2017 AUDUBON PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS WINNERS

S U M M ER 2 017

SPECIAL REPORT:
WATER AND BIRDS
IN THE ARID WEST

HOW TO
TAKE AMAZING
SHOREBIRD
PHOTOS

BIRD BLINDS
ACROSS
AMERICA

PLAYING
WITH FIRE
IN A CHICAGO
MARSH

BOB THE
FLAMINGO
CONQUERS
CURAAO

A RISKY RESCUE
FOR ISLAND
SPECIES

WILL INTERIOR
SECRETARY ZINKE
TARNISH HIS
IDOLS LEGACY?
 Audubon Birds Live!
Across the Audubon network and with our partner Explore.org,
live cameras stream glimpses into the fascinating lives of birds.
From Ospreys and Bald Eagles to Atlantic Puffins and a particularly
charismatic Blue Jay, Audubon bird cams are not to be missed.
Tune inyou never know what you might see.
audubon.org/birdcams
ATLANTIC PUFFIN. PHOTO: CYRIL RUOSO/MINDEN PICTURES
Blind, bald, and vulnerable, many baby birds cant fend for themselves. They are altricial,
meaning they need parental careif not from adult birds, then from humans. Photographer
Andrew Garn knows this rsthand. He volunteers as a wildlife rehabilitator at the Wild
Bird Fund in New York City, where he has turned some of his avian patients into subjects.
He is drawn to the young birds because their ungainly, alien look is so different from their
adult form. Its amazing how they become so elegant, Garn says.
g
NAKED AND AFRAID PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW GARN
Altricial birds are born bald, Text by Meaghan Lee Callaghan
or with patches of natal down
feathers like this Monk Parakeet
chick (left). It hatched from an
egg laid by a rescue, and Garn
photographed it right after it
broke free, bits of shell still
clinging to its body. A couple of
days older, this House Sparrow
(right) was brought in as an
orphan. Still completely blind,
like the parakeet, the sparrow
begs for food with its brightly
colored gape, or mouth. That
color will only start to fade after
the bird has fully edged.
g
GROW I NG PAI NS
Growing up is almost never a
smooth transition. But what
looks like a really bad hair day
for this pigeon chick is just a step
in the process of becoming an
adult. Around 12 days old, it still
sports yellow down but is also
growing sheathed pin feathers,
which pierce the skin and unfurl
like a ag. These feathers wont
stick around for long, though.
Just weeks after edging, some
pigeons start their rst molt.
Because shedding old feathers
can be a slow process, edged
birds can end up with juvenile,
rst molt, and second molt
feathers all at the same time.
g
ROC K O N
While the Rock Pigeon is
common throughout most of
the United States, chicks can
be a rare sight. That's not the
case for Garn, who has chosen
the bird as a recent muse and
even raised one from an egg
photographing it in his studio
at about four days old (left).
Stretching and stumbling, a
second pigeon, photographed
at the home of a rehabber, tries
out its new feet. Later in life,
it will join others in its species
as an expert navigatorin part
why humanity has relied on
pigeons to carry messages for
thousands of years.
CONTENTS Summer 2017 Volume 119, Number 2

22
Western Waters Oases in a Dry Land
In the arid West, the Colorado River Basin and a
network of saline lakes supply water critical to the
survival of both birds and people.
Essay by David Owen/Visualizations by Katie Peek
30
Gallery Audubon Photography Awards
It wasnt easy to whittle down the more than
5,500 photos entered in this years competition,
but a handful of images proved exceptional.
By the Editors

The Top 100

Browse more
favorites and
galleries from
the contest at
audubon.org/
photoawards

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: DAILY OVERVIEW; CHRISTOPHER SCHLAF, ERIC NYQUIST; TRISTAN SPINSKI
Cover
Southern Camine
Bee-eaters.
Photograph by
Zachary Webster/
Youth Winner

40
Observation Blind Faith
What is a blind to a birder? Protection, a portal, and
a lesson in patience. Explore these extraordinary
structures through a photographers lens.
EssaybyTerryTempestWilliams/Photos byTristanSpinski
48
Innovation Engineering a Better Mousetrap
New genetic technology may one day save island
birds from invasive predators. But is tinkering with
nature worth the risk?
By Brooke Borel/Illustrations by Eric Nyquist

6AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017


8 Audubon View
We dont have to cut environmental
protections to grow the economy. Theres
plenty of evidence that both can thrive.
11 Inbox
12 Field Notes
Ryan Zinke puts the bull in Bull Moose;
scorching the Earth for a postindustrial
renaissance; how one Arctic seabird is
faring against climate change; rigged
nests and robots to advance ornithology.
20 Flock Together
Flamingo Road A poolside accident
meant Bob could never return to the
wild. But the leggy pink ambassador
has found a new calling on the island
of Curaaoand the kids are loving it.
By Meghan Bartels/Photography by
Jasper Doest
LEFT, TOP TO BOTTOM: MAC STONE; JOSHUA LOTT; GAIL BISSON
52 Field Guide
Birding Why vireos deserve to be your
favorite summer songbirds.
Travel Pitch (or rent) a tent under the
stars for a true avian adventure.
Photography Rule one of the beach-
bum club: Dont forget your camera.
60 Illustrated Aviary
The American Flamingos neck takes
center stage in this cerebral rendering.
By Dan Winters/Text by Julie Leibach
WHAT WE WERE THINKING
A Voice You Can Trust
Our commitment to rigorous journalism stretches back
more than a centuryand far into the future.
BY MARK JANNOT
W hen we asked writer
Brooke Borel to look into
early efforts to explore protecting
imperiled island birds by tweaking
the genetic code of their mouse
predators, we had no idea whether
the National Audubon Society
had taken a position on the con-
troversial concept, and if so what
it might be. (As Borel reports near
the end of Engineering a Better
Mousetrap, the answer is essen-
tially We havent taken a stance,
but Audubon scientists tend to
look unfavorably on calls to ban
scientic research.) We didnt
need to know that going in be-
cause our interest in the story had
everything to do with the fact that
its an important one that we were
certain youd nd fascinating, and
nothing to do with promulgating
an organizational party line.
Because heres the thing: Odd
as this may sound, Audubon is
not Audubon. The magazine has
functioned as an independent
journalistic entity, published by the
National Audubon Society and
covering topics of interest to the
organizations members (I like to
call it a general-interest magazine
about birds), for the entirety of its
hundred-plus years and count-
ing. It is not a house organ, and
its value derives entirely from its
integrity, from the fact that you
can trust that what you read here is
factually accurate and fair, and isnt
Audubon is
not a house
organ, and its
dictated to us by our organizational value derives
overlords. And when we report on entirely from
Audubons work, as we do regular- its integrity.
ly, we apply the same journalistic Bottom line,
rigor and commitment to clarity there is noth-
and accuracy. (On page 22, youll ing fake about
nd a particularly ne example of our news.
this in Oases in a Dry Land, our
exploration of the Water and Birds
in the Arid West report just pub-
lished by Audubons science team.)
Bottom line, there is nothing fake
about our news.
That ethic emphatically
applies to the photos we publish
as well, and is duly enshrined in
the rules of our annual Audubon
Photography Awards, which
state that submitted photos must
accurately reect the subject
matter as it appeared in the view-
nder, with any digital alteration
beyond standard optimization
grounds for disqualication. The
gallery of this years winners that
starts on page 30, and the Top
100 showcased at audubon.org/
photoawards, provide incontro-
vertible evidence (if any were
needed) that there is nothing
more powerful than to truly see
the world, in all its splendor and
squalor, just as it is. a
SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 7
AUDUBON VIEW
A False Choice
Protecting birds and the environment doesnt have to
come at the cost of economic health and growth.
BY DAVID YARNOLD, CEO/PRESIDENT
A s the new administration
looks to slash environmental
programs, we hear the same ratio-
nale over and over again: We cant
afford to protect the environment,
because doing so damages our
economy. Theres just one little
problemits not true.
You may already know this
8AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017
instinctively. Shopping for bin-
oculars, traveling to new birding
spots, hiring birding guides
all of these activities feed the
economy. In fact, one industry
calculation estimates that outdoor
recreation contributes more than
$800 billion annually to the econ-
omy, and is directly or indirectly
responsible for employing more
than seven million people.
But the connections between
a healthy environment and a
healthy economy go much deeper
than that. Take southern Florida.
Businesspeople from a range of
industries have told Floridas gov-
ernment that when the Everglades
and its surroundings suffer, so do
their prots. And its not just boat
salesmen and shing guides who
are speaking up. Real estate agents
complain they cant sell homes
where pollution closes beaches
and paints canals green for two-
thirds of the year. Ninety-two
percent of hotel owners in Lee
County, near one highly publi-
cized algal bloom, reported losing
more than 100 nights of bookings
because of the incident.
And for every example like
these of economic losses caused by
environmental problems, its easy
to nd plenty of cases of the re-
$800 billion verse. In particular, environmental
Economic value regulations create jobs targeting
of U.S. outdoor pollution reduction and cleanup.
recreation The Environmental Protection
industry Agencys mercury rule alone has
created more than 100,000 jobs to
$41 billion date. One long-term study looking
Economic value across paper, plastic, petroleum,
of bird watching and steel production found that
in the United when regulations were introduced,
States losses in dirty jobs were balanced
out by jobs in retrotting technol-
100,000 ogy and cleaning pollution.
Jobs created by Sure, sometimes conservation
Mercury and measures can look expensive,
Air Toxics particularly when there are
Standards rule plenty of other issues people of
all parties want to tackle. Not
all programs will succeed, and
some could certainly be made
leaner. Where investments can be
trimmed without harming their
positive outcomes, they should
FROM LEFT: MAC STONE; CAMILLA CEREA/AUDUBON
be. But thats a far cry from using
the economy as an excuse to slash
programs that are real successes,
both environmentally and eco-
nomically speaking.
At Audubon, we pay atten-
g tion to data, and the numbers
NATURAL VALUE show that we dont have to choose
Canoers navigate between the environment we
through a wetland enjoy and the economy we need.
in the central Weand the birds we lovecan
Everglades. have both. a
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their habitats
is easy.
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Cost you nothing now
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Enable you to change your beneciaries use the following
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 Audubon
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10AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

 INBOX

All Right. I found it refreshing

to see another generation that
cares about the future and com-
mend Audubon for the story! Im
not writing to try and nd some
type of political endgame, but as
an educated scientist. Children
have just as much say about where
they live as their parents do.
Furthermore, climate change is
not some kind of science ction
as Mr. Eagle perceivesits fact.
Children are most likely more
educated than he gives them
credit for.
steve arnone

Scarlet Heroes [Re: Camp Macaw] Its sad that these rangers are needed,
but they deserve great respect for their work. I was in Belize and Guatemala
in 1990 on an eco-tour and saw beautiful tropical birds of many species,
in addition to monkeys and other fascinating creatures. Belize was my rst
tropical trip, and you cant imagine how fascinating and awe-inspiring it is to Lesson in Love
see macaws ying free in the wild and living the life they deserve! It makes Thank God for That Crazy Bird
me very sad that poachers from anywhere in the world would take wildlife is an inspiring, compassionate
from their homes to live a life in captivity. Deborah Avins story. Sometimes humans need to
interact with animals and watch
how they treat each other. We
Connect the Dots Why not keep a life list of yellow T H E A F T E R L I F E L I S T | B I R D - F R I E N D LY G A R D E N I N G | M E G A B I R D I N G F E S T I VA L S
have much to learn.
Chain Reaction is one of the Volkswagen Beetles or fat bald phyllis mathison
MISSION SCARLET
most important articles Audubon men? He missed the point, and so How to protect Belizes macaws from poachers?
Hunker down under their nests for weeks on end.

has published in a long time.
Some neonics are a boon to farm-
ers and Big Ag companies, but
are deadly to most crop insects. If
the insects dont survive, the birds
that eat them wont survive, and
the creatures that eat the birds
or drink the waters that neonics
pollute also wont survive. We
are looking at a trophic cascade
that goes all the way to the top
eventually to human beings.
jane alexander
audubon board member
Tally Ho!
[Re: The Afterlife List]
Wonderful story! Life never goes
PHOTO: CAMILLA CEREA/AUDUBON
did his son.
robert nordin
Greener Pastures
[Re: Beeng Up Bird Habitat]
This is a great step. Just like part-
nering with hunters can help save
our wild areas, so can partnering
with ranchers. Show people how
they can make a difference, give
them a chance, and oftentimes
they will do the right thing.
betsy jarvi
In Saskatchewan, ranchers under-
stand the use of grassland better
than the provincial government.
By joining with environmentalists,
I read the Blooms book and loved
it. Our family has had several
pet magpies; theyre amazing
birds. Thank you for sharing your
incredible journey with us.
Send letters to jo muller
audubonmagazine
@audubon.org. Dj Vu
The Mourning Warblers song
from Mapping Melodies is also
often featured in commercials, like
for Thompsons WaterSeal. So if
you think youve heard this before,
you have.
sandra hazen
We are Top Gun
looking at [Re: Resurgence] I used to be

as planned, death never goes as
planned, mourning never goes as
planned, and that is just ne.
ilana debare
What a sad tale about a man ob-
sessed not with the joy and beauty
of birding, but with numbers.
theyre the movers and shakers in a trophic able to observe Snail Kites in
the race to save habitat. cascade action when I lived in Palm Beach
john newman that goes County. Theyre truly majestic and
all the way super cool. Swallow-tailed Kites
Rising Activists to the top are the masters of ying, though,
Im writing in response to Eric eventually and my absolute favorite birds to
Eagles letter about the Winter to human watch in ight.
2016 article The Kids Are Not beings. giancarlo enrique santolalla

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 11


FIELD NOTES
POLIT IC S
Teddy or Not
By falling short of his Rooseveltian rhetoric,
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is endangering
his departments legacy of conservation.
BY BEN GOLDFARB
O ne morning this march,
Ryan Zinke donned a black
cowboy hat, mounted a bay roan
horse named Tonto, and paraded
through the streets of Washington,
D.C., to his rst day at work. After
settling into his wood-paneled
ofce, the new Secretary of the
Interior met with 19 hook-and-
bullet groups, including Ducks
Unlimited and the National
Wildlife Federation (NWF). A
portrait of Teddy Roosevelt was
propped in front of his desk.
The artwork was a well-placed
nod to Zinkes infatuation with
Americas rst conservationist
president. During his conrmation
hearing, the former congressman
from Montana called himself
an unapologetic admirer of
Roosevelt. (Even the secretarys
Twitter bio contains a reference to
#TeddyRoosevelt.) Zinke shares
his idols environmental zeal to
a modest, contemporary degree:
He acknowledges climate change,
supports the Land and Water
Conservation Fund, and opposes
the wholesale transfer of federal
lands to states.
But wildlife groups arent saying
bully to Zinke just yet. On the same
day he took ofce, the secretary shot
down a ban on lead ammunition
and shing tackle on all U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service properties. He also
12AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017
announced that the Department
of Homeland Security could waive
protections for endangered species
such as jaguars to clear the way for
President Trumps proposed border
wall. And he hinted at reframing
Greater Sage-Grouse management
goals by numbers, not habitat,
a discredited approach that could
unravel a suite of collaborative plans
developed by biologists, ranchers,
energy companies, and state and
federal ofcials. We should be
looking for ways to work with states
to implement those plans, says
Sarah Greenberger, Audubons vice
president of conservation policy
not torpedo them.
Zinkes actions are as concerning
as his words. In late March, the
secretary rescinded an Obama-era
rule that directed the Interior to
avoid projects that harm wildlife
and habitat, and, if necessary,
balance them with new restoration
work. He also ordered a review
of the departments mitigation,
climate change, and energy-
development policies, a move that
could put Arctic-drilling protec-
tions, climate-adaptation strategies,
and an array of restoration plans on
the chopping block this summer
when recommendations are due.
The disturbing news kept coming
in April, when a leaked Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) priority
work list conrmed the agencys aim
to pivot from conservation to energy
development. The memo calls for
expediting the permitting process for
drilling, coal mining, and pipeline
construction; approving border
security projects (read: the wall); and
possibly defanging the Endangered
Species Act. Additionally, President
Trump ordered the secretary to
investigate 27 national monument
designations, a direct threat to the
Antiquities Act, which was passed by
none other than Roosevelt himself.
Granted, the news hasnt all
been grim: In April, the Migratory
Bird Conservation Commission,
chaired by Zinke, approved fund-
ing to restore more than 100,000
acres of habitat in 14 states. Collin
OMara, president and CEO of
NWF, hopes the secretary can be
persuaded to preserve more land
for sensitive species. If he makes
some upfront investments now, he
can avoid regulatory actions later,
OMara says. In a lot of ways,
Zinke may
not be in
thats a conservative solution.
But even if Zinke wants to help,
hell be hamstrung by his agencys
Trump's inner
circlewhich budget. The Interior is already
could make strapped for cashthe National
it harder Park Service alone faces a $12 billion
to secure maintenance backlogyet Presi-
conservation dent Trump has proposed to slash
dollars. its funding by 11 percent, or about
$1.4 billion. After his conrmation
hearing, the secretary vowed to ght
any cuts, adding, I think Im going
to win. The fact that hes still losing,
says Whit Fosburgh, president and
CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt
Conservation Partnership, suggests
that Zinke may not be in Trumps
inner circlewhich could make it
harder to secure conservation dollars.
Fosburgh, like most wildlife
advocates, is withholding judgment
on whether the fanboy can live
up to his rhetoric. On the surface,
Zinke shares plenty with his toothy
idol, including a military back-
ground, a fondness for hunting, and
a penchant for cantering through
the capital on horseback. But for
now, thats where the comparison
g ends. You want to be the next great
BOOTLEG conservationist? asks Fosburgh.
In his four OK, what positive steps are you
months in office, going to take for the long-term
Zinke has outed management of our lands? Unlike
conservation as Roosevelt, Zinke has neither spoken
much as he's softly, nor carried a big stickat
aunted it. least, not on behalf of nature.
ILLUSTRATION BY FELIX SOCKWELL
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE CIARDIELLO SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 13
FIELD NOTES
AUDU BON IN AC T ION
A Cleansing Fire
Burning a wetland could boost bird populations in
a former industrial area of southeastern Chicago.
BY SUSAN COSIER
O n a mild monday in
February, a 30-acre patch of
common reed sways in the winter
breeze at Indian Ridge Marsh in
Southeastern Chicago. A colony
of Black-crowned Night-Herons
once built a rookery at Indian
14AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017
Ridge Marsh, and the herons
lingering presence prevented the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
from touching this plot of land in
2011, when the agency restored
the surrounding 150 acres of
former steel-industry dumping
grounds. But that was before the
reeds, known as phragmites, grew
taller, the thicket became denser,
the water rose higher, and the last
herons left. The parcel is now ripe
for restoration. But rst the land
needs re.
As the restoration crew sprays
gouts of aming fuel over the
grasses, the plants crackle and
the smell of diesel and campre
permeates the air. This conagra-
tion is one of the critical moments
in habitat restoration for Indian
Ridge. Before the steel mills and
factories transformed the Cal-
umet region into an industrial
zone studded with rusting hulks
and debris-choked ponds, this
area teemed with wetlands, rivers,
and forest. Now, after decades of
neglect, the Chicago Park District,
Audubon Great Lakes, and the
nonprot Wetland Initiative,
After decades among others, are working to-
of neglect,
Audubon
gether to restore the area and
provide somewhere for migratory
birds to rest, refuel, and reproduce.
Great Lakes
and others are Today the biggest threat to
working to existing wetlands in the Calumet
restore Indian are invasive plants like phragmites
Ridge Marsh. and narrowleaf cattail. As they
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSHUA LOTT
take over, the weeds suffocate
native species like lake sedge,
making conditions intolerable
for marsh birds that include the
Common Gallinule and Least
Bitternspecies that used to
thrive here. Unlike many native
grassland and forest plants that
evolved with wildres, the invasive
plants do not tolerate re well;
maintaining a healthy ecosystem
means applying herbicides and
then burning the property every
year. The ames will not only help
knock the plants back, but they
will also encourage native plants
to sprout, bringing seeds out of
their slumber, says Daniel Suarez,
who leads the sites eld crew for
Audubon Great Lakes.
History shows the marsh sys-
tem here can be prime real estate
for the birds, whose populations
are plummeting due primarily
to habitat loss. Audubon Great
Lakes, with the help of longtime
birder Walter Marcisz, has been
compiling data on how a variety
of birds have fared over time at
Indian Ridge. In the 1990s, says
Marcisz, "my impressions were,
Boy, is this a great place. Grad-
ually marsh-bird populations de-
clined until the birds were basically
all gone. Only recent restoration
efforts have brought them back in
small numbers.
The more land the team
of conservationists burns and
restoresas Audubon is already
doing at nearly 30 marsh, forest,
and grassland sites across the
Chicago regionthe more likely
it is that the species will recover.
As a 2016 study on grassland birds
in Illinois revealed, populations of
grassland-dependent Henslows
Sparrows have plateaued every-
where in the state except Chicago,
where their numbers are increas-
g ing. Weve lost a lot of places Invasive plant targeted: Crown vetch
FIR E CR E W in Chicago, says Nat Miller,
Facing page: Audubon Great Lakes director
Torching brush of conservation and co-author of
at Indian Ridge the 2016 study, as he walks along
Marsh. Be- what will be a trail for visitors of
low, clockwise Indian River Marsh. But even
from top left: with a history of heavy industrial
Phragmites; Juan use, he says, these open areas can
Rosales of the re be good habitat. As the ames
crew; worker puts reduce the brush to ash across the
out a hot spot; Nat restoration site, and the smoke
Miller of Audubon dissipates in the wind, the rebirth
Great Lakes. of marsh has already begun.
Fire Birds
Many ecosystems in the Chicago
area rely on native plants that need
re to reproduce or to hold invasive
species at bay. Land managers use
controlled burns to jumpstart native
growth while reining in the weeds.
These ve birds reap the benets.
Meghan Bartels
Bird species: Henslows Sparrow
Habitat: Large, open grasslands
Invasive plant targeted: Reed canary
grass
Bird species: Short-eared Owl
Habitat: Grasslands
Bird species: Red-bellied Woodpecker
Habitat: Oak savannah
Invasive plant targeted: Common and
glossy buckthorn
Bird species: King Rail
Habitat: Wetland
Invasive plant targeted: Phragmites
Bird species: Prothonotary Warbler
Habitat: Wet woodlands
Invasive plant targeted: Garlic mustard
SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 15
FIELD NOTES
ARCTIC
Dovekies Have a New
Diet and Workout Plan
A major lifestyle change could help seabirds
survive warming oceans and preserve a tundra
ecosystemat least in the short term.
BY BREANNA DRAXLER
Eto millions
very june the population of
Svalbard swells from thousands
as seabirds converge
on the Arctic archipelago to nest.
Located between Norway and
the North Pole, the small cluster
of islands turns rocky to lush in
a matter of weeks, thanks to the
guano, egg shells, and feathers
left behind by massive colonies of
Dovekies (better known as Little
Auks outside of North America).
The Dovekies compost is the
bedrock of the local ecosystem:
Reindeer and Barnacle Geese
feed on the emergent summer
vegetation, while Arctic foxes and
polar bears prey on the grazers
and nesters. The whole tundra is
connected, says Rafa Boehnke,
16AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017
an ecologist at the Institute of
Oceanology of the Polish Acad-
emy of Sciences. The Dovekies
derive their nutrients almost
exclusively from the sea, and they
deposit the wealth from the water
on land, tying the marine and
terrestrial food chains together.
For all the species it supports,
the six-ounce seabird relies on
just one food source: microscopic
crustaceans called copepods that
thrive west of Svalbard, where
cold Arctic waters mix with the
warm, salty Atlantic current.
But with temperatures rising
more dramatically here than
anywhere else on Earth, research
suggests the hotspot is getting
too hot. Novel laser technology
g has revealed that local copepod
SEAFARERS populations are shifting from
Left: The Dovekie calorie-rich Arctic species to less
is a tiny member hearty Atlantic varieties due to
of the auk or alcid fewer cold upwellings, which
family, which also bring nutrients to the surface of
includes puffins. the sea.
Above: A colony To learn how Dovekies are
of Dovekies at responding, researchers from
their cliffside Poland and Norway equipped birds
nesting spot on with temperature sensors, GPS
the west coast of trackers, and pressure monitors.
Svalbard. Meanwhile, Boehnkes colleagues
sampled the food parents retrieve
for their chicks. They found that
FROM LEFT: KONRAD WOTHE/MINDEN PICTURES/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE; FLORIAN SCHULZ/VISIONSOFTHEWILD.COM
 Under Siege
July marks the
peak breed-
ing season for
millions of birds in
northern Alaska.
Yellow-billed
Loons nest around
the deep waters
of Teshekpuk
Lake, Spectacled
Eiders settle into
the sedges of the
Beaufort Sea, and
species from all 50
U.S. states ood
the vibrant coastal
plain of the Arctic
National Wildlife
Refuge.
But soon the
fossil-fuel industry
could take over
this ecologically
imperative region,
otherwise known
as Americas
Bird Basket. In
May Secretary of
the Interior Ryan
Zinke ordered his
department to
create a plan that
maximizes oil and
gas extraction
in the western
Arctic (home to
Teshekpuk and
the refuge). An
earlier executive
order also looks to
overturn a ban on
offshore drilling
in the Arctic Sea.
If approved, both
schemes may
upend a delicate
adults are expending extra energy the lack of white hake and Atlantic can only sacrice so much for the compromise that
to bring home dinner, some- herringspecies thought to have health of their chicks before the balances business
times traveling farther from their ed north in search of cooler reproductive success of the larger with habitat
cliffside colonies and hunting at waterssome pufn colonies now population begins to falter. From protection.
greater depths. The team was also feed on Acadian redsh, a species there, the cascading effects of this To combat this
surprised to nd small squid and that has rebounded recently due to keystone species on tundra life threat, Audubon
other creatures never before seen careful management of commercial could be staggering. is calling on Con-
in the birds gullets. shing. Since then, there has been In the far north, ecosystems gress to preserve
So far, Dovekie populations an increase in survival rates for hang in a precarious balance. Each the Arctic Refuge
seem to be holding steady; theyre pufn edglings. small rise in temperature could bring from expanded
still one of the most abundant Still, researchers are keeping a organisms closer to the brink. But development.
seabirds in the Northern Hemi- close eye on Svalbards Dovekies. each small act of resilience like the Add your voice
sphere. Atlantic Pufns in the Gulf If anyone suffers, its the parents, Dovekies could also help scientists at audubon.org/
of Maine have demonstrated a says marine biologist and team predict how Arctic species might savearctic.
similar hardiness. To make up for member Emilia Trudnowska: They face the changing current. Purbita Saha

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 17

18AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017 PHOTOS: ZRYBNICK, M. ET AL. METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION 7, (2016); MARKTA ZRYBNICK
FIELD NOTES
problems such as scarce food sources,
Zrybnick says.
While the idea of gathering
video or environmental data from
nest boxes isnt new, the Czech
technology is novel in its integra-
tion of several sensors, says Charles
Eldermire, Bird Cams project leader
at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
TECH NOLOGY This makes it easier to investigate
how environmental factors such as
The Secret Lives of Birds temperature affect the owlets lives.
And the box has as-yet-untapped
A high-tech surveillance system catches feathered families potential: Zrybnick believes it can
on camera for science, education, and pure entertainment. be used as a tool to educate students,
BY ROBERTA KWOK entertain hospital patients, and forge
a closer connection between science
and the public. Since last year, her
crew has set up more than 30 devices
around the Czech Republic and
Poland to record owls and backyard
birds. The result is a treasure trove
of hundreds of thousands of videos,
available on birdsonline.cz.
The clips, which are viewed in
local classrooms, play like a highlight

W hen a male boreal owl

visits its nest, it doesnt linger
long. The hunter arrives in the dead
of night to deliver prey to its mate
and chicks, then immediately ies
away to start the ritual again.
In 2012 Markta Zrybnick, an
ecologist at the Czech University of
Life Sciences Prague, set out to cap-
ture these eeting moments in detail
with her colleagues. The birds are
endangered in the Czech Republic,
and learning more about their eating
and breeding habits could help
experts determine how to protect
them. But because the raptors are
nocturnal, little is known about their
lives. Its very difcult to follow such
a species, Zrybnick says.
So her team developed a clever
solution: the Smart Nest Box, a
wooden contraption that furtively
lms its tenants. Once an owl
breaches the infrared light beam
at the entrance, it takes just 16
milliseconds for one camera to start
recording the door, then another to
kick in and document the action on
the boxs oor. The researchers also
installed a microphone, temperature
sensors, and a radio-frequency ID
reader to log tagged birds.
After months of nessing, the
team deployed four boxes in the
Czech Republics Ore Mountains
in 2014. The information theyre
collecting opens up a window into
Boreal Owl parenting, and might
also allow scientists to pinpoint
abnormal behaviors and diagnose
g
NEST SPIES
Clockwise from
reel of the daily dramas of avian fam-
ilies. In one clip, a European Starling
spruces up a bed of grass with a
left: The quirky buttercup; in another, a Eurasian
late-night snacking Blue Tit removes a fecal pellet from
habits of Boreal its nestlings bottom. More somber
Owls exposed; the glimpses reveal Great Tit chicks
inside of the Smart succumbing to parasitic mites, and a
Nest Box, which pine marten wriggling into a Boreal
is about the size Owl nest to gobble up the eggs.
of a duffel bag; The researchers want to debut
a depth-sensing the Smart Nest Box in the United
drone that may States by 2018. They also plan to
change the way use it for more research: to compare
scientists study Boreal Owl behavior in different
tree cavities. habitats and analyze how light
pollution affects songbird activities.
And with the camera constantly
rolling, there will always be fresh
enigmas to explore.

Cavity Check testing a high-tech affect breeding such as cavity

alternative: a success in birds dimensions and
Like nest boxes, drone that uses a like White-backed clutch size.
tree hollows hold light-based depth Woodpeckers. The Though its
untold secrets for sensor to nd and team is planning not clear how
ornithologists. photograph cavity to y a prototype invasive these
To peer inside nests. around empty visits will be,
the loftiest ones, Deploying Black Woodpecker the team says
scientists must the robot could hollows this sum- the drone is
climb six stories help scientists mer. In the future, likely swifter
or higher with determine which it hopes to run 3-D than current
ropes, or hoist up cavities provide reconstruction techniquesand
cameras on poles. the best habitat for software on the far more graceful
Now researchers forest species, and drones images on the scientists
in Switzerland are track which factors to reveal details part. R.K.

FROM TOP: MARKTA ZRYBNICK; THIBAULT LACHAT SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 19

FLOCK TOGETHER

20 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

Flamingo Road
As an ambassador for his wild kin, Bob the amingo
keeps a busy social calendar.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASPER DOEST
TEXT BY MEGHAN BARTELS
W hen veterinarian odette
Doest arrived at her local
radio station on the Caribbean
island of Curaao for an interview
about wildlife conservation, her
companion, Bob, startled the staff.
Doest told them shed be bringing
a amingo, but theyd assumed she
meant the plastic variety.
The unlikely duo met in
October, after Bob (whom Doest
named spontaneously when
the radio host asked his name)
crashed into a hotel window and
collapsed near the pool. Doest,
an exotic-pet veterinarian who
rehabilitates wildlife on the side,
learned of the accident via Face-
book and rushed over. She quickly
realized Bob couldnt be released,
because of his unnatural afnity
for human company. So Bob be-
came part of Doests rescue ock,
which includes macaws, boobies,
and a caracara. The birds live on
her yard and porch-turned-aviary,
next door to her ofce.
When wildlife photographer
Jasper Doest visited his cousin
Odette, he was so enchanted by
Bobs charisma that he began docu-
menting the amingos busy life.
Doest brings Bob to schools and
media outlets to educate locals about
his wild kin. The island is home to
around 250 of the elegant waders,
but most of the countrys almost
160,000 inhabitants arent familiar
with the birds or the threats they
face, such as resort development
encroaching on feeding and nesting
habitat or injury from loose dogs.
Im often surprised that my fellow
islanders dont really know whats
out there in the wild, Doest says.
While Doest would have
preferred to free Bob, she says hes
helping to instill a conservation ethic
in the next generation. Kids want
to know all about the four-foot-tall
pink bird: how his life differs from
that of his free-ying cousins, why
his feathers are pink (as a result
of compounds in the shrimp and
algae he eats), and his favorite snack
(caviar, which he tries to eat straight
out of Doests hand). After each
school visit, Doest asks one student
to carry Bob back to her car. You
see them glowing with pride, she
says of the newest members of Bobs
growing fan base. A
SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 21
W E ST ERN WATER

Oases in a Dry Land

Like people, birds depend on water, relying on it during migration, breeding, and nesting. Perhaps nowhere is this resource
more critical than where it is scarcestacross the West. As a new report from Audubon reveals, the increasing pressures on
Western water have put birds in a perilous situation, one that will require creative solutions and unprecedented collaboration.
E S S AY BY DAV I D OW E N | DATA V I S U A L I Z AT I O N S BY K AT I E P E E K | P H OTO G R A P H Y BY DA I LY OV E RV I E W

g RIBBON OF GREEN
Riparian habitat along the Gila River,
a 650-mile tributary of the Colo-
rado, supports more than 200 bird
species. If a plan to divert water to
southwestern New Mexico moves
forward, up to 4.5 billion gallons
could be siphoned away annually.
Money for the project could instead
be used for water-conservation pro-
grams, the goal of a campaign being
led by Audubon New Mexico.
W E ST ERN WATER
ur pilot, david kunkel,
O asked me to retrieve
his oxygen bottle from
under my seat, and when
I handed it to him he gripped
the plastic breathing tube
with his teeth and opened
the valve. We had taken off
from Boulder not long before
and were ying over Rocky
Mountain National Park,
30 miles to the northwest.
People dont usually think
altitude is affecting them,
he said. But if you ask them
to count backward from a
hundred by sevens they have
trouble. What struck me at
that moment was not how
high we were but how low:
As Kunkel banked steeply to
the right to give us a better
view of a stream at the bot-
tom of a narrow valley, his
wingtip appeared to pass just
feet from the jagged declivity
beneath us.
The other passenger,
sitting in the copilots seat
and leaning out the window
with a big camera, was Jen-
nifer Pitt, the director of the
National Audubon Societys
Colorado River Program. Pitt
is in her forties. She has long
brown hair, which she had
pulled back into a ponytail,
and she was wearing a purple
eece. In recent years, her
focus has been on the rivers
other end, in Mexico, but
she had agreed to show me
its source. Our principal
destination that day was the
Colorados headwaters, just
over the Continental Divide,
roughly 50 miles south of the
Wyoming state line. The
best way to see a river system
is from the air, shed told me.
When the rst Europeans
to view the Grand Canyon
looked down from its
southern rim, in 1540, they
guessed that the stream at the
bottom must be about eight
feet wide. Theyd been fooled
by the scale of the canyon,
but even so, the Colorado
River isnt huge. If you were
24 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017
Colorado River Basin:
Refuge in Flux
The riparian forest that lines the waterways of the
Colorado River Basin provides critical habitat for birds,
including 400 species along the lower Colorado River
alone. But because the region has been radically
replumbed, that habitat is changing. Water and Birds in
the Arid West: Habitats in Decline, a report published by
the National Audubon Society in July, documents what
that shift means for birdlife, now and in the future.
Prole Scores of dams and diversions have altered river ows,
Going with the Flow undermining native tree species and allowing invasive
shrubs to grow in their place. At least six breeding birds,
In March 2014 Jennifer Pitt including the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and
celebrated a career accomplishment Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo, have declined in sync.
in San Luis Ro Colorado, Mexico, As human demand increases and the climate changes,
where for years the nearby riverbed riparian habitatnative or notcould begin to disappear
had held more trash than water. altogether. By protecting the rivers ows, the more than
Thanks to negotiations led by Pitt 36 million people who rely on the basin for water will
and others, Mexico and the United protect the regions birds, too.
States agreedamong many other
itemsto release a pulse of Colorado Priority Species
River water that would slowly ow all Eight species have populations that particularly depend on native
the way to the sea. On the appointed cottonwood-willow forest and marshes in the Colorado River Basin. For
day, dozens of the towns residents the report, Audubon modeled where four that breed in the basin tend
gathered to clean out the channel, to be most abundant (shown below on maps). Bells Vireo and Summer
then settled in lawn chairs to await Tanager occur in the lower basin, while Yellow-breasted Chat and
the rivers rebirth. By evening, Pitt Yellow Warbler appear basinwide.
says, It became this river esta,
complete with men on horses Modeled relative abundances: Low High
prancing through the new water.
Now director of Audubons
Colorado River Program, Pitt spends Bells Vireo Summer Tanager
her days striving to foster a similar Breeding resident Breeding resident
spirit of cooperation across the Once common in The small regional
the lower basin, this populations of this
rivers basin. Her team at Audubon
mid-story nester canopy nester sug-
is working with irrigation districts, declined with the gest its particularly
water utilities, urban water users, loss of cottonwood- sensitive to future
tribes, government agencies, and willow forests. change.
other green groups to design
agreements that will make the
water supply for both people and Yellow-breasted Yellow Warbler
the environment more reliable. That Chat Breeding resident
will enable everyone in the region to Breeding resident This species,
make plans based on the amount Following a decline adored for its sweet
in the 1970s, basin song, prefers breed-
of water they will actually have and populations are ing in cottonwood
avoid unexpected crises. Pitt sees now stable for this forests wherever
the river as not just an ecosystem, oversized warbler. found in the basin.
but also an embodiment of the
history, demographics, politics, and
economics of the West. I nd it all
Sandhill Crane Southwestern Western Yellow- Yuma Ridgways
innitely fascinating, which makes Wintering resident Willow Flycatcher billed Cuckoo Rail
me sound like a big dorkwhich is This shallow- Breeding resident Breeding resident Year-round resident
maybe what I am. Meghan Bartels water wader has The lower basin This federally The Colorado River
a small regional supports the largest threatened Delta supports
population, making breeding territories subspecies two-thirds of this
it especially of this federally usually forages in endemic and feder-
vulnerable to endangered cottonwoods and ally endangered
habitat changes. subspecies. nests in willows. subspecies.
PREVIOUS SPREAD: DAILY OVERVIEW, SATELLITE IMAGERY DIGITALGLOBE; ABOVE: MIKE FERNANDEZ
 MAP KEY

Colorado and its tributaries Areas where saltcedar had

Annual peak ow been documented as of
in the lower Colorado River Locations of major dams 2009though it may occur in
(cubic feet per second) other locations as well
Colored bands show the future
150,000
vulnerability to climate change Band location Colors mark
100,000 of ve selected river segments relative to likelihood of
river indicates insufficient river
(only these ve were assessed prediction date ow at that date
50,000
for climate vulnerability). The by 2060 020 percent
darker the band, the less likely that 2040
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 by 2040
segment will be able to support 4060
As people have built dams and diverted water by 2026
wildlife, regenerate native habitat, 6080
for their own uses, the peak ow of the lower River
or meet human needs. 80100
Coloradolike other rivers in the basinhas
plummeted. Smaller and less frequent
oods have begun to transform
the landscape.

Native cottonwood-
willow forests provide
canopy, mid-story, and shrub-level COLORADO RIVER BASIN
nesting sites for breeding birds and
shelter for migrants. The trees need
intermittent ooding to regenerate, Flaming Gorge
and so as the water table has Dam
1963
lowered, seedlings struggle
COTTONWOOD to germinate. YAMPA RIVER

Soldier Creek Dam

Granby
1972
Dam
1949
GREEN RIVER
WILLOW

Blue Mesa Dam

1965

WATER TABLE

Glen Canyon Dam Navajo Dam

Hoover Dam 1963 1962
1935 SAN JUAN RIVER

LITTLE
COLORADO RIVER
COLORADO
Davis Dam RIVER
SALTCEDAR 1952 VERDE RIVER
Parker Dam Roosevelt
1938 Dam
Alamo
1911 SALT RIVER
Dam
1968

WATER TABLE Painted

Morelos Dam GILA RIVER Rock Dam SAN
1950 1960
SANTA CRUZ PEDRO
RIVER RIVER
Where native habitat has died off,
deep-rooted saltcedar, or tamarisk,
often grows in its place. Though
the shrubs provide much-needed
greenery in areas with low water
levels, the birdlife they support
is markedly less rich.

SOURCE: BIRDS AND WATER IN THE ARID WEST, NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY, JULY 2017 SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 25
W E ST ERN WATER
to spread a full years worth
of its entire ow evenly over a
surface the size of its drainage
basin, roughly 250,000 square
miles, the water would cover
it to a depth of only about an
inch. The Mississippi River
carries the equivalent of the
Colorados entire annual ow
every couple of weeks.
Yet the Colorado is a
crucial resource for a surpris-
ingly large part of the United
States. It and its tributaries
ow through or alongside
seven Western statesColo-
rado, Wyoming, Utah, New
Water problems are
straightforward in one
way: Without water we
die, and not centuries
from now. When sup-
plies are short, people
have no choice but to
nd solutions, one way
or another, in real time.
Mexico, Nevada, Arizona,
and Californiabefore cross-
ing into Mexico near Yuma,
Arizona. It supplies water to
more than 36 million people,
including residents not just
of Boulder, Denver, and
Colorado Springs but also of
Salt Lake City, Albuquerque,
Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson,
San Diego, and Los Ange-
les. It irrigates close to six
million acres of farmland,
much of which it also created
through eons of silt deposi-
tion. It powers two of the
countrys largest hydroelec-
tric plants, at Hoover and
Glen Canyon Dams, and is
the principal water source
for two enormous manmade
reservoirs, Lake Mead and
Lake Powell, as well as many
smaller ones. It supports
recreational activities that are
said to be worth $26 billion
a year. Some of its south-
ern reaches attract so many
transient residents during the
winter that you could almost
believe it had overowed its
banks and left dense alluvial
26 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017
deposits of motorboats, jet
skis, golf carts, all-terrain
vehicles, RVs, and people
with gray hair.
All that human util-
ity has costs. The Colorado
has helped to shape some
of the most otherworldly
landforms on earththe
Grand Canyon, of course,
and also the Vermilion Cliffs,
in northern Arizona, and
the eerily striated buttes and
mazelike sandstone mean-
ders of Canyonlands Na-
tional Park, in southeastern
Utahyet even within those
seemingly wild landscapes,
its ow is so altered and
controlled that in many ways
the river functions more like
a 1,400-mile-long canal.
The legal right to use every
gallon is owned or claimed by
someonein fact, more than
every gallon, since theoretical
rights to the Colorados ow,
known to water lawyers as
paper water, greatly exceed
its actual ow, known as
wet water. That imbalance
has been exacerbated by a
severe drought that began
just before the turn of the
millennium; even as much of
the Western United States
emerges from it, the over-
allocation problems remain.
Kunkel dipped a wing,
and Pitt pointed toward the
Never Summer Mountains,
on our right. Theres the
Grand Ditch, she said. I
saw what looked like a road
or a hiking trail cut across
the face of a steeply slop-
ing forest of snow-dusted
conifers; she explained that
it was an aqueduct, dating to
1890. Fourteen miles long,
the Grand Ditch carries
water across the Continental
Divide at La Poudre Pass
and empties it into a stream
that ows toward the states
eastern plains. It doesnt tap
the Colorado directly, but
captures as much as 40 per-
cent of the ow from slopes
that would otherwise feed
Advocacy
How to Help Safeguard
Western Water
Both people and birds need the
Wests scarce water resources, but
without action neither will have a
reliable supply. Thats why Audubon
is engaging with water users and
decision makers to reach solutions
that protect and restore critical sites,
such as the Salton Sea, Colorado
River Delta, and other Important
Bird Areas. Put simply, agreements
to share water in times of shortage
will help to keep drinking water in
faucets, agricultural water in irriga-
tion canals, and water for wildlife in
habitats to sustain us all.
Please join us in calling on your
members of Congress to support
vital water-conservation programs
in the West. For Fiscal Year 2018,
Audubon recommends requests of
$100 million for Western drought
relief, including $25 million for
Colorado River system conser-
vation, and $30 million for the
WaterSMART Grants programall
administered by the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation. And the budget for the
U.S. Department of Agricultures
Natural Resources Conservation
Service should include $200 million
for Watershed and Flood Preven-
tion Operations, and fully fund Farm
Bill conservation programs and the
Regional Conservation Partnership
Program to increase efficient water
use on farms while restoring habitat
for birds and other wildlife.
Wherever you live, you can
make a difference. Visit action.
audubon.org/westernwater to
take action and stay informed.
g SALINE SANCTUARY
With its surrounding wetlands,
Great Salt Lake, the largest
saline lake in the Western
Hemisphere, provides food and
habitat for millions of birds.
But water consumption over
the past 150 years has led to a
roughly 11-foot drop in lake level,
reducing habitat and altering
salinity. Algae and bacteria that
thrive in highly saline areas cast
a reddish hue, as seen here.
OPPOSITE: DAILY OVERVIEW, SATELLITE IMAGERY DIGITALGLOBE
To read the full report, visit
audubon.org/westernwater.
it, like a sap-gathering gash
in the trunk of a rubber tree.
We had already own over
several larger, more recent
additions to the same water-
storing-and-shifting network.
Even people who describe
themselves as worried envi-
ronmentalists usually have no
idea where their water comes
from, Pitt says.
The Colorado suffers
from the same kinds of
overuse and environmental
degradation that threaten
another key water source in
the Western United States
a vast network of saline
lakes. Diversions of inows
for agriculture, industry, and
human consumption have
reduced the amount of water
these lakes hold, which in
turn has steadily increased
their salinity, a problem also
exacerbated by drought.
Unlike most saline lakes,
which formed naturally tens
of thousands of years ago, the
Salton Sea was created by an
act of engineering imbecil-
ity. Yet it plays a unique and
increasingly important role
in sustaining the viability of
a large number of bird spe-
cies. It is one of the principal
stops on the migratory route
known as the Pacic Flyway,
which extends from Pata-
gonia to the Arctic Circle,
and roughly 60 percent of
the species known to breed
in North America have been
spotted there. The Salton
Seas receding shoreline
poses a direct health threat
to humans, too, because as
the water level falls, more of
the lakebed is exposed and
the harmful substances left
behind by evaporation are
picked up by the wind.
Water problems are
straightforward in one way:
Without water we die, and
not centuries from now.
When supplies are short,
people have no choice but
to nd solutions, one way or
another, in real time. They
W E ST ERN WATER
change behavior, cut back
consumption, develop new
sources, negotiate treaties,
pass legislationall right
nowand we know that
happens because in dry
places all over the world
theres evidence of it every
day. Water problems in the
Western United States, when
viewed from afar, can seem
tantalizingly easy to solve:
All we need to do is turn off
the fountains at the Bellagio,
stop selling hay to China, ban
golf, cut down the almond
trees, and kill all the lawyers.
As you draw closer, though,
you realize that every new
solution creates additional
problems. Addressing every-
thing effectively, equitably,
and permanently will force us
to weigh the kinds of choices
we prefer to avoid.
The ideal resolution to
many Western water issues
would intelligently address
other issues, too, includ-
ing energy and climate, and
would attempt to arrive at
some degree of mutual ac-
commodation among a long
list of competing and often
combative interests. Pitt told
me she believes accommo-
dation is possible. Back in
2004, Bennett W. Raley, who
was Bushs assistant secretary
of the Interior, organized a
river trip down the Grand
Canyon, she told me. The
people on the trip were fed-
eral brass, state water manag-
ers, urban water managers,
journalists, and me. Sitting
around the campre, she
said, I was thinking, This is
going to be a long river trip.
But we ultimately started
talking. A
Adapted from Where the Water
Goes: Life and Death Along the
Colorado River by David Owen.
Published by arrangement with
Riverhead Books, an imprint of
Penguin Publishing Group, a division
of Penguin Random House LLC.
Copyright 2017 by David Owen.
28 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017
Prole
Seeing Hope in
Salty Water
Frank Ruiz has always understood
that humans and birds share fates.
As a child growing up in southern
Mexico, he watched his metals-
miner father leave for work with
little safety gear beyond a wet
bandana tied around his face and
a caged bird whose death would
warn the crew to evacuate.
So for Ruiz, now director of
Audubons Salton Sea Program, its
natural to seek a solution for the
lakes woes that will benet both
humans and birds. We shouldnt
be picking one over the other,
he says. When you protect the
environment, you protect people.
The Salton Sea has fallen roughly
six feet since 2000; by 2030, about
100 square miles of lakebed will be
exposed. Ruiz envisions wetlands
that reduce asthma-causing dust,
offer nesting habitat to birds, and
eventually draw tourists to the
economically struggling region. To
build support for wetland creation
in Californias plan for the area, his
team is reaching out to communi-
ties that dont yet understand how
the Salton Sea affects them.
Even locals barely visit the lake
these days. There is this stigma,
Ruiz says, particularly since natural
hydrogen-sulde production some-
times gives it an odor of rotten eggs.
You can easily feel blue seeing a lake
that at one time was full of water and
life. But Ruiz knows that if you watch
long enough, you will see birds. They
are showing us that we need to be
resilient, too. M.B.
Saline Lakes: A Critical Web
Saline lakesthe landlocked water bodies that dot the
Intermountain Westare beacons for millions of birds
crossing an otherwise arid landscape. As Audubons
Water and Birds in the Arid West report shows, these
lakes and their associated wetlands form an invaluable
network of stopover points rich in preyone that supports
90 percent of Eared Grebes, 90 percent of Wilsons
Phalaropes, and more than half of American Avocets.
Humans are increasingly diverting the water that
replenishes saline lakes, driving their water levels down
and their salinity up, which in turn alters the food web
and habitat upon which birds rely. In the summers of
2014 and 2015 nearly all of the saline lakes reached
record lows or dried completely, a trend that will be
exacerbated by climate change in the future. Waterbirds
can recover from the loss of a few sites; the failure of
the whole network would be devastatingan outcome
Audubon is working to avoid.
Priority Species
Audubon has identied nine species that are particularly dependent on
the network of saline lakes and their associated wetlands. Circles show
the maximum count in the past 20 years for each species at each lake.
Some speciessuch as Marbled Godwit and White-faced Ibisgather
at a few key sites, while otherssuch as American Avocet and Western
Sandpiperrely on the entire network.
WATERBIRDS AND WATERFOWL
American White Pelican
Eared Grebe
Ruddy Duck
White-faced Ibis
SHOREBIRDS
American Avocet
Marbled Godwit
Snowy Plover
Not included on map
Western Sandpiper
Wilsons Phalarope
1500
Summer Lake
Lake Abert
Klamath Basin*
Great Salt Lake
Honey Lake
Pyramid Lake
Lahontan Wetlands
Mono Lake
Owens Lake
Salton Sea
Colorado River Delta*
5011,000
1,00110,000
PHOTO COURTESY FRANK RUIZ
10,001100,000
100,0011 million
1 million+ Saline Lakes
North South
*Not saline lakes per se, but provide similar value as bird habitat
 MAP KEY
Lines link known and suspected migration paths among the saline lakes
Alaskan breeding grounds and to other sites. Each color represents a different priority species
(listed at left). Arcs show connections between sites, not exact routes.
Known connection Spring Autumn
migration migration
Suspected or weak connection
paths arc paths arc to
Connection, based on banding to the left the right or
data, from a saline lake to or top. bottom.
another North American site

Northwestern
breeding
grounds

SUMMER Idaho Midcontinental

LAKE breeding breeding grounds
grounds
LAKE ABERT

KLAMATH BASIN

HONEY PYRAMID
LAKE LAKE GREAT SALT LAKE

LAHONTAN WETLANDS

COLORADO RIVER
Pacific Coast

Eastern
MONO Canadian
LAKE breeding
grounds
Central
Valley
OWENS
LAKE

Orange
County

Gulf Coast

SALTON
SEA

COLORADO
RIVER
DELTA

Baja
California Central and South American
wintering grounds

SOURCE: BIRDS AND WATER IN THE ARID WEST, NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY, JULY 2017 SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 29
 2017 AUDUBON
PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH NATURE'S BEST PHOTOGRAPHY
The more than 5,500 photos entered in this
years contest, our eighth, show birdlife at its
most vivid, vulnerable, formidable, and elegant.
Photographers from 49 states and eight
Canadian provinces submitted images.
Congratulations to the winners and honorable
mentions featured hereand to all those who
strive to share the beauty of birds.

30 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

GRAND PRIZE WINNER

Category: Amateur
Photographer: Deborah Albert
Species: Gentoo Penguin
Location: Brown Bluff, Antarctica
Camera: Nikon D90 with a Nikon
70-300mm lens; 1/800 second at
f/5.6; ISO 200

Story Behind the Shot: I had

just bought my rst DSLR about
two weeks earlier for my trip to
Antarctica. We were walking along
the beach and, as the group moved
on, I noticed this penguin in a nest
made of rocks. I watched for a
long while and, nally, one chick
appeared. I took many shots, but
this one, with the parent leaning
down, touched me the mostthe
warmest love in the coldest place.
Beginners luck, I guess.

Bird Lore: Although many people

regard penguins as the archetypal
Antarctic birds, only a few of the
18 species actually breed in the
polar region. One, the Gentoo,
has expanded its range in recent
years as ice cover has declined,
providing access to new breeding
sites. Such gains are likely to be
offset by reductions in food supply
in the warming seas.

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 31

AUDUBON
PHOTOGRAPHY
AWA R D S

PROFESSIONAL
WINNER

Photographer: Steve Mattheis

Species: Great Gray Owl
Location: Grand Teton National
Park, Wyoming
Camera: Nikon D500 with a
Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 Sport
lens and Gitzo Tripod with
Wimberley head; 1/1000 second
at f/4; ISO 1600

Story Behind the Shot: On a soggy

fall morning in Grand Teton National
Park, I went on a hike to look for
owls. I expected them to be seeking
refuge from the drizzle in the dark
timber, so I was surprised to see this
Great Gray Owl sitting out in the
open, getting drenched. After lazily
shaking off some water, it took off
in my direction. The bird looked like
it was ying drunk. It crash-landed
into a sapling, gripping tightly with
its talons and apping its wet wings
as it struggled for balance. I could
tell it was a juvenile, a chick that
hatched earlier in the summer, and
I thought to myself, This bird has a
lot to learn.

Bird Lore: More than two feet tall

and with a wingspan of more than
four feet, the Great Gray looks larger
than any other North American owl.
Much of its bulk consists of uffy
feathers, however, and this gentle
giant preys mostly on tiny rodents.
Widespread in boreal forests, these
owls are uncommon and somewhat
elusive throughout their range.

32 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 33
AUDUBON
PHOTOGRAPHY
AWA R D S

PROFESSIONAL
HONORABLE MENTION

Photographer:
Karen R. Schuenemann
Species: Sandhill Cranes and
Snow Geese
Location: Bernardo Waterfowl
Management Area, New Mexico
Camera: Nikon D5 with Nikon
200-400mm f/4 VR lens; 1/1250
second at f/13; ISO 6400

Story Behind the Shot: On a

cold and stormy late January
afternoon, I stood watching
a eld as thousands of Snow
Geese and Sandhill Cranes fed on
corn at the Bernardo Waterfowl
Management Area. As I waited for
them to ascend, I turned around;
statuesque trees framed this scene
behind me. Dramatic storm clouds
surrounded us and there was
nothing but at gray lightuntil
suddenly, the sun broke through
just as the birds lifted off.

Bird Lore: Lifestyles of Sandhill

Cranes and Snow Geese differ in
many ways, but they converge
in winter in central New Mexico,
where the mixed ocks provide an
irresistible lure for photographers
and birders. Wildlife refuge
managers there work with farmers
to keep some elds of corn
and other grains unharvested,
providing a ready food source near
protected wetlands.

34 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

TOP 100
To view the top 100 images go to
audubon.org/photoawards.

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 35

AUDUBON
PHOTOGRAPHY
AWA R D S
A M AT E U R
HONORABLE MENTION
Photographer: Christopher Schlaf
Species: Mute Swan
Location: Washington, Michigan
Camera: Canon 1D X with a Canon
600mm II lens; 1/6400 second at
f/5; ISO 640
Story Behind the Shot As I
photographed this family of Mute
Swans, I noticed the incredible
reection and light. I felt that if the
two parents would tip up at the
same time with the baby swan
(called a cygnet) in between them,
36 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017
TOP 100
To view the top 100 images go to
audubon.org/photoawards.
A M AT E U R W I N N E R
Photographer: Heather Roskelley
Species: Varied Thrush
Location: Washington Park
Arboretum, Seattle
Camera: Nikon D7100 with
Nikkor AF-S 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6
VR lens; 1/500 second at f/5.6;
ISO 1250
Story Behind the Shot: Washington
Park Arboretum in Seattle has a
beautiful mountain ash collection
that attracts Varied Thrushes. I
went there on four of the coldest
days this past winter, and every day
they were either in the tops of trees
or in the back branchesor not
there at all because of a marauding
Coopers Hawk. On the last day, I
saw a bird in my peripheral vision.
I walked slowly around to position
myself; luckily, the thrush was more
interested in the trees berries, and
I was able to capture this eye-level
shot. Patience and persistence
sometimes pay off.
Bird Lore: The color scheme of
the Varied Thrush suggests an
American Robin, but its closest
relatives are probably among
Asian thrushes. Shy and elusive,
it hides in dense evergreens
while its haunting whistles oat
through cool forests of the Pacic
Northwest. Surveys suggest that
populations are declining, perhaps
as a result of a warming climate.
I would have something pretty
spectacularand thats exactly
what happened. To me, the photo
represents the struggle for survival
as this young swan is the only
remaining cygnet of eight, despite
having such protective parents.
Bird Lore: Swans are related to
ducks, but their breeding behavior
is notably different. Among true
ducks, only females care for the
young; males usually depart before
incubation ends. Swan pairs stay
together all year, and while females
do most of the incubating, both
parents tend to and guard cygnets.
AUDUBON
PHOTOGRAPHY
AWA R D S
YOUTH
HONORABLE MENTION
Photographer: Will Hilscher
Species: Black Vulture
Location: Williamson County,
Round Rock, Texas
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T2i
with Canon 100-400mm Mark II
lens and B+W 77 010 UV-Haze 1x
MRC f-pro lter; 1/800 second at
f/5.6; ISO 800
Story Behind the Shot: Because
of their plain black coats and
rather disgusting eating habits,
I often overlook Black Vultures.
But then the opportunity arose to
photograph a large group feasting
on road kill near my house. As I
watched them vie for position on
38 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017
a dead tree near their food, I found
the vultures to be incredibly feisty
and formidable in appearance. The
cloudy sky made taking the picture
difficult, but by lowering my shutter
speed and raising my ISO, I was
able to capture this Black Vulture
just as he jumped to claim a higher
perch. During his effort to balance
himself, I snapped this shot.
Bird Lore: Shorter-winged and
heavier than its cousin the Turkey
Vulture, this stocky scavenger
is more restricted to warm
climates, where it can reliably
nd rising thermals for soaring.
Black Vultures often nd food
by watching Turkey Vultures,
following them to a carcass and
then muscling in on the feast.
TOP 100
To view the top 100 images go to
audubon.org/photoawards.
YOUTH WINNER
Photographer: Zachary Webster
Species: Southern Carmine
Bee-eater
Location: Luangwa River, South
Luangwa National Park, Zambia
Camera: Nikon D5 with a
Nikkor 600mm lens and1.4
teleconverter; 1/2500 second at
f/8; ISO1250
Story Behind the Shot: Along a
Zambian riverbank in early August,
a colony of Southern Carmine
Bee-eaters was busy battling for
space. Each battle lasted only a
few seconds, with the pair lifting
off the edge, engaging out over the
river, then separating. My challenge
was, rst, to nd a battling pair
with a hand-held 600mm lens
and, second, to keep them in frame
and in focus as they fought. Even
with binoculars, a Carmine battle
is a short blur of color and beating
wings. It was not until I studied
my shots that I fully appreciated
the jousting and parrying, the
widespread tails, the jabs of the
beaks. I want to give others the
opportunity to feel the same awe.
Bird Lore: Colorful birds that
catch insects (including bees) in
ight, bee-eaters are restricted
to the Old World, mostly the
warmer regions. In southern
Africa, Southern Carmine Bee-
eaters form colonies of hundreds
of pairs, or even thousands,
creating a gaudy, noisy spectacle
as they gather around nest holes
excavated in vertical riverbanks.
O B SERVAT ION

B L I N D
WHAT COMPELS BIRD LOVERS TO HUNKER DOWN IN THE DARK, OFTEN CRAMPED,
INTERIORS OF BLINDS? AN INTIMATE VIEW INTO THE AVIAN WORLD.

40 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

 Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge,
Rodanthe, North Carolina

F A I T H
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TRISTAN SPINSKI | TEXT BY TERRY TEMPEST WILLIAMS

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 41

O B SERVAT ION Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, Green Mountain Audubon Center,
Swan Quarter, North Carolina Huntington, Vermont

We
awoke before dawn and
dressed like duck hunt-
ers in a palette of browns,
beiges, and grays. The
attire was a hopeful gesture
of not being seen, even
inside a bird blind, on our
pilgrimage to witness the
great migration of Sandhill
Cranes along the Platte
River in Nebraska. It was a
spring ritual, both human
and wild. More than half
a million cranes descend
along this meandering river
through marshes and corn-
elds. Thousands of visitors
come to watch.
Tom Mangelsen, the
legendary wildlife photog-
rapher known for his Images
of Nature imprint, was our
guide. Tom grew up on the
Nebraska prairie; Sandhill
Cranes have always been
part of his weather system.
Now he returns each year
with the cranes and shares
this spectacle with others
in his familys decades-old
duck hunting blind on the
edge of the Platte.
We left the Mangelsen
cabin an hour or so before
dawn and snuck out to
shore, barely 100 yards
away. We didnt want
to disturb the roosting
cranes nearby, some on the
sandbar, others standing in
the shallows. Tom took the
lead walking the well-worn
path through the willows
and grasses wet with dew.
We followed him single le,
quiet and attentive to the
early sounds of birdsong,
Red-winged Blackbirds
among them.
Once inside the wooden
box, roughly four feet wide
and eight feet long, four of
us gingerly unpacked our
geartripods, binoculars,
scopes, cameras, notebooks
and pencils, thermoses

42 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

Sandy River Delta Conuence, Savannah National Wildlife Refuge,
Troutdale, Oregon Hardeeville, South Carolina

lled with hot teaand

prepared to settle in for the
morning. Our breath vis-
ible, we took our designated
spots, each with an ample
slice of view, just as the rst
line of light appeared on
the water. Tom and the two
others quickly began setting
up their equipment. I sat.
The tools of a writer are
not only simple but primi-
tive: a stick of sharpened
lead and pieces of paper
bound, small enough to
slide into a back pocket.
The damp smell inside
the blindmusky and
oiled, like dried sh laced
with mosquito repellent
reminded me of being
in the bird blinds at the
Bear River Migratory Bird
Refuge as a college student
studying ornithology. The
blinds I sat in at dawn and
dusk were also designed for
duck hunters, as were many

I nd peering through
blinds somewhat voy-
euristic, akin to spying
on neighbors through
their well-lit windows
when our lights are off;
they cant see us but we
can see them.

of the structures that dot

our sanctuaries, refuges, and
parks today, blending into
the landscape, seemingly
as natural as a stand of
willows. They were small,
ve feet by ve feet square,
camouaged with cattails
and bulrushes. Some were
made out of concrete, oth-
ers were simply a platform
made of plywood ush with
the water; some offered a
bench or chairs to sit on,
while the simplest blinds
required you to squat or sit
on the oor, or turn over a
discarded ve-gallon drum
for a makeshift seat. When

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 43

O B SERVAT ION

the ducks ew overhead,

you jumped to your feet
and shot away. Or in my
case, stood and pointed a
camera or raised a pair of
binoculars.
I nd peering through
blinds somewhat voy-
euristic, akin to spying on
neighbors through their
well-lit windows when
our lights are off; they
cant see us but we can see
them. The intimacy felt is
not earned, because it is
Left to right:
I-20 Wildlife Preserve,
Midland, Texas
Sacramento National
Wildlife Refuge Complex,
Glenn County, California
Mattamuskeet
National Wildlife Refuge,
Swan Quarter, North Carolina

On a hot summer day,

songbirds, waders,
and waterfowl settle
between cattails, in
grasses, or on small
protected ponds, dif-
cult to nd, hard to
see. A blind provides
protection while you Humboldt Bay
practice patience. National Wildlife Refuge,
Loleta, California

not shared. It is different

than when I stand on the Miami University Natural Areas,
edge of the marsh, still as Oxford, Ohio
a heron, and when a Great
Blue Heron arrives she
stays because she does not Sonny Bono Salton Sea
perceive me as a threat. Yet National Wildlife Refuge,
the benet of a bird blind Calipatria, California
is more than invisibility,
its also about comfort. It
is warmer inside than out,
especially in weather best
suited for watching water-
fowlcloudy with winds
on the verge of rain, when
birds y fast and furiously
in all directions, looking
for cover. On a sweltering
summer day, songbirds,
waders, and waterfowl
settle between cattails, Pennypack Park,
in grasses, or on small Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
protected ponds, difcult
to nd, hard to see. A blind
provides protection while Crane Trust,
you practice patience. Wood River, Nebraska
In that blind on the
Platte River, the growing
light drew my attention Felts Audubon Preserve,
to what was taking shape Bradenton, Florida

44 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 45
O B S ERVAT ION
before me: the shrouded sil-
houettes of Sandhill Cranes,
multitudes, standing stoically
in the shallows looking like a
Chinese scroll of tall, statu-
esque birds.
And then, in a urry and
cacophony of sound, primal
and singular, the guttural
cries of the cranes shattered
the darkness like wildness
itself, with hundreds of thou-
46 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017
Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural
Area Observation Facility,
Fort Collins, Colorado
We were close to the sands of birds lifting up the
birds, close enough landscape with their wings.
to be touched by the Everything was in motion:
majesty and presence the water, the grasses, the
of these gray-feathered cornelds, the sky. Flock after
elders standing tall on ock of cranes rising from
the prairie with their the river, higher and higher,
beaks pointing upward ying above the Platte in all
as they danced and directions. Some of the birds
bowed to one another. crisscrossed each other like
long, undulating strands of
calligraphy, writing them-
selves against the pages of a
pastel sky. The outstretched
wings of the Sandhill Cranes
with their nger feathers
extended are the farthest
reaches of hope against the
press of modernity. Their
return is our assurance that
the world is still t for beauty.
Nine million years of perfec-
tion resides in the bones of
these birds that bear witness

to the wisdom of evolution in
its adaptive grace. Generation
after generation, the memory
of cranes landing in Middle
America to feed and breed on
the banks of the Platte River
allows their story to continue.
I am the pupil of the
bird blind, an eye squinting
for insight beyond my own
kind. The cranes slowly oat
back to Earth, descending
Merritt Island National
Wildlife Refuge,
Merritt Island, Florida
like angels, only to rise and
fall and rise again in the amo-
rous play of lovers, leaping
and bowing to the embodied
knowledge that the future
depends on each gesture
granted to the other. In one
of the oldest dances on the
planetthe kind of mastery
only nine million years of
evolution can perfectwe,
also, rise to an awakened state
of being for having witnessed
the ongoing nature of grace.
We were close to the
birds, close enough to be
touched by the majesty of
these gray-feathered elders
standing tall on the prairie
with their beaks point-
ing upward as they danced
and bowed to one another.
Through the open window of
the blind, framing and focus-
For more images of blinds, visit
audubon.org/bird-blinds.
ing our attention, we saw
what love looks like in the
shimmering light of home. a
Terry Tempest Williams is the
author of The Hour of Land:
A Personal Topography of
Americas National Parks
and more than a dozen other
books. Her last Audubon story
traced Darwins footsteps in the
Galpagos.
SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 47
I N N O V A T I O N

ENGINEERING A BETTER
MOUSETRAP
New genetic technology may one day save island birds from
invasive predators. But is tinkering with nature worth the risk?
BY BROOKE BOREL / ILLUSTRATIONS BY ERIC NYQUIST

T
he silent black-and-white footage opens on a
seemingly tranquil setting: a burrow where an Atlantic
Petrel tends to its chick. Then mice begin scurrying in
and out of frame. The dark blurs jostle the adult, dart-
ing up to the exposed chick and tearing off bloody bites.
Theyre eating it alive.
The horric scene is captured by nest cams on Gough
(rhymes with off ), a rugged volcanic island about 1,700 miles
west of South Africa. It has one of the worlds largest seabird
nesting colonies, with millions of birds representing 22 species.
Its also home to hundreds of thousands of mice, descendants
of stowaways on 19th-century seal-hunting ships. The tiny
predators devour some 900,000 chicks a year and threaten to
decimate the islands Atlantic Petrels and Tristan Albatrosses,
which breed here almost exclusively. In a rodent-free landscape,
more than two-thirds of the albatross chicks should make it to
adulthood; on Gough, mice cut survival to as low as 10 percent.
To stop the carnage, the U.K.s Royal Society for the Protection
of Birds is staging an ambitious $9.5 million campaign in 2019.
Helicopters will navigate the steep terrain, strategically dropping
180 tons of food pellets laced with the anticoagulant brodifacoum;
mice that consume the spiked pellets will hemorrhage to death. Its

48 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 49
a grisly solution to an intractable problem that extends far beyond
Gough. Rodents have voyaged with humans to an estimated 80
percent of the worlds islands, where nesting seabirds were long
safe from predators. Poison is the state-of-the-art method for
wiping out the voracious pests. Yet it has serious drawbacks.
Its costly. Its imperfect, failing in roughly a quarter of mouse-
eradication efforts. (The survival of just one pregnant mouse can
repopulate an island.) Its indiscriminate, so inadvertent casual-
ties are unavoidable. (Thats why zoologists will bring endemic
Gough Moorhenswhich may scavenge dosed miceinto cap-
tivity before they start the campaign.) Its also the only option.
Frustrated with the macabre, limited approach, scientists
have begun exploring a groundbreaking new tool that might
one day replace it. The technology, called gene drive, offers
the unprecedented ability to ensure that organisms pass spe-
cic traits to their progeny, like eye color or, in the case of
invasive mice, sex. Island Conservation, a nonprot that has
undertaken dozens of poison campaigns across the globe, is
part of an international consortium trying to harness technol-
ogy to engineer mice that produce offspring of only one sex.
If it works, conservationists could skip the poison and instead
breed invasive mice out of existence.
Island Conservation and like-minded groups think the tech-
nology could transform seabird conservation. Other researchers
are considering whether it could combat agricultural pests, or if
sterile gene drive mosquitoes could save native Hawaiian birds
from avian malaria or protect people from scourges like Zika
virus. But tinkering with organisms could also go terribly awry,
critics warn, permanently altering ecosystems in unintended
ways. No gene drive animals have been released in the wild
yet. But the technologys potential use is sparking erce debate
about whether to wield such a powerful tool.
W
hen charles darwin visited the galpagos in
1835, he encountered nches with an array of beak
shapes. Each unique shape, he later posited, was
adapted for a particular niche in foraging seeds, in-
sects, and nectar across the varying landscapes. The
observation helped solidify his theory of natural se-
lection: Organisms that are good at navigating their environment
will likely survive and reproduce, passing their traits to the next
generation. These traits are linked to genes, and offspring have a
50/50 chance of inheriting a given gene from either parent.
But thats not always how it works. Gene drives, sometimes
called selsh genetic elements, hijack heredity. They push
the inheritance of a specic gene highersometimes to nearly
100 percenteven if it provides no evolutionary edge. (It isnt
entirely clear why this happens.)
Scientists contemplated leveraging this capability as early as
1940, when a Russian researcher suggested an approach to wipe
out troublesome insects. Since then, scientists have mulled ways
to manipulate a natural gene drive to do their bidding. In 2003,
evolutionary biologist Austin Burt proposed using genetic en-
gineering to build an articial driveone that could pinpoint a
precise location in an organisms DNA and insert a desired gene.
Biotechnology caught up in 2012, when an international team
of scientists unveiled a revolutionary new way to alter genes. The
technology, called CRISPR, is a set of biological editing tools: It
can nd a specic stretch of DNA, cut it like scissors, and add,
delete, or replace genetic information. CRISPR makes it possible
to harness natural gene drives, a process akin to building a car
from spare parts. Scientists can also employ it to create articial
drives, like building a car with custom parts.
In 2015 geneticists used a CRISPR gene drive to change
50 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017
the color of lab-raised fruit ies from brown to yellow in one
generation. Gene drive yeast and mosquitoes quickly fol-
lowed, spurring public concern over the potential ecological
effects engineered organisms could have in the wild.
With all the excitement, and despite the trepidation, it was only
a matter of time before someone turned to more complex creatures.
The mouse was an obvious choice. Its among the most common
lab animals, and scientists mapped nearly all of its genes in 2002.
Island Conservation and its partners are exploring CRISPR for
both natural and articial gene drives. Each approach has an
upside. Natural gene drives may be more palatable to the public
and obtain federal approval more easily, since they already exist
in mice. Articial gene drives are more exible because they
can be designed from scratch. Both are in the proof-of-concept
stage, and as yet theres no clear winner.
An international consortium is trying to harness
technology to engineer mice that produce offspring
of only one sex. If it works, conservationists could
skip the poison and instead breed invasive mice
out of existence.
Getting the gene drive to work is just one hurdle. Attraction
is another. Engineered mice will have to mate with wild ones
in order to pass on the drive. If wild mice rebuff lab mice, the
technology wont save any seabirds. Scientists need a sexy vessel
to deliver a gene to the wild.
T
here is, in fact, a scientist devoted to making mice
irresistible. John Godwin, a neurobiologist at North
Carolina State University, spent most of his career
studying sh and lizard sexual behavior. Then, in 2011,
he read about the Farallons, rocky islands off the coast
of San Francisco that have up to an astounding 500 in-
vasive mice per acre in the summer. They also support one of
the worlds largest breeding colonies of Ashy Storm-Petrels.
The abundant rodents attract Burrowing Owls, which histori-
cally used the islands as a pit stop during fall migration but now
overwinter there. When mouse numbers dip during winter food
shortages and bad weather, owls dine on the storm-petrels.
CRISPR wouldnt be unveiled for another year, but God-
wins colleagues were already working on a natural gene drive in
mosquitoes to curb dengue fever. Could a similar approach, he
wondered, combat invasive mice? Given his expertise, Godwin
was especially curious whether an engineered mouse would
stand a chance wooing wild females. He convinced entomolo-
gist Fred Gould, co-director of NC States Center on Genetic
Engineering and Society, and David Threadgill, a mouse ge-
neticist with a focus on biomedicine, to take on Farallon mice
as a test case. They arranged a conference call with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the islands.
The agency also invited Karl Campbell, Island Conserva-
tions project director, on the call. Campbell was deep into a
search for new conservation technologies; hed heard of gene
drives but didnt know anyone in the eld. The FWS gave
Godwin the go-ahead to collect Farallon mice but ultimately
didnt consider a gene drive solution for its mouse problem. (It
opted for poison, as it was already available, but public criti-
cism has put the deployment in limbo.) Campbell, however,
wanted in. The scientists were surprised; fairly or not, genetic
technology isnt always popular in conservation circles. But not
engaging around gene drives would hardly ensure Campbells
popularity; Island Conservation often faces protests and law-
suits from animal activists and environmentalists who object
to its poison campaigns. Youre a crazy man, Gould recalls
thinking, recognizing the backlash Campbell might experi-
ence. And it takes a crazy man to do this.
Island Conservation and NC State struck up a partnership:
Genetic Biocontrol of Invasive Rodents, or GBIRd. In late 2013,
Godwin dispatched grad student Megan Serr to collect mice.
She hitched a ride on a sailboat to Southeast Farallon. The rocky
island has no dock, so she transferred in choppy, shark-lled wa-
ters to a dinghy, which a crane lifted to shore. Back home, while
the 17 mice stayed in quarantine to be stripped of parasites,
Serr, her husband, and Godwin constructed a 500-square-foot
enclosure for the captives inside a university greenhouse. The
Mouse Barn, as they call it, took about a year to complete and
cost the amateur builders countless trips to Home Depot, quarts
of sweat, and a little bit of blood, says Godwin.
Today around 100 Farallon mice inhabit the Mouse Barn,
whose walls, ceiling, and oor help prevent their escape. To enter,
you walk through double doors, sign a log, and pull protective boo-
ties over your shoes to comply with university regulations. Imme-
diately inside are rows of shoebox-size cages with wild mice. They
it through their bedding, peeking at visitors with bright eyes, and
hang from the wire lids like kids on monkey bars.
When a lab mouse is placed in a cage with a wild mouse,
they mate. But Godwin wants to see what happens when wild
mice have options. At the Mouse Barns other end are ve
Continued on page 58

STACKING THE DECK

THE GOAL:
Instead of poisoning Gene drive Wild
invasive mice that devour Male Female
seabirds on islands, re-
searchers are exploring a
powerful new tool, gene
drive, to engineer mice that
could breed themselves of
out existence. One lab, for
instance, is building mice
that produce only male
offspring. The technique
is also being studied for
combating disease and in-
creasing agricultural yields.
It is not out of the lab yet.

Gene Drive Wild

DNA DNA
THE GENE DRIVE
APPROACH:

Guide
Endonuclease

Syr Gene
Guide

M AT E INHERIT FIND AND CUT R E PA I R A N D C O P Y SPREAD

A wild female mouse
breeds with a male whose
DNA is engineered to force
all offspring to carry the
Syr gene, which ensures
they will be male.
The fertilized egg contains
one set of chromosomes
from the wild mother, and
a complementary set from
the father. A segment of
his DNA contains a guide
sequence, an endonucle-
ase gene drive, and the
Syr gene.
When the guide sequence To repair the cut in the
matches up with a specic wild DNA, the cell uses the itself into the wild DNA
stretch of DNA inherited gene-drive chromosome
from the wild mother, the as a template, copying
endonuclease cuts it. the endonuclease gene
drive and Syr gene into
the break. Each time the
cell divides, the genes
replicate, ensuring the
offspring is male.
The gene drive forces
its paired with, so a single
copy from one parent is
all it takes to spread the
gene drive and Syr to all
offspring. After many gen-
erations, all mice will be
male, and theyll no longer
be able to reproduce.

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 51

 FIELD
GUIDE
BIRDING Vireos, the outspoken, underrated birds of summer.

4
Quick
Vireo
Pointers
Spectacles
Unlike most
songbirds, many
of the vireos
have white rings
around their eyes.
The White-eyed
Vireo, however,
has yellow ones
(baffling, we life needs purpose, and so do birders, especially in those long summer days when most birds
know). are trying to y under the radar. Yet not the vireos. This sturdy family of songbirds will keep jab-
bering through the midday heat, daring you to come out and nd them. See me. No you cant. Here
Wing Bars I am. Way up here. In the tree. Follow the voice of the Red-eyed Vireo to catch it as it meanders
Species like the
through the canopy to forage. Hop, stop, search, stretch, and pluckthese hook-billed birds are
Blue-headed or
White-eyed Vireo a caterpillars worst nightmare. For birders, though, theyre a real challenge; with their calculated
have two obvious movements and camouaged looks, youre more likely to get an earful than an eyeful. And that
stripes across makes spotting a vireo all the sweeter. Pete Dunne
their wings. Oth-
ers, including the
Gray Vireo, have
a fainter pair.
Four Is a Crowd
Before you start identifying vireos, you need to stop confusing them with other birds.
Mimicry BY JASON WARD
The White-eyed
Vireo is a pro

FROM TOP: JOEL SARTORE/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE; ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAVID ALLEN SIBLEY.
at copying and
pasting other
birds calls into
its own. Listen
for a medley of
woodpeckers, Vireo Warbler Flycatcher Kinglet
thrushes, and At rst glance, vireos might Warblers can be very similar Both ycatchers and vireos Things get trickier with
tanagers. seem like all of the other small, to vireos in posture, shape, are voracious insectivores, but kinglets; they feed and pose
perching birds you know (they size, feeding style, and even their hunting strategies differ. almost identically to vireos. But
Name Tags were thought to be related to name. (Yes, theres a species North American ycatchers no bird can rival the stamina
There are a few warblers for a while). But the called the Warbling Vireo.) tend to sit and wait on an of kinglets, which seem to be
vireos that are large feet, long legs, broad Lets take the Tennessee exposed perch, darting out to in constant motion as they
aptly labeled. breast, and beak on this Warbler, for example. This bird catch insects in mid-air. Vireos, search for food. The bigger
The key eld Huttons Vireo illustrate that has an olive-green back, tail, in contrast, are more active; vireos, meanwhile, move
marks of the the family is more closely re- and wings and a pale breast, they search leaves and owers, slowly and methodically. Upon
Black-whiskered, lated to shrikes and crows. The belly, and undertaila typical moving from branch to branch closer inspection, the bill on
Blue-headed, and best way to know if a bird is a palette for vireos. But like other to nd their next meal. Check this Ruby-crowned Kinglet is
Yellow-throated vireo, however, is to gauge how warblers, Tennessees have a out the foraging posture of also much smaller and thinner
are revealed in often it sings; the males are like thin, pointy bill, while vireos this Eastern Wood-Pewee: It than a vireos. Plus, the bird
their names. broken records, belting up to have a thick bill with a small sits upright, while vireos hold is more round and compact,
Purbita Saha 20,000 tunes in a single day. hook at the end. themselves more horizontally. almost like a butterball.

52 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

 Test your wits
How fast can a vireo Gray Vireo 1.5 seconds
with chicks at
sing a syllable? Blue-headed Vireo 2.5 seconds
audubon.org/
Yellow-throated Vireo 3 seconds
vireo-quiz.

THE B I RD I ST North American breed- Cuban Vireo

ing range to just a few The Cuban Vireo is an
Three scrub-choked hillsides extremely rare visitor
(pictured at left) in from the tropicsso
Vireos Worth Oklahoma and central rare that it wasnt seen in
Chasing Texas. Most birders get the United States until
Theyre rare. Theyre rad. their lifer in the Texas April 2016. I was one of
Heres where theyre at. Hill Country, where they the few thousand lucky
BY NI C HOL A S LU ND can also nd the birders who nabbed the
Golden-cheeked Warbler. lingering vagrant at Fort
if birds were cast in Try Lost Maples State Zachary Taylor State
a Broadway show, vireos Natural Area, which is Least Bells Vireo Park on the tip of Key
would play the strong about a two-hour drive Since landing on the West, Florida. The species GE AR
supporting characters, from San Antonio and federal endangered was seen in the area again LISTE NIN G IN
hitting their cues but one of the most beautiful species list in 1986, this this year, so its worth a
letting the ashier actors places Ive ever birded. subspecies of the Bells shot. And while youre For a whole new
command the spotlight. Vireo has increased there, keep an eye out way to appreciate
Still, there are certain tenfold from its low point for the Black-whiskered vireos, try captur-
species that deserve a of around 300 pairs. The Vireo, a local but common ing their songs with
starring role. Here are bird is slowly reclaiming specialty in the southern a recorder. If youre
three that should be the parts of California where part of the state. just starting out,
CLOCKWISE FROM CENTER LEFT: JOEL SARTORE/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE; CARLOS ESCAMILLA; COURTESY OF ZOOM; NEIL BOWMAN/MINDEN PICTURES; LARRY KELLER

centerpiece of your next it once bred, including get a taste with

birding adventure. the San Joaquin River in your smartphone.
the Central Valley. Still, Avoid the default
it remains vulnerable to voice memo
Black-capped Vireo development and climate function in favor
With a bold hood that change, so dont wait to of an app such as
contrasts its bright white go see it. Look for nest- RDE Rec for iOS
mask and red eyes, the ing pairs in willows along ($6) or RecForge
Black-capped wins rivers and keep in mind II for Droid (free)
best-looking vireo in my that someday the Least that records
book. Specic habitat Bells might be split into higher-quality
needs, however, limit its a separate species. .wav les, and
consider purchas-
ing a directional
NEME S I S the city of philadelphia looms large in the his- mic like the RDE
tory of bird study. Alexander Wilson, the father of VideoMic Me
In Plain Sight American ornithology, lived there for years, and his ($59). Get better
Can you nd the vireo species that Wilson younger successor and occasional rival, John James sound quality
and Audubon missed? Audubon, dwelled just west of the city when he rst with less hassle
came to America. So these experts must have been by combining
BY KE NN KAU FM A N
well acquainted with the Philadelphia Vireo, right? the Zoom H4N
Wrong. They never saw itat least, not knowingly. recorder ($200)
The Philadelphia Vireo was not described to science and Sennheiser
until 1851, the year that Audubon died and long ME66/K6 shotgun
after Wilson was gone. microphone with
How, then, did they (and other early naturalists) a windscreen
miss the citys only namesake bird? For starters, the ($470$500). For
species isnt common near Philadelphia. The rst the ultimate eld
known specimen was found there, but it was a mi- recording kit, up-
grant, passing through. Secondly, this cryptic creature grade your mic to a
is easy to overlook. Its song is remarkably similar parabolic setup like
to that of the Red-eyed Vireo, and it resembles a Telingas PRO-X
yellowish version of the Warbling Vireo. To make ($840), which also
sure history counts your victory, listen for a slower includes a foldable
version of the Red-eyed and watch for a face more dish and handle.
boldly marked than that of the Warbling. Meghan Bartels

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 53

 FIELD
GUIDE
TRAVEL Camp out, because summer is an ideal time to
immerse yourself in the bird world.

Choose Your Adventure

you dont have to travel to far-ung destinations to spice up your birding

FROM TOP: PORTFOLIO VERO BEACH; DAVID ALLEN SIBLEY; LARS SCHNEIDER/TANDEMSTOCK; VOLODYMYR MELNYK/ALAMY; ISTOCK
routine. Spending a couple of days, rather than hours, in bird habitat will deepen
your understanding of avian behavior and the different niches that species rely upon.
Whether youre a seasoned pro or sleeping outdoors for the rst time, theres an immer- Grail Bird
sive experience that will help take your birding excursion to the next level. Alisa Opar
Gray-headed
Car Camping Chickadee
Drive-up campgrounds across the country offer excellent access to trails where birds No other bird in
abound. Some even have great birding at tent sites: California Condors soar overhead mainland North
at Pinnacles Campground, while Greater Roadrunners zip around on foot. When the America is as
birds go quiet, pull out guidebooks and get to know the trees, wildowers, and butteries inaccessible as
around you. Recreation.gov provides a list of family-friendly campgrounds. this chickadee, a
rare resident of
Backpacking stunted spruces
The farther you venture from roads, the more likely you are to encounter wildlife instead of and willows along
people. A long weekend in the backcountry is ideal for seeking out an elusive species, such as rivers in northern
White-tailed Ptarmigan in Washingtons Cascade Range. Always make sure you have plenty Alaska and
of food, water, and warm layers, obtain necessary permits, and inform someone of your travel extreme north-
plans. Visit the U.S. Forest Services camping page for more tips: bit.ly/2pPInEq. western Canada.
Birders deter-
Glamping mined to seek it
If pitching a tent isnt your style, but you still want to slumber in nature, consider out in its remote
glamorous camping, or glamping. Lodgings range from walled tents with real beds haunts should go
to plush, all-inclusive experiences with gourmet meals, hot showers, and ush toilets. prepared for a true
Glamping.com lists more than 100 tents, tree houses, tepees, and yurts nationwide, some wilderness camp-
right on the doorsteps of national parks, including Glacier and Zion. ing experience.

54 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

 We asked our Twitter followers: Less than 1 mile: 27% Find more summer
Whats the farthest youve ever 1-5 miles: 40% travel ideas at
walked in search of a bird? 5-10 miles: 15% audubon.org/
(Total respondents: 898) More than 10 miles: 18% travel.

Go Nocturnal
Head out on an owling expedition after dark, or any nocturnal
hike, and youll likely encounter the wonder of a few night-
time sounds. Camp out, and youll experience the changing
soundscape of the entire period from sunset through sunrise.
Some owls are noisy just after dark and just before dawn,
3
Tips for
Novice
falling quiet for long stretches in between while they hunt. Campers
Other owls, meanwhile, may be silent at dusk, cranking up
later. A wide variety of other birds contribute to the late- Rent Gear
night chorus: bitterns, rails, night-herons, cuckoos, various While there are
grassland sparrows, even Yellow-breasted Chats. As the zero costs once
moon rises, listen for enigmatic nightjars such as whip-poor- youre in the
wills and poorwills bursting into song. Then take it easy the great outdoors,
next morning: Many birds sing most persistently at rst the price of
light, and you can enjoy the concert from the comfort of your camping equip-
tent. Kenn Kaufman ment can add
up quickly. REI
and many local
Happy Camper sporting goods
stores loan tents,
Haul your equipment to the campsite in comfort with Ospreys sleeping bags and
Aether backpack (starting at $290); the top converts to a pads, and stoves
daypack for birding adventures. Tentsile takes camping to for reasonable
new heights with Stingray (pictured top left, $650), a rain- fees. Outdoors-
proof, three-person tent that can be hung between trees. The geek.com ships
synthetic ll of Mountain Hardwears Hotbed Spark sleep- nationwide, and
ing bag ($139) keeps you cozy when temperatures dip into its basic camping
the 40s. Miirs Camp Cup ($25) does it all; the double-wall package for two
vacuum insulation keeps cold and stays hot, and the stain- starts at $97.
less steel doesnt transfer avor, so your nightcap wont be
coffee-avored. GCI Outdoors Sunshade Eazy Chair ($50) Reserve a Spot
may be the ultimate camp chair: Its solid, supportive, and has Campsites at
a sun-blocking shade. Be prepared for the unexpected with more than 2,500
Black Diamonds waterproof, 200-lumen Spot headlamp federal areas,
($40) and Adventure Medical Kits compact yet complete from Alaskas
Mountain Hiker rst aid kit ($25). Tongass Na-
tional Forest to
Floridas Lake
The Right Stuff Okeechobee, are
FROM TOP: MELYSSA ST. MICHAEL; COURTESY OSPREY; JEFF JOHNSON/PATAGONIA

just a click away

When temperatures fall, a Mallard doesnt need to take at recreation.gov.
coverits uffy down feathers keep its core at a toasty The websites
104F. The superb insulating properties of down, along with Camping 101
its light weight and durability, make it a popular ller for guide offers
sleeping bags. But bird lovers may be wary of the stuff, as excellent advice
traditionally its sourced from ducks or geese that were live- for a safe and
plucked and force-fed to fatten them up for foie gras. Several successful trip.
outdoor companies have committed to using only down con-
rmed by third-party auditors to be collected and processed Leave No Trace
ethically. Patagonia abides by the 100 percent Traceable Do your part to
Down Standard for all of its down products, while The North protect bird habi-
Face, REI, and Mountain Hardware have adopted the Respon- tat: Stay on trails,
sible Down Standard. For those who prefer feather-free bags, know where to
there are plenty of options with synthetic insulation, which dispose of waste,
weighs more, but stays warmer when wet and is lighter on and keep res
the wallet. A.O. minimal.

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 55

 FIELD
GUIDE
PHOTOGRAPHY Shorebirds have hit the beach
you should, too.

its summer, and sunbathers arent the only population headed to the
shore. Birds also ock to the boundary between land and water, whether a
sandy beach, mudat, or marsh. There are more than 50 species of shorebirds
in North America, and their elegant shapes and intricate patterns make them
alluring subjects for photographers. Follow these tips to wade into their world.

Where to Photograph
Migrant Shorebirds
Most shorebird species nest in the far
north, but by July adults begin to head
south, followed by juveniles in their crisp
plumage. Heres where to catch them.

Grays Harbor Estuary, Washington

Situated along the mouth of the Chehalis
River, Grays Harbor provides a key
stopover habitat for several species of
Arctic breeders, especially the Western
Sandpiper. Marbled Godwit and Semi-
palmated Plover frequent the site, too.
A boardwalk trail within Grays Harbor
National Wildlife Refuge provides ac-
cess to tidal ats. Plan your visit for late
July and August to photograph the best
concentrations of shorebirds.

Cheyenne Bottoms Migratory

Bird Preserve, Kansas

CLOCKWISE FROM CENTER LEFT: ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID ALLEN SIBLEY; JIM VERHAGEN; NATURE AND SCIENCE/ALAMY
Shorebirds migrating through the
ET H I CS center of the continent stop by the
massive wetlands complex formed by
Do Not Disturb Cheyenne Bottoms and nearby Quivira
National Wildlife Refuge (pictured
beach-nesting shorebirds such as plovers and oystercatchers nest above). Visitors include great numbers
in some of the most populous regions of the world, right in the heart of Stilt Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, and
Grail Bird of summer vacation season. Theyre whimsical, captivating, and highly Wilsons Phalarope. Both sites can be
endangered. Its all too easy for photographers with even the best of in- reached via wildlife drives, dikes with
American Avocet tentions to disturb their nests and behaviorsometimes to devastating pedestrian access, and areas abutting
Tall, bright, and consequence. Piping Plover chicks, for example, are seen eating all the habitat with eye-level views. For max
handsome, these time, so we can easily underestimate how difcult it is for them to get shorebird density, aim for early August.
leggy waders nest the calories they need. Initial data from a study conducted on my local
on open ground beach in New Jersey reveal that chicks in areas heavily used by humans Plymouth and Duxbury Beaches,
near Western have lower daily survival rates compared with chicks in other areas, a Massachusetts
wetlands. Theyre nding that should serve as a wake-up call to photographers. When the tide is out, mixed ocks of
high-strung as A few rules of thumb will help minimize your impact: Always take plovers, dowitchers, and sandpipers
breeders, so dont the time to watch broods from a very safe distance for a few sessions be- forage along the seaweed wrack lines
try to photograph fore photographing them. Understand where they go and how they get and open mudats of the barrier
them at the nest there when no one is around. Learn how they react under various forms beaches in Plymouth and Duxbury
unless you use a of disturbance. Armed with that knowledge, you can position yourself bays. To access them, drive the Ply-
blind. At feeding appropriately. And though many nests are cordoned off behind inter- mouth Beach sand roads (with a permit)
sites in shallow pretive signage and symbolic fencing, those still leave a photographer or park in the lot at Duxbury and
water, avocets exposed. Use a pop-up blind to vanish from birds sight, and as a result, proceed on foot. Visits here are good
may be more theyll make a much closer approachand youll get amazing photos of throughout late summer but can be
approachable. healthy animals naturally going about their lives. Jim Verhagen best after Labor Day. Benjamin Clock

56 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

 KEY For more shore-
Peak fall migration of American Golden-Plover bird photography
select shorebird species Greater Yellowlegs hotspots, go to
in southern Canada and Least Sandpiper audubon.org/
the lower 48 U.S. states. JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV Dark tones indicate juveniles photography.

5
How to
Read the
Tides

According to the
proverb, there are Tips for
two things that
wait for no one:
Shooting
time and tide. For in Sand
aspiring shorebird
photographers, the Play Defense
latter can make all Resist the urge to
the difference. change your lens.
Each time you do,
Incoming Tide sand, salt, or water
Around three can get into your
hours before high camera body or on
tide, the rising the lens contacts.
water starts to
move the birds off Seal Away Gear
the ats and up Use a camera bag
toward the shore. that keeps your
Pick a good spot, P RO FI LE gear sealed safely
put the sun at your away. A hotel
back, get as low The Shorebird Whisperer shower cap on
as you can, and let the camera body
the tide push the lisa franceski was new to shorebirds when she rst can fend off ocean
birds your way. took her camera to the beach near her home on Long Is- spray and sand as
land. I didnt even know what a Piping Plover was, she you shoot.
High Tide says. Since then, she has shadowed individual families of
With their feeding shorebirds through each season that they nest in New Mind the Terrain
grounds ooded, York. Piping Plovers, with their run, run, stop rhythm, At eye level, sand
the birds settle lend themselves to the eye-level portraits that Franceski can be far more
into tidal marsh particularly enjoys shooting; American Oystercatchers also uneven than it
areas, beaches, strike classic poses on the ground. To photograph birds on appears from
and along rocky their level and avoid startling them, Franceski predicts overhead. Choose
shorelines. Arrive their movements, then lies in the sand and waits for the a position that en-
before high tide, birds to pass by. Often the sand is wet, and sometimes shes sures a birds feet
sit low and quietly, in the path of a stray wave. But her technique means she arent concealed
and concentrate doesnt need a tripodher elbows braced in the sand are by mounded sand.
on the birds steady enoughand the intimacy of the resulting images
closest to you or proves that her patience pays off. Meghan Bartels Brush Off Sand
FROM TOP: LISA FRANCESKI; CAMILLA CEREA/AUDUBON; CANON USA

that offer the best When you head

action shots. home, use a
GEAR $199), and ward off mud, and don painters natural-bristle
Outgoing Tide GO LOW muck by setting up atop kneepads (from $6 at paintbrush to get
By two hours a silicone-treated tarp, Home Depot) to protect grains of sand out
after high tide, the Getting down to such as Equinoxs Globe your joints against of every nook and
birds are on the shorebird height is key Skimmer Ultralite jagged shells and sticks. cranny of your
move, scurrying to capturing intimate, Ground Cloth ($43). The Eckla Beach Rolly camera.
about on newly sharp shots. Protect To move around at Cart ($200) makes
reopened feeding your equipmentand ground level with ease, hauling gear over rough Wash Off Salt
areas. Again, pick your backby connect- attach your SLR to a terrain a breezeand Wash your tripod
your spot, get low, ing your camera to a NatureScapes Skimmer it doubles as a chair right away
and move only right-angled viewnder Ground Pod ($80), a when its time to take a saltwater can
when necessary. like the Canon Angle plastic dish that slides break. Meaghan Lee cause corrosion.
Shawn Carey Finder C (pictured, along sand, gravel, or Callaghan Melissa Groo

SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 57

MOUSETRAP Continued from page 51

walled pens, each about the size of a pool table and scattered
with wood chips, sand, cardboard tubes, and plastic nest boxes.
They look like giant hamster cages, but the point is to offer an
approximation of nature with places to hide and play.
Two malesone wild and one lab-raised, but not yet engi-
neered with a gene driveare put in a pen with four wild females.
While blood tests will reveal paternity, Godwins team is interest-
ed in more than who the daddies are. Each mouse has unique ear
tags, and radiofrequency ID tags will monitor who visits whom,
and for how long. Spying on the critters should help reveal what,
exactly, a mouse nds attractivesize, for example, or aggressive-
nessand ultimately help scientists breed the sexiest lab mice.
While Godwin tackles mouse attraction, other GBIRd mem-
bers have been investigating gene drives. Threadgill, whos now
at Texas A&M, designed a natural drive using CRISPR to bind
two pieces of existing mouse DNA. The rst is the T-complex, a
group of genes that impairs sperm lacking those same genes, thus
ensuring theyre passed to offspring. The second is the Syr gene,
whose presence guarantees a mouse will be male (see Stacking
the Deck, p. 51). If the combination works, over time, every
mouse on an island would be male, causing the population to die
out. Paul Thomas, a mouse geneticist at University of Adelaide
in Australia, is taking a different tack. Hes working on two types
of CRISPR-based articial gene drives: One forces all offspring
to be female, and another makes embryos unviable, so females
produce no pups. (Both teams work in biosecure labs and employ
extra layers of protection so the drives arent likely to spread even
if the mice escape: Wild mice in the Lower 48 have an apparent
resistance to Threadgills natural gene drive, while Thomass gene
drive only works on a snippet of DNA unique to lab mice.)
When engineered mice like those in Texas or Australia are
ready, theyll be tested with wild mice at a more secure venue.
Another GBIRd partner, the USDA Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, has a large biosafety lab in Fort Collins,
Colorado, with secure enclosures that are far closer imitations
of nature than the Mouse Barns giant hamster cages.
If the gene drive mouse is indeed alluring to potential technology and are actively trying to block GBIRds efforts.
matesand if it passes a litany of safety tests and ethical con- From GBIRds earliest days, Campbell expected regula-
siderationsGBIRd will advance to the next phase. Theyll tory hurdles and public concern about releasing engineered
collect mice from an as-yet-undetermined island, bring them to mice. No legal framework exists for the tech, and no previous
a biosafe facility, and start the attraction tests anew. Assuming engineered organismsuch as GMO cropscan potentially
theyre successful, only then will they deploy gene drive mice. spread as rapidly and intentionally through an ecosystem.
The exact number theyll need isnt clear: Theres a delicate bal- From the beginning GBIRd has sought help for navigat-
ance between releasing enough so the drive works, but not so ing those uncertain waters. Partners at the USDA are working
many that the mice wreak environmental havoc and die off from with federal regulators to understand what laws may apply in
food shortages before they take hold and start reproducing. the United States. Landcare Research, a New Zealand fed-
Island Conservation initially estimated that it would release eral science institute, is exploring regulations abroad, and the
gene drives by 2020. It was, they gured, enough time to engi- Commonwealth Scientic and Industrial Research Organisa-
neer the mouse, obtain permission to legally and safely release tion (CSIRO), Australias federal scientic research institute, is
it in the wild, and address critics concerns. They expected the studying potential risks. Landcare, CSIRO, and NC State are
timeline would generate excitement. It did the opposite. all committed to engaging with communities on or near islands

O
n a balmy december day in cancn, mexico, staff
members of Island Conservation met with the most
vehement critics of biotechnology in the conserva-
tion movement. They were attending the 2016 UN
Biodiversity Conference, and they proposed a neutral
placethe convention center lobbyto plead the case
for gene drive research. Island Conservations audience included
representatives from Friends of the Earth (FOE), an environ-
mental advocacy group, and ETC Group, a Canadian biotech-
nology watchdog. Both groups call gene drives genetic extinction
where the mice may be released. NC State also has an inter-
disciplinary team of graduate and postdoctoral students who
study biology, math, social science, and communication analyz-
ing practical and ethical implications. Its about more than mice,
says Elizabeth Pitts, a postdoc in rhetoric at NC States Center
on Genetic Engineering and Society: Will meddling in places
weve already altered dramatically help or harm? How do you
obtain consent from people who may be affected by the tech?
And if we hit the reset button on an islandis the ideal were
trying to reset to ten years ago? A hundred? A thousand? Or as
Pitts puts it: How do you like your nature?

58 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

 In Cancun, Island Conservations team and its detractors
agreed on some points. Seabird conservation, and island conser-
vation more broadly, is important. Gene drive is a powerful tool
that requires great care. But the cordial dialogue didnt resolve a
key conict: whether its appropriate even to study gene drives.
The divide extends beyond these groups. A June 2016
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
report concluded gene drives are promising, but too new to
be released yetif everand called for more lab research and
public engagement (as GBIRd is doing). In September, the In-
ternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) voted
to develop policy on gene drives and related technologies and
to refrain from endorsing lab research and eld tests until it
nalizes its assessment in 2020. Also in September, 30 activ-
ists, including environmental heavyweights Jane Goodall and
David Suzuki, endorsed a call for a halt to all proposals for the
use of gene drive technologies, but especially in conservation.
And at the United Nations conference in Cancn, FOE and
other opponents triedand failedto convince world govern-
ments to temporarily ban gene drive research.
Because gene drive animals could spread across borders, Dana
Perls, a FOE senior campaigner who met with Island Conserva-
tion, wants research to pause until international regulations are
in place. [The technology] has the potential to cause incredibly
signicant damage to ecosystems and to species, she says. We
need to slow way down and look at the potential risks.
Will meddling in places weve already altered
dramatically help or harm? And if we hit the reset
button on an islandis the ideal were trying to
reset to ten years ago? A hundred? A thousand?
GBIRd partners agree that a cautious approach is needed,
but they also believe that a moratorium could seriously delay the
science. Members have largely footed their own bills so far, but
the group will need to raise up to $12 million per year to con-
duct advanced trials and push the project past proof-of-concept.
A ban could scare off funders, setting the research back years.
Other scientists exploring the technology fret about the un-
knowns. Im deeply concerned about how well we can predict
how [gene drives] evolve outside of our control, says Kevin Es-
velt, an evolutionary engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology who is considering whether gene drive mice could
curb Lyme disease on Nantucket. While mice released on an
island are less likely to spread globally than, say, winged insects,
Esvelt worries people may steal and release them in untested
areason the mainland, for instance, in an attempt to check
rapacious rodents that diminish crop yields. My concern is,
what would that do to public condence in scientists and in this
technology? he says. Are we really willing to risk an accident
that might damage the chances that we might be able to use
gene drive technology against malaria?
National Audubon Society hasnt taken an ofcial stance
on the technology. I personally wouldnt want to call an end
to research, because you dont really know what will come out
of it, says Steve Kress, vice president for bird conservation.
But I also think there is a place for voices of concern, which
will help guide the research.
Waiting for cohesive international rules could mean waiting
forever. Regulations on existing genetic engineering technology
are messy, with rules ranging from country to country, and gene
drives wont make regulatory questions any easier. In the United
States, for example, the relevant laws are three decades old and
therefore ill t for new biotechnology. To address the shortcoming,
in the Obama administrations nal days the U.S. Food and Drug
Administrationwhich regulates biotech, along with the USDA
and EPAproposed changes that might cover the development
and release of CRISPR animals. So far the Trump administration
hasnt given any indication about what action, if any, it will take.
N
o one is dropping mutant mice on a remote island
anytime soon, if ever. Late last year Island Conservation
nixed its 2020 timelineor any timeline. We have no
plans for release, says Heath Packard, the groups com-
munications director. Still, theyre forging ahead with
a set of criteria to dene the ideal eld test location.
Itll likely be small and simplenot a mountainous island like
Gough, with its sweeping cliff coasts and complex landscape.
GBIRd is also forming an independent ethics panel to pro-
vide feedback at each major milestone, including mating a gene
drive mouse and wild mouse and selecting the pilot study island.
The group has to be willing to pause, halt, or change course if
the ethics or public perception demands it, says Jennifer Kuzma,
co-director of the Center on Genetic Engineering and Society
who advised GBIRd on convening the panel. We dont want the
public engagement and the ethics to just be window dressing.
And they certainly dont want to repeat the Monsanto effect.
In the 1990s, when the biotech giant and competitors sold their
rst GMO crops, they didnt seek much public input. Instead,
they identied an agricultural problem, built a solution, and re-
leased it. The backlash was erce and sustained: 21 years later, ac-
tivists and many consumers are still wary about the products, and
a non-GMO food industry has emerged in response. Gene drive
researchers wield an even more powerful biotechnology and have
learned from Big Ags mistakes. Given the technologys promise,
and the fact that its already being used in labs around the world,
research will likely continuewith a lot of stops along the way.
For many seabirds, this progress may be too slow. Invasive
animals and plants threaten around 387 island avian species,
according to BirdLife International. The house mouse is still
spreading, and many birds teeter on the edge of survival: If poi-
son fails on Gough, for example, the Tristan Albatross could go
extinct by 2040. And so conservationists continue to ght back
with the tools at hand, even as they wish for something better. A
Brooke Borel is a journalist and author in Brooklyn, New York.
Her last Audubon story explored avian plagues.
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SUMMER 2017 | AUDUBON 59
 THE ILLUSTRATED AVIARY

Reimagining John James Audubons Birds of America

AMERICAN FLAMINGO BY DAN WINTERS

for several weeks this spring, Austin-based artist Dan Winters mulled over John James Audubons See all of John
American Flamingo. The more I looked at it, the more its neck stood out, he says. What, he wondered, James Audubons
if it had multiple necks and heads? I like the idea of creating this creature of lore that doesnt exist. Birds of America
To fashion his fanciful amingo, Winters printed six copies of Audubons rendering, carefully snip- at audubon.org/
BOTTOM (DETAIL): JOHN JAMES AUDUBON

ping them into pieces that he reassembled into a surgically modied version of the original. He glued birds-of-america.
the collage to a 12-by-12-inch piece of plywood painted with acrylic and incorporated newspaper,
pencil, and India ink. The tiny arrows call out motion, he says, making the piece feel more kinetic.
Winters, whos also a renowned photographer, has long been fascinated with birds and has re-
imagined several Audubon paintings, including the Golden Eagle. He was an amazing naturalist and
painter, and hes left an incredible legacy, he says. This was his rst experiment with the amingo,
a bird he nds striking yet gawky. That duality surely wasnt lost on Audubon, who made life-size
portrayals; when painting the four-foot bird on three-foot paper, he, too, focused on the extremely
elongated neck, curving it dramatically downward so the lanky wader t on the page. Julie Leibach

60 AUDUBON | SUMMER 2017

 TRAVEL AND SEE AMAZING BIRDS
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YUCATAN JAY. PHOTO: RACHEL KOLOKOFF
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