Birdwatching in New Hampshire Quiz

How Well Do You Know Your New Hampshire Birds?

If you want to know how, when and where to find some cool birds, then check out the new book, Birdwatching in New Hampshire, by Eric Masterson of Hancock. 

It’s not a guide to identifying birds – there are plenty of good field guides for that. It’s a masterfully written and illustrated guide to finding the “good birds,” the unusual birds, the hard-to-find rarities that occur in certain places at certain times.

Birds like red-throated loons, which you might spot along the seacoast in the winter. Or spruce grouse that you might see in Pittsburg. Or thousands of broad-winged hawks you can see from Pack Monadnock Mountain.

Masterson shows with clear maps, handy timelines and regional descriptions how you can have a productive birdwatching trip, whether you’re an expert checking off a life-list or an amateur just wanting to see some amazing birds. A read through his book will also give you a greater appreciation for the birds that visit or spend their lives in New Hampshire. Some of our seasonal birds, for instance, travel thousands of miles on their journeys, sometimes spending a day here or months.

To whet your appetite for birding and Masterson’s book, here’s a little quiz, pulled from its pages.

1. Big storms, like hurricanes, can wreak havoc for birdwatching: True or False?
2. One of these things is NOT on the birding code of ethics:
   a. Promote the welfare of birds and their environments.
   b. Make sure feeders are safe and clean.
   c. Always promote the presence of a rare bird.
   d. Stay on roads, trails and paths, otherwise keep habitat disturbance to a minimum.
3. The arrival of songbirds from their tropical winter homes peaks in:
   a. February
   b. October
   c. May
   d. early fall
   
   
4. One rare bird you may see off New Hampshire’s coast in the winter is:
   a. Atlantic puffin
   b. Bicknell’s thrush
   c. ruby-throated hummingbird
   d. gray jay
    
5. Canada geese flying through New Hampshire in the spring are usually heading for:
   a. Ontario
   b. South America
   c. the Bahamas
   d. eastern Canadian provinces
   
   
6. The only staffed raptor observatory in New Hampshire is:
   a. on the Isles of Shoals
   b. on Pack Monadnock Mountain
   c. on Mount Washington
   d. in Concord, at the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium
   
   
7. The best time of year to see golden eagles in New Hampshire is:
   a. late-October through early November
   b. during spring migration
   c. in mid-summer along the coast
   d. never. They don’t pass through New Hampshire.
   
   
8. If you were to take a day off of work to see the annual hawk migration, the best time to do it would be:
   a. in the spring, around May 15
   b. near the end of the migration in November
   c. between September 16 and 19
   d. it’s too erratic to pick a date
   
   
9. Most species of songbirds migrate during:
   a. the night
   b. the day
   
   
10. Birds that we can see in New Hampshire can be migrants from as far away as:
    a. the Florida Keys
    b. California
    c. Long Island Sound
    d. Antarctica

The Answers: 

1. False. Some of the best birdwatching opportunities can come after big storms, which sometimes leave exotic birds in their wakes. For instance, Masterson notes that tropical species were seen all along the East Coast, deposited by the hurricane. In New Hampshire, that included sightings of white-tailed tropicbird and sooty tern.
2. C. Promoting the presence of a rare bird. There may be a few good reasons to not promote its presence, especially if the promotion might endanger the bird.
3. C. May, usually during the middle of the month. It’s coming right up!
4. A. Atlantic puffin. You can see these beautiful birds in February in places like Jeffrey’s Ledge, many miles off the coast, if you can actually get out there.
5. D. Eastern Canadian provinces, including Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland or Labrador. Some individuals will go as far north as Greenland.
6. B. On Pack Monadnock. The site has been fully covered by a staffer from New Hampshire Audubon each fall since 2005. On average, 9,895 raptors have been counted each fall, many of which are broad-winged hawks.
7. A. Late-October through early November. Though you might spot a golden eagle in New Hampshire during its spring migration, you stand a better chance in the fall.
8. C. Between September 16 and 19. If you were to draw a bell curve for the best date, it would be around September 18.
9. A. the night. They will often make landfall before dawn, then spend the day resting and refueling.
10. D. Antarctica. In fact, the Arctic tern flies from its Arctic breeding grounds to the Antarctic and back, sometimes passing through coastal New Hampshire during their journey.

Eric Aldrich writes from his home in Hancock.

Is Bigfoot Roaming the Hancock Hills?

Several sightings start scientific study of sasquatch on Skatutakee.

Is this a bigfoot that was photographed on a game camera

in early March? Dublin resident Miles O'Keefe claims he
also saw one on Sept. 31.

HANCOCK, NH, April 1, 2013 - Miles O’Keefe remembers every detail of that brilliant fall afternoon last Sept. 31, when he hiked up Mount Skatutakee in Hancock.

Weary from his ascent, though only a few minutes from the summit, O’Keefe sat against a huge pine, caught his breath and shut his eyes for a moment.

That’s when he heard it. Just a faint shuffle of leaves, somewhere off the trail.

“The sounds got louder, and I could hear the crunching of twigs,” said O’Keefe, a retired school custodian from Dublin. “It sounded like someone was walking in the woods.”

O’Keefe shouted, “Hey, who’s there?”

Not hearing a response, O’Keefe stood up and peered through the trees. Nothing. He waited a few minutes, took a swig and put the bottle back in his pack. Still nothing. So he shouldered his pack and continued up the trail, wondering if there was a bear in the woods or if someone was playing tricks on him.

Suddenly, he heard a crashing through the woods, something big. Expecting a bear, O’Keefe froze in his tracks and glanced toward the sound.

“It was about 40 feet in the woods and running away from me,” he said. “I could see right away it was no bear. It was about 9 feet tall and running away on two legs, covered from head to toe with dark, black fur or hair. I knew right away it was bigfoot.” 

Big Plans Afoot for Bigfoot 

While O’Keefe’s story sounds unbelievable, some new evidence of a large primate on Hancock’s hills has surfaced and the state’s wildlife agency is preparing to have its own look.

A Hancock resident who wants to remain anonymous claims that his game camera captured an image of Skatutakee’s sasquatch on March 9. The motion-activated camera, which the resident sometimes baits with carcasses, was on a remote part of the mountain when it photographed the ape-like animal.

Until now, N.H. Fish and Wildlife Department officials have been skeptical of periodic sasquatch sightings around the state. Now, the Department's Cryptozoology Program is planning a full-blown biological assessment of bigfoot in the Monadnock Region.

“Presented with recent convincing evidence of this elusive animal, we are now compelled to gather biological data to better understand and manage the population, if it indeed exists,” said Fish and Wildlife biologist Mark Englewood. “So we’re happy to use our extremely limited resources to gain some valuable insight into this curious mammal’s population dynamics and habitat use. Ultimately, we want to know if this presents an opportunity for recreational hunting, as well as some sorely needed revenue for the Department.” 

Mark and Recapture 

Now getting under way, the Fish and Wildlife bigfoot study will focus on Mount Skatutakee and Thumb Mountain in Hancock. It will be a classic “mark and recapture” study, which is a common method in ecology used to determine population densities and habitat use in a given area. The mark and recapture method can be used for creatures as small as a snail and as big as a black bear … or even bigfoot.

“What we’ll do is capture a sample number, tag and release those individuals unharmed, then go back after a period of time and attempt to capture and tag either the same or additional individuals,” Englewood said. “Using standard biological and statistical principles, we can extrapolate the number of individuals per given area. That, and a bunch of guesswork.”

If one or more bigfoot are captured, they will also be fitted with radio-telemetry collars to let researchers study the animals’ use of habitat. Shiny and brightly colored collars will also help the animals find mates.

Because bigfoot are elusive and potentially wicked dangerous, Fish and Wildlife will have the actual capturing done by unpaid interns.

“There are some obvious issues involving liability and reputational risk,” Englewood said. “So we think this would be an ideal learning opportunity for student interns. They would much rather be in the field, anyway, doing glamorous research for which they could ultimately be rewarded with fame, glory and … well, you know, fame and glory.” 

You Never Know What May Appear 

The bigfoot sightings are welcome news to Reed Cabot, semi-retired senior naturalist emeritus at the Barbara P.C. Harris Center for Conservation Observation in Hancock or Greenfield. He points to the value of protected habitats in the center’s Uber-Sanctuary, covering some umpteen thousand acres in 20-or-30-something towns.

“We’ve known for a long time now that, once these lands are protected, all sorts of wide-ranging animals will use these tracts as travel corridors,” Cabot said. “Species like bobcats, black bear, moose, ticks and bigfoot.”

Many questions remain, like, how did this big, hairy animal elude detection for so long?

Miles O’Keefe, who holds the lonely distinction of actually seeing a bigfoot in New Hampshire, thinks he has the answer. O’Keefe has now become somewhat of an expert in sasquatch ecology. Since his sighting, O’Keefe has become a card-carrying, certified bigfoot scientist by the Union of Scientific Sasquatch Researchers (USSR).

“Things appear in the woods when you do what I did that day in September,” O’Keefe said. “Just sit down for a minute and be still. Let the forest settle out and keep an open mind. You never know what may appear.” 

Eric Aldrich writes from his home in Hancock, where you never know …

Our Wildlife Resources: It's the Public's Turn

Eastern wild turkeys were
restored to NH with federal aid

You may have heard about the financial woes of the N.H. Fish and Game Department, the agency that manages our public wildlife resources. The key word being “public.”

It’s the state agency that manages New Hampshire’s wildlife, from white-tailed deer, wild turkey and moose to salamanders, little brown bats and bald eagles. All of the state’s wildlife, and all of it is a public resource, whether the object of a bullet, a hook or pair of binoculars.

It’s the agency that connects us -- the public -- to the great outdoors. It coordinates volunteer hunter education instructors who keep hunting a remarkably safe activity. It oversees backcountry search and rescues. It is the champion for connecting the outdoors with children, our next generation of conservationists. All great things for the public good.

But for years, the agency has been in financial trouble. And the situation has been getting worse. Now, if the legislature doesn’t step in and help, the fund that fuels the department’s operation will be depleted within three years. That kind of gloomy uncertainty is no way to run an agency with a $28 million annual budget and 184 dedicated employees.

What does the agency want to help fix this problem? For the short-term, $550,000 for the FY 2014 budget and $745,000 from the state’s general funds, including $200,000 a year for search and rescue operations. For the long-term, Fish and Game wants the state to establish a stable funding source to supplement its existing mix of funds from federal aid and other sources.

This is all reasonable, responsible and timely, and here’s why.

But first, a quick quiz: How much of the department’s budget currently comes from the state’s general fund (as in, public tax dollars)?

A) 100 percent

B) 75 percent

C) 25 percent

D) .2 percent 

If you guessed .2 percent, you got it. Wow! Two-tenths of one percent? No way!

That’s right. For a $27.7 million budget, that’s only $50,000. And that goes specifically to the department’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program. Nothing else. Some money from boat registration fees helps create public access to our lakes and rivers. And some money from boat, snowmobile and off-highway recreational vehicles (OHRV) supports search and rescue operations (right, those users aren’t often the expensive, high-profile rescues). 

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation 

Then where does Fish and Game get its funding? To answer that question, it’s worth stepping back a little bit, because it’s easy to take things for granted.

White-tailed deer, beaver, moose, wild turkey, passenger pigeons -- these are all species native to New Hampshire, once abundant and all suffered terrible declines in the 1800s, before hunting was regulated. The worst casualty was the passenger pigeon, which went extinct in 1914. Its needless end was one shameful legacy of unregulated market hunting.

By the late-1800s and early 1900s, conservationists like Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir and Gifford Pinchot were raising the alarm about the devastation of our wildlife, our wilderness and our forests. One of the many breakthroughs to arise out of this great awakening was the North American model of wildlife conservation.

This great American success story is largely forgotten, especially by the policy-makers who really need to know it. Among our model’s tenets is that wildlife is a public resource, held in common ownership by the state for the benefit of all people. Another tenet is that our public wildlife is not a commodity that can be bought and sold on the private market, thus eliminating great pressure from market hunting. Other tenets: Managing wildlife is the domain of science, not politics; and states should manage wildlife populations, including game species, the harvests of which should be regulated with careful controls.

One of the shining moments in this now-rare moment of clarity in American governance was the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937. It’s a tax. A federal excise tax on the purchase of ammunition and firearms, which is pooled to fund states’ management of game species like white-tailed deer, black bear, moose and wild turkey. The act is responsible for the reintroduction of wild turkey to New Hampshire, the return and sound management of the other game species and the regulation of safe hunting. A similar act pools an excise tax on fishing equipment for managing fisheries.

About one-third of the department’s budget comes from federal aid. Another 29 percent or so comes from hunting and fishing license fees. The rest are from a bunch of small fees here and there, including OHRVs and boat registrations. 

It’s Not Right 

All of that funding (with the exception of .2 percent from the general fund for nongame species) comes from user fees, mostly hunters and anglers like me.

I’ll go out on a limb here and say that’s not right. The public -- the state -- needs to pony up its share.

I’m not alone in this line of thinking. Fish and Game is urging support for measures before the N.H. Legislature that would provide short-term funding of $550,000 in FY 2014 and $745,000 in FY ‘15.

While the North American model of wildlife conservation has worked really well for generations, times are changing. Fewer people are hunting. The public has greater demands for the services of fish and wildlife agencies and a decreasing understanding and tolerance of wildlife, especially when critters encroach into their backyards that sit alongside good habitats. 

Listen Up, N.H. Legislature! 

And while New Hampshire is among a growing number of states seeking general fund dollars for wildlife, it ranks near the bottom of the list for states that provide public support.

All of this begs the supposition that wildlife is a public resource. Wildlife brings wide-ranging public benefits. Wildlife-associated recreation contributed $556 million to New Hampshire’s economy in 2011 according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Of this, hunters and anglers spent $275 million, while wildlife-watchers spent $281 million.

A closer look shows that in 2011, 56,000 people hunted in New Hampshire, 228,000 fished and a whopping 630,000 participated in wildlife-watching activities. When it comes to funding, something is clearly out of whack here.

Of course, those are all just numbers. We know that we all benefit from healthy, well-managed fish and wildlife in New Hampshire. We need not just the game species, but also the bats (which are now imperiled), the birds migrating across continents and all of the little critters that make the world work.

Wildlife is a public resource. It’s the public’s turn to pony up. 

Eric Aldrich writes from his home in Hancock.

Fitting into Their Own Future

 New Club Gives Great Brook Students a Taste of Environmental Careers

Give a kid a taste of the future and pretty soon they’ll be hungry for the whole meal.

That’s the thinking behind a new program that the HarrisCenter for Conservation Education has kicked off at Great Brook School in Antrim.

The Environmental Leadership Club started this fall as a way to give willing middle schoolers a taste of careers that involve the environment or the great outdoors.

Students in Great Brook Middle School's
Environmental Leadership Club learn about
tree growth.

“It’s a chance for kids to give kids some background as to what’s available for careers,” says Jennifer Sutton, a Harris Center teacher/naturalist who’s leading the program. “It’s also a chance to get the kids outside after school and to be excited to be outside.”

The after-school program’s 10 students have so far had visits to or from:

• Christine Destremps, a Harrisville artist who focuses on the need for clean water.
• Eric Masterson, a Harris Center land specialist who takes care of the center’s lands and conservation easements.
• Sunnyfield Farm in Peterborough where they learned about the farm’s operations and helped with chores.
• Eastern Mountain Sports in Peterborough, a visit that was scheduled before the recent layoff announcement. They learned how the business environment is affected by many things, including warmer winters and the nature of changing commerce.
• Robblee Tree Service, where they learned that tree work can also involve removing invasive species.
• Me; I entertained questions about the broad range of work by The Nature Conservancy, from reviving shad populations to restoring rain forests. I also gave them tips on using the club’s game camera.

They will soon meet with Sgt. David Walsh, a conservation officer with the N.H. Fish and Game Department.

“It’s been great to see how the kids are starting to see the realm of opportunities that are out there,” Sutton says.

Eleven-year-old Connor Young says he loves being in the club. “I like how we go on field trips to learn about jobs in the environmental field,” he says. “And we do a lot of fun activities on days that we don’t go visit someone.”

Young, who’s in sixth grade, says he’ll be in the club next year and hopes more students join, too. “I’ve learned a lot in the club and I would probably go into the environmental field, maybe in agriculture.” 

Sutton says middle schoolers are old enough to keep focused on an after-school session and are starting to become curious about the career paths that may await them.

“We’re really delighted that, with the Harris Center, we’re able to offer this club to students,” says Jim Elder, Great Brook School’s principal. “The environmental niche is great for the future of our planet and it speaks to the students who have a strong interest in nature and the outdoors. And Ms. Sutton is a great teacher.”

After the series of visits, the club will create displays about environmental careers that visitors can see at the Harris Center. The club has also discussed holding a career fair.

The Harris Center hopes to continue the Environmental Leadership Club next year at Great Brook, and may also expand to South Meadow School in Peterborough. 

“This is a chance for kids to dig a little deeper into their souls,” Sutton says. “They’re thinking about themselves and how they fit into their own future.”

Eric Aldrich writes from his home in Hancock.