The Texas Bird Conservation Alliance (TBCA), an ad hoc group of organizations and individuals interested in the conservation of Texas birds, last met in February 2008 in McAllen. That daylong session, held to correspond with the Partners in Flight International Conference, brought together a broad range of conservationists who dedicated the day to discussion Texas bird conservation issues. People left that meeting expecting a quick follow up on the next steps to be taken in the evolution of the TBCA.
Few of us expected to be still waiting, almost one year later. The reasons for the delay are complicated, but the simple truth is that any effort of this sort needs to gather a critical mass of interest and effort in order to move forward. Where we may have interest, in effort we have lagged.
Therefore I have decided to revisit this issue, and to begin to organize this effort in the blogsphere. Of course I have every intention of evolving to a more tangible form, but for the moment this is the perfect medium for pulling together those interest in this issue. With the Texas legislative session underway, and the coast still reeling from Hurricane Ike, the need for the TBCA has never been more acute.
For those interested in being involved, I suggest starting by simply subscribing to this blog. Over time we will build a community of bird conservationists in Texas that will have a physical presence. For now, though, this blog will allow us to jump start the effort and see how we might make up ground toward the promise so vividly exhibited last February.
To that end, I am (finally) making available the podcasts of last year's sessions. There may be accessed by simply clicking on the links below. Thanks for your patience and understanding, and I look forward to seeing how far we might push this effort together.
Ted Eubanks
February 2009 TBCA Conference
McAllen, Texas
Podcast 1
TBCA Introduction - Ted Eubanks
Podcast 2
Questions for Ted Eubanks
Podcast 3
GCBO - Cecilia Riley
ABA - Dr. Richard Payne
Audubon Texas - Andy Kasner
Houston Audubon - Winnie Burkett
Podcast 4
TNC - Rich Kostecke
TPWD and BBS - Brent Ortego
eBird - CLO (Chris Wood)
Podcast 5
Valley Nature Center - Martin Hagne
Future of TBCA Discussion
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Committed to Texas birding and bird conservation, and the nexus between the two
Texas Tweets
Ecological Impacts of Roads and Traffic
- Ecological Impacts of Roads and Traffic: A Literature Review
- Scientific Literature References for Anthropogenic Noise Impacts to Wildlife
- The effects of car traffic on breeding bird populations in woodland. III: Reduction of density in relation to the proximity of main roads
- The Effects of Traffic on Breeding Birds in Dutch Agricultural Grasslands
- The impact of environmental noise on song amplitude in a territorial bird
New Study Details Geolocator Tracking of High-Speed Migrants
A new study, published in the February issue of Science, reveals that neotropical migrants such as the Wood Thrush and Purple Martin are capable of traveling at rates far in excess of those previously estimated. According the the new study, "the new geolocators also showed that the wood thrushes [tagged in Pennsylvania] spent between 1 and 4 weeks in the southeastern United States and Yucatan Peninsula before reaching their destination in a relatively small area of Honduras and Nicaragua." The implication is that some species of birds have restricted breeding and wintering ranges, and are particularly susceptible to habitat destruction. For more information, read the on-line version of Science.
New Audubon Report Shows Shifts in Winter Birds Due to Global Warming
According to a new report from the National Audubon Society, "Nearly 60% of the 305 species found in North America in winter are on the move, shifting their ranges northward by an average of 35 miles. Audubon scientists analyzed 40 years of citizen-science Christmas Bird Count data — and their findings provide new and powerful evidence that global warming is having a serious impact on natural systems. Northward movement was detected among species of every type, including more than 70 percent of highly adaptable forest and feeder birds." Further information about the report is available on the project's website.
TBC Web and Blog Roll
- A Charm of Finches
- All About Birds
- Antshrike's Bird Blog
- Audubon Dallas
- Audubon Outdoor Club of Corpus Christi
- Bexar Audubon Society
- Bird the Bend Blog
- Birding on the Net
- Birdnet
- Birds of North America On-Line (subscription required)
- CLO Ivory-billed Woodpecker Report Link
- eBird
- Frontera Audubon Society
- Golden Triangle Audubon Society
- Gulf Coast Bird Observatory
- Houston Audubon Society
- Martin Reid
- Monte Mucho Audubon Society
- San Antonio Audubon Society
- SORA (Searchable Ornithological Research Archive
- Surfbirds
- Texas A&M Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection
- Texas Breeding Bird Atlas
- Texas eBird
- Texas Nature Conservancy
- Texas Ornithological Society
- Texas Rare Birds Committee
- Trans-Pecos Audubon Society
- Travis Audubon Society
- Valley Nature Center
- Welder Wildlife Foundation
- World Birding Center
Texas Conservation Politics
Border Fence News
Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
Blog Archive
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