Hi Dennis and Tweeters,

Colleen Handel (colleen_handel at usgs.gov) (there is an underscore in that address), a biologist at the USGS Alaska Biological Science Center (www.absc.usgs.gov) in Anchorage, has been studying this phenomenon in many species of AK birds, especially Black-capped Chickadees, for over a decade. I have been sending her non-raptor records for several years. I think that at this point she is the best "repository" for observations of other long-billed birds.

This does not include reports of long-billed raptors which I will gladly take (bud at frg.org).

Colleen has just taken on a graduate student to look at the condition in corvids in AK. I am sure they would like to hear from anyone with observations from other states. If you can, try to document your sightings with digital shots.

So far, and remarkably enough, there are still no other government agencies or academic institutions that I am aware of in the lower 48 that have officially expressed much interest in the syndrome.

One exception is Chuck Henny, a well-respected USGS toxicologist at Corvallis, OR. He has been working with me on long-billed raptors for a couple of years now.

Earlier this month, I received reports of a long-billed Red-shouldered Hawk near San Francisco and a Barn Owl from Boise, both first records for these species. I now have about 135 records of long-billed raptors in the western US.

The cause of the syndrome remains unknown.

Bud Anderson
Falcon Research Group
Box 248
Bow, WA 98232
(360) 757-1911
bud at frg.org