On OHIO-BIRDS listserv, Bill Whan said:

> Even if we have to observe the fall migration from a distance, I
> heartily recommend Jean Iron's reports from James Bay, maybe 700 mi
> north of Conneaut. Read them at
> http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/SHOR . Many of the birds she
> reports are not headed our way, but southeast; still, it is a stirring
> thing to hear these first-hand reports from wild country. The most
> recent reports share many interesting observations. For one thing, a
> good year for lemmings has led to increased breeding success for
> shorebirds and waterfowl, because predators (foxes, gulls, jaegers,
> etc.) eat fewer young birds as a result. She mentions studies showing
> that migrant shorebirds are spending less time at staging areas--and
> wasting precious energy flushing more often--as a result of increased
> predation from peregrine falcons and merlins. It is tempting to blame
> this threat to shorebirds in part to widespread introductions of
> peregrines to areas they'd never occupied earlier, another example of
> unanticipated results of ill-advised manipulations of bird populations
> by wildlife agencies. (My opinion, not necessarily Jean's).

Bill & Others:

Not exactly Ohio, but I thought you'd be interested to know that the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is currently
taking comments with regard to delisting the Peregrine Falcon from
the state's imperiled species list. Among other things, what this
means as far as peregrines are concerned, is that falconers will now
be able to trap live birds for sport in Florida. Although I've seen
peregrines take shorebirds along the SW Florida Coast where I live,
I've never seen them take a larger shorebird like dowitchers, just
peeps. . . .

Cheers.

Vince

Vincent Lucas
Naples, FL
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/leppyone/
http://www.caloosabirdclub.org



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