Birding around South Portland on Friday morning did not produce anything out of the ordinary, but I did spot a single first-cycle Iceland Gull off of Mill Creek Cove. Our Saturday morning birdwalk was eventful, with some very good birds, and some good adventures (snowshoeing in an old orchard and pushing my car out of a snowbank. Oops). I had also arranged to visit a very birdy yard on Cousin’s Island with the group this morning, and this stop was very productive, highlighted by this most cooperative Pine Siskin sipping from a heated bird bath.

Meanwhile, there has been quite a bit of stuff about birds in the news of late.

But first, here’s another article about the ethanol boondoggle.

Then, there’s the Horseshoe Crab and Red Knot issue in the Delaware Bay. If you have not seen the excellent Nature episode on the Knot – which first aired this past Sunday – I highly recommend it.

But, unfortunately, here’s a message that was sent out by New Jersey Audubon on Thursday, one of the organization leading the fight to save the horseshoe crab, and the birds that depend on it:

"By a vote of 5 (commercial fisheries special interest members) to 4 (recreational fishing members), the NJ Marine Fisheries Council has rejected the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s proposed moratorium on the harvest of horseshoe crabs, setting the [rufa subspecies of the] Red Knot on a path to extinction. Red Knots, a robin-sized shorebird, come to the Delaware Bay each spring after flying non-stop from Brazil. Knots rely on a superabundance of excess horseshoe crab eggs to nearly double their body weight in less than 2 weeks, before flying non-stop to their breeding grounds in the Arctic.

"Due to the reckless overharvest of horseshoe crabs and a subsequent rapid decline of their eggs, the Red Knot population has plummeted from over 100,000 to only 14,800 currently wintering in Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America. According to over 30 scientists on 4 continents, the Red Knots are facing the imminent risk of extinction. Three other shorebirds, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, and Sanderling, are facing similar declines.

"NJ Audubon Society members submitted over 500 letters and over 30 members testified in support of the moratorium. Despite this setback, NJ Audubon and its partners are committed to the recovery of Red Knots, other shorebirds and horseshoe crabs on the Delaware Bay.
We and our partners are researching our options for next steps. We will need your help in the near future, so please stay tuned.
In the mean time, I strongly encourage folks to write letters to the editor in papers (please copy me on submissions) which ran the story with the following points:
1) You strongly disagree with and are extremely disappointed in the NJ Marine Fisheries Council and its decision.
2) The NJ Marine Fisheries Council decision runs counter to the science and sets the Red Knot on a course towards extinction.
3) The NJ Marine Fisheries Council vote shows that the council represents special interests and not the public interest. New Jerseyans and future generations deserve and demand conservation of our natural heritage!
4) Thank NJ Department of Environmental Protection for its outstanding science and policy work.
5) Request that Governor Corzine and state legislators take immediate action to ensure a horseshoe crab harvest moratorium is enacted prior to April.
6) The moratorium needs to last until the Delaware Bay shorebird populations and spawning horseshoe crabs have fully recovered.
7) The Delaware Bay, our Serengeti, is one of the top four most important shorebird stopover sites in the world. We must be responsible stewards for this gem!

"Please feel free to contact me with any questions or if you want help with letters to the editor.

"Thanks again for all your efforts. Collectively, we will prevail!

"Sincerely,
Eric Stiles, Vice President for Conservation
New Jersey Audubon Society"

More information:
An excellent article from New Jersey Audubon magazine.

NJ Audubon’s Shorebird/Horseshoe Crab Conservation Campaign (and various news releases, links, etc):

Article on the decision from NJ.com.

NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife’s page on the Knot.

Horseshoe Crab.org

Send comments to the Governor of NJ:

Personally, I believe the decision by the NJ Marine Fisheries Council is at the very least misguided, and quite possibly most illegal. I urge everyone to write letters, make phone calls, and let the powers that be know what a travesty that this politically-motivated, un-scientific, decision is. Essentially, the jobs of 39 people have been deemed more important than the lives of millions of others (thanks to the medical research made possible by the non-lethal blood harvest), the dozens upon dozens of folks employed by the wildlife watching industry in South Jersey (which brings in far more money than the crab harvest!), and the survival of an entire subspecies of a truly unique and fascinating bird! So PLEASE, write, call, and support the cause.

But, today, I’ll end with some good news. A new wintering location for the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper has been discovered in Myanmar, which is a very good sign for this species, which is teetering on the brink of extinction.