Join Desert Rivers Audubon for the Great Backyard Bird Count February 17-20, 2012

Kick-off Saturday, February 18th @ Gilbert Riparian Preserve

Join Desert Rivers Audubon at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch, 2757 E. Guadalupe Road Gilbert, to kick-off the Great Backyard Bird Count, Saturday, February 18, 2012, 8am-12 noon.

Watch birds for at least 15 minutes…

The goal of The Great Backyard Bird Count is to watch birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count then enter tallies. Anyone can participate, it’s free, and no registration is required. Participants can count anywhere they wish, not just in backyards, but in neighborhoods, parks, nature centers, or anywhere they see birds.

Wild peach-faced lovebirds

Submit your list…

“This count is so fun because anyone can take part — we all learn and watch birds together — whether you are an expert, novice, or feeder watcher,” said Gary Langham, Audubon’s Chief Scientist. “I like to invite new birders to join me and share the experience. Get involved, invite your friends, and see how your favorite spot stacks up.”

Get some local coaching…

Black-crowned Night Heron

“We’ll be able to coach East Valley residents in their bird identification skills Saturday during our free Family Birdwalk at Gilbert Riparian Preserve, Saturday, February 18, 2012, 8am-noon,” added Eileen Kane, Communications Director, Desert Rivers Audubon Society.

More than 92,000 checklists were submitted during the last GBBC, with more than 11 million individual bird observations. The data help scientists get the big picture about how bird populations may be changing across the continent over time.

…become a Citizen Scientist!

“This is a very detailed snapshot of continental bird-distribution,” said John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “Imagine scientists 250 years from now being able to compare these data with their own.  Already, with more than a decade of data in hand, the GBBC has documented changes in late-winter bird distributions.”

Earn prizes, too!

The count also includes a photo contest and a prize drawing for participants who enter at least one bird checklist online. The GBBC is hosted each year by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon. The Great Backyard Bird Count is made possible in part by sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited.

Bring your Great Backyard Bird Count count sheets into Wild Birds Unlimited of Mesa, AZ & receive 2 lbs. of birdseed!

Summer Conservation News and Notes

by Mike Evans
Conservation Director 
Desert Rivers Audubon Society

On the afternoon of May 24^th, I received a call from Scott Cleaves, the Park Ranger for the Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water Ranch Park.  In the previous two weeks he had only seen one cat in the Riparian Preserve.  He had repeatedly tried to catch it over that time.  He called me to report that he had finally been successful.  To the best knowledge of GWR and Riparian Preserve staff, there were NO feral cats left at GWR!  The most recent survey in mid-March reported only 13 cats left in the preserve.  The staff trapped eight of those cats.  Coyotes or natural causes are believed to have accounted for the other five.  (Coyotes have been photographed this spring with one adult and two kittens in their mouths.)  This compares to last October’s survey that had 82 cats and two litters of hidden kittens living in the preserve.

Signs have been installed at the GWR prohibiting the dumping of any type of animal at the facility.  An ordinance prohibiting the dumping of animals has been drafted and circulated for comments.  It will come before the town council this summer for adoption.  Town employees will continue to trap for cats should any more appear at GWR.

If you run into Scott Anderson, Riparian Preserve Executive Director, Lisa Hermann, Education Director, Ranger Scott Cleaves, or Naturalist Jennie Rambo during a future visit to GWR, please thank them for their efforts to make the Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water Ranch a feral cat-free facility.  Thanks go out as well to the members of Save the Cats Arizona for their cooperation in the removal of the cats.

Thank you to all those that contacted Gilbert town staff and elected officials regarding this issue.  The hard work of the birding community has been rewarded with a cat-free Important Birding Area (IBA) here in Gilbert, AZ.

However, since that happy day in late May, I have received two emails reporting additional cats in the preserve.  Both reports gave detailed descriptions and very good locations.  I have forwarded them on to Riparian Preserve staff so that they can be trapped and removed.  Please continue to let me know at mascatce@cox.net if you see any on your visits to GWR.

For those of you interested in our Important Birding Area (IBA) program here in Arizona, the Arizona Audubon Council and Audubon Arizona are planning a conference for this October 1^st at the Rio Salado Nature Center.  The conference will focus on threats to the IBA from power line and transmission tower corridors that are scheduled to be established across our state due to the planned increase in alternative power sources.  This is a classic public policy conflict, when two desired goals and their implementation conflict with one another.  Please save the date on your calendars if this is of interest to you.  More details will be coming soon.  (So, I suppose there are a few of you wondering, “What the heck is the Arizona Audubon Council?”  Well, that is the organization where all of the Audubon societies in Arizona work together on conservation issues.)

Our board was recently asked by Audubon Arizona to sign on to a letter from the Arizona Wilderness Coalition regarding a threat to roadless areas on the Coronado National Forest.  As a former USFS firefighter on the Coronado NF and a former park Ranger at Chiricahua National Monument, that is a part of the state near and dear to me and also to many other birders.  We added our support to the letter.  If you would like more information, you can go to the AZ Wilderness Coalition website for more information: http://azwild.org/action/foresttravel.php.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is seeking public review and input on an action plan for wildlife viewing recreation in Arizona.  The Wildlife Viewing Action Plan outlines objectives and strategies to help guide and implement a statewide watchable wildlife project. It identifies programs, products, and services the department is currently providing in wildlife viewing recreation, discusses opportunities and challenges for the future, and identifies new approaches that, if implemented, will help take advantage of opportunities and overcome challenges. Game and Fish is seeking input from the public on the general topics and strategies that have been developed in the plan.  Here in the East Valley, a public meeting will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday, June 29, at the Arizona Game and Fish Department Mesa Regional Office, 7200 E. University Drive.  Here is a link to the Action Plan:  http://www.azgfd.gov/images/outdoor_recreation/watchablewildlife/WildlifeViewPlanForReview.pdf.  For additional information of the Watchable Wildlife program, check out this link: www.azgfd.gov/wwreview.

Finally, one last note, if I may.  I’m sure there are others like me that are just as heart-sick as I am at the destruction brought on by a man-caused fire in the Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona.  As I write this, there are over 72,000 acres burned in the sixth largest fire in our state’s history.  Containment is projected for sometime in late June.  If you are of the mind to do so, please keep our brave wildland firefighters battling “the beast” (as our firefighters call big fires) in your thoughts and prayers.

Gilbert, AZ Gilbert Water Ranch: Feral Cat Update — No Cat Sightings!

by Mike Evans
Conservation Director
Desert Rivers Audubon Society

The most recent survey in mid-March reported only 13 cats left in the preserve.  The staff trapped eight of those cats.  Coyotes or natural causes are believed to have accounted for the other five.  (Coyotes have been photographed this spring with one adult and two kittens in coyote mouths.)  Last October’s survey had 82 cats and two litters of hidden kittens living in the preserve.Late this afternoon I spoke with Scott Cleaves, the Park Ranger, @ GWR .  In the last two weeks he has only seen one cat in the Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water Ranch.  He has repeatedly tried to catch it over the last two weeks, and today he was successful.  To the best knowledge of GWR and Riparian Preserve staff, there are

Signs have been installed at the GWR prohibiting the dumping of any type of animal at the facility.  An ordinance prohibiting the dumping of animals has been drafted and circulated for comments.  It will come before the town council this summer for adoption.  Town employees will continue to trap for cats should any more appear at GWR.

If you run into Scott Anderson, Riparian Preserve Executive Director, Education Director Lisa Hermann, Ranger Scott Cleaves, or Naturalist Jennie Rambo during a future visit to GWR, please thank them for their efforts to make the Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water Ranch at feral cat-free facility.  Thanks goes out as well to the members of Save the Cats Arizona for their cooperation in the removal of the cats.

Thank you to all those on this list serve that contacted Gilbert town staff and elected officials regarding this issue.  The hard work of the birding community has been rewarded with a cat-free Important Birding Area here in Gilbert, AZ.

Good Birding,

Mike

The Riparian Preserve at Gilbert’s Water Ranch Park still has a feral cat problem

by Mike Evans
Conservation Director
Desert Rivers Audubon Society

The Riparian Preserve at Gilbert’s Water Ranch Park still has a feral cat problem. Save the Cats Arizona (STCA) had asked forone more chance to trap and remove the cats by themselves. They had been give nuntil January 18th to remove all of the cats. On January 18th, trapping was to resume by the town and the team of Audubon volunteers. All food found in the preserve was to have been removed and the feeding of the feral cats was to have ceased.

What has actually transpired would make a great case study on how politics and publicpolicy decision-making and implementation can be influenced by interest groups. When you throw into the mix the usual aversion to controversy by elected officials and municipal leaders, and add in the flavoring from an upcoming town council election, good public policy decisions become very difficult to make. Since I’m sure you aren’t ready for a grad school seminar, I’ll just hit the highlights.

We knew that the feral cat lobby had begun to contact town officials as a result of our trapping of cats. So, we sent a note out on the Birdwing05 listserve that the Universityof Arizona administers. We asked for people to contact the Town of Gilbert officials to support the complete removal of cats from the Riparian Preserve. During this time,we learned that the feral cat advocates were planning on attending the January 13thTown Council meeting. We made plans to attend with a small group of board members to monitor what transpired. On the afternoon of the council meeting, we learned that the town had struck a deal with the feral cat advocates to give them one more monthto remove the cats and allow the feeding of the cats to continue during that time. But STCA was told that the colony would be ended. A new deadline of Feb. 18th was set for ending STCA feeding and caring of the Water Ranch Park cats.

The town has set up a mediation process headed by former Town Presiding Judge David Phares. The town staff was represented by Jim Norman, Community Services Director for the town. The Riparian Preserve is part of this department. All of the meetings between the town, the feral cat advocates and DRAS have been lead by these two men.

A meeting was held on Jan. 26th to discuss the feral cat management plan for the preserve. At that meeting STCA agreed to our long desired goal of not having a feral cat colony at the Riparian Preserve. The meeting was amicable and a spirit of cooperation was evident. STCA agreed to cooperate with Riparian Preserve staff members to trap the remaining cats. Another meeting was scheduled for Feb. 16th.

Several different trapping strategies are being tried, but none are proving very successful. Between the Jan. 26th and Feb. 16th meetings, STCA only trapped four cats. Town employees trapped twelve.

At the Feb. 16th meeting, Save the Cats Arizona again asked for more time to remove the cats. The population of cats had been cut to twenty three. Of these, STCA said that twelve of the cats were “their” cats that and that they had a relationship with them. They asked that feeding continue until all of their cats are trapped. We are not supportive of this, because we believe, as do town staff, that these remaining cats will only be trapped when they become really hungry. And with shore bird nesting season right around the corner, we want all of the cats gone by early March, especially any hungry ones!

Since the Feb. 16th meeting, town staff has managed to trap two more cats. STCA have not trapped any. We have written to town staff to express our concern with how long this process is dragging on and that no definite end is in sight. We want feeding to end now and trapping to accelerate so that all of the cats are gone by the time the shorebirds nest, which is in March. There is more to come on this issue.

Editor’s Note: Mike Evans is the Conservation Director for Desert Rivers Audubon Society and a formermember of the Gilbert Town Council.