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back in town; more info on Barnacles; minority birding



Hi Carolinabirders,

I'm back! The trip to Florida was great fun. I won't go into detail, as 
this listserv isn't about Florida birds, but I visited (in chronological 
order) Noel Wamer's backyard, Merritt Island NWR and the adjacent part of 
Cape Canaveral NS, Fairchild Tropical Garden, "Ding" Darling NWR, 
Corkscrew Swamp, Cayo Costa SP, Manatee Park (in northern Fort Myers), 
and Highland Hammock SP. No big rarities for me, I'm afraid, but a few 
state birds, some spectacular plants, a handful of odonates and leps, and 
several trees that are older than the nation we live in.

On the way back, we briefly hit Savannah NWR. I was hoping to show my 
girlfriend a Purple Gallinule (we never made it to the Everglades), but 
they have apparently all left for the winter. Also saw no ibis, Glossy or 
otherwise, in the refuge; however, on our way from brunch on the Savannah 
riverfront, the marshes on the east site of route 17 were loaded with 
Glossy Ibis and many other birds. We weren't able to stop and look more 
closely, though; I think this area was part of, or at least adjacent to, 
the legendary Savannah Spoil Site that was closed to general public 
access a couple of years ago...

For all those who were interested in the discussion of the Guilford 
County Barnacle Geese and their countability or lack thereof, BIRDCHAT 
recently had a detailed discussion about a completely unrelated Barnacle 
Goose in Pennsylvania. The discussion then evolved into threads on why 
Eurasian Wigeons are generally accepted and Barnacles generally not, and 
on the role of state committees (or lack thereof) in determining origins 
and thus countability. I've read only a few posts so far; most relevant 
to our discussion here was that Barnacle Geese in Europe winter almost 
exclusively north of 50 degrees latitude, and nearly always on marine 
habitat (more so even than Brant). See 
http://listserv.arizona.edu/lsv/www/birdchat.html and click on "December 
2000, week 5" and "January 2001, week 1" for more details.

Lastly, below is information about a survey on minority participation in 
birding. For those who have wondered why so many birders are caucasian, 
or for those who think they know, participation in this survey might help 
identify the reasons and perhaps even remedy them.

Good birding,

Josh



Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/

_________________________________________________________________

Dear birding friends,

John C. Robinson, an African-American birder from California, is 
currently researching the area of minorities in birding. Robinson 
previously published "An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Tennessee" 
(1990), and he is the owner of LANIUS Software.

Robinson is investigating the fact that relatively few African-American 
birders exist in North America. He also would like to offer encouragement 
to all minorities to become more active in birding.

Details on the effort and access to a short questionnaire are on the
American Birding Association web site:

http://www.americanbirding.org/newsbullet11.htm

You could help John C. Robinson in this effort a few ways:

1)      Fill the form out yourself.
2)      Post the information and URL on your local area birding 
listserves.
3)      Pass the information on to your regional bird club publication.
4)      Put a one-paragraph notice on your bird club's web site and 
establish a link to the page.
5)      Pass this information on to an interested/concerned birding 
friend.

John C. Robinson <logshrike@compuserve.com> needs the filled-out
questionnaires by the end of February 2001.

Most of us have witnessed some interesting discussion on the subject of 
low minority participation in birding.  Many of us have also witnessed 
some unnecessary finger-pointing and self-flagellation on the subject.  
At least John Robinson is collecting some information and asking some 
questions which might help us all in this area in the near future.

Paul

====================================================
Paul J. Baicich
Editor, BIRDING
American Birding Association
P.O. Box 404
Oxon Hill, MD 20750

     301-839-9736 (839-wren)
     301-839-2763  [fax]

Check out the ABA web site: http://www.americanbirding.org/