State College Bird Club Zoom Meeting
October 27, 2021


Presiding: Doug Wentzel

Recording: Peggy Wagoner Saporito

Attendance: 34

Meeting Format: Zoom (due to Covid)

Treasurer’s report:(Jean Miller): There were no expenses this month. Deposited: $626; dues and hawk watch donations.

On October 17, the yearly audit was conducted by Ron Crandall, Karen Kottlowski and Julia Plummer. All of Jean’s financial accounting agreed with bank statements.

Ron also reminded us, if you haven’t already done so, dues can be paid. For instructions, see our website www.scbirdcl.org.

Bird Club Field Trips:
Sunday, November 14, 2021 8:00-11:00 am: Winter Birds at Bald Eagle State Park. Trip Leader: Bob Snyder: Meet at the Swimming Beach, drive to various locations around the park and do some walking. Sturdy boots are recommended and come prepared for the weather. Bring binoculars and a spotting scope if you have one. Photographers welcome.

Other Activities:

Project Feeder Watch begins Nov 13. To learn more and sign up see: feederwatch.org

Announcements:

Khaki baseball hats, with the new club logo embroidered on the front, will soon be available for $20 each. Thanks to Susan Smith for investigating the process to make this happen and for the Board’s approval. A local business, Collegiate Pride, will produce the hats which can be ordered by contacting Susan.

Hawk Watches:

During October, all 4 hawk watches (Jacks, Stone, Tussey and Bald Eagle Mountains) were suffering from the long stretches of foggy weather with little to no wind. As a consequence, raptor numbers have been low this month. For example, at Tussey the season total is 3003 migrants, with only 1272 during October, the month that usually sees the highest number and diversity of raptors moving through. Of those 1200+, almost a third of them (383), including a Goshawk, moved through today when there were finally some clearing skies and good northwest winds.

The first Golden Eagles have only recently begun to trickle through. In 2019 during the Bald Eagle Mountain hawkwatch, the peak Golden Eagle migration occurred on Halloween. It may be later this year with the mild fall we have been having.

Notable Bird Sightings: Greg Grove’s Summary

(Sept 23- Oct 27, 2021; Centre and its contiguous counties)

The theme of this month seemed to be “birds staying late” with the unseasonably warm fall we have been having. Birds that were seen later than is typical included: Sora, Forster’s Tern, American Bittern, Broad-winged Hawks and Philadelphia Vireo, which appeared in higher than normal numbers in Sept and one in early Oct. Other birds appearing in higher abundance than has been typical include 8 reports (during Oct) of Marsh Wren and a high number (55) of American Pipits seen on PA Furnace road.

September is the big month for warbler migration, but this year, even in October, twenty-two different species have been reported including Orange-crowned, Connecticut , Tennessee, Nashville and Blackburnian. Other birds of note coming through the area included Black-bellied and American Golden Plovers, Dunlin, Swainson’s Thrush and a flyover Dickcissel on a night recording. Especially low numbers of Rusty Blackbirds have been recorded with only 8 sightings.

As is typical, October has been the month of sparrow arrival. This year, along with the normal cast of characters, were several Grasshopper and Fox Sparrows. And finally, an unusually early sighting (Oct 8) of a Lapland Longspur, which when seen, typically appear in late Dec/Jan.

Speaker: Connor Loomis: " Merlins Meet Fish Crows: conflicts between two species on the move"

Connor Loomis, a PH. D. candidate in Binghamton University’s Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Department, is part of the Crow Research Group, a joint research collaboration between Binghamton University and The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. His research focuses on Fish Crow range expansion in Ithaca NY as a means of understanding the pressures species go through as their range expands into new areas. Connor discussed the interactions he has been observing between Fish Crows and Merlins as both species’ ranges expand and overlap.

Crows as a group are especially interesting because they are highly intelligent; described as having a primate-like level of intelligence with large prefrontal cortex, the thought center of the brain, like humans. Crows also have complex social structures which vary among species. Ravens form long term pair bonds, American and Fish Crows form tight familial groups and some crow species live in dense colonies. They are incredibly adaptable, found on all continents, except Antarctica, and in all types of habitats including human-modified environments (urban, suburban, agricultural).

In the northeast US there are 3 Corvus species (our large black corvids), Ravens, American Crows (AC) and Fish Crows (FC), distinguished primarily by their call. FC actively associate with AC; they feed together and respond to each others’ alarm calls.

The FC is 2/3 the size of AC with shorter legs, thinner bill and a more horizontal posture when standing. They are more closely related to Ravens than AC and, as a more southern species, probably originated from the Caribbean crows (Palm and Jamaican) with whom they are closely related.  And as their name suggests, FC tend to be closely associated with waterways.

FC have been moving north during the last 200-400 years from their original Florida home, primarily along the east and gulf coasts. Records indicate that they have been present in PA, around Philadelphia, since at least 1812, but only began breeding in Ithaca NY, the northern most inland breeding location, in 1979, where there is now a group of 60-100 individuals.

Merlins, a northern adapted falcon which are similar in size to crows, have very recently been moving south from Canada into the northeast US to breed. Since Merlins began appearing in Ithaca around 2003, interactions between Merlins and FC in the Ithaca study area have only been occurring for around the past 20 years as their ranges now overlap.

Merlins never build their own nests, but typically, in Canada, have used old abandoned AC nests. A new Merlin behavior in the zone of overlap has been observed. Rather than using abandoned nests, examples of Merlins usurping newly built FC nests for their own use has been documented. Nest take-over occurs when either Merlins directly harass the FC on the nest or when the calls of Merlins alert other nest predators such as squirrels or other hawks to the presence of the FC nest which are then predated by these nest predators.

Although sample size of these observations are low, it appears that this take-over negatively impacts the breeding success of both species (FC and Merlins).

In the presence of Merlins, 40% of FC nests failed. When they re-nest, FC are more likely to fail to produce young than those that had a single nest during the breeding season.  Interestingly, Merlins also have a lower rate of success producing fledglings from taken-over FC nest as compared to the traditional method of using old abandoned crow nests.

These observations are raising more questions about the interactions between these 2 species:

Are FC nests ultimately aiding Merlin range expansion since after use, FC nests are sturdier and last longer than AC nests?

Is this a new behavior among Merlins, since AC and Merlins have always lived with each other in Canada without such conflict?

Is this more aggressive behavior of Merlins, seen on the vanguard of range expansion, similar to the greater aggression shown by male Bluebirds to defend their nests in areas at the edge of their range?

Connor would be happy to provide additional information to anyone interested.