral Sandpiper (24+); 8-10 Horned Larks and a similar number of Lark Sparrows, both either at the turf farm or alongside sandy roads through bean fields (including yoy [young of the year]), Grasshopper Sparrow (1 adult singing, 2 yoy near, at turf), Painted Bunting (1; yoy), and BIG flocks of Dickcissels in the bean and sorghum fields.
At one point a couple of guys in a flatbed work truck hailed us to a stop. They explained there are vandalism problems in the area, including stealing watermelons. Our bins and floppy hats marked us as potentially weird but probably harmless. It was Sunday morning, after all, and real bad guys would be shacked-up somewhere. They had 5 big melons on the flatbed just picked. After a friendly talk, they gave us directions we needed. In 5 minutes we spotted a watermelon that had rolled off the truck and split open blocking the roadway; there was no putting that one back together again.
We left by noon, because of heat, and because I wanted to get back to Fayetteville and still have a little August energy to see some public art: the Quaker-sponsored exhibit “Eyes wide open” displayed at the Fulbright Peace Fountain on the U of A campus PLUS to make a program marking the anniversary of atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at one of the chapels adjacent campus. My dad was on a Navy ship in the Pacific ready for the invasion of Japan when the bombs were dropped. He always credited the bombs with saving his life and, by the way, getting him home soon, resulting in me. “Eyes wide open” features combat boots arranged in symmetric rows for US servicemen from Arkansas killed in more recent wars & civilian shoes in another area honoring dead non-combatants. It was honorable & sobering, even to a devout bird-watcher. My own eyes and head were still wide open to Black-bellied Plovers & sudden materializations of Upland Sandpipers & generally to the timeless wonde
r of massive continental-wide bird movements. Thinking of my dad, birds, all of these war dead, seemed a confluence of modernity, even on campus, as we honored the disparate victims of various species of spectacular orgasmic violence.
Joe Neal,
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Jacque Brown, David Oakley, and I spent Sunday morning, August 9, in the Arkansas River valley, in the vicinity of the U of A vegetable experiment farm & a private sod farm southeast of Kibler in Crawford County. We saw a Black-bellied Plover still in immaculate nesting plumage, plus a good sprinkling of other migrating shorebirds: Greater Yellowlegs (2), Solitary Sandpiper (6), Spotted (1), Upland (8, including 1 flock of 6), Semipalmated (1+; many peeps), Least (2+), Pectoral Sandpiper (24+); 8-10 Horned Larks and a similar number of Lark Sparrows, both either at the turf farm or alongside sandy roads through bean fields (including yoy [young of the year]), Grasshopper Sparrow (1 adult singing, 2 yoy near, at turf), Painted Bunting (1; yoy), and BIG flocks of Dickcissels in the bean and sorghum fields.
At one point a couple of guys in a flatbed work truck hailed us to a stop. They explained there are vandalism problems in the area, including stealing watermelons. Our bins and floppy hats marked us as potentially weird but probably harmless. It was Sunday morning, after all, and real bad guys would be shacked-up somewhere. They had 5 big melons on the flatbed just picked. After a friendly talk, they gave us directions we needed. In 5 minutes we spotted a watermelon that had rolled off the truck and split open blocking the roadway; there was no putting that one back together again.
We left by noon, because of heat, and because I wanted to get back to Fayetteville and still have a little August energy to see some public art: the Quaker-sponsored exhibit “Eyes wide open” displayed at the Fulbright Peace Fountain on the U of A campus PLUS to make a program marking the anniversary of atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at one of the chapels adjacent campus. My dad was on a Navy ship in the Pacific ready for the invasion of Japan when the bombs were dropped. He always credited the bombs with saving his life and, by the way, getting him home soon, resulting in me. “Eyes wide open” features combat boots arranged in symmetric rows for US servicemen from Arkansas killed in more recent wars & civilian shoes in another area honoring dead non-combatants. It was honorable & sobering, even to a devout bird-watcher. My own eyes and head were still wide open to Black-bellied Plovers & sudden materializations of Upland Sandpipers & generally to the timeless wonde
r of massive continental-wide bird movements. Thinking of my dad, birds, all of these war dead, seemed a confluence of modernity, even on campus, as we honored the disparate victims of various species of spectacular orgasmic violence.
Joe Neal,
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Monday, August 3, 2009
Green Faith Alliance of Central Arkansas to meet by telephone with like-minded or curious Northwest Arkansas residents at UA business school
The Green Faith Alliance of Central Arkansas will meet with us by
telephone on Monday, August 3, at 5:30 pm. Our meeting will be held in
Willard J. Walker Hall, room 546 (fifth floor) on the Business School Campus area at the
University. Attached are directions (from I-540) to the Harmon
parking garage, which is directly across from Walker Hall. The cost
to park there is about $3 for an hour.
As you may recall from my previous email, we talked briefly about the
possibility of having a Green Faith Alliance of Arkansas (dropping the
word “central”) instead of forming a second group called Green Faith
Alliance of Northwest Arkansas. This way, there would be one group,
instead of two, and we might accomplish more by working together than
we can separately.
I am currently on vacation in Georgia. Vivian Hill from St. Paul’s
will be your host for this meeting.
Please RSVP accept or regret to Vivian at vhill@walton.uark.edu as
soon as you can.
We hope that you will be able to join us for this meeting. Again, the
details are:
· Monday, August 3rd
5:30 pm
Willard J Walker Hall, Room 546, U of A Campus
Many thanks to you and thanks for your ministry for the planet that we share.
Michele Halsell
telephone on Monday, August 3, at 5:30 pm. Our meeting will be held in
Willard J. Walker Hall, room 546 (fifth floor) on the Business School Campus area at the
University. Attached are directions (from I-540) to the Harmon
parking garage, which is directly across from Walker Hall. The cost
to park there is about $3 for an hour.
As you may recall from my previous email, we talked briefly about the
possibility of having a Green Faith Alliance of Arkansas (dropping the
word “central”) instead of forming a second group called Green Faith
Alliance of Northwest Arkansas. This way, there would be one group,
instead of two, and we might accomplish more by working together than
we can separately.
I am currently on vacation in Georgia. Vivian Hill from St. Paul’s
will be your host for this meeting.
Please RSVP accept or regret to Vivian at vhill@walton.uark.edu as
soon as you can.
We hope that you will be able to join us for this meeting. Again, the
details are:
· Monday, August 3rd
5:30 pm
Willard J Walker Hall, Room 546, U of A Campus
Many thanks to you and thanks for your ministry for the planet that we share.
Michele Halsell
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Doug James, president of Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society and mentor of generations of biologists, on hand for Joe Neal's lecture on Birds in NW Ark
Please click on images to ENLARGE view of crowd on August 1, 2009, to hear Joe Neal discuss birds in Northwest Arkansas. Neal's recently published update of a decades-old book that he and his mentor, Dr. Douglas James of the University of Arkansas, and he compiled, met with the approbation of the record crowd in nightbird's meeting area adjacent to Chad Hammontree's bar and restaurant.
Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society publishes Joe Neal's newest book and many members attend signing party
Please click on images to ENLARGE view of fans of Joe Neal at Nightbird Books on August 1, 2009.
Diverse crowd attends Joe Neal's book-signing party at Night Bird Books on August 1, 2009
Please click on images to ENLARGE view of people at Night Bird Books on August 1, 2009.
Three more photos from Nightbird on Saturday night
Please click on images to ENLARGE photos made Aug. 1, 2009, at Night Bird Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Four more photos with faces from Joe Neal's August 1, 2009, presentation at NIght Bird Books
Please click on images to ENLARGE view of people talking after Joe Neal's booksigning on August 1, 2009.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
A few more faces from Joe Neal's August 1, 2009, presentation at NIght Bird Books
Please click on images to ENLARGE view of more faces from Night Bird Books on August 1, 2009.
Joe Neal's presentation draws record crowd to Nightbird Books' lecture venue
Please click on images to ENLARGE view of some of the people who attended Joe Neal's birding lecture and signing of his newly published book on the birds of northwest arkansas.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Joe Neal comments on birthday of Doug James
Today is the birthday of my friend, coauthor, teacher Douglas A. James. Born in Detroit, he was hired over the phone to teach at the UA-Fayetteville more than a half century ago. He told me recently he arrived in Arkansas for the first time on a bus, suitcase in hand, and lived in a boarding house on Arkansas Avenue in sight of Old Main. Who could have known the outcome of over 5 decades of research, teaching, field trips, experiments, and writing? He continues on all of these fronts, including regular scientific publications. In recent years he has made generous gifts to the Arkansas Audubon Society Trust and he continues as a member of the AAS Bird Records committee. Last fall he offered his prestige to help rebuild a faltering Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society which he had helped found two decades before.
Much of what we know about our state's avifauna is directly attributable to his life work as ecologist, teacher, and mentor. Beginning in the early 1950s, Doug and others compiled an extensive card file of bird records for the state, including the Ozarks. This file served as the basis for a summary of the occurrence of birds in Arkansas (1964). These records, plus Doug’s own research and that of his many students, formed the core of the book Arkansas Birds (1986). His former students populate natural resource management agencies in Arkansas and far beyond. There are legions of Arkansans who first discovered the joy of birding and an interest in all aspects of natural history on a Doug James field trip.
Other than his obvious and numerous academic achievements, Doug’s career is a unique & creative example of bringing together professionals and private citizens in positive efforts for environmental commonsense. Not the least of these was helping found and build the Ozark Society that played such a key role in the ultimately successful effort to stop dams on the Buffalo River and create a national park. Doug has always inspired students to learn their ecology and then to become involved in real world applications beneficial to birds and human society as well.
Happy birthday, Doug and may you see many many more!
Much of what we know about our state's avifauna is directly attributable to his life work as ecologist, teacher, and mentor. Beginning in the early 1950s, Doug and others compiled an extensive card file of bird records for the state, including the Ozarks. This file served as the basis for a summary of the occurrence of birds in Arkansas (1964). These records, plus Doug’s own research and that of his many students, formed the core of the book Arkansas Birds (1986). His former students populate natural resource management agencies in Arkansas and far beyond. There are legions of Arkansans who first discovered the joy of birding and an interest in all aspects of natural history on a Doug James field trip.
Other than his obvious and numerous academic achievements, Doug’s career is a unique & creative example of bringing together professionals and private citizens in positive efforts for environmental commonsense. Not the least of these was helping found and build the Ozark Society that played such a key role in the ultimately successful effort to stop dams on the Buffalo River and create a national park. Doug has always inspired students to learn their ecology and then to become involved in real world applications beneficial to birds and human society as well.
Happy birthday, Doug and may you see many many more!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Catbirds lose elusive traits in special moments at World Peace Wetland Prairie
Please click on images to ENLARGE view of WPWP birds on July 6, 2009.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Gray catbirds haunt ice-storm downed hackberry on edge of World Peace Wetland Prairie
Please click on images to enlarge view of photos from July 6, 2009.
Gray catbirds rule World Peace Wetland Prairie thickets
Please click on images to view gray catbirds in World Peace Wetland Prairie on July 6. 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Joe Neal's new book now for sale
Please click on images to ENLARGE
Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society has published a new book, BIRDS in northwestern Arkansas, an ecological perspective. This venture is part of the ongoing re-launch of NWAAS. It narrates and summarizes a mass of
bird data from 9 counties in the NW corner of the state -- Breeding Bird Surveys, Christmas Bird Counts, records in Arkansas Audubon Society bird records database by many observers, Forest Service landbird point counts, field research by graduate students, etc. The book is $12.95 and is available at Nightbird Books in Fayetteville (205 W. Dickson). It is also available by mail by contacting our immediate past president, Joan Reynolds (joanreynolds@gmail.com)-- cost, 12.95 plus 3.00 postage. The book will also be available while they last (small press run) at society
functions, including the upcoming July 12 field trip to Chesney Prairie Natural Area -- bring the correct amount (if by check, make it out to NWAAS). Finally, if we sell 5 or more copies in one transaction, the price is $10 each (so get together & save more; this price would not include
postage, if the books are to be mailed). This is a not-for-profit venture. Hopefully, this will widen understanding of bird occurrences in this part of Arkansas and stimulate more birding!
Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society has published a new book, BIRDS in northwestern Arkansas, an ecological perspective. This venture is part of the ongoing re-launch of NWAAS. It narrates and summarizes a mass of
bird data from 9 counties in the NW corner of the state -- Breeding Bird Surveys, Christmas Bird Counts, records in Arkansas Audubon Society bird records database by many observers, Forest Service landbird point counts, field research by graduate students, etc. The book is $12.95 and is available at Nightbird Books in Fayetteville (205 W. Dickson). It is also available by mail by contacting our immediate past president, Joan Reynolds (joanreynolds@gmail.com)-- cost, 12.95 plus 3.00 postage. The book will also be available while they last (small press run) at society
functions, including the upcoming July 12 field trip to Chesney Prairie Natural Area -- bring the correct amount (if by check, make it out to NWAAS). Finally, if we sell 5 or more copies in one transaction, the price is $10 each (so get together & save more; this price would not include
postage, if the books are to be mailed). This is a not-for-profit venture. Hopefully, this will widen understanding of bird occurrences in this part of Arkansas and stimulate more birding!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Honeybee on butterfly milkweed on June 30, 2009
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of honeybee on milkweed on June 30, 2009, at World Peace Wetland Prairie.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Report from June 2, 2009, meeting of Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society
`Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society
June 2, 2009, 6pm
Henry Board Room, Fayetteville Public Library
Present: Sara Wittenberg, Joe Neal, Elizabeth and Doug James, Ann Paillet, Stephanie Cribbs, Joanne Patterson, Scott Michaud, Leigh Hunt
Minutes from April meeting were approved
Programs
Past Program numbers:
Field trip to Ninestone: 25
Field trip to Lake Fayetteville: 15
Clean-up at Wilson Springs: 20
Future Programs
Dates have not changed; see notes from previous meeting
David Nolan Photo Contest
The drop-off places include Collier Photography in Fayetteville and Bedford’s Photography in Fayetteville and Bentonville. There will be plans for approximately 100 entries and and entrance fee of $5 per photo. There will be 12 prizes: four categories with a first, second, and third place plus and honorable mention in each category. The deadline for entries is September 25th. Bedford has offered to mount and prepare the winning photos for display at the Shiloh Museum. Sally Jo Gibson will be consulted to help with advertisement and promotion of the contest.
Meetings
It was decided to drop future Bentonville meetings due to poor turnout. It was also decided that it would be beneficial to combine meetings with birding trips in the future.
Publications
Write-ups on field trips will be added to the newsletter as well as a Letter from the President; publication is due in August and will be emailed in its final form to Scott Michaud for the website.
Publicity
The NWAAS website is now out and looking BRILLIANT! There are currently nine web pages with additional ones to follow, including links to a birding list. It was decided to talk to Kimberly Smith about having the old website taken down.
Finances
Currently, NWAAS has approximately 3,800 in our checking account, 125 dollars on our tab at the Post Office,, and $13,000 in cash at Wachovia. We also have a new debit card and $13.53 a month will be deducted from our account to maintain the website. We should be receiving approximately $1620.25 from National Audubon as an annual
amount.
Tax status: It is necessary for organizations in good standing with the Secretary of State to file each year by May 15th to maintain that good standing and this can be done with a electronic postcard, the 990 Form. NWAAS has not filed in two years, so this will be looked into by Scott.
Donations
A $1000 check was written as a donation to the Morningstar rescue shelter after being unanimously approved
Education
Discussion was had on the Audubon Adventures packages, which are teaching tool kits made for the classroom and available for $20 per package; discussion was had on contacting Roy Fuller for email lists to help distribute these to area teachers who have shown interest. Discussion was also had on outreach to Gifted and Talent programs and home school programs in the area.
Book Publication
Joe Neal’s book The Birds of Northwest Arkansas is ready for publication; this will be done by a printer in town for somewhere between $6-8 dollars a copy at a cost of approximately $1600 for 250 copies. The cost is to be covered by NWAAS but should come back to the Society through sales of the book: it was decided that the price of the book should be double the cost of printing it, making the price between $12 and $16 dollars and books can be sold at local spots like Nightbird Books, Society events, and the Society booths at the Farmers Market when that it set up. The motion to cover publication costs was unanimously passed.
Next meeting is slated for August 4th at 6pm at the Henry Board Room
June 2, 2009, 6pm
Henry Board Room, Fayetteville Public Library
Present: Sara Wittenberg, Joe Neal, Elizabeth and Doug James, Ann Paillet, Stephanie Cribbs, Joanne Patterson, Scott Michaud, Leigh Hunt
Minutes from April meeting were approved
Programs
Past Program numbers:
Field trip to Ninestone: 25
Field trip to Lake Fayetteville: 15
Clean-up at Wilson Springs: 20
Future Programs
Dates have not changed; see notes from previous meeting
David Nolan Photo Contest
The drop-off places include Collier Photography in Fayetteville and Bedford’s Photography in Fayetteville and Bentonville. There will be plans for approximately 100 entries and and entrance fee of $5 per photo. There will be 12 prizes: four categories with a first, second, and third place plus and honorable mention in each category. The deadline for entries is September 25th. Bedford has offered to mount and prepare the winning photos for display at the Shiloh Museum. Sally Jo Gibson will be consulted to help with advertisement and promotion of the contest.
Meetings
It was decided to drop future Bentonville meetings due to poor turnout. It was also decided that it would be beneficial to combine meetings with birding trips in the future.
Publications
Write-ups on field trips will be added to the newsletter as well as a Letter from the President; publication is due in August and will be emailed in its final form to Scott Michaud for the website.
Publicity
The NWAAS website is now out and looking BRILLIANT! There are currently nine web pages with additional ones to follow, including links to a birding list. It was decided to talk to Kimberly Smith about having the old website taken down.
Finances
Currently, NWAAS has approximately 3,800 in our checking account, 125 dollars on our tab at the Post Office,, and $13,000 in cash at Wachovia. We also have a new debit card and $13.53 a month will be deducted from our account to maintain the website. We should be receiving approximately $1620.25 from National Audubon as an annual
amount.
Tax status: It is necessary for organizations in good standing with the Secretary of State to file each year by May 15th to maintain that good standing and this can be done with a electronic postcard, the 990 Form. NWAAS has not filed in two years, so this will be looked into by Scott.
Donations
A $1000 check was written as a donation to the Morningstar rescue shelter after being unanimously approved
Education
Discussion was had on the Audubon Adventures packages, which are teaching tool kits made for the classroom and available for $20 per package; discussion was had on contacting Roy Fuller for email lists to help distribute these to area teachers who have shown interest. Discussion was also had on outreach to Gifted and Talent programs and home school programs in the area.
Book Publication
Joe Neal’s book The Birds of Northwest Arkansas is ready for publication; this will be done by a printer in town for somewhere between $6-8 dollars a copy at a cost of approximately $1600 for 250 copies. The cost is to be covered by NWAAS but should come back to the Society through sales of the book: it was decided that the price of the book should be double the cost of printing it, making the price between $12 and $16 dollars and books can be sold at local spots like Nightbird Books, Society events, and the Society booths at the Farmers Market when that it set up. The motion to cover publication costs was unanimously passed.
Next meeting is slated for August 4th at 6pm at the Henry Board Room
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Create a butterfly garden in your backyard
Create a Butterfly Garden!
A water dish, flowers, lots of sunshine and an area with dark moist soil protected from the wind are
all you need to create a butterfly garden! Remember to:
o Check your lawn at various times throughout the day to see which area receives the most sun.
Butterflies, like all insects, need sunny spots to raise their body temperature.
o Avoid using pesticides around these plants. Butterflies are as affected by pesticides as much
as harmful insects.
o Provide the butterflies with a water source. Any type of shallow container will work.
Give fresh water often.
o Be sure to include plants for all life stages. This means nectar plants for adult butterflies
and host plants for caterpillars.
Good Butterfly Nectar Plants and Caterpillar Host Plants
Ageratum, Milkweed, Dill, Fennel, Parsley, Bee-balm, Coneflower, Passion Vine, Mustard, Hibiscus,
Marigold, Salvia, Day Lily, Mallow, Phlox, Zinnia, Dahlia, Asters, Lantana, Impatiens, Butterfly Bush,
Lilac, Snapdragons, Sassafras Tree, Cosmos, Blue Porterweed.
Where have all the butterflies gone?
Due to loss of habitat, butterflies are rapidly disappearing. Wild flowers are often confused as weeds
and are eliminated with herbicides. Butterflies depend on these flowers for food. When the flowers
die, butterflies have no food or place to lay eggs. Butterflies are also very sensitive to air pollution.
Even slight carbon monoxide from car exhaust can affect butterflies.
What Else Can I do to Help Butterflies?
o Learn about the butterflies in your area. Keep a journal of the different species you see
in your garden.
o Try to buy organically grown food at your local market. These butterfly friendly foods are
produced without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
o Use natural insect-controls such as predatory insects. Ladybugs and praying mantises are
nature’s pest control. As carnivores, they feed on many harmful insects and serve as great
protectors of your garden. Order these insects from your local garden center.
o Support organizations that are active in butterfly research and conservation.
o Reduce carbon monoxide by walking, carpooling or even purchasing a hybrid car and
help keep the air clean.
o Visit www.nwf.org to learn more about Backyard Habitats.
Butterflies go through a “complete” metamorphosis. This cycle includes egg, larva, pupa and finally
adult stages.
Build A Bat Box
TOP 7 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD BUILD A BAT BOX
1. BATS EAT BUGS- without predators, insects would soon overwhelm the earth. Bats consume
enormous quantities. One little brown bat can consume 1200 bugs in an hour, often 2 in a single
second. A nursing mother (like your bat box will attract) will eat more than her own body weight
nightly – up to 4500 insects, including pests like mosquitoes!
2. BANANAS, PEACHES, AVOCADOS, FIGS, DATES, MANGOES, CASHEWS... - Bats pollinate
all of these fruits, which means they help these plants reproduce and grow more fruit.
No bats = No Fruit!
2
A water dish, flowers, lots of sunshine and an area with dark moist soil protected from the wind are
all you need to create a butterfly garden! Remember to:
o Check your lawn at various times throughout the day to see which area receives the most sun.
Butterflies, like all insects, need sunny spots to raise their body temperature.
o Avoid using pesticides around these plants. Butterflies are as affected by pesticides as much
as harmful insects.
o Provide the butterflies with a water source. Any type of shallow container will work.
Give fresh water often.
o Be sure to include plants for all life stages. This means nectar plants for adult butterflies
and host plants for caterpillars.
Good Butterfly Nectar Plants and Caterpillar Host Plants
Ageratum, Milkweed, Dill, Fennel, Parsley, Bee-balm, Coneflower, Passion Vine, Mustard, Hibiscus,
Marigold, Salvia, Day Lily, Mallow, Phlox, Zinnia, Dahlia, Asters, Lantana, Impatiens, Butterfly Bush,
Lilac, Snapdragons, Sassafras Tree, Cosmos, Blue Porterweed.
Where have all the butterflies gone?
Due to loss of habitat, butterflies are rapidly disappearing. Wild flowers are often confused as weeds
and are eliminated with herbicides. Butterflies depend on these flowers for food. When the flowers
die, butterflies have no food or place to lay eggs. Butterflies are also very sensitive to air pollution.
Even slight carbon monoxide from car exhaust can affect butterflies.
What Else Can I do to Help Butterflies?
o Learn about the butterflies in your area. Keep a journal of the different species you see
in your garden.
o Try to buy organically grown food at your local market. These butterfly friendly foods are
produced without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
o Use natural insect-controls such as predatory insects. Ladybugs and praying mantises are
nature’s pest control. As carnivores, they feed on many harmful insects and serve as great
protectors of your garden. Order these insects from your local garden center.
o Support organizations that are active in butterfly research and conservation.
o Reduce carbon monoxide by walking, carpooling or even purchasing a hybrid car and
help keep the air clean.
o Visit www.nwf.org to learn more about Backyard Habitats.
Butterflies go through a “complete” metamorphosis. This cycle includes egg, larva, pupa and finally
adult stages.
Build A Bat Box
TOP 7 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD BUILD A BAT BOX
1. BATS EAT BUGS- without predators, insects would soon overwhelm the earth. Bats consume
enormous quantities. One little brown bat can consume 1200 bugs in an hour, often 2 in a single
second. A nursing mother (like your bat box will attract) will eat more than her own body weight
nightly – up to 4500 insects, including pests like mosquitoes!
2. BANANAS, PEACHES, AVOCADOS, FIGS, DATES, MANGOES, CASHEWS... - Bats pollinate
all of these fruits, which means they help these plants reproduce and grow more fruit.
No bats = No Fruit!
2
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Chesney Prairie and Stump Prairie visit set by Joe Neal for Audubon members and guests
Chesney is Tallgrass Prairie near Siloam Springs, way way up in NW
corner of Arkansas. Everyone is welcome -- don't need to be a member.
We will meet around 8 AM (you can also come later & just look for us
out there in the native grass & flowers) at Chesney Prairie Natural
Area, bird & botanize til we can't stand it anymore, then make the 1
mile drive over to Stump Prairie and do it again (BUT doesn't take as
long 'cause there's less of Stump). Joe Woolbright is keeping good
mowed paths open in both places, so it will be easy walking and you
can cover as much or as little as you wish. Probably be hot & sunny,
so come prepared. Bugs aren't usually bad at all there. There's
usually plenty of good stuff to see unless you are looking for the
Grand Wazoo.
Location: near Siloam Springs, AR. How to get there: From
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, take highway 412 W to near Siloam
Springs city limits. At the intersection of 412 & 59, turn N onto 59.
You pass the Siloam Springs airport. Approximately 1 mile past the
airport, note an intersection: the road W is ?Chesney;? road E is
?Bill Young.? Take Bill Young Road E approximately 0.8 miles. At this
point there is a gravel farm road going N. Go approximately 0.5 miles
N on this road to the dead end at chicken houses and the entrance sign
to CPNA.
--
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
corner of Arkansas. Everyone is welcome -- don't need to be a member.
We will meet around 8 AM (you can also come later & just look for us
out there in the native grass & flowers) at Chesney Prairie Natural
Area, bird & botanize til we can't stand it anymore, then make the 1
mile drive over to Stump Prairie and do it again (BUT doesn't take as
long 'cause there's less of Stump). Joe Woolbright is keeping good
mowed paths open in both places, so it will be easy walking and you
can cover as much or as little as you wish. Probably be hot & sunny,
so come prepared. Bugs aren't usually bad at all there. There's
usually plenty of good stuff to see unless you are looking for the
Grand Wazoo.
Location: near Siloam Springs, AR. How to get there: From
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, take highway 412 W to near Siloam
Springs city limits. At the intersection of 412 & 59, turn N onto 59.
You pass the Siloam Springs airport. Approximately 1 mile past the
airport, note an intersection: the road W is ?Chesney;? road E is
?Bill Young.? Take Bill Young Road E approximately 0.8 miles. At this
point there is a gravel farm road going N. Go approximately 0.5 miles
N on this road to the dead end at chicken houses and the entrance sign
to CPNA.
--
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Peace-garden tour photos from Saturday June 13, 2009
Please click on images to ENLARGE view of Marie Riley's Julia Ward Howe Peace Garden with OMNI sign, great spangled fritillary at Ed Laningham's Glendale Garden and Amanda Bancroft at World Peace Wetland Prairie.
The great spangled fritillary, formally known as Speryeria cybele, was sighted at all six garden sites on Saturday. While the great spangled frit nectars on many species of flower, its caterpillers must have violets as host plants in order to mature.
The great spangled fritillary, formally known as Speryeria cybele, was sighted at all six garden sites on Saturday. While the great spangled frit nectars on many species of flower, its caterpillers must have violets as host plants in order to mature.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Peace-garden tour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday June 13, 2009
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of OMNI Peace Garden Tour Poster.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Arkansas officials say 'Don't Do Fescue'
Arkansas “Don't Do Fescue" is theme of AGFC public campaign
JONESBORO - Tall fescue is a widely used forage crop. It is insect resistant, tolerates poor soil and climatic conditions well and has a long growing season. Unfortunately, tall fescue also has a downside.
With approximately four million acres of pasturelands planted in tall fescue, Arkansas has a great deal of this crop. According to David Long, agricultural liaison with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the agency is working diligently to help the public understand the shortcomings of this type of grass.
"The AGFC has developed a new tool in its effort to educate landowners about the toxic and negative effects of Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue to farm wildlife. A new bumper sticker entitled 'Don't Do Fescue' is now being distributed to agency employees and others interested in spreading the word," Long said. Tall fescue is a common forage grass that has been planted across Arkansas for over 40 years.
Estimates are that about 70 percent-95 percent or 4 million acres of the pasturelands planted with tall fescue in Arkansas are infected with an endophyte fungus. The fungus causes declines in bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbits, grassland songbirds and also limited other game populations such as white-tailed deer and wild turkey.
"The fact that the plant is actually toxic to both domestic livestock and farm wildlife species is accepted by agriculture extension specialists and wildlife biologists alike," Long said. "The plant produces chemicals causing the fescue to have very toxic qualities. The alkaloids are found throughout the plant, but are especially concentrated in the seeds and leaves," he explained.
In cattle, the fungus causes excessive body temperatures, elevated respiratory rates, loss of appetite, body weight loss, lowered fertility rates and abortion of fetuses. Dairy cows often show sharp declines in milk production. Horses are affected also with more aborted fetuses, foaling problems, weak foals and reduced or no milk production. The CES estimates that this endopytic toxin cost American beef producers up to $1 billion a year in lost profits.
"It's very important for private landowners who desire viable wildlife populations on their property to know the effects of planting fescue," Long noted. "Many species of wildlife would directly suffer these same negative effects if they were confined to the pasturelands as are livestock. However, since they are free ranging, they simply avoid the fungus infected fescue pastures, but nevertheless, this results in loss of farm wildlife habitat on these acres. You may have deer and turkey travel through tall-fescue pastures, but they rarely find food sources available they can utilize, since the aggressiveness of the fescue usually results in solid stands of the plant," Long concluded.
The grass is a sod-forming turf with thick matted growth that also limits movement of young bobwhite quail, turkey and cottontail rabbits, provides no nesting habitat for wild turkey or quail, and is extremely poor habitat for many declining grassland species of songbirds. "Bottom line, fungus infected tall-fescue pastures offer little food, cover or nesting habitat to a broad range of farm wildlife," he said.
"Tall fescue has been planted in an estimated 4 million acres of the 5.4 million acres of pasture scattered over the state and for all practical purposes is of no value to farm wildlife. With the widespread establishment of tall fescue pastures, a great loss of wildlife habitat for deer, turkey, quail, cottontails and grassland songbirds has occurred.
Many landowners now recognize this problem and are interested in eliminating tall-fescue on some or all of their acreage. However, many landowners continue to plant tall-fescue, not knowing the detrimental effects it will have to wildlife. (There is an endophyte-free variety of tall fescue available for planting but it is less viable and hardy, and still provides very limited habitat for wildlife.)
We want to educate all landowners regarding this fact because there are other planting options to providing livestock forage and wildlife habitat on their farms," Long explained.
Please help spread the word to landowners "Don't Do Fescue!" by requesting a bumper sticker to place on your vehicle. Especially if they have an interest in managing for wildlife on their farm. For more information contact David Long at 877-972-5438 or dlong@agfc.state.ar.us.
JONESBORO - Tall fescue is a widely used forage crop. It is insect resistant, tolerates poor soil and climatic conditions well and has a long growing season. Unfortunately, tall fescue also has a downside.
With approximately four million acres of pasturelands planted in tall fescue, Arkansas has a great deal of this crop. According to David Long, agricultural liaison with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the agency is working diligently to help the public understand the shortcomings of this type of grass.
"The AGFC has developed a new tool in its effort to educate landowners about the toxic and negative effects of Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue to farm wildlife. A new bumper sticker entitled 'Don't Do Fescue' is now being distributed to agency employees and others interested in spreading the word," Long said. Tall fescue is a common forage grass that has been planted across Arkansas for over 40 years.
Estimates are that about 70 percent-95 percent or 4 million acres of the pasturelands planted with tall fescue in Arkansas are infected with an endophyte fungus. The fungus causes declines in bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbits, grassland songbirds and also limited other game populations such as white-tailed deer and wild turkey.
"The fact that the plant is actually toxic to both domestic livestock and farm wildlife species is accepted by agriculture extension specialists and wildlife biologists alike," Long said. "The plant produces chemicals causing the fescue to have very toxic qualities. The alkaloids are found throughout the plant, but are especially concentrated in the seeds and leaves," he explained.
In cattle, the fungus causes excessive body temperatures, elevated respiratory rates, loss of appetite, body weight loss, lowered fertility rates and abortion of fetuses. Dairy cows often show sharp declines in milk production. Horses are affected also with more aborted fetuses, foaling problems, weak foals and reduced or no milk production. The CES estimates that this endopytic toxin cost American beef producers up to $1 billion a year in lost profits.
"It's very important for private landowners who desire viable wildlife populations on their property to know the effects of planting fescue," Long noted. "Many species of wildlife would directly suffer these same negative effects if they were confined to the pasturelands as are livestock. However, since they are free ranging, they simply avoid the fungus infected fescue pastures, but nevertheless, this results in loss of farm wildlife habitat on these acres. You may have deer and turkey travel through tall-fescue pastures, but they rarely find food sources available they can utilize, since the aggressiveness of the fescue usually results in solid stands of the plant," Long concluded.
The grass is a sod-forming turf with thick matted growth that also limits movement of young bobwhite quail, turkey and cottontail rabbits, provides no nesting habitat for wild turkey or quail, and is extremely poor habitat for many declining grassland species of songbirds. "Bottom line, fungus infected tall-fescue pastures offer little food, cover or nesting habitat to a broad range of farm wildlife," he said.
"Tall fescue has been planted in an estimated 4 million acres of the 5.4 million acres of pasture scattered over the state and for all practical purposes is of no value to farm wildlife. With the widespread establishment of tall fescue pastures, a great loss of wildlife habitat for deer, turkey, quail, cottontails and grassland songbirds has occurred.
Many landowners now recognize this problem and are interested in eliminating tall-fescue on some or all of their acreage. However, many landowners continue to plant tall-fescue, not knowing the detrimental effects it will have to wildlife. (There is an endophyte-free variety of tall fescue available for planting but it is less viable and hardy, and still provides very limited habitat for wildlife.)
We want to educate all landowners regarding this fact because there are other planting options to providing livestock forage and wildlife habitat on their farms," Long explained.
Please help spread the word to landowners "Don't Do Fescue!" by requesting a bumper sticker to place on your vehicle. Especially if they have an interest in managing for wildlife on their farm. For more information contact David Long at 877-972-5438 or dlong@agfc.state.ar.us.
Which blue bird is this finding paradise on World Peace Wetland Prairie?
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of blue bird on World Peace Wetland Prairie on May 23, 2009.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Baby hawks play peep eye
Please click on image to view of fledgling hawks in nest in Fayetteville, Arkanas, on May 22, 2009,
Public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to consider rezoning sale-barn property to allow multistory apartment buildings next to National Cemetery
Please click on images to ENLARGE and read.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Annual War Eagle celebration Saturday near Huntsville
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Audubon Arkansas invitation to the third annual War Eagle celebration tomorrow at Withrow Springs State Park.
Joe Neal discusses Osage burrowing prairie crayfish and the diet of American bitterns
I found an American Bittern at Stump Prairie (near Siloam Springs)
during the Benton County IMBD May 9; was there today and saw it again.
In the last year, Woolsey Wet Prairie at Fayetteville has also
supported American Bittern(s). Both places are seasonally wet
prairies. They are not wetlands like those on the Gulf Coast, but
rather low ground rich in clay that holds water during wet seasons. So
what's attractive to the bitterns here? I suspect it may be the dense
populations of Osage burrowing crayfish (Procambarus liberorum). These
are terrestrial creatures that survive in the high water tables
associated with seasonal wetlands. Their mud chimneys are abundant in
both places. This crawfish species is endemic to a handful of counties
& can be surprisingly abundant, including in many places where,
botanically-speaking, the Tallgrass Prairies disappeared long ago. I
looked up this possible link in the Birds of North America series &
found that crawfish are important in the bittern's diet. Supporting
crawfish-friendly habitats is probably important to this and other
bird species. Maybe another piece of the big picture.
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
The American Bittern is a medium-sized heron with a stout body and a neck, short legs, and a white neck. The upperside of the bird is brown finely speckled with black. The undersides are heavily streaked with brown and white. There is a long black patch that extends from below the eye down the side of the neck.
during the Benton County IMBD May 9; was there today and saw it again.
In the last year, Woolsey Wet Prairie at Fayetteville has also
supported American Bittern(s). Both places are seasonally wet
prairies. They are not wetlands like those on the Gulf Coast, but
rather low ground rich in clay that holds water during wet seasons. So
what's attractive to the bitterns here? I suspect it may be the dense
populations of Osage burrowing crayfish (Procambarus liberorum). These
are terrestrial creatures that survive in the high water tables
associated with seasonal wetlands. Their mud chimneys are abundant in
both places. This crawfish species is endemic to a handful of counties
& can be surprisingly abundant, including in many places where,
botanically-speaking, the Tallgrass Prairies disappeared long ago. I
looked up this possible link in the Birds of North America series &
found that crawfish are important in the bittern's diet. Supporting
crawfish-friendly habitats is probably important to this and other
bird species. Maybe another piece of the big picture.
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
The American Bittern is a medium-sized heron with a stout body and a neck, short legs, and a white neck. The upperside of the bird is brown finely speckled with black. The undersides are heavily streaked with brown and white. There is a long black patch that extends from below the eye down the side of the neck.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Painted buntings and such in Fayetteville sighted by Joe Neal
I have found 2 males in 2 spots along the Scull Creek Trail, in
Fayetteville. One place is just northeast of where the trail crosses
North Street, in the regenerating backlot of Tune Concrete. The second
is a regenerating open space immediately southwest of where the trail
crosses Poplar. From a map, it is apparent these two places are fairly
close -- one could easily walk, bike, or roll to both from parking at
either end (or skateboard). Also, note how the creek & trail parallel
the old Frisco tracks, also decent Painted habitat within this urban
context. Painteds have been in this area (including the University
farm) for a long time. As always, knowing the song makes a 500%
difference in outcomes.
If all else fails, Painted have nested for years at the home of
Richard & Martha Stauffacher, in NW Fayetteville, and they are coming
to the feeders there now.
--
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville. One place is just northeast of where the trail crosses
North Street, in the regenerating backlot of Tune Concrete. The second
is a regenerating open space immediately southwest of where the trail
crosses Poplar. From a map, it is apparent these two places are fairly
close -- one could easily walk, bike, or roll to both from parking at
either end (or skateboard). Also, note how the creek & trail parallel
the old Frisco tracks, also decent Painted habitat within this urban
context. Painteds have been in this area (including the University
farm) for a long time. As always, knowing the song makes a 500%
difference in outcomes.
If all else fails, Painted have nested for years at the home of
Richard & Martha Stauffacher, in NW Fayetteville, and they are coming
to the feeders there now.
--
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Cave Mountain and upper Buffalo River field trip Saturday June 6, 2009
Y'all are invited to join Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society on a
field trip to Cave Mountain & the upper Buffalo River in Newton
County. Everyone is welcome & you do not need to be a member to
participate. All ages & experience levels welcome. This is mostly
stops at various places with only a little walking -- no extensive
hiking.
TIME & PLACE: Saturday June 6, 2009, meet at 7 AM, intersection of
highway 21 & Cave Mountain Road where there is a bridge over the
Buffalo. Cave Mountain is south of Boxley on 21. Look at your Arkansas
map: using the intersections of Arkansas 43 & 21 as reference, the
Boxley Baptist Church is 0.5 miles south of the intersection; our
meeting point adjacent the bridge over the Buffalo is 1.2 miles south
of 21 & 43. If you are moderately late, head up Cave Mountain Road &
find us; if you are fashionably late, you may need to find us along 21
somewhere between Cave Mountain Road and the Ponca store (snacks).
Public lands in this area include the Buffalo National River, the
Upper Buffalo Wilderness, and the Ozark National Forest. There are
also private farms. What we will mainly look at are the fabulous
breeding birds -- warblers like Cerulean, Hooded, Worm-eating,
Redstart, Scarlet Tanager, Wood Thrush, etc.
--
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
field trip to Cave Mountain & the upper Buffalo River in Newton
County. Everyone is welcome & you do not need to be a member to
participate. All ages & experience levels welcome. This is mostly
stops at various places with only a little walking -- no extensive
hiking.
TIME & PLACE: Saturday June 6, 2009, meet at 7 AM, intersection of
highway 21 & Cave Mountain Road where there is a bridge over the
Buffalo. Cave Mountain is south of Boxley on 21. Look at your Arkansas
map: using the intersections of Arkansas 43 & 21 as reference, the
Boxley Baptist Church is 0.5 miles south of the intersection; our
meeting point adjacent the bridge over the Buffalo is 1.2 miles south
of 21 & 43. If you are moderately late, head up Cave Mountain Road &
find us; if you are fashionably late, you may need to find us along 21
somewhere between Cave Mountain Road and the Ponca store (snacks).
Public lands in this area include the Buffalo National River, the
Upper Buffalo Wilderness, and the Ozark National Forest. There are
also private farms. What we will mainly look at are the fabulous
breeding birds -- warblers like Cerulean, Hooded, Worm-eating,
Redstart, Scarlet Tanager, Wood Thrush, etc.
--
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Audubon outing on Mother's Day
Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society hosts a field trip to Ninestone
> Land Trust in Carroll County for Sunday May 10 (Mother's Day). Meet at
> 9 AM. Free & open to the public. Mothers are welcome! Everyone is
> welcome! You do not need to be an Audubon member or an experienced
> observer to participate. The field trip will be part of International
> Migratory Bird Day activities; observations will help document
> migration through Carroll County. Lunch will be pot luck style,
> accompanied by the waterfalls, so bring your lunch or something to
> share. Habitats: Piney Creek, classical Ozark upland fields, sandstone
> glades, blufflines, shortleaf pines, etc. and the Ozark birds and
> transients associated (Blue-winged Warblers, etc).
> Land Trust in Carroll County for Sunday May 10 (Mother's Day). Meet at
> 9 AM. Free & open to the public. Mothers are welcome! Everyone is
> welcome! You do not need to be an Audubon member or an experienced
> observer to participate. The field trip will be part of International
> Migratory Bird Day activities; observations will help document
> migration through Carroll County. Lunch will be pot luck style,
> accompanied by the waterfalls, so bring your lunch or something to
> share. Habitats: Piney Creek, classical Ozark upland fields, sandstone
> glades, blufflines, shortleaf pines, etc. and the Ozark birds and
> transients associated (Blue-winged Warblers, etc).
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Joe Neal reports on May 6 bird-watching in Madison and Franklin counties
Judith Ann Griffith & I birded in Madison and Franklin counties May 6,
mainly between Brashears (intersection highways 16 & 23, Aka the ?pig
trail?) and Cass (on 23). I met Judith at Brashears. At the start, we
were in our local cloud forest. Through the fine mist we could hear
both Sedge and Marsh Wrens in a big hayfield & soon had both in close
view. I had already seen a first year male Orchard Oriole atop a
brushpile. When we returned in the afternoon, two Bobolinks perched
atop the brush and nearby was a flock of 10 Orchard Orioles.
The main focus was Cherry Bend in the Ozark NF. It?s half-way between
Brashears & Cass and involves about two miles of upper, east-facing
moist, mature hardwood slope. We parked in the small lot where the
Ozark Highlands Trail crosses 23, then walked up to Rock House, which
overlooks slopes below.
We saw bunting flocks along the whole drive between Brashears & Cass,
in both the private farmland and National Forest. Most involved 5-10
Indigos in all plumages, a few had 25 or so, and some included a few
White-crowned & Chipping sparrows. At Cass, we saw a fine male
Painted Bunting along them. We got the red around the eyes, both
greens, etc. I cannot image what the field & thicket-loving
White-crowned Sparrows felt when they awoke midst the shagbark
hickories & pawpaws of Cherry Bend!
In the Cherry Bend area we made several short stops & listens, and the
short hike up from the parking lot to Rock House. The native wild
azaleas are blooming & it?s hard not to stop in full blown admiration
for a fine male Black-throated Green Warbler when you have a flaming
pink bush extending over a high bluff, stream full & screaming below.
At Rock House we caught a crack of sunlight & at eye level a singing
male Cerulean Warbler. For those of us mainly used to butt shots of
Ceruleans high in the canopy, an eye level male in decent light makes
clear the bird?s name & its unique creation. I was just dumb struck &
that?s saying something in my case. We humans have fine sensibilities,
but they can be overloaded.
For the day, we recorded 21 warbler species. In the forests at Cherry
Bend, we had the following: Golden-winged (1), Tennessee, Nashville,
Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green (in 4 spots; they are likely
breeding birds at Cherry Bend now), Cerulean (12+; all along the 2
miles & best place I know in the Ozarks), Black-and-white, American
Redstart, Worm-eating, Ovenbird, Kentucky, Hooded, Wilson?s. These are
mostly common breeding birds at Cherry Bend.
Also at Cherry Bend, our highway workers are valiantly repairing giant
cracks and minislides in the asphalt. Bless their hearts; it?s a
critical road through our neck-of-the-woods. Gravity makes its claims
on highways, just as it does on us. Judith & I made our way carefully
along 23, spotting Swainson?s Thrushes and one Gray-cheeked Thrush
using roadsides. This old ?pigtrail? is steadily heading downhill &
one senses it has chosen return to its pre-1880 state as a pioneer
trail & Native American hunting track. We have smart highway folks &
I?ll bet they can keep it going for us who love birding & botanizing
Cherry Bend, not to mention all the Ozark towns and communities who
depend upon the feed trucks and freighters passing through, below Rock
House, where we are watching Ceruleans & wondering at the many
Hoodeds?and the virtually unimaginable resplendence of Scarlet
Tanagers in spring light.
--
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
mainly between Brashears (intersection highways 16 & 23, Aka the ?pig
trail?) and Cass (on 23). I met Judith at Brashears. At the start, we
were in our local cloud forest. Through the fine mist we could hear
both Sedge and Marsh Wrens in a big hayfield & soon had both in close
view. I had already seen a first year male Orchard Oriole atop a
brushpile. When we returned in the afternoon, two Bobolinks perched
atop the brush and nearby was a flock of 10 Orchard Orioles.
The main focus was Cherry Bend in the Ozark NF. It?s half-way between
Brashears & Cass and involves about two miles of upper, east-facing
moist, mature hardwood slope. We parked in the small lot where the
Ozark Highlands Trail crosses 23, then walked up to Rock House, which
overlooks slopes below.
We saw bunting flocks along the whole drive between Brashears & Cass,
in both the private farmland and National Forest. Most involved 5-10
Indigos in all plumages, a few had 25 or so, and some included a few
White-crowned & Chipping sparrows. At Cass, we saw a fine male
Painted Bunting along them. We got the red around the eyes, both
greens, etc. I cannot image what the field & thicket-loving
White-crowned Sparrows felt when they awoke midst the shagbark
hickories & pawpaws of Cherry Bend!
In the Cherry Bend area we made several short stops & listens, and the
short hike up from the parking lot to Rock House. The native wild
azaleas are blooming & it?s hard not to stop in full blown admiration
for a fine male Black-throated Green Warbler when you have a flaming
pink bush extending over a high bluff, stream full & screaming below.
At Rock House we caught a crack of sunlight & at eye level a singing
male Cerulean Warbler. For those of us mainly used to butt shots of
Ceruleans high in the canopy, an eye level male in decent light makes
clear the bird?s name & its unique creation. I was just dumb struck &
that?s saying something in my case. We humans have fine sensibilities,
but they can be overloaded.
For the day, we recorded 21 warbler species. In the forests at Cherry
Bend, we had the following: Golden-winged (1), Tennessee, Nashville,
Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green (in 4 spots; they are likely
breeding birds at Cherry Bend now), Cerulean (12+; all along the 2
miles & best place I know in the Ozarks), Black-and-white, American
Redstart, Worm-eating, Ovenbird, Kentucky, Hooded, Wilson?s. These are
mostly common breeding birds at Cherry Bend.
Also at Cherry Bend, our highway workers are valiantly repairing giant
cracks and minislides in the asphalt. Bless their hearts; it?s a
critical road through our neck-of-the-woods. Gravity makes its claims
on highways, just as it does on us. Judith & I made our way carefully
along 23, spotting Swainson?s Thrushes and one Gray-cheeked Thrush
using roadsides. This old ?pigtrail? is steadily heading downhill &
one senses it has chosen return to its pre-1880 state as a pioneer
trail & Native American hunting track. We have smart highway folks &
I?ll bet they can keep it going for us who love birding & botanizing
Cherry Bend, not to mention all the Ozark towns and communities who
depend upon the feed trucks and freighters passing through, below Rock
House, where we are watching Ceruleans & wondering at the many
Hoodeds?and the virtually unimaginable resplendence of Scarlet
Tanagers in spring light.
--
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Joe Neal reports on Saturday's birding trek to Lake Fayetteville natural area
It rained most of the night & well into the morning: it amazes me that
even 12 showed for the NWAAS Lake Fayetteville field trip. We dodged
showers (AKA, liquid sunshine) from above & endured creeping dampness
& cold within. It would rain a while, and we'd walk for cover. We
stood under the eaves at the environmental study center during several
downpours and wonder if our boots could take more of it. Finally we
were all just soaked and took off on a long hike. When everything is
soaking, it's hard to see or feel difference. Between showers, we
found what we'd come for: 17-18 warbler species, 5 vireo species,
transient Gray-cheeked & Swainson's Thrushes, brilliant Baltimore
Orioles (illumination midst general rain glooms)...maybe "best bird"
(?)was Golden-winged Warbler (rare, hence a pleaser in w. AR), but we
exhaulted in good looks at Blue-headed Vireos, even with fogged bins,
even with water streaming down faces, etc etc.
...the coveted endurance award...to our very own SALLY JO GIBSON!!! In
the cold & rain, a few weeks after surgery, long hikes, good cheer,
good girlhood Ivory-billed Woodpecker story, as another shower swept
through, long drive home. Thanks SJ.
--
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
even 12 showed for the NWAAS Lake Fayetteville field trip. We dodged
showers (AKA, liquid sunshine) from above & endured creeping dampness
& cold within. It would rain a while, and we'd walk for cover. We
stood under the eaves at the environmental study center during several
downpours and wonder if our boots could take more of it. Finally we
were all just soaked and took off on a long hike. When everything is
soaking, it's hard to see or feel difference. Between showers, we
found what we'd come for: 17-18 warbler species, 5 vireo species,
transient Gray-cheeked & Swainson's Thrushes, brilliant Baltimore
Orioles (illumination midst general rain glooms)...maybe "best bird"
(?)was Golden-winged Warbler (rare, hence a pleaser in w. AR), but we
exhaulted in good looks at Blue-headed Vireos, even with fogged bins,
even with water streaming down faces, etc etc.
...the coveted endurance award...to our very own SALLY JO GIBSON!!! In
the cold & rain, a few weeks after surgery, long hikes, good cheer,
good girlhood Ivory-billed Woodpecker story, as another shower swept
through, long drive home. Thanks SJ.
--
JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Saturday, May 2, 2009
FarmToTable theme of today's program in the Rose Garden of the Walton Art Center with renewable-energy lecture at Night Bird bookstore at 2 p.m.
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of OMNI Springfest poster.
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of poster.
Solar Power Struggle
Professor Richard Hutchinson of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston will speak on "The Struggle for the Solar Future" at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
An inquiry into environmental change and the obstacles and opportunities in the path of the renewable energy transition.
Sponsored by OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology.
Please click on image to ENLARGE view of poster.
Solar Power Struggle
Professor Richard Hutchinson of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston will speak on "The Struggle for the Solar Future" at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
An inquiry into environmental change and the obstacles and opportunities in the path of the renewable energy transition.
Sponsored by OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology.
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