[mou] festival money to go to minnesota bird restoration project
2003 Midwest Birding Symposium Set to Attract Flock of Birdwatchers to Gree= n Bay Best-selling author Kenn Kaufman and TV personalities Don and Lillian Stoke= s Will Headline the Featured Speakers, September 11-14 Acclaimed wildlife photographers Joe and Mary Ann McDonald, hummingbird expert Sheri Williamson, John =ECthe Nature Nut=EE Acorn, best-selling author and Birder=EDs World contributing editor Kenn Kaufman, and TV personalities Don and Lillian Stokes will be keynote speakers at this fall=EDs Midwest Birding Symposium.=20 The festival will take place September 11-14, 2003, at the Regency Suites Hotel and KI Convention Center in Green Bay. The biennial Symposium was las= t held at the same site in 2001. This year's Symposium will support the efforts of the Nature Conservancy of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to reintroduce the critically endangered Greater Prairie-Chicken to the southwestern regio= n of the state. With your help -- and thanks to generosity of both the Minnesota Prairie-Chicken Society, which will match our contributions up to $10,000, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which will match th= e combined contributions -- we hope to raise more than $50,000 for this icon of the North American grasslands. Interested? Then don't miss this special presentation: W. Dan Svedarsky, a recipient of the prestigious Minnesota Award of the Minnesota Chapter of the Wildlife Society, will give a presentation on prairie-chicken conservation on Saturday, September 13, in the Auditorium. =20 Guides will lead birdwatchers on 17 field trips to local birding hotspots during the Symposium. Attendees will also be offered a full plate of bird-watching and nature-related presentations and workshops. The array of topics covered will be wide: bird identification and natural history, backyard birding, raptors, digiscoping, photography, and the environment. The Symposium will also gather together birding product manufacturers and retailers and service providers, enabling attendees to shop and obtain information in a fun, convenient setting. Details about the featured speakers: Joe and Mary Ann McDonald are field correspondents for Nature's Best magazine whose photos appear regularly in Birder=EDs World and other magazines, as well as in calendars and other publications. Sheri Williamson is a director of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory and the author of the highly praised A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America, the most recent addition to the Peterson Field Guide series. John Acorn is the host of the television series Acorn, the Nature Nut, a family-oriented, how-to-be-a-naturalist show that airs on cable on Animal Planet.=20 Kenn Kaufman is the well-known author of such books as the Peterson Field Guide to Advanced Birding; Lives of North American Birds; Kingbird Highway; and the Kaufman Focus Guides Birds of North America and Butterflies of Nort= h America.=20 Donald and Lillian Stokes, two of the country=EDs most productive and popular birding authors and TV personalities, were the creators and hosts of the very first bird-watching series on public television, BirdWatch with Don an= d Lillian Stokes. Details about the 2003 Midwest Birding Symposium, more information about th= e speakers and field trips, a complete day-by-day schedule of events, and registration forms can be found on the Birder=EDs World website (www.birdersworld.com). Just look for the Red-headed Woodpecker logo. You can also get information and make reservations by contacting Kalmbach Publishing Co.:=20 Web: www.birdersworld.com Toll-free: (800) 533-6644 Fax: (262) 796-1615 E-mail: customerserv...@kalmbach.com Mail: MBS 2003, c/o Kalmbach Publishing Co., PO Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
[mou] the migration in general
This from the Wisconsin bird net, a perspective on migration to the south and east. Jim Williams Wayzata 30 warbler species - Prairie, Yellow-throated, YB ChatIt sounds like Sean experienced a pretty good island-concentration effect within his woods; this is no surprise as last night's migration was the best on radar since the night of the 9th-10th. A look at the weather map shows a very typical spring migration scenario with a big high off to the east such that the southerly flow from the high provided a nice tailwind ahead of a cold front. Migration is detected on radar usually into mid-June but I'll bet that this was the last big May night; hope I'm wrong. John I, Milwaukee - Original Message - From: Sean Fitzgerald To: wisbirdn Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 2:09 PM Subject: 30 warbler species - Prairie, Yellow-throated, YB Chat From: tapac...@fishnet.com Date: Sun, 18 May 2003 11:28:02 -0500 To: mnb...@linux2.winona.msus.edu Cc: mou-...@cbs.umn.edu Subject: [mou] the migration in general People have been sharing their enjoyable sightings on MN-Bird, but it might be valuable for this online community to pool observations of the 2003 migration in general (and of course any objective measures).
[mou] Bell Museum birding trip schedule
Birds at the Bridge Saturday, April 19, 8-11 a.m. Members $9.50, nonmembers $13 Paid registration deadline April 8 Join Bell ornithologists Muir Eaton, Ann Kessen, and Andy Jones at one of the Twin Cities=B9 popular birding spots. A great chance for beginners to learn and for experienced birders to brush up on spring birds. Expect ducks, gulls, herons, thrushes, sparrows, rails and more. Birds with breakfast, Old Cedar Ave. Bridge Minnesota River National Wildlife Refuge Wednesday, May 7, 7 to 9 am Members $8, nonmembers $11 Paid registration deadline, April 23 Join Bell Museum ornithologist Ann Kessen on a morning visit to one of the cities=B9 favorite birding spots near the airport and Mall of America. You can enjoy this and still get to all but the earliest of the day=B9s commitments. Beginner or old hand, this is an excellent to sharpen your skills, with both migrants and resident birds. Spring at Wolsfeld Woods Saturday, May 10, 9 a.m. to noon Members $9.50, nonmembers $13 Paid registration deadline April 25 Wolsfeld Woods Scientific and Natural Area, just north of Orono, is one of the Twin Cities=B9 gems for enjoying nature. Join U of Minnesota botanist Da= n Tix on a walk through the preserve seeing what=B9s coming up and what=B9s blooming and talking about the woodland habitat for plants. Wear comfortable walking shoes (trail may be wet in places) and bring a field guide if you have it. Hop to it: frogs calling Saturday, May 10, 6-9 p.m. Members $9.50, nonmembers $13 Paid registration deadline April 25 The joy of spring comes to Minnesota as frogs call lustily in hopes of attracting mates. Join Bell Museum herpetologist Tony Gamble at the Minnesota River Valley National Wildlife refuge near the Twin Cities airpor= t for an evening walk. You=B9ll hear 4 or 5 species of frogs calling, learn their calls and biology, and see some too. Rain or shine (frogs love rain)= . Warblers and other migrants Sunday, May 11, 7:30- 10:30 am Members $9.50, nonmembers $13 Paid registration deadline April 25 Whether you=B9re a beginner or experienced birder, the rush of spring migrant= s in fresh, colorful breeding plumage is a treat. Learn the basics o Birds with breakfast, Wood Lake Nature Center Wednesday, May 14, 7 to 9 am Members $8, nonmembers $11 Paid registration deadline, April 30 Join Bell Museum ornithologist Ann Kessen on a morning visit to one of the cities=B9 favorite birding spots. You can even figure on doing this and stil= l get to all but the earliest of the day=B9s commitments. Beginner or old hand= , this is an excellent to sharpen your skills, with both migrants and residen= t birds. Birds with breakfast, Bass Ponds, Minnesota River National Wildlife Refuge Wednesday, May 21, 7 to 9 am Members $8, nonmembers $11 Paid registration deadline, May 7 Join Bell Museum ornithologist Ann Kessen on a morning visit to one of the cities=B9 favorite birding spots just south of the airport. You can even figure on doing this and still get to all but the earliest of the day=B9s commitments. Beginner or old hand, this is an excellent to sharpen your skills, with both migrants and resident birds.
[mou] West Nile Virus and bird banders
forward from BIRDNET at http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/WNV.html as sent by Ellen Paul Executive Director The Ornithological Council Providing Scientific Information about Birds Jim Williams --- =20 West Nile Virus: what ornithologists and bird banders should know Introduction West Nile Virus (WNV) was first isolated in 1937 in Uganda. There have been outbreaks in Israel (1951-1954), France (1962, 2000), and South Africa (1974). It appeared in Western Europe in the mid-1990s and traveled to the United States in 1999, where researchers =AD and their universities, government research agencies, and other research organizations =AD became concerned about the risk to field biologists, students, and others. Perhaps out of an abundance of caution and spurred by constant media attention to WNV, one university cancelled field research and field biology classes that involved bird banding. The Ornithological Council =AD a consortium of 11 scientific ornithological societies in the Western Hemisphere =AD consulted with a number of experts to compile this fact sheet about the risks of WNV to ornithologists and bird banders and to=A0 provide the most up-to-date public health recommendations for those handling live birds, carcasses, or tissue that is potentially infected with WNV. Understand the risk All research involves risk. Know the risks and take reasonable precautions. West Nile Virus should be no more of a deterrent to ornithological research and education than any other risk encountered in scientific research. According to the Centers for Disease Control (as of 11 April 2003; see http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/symptoms.htm): *Most mosquitoes bites will not lead to a WNV infection *Most people who are infected with WNV do not develop any type of illness *It is estimated that 20% of the people who become infected will develo= p West Nile fever: mild symptoms, including fever, headache, and body aches, occasionally with a skin rash on the trunk of the body and swollen lymph glands. *About 1 of each 150 infected persons becomes seriously ill with centra= l nervous system infection (encephalitis /or meningitis) *About 6.6% of the 4,161 cases of the laboratory-positive 2002 WNV case= s in the United States were fatal. For young/healthy researchers who are not immunocompromised, West Nile Viru= s is unlikely to cause much more than a mild illness =AD typically =B3flu-like symptoms.=B2 A more serious case of West Nile Virus in humans results in fever, disorientation, muscle weakness, neck stiffness, headache, nausea. Persons over 50 years of age are at increased risk of severe disease. An analysis of attack rates per million persons during the 1999 New York City outbreak showed that compared with persons 0 to 19 years of age, the incidence of severe neurologic disease was 10 times higher in persons 50 to 59 years of age and 43 times higher in those at least 80 years of age However, although older persons are at greater risk for West Nile Meningoencephalitis or death, persons of any age might develop severe neurologic disease (Nash et al. 2001). CDC recommends that persons with severe or unusual headaches seek medical attention as soon as possible. In the lab As of February 2003, there have been only two documented cases of=A0 researchers contracting West Nile Virus in the course of conducting research. Both cases involved microbiologists. One was infected from an accidental needle puncture in the finger while working with live virus whil= e the other was infected through an accidental scalpel cut while performing a necropsy on a dead Blue Jay (CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Review, 20 December 2002).=20 It is best to assume that any specimen could be infectious and to take proper precautions at all times. Specifically: *Neither refrigeration nor freezing will kill the virus. Ornithologists working with thawed tissue or specimens=A0 should assume that this material contains live virus. *Ornithologists preparing specimens or working with tissue from fresh (never frozen) birds should be aware that the virus will remain viable in dead birds for several days. *Ornithologists preparing specimens should take care to avoid scalpel cuts and punctures. If they occur, cleanse the area promptly and thoroughly= , apply antiseptic, and report the incident to a supervisor. If signs of illness occur within two weeks of exposure, prompt medical evaluation and consultation with public health authorities should be sought. *Standard measures to minimize exposure to fluids or tissues during handling of potentially infected tissue comprise standard droplet and contact precautions. These include barrier protections such as gloves, masks, and eyewear; proper use and disposal of needles, scalpels, and other sharp instruments; and minimizing the generation of aerosols (such as vigorous spraying of water on carcasses or work surfaces). While wearing gloves, be careful
