Hi folks,

Just received the Winter 1995 issue of Northwestern Naturalist, a =
tri-annual journal of vertebrate biology published by the Society for =
Northwestern Vertebrate Biology. This is the old "Murrelet" journal of =
the former Pacific Northwest Bird and Mammal Society. The papers in =
this journal deal with the biology of birds, amphibians, reptiles, and =
mammals in NW North America. Basic membership is $20US payable to SNVB, =
J. Jones, Treasurer, 4820 Yelm Hwy SE Ste B-175, Olympia, WA 98503.

I thought some of us might be interested in the contents, so here they =
are..

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net


Sandhill Crane nesting habitat, egg predators, and predator history on =
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon. Carroll D Littlefield. pp =
137-143. Coyotes, Common Ravens, and raccoons are the most important =
predators of greater sandhill cranes at Malheur. C.D.'s paper reports =
on the success of 1,096 crane clutches - 214 (20%) were destroyed by =
coyotes, 162 (15%) by ravens, and 100 (9%) were predated by raccoons. =
Nest concealment (very dependent upon vegetative cover) was important =
for success relative to coyotes and ravens, but not significant for =
raccoon predation. Coyote and raven numbers have fluctuated at the =
Refuge due to predator control efforts, etc., and that has had an =
influence on crane nesting success. One tidbit of information that I =
had forgotten was that raccoons are a recent (1940s) arrival at Malheur. =
C.D.: "Habitat improvement in conjunction with predator reduction may =
be essential for the welfare of greater sandhill cranes in the =
contiguous western United States, particularly in regions where there =
are abundant predator populations (especially coyotes)."

General Notes:

Distinguishing skulls of Oregon Tamias amoenus and Tamias minimus. =
Leslie N Carraway and B.J. Verts. pp 144-145. Cluster analysis and =
discriminant function analysis of skull measurments used to separate =
Yellow-pine and Least chipmunks from eastern Oregon.

Sex of voles eaten by Short-eared Owls. Denver W Holt and Patricia A =
Williams. pp 145-147. A study at Nine-pipes National Wildlife Refuge, =
Montant suggested that females Microtus pennsylvanicus were more =
vulnerable to predation by short-eareds. Innominate (pubis, etc) bones =
of male and female Microtus can easily distinguished; female:male ratios =
were higher (3.7:1) in 273 owl pellets and in snap-trap collections =
(2.4:1). There were no significant differences between the sex of voles =
trapped and those identified from owl pellets, although females =
outnumbered males, suggesting that they were in fact more vulnerable to =
predation.

Confirmed Sandhill Crane nesting in Yakima County, Washington. Rosemary =
H Leach. pg 148. At a wet meadow on the Yakama Indian Reservation, =
about 35km NE of the known nesting area at Conboy NWR in Klickitat =
County. Leach found a pair with 1 young on 17 June 1994. Fate of the =
young was not determined, but the young crane was not seen again that =
season (predated?).

Evidence that free-ranging Common Nighthawks may enter torpor. R Mark =
Bingham, Ken H Morgan and Paul C James. pp 149-150. Birds in torpor =
seen in June 1985 near Merritt, B.C. and August 1986 near Bragg Creek, =
Alberta.

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