Gene and tweets,
I would defer to a WDFW biologist to comment officially on why each species is listed as Candidate for listing. Here is a good link if interested in management reasons behind some of the status: http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/phs/list/
In general though most of these species are listed for habitat loss, which is the same for most listed species including spotted owl, ferruginous hawk, sage grouse etc.. I'm not advocating any certain position, but merely to point out that if following the ABA code to its letter you would avoid playing tapes to these "species of concern". So yes, habitat loss is the reason these species have had declines and were proposed for listing; however, if such species are experiencing declines due to habitat loss, there is a possibility that additional stresses to these species may be cumlative and add to the declines. Some species like Pileated woodpeckers are seemingly common enough, but before generalizations are made it would be good to examine how core habitat (forests with snags for breeding) had changed. Reading the above link can give "some" insight, though other research would be needed.

Again, not speaking for the ABA but I think the spirit behind their inclusion of species of concern would be that these species already face many stresses (limited haibtat, poor quality habitat etc..) and adding calling to those species during breeding season can increase chance that nesting attempt fails. If a species of concern nest fails, it is likely a bigger concern for that species' conservation than if a common species, say song sparrow, fails for song sparrow long-term conservation.

My two snowy cents.

Scott Downes
downess at charter.net
Yakima WA
----- Original Message -----
From: Eugene and Nancy Hunn
To: 'Scott Downes' ; tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Monday, November 29, 2010 2:13 PM
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] re: Ipods/ABA code of ethics


Hello tweets,



Nancy and I are settling into our rental house here in Sonoma, California, amongst live and black oaks. The weather is fine. Thanks to all for your parting thoughts. We'll miss you all but plan the occasional return visit.



I've been following this discussion from afar and would just like to comment on the list Scott posted of "Species of Concern in Washington." I often have this reaction when I see lists such as these, puzzling over why certain species are included and others not and who compiles the list and by what criteria. For example, in my experience Pileated Woodpeckers are common and highly adaptable to all sorts of habitats. Why they should be of "concern" is beyond me. Several of the other species listed appear to be "of concern" due to habitat loss, which does not suggest to me that disturbance by eager observers is likely to contribute to whatever threats they may face, e.g., Black-backed, Lewis's, and White-headed Woodpeckers; Sage Sparrows, Sage Thrashers, and Loggerhead Shrikes; as for Flammulated Owls, I wonder why they should be in this list, as they are now probably as uncommon as they have always been.



My two centavos.



Gene Hunn

17353 Buena Vista Ave.

Sonoma, CA 95476

enhunn323 at comcast.net



From: tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Scott Downes
Sent: Monday, November 29, 2010 10:16 AM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] re: Ipods/ABA code of ethics



One more from me on this subject. I have seen posts talking about the ABA code of ethics and stating its super clear. I wanted to provide some food for thought.



ABA code of ethics says:

"To avoid stressing birds or exposing them to danger, exercise restraint and caution during observation, photography, sound recording, or filming."

"Limit the use of recordings and other methods of attracting birds, and never use such methods in heavily birded areas, or for attracting any species that is Threatened, Endangered, or of Special Concern, or is rare in your local area."



As many posters have said, it is difficult to define what "limiting" or what the exact levels of stress is . Some people also take the notion that since we can't define it, better to avoid any use. That's one approach, but drastic and would mean some major alterations in some areas of birding. Without playback of calls (and its the same if you happen to do it yourself and not use a e-device) would mean few nocturnal owls would be detected outside of mating season when they often call on their own. As we come up on the CBC season, most counts have owlers that go out and call for owls. I don't know what the levels are for disturbance and likely varies by each situation and species. As posts have shown its not an easy question.



Two other things to think about are:



1. Pishing is also meant to elicit a response from a bird, probably causes some stress. Most birders use it in some form (I use it frequently). It should probably also fall in this same discussion, not just playback devices.



2.ABA says "or for attracting any species that is Threatened, Endangered, or of Special Concern, or is rare in your local area". We know what Threatened and Endangered species are. However, species of special concern or rare is harder to define. Since most of us live in Washington, for the sake of argument, I'm going to use WDFW definitions for species of concern. WDFW defines species of concern as:

"Species of Concern in Washington include those species listed as State Endangered, State Threatened, State Sensitive, or State Candidate, as well as species listed or proposed for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service."

We all know about the spotted owl being endangered, but here is a list of species that qualify under that definition that people might use Ipods to call them in. Does this mean we should not use playback for these species? I don't know if we should or should not, but do want people to be aware of information when we start talking about this. In general, I don't think we'll ever come to a conclusion on this. Many will police themselves and for others that don't, managers on public lands will need to make rules for their lands that they think fit the welfare of birds the best.

Black-backed woodpecker-State Candidate

Flammulated Owl-State Candidate

Lewis's Woodpecker-State Candidate

Loggerhead Shrike-State Candidate

Oregon Vesper Sparrow(Westside prairies form)-State Candidate

Pileated Woodpecker-State Candidate

Sage Sparrow-State Candidate

Sage Thrasher-State Candidate

White-headed woodpecker-State Candidate



Scott Downes

downess at charter.net

Yakima WA