sandhill cranes in alaska - national audubon society | audubon

AUDUBON | ANNUAL REPORT 201012

Protecting the FlywaysEach spring and fall, millions of birds, from tiny Ruby-throatedHummingbirds to majestic Golden Eagles, take wing across vastexpanses of the Western Hemisphere. Audubon staff, Chapters,volunteers, and U.S. and international partners are ensuringsafe passage and healthy breeding, wintering, and restinghabitat at Important Bird Areas all along the way.

Shore BirdsShore Birds

Sea Birds

Land Birds

Raptors

Waterfowl

International Important Bird AreasIdentified to Date

U. S. Important Bird AreasIdentified to Date

Sandhill Cranesin Alaska

Shorebirds

Seabirds

Land Birds

Raptors

Waterfowl

International Important Bird Areas Identified to date

U.S. Important Bird AreasIdentified to date

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Shore BirdsShore Birds

Sea Birds

Land Birds

International Important Bird AreasIdentified to Date

U. S. Important Bird AreasIdentified to Date

ANNUAL REPORT 2010 | AUDUBON 13

CONSERVATION IMPACT3Promoted protection of more than 370 million acres ofvital bird habitat in 2,500 IBAs

3Raised public awareness of 424 Globally Significant IBAs

3Engaged 200 IBA Adoption Groups in hands-on citizen science and conservation

3Leveraged IBA status to influence land use and planningdecisions in more than a dozen states

Important Bird Areasthe important bird areas (iba) program transcendspolitical and geographic borders to connect bird conser-vation around the globe. As the U.S. partner of BirdLifeInternational, Audubon is leading the way in identifyingand protecting critical habitat and in forging partnershipswith conservationists throughout the hemisphere. Over 370 million acres in the U.S.—an area larger thanCalifornia, Florida, New York, and Texas combined—have been designated IBAs, and each of these 2,500 sites isa hub for conservation stewardship and action.

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VERMONTAudubon Vermont’s ForestStewardship Initiative surpassed120,000 acres in 2010. Since2006, this innovative programhas engaged individuallandowners in habitat manage-ment practices that benefit birdsnesting in the state’s forests,including Audubon WatchListspecies like the Wood Thrushand Canada Warbler. The initia-tive’s influence is also spreadingthrough training for professionalforesters responsible for man-agement of over one millionacres in the state. In collabora-tion with Audubon New York,Vermont staff laid the ground-work for outreach and trainingtargeting additional foresterswho own and manage millionsof acres in the Northern Forest,including the Adirondacks.

NEW YORKNortheast grassland habitat,important to many species ofAtlantic Flyway birds, got a boostfrom Audubon New York’s workwith the State Department ofEnvironmental Conservation onthe Landowner Incentive

Program. Audubon helps recruitprogram participants and writesmanagement plans for them.Each receives payment for man-aging land to support grasslandspecies like Grasshopper Sparrowand Bobolink. This vulnerablegroup of birds has declined morein the past 40 years than otherbirds in New York.

MAINEAtlantic Puffin colonies onMaine’s coastal islands achievedrecord-high populations, thanksto Audubon’s Project Puffin.Now in its thirty-seventh year,this innovative program is behindthe resurgence of nesting puffincolonies on three Maine coastislands. Razorbills, CommonMurres, Common and ArcticTerns, and other species are alsoreaping its benefits. Meanwhile,techniques pioneered in Maineare helping to restore nestingislands for birds around the globe.

NORTH CAROLINAThe Piping Plover is only one ofthe Atlantic Flyway’s coastalspecies that winter on NorthCarolina’s Outer Banks, including


AtlanticFlywayThe Atlantic Flyway is a superhighway forsome of the most proficient flyers of thebird kingdom, such as Red Knots, some ofwhich journey 9,300 miles from TheArctic to the tip of Tierra del Fuegofor the winter. Audubon’s IBA safety netfor these long-distance travelers (andtheir cousins that do not migrate as far)extends from the boreal forests of theNortheast to the wetlands of theEverglades, and reaches south of theborder through our InternationalAlliances Program.

Red Knots in Florida

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Cape Hatteras National Seashore.Audubon North Carolina and itsconservation partners achieved avictory in their ongoing fight toprotect habitat for this federally-declared threatened specieswhen a federal judge uphelddesignation of these sites as critical winter habitat.

FLORIDAOne of the richest ecosystems inthe world, the Everglades hasbeen ditched, diked, anddrained, isolating native habitatsfrom life-giving water and result-ing in massive loss of wildlife.This year, after twenty years ofadvocacy work from Audubonof Florida and local Chapters,allies, and agencies, constructionbegan on a one-mile bridge overthe Tamiami Trail—a roadwaythat crosses the Everglades andcuts off water flow to EvergladesNational Park. This will be thefirst of several miles of elevatedroadways allowing water to flowfreely into the River of Grass, acritical step for the recovery ofthe region’s once vast abun-dance of birdlife, such as RoseateSpoonbills, Wood Storks, andSnail Kites.

Warren KingOrnithologist/BoardMemberAudubon Vermont

A longtime leader of OtterCreek Audubon Society,Warren has also been a boardmember of Audubon Vermontsince its founding. The formerSmithsonian Instituteornithologist and recipient ofAudubon’s 2005 Charles H.Callison Award shares hispassion for conservationwith his wife, Barry. TheForest Bird Initiative is one ofKing’s proudest AudubonVermont achievements.

“It serves as a model forforest bird programs up anddown the Eastern Seaboard,”he explained. “The idea is towork with forest landownersto improve their woodlandmanagement plans, with theintent of keeping commonmigratory songbirds common.”



MINNESOTA AND IOWATimber management practicesin northeastern Iowa’s YellowRiver Forest Important Bird Areaare more bird-friendly, thanks toa 33-year Audubon study ofRed-Shouldered Hawks’ nestingpreferences and reproductivesuccess. Science is also at theheart of Audubon Minnesota’ssix-year project to develop thestate’s first Breeding Bird Atlas.Engaging 600 citizen scientists,including representatives of allChapters in the state as well asother partners, it will framestatewide conservation prioritieswhen completed in 2014.Meanwhile, the new informationit provides is improving conser-vation effectiveness every year.

ILLINOISBobolinks, Henslow’s Sparrows,and Grasshopper Sparrows areonly a few of the grasslandspecies that benefit from the 21IBAs in the Chicago metropoli-tan area. Audubon of theChicago Region, Thorn CreekAudubon, Chicago AudubonSociety, and a cadre of dedicat-ed volunteers and partners are

restoring grassland habitat thatis critical for many MississippiFlyway migrants. Particularlyimpressive are the results atSpring Creek Forest Preserve.When habitat restoration beganin earnest six years ago, grass-land birds were barely hangingon. Now, thanks to the commit-ment of local volunteers andother conservation partners,the site is proudly known asSpring Creek IBA.

ARKANSASAir quality, human health, andArkansas’ largest rookery ofwading birds—including herons,egrets, ibis, and anhingas—arethreatened by a proposed coal-fired power plant, potentiallylocated across the street fromthe Arkansas Little RiverBottoms IBA. AudubonArkansas and its conservationpartners’ aggressive fight toprevent construction scored avictory with a recent courtdecision requiring the develop-er to halt work in the site’s wet-lands, pending assessment ofenvironmental impacts andthreats to endangered speciessuch as the Interior Least Tern.

MississippiFlywayNearly one-third of the continent’s birdspecies spend at least part of their liveson the Mississippi Flyway. But the riverand its watershed face a daunting array ofenvironmental threats, from upriverpollution to coastal erosion in Louisiana.Audubon’s Mississippi River Initiativebrings together volunteers, Chapters,citizen scientists, and grassrootsactivists to protect and restore America’sRiver and to preserve habitat in the U.S.and in Central and South America.

Red-winged Blackbirds withYellow-headed Blackbirds



MISSOURIIn its fifth year, AudubonMissouri’s IBA program engagesChapters and other partners tomonitor and protect 47 sitesacross the state, including fiveGlobally Significant IBAs.Grassland birds face particularthreats from habitat loss, andspecies like the state-endan-gered Greater Prairie-Chicken,Upland Sandpiper, and Henslow’sSparrow are reaping the benefitsof work at Cole Camp Prairiesand Grand River Grassland IBAs.In the last three years, ColeCamp Prairies has shown thehighest populations of Henslow’sever recorded for the site.

Rosabel MiroExecutive DirectorPanama Audubon Society

A Panama City native,Rosabel’s interest was inmeeting other young people,not protecting birds, whenshe attended her first PanamaAudubon Society (PAS) out-ing in 1995. But it didn’t takelong for Panama’s incrediblebirdlife to capture her heartand for her leadership totransform the organizationinto one of the driving forcesbehind the emergentPanamanian environmentalmovement. As ExecutiveDirector of PAS, she is raisingawareness of the importanceof Panama Bay to both glob-al shorebirds and local liveli-hoods. The ConservationPlan for the Bay, recentlycompleted with guidancefrom Audubon’s InternationalAlliances Program, will guidePAS’s work to protect thisGlobal IBA in the face ofmultiple threats, includinguncontrolled urban develop-ment, agricultural encroach-ment, pollution, and poorgovernment oversight.



COLORADOAudubon Colorado and itsChapters are leading the chargeto ensure wildlife-friendly wind-energy development in the state,working with a coalition of con-servation groups and wind-ener-gy representatives. Understandingthe habitat needs of target birdspecies provides a framework forsound energy-siting decisions.This spring, the coalition rolledout its first three sets of species-based Best ManagementPractices for Mountain Plovers,Sharp-tailed Grouse, and GreaterPrairie-Chickens. By providingwind developers with clear guid-ance on wildlife impacts, thisapproach will not only help pro-tect wildlife but also speedrenewable energy development.

DAKOTASSustainable wind development inthe region also received a boostfrom Audubon Dakota’s leader-ship in the American WindWildlife Institute, a collaborativeinitiative that brings conservationorganizations together withwind-industry representatives toadvance both wind-energy devel-

opment and wildlife protection.The group’s web-based land-scape-scale information systemand other resources will providedevelopers and conservationistsalike with much-needed informa-tion to guide siting decisions thatalso safeguard habitat.

NEBRASKAAudubon’s Lillian Annette RoweSanctuary, home to federallyendangered Whooping Cranes,Interior Least Terns, and threat-ened Piping Plovers, has earned itdesignation as a GloballySignificant IBA. The Big BendAudubon Chapter has fought toprotect the river from harmfuldevelopment since 1974. Togetherwith sanctuary staff, the Chapteralso launched a restoration effortthat now enlists other organiza-tions and agencies to clear nearly30 miles of the Platte River chan-nel for cranes and other birdseach year. Come spring, the sanc-tuary hosts thousands of visitorsfrom around the globe who cometo witness the inspiring spectacleof crane migration.

CentralFlywaySometimes referred to as the Flyway ofthe Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains,the Central Flyway encompasses some ofour nation’s most productive habitat forwaterfowl, including Nebraska’s PlatteRiver, where hundreds of thousands ofSandhill Cranes gather early each springen route to the Arctic. Energy develop-ment—both renewable and not—has bigenvironmental implications for the GreatPlains region. That’s why findingwildlife-friendly green energy is a priority for Audubon’s network of staff,Chapters, and stakeholders.

Snow GeeseSandhill Cranes along the Platte River



TEXASThe western coast of the Gulfof Mexico lies along the CentralFlyway, and provides vital nest-ing and wintering habitat for awide array of waterbirds. Thissummer’s Gulf oil disaster madeAudubon Texas’s coastal stew-ardship program even moreimportant. Texas nesting sitesproved to be healthy and pro-ductive for birds like BrownPelicans, Roseate Spoonbills,and Reddish Egrets—no smalltribute to decades of conserva-tion action from Audubon’steam of coastal wardens, volun-teers, and the essential work oflocal Chapters.

Ernie RousekBoard Member, Spring Creek PrairieAudubon Center

After learning in 1978 that230 acres of native tallgrassprairie near Lincoln,Nebraska were scheduledfor sale as a developmentarea, Ernie launched a per-sonal crusade. In concertwith the Wachiska AudubonSociety (of which he wasChairman), he lobbied thestate legislature and theUniversity of NebraskaBoard of Regents to helpprotect the pristine stretchof Nine Mile Prairie, home tomore than 80 bird species(including Upland Sandpipersand meadowlarks) and 392plant species. As a result,this vital piece of theregion’s natural heritagewas spared, and hasbecome a site for nativegrassland research and student field trips. A steward-ship board member of the800-acre Spring CreekPrairie Audubon Center,Ernie is something of a forceof nature himself—assisting

with native seed gatheringand prescribed burns (necessary to replicate the natural prairie burn cycle),among other acts of volun-teerism.

“It’s easy to overlook howcritical prairie land is to birdsand other wildlife,” heexplained. “I was thrilled tofind that Audubon recog-nized the importance of itspreservation.”



ALASKAAudubon Alaska’s leadership inprotecting the Teshekpuk LakeSpecial Area, a GloballySignificant IBA, from oil andgas development paid off thisyear. The Bureau of LandManagement deferred the saleof leases, pending further studyof the needs of caribou herdsthat calve there. Located in theNational Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, Teshekpuk Lake alsohosts millions of breedingwaterbirds each summer. In addition, efforts to protectkey watersheds in the TongassNational Forest gained tractionwhen the U.S. Forest Serviceannounced that it would transi-tion away from old-growth log-ging toward more sustainableforest management.

ARIZONAArizona’s grasslands are hometo a wide range of birds andother wildlife, including Baird’sSparrow, which has been desig-nated a species of special con-cern. The region is also impor-tant to ranchers and otherlandowners, small and large,

and its list of environmentalchallenges includes water man-agement and development.Audubon staff at the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch areleading efforts to bridge the gapthat sometimes exists betweenconservationists and otherstakeholders, through commu-nity outreach like the Scienceon the Sonoita Plain sympo-sium it hosted this summer.

OREGONSauvie Island Wildlife Area, anIBA located just 15 miles fromdowntown Portland, is home towintering waterfowl, TundraSwans, Sandhill Cranes, BaldEagles, and more than 250other species. PortlandAudubon partnered with statewildlife and parks agencies torestore more than 25 acres ofshorebird habitat and engagevolunteers in ongoing invasivespecies-removal projects.Sauvie Island is also a populardestination for its field trips,including the annual RaptorRoad Trip, which last year intro-duced more than 1,500 partici-pants to the region’s wintering raptors.

PacificFlywayMillions of birds—more than 350 species—follow the Pacific Flyway each year, fromthe Bering Strait to South America. Manyshorebirds, like the Western Sandpiper,travel along the West Coast from Alaskato South America, while landbirds likethe Ferruginous Hawk soar over the inte-rior of California and Arizona intoMexico. The flyway’s landscapes are asdiverse as its birds, from urban parksand backyards to deserts and mountains.Audubon’s Chapters, citizen scientists,and volunteers are protecting andrestoring the vital links along the way.

Western Sandpipers in Alaska



CALIFORNIAAudubon California’s ongoingwork to conserve vital TejonRanch habitat reached a majormilestone with the state’sapproval of $15.8 million to pur-chase conservation easementsprotecting some of the bestwildlife habitat on the ranch.Bald Eagles, Burrowing Owls,Swainson’s Hawks, TricoloredBlackbirds, and LoggerheadShrike are only some of thebirds that call these areashome, as does the federallyendangered San Joaquin KitFox. This funding was animportant step in the imple-mentation of the 2008 TejonRanch Conservation Agreementled by Audubon California andfour other conservation organi-zations, which provided protec-tion for up to 240,000 acres ofspectacular California wild-lands. The Tejon Ranch is partof two Globally SignificantImportant Bird Areas.

Rene Altamirano AcostaPartner, InternationalAlliances Program

Through the 1990s, Renenoticed that less rain wasfalling on his 500-acre cattleranch in Veracruz, Mexico—and its grasslands werebecoming less fertile, mak-ing the living he earnedfrom them less predictable.So, assisted by Audubon’sInternational AlliancesProgram and partnerPronatura (Mexico’s largestin-country conservationorganization), he reducedhis herd to allow most of theland to revert to a naturallyfunctioning ecosystem.

As a result, much of theacreage is being transformedto dense forest, regaining thehabitat’s vital role as roostingand feeding habitat for someof the millions of migratoryraptors that pass through the area twice each year. As he converts his operationto a balance of sustainableagriculture and forest conservation, Rene is chart-ing the course for a neweconomy in the region.


sandhill cranes in alaska - national audubon society | audubon

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