Hawk surveys Pinnacle Wet Prairie for prey on sunny day

Walking Pinnacle Prairie Trail at the end of Twelveth Street southwest of World Peace Prairie offers wildlife views. Please click on images to ENLARGE view of hawk on March 4, 2010,

72 Hours for American Clean Energy!
Call Your Senators Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday

Dear Aubrey,



Urge your U.S. Senators to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation now.

Rising sea levels. Stronger storms. Melting ice caps. Less wildlife. Birds shifting their ranges — if they can.

This doesn't have to be our future — or our legacy.

With leadership from the Senate, we can change our future. Please join with millions of Americans and call your Senators today. Our planet is in peril and we need the Senate to act on passing comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation this year.

Please call your Senators now. We want to make sure the Senate understands the urgency to get moving on climate legislation NOW. It will only take a few moments and every call is important. Every call will make our point loud and clear.

Today, we are joining with dozens of organizations representing millions of Americans, calling on the U.S. Senate to pass comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. We can't let special interests and a few Senators who want to stop this bill sink our chances for a better future for our children and the wildlife we speak for.

Take action with our step by step instructions and simple message. These measures will help create jobs, get us off foreign oil and secure our nation and our future. Tell your Senators you want comprehensive energy and climate change legislation now.



Do you know someone else who cares about protecting our future? Help us to spread the word:
Tell-a-friend!

Trouble with the "Take Action" links in the message? Try cutting-and-pasting this link into your web browser: www.audubonaction.org/ClimateCalls




Audubon
1150 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036
(202) 861-2242 | audubonaction@audubon.org

Update your profile | Modify your email preferences or unsubscribe

Owl slide show March 7 and Shores Lake field trip March 27 highlights of the month

The next Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society field trip is on Saturday March 27, 2010. This is an outstanding opportunity to go birding in mature shortleaf pine habitat (and also mature hardwoods) in the Shores Lake area of Ozark National Forest. It is also a unique opportunity to go with trip leader Bill Beall, veteran birder from Ft Smith who had studied birds in western Arkansas for many decades. We will be seeking Brown-headed Nuthatches and other birds typical of pine forests. The Shores Lake area is one of the few spots in the Ozarks where these nuthatches still occur, but finding them is not assured. Meet at 9 AM at the Shores Lake picnic area entrance on the west side of the lake. You can show up earlier if you wish! We may try to do some car pooling from Fayetteville if anyone is interested. Shores Lake is just north of Mulberry. For more information, contact me at 479-521-1858.

Dr. Doug James to present free slide show and lecture on hawks and owls at Nightbird Books on March 7

Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society will sponsor a special program on “Raptors: hawks and owls of Arkansas” on Sunday March 7, 4 PM at Nightbird Books, 205 W. Dickson Street in Fayetteville (bookstore phone: 479-443-2080). The slide and lecture will be presented by Doug James, a founder of Arkansas Audubon Society & professor at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. Doug is chief author of Arkansas Birds (U of A Press, 1986) and many technical articles. He has now taught ornithology and ecology to more than two generations of students, and he has been an inspirational leader of field trips throughout Arkansas, the United States, and overseas. He is also currently president of NWAAS. This will be a chance to hear Doug on a specialized topic in the relaxed & intimate setting of Nightbird Books, adjacent a deli that also serves bottled beer. There is no cost for the program. Everyone who attends will be part of a drawing for a bird book (field guide) of their choice from Night
bird, awarded at the meeting.

Big white heron, mallard ducks flock together on the Illinois River when ponds in watershed were frozen

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Illinois River waterfowl on January 6, 2010.

Joe Neal says woodcock outing set for 5:30 p.m. Saturday, February 29, 2010, at Wedington management area

This is a friendly reminder about the Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society-sponsored field trip to view mating rituals of American Woodcocks. We are meeting woodcock expert David Krementz of the UA-Fayetteville, at 5:30 PM, Saturday February 20, near the Ozark National Forest’s Wedington Small Game Management Area, west of Fayetteville and just east of Siloam Springs. Besides woodcocks, a highlight will be Dr Krementz’s guiding & explaining what’s going on. Road and bridge access from last year are repaired and little walking will be required. Please bring a flashlight (since we will be there until early dark) and a folding chair if you wish. I have previously sent out directions for the meeting place, but I’ll send them again if needed. Email me or call 479-521-1858 for more information.

Great Backyard Bird Count today through Monday: Click this headline for detail

Great Backyard Bird Count began today runs through Monday. Just received the Northwest Arkansas Audubon Newsletter in today's mail. Sorry for late notice.
For information go to Backyard Bird Count

Towhee sits for portrait 10 feet from fence of World Peace Wetland Prairie but finally goes for the corn on February 11, 2010

Please click on images to ENLARGE view of towhee on February 11, 2010, at World Peace Wetland Prairie.

Close encounter with trumpeter swan: the Joe Neal report

JOE NEAL reports:
An astonishing bird day February 10, 2010, began when I went with Doug James to Holla Bend NWR for the release of Iowa-reared Trumpeter Swans. Karen Rowe of Arkansas Game & Fish has been working with Iowa Department of Natural Resources to move Trumpeters to Arkansas. This is part of a daring experiment called reverse migration imprinting. The idea is that young swans will use their instincts to return north for nesting and later, return south for the non-breeding season.

The ground was snow covered in Fayetteville when we left and snow covered at Holla Bend two hours later. I had my binoculars, but yikes (!) forgot my coat. Doug loaned me a light blanket, which I stuffed indecorously under my fuzzy shirt. When we got near the Arkansas River to the release site, Karen was rounding up folks to carry swans from cages to water’s edge. I was soon honored by a close encounter with Trumpeters -- 25-30 pounds of swan & it’s pleasantly warm down, in my arms.

You first must hold their feet tightly – web feet the size of my hands. You firmly hug ‘em to keep that 8-foot wing span closed. Then there is the famous trumpet, a very, very long neck, with an anxious, intelligent dark-eyed creature winding it around your neck, over your head, serpent-like, watching all, honking and hissing, way, way ready for release. Even standing in the snow and coatless, I was quite warm and fully employed hanging on to my swan!

When Doug and I worked on the book Arkansas Birds in 1986, there had been no certain Trumpeter records for the state since the early 1900s. Due to efforts by folks like Karen, Iowa DNR, and others, Trumpeters are coming back. For example, the flock now wintering each year at Magness Lake is a frequent topic of interest among birders in Arkansas.

In tough times with lots of bad news, it is easy to feel, as Mark Twain put it, that we are just “the damned human race.” Yet, 16 Trumpeters found their freedom in Arkansas yesterday. Maybe this is not a banner line for Fox News, but it fairly reflects our hopes and aspirations. We are willing to put our amazing brains to work to put right what, in the case of loss of our wintering Trumpeters, had in past years unintentionally gone wrong.

Birding trip to Trinidad now open to general public

JOE NEAL REPORTS:

Doug James requested that I post this information about a birding trip:

Doug James and Ragupathy Kannan have organized a biology student trip this
coming May to the Asa Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad, a nation in the
Caribbean. The Centre is a world famous destination for tropical birding.
The trip is coordinated by the combined University of Arkansas campuses in
Fayetteville and Fort Smith. The details given below is the text from the
fancy flier for the trip.

Students have not fill all the slots for the trip so now we are opening
the opportunity to the general birding public in Arkansas.

You will have to go through the motions of registering as a student at the
University of Arkansas in Fort Smith. One hour credit is earned for just
participating in the trip. If you might want 2 or 3 hours credit, contact
Drs. James and Kannan for descriptions of added work required.

If you do not have a passport, application forms are available at the
local Post Office. If you need to hasten the process that can be
requested.

*TROPICAL FIELD BIOLOGY -- MAY 2010*

*TRINIDAD, WEST INDIES*

*For University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and Fayetteville students*

*Apply for and register with University of Arkansas-Fort Smith*

*Course Name-- **SPECIAL TOPICS: TROPICAL FIELD BIOLOGY BIOL 420V (1-3
credit hrs.)*

*Credits can be transferred to UA Fayetteville as electives*.

See Dr.Kannan's article about last year's trip at:
http://asawright.org/visitors/course.html

*Course fee: $1500 (excluding tuition). Includes airfare, accommodation
and all meals at the Asa Wright Nature Centre.

*Dates: 9 to 15 May 2010 (five days plus two days for travel)

*Faculty leader: Dr. R. Kannan (UA Fort Smith). Dr. Douglas A. James (UA
Fayetteville) will accompany if enrollment reaches 16 students.

*Deadlines: $1500 program fee February 26, 2010 (not refundable after
that date)

Register with UA Fort Smith and pay tuitio%yn (about $200/cr. hr)
by February 26, 2010

� Five days in the world famous Asa Wright Nature Centre, one of the
world�s best and well-known birding destinations

� Over 50 tropical bird species right from the veranda, including
about a dozen hummingbirds

� Daily hikes into the rainforest to observe and study exotic
tropical flora and fauna with trained local naturalist guides

� A trip to the caves to see the unique oil birds

� Boating among mangrove forests at dusk to view the spectacular
aggregation of hundreds of scarlet ibises

� A night trip to a secluded beach to see the ancient ritual of
1000-pound leatherback sea turtles nesting

� Resort style accommodations with sumptuous local food served
buffet-style

*Additional expenses: Travel health insurance required for the
duration of the trip (obtained on line by each participant)

It is advisable, but not required, to take vaccinations as
recommended by CDC (check www.cdc.gov)

*Biology majors will enjoy first priority; a waiting list of others will be
compiled to fill any vacant slots; all must register for the course at UA
Fort Smith. (There are now vacancies)

FOR REGISTRATION FORMS AND MORE INFORMATION: Dr. Douglas James (UA
Fayetteville) 575-6364; Dr. R. Kannan (UAFS) 788-7616.
James , Kannan

OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology invites all to open house from 3 to 6 p.m. today

View Larger Map



OMNI Center for Peace Justice and Ecology opens new house to all TODAY!
Office Phone: (479)935-4422
omni.center.for.pje@gmail.com
“OMNI Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology
educates and empowers people to actively
build a non-violent, sustainable and just world.”
Saturday,
February 2010
3:00—6:00 PM
3274 N. Lee Ave
OMNI CENTER for PEACE, JUSTICE & ECOLOGY
You are invited to celebrate the dedication of
OMNI Center’s new building! Enjoy music, re-
freshments, good fellowship, speakers, and
tours! Learn more than 35 ways to be involved
in OMNI. Help build a culture of peace in an
earth restored, that includes everyone.
Children
Welcome!
Handicap
Access
Refreshments
Will Be
Served!
Open House!

January 31, 2010, birds of World Peace Wetland Prairie searching for bare ground and free seed

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of assorted birds. Many more species are around today, such as red-winged blackbirds, bluejays, cardinals and many others whose names and photos are more difficult to collect.

Weekend birding report from Joe Neal offers great news on January 17, 2010

Andrew Scaboo, doctoral candidate at UA-Fayetteville, has been watching a big field where up to 8 Northern Harriers have been roosting for at least the past few weeks. That is not big news in parts of Arkansas where harriers are usually numerous, but it is significant in northwestern Arkansas, where in mid-winter we see none or at most a scattered bird or two. Leesia Marshall-Rosenberger, also a UA doctoral student, followed up with the sighting of a Short-eared Owl in this same field on January 10. Subsequently, she, Andy, and others have counted as many as 6 flying owls at dusk. Prior to these sightings, we have had only local, sparse, and scattered Short-eared Owl records for more than a half-century. So, ornithologically-speaking, this is big news for us.

The habitat in use by harriers & owls is a low-lying, former Tallgrass Prairie field marked by impressive prairie mounds. We have been calling these seasonal wetlands; the areas between the mounds are wet from snow melt & retain shallow standing water. Though the field has been heavily fescued, it retains significant Tallgrass Prairie flora, including the chief grasses: big bluestem, little bluestem, Indian grass, switchgrass, & cordgrass in broad patches. Other prairie forb & grass species are also visible, even at mid-winter. My assumption is that if this Tallgrass Prairie flora remains, the prairie small mammal community has survived. It would explain the attraction for harriers and Short-eared Owls. Habitat patches like this survive because they are literally “too wet to plow.” It has become a very rare habitat in western Arkansas, and the loss makes its unfortunate contribution to rangewide declines in grassland birds.

The owl field is immediately east of Woolsey Wet Prairie, adjacent Fayetteville’s Westside wastewater treatment plant. Habitat-wise, it looks exactly like Woolsey prior to the ongoing restoration efforts.

A group of us (including Leesia, Andy, Carolina Monteiro, Brandon Schmidt, and Jacque Brown) linked up last evening (Jan. 17) to look for American Tree Sparrows at Woolsey (~50 in one singing flock!), then crossed Broyles Ave. to walk the owl field. We found 6 Short-eared Owls roosting on the side of a big prairie mound, out in the wide-open middle of the big field. So we got great looks at the birds. Jacque Brown collected fascinating images of flying owls. We discovered Tallgrass Prairie attributes that remain. It is as good as any I’ve seen in northwestern Arkansas.

At dusk we linked up with Sam Holschbach & Dan Scheiman, fresh from their birding loop through northwest Arkansas. A thin gray ground fog begin to form, but we could still see several Short-eared Owls working the old former prairie fields, gliding up and down among mounds. Overhead, in the dark sky, there was just a sliver of moon, and nearby, bright Jupiter, with thee moons visible through the bins. There was just enough light to silhouette overhead flocks of Mallards (& probably shovelers and Gadwalls) as they flew into the shallow ponds and flooded grasslands at Woolsey Wet Prairie.

Flower, garden and Nature Society to hold annual roundtable discussion Saturday, January 16, 2010

1
From the President........
Out with the old, in with the new! It's 2010, a new year. We
computer programmers tend to count from zero rather than
one like normal people, so I could even make a case for it
being a new decade, too, but I'd probably just confuse
people even more than I usually do.
I hope your holidays were happy ones, and that you're
looking forward to our FGNS programs and activities in
2010 as much as I am. If you'll let me wax philosophical
for a moment, I've said often that our membership is our
biggest asset, and in thinking about that I feel it's because
we have such a wide variety of people, with a huge range
of interests and talents and even opinions. What's really
remarkable is that our group seems to be so open and
friendly that all of these different people and views and
opinions can not only coexist peaceably but work together.
If you're a part of very many volunteer-driven groups you'll
realize just how unusual that is!
As I mentioned in December, Lynn Rogers has put together
another great year of programs (well, the November
speaker looks a little suspect, but that's months away and
maybe he'll shape up by then). It's become a tradition that
our January program is a round-table discussion, and they
are always fun. It's always amazing to see, from the
questions that are asked and the
answers given, all the things our
members know and want to know.
See you on Saturday,
Steve
January 2010
Volume 15 Number 1
We come from the earth
we return to the earth
and in between
we garden.

THE FLOWER, GARDEN, AND NATURE SOCIETY OF NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS
FGNS Officers
Steve Marak
President
3460 Roma Drive
Springdale, AR 72762
H 479 271-5278
samarak@cox.net
Heather Cook
Vice-president
4436 Highland Knolls Rd
Rogers, AR 72758
H 479 366-9067
aacook@cox.net
Joyce Mendenhall
Secretary
689 Winbaugh Lane
Fayetteville, AR 72703
H 479 466-7265
joycemendenhall@yahoo.
com
Sharon Haley
Treasurer
1 Red Bluff Road
Hindsville, AR 72738
H 479-789-2127
wareaglesharon@gmail
.com
Gail Pianalto
Past President
P.O. Box 444
Tontitown, AR 72770
H 479 361-2198
pgp31@cox.net
___________________
Paula Marinoni
Founder
617 W. Lafayette
Fayetteville, AR 72701
H 479 444-6170
pm@paulamarinoni.com
Join us Saturday
January 20
for the annual
Roundtable
Bring a favorite garden
tool for show and tell.
**Location**
Northwest Technical Institute
709 South Old Missouri Rd
Springdale, AR
(1/2 mile South of Jones Center on
Hwy 265) Enter at south door.
Inside
President's Message p. 1
Botanically
Speaking p. 2
New Officers p. 3
In The Greenhouse p. 3
Calender p. 4
What's On the Web p. 4
2010 Speaker List p. 5Red-bellied woodpecker
on our feeder.

Joe Neal describes birding trip in Maysville area on January 6, 2010

The Ozarks in western Arkansas had a short interlude in winter yesterday. The fields are all still covered with a glaze of snow & ice, and much more so just north of Fayetteville. But, temps got into the 40s and Benton County road crews managed to plow gravel roads. So I tried a trip up to Maysville. There are lots of old prairie fields along Arkansas 102 from Decatur toward Maysville. I saw my first Horned Lark flock in Decatur, dodging poultry feed trucks, farmers hauling big round hay bales, and me, and then found flocks right on the roadside in the most open areas to Maysville. Lapland Longspurs were associated with several of these flocks. Horned Lark flocks: 47 (3 Laps), 20, 46, 10, 19 (1 Lap), etc. Flocks of Savannah Sparrows were even more numerous and more widespread. American Pipits in 5 spots, including several birds bobbing on the snow before dashing to the open roadside. Besides these: American Tree Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Harris’s Sparro
ws, Dark-eyed Juncos, big meadowlark flocks, starlings, etc. – all along the roads. The reason is obvious: Benton County prairies constitute the epicenter of the northwest Arkansas poultry universe, and grain dedicated to commercial birds gets spilled along these roads-- hard times food for hungry mid-winter sparrows and lots of other birds.

The big flock of Lapland Longspurs in a harvested broom sorghum field north of Maysville (~0.4 miles N of the intersection of Wet Prairie & Leonard Ranch roads) has grown in size. I first saw this flock Dec. 27 and estimated it at ~175. I would say yesterday the number was closer to 250-300, but there were such swirling masses of birds there (American Pipits, Lapland Longspurs, Savannah Sparrows, meadowlarks, and hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds & and a few Brewer’s) I could be off by a lot + or -. The attraction is obviously a lot of waste seed from a late harvest. The grain goes into silage for dairy cows (the Crawley dairy farm is nearby).

I photographed a SAY’S PHOEBE that was working the edges of poultry houses of the Va-Meng Simmons poultry farm on Wet Prairie Road, 0.1 mile south of the sorghum field, or 0.3 miles N of the intersection of Wet Prairie & Leonard Ranch Rds. There were Savannah Sparrows, American Pipits, etc in the same place. Poultry houses, which are heated, must provide some buffer from low temps, plus there is that spilled grain there, too. Besides the roadside itself, thawed grounbd around chicken houses is about it. I have no idea what the phoebe was eating, but it was closely working the edges of poultry houses, so maybe some insects make it there, too.

Finally, I saw what I first thought & hoped was a big white falcon, but turned out mostly all white under the wings. I was all jumping up & down until I realized it was an immaculate male harrier, the white in its underwings magnified & intensified by the snow covered fields. We see few of them here, so it was a wonderful in an aesthetic way.

Beaver Lake and Hobbes area to be site of birding activities on January 16, 2010

Joe Neal reports:
Since we have now moved into 2010, this is a reminder that the first Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society field trip is Saturday, January 16. We are meeting at Hobbs State Park - Conservation Area, 20201 E. Highway 12, Rogers at 9 AM. We will pack into as few cars as possible and drive the 5 miles down to Rocky Branch on Beaver Lake to view winter waterfowl and hopefully find land birds in the cedar and shortleaf pine stands adjacent. The productivity of mid-winter waterfowl trips to Beaver varies immensely -- from a waste of time & gas to rarities like Pacific Loon or Western Grebe. We will be hoping for a day with little or no wind, or if slight wind, from the south. Dress warmly -- but we will never be far from cars. (Note: no bathrooms are open at Rocky Branch now). After Rocky Branch we will return to Hobbes State Park & can bird some more there for anyone interested and picnic. At 2 PM, I'm presenting a program on winter birds in the Hobbes-Beaver Lake Area as part of the
park's lecture series. I am told there will be snacks (not lunch) provided at the park as part of this activity. The field trip & lecture are free & open to the public. You do not need to be a member of NWAAS or be an experienced birder to participate in this or any other field trip. If you have additional questions, call me at 479-521-1858.

Natural Resources Conservation Service removed some pretty healthy riparian vegetation from Scull Creek but left some bad spots with targeted debris blocking stream flow

Please click on images to ENLARGE.

The Scull Creek trail bridge at Ash Street and Chestnut Avenue has had this same debris hung up on it for maybe three months or more since the worst flood of the fall of 2009 sent water flowing over the bridge, but the NCRS contractors ignored it and spent a lot of their time paid for by federal money cutting live trees from the riparian zone and overflow areas of Scull Creek and other streams in Fayetteville, such as the Town Branch.

The good news is that the native wildflowers along the same stretch of trail in the Scull Creek riparian zone were mostly left standing. That means more seed to sprout in spring and more seed for the wild birds to eat. The square stems with now-wrinkled huge leaves still forming water-holding structures along them are cup flowers. a species that grew 10 feet tall and more at World Peace Wetland Prairie and many other prairie areas in Northwest Arkansas in 2009.

By morning, tall grass and tall wildflower seed and other sources such as this native smartweed near Scull Creek and native buckbrush and nonnative China honeysuckle and nonnative privet berries will be among the few places for migrating birds to feed if the snowfall is as predicted.

Wouldn't the birds love it if the trash were picked up from the ditches running from the streets and the apartment dwellers would actually help?

Remember that birdfeeders are important for wintering birds but that every stick of vegetation and every square foot of natural soil left in place are more important for birds and other wildlife.

December 20, 2009, Christmas Bird Count for Fayetteville, Arkansas

Provided by Joe Neal

Greater White-fronted Goose 3
Ross’s Goose (2 count week; 3rd time on count)
Canada Goose 868
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 118
American Wigeon 6
Mallard 223
Northern Shoveler 190 (highest for count)
Am. Green-winged Teal 63
Northern Pintail 1
Ring-necked Duck 22
Lesser Scaup 6
Bufflehead 56
Hooded Merganser 2
Common Merganser 1 (5th time on count)
Red-breasted Merganser 2 (3rd time on count)
Ruddy Duck 7
Pied-billed Grebe 19
Great Blue Heron 21
Black Vulture 22
Turkey Vulture 216 (2nd highest for count)
Bald Eagle 10 (mature8; immature 2)
Northern Harrier 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4
Cooper's Hawk 8
Red-shouldered Hawk 22 (highest for count)
Red-tailed Hawk: 36
American Kestrel 33
Merlin 1 (only 2nd time on count)
SORA 1 (first for count)
American Coot 148
Killdeer 79
Least Sandpiper 2 (4th time on count)
Wilson’s Snipe 39
Ring-billed Gull 311 (high for count)
Rock Pigeon 311
Eurasian Collared-Dove 84 (high for count)
Mourning Dove 211
Greater Roadrunner 3
Eastern Screech-Owl 1
Great Horned Owl 7
Barred Owl 1
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD 1 (first for count)
Belted Kingfisher 14
Red-bellied Woodpecker 51
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 18
Downy Woodpecker 78
Hairy Woodpecker 12
Northern Flicker 46
Pileated Woodpecker 8
Eastern Phoebe 4
Loggerhead Shrike 1
Blue Jay 52
American Crow 636 (count high)
Carolina Chickadee 190
Tufted Titmouse 124
White-breasted Nuthatch 54
Brown Creeper 8
Carolina Wren 122 (count high)
Winter Wren 7
Sedge Wren 6
Marsh Wren 1 (4th time on count)
Golden-crowned Kinglet 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 13
Eastern Bluebird 267 (count high)
Hermit Thrush 3
American Robin 90
Northern Mockingbird 108
Brown Thrasher 3
European Starling 12855
American Pipit 39
Cedar Waxwing 63
Yellow-rumped Warbler 100
Field Sparrow 10 (2nd lowest on count)
Savannah Sparrow 123
Le Conte's Sparrow 1
Fox Sparrow 6
Song Sparrow 87
Swamp Sparrow 86
White-throated Sparrow 241
White-crowned Sparrow 107
Dark-eyed Junco 603
Northern Cardinal 308
Red-winged Blackbird 791
Eastern Meadowlark 191
Western Meadowlark 2
Rusty Blackbird 4
Common Grackle 6 (one of lowest on count)
Brown-headed Cowbird 164
Purple Finch 1
House Finch 64
Pine Siskin (3 count week)
American Goldfinch 131
House Sparrow 158
Blackbird species 8050




Total species 94: count day: 92; 2 additional species were identified for the count week (3 days before and 3 days after count day). Notable misses: Several diving duck species (weather too mild), Eastern Towhee, Harris’s Sparrow, etc. We also missed Double-crested Cormorant – first miss since 1996. But still a GREAT day. Good work Fayetteville CBCers!


COMMENTS

So if you were going to pick the weather for your CBC day, what would you want? This year we had warmth & and almost no wind. A perfect day to be out all day.
The great star birds for this year are certainly the Sora found by Jason Luscier’s group
&

Rufous Hummingbird snagged by the Mulholland group at the home of Paul & Ann Johnson in Farmington. They got to the house first thing in the morning and had the bird within 5 minutes. Jacque brown, David Oakley, and others have collected images. I have included one of Jacque’s images of this bird in the report
Both species are firsts for the Fayetteville CBC, dating back to 1961.

Thanks to you 43 PARTICIPANTS (includes 40 in field, 3 at feeder): Douglas James, Andrea Green, Nancy Varvil, Gwen Bennett; Mike Mlodinow, David Chapman, Steve Erwin, Michael Lehmann, Jason Luscier, Christy & Mike Slay; Jeff Kimmons, Maureen McClung; Kim Smith, James Morgan, Warren Fields, Lynn Armstrong; Joanie Patterson, Donald Ouellette; Paige & Mary Bess Mulhollan, Sarah Lehnen, Josh Newman, Sarah King, Kelly Mulhollan; Andrew Scaboo, Brandon Schmidt; Ben Burnette; Joe Neal, Richard Stauffacher, Roseann Barnhill, David Oakley, Jacque Brown, Louise Mann; Joan Reynolds, Stephanie Cribbs, Leigh Helm, Scott Michaud, Jane Purtle, Adam Shaffer. At the feeders: Elizabeth James, Bob & Sara Caulk. Finally, Taylor Long joined several groups taking pictures of the CBC.

Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society generously agreed to donate the $5 per participant fee which goes to National Audubon to organize, store, and make accessible the massive mid-winter bird data so useful to the public and to science. This will be around $200. Thank you NWAAS for helping make this count a roaring success.

Thanks to Doug and Elizabeth James for AGAIN hosting another enjoyable after count tally-up & social gathering at their home. Doug spent all day in the field and Elizabeth spent part of the day observing at feeders, then had all of us over.
Finally, for a hecka of a lot more data, check out & play as you wish, by visiting the CBC section of the National Audubon website. -- Joe Neal

Democrat/Gazette December 21, 2009, editorial advocating saving sale-barn land for Fayetteville National Cemetery pleases majority of veterans and neighbors, but the problem is that saving Town Branch homeowners from flooding downhill from the cemetery is still being ignored: VA already at work preparing to dredge and fill wetland and pipe stormwater directly to Hill Avenue and thus to the 11th Street bridge on the Town Branch

Please click on individual photos to ENLARGE view of wetland area along the north edge of the Fayetteville National Cemetery being prepared for dredging and filling for grave sites. The depressional wetland developed over centuries because it is above a bedrock karst area where groundwater sinks into the underground caverns and aquifers and reduces surface-water flooding. When it is piped to the Town Branch it will further aggravate the flooding danger between Ellis and Van Buren avenues already created by the University of Arkansas' failure properly to manage stormwater on the campus and by paving and development along Martin Luther King Boulevard and on the Aspen Ridge/Hill Place project.

Save acres for vets

Now buy the land for the cemetery

Monday, December 21, 2009

Print item

LITTLE ROCK — LIKE WARM Arkansas Christmases, dry eyes after It’s a Wonderful Life, and little boys from the Natural State scribbling “LSU gear” on their annual wish lists, some things are just not meant to be. That’s the way it seems with the controversial student apartments that apparently won’t be built in south Fayetteville. You know, where Washington County’s historic livestock auction house operated until June.
A lawsuit that sought to override the city’s denial of a rezoning request seems to be kaput. Campus Crest developers of North Carolina wanted to buy the property from the auction house’s owner, Bill Joe Bartholomew, and build 500 apartments on the property. But the drawn-out legal ordeal surrounding this purchase became just too much to bear. Mr. Bartholomew now wants his suit dismissed.
The proposed sale to Campus Crest became a flashpoint for veterans and others last summer. They wanted to secure the site across Government Avenue from the city’s National Cemetery so they might preserve the sacred nature of that location. They basically argued that more student apartments in an overbuilt Fayetteville wasn’t an appropriate use of the land. They had a point. The former auction barn parcel does provide an ideally located space to enlarge this rapidly filling cemetery.
Fayetteville’s council denied Mr. Bartholomew’s request to rezone his property. The rezoning would have sealed the sale and enabled Campus Crest to purchase and develop the property. That’s when Mr. Bartholomew filed his suit against the city.

This latest development means the corporation that oversees the cemetery’s operation, Congress, the national office of Veteran’s Affairs, and veterans’ organizations need to find a way to purchase this property. The space needs to be preserved and protected as a final resting place for our veterans in the decades to come.

Joe Neal suggests less shopping, more protecting

less shopping, more protecting‏

From:	Joe Neal (joeneal@uark.edu)

Back in 2000 I saw a Red-tailed Hawk nest in the stout fork of a big old prairie-era post oak. The oak was part of a small forest developed on former Tallgrass Prairie habitat well marked by impressive prairie mounds. There were Northern Bobwhites in the surrounding fields and Painted Buntings in the shrublands. Visitors to northwest Arkansas and us locals are invariably drawn to this area now because it is Steel Creek Crossing in the burgeoning retail-entertainment district in the vicinity of NW Arkansas Mall.

There was a big battle over these old prairie oaks in 2000, begun when Mary Lightheart climbed what she called the “mother tree” and vowed to stay until development plans were dropped. She kept her vow to stay, but eventually law enforcement brought her down and arrested others who tried to take her place.

I was out Christmas shopping in that area yesterday. What remains of that old oak barren is a handful of fantastic mature native trees and prairie mounds between two popular retailers, Kohl’s and Target . Kohl’s refused to make any compromise with their store building plans at the time. Folks who supported Lightheart handed out bumper stickers after the fracas that read, “I will never shop at Kohl’s.” Trash from the parking lots collects there, mute witness to what happens when a worthwhile fight is lost.

I haven’t seen one of those “I’ll never shop…” adorning a bumper in a few years, so I guess this too has now largely faded. Just from an ecological viewpoint, the little remnant is worth a visit because it is a perfect example of a unique Ozark habitat once much more widespread in northwestern Arkansas. There’s plenty of parking nearby, too.

But I am a historian and a birder, and when I’m out that way, I always stop and look at the oaks and the mounds, remembering that big hawk nest, the bobwhites, and buntings. Bobwhites and Painted Buntings are two of our native birds whose declines are thought by some to be a mystery. Stop by the little woodlot. The reason for decline, at least in our western Arkansas neck-of-the-woods, is palpable.

I also notice that while I did, and do, support the notion of boycotting environmental travesty, like others here, I move on. It’s like being push out to sea by the rip tide. The people who work in Kohl’s and Target look and likely feel just like you & I.

The trash out there in the pitiful prairie remnant got me to thinking yesterday about whether or not any of it was worthwhile, even from the get go. I think Lightheart and the others were right to protest , even if against overwhelming odds. I don’t mean to celebrate “tilting at windmills.” But how else will native birds and their habitats receive protection when they are jeopardized? How else will politicians and developers be put on notice that their decisions have real consequences, and not just the positives that get headlines.

I agree with the reputed views of a Populist agitator from the 19th century, who supposedly told a bunch of angry Kansans, "What you farmers need to do is raise less corn and more Hell." I suppose that’s what Lightheart had in mind when she climbed her mother tree – less shopping, more protecting.

Joe Neal's wonderful work now available online: Click on this headline to visit his link

Sample of Joe Neal's writing

Fasting activists inspiring others in Copenhagen to hang tough and demand Climate Justice NOW!

"I support Climate Justice Fast!" sent you a message on Facebook...‏
From: Facebook (notification+pu1pu1md@facebookmail.com)
Sent: Sun 12/13/09 4:23 PM
To: Aubrey James Shepherd (aubreyshepherd@hotmail.com)
Anna C Keenan sent a message to the members of I support Climate Justice Fast!

--------------------
Subject: Hunger for Survival - Thursday 17 December 2009

Hello, Climate Justice Fast supporters,

http://www.facebook.com/anna.c.keenan?ref=profile#/event.php?eid=227106867068&ref=mf

During the COP15 conference, the Climate Justice Fast here in Copenhagen has inspired people around the world to higher levels of activism, and has generated a huge number of media hits from Turkey to Japan to Greece to Korea and all around the world!

Due to the inspiration that the fasters have provided to - in particular - the 1000-strong youth activist contingent at the conference, the youth groups and a number of large environmental organisations have decided that they would like to invite their members to fast for one day - THIS THURSDAY 17 DECEMBER - in support of the CJF, and solidarity with the millions who have and will lose their lives due to the preventable and involuntary hunger, disease and conflict resulting from climate change.

We have created a facebook event here - sign up if you are willing to join the day of fasting and reflection: http://www.facebook.com/anna.c.keenan?ref=profile#/event.php?eid=227106867068&ref=mf

Many notable climate and sustainability leaders, including Vandana Shiva, will also be joining in this fast and moral call.

“If not us then who, and if not now then when?”

One day before the Heads of State arrive to finalise the deal in Copenhagen, we are calling for all people, everywhere across the world, to join a single global day of fasting – voluntarily going without food – and personal reflection on the climate crisis, and what we as humanity need to do to solve it.

Commit to join the day of fasting by joining this facebook event - and inviting all of your friends!

http://www.facebook.com/anna.c.keenan?ref=profile#/event.php?eid=227106867068&ref=mf

Now, we must be done with trying to persuade politicians with debates and intellectual argument. They have heard it all already. Now they face a decision about what is simply morally right.

On Thursday 17th December, we will therefore not yell, but instead quiet our voices and raise up our hearts in silence, not telling our leaders what they should do, but instead use the historically symbolic and powerful act of the fast to ask our leaders to reflect on the gravity of the choices they are about to make.

http://www.facebook.com/anna.c.keenan?ref=profile#/event.php?eid=227106867068&ref=mf




*** UPDATE on the fasters ***

Sara Svensson, Anna Keenan and Paul Connor are all now on the 39th day of their fast, having started on the 6th of November. Matthieu Balle, a solar panel installer from Paris who joined us immediately after hearing about us on French radio, is now reaching his 22nd day. Daniel Lau and Michael Morphett have both bravely decided to end their fasts, following medical advice, after both passing 30 days without food - a heroic feat.

The fasters are all in high spirits and good health, and are under appropriate medical supervision.

****

Cedar waxwings showing up in big flocks on December 10, 2009, and eating every berry they can find

Please click on images to ENLARGE view of cedar waxwings at World Peace Wetland Prairie on December 10, 2009. Many species of birds have been passing through Northwest Arkansas this week after a massive winter storm pushed across the upper midwest.

Audubon Arkansas open house from 4 to 7 p.m. today; Environmental Action Committee at 5:30 p.m. in Room 326 of city hall

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009
Audubon Arkansas open house from 4 to 7 p.m. today; Environmental Action Committee at 5:30 p.m. in Room 326 of city hall
The Holiday Season is a busy time so here's a little reminder about our Holiday Open House! If you have not yet RSVP'd don't forget to drop us a line and let us know your are coming! We are looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Please Join Us

Thursday, December 10, 2009
From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at
34 East Center Street
Fayetteville, Arkansas

For the
Audubon Arkansas
Holiday Open House

The staff and board of Audubon Arkansas invite you to join us for food, refreshments, conversation and conservation. Spouses, children, and friends welcome.
Please RSVP to mviney@audubon.org
Wishing You Happy Holidays!!!

Verbesina virginica among several species that serve in winter as ice plants! Find it early mornings in a variety of places in addition to World Peace Wetland Prairie

Please click on images to ENLARGE photo. Ice-plant displays are like snowflakes. No two are alike. Drive along roads with ditches that have not been mowed back all the way and spot Verbesina virginica with ice around its base on cold, clear mornings. ANOTHER REASON NOT to mow roadsides and old prairie areas. Sometimes, if the mowers haven't cut close to the ground but have taken off the tops of the often 6-foot-tall plants, the ice formations may be spotted by carefully watching for short stem remains.

Natural Resources Conservation Service contractors use Bobcat loader in the bed of the Town Branch without permission on day major watershed-protection news announced

Please click on image to go to Flickr site and enlarge and search for related photos and information.

What part of NO don't these guys understand?
The living things in a half mile of this urban tributary of the West Fork of the White River were displaced and their habitat damaged for four days in November 2009 with no apology.

On the day that these photos were taken, the NRCS announced a huge effort to improve water quality in many states, including Arkansas. How does treating the riparian zones of Fayetteville's tributaries of the White River and the Illinois River watersheds make sense when the agency's overall mission includes protecting and enhancing such areas?

Release No. 0586.09
Contact:
Brad Fisher (202) 720-4024


SECRETARY VILSACK ANNOUNCES 41 WATERSHEDS TO TAKE PART IN MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN INITIATIVE
Initiative Will Provide Approximately $320 Million in USDA Assistance In Basin Area

WASHINGTON, November 23, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that 41 watersheds in 12 states, known as Focus Areas, have been selected to participate in a new initiative to improve water quality and the overall health of the Mississippi River Basin. The selected watersheds cover over 42 million acres, or more than 5 percent of the Basin's land area.

"The USDA is committed to working cooperatively with agricultural producers, partner organizations and State and local agencies to improve water quality and the quality of life for the tens of millions of people who live in the Mississippi River Basin, the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative will help" Vilsack said. "Today's announcement is another step toward achieving this goal, and I encourage as many eligible participants as possible to join us in this major conservation effort."

The Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI), which was announced on September 24, 2009, will provide approximately $320 million in USDA financial assistance over the next four years for voluntary projects in priority watersheds in Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin. MRBI will help producers implement conservation and management practices that prevent, control and trap nutrient runoff from agricultural land.

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) manages the initiative. NRCS State Conservationists from the 12 watershed states selected the watersheds with guidance from State Technical Committees and state water quality agencies. Selections were based on the potential for managing nitrogen and phosphorus -- nutrients associated with water quality problems in the Basin -- while maintaining agricultural productivity and benefiting wildlife.
Next, smaller watershed projects will be selected through a competitive process under NRCS' Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI). NRCS assistance will be leveraged with contributions from partners, expanding the capacity available to improve water quality throughout the Basin.
Three requests for project proposals will be announced in the next several weeks, including one for CCPI. Funding for CCPI projects will come from NRCS' Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program and Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program.
Two other requests for proposals will fund projects through the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program and Conservation Innovation Grants. For information about these programs, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs .
State(s) Watershed
Arkansas/Missouri - Cache
Arkansas - Lake Conway-Point Remove
Arkansas - L'Anguille
Arkansas/Missouri - Lower St. Francis
Illinois - Lower Illinois - Senachwine Lake
Illinois - Upper Illinois
Illinois - Vermilion (Upper Mississippi River sub-basin)
Illinois/Indiana - Vermilion (Upper Ohio River sub-basin)
Indiana - Eel
Indiana - Upper East Fork White
Indiana - Wildcat
Indiana/Ohio - Upper Wabash
Iowa - Boone
Iowa - Maquoketa
Iowa - North Raccoon
Iowa/Minnesota - Upper Cedar
Kentucky/Tennessee - Bayou De Chien-Mayfield
Kentucky - Licking
Kentucky - Lower Green
Louisiana - Mermentau
Louisiana/Arkansas - Bayou Macon
Louisiana/Arkansas - Boeuf River
Minnesota - Middle Minnesota
Minnesota - Root
Minnesota - Sauk
Mississippi - Big Sunflower
Mississippi/Louisiana/Arkansas - Deer-Steele
Mississippi - Upper Yazoo
Missouri/Iowa - Lower Grand
Missouri - North Fork Salt
Missouri - South Fork Salt
Missouri/Arkansas - Little River Ditches
Ohio/Indiana - Upper Great Miami
Ohio - Upper Scioto
Tennessee - Forked Deer
Tennessee/Kentucky - Obion
Tennessee - South Fork Obion
Tennessee/Kentucky - Red River
Wisconsin/Illinois - Sugar
Wisconsin/Illinois - Upper Rock
Wisconsin/Illinois - Pecatonica
For information about the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative, including eligibility requirements, please visit the MRBI web page at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/mrbi/mrbi_overview.html or your USDA Service Center. A map of the project area is available the MRBI Programs webpage.
Subscribe to NRCS news releases and get other agency information at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov or contact NRCS Public Affairs at 202-720-3210.
NRCS celebrates its 75th year of service in 2010.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272(voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

Waterfowl and many other wetland species must be grateful for the work of Ducks Unlimited, Audubon and many other conservation groups

Please click on image to go to Flickr site and ENLARGE view of DU thanksgiving notice.

WPWP protected to protect Town Branch downstream, but federal money spent to destroy Town Branch: Workers take a break near 11th Street between Hill Avenue and Duncan Avenue

Federal destruction of Town Branch riparian timber and soil

Aubrey james | MySpace Video

Theo Witsell of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission to speak on rare habitat and newly found wildflower species

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of invitation to FGNS meeting on November 21, 2009.

Audubon Arkansas invites birders and conservationists to Holiday Open House on December 10, 2009

Please Join Us

Thursday, December 10, 2009
From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at
34 East Center Street
Fayetteville, Arkansas

For the
Audubon Arkansas
Holiday Open House

The staff and board of Audubon Arkansas invite you to join us for food, refreshments, conversation and conservation. Spouses, children, and friends welcome.
Please RSVP to mviney@audubon.org
Wishing You Happy Holidays!!!

Red Oak Park plan would tear up the ground and displace mature trees and other significant vegetation but do nothing to protect the park from the huge upstream flow of water from the south, east and west

Red Oak Park Plan

MAYBE, this plan would help protect the property of the landowner downstream to the north toward Hamestring Creek. But it will totally miss the point of trying to protect the existing mature trees and will allow an incredible increase in erosion during construction and have only a minimal chance of improving the park in any credible way.

The only worthwhile and effective use of the money set aside for this plan would be KEEPING the water WATER WHERE IT FALLS: On the lots in the subdivisions to the south, east and west in raingardens created in the yards and in the treeless portion of the park at the southeast corner.

Helping people create raingardens using the natural soil remaining in the area and encouraging NOT to mow but to protect native vegetation there would decrease the dangerous runoff to a manageable level.

It is illogical to spend money doing some that won't meet the goals of the people who originally began complaining about the situation.

Tour of Woolsey Wet Prairie and Fayetteville's westside sewage-treatment plant at 2 p.m. today precedes big evening for Illinois River Watershed Partnership

Illinois River Watershed Partnership
Annual Stakeholders Meeting
November 10, 2009
2:00 to 3:30 pm Tour of Fayetteville West Side Treatment Plant and Woolsey Wet Prairie
4:00 pm. Tour of Fayetteville Sam's Club
5:30 pm Hors d'oeuvres at Arvest Ballpark, Springdale
6:00 pm Sponsor Recognition and Golden Paddle Awards Reception
7:00 pm. Annual Membership and Board Meeting
Thank you for your dedicated efforts and support
to preserve, protect and restore the Illinois River Watershed.

To see evidence of the need for protection, please click on image to ENLARGE example of construction-site erosion in the Illinois River Watershed.

From Northwest Arkansas environment central