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Counting introduced birds, and bird-friendly landscaping



On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, Dwayne & Lori Martin wrote:
> 
> We've notice several of these reports include
> Mottled Duck---at least from Bear Island.  I was also reading about them
> being introduced in the 1970's to the Santee Coastal Reserve (from Robin
> Carter's "Birds of SC").  So, our question is this----if we see Mottled
> Ducks, are they countable for our lifelists?

I try to follow the ABA's official policy, which is that any introduced 
bird - whether a true exotic, or a formerly native species which had been 
extirpated and then reintroduced - must be part of an established 
breeding population to be counted. I can't find their exact standards, 
but I think they consider a population established after 5 generations 
have successfully bred in the wild. I'm kind of sad, because it means I 
probably have to remove the Nene (Hawaiian Goose) from my list; I 
recently heard that although adults have returned to the wild, and are 
surviving well, they still have not successfully bred because mongoose 
and cats keep eating their chicks and eggs. And California Condor may not 
be countable again for a couple of decades! Purple Swamp Hens should be 
valid in a few more years, though... 

If the Mottled Ducks in NC were introduced in the '70s, and none have 
been released since then, then they should be safely "countable" for ABA 
list reports.

Meanwhile, since so many people keep asking me for copies of Will Cook's 
list of bird-friendly plants for landscaping (maybe Will should add 
something about this to his web site...), I figure that the following 
messages from Maryland's MDOsprey listserv might also be well received; 
Maryland is close enough to the Carolinas that most of the plants native 
to one area will be native to the other, barring the ones that cannot 
survive that much further north or south. If any botanists notice plants 
on the below lists or web sites which are *not* safe to plant in the 
Carolinas, please speak up!

And to the web address of the Maryland Native Plant Society given below, 
I should point out that there is also a Florida equivalent at 
http://www.fnps.org/ . I assume that neither Carolina has a native plant 
society, yet... I did, however, recently find a set of "Working with 
Wildlife notes" written by someone at the NCSU forestry extension, 
including a page of tips on "Low Cost Habitat Improvements" at 
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/nreos/forest/steward/www18.html 
Links at the bottom of the page lead to other notes including "Herbaceous 
Plants for Wildlife", "Hummingbirds and Butterflies", "Pools for 
Amphibians", "Snags and Downed Logs", "Woodland Wildlife Nest Boxes", and 
"Building Songbird Boxes", as well as something called the Stewardship 
Incentive Program (under "SIP Wildlife Opportunities") which apparently 
pays landowners who own and manage 10 or more acres for wildlife.

Enjoy!

--------------------------------------------------
Shadbush a.k.a. Serviceberry [ genus Amelanchier]. Shrub to small tree
usually with white flowers in spring and berries in late Summer.  There are
several native species.

American Holly: Ilex opaca. Only female trees produce berries and they are
insect pollinated, so a male tree has to be nearby.

Jim Stasz
North Beach MD
jlstasz@aol.com
--------------------------------------------------
Jim has some good suggestions of natives to plant.  I wanted to add a few
others that birds like to feed on as well.
SHRUBS:
Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) - - white flowers & dark blue/black fruits.
Bayberry (Myrica sp.) - - relished by Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) - - bright red fruits in early fall.  Plant
generally needs damp/wet site.  Also serves as the larval food plant for
the Spicebush Swallowtail.

TREES:
Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) - - Upland site.  White flowers in May,
fruits usually in mid summer.  Also serves as the larval food plant for the
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail & Red-spotted Purple.
Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) - - Prefers a damp site.  Blue fruits in late
summer/early fall & striking scarlet leaves when leaves turn color.
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) - - Upland dry site.  Yellowish flowers in
spring, bluish fruits in early fall and colorful crimson leaves when turns
in the fall.  Also is used by the Spicebush Swallowtail as a larval food
plant.

Also, if you have any "edge" along a hedgerow or woods adjoining your
property, leave the Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia),
Bullbrier (Smilax glauca & other species) and Poison Ivy
(Toxicodendron[Rhus] radicans).  These are all very good foods for birds,
especially the creeper and poison ivy.

Peter C. Osenton, Wildlife Biologist
USGS,Biological Resources Division
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Laurel, MD 20708  USA
--------------------------------------------------
> Is there a web site where I can read up on native plants?  I'd like a
> mixture of evergreens, deciduous, and definitely some berry bearing stuff.

Yes, there is!  Check out the Maryland Native Plant Society
website at:

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/2996/index.html

Good luck with your plantings and let us know how it turns out.

Best,
Norm Saunders
=================
Norm Saunders
Colesville, MD
marshhawk@worldnet.att.net
--------------------------------------------------



Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Zoology

jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/