In Birder’s Conservation Handbook (Princeton University Press, 2007), Jeffrey V. Wells – a senior scientist for the Boreal Songbird Initiative — discusses 100 North American birds at risk. In the 464-page book, he describes each species with conservation information not easily found in one source and aims to promote “a quiet third Renaissance” of bird conservation in North America. From the What You Can Do section, WildBird offers a sneak peek before the guide’s November publication.

Teach at Every Opportunity
Unless you’re a hermit, you will have countless opportunities to teach people about birds and conservation. This is especially true if you are not shy about using your binoculars and telescope in public places. People are curious creatures and will go out of their way to find out what you are looking at. When they do, use it as a chance to engage them in the wonder, beauty, and mystery of birds and the natural world. Because we are fairly bold about birdwatching in public, my wife Allison and I have met hundreds of people who were eager to see what we were seeing and hear more about birds and conservation.
If you are a skilled birder, volunteer to lead at least one bird walk a year—more if you have the time and interest—for beginning birders in your area, whether through Audubon chapter, nature center, park, university, school, church, synagogue, or work place. You will be amazed at how many people are intrigued by the idea of learning about birds.
It is especially important to foster children’s curiosity in birds and the natural world. If you have kids yourself, find ways to make nature a fun, exciting, family experience that they will treasure forever. Our three-year-old loves to imitate the sounds of the Mourning Doves in the spring, fill the bird feeders, and hike the woods looking for feathers and bugs. He was greatly intrigued when we took him to see the captive owls in a bird rehabilitation and education facility. All of these activities are especially meaningful to him because they are a part of our family activity, a legacy that I am sure he will pass on to his own kids. Even if you don’t have your own kids or grandkids, you can encourage curiosity about nature in nieces, nephews, and friends. We’ve often had families with kids approach us when we were looking through our telescope at a bird and the kids are so excited to get a chance to look through a telescope themselves that they can hardly contain themselves.
Ask just about any professional ornithologist or conservation biologist how they got interested and you will almost always hear a wonderful story about a parent, grandparent, or other adult who sparked and nurtured their interest in nature. My grandmother was an especially important influence as she made everything in the natural world seem exciting and magical. Later, my mother and father encouraged my interest and then introduced me to a woman in our church who was the president of the local nature club. Inez, a busy woman involved in countless organizations and taking care of an ailing spouse, took the time to invite an awkward junior-high-school kid on regular birding trips. Those were times of explosive learning and excitement that propelled me to become an ornithologist.

How to Help Save Birds
Take your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, or friends birding and make it fun!
Give a presentation on birds and bird conservation at a local library or school.
Write a letter to the editor about a pressing bird conservation issue.
Start a bird festival.
Buy a Duck Stamp every year, even if you don’t intend to go hunting. The money supports projects to purchase and enhance wetland habitats.
Volunteer for a work day at a local preserve or refuge to restore habitat or eradicate invasive species.
Advocate for land acquisition funds for important habitat.
Recruit and organize volunteers for projects at natural areas, refuges, parks, preserves, and protected areas.
Use energy-efficient lightbulbs and appliances and turn the lights off when you can.
Drive a hybrid or low-emission vehicle that gets good gas mileage. Carpool, or use public transportation.
Recycle and use only recycled paper products.
Decrease use of pesticides at home by finding less harmful alternatives.
Support federal, state, county, and municipal government agencies and programs that benefit birds, wildlife, and habitats. Contact agency offices or non-profit conservation organizations to find specific opportunities to help.
Become involved with monitoring bird populations through citizen-science.
Work with local land managers of parks, preserves, refuges, and land trust properties to support efforts to protect, restore, and enhance habitats for birds. They will be glad to hear from you!
Join and financially support non-profit conservation organizations involved in conservation work that benefits birds and the habitats upon which they depend.
Let your elected representatives know that you support policies that benefit birds, wildlife, and habitat and that you vote! You will be surprised at the impact your phone call or letter can have.
Promote and vote for political candidates who support environmentally-friendly policies that are good for families and the economy.

—Jeffrey V. Wells

Website Encourages
Backyard Birding
With activities such as a coloring book and puzzles appropriate for children, another online resource encourages young and older birders to set up and maintain backyard feeding stations. The Backyard Bird Care site answers questions about building feeders, setting them up and cleaning them.
“You can easily enjoy quality time with your children on this site,” said Peter Stangel of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. “You can build a feeder, hang it outside and see the variety of birds that come to feed.”
Parents, youth organizations and daycare providers can download a coloring book, puzzles, bookmarks and feeder projects. Shepherded by the Wild Bird Feeding Industry, the site appears at www.backyardbirdcare.org.

Habitat for Marbled Murrelets Increases
The endangered species along the Pacific coast — and the highlight of a species profile on page 54 of this issue — gained potential habitat in Lincoln County, Oregon, this summer. Forest Capital Partners sold 3,685 acres of private working forestland to The Conservation Fund to create a conservation easement.
The easement’s development stems from the New Carissa oil spill in 1999, and progress toward the sale involved various state and federal agencies. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon will own and manage the land.
Forest Capital Partners is a private forest landowner that purchases and manages working forest for long-term sustainability. It now manages more than 2.1 million acres using guidelines from the Sustainable Forest Initiative.

Comments Sought for IBWO Draft Plan
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service released a draft recovery plan for the endangered Ivory-billed Woodpecker in late August. The plan discussed habitat neds and future conservation efforts to prevent the species’ extinction. The deadline for comments: Oct. 22.
The 185-page blueprint is available to individual birders, conservation organizations, state and federal agencies, and others for review. It appears online at www.fws.gov/ivorybill, and it can be requested via snail mail at USFWS Lafayette, 646 Cajundome Blvd. Suite 400, Lafayette LA 70506.
Comments could be mailed to the Cajundome Boulevard address, faxed to 337-291-3139 or sent via e-mail to ibw
plan@fws.gov.
Evidence for the woodpecker’s rediscovery in the Bayou de View area of Cache River National Wildlife refuge in Arkansas was announced in 2004 and 2005. The bird’s existence has not been confirmed since, the service said, but “tantalizing” evidence has been gathered in Arkansas, Florida’s panhandle, South Carolina and other parts of the species’ historic range.
Ivory-billed Woodpecker joined the federal list of endangered species in 1967.  The last confirmed sighting had occurred in 1994.
“The opportunity to recover this icon of the ornithological world cannot and should not be passed over,” said Sam Hamilton, regional director for the service’s Southeast region and leader of the recovery team. “Given the evidence pointing to its survival, we believe it would be irresponsible not to act.”

Louisiana Refuge Gets
Reforested Land
Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge — seven miles west of Tallulah, La. — recently gained more than 1,900 acres. More than 1,420 acres were reforested with 433,000 native trees as part of The Trust for Public Land’s carbon sequestration program and partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit land conservation organization, focuses on carbon sequestration as a means to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It plants trees in previously deforested areas.
“One of the goals is to restore bottomland hardwoods,” said TPL Director of Projects Don Morrow. “When fully grown, the newly planted trees will sequester 639,000 tons of carbon dioxide.”
Funding to purchase the land came from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund as well as carbon funding from Detroit Edison, Conoco-Phillips and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. TPL purchased 11,000 acres from Chicago Mill & Lumber Co. over three years (2004 to 2006) and transferred land in phases.

National Wildlife Refuge Week Honored
Outdoor enthusiasts around the country focused efforts on planning activities at local refuges for National Wildlife Refuge Week Oct. 7-13.
The week highlights common uses of refuges such as fishing, wildlife photography, hunting, wildlife observation and environmental education. Details appear at http://refuges.fws.gov.