Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Prairie Naturalist Vol. 8, Nos. 3 And 4 September-December 1976

The Prairie Naturalist

SPRING MORTALITY OF INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS IN SOUTHERN MANITOBA ▪ J. R. Serie and R. E. Jones

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA—1976 ▪ R. N. Randall

MOSSES OF THE GREAT PLAINS: INTRODUCTION AND CATALOGUE ▪ S. P. Churchill

NOTES

Fulvous Tree Duck in North Dakota ▪ L. A. Jones

Unusual Mortality of a Saw-whet Owl ▪ H. A. Kantrud

Cardinal and Mockingbird in Jamestown, North Dakota ▪ D. H. and J. E. Johnson

BOOK REVIEWS

Essence of Wilderness ▪ K. T. Killingbeck

The Changing America ▪ L. M. Kirsch

A Government Bird Book ▪ J. F. Cassel

Wildflowers ofthe Rockies …

Ecology Of Suspected Damaging Coyotes And Their Interactions With Domestic Poultry And Livestock, William F. Andelt

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

No abstract provided.

Review Of Quantum States Of Atoms, Molecules And Solids, M. Eugene Rudd

M. Eugene Rudd Publications

The subjects of atomic, molecular and solid-state physics have only rarely been treated at an advanced level in a single volume. The notable exception, of course, is John C. Slater’s Quantum Theory of Matter. In the present book the three authors, Michael Morrison, Thomas Estle and Neal Lane, stress the unity among these fields by ernphasizing the concept of electronic quantum states in atoms, diatomic molecules and crystalline solids. Such a combination should be of basic interest to students in a variety of scientific fields and also form the basis for more advanced work in those three subjects themselves. …

Groundwater Levels In Nebraska, 1975, Michael J. Ellis, Darryll T. Pederson

Conservation and Survey Division

No abstract provided.

Piezomodulated And Specular Reflection Spectra Of A Polydiacetylene Crystal, Craig J. Eckhardt, H. Muller, J. Tylicki, R.R. Chance

Craig J. Eckhardt Publications

A class of potential quasi-one-dimensional organic conductors is the monocrystalline polydiacetylenes. These polymers can be obtained as single crystals that have high structural perfection and a chain configuration that permits extensive π-electron delocalization. The poly-2, 4-hexadiyne-1, 6-diol-bis-(p-toluene sulfonate) (PTS) has been the most extensively studied system and interest centers upon the extent of delocalization along the two chains compromising the P2₁/c unit cell.

Proceedings Seventh Bird Control Seminar -- Frontmatter & Contents

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio
November 5 - 11, 1976

DR. WILLIAM B. JACKSON CONFERENCE CHAIRMAN AND EDITOR

SPONSORED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES CENTER, BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND NATIONAL PEST CONTROL ASSOCIATION, VIENNA, VIRGINIA

Registered Participants -- Seventh Bird Control Seminar, November 1976

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Protecting Ripening Sorghum With Methiocarb From Bird Damage In Senegal, Richard L. Bruggers

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The simultaneous completion of the rainy season and nesting of granivorous birds between October and November in the Sudano-sahelian region of Senegal often results in very extensive bird damage to cereal crops. This occurs from both increased bird populations, due to the presence of juveniles as well as from their accompanying change in diet from insects to seeds. The damage is caused by several species of birds, most notable the Red-billed Dioch (Quelea quelea) and the Village and Black-headed Weavers (Ploceus cuculiatus and Ploceus capitalis) . The Buffalo Weaver (Bubalornis albirostris) and the Glossy Starling Lamprotornis chalybaeus) also are at …

Experimental Use Of Av-Alarm For Repelling Quelea From Rice In Somalia, Larry C. Holcomb

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The Av-Alarm is a device for producing loud intermittent sounds which are sometimes effective in repelling pest birds or mammals. (Av-Alarm is manufactured by Av-Alarm Corp, P.O. Box 2488, Santa Maria, California 93454.) The sound is intended to irritate or cause anxiety in animals, perhaps by interfering with normal sound communication sufficiently to repel them from the area. Boudreau(1972) and Stewart (1974) report factors relating to alarm stimuli in bird control. Stewart (1974), HcCracken (1972) and Palmer (1976) reported the use of Av-Alarm in repelling pests under several different situations. However, Jeffrey Jackson (pers. comm.) has reported the use of …

Tests Of Bird Damage Control Measures In Sudan, 1975, Lee R. Martin

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The Red-billed Quelea (Quelga quelaa), because of its widespread destruction of grain crops throughout its range in Africa, is one of the most studied and written about granivorous bird species. Less publicized are more local bird pests in Africa which may be equally Important. The Village Weaver, (Ploceus cucullatus), for example, is a pest in many countries, while some other Ploecids with limited destructive habits create local problems. Significant crop losses also occur where there are large populations of Golden Sparrows (Passer luteus), House Sparrows (Passer domesticus), Red Bishops (Euplectes oryx), Doves (Streptopelia spp.), Glossy Starlings (Lamprotornis chalybaeus), Parakeets (Psittacula …

Species Composition, Food Habits, And The Economic And Ecologic Impact Of Winter Blackbird Flocks, Raleigh J. Robertson, Patrick J. Weatherhead, Frank J. S. Phelan, Geoffrey L. Holroyd, Nigel Lester

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Crop depredation by blackbirds (Icteridae) and Starlings (sturnus vulgaris) in North America has long prompted experimentation with control techniques. These efforts have been centered in the northeast and northcentral United States where concentrated cultivation of vulnerable crops coincides with the location where flocks of blackbirds congregate in the fall prior to their migration south (Stone, et al., 1972; Wiens and Dyer, 1975). In these areas the high cost and logistic impracticality of implementing widespread controls has suggested the need for modifying agricultural practices instead (Wiens and Dyer, 1975). More recently, attention has been focused farther south, particularly in Kentucky and …

Plant-Animal Interactions: Simulation Of Bird Damage On Corn Ears, M. I. Dyer

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Within the past decade interactions among plants and animals have received increasing attention, mostly pertaining to selection of plants that produce toxic secondary compounds as a direct result of herbivory (Gilbert and Raven, 1975; Feeny, 1975; and Rhoades and Cates, 1976) and in turn selection of animals that detoxify these plant compounds (Freeland and Janzen,1974). Indeed, the plant-herbivore association has been regarded in the context of predator-prey relationships, especially for seed eaters (Scott, 1970, 1976; Janzen, 1971; Smith, 1975; and Pulliam and Brand, 1975). However, there are other important plant-animal associations. Regulation of plant nutrients (Mattson and Addy, 1975; Chew, …

Protection Of Ripening Sunflowers From Blackbird Damage By Baiting With Avitrol Fc Corn Chops-99s, Jerome F. Besser, Joseph L. Guarino

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

On August 26, 1976 Avitrol FC Corn Chops-99S (AFCC-99S) was federally registered (EPA Registration No. 11649-15) for use in protecting ripening sunflowers from damage by blackbirds. The registration was the culmination of seven years of effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to extend the use of AFCC-99, which was registered for use against blackbirds in field corn in April 1972. Ripening sunflowers are probably more intensively damaged by blackbirds in the U.S. than any other crop. In a 1972 survey in 469 randomly selected sunflower fields in North Dakota and Minnesota, Stone (1973) found that 9.7% of heads …

Linking Of Breeding And Wintering Populations Of Red-Winged Blackbirds By Color-Marking Territorial Males, Olin E. Bray, Willis C. Royall Jr., Joseph L. Guarino

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Three approaches were taken to link breeding and wintering areas of Red-winged Blackbirds: (1) banding in wintering areas, (2) banding nestlings, and (3) banding territorial males. Information gained from the first two approaches was meager compared to the manpower involved. The third approach was to capture, band, and color-tag male Redwings on northern breeding territories and then search for the birds the following winter in known roosts and surrounding feeding areas to the south. The third approach was very productive. It resulted in the linking of Redwing breeding areas in Wyoming and Montana with wintering areas in Colorado. Infor- mation …

Protecting Ripening Sweet Corn From Blackbirds In Wisconsin With 4-Aminopyridine, C. Edward Knittle, Joseph L. Guarino, Olin E. Bray, John L. Cummings, Mary R. Ouellette

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Goodhue and Baumgartner (1965) described the use of a chemical, 4-aminopyridine (4AP), that causes birds ingesting it to emit distress calls and exhibit erratic flight behavior that frighten other birds from the Immediate vicinity. Using 4AP baits in Brown County, South Dakota, in 1965, De Grazio, et al. (1972) reported a savings of $6,449 worth of field corn at a cost of $634 for treatment. Baiting field corn with 4AP also provided significant protection from blackbirds in a study in northern Ohio in 1969 (Stickley, et al., 1976). Efficacy data gathered in these and other studies provided a basis for …

A Progress Report On A New Avicide: 2-Chloro- 4-Acetotoliudine (Cat), S. Anderson Peoples, Anne Barger, A. C. Crabb, R. G. Schwab

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

In California Starlings are not only causing serious damage to many agricultural crops, but they are crowding out some of our native birds. In 1966 Decino, et al. found that a compound, DRC 1339 (CPT), was toxic to Starlings but not to mammals. Our laboratory studied this compound; and, due in part to this work, the compound was registered for use as an avicide for use in baits for control of Starlings at feed lots, dairies, and chicken farms with the trade name Starlicide. In our studies on its fate in the mammal, one of the metabolities was CAT, the …

Response Of Maturing Corn To Simulated Bird Damage, Paul P. Woronecki, Charles R. Ingram, Richard A. Dolbeer

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Economic losses attributed to pests are usually estimated by visual assessments of the damage. In all cases, the amount of injury to plant parts is correlated with reduction in production, and any effects of plant response or compensation are ignored. Some recent experiments, using prairie grass grown with different degrees of grasshopper feeding activity, indicated that some plant processes were triggered by insect feeding (Dyer and Bokhari, 1976). Responses, such as the increase of net primary production on grasslands by livestock grazing, have been suggested in studies by Westlake (1963), Pearson (1965), and Hutchinson (1971); Vickery (1972) confirmed these findings …

Protecting Ripening Sweet Corn From Blackbirds In Idaho With 4-Aminopyridine, Donald P. Mott

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Chemicals recently have been used to reduce bird damage in a variety of crops. One such chemical, 4-aminopyridine (4AP), first reported for this use by Goodhue, et al. (1964), was tested by De Grazio, et al. (1971, 1972) and was shown to be a safe, economical, and effective chemical for reducing blackbird damage to ripening field corn. Blackbirds ingesting 4AP emit distress cries and perform aerial displays that frighten other members of the flock from the field. An advantage of this method of reducing damage is that usually less than one percent of the blackbird flock ingest baits and become …

Survey Of Effectiveness Of Avitrol Fc Corn Chops-99 In Field Corn In Northern Ohio, A. R. Stickley Jr., S. B. Williams, K. M. Simpson

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Goodhue and Baumgartner (1965) described a chemical, 4-aminopyridine (hereafter referred to as "4-AP"), that causes certain flocking birds [e.g., Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), Grackles (Quiscalus guiscula), House Sparrows (passer domesticus), and Starlings (stnrnus vulgaris)] ingesting it to act before death in a manner (squawking, erratic flight, tremors, convulsions) that repels other birds. The 4-AP was found to be effective as a treatment on cracked corn when applied to the ground in cornfields at the rate of 1 lb per acre [1.1 kg per ha (De Grazio, et al., 1972; Stickley, et al., 1972)] and 1.3 lb per acre [1.4 kg …

Aircraft And Birds, Victor E. F. Solman

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

At the third seminar I reported that our work on ecological changes at airports was a useful method of controlling bird hazards to aircraft. At the fifth seminar I talked about our studies of bird migration by radar and the use of that knowledge to keep flying aircraft away from bird concentrations. Those techniques are still effective. Since then we have: sought ground cover less attractive to birds than grass; developed methods of controlling earthworms to reduce bird attraction; improved radar data handling; improved bird hazard forecasts; studied light effects on birds; quantified bird spacing in flocks; studied the relation …

Perches And Repellents, Gene Meester

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Some of the things that you must know in bird control are your state and local regulations. The state law may read that a license is required for bird control. A state law may read that the techniques and manners of your control must conform with their law. A state law may require registration of the poison you're going to use. State law may also prohibit placement of baits at a certain time during the day or year. And most important, a state law may prohibit control of specific types of birds. In Nebraska and most of the other states, …

Environmental And Health Studies Of Kentucky Blackbird Roosts, Burt L. Monroe Jr., Lois S. Cronholm

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

At the present time we are under contract from the Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission to study three aspects of Kentucky starling-blackbird roost problems: (1) a study of birds killed this coming winter through PA-14 treatments, to obtain more accurate data on species composition, sex ratios, kill success and food items; (2) a compilation of breeding and wintering data on Kentucky populations through analysis of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service summer bird counts and banding returns; and (3) a study of spore dispersal of various fungal species, most notably Histoplasma capsulatum, from roost sites. The winter sampling is yet to be …

Studies On Diet Overlap Among Icterids, Crows, And Starlings, M. I. Dyer, N. J. Kakalec

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Some of the problems that have been publicized for the past two to three years about blackbirds and Starlings in the southeastern United States are concerned with what these birds eat and the degree to which these granivores compete on their wintering grounds. The assumption by agriculturists has been that these birds cause severe depredations. Futhermore it is presumed by some that food supplies are unlimited and that these birds are simply living off the “fat of the land”; others consider that food is limited and that the birds are “pressured” into direct competition with man's food or food destined …

A Method Of Evaluating Blackbird Depredation Using Food Habits, Robert E. Williams

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

An accurate economic analysis of pest species, such as birds depredating agricultural systems, would entail a thorough understanding of the species1 ecological relationships with all components of their environment. Understanding behavioral patterns (e.g., seasonal territorialism and gregariousness, reproductive characteristics, and annual food habits), population dynamics (e.g., natality, mortality, and sex ratios), and environmental pressures (e.g., carrying capacity and interspecific competition) would only begin to provide a base for a valid evaluation. No single parameter could integrate the complex interactions which affect agricultural production. However, evaluation of one such parameter, food habits analysis, could provide enough useful information for estimating one …

Methiocarb As A Bird Repellent For Mature Sweet Corn, Allan R. Stickley Jr., Charles R. Ingram

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Sweet corn in Ohio is an important high-value truck crop (74,000 acres in 1974--Ohio Crop Rep. Serv., 1975) that is especially vulnerable to blackbird damage. For this reason, a chemical treatment that would repel birds from sweet corn would be advantageous. A candidate chemical for this use is methiocarb [3,5-dimethyl-4-(Methylthio)-phenyl methylcarbamate = Mesurol (product of Chemagro, Division of Mobay Chemical Corporation)]. In addition to insecticidal, acaricidal, and molluscieidal properties (Hermann and Kolbe, 1971:286), Schafer and Brunton (1971) established in cage tests that methiocarb was a promising bird repellent because low concentrations (<0.16%) would repel birds from treated rice seed. The chemical apparently reinforces a bad taste by producing a conditioned aver- sion to its intoxicating effects (Rogers, 1974). When applied to corn seed prior to planting, methiocarb treatments reduced blackbird damage to sprouts (Hermann and Kolbe, 1971; Stickley and Guarino, 1972; Ingram, et al., 1974; Linehan, et al., 1975; Stickley and Ingram, 1975). However, Mitchell, et al. (1975) did not show significant protection, and Linehan, et al, (1975) showed some phytotoxicity in cold, wet growing conditions. Methiocarb treatments also have shown indications of efficacy when applied to mature grain crops [rice at 10.0 and 3.2 lb (active material) per acre (DeHaven, et al., 1971), sorghum at 2.0 lb (active material) per acre (Mott, et al., 1974), and sorghum at 1.6 lb (active material) per acre (Mott and Lewis, 1975)]. Because of these results, we conducted a screening experiment in 1975 to determine the feasibility of methiocarb treatments for repelling blackbirds from ripening sweet corn.

Behavioral Response Of Quelea To Methiocarb (Mcsurol)*, Stephen A. Shumake, Stanley E. Gaddis, Edward W. Schafer Jr.

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The small African weaver finch commonly known as Quelea (Quelea quelea) has been reported (Crook and Ward, 1968) to be one of the most numerous and destructive birds in the world and is found extensively throughout Africa (DeGrazio, 1974). Quelea have been associated with damage to many agricultural crops including millet, grain sorghum, rice, and wheat. Because current population control programs in Africa have not reduced damage except in a few local areas (Crook and Ward, 1968), more effective damage control methods need to be Inves- tigated. One promising method, protection of the agricultural crop with a chemical repellent, methiocarb, …

Examination Of Redwinged Blackbird Nestling Growth Rates Using The Logistic Model: A Case For R And K Selection?, M. I. Dyer, Z. Abramsky

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

One of the few processes of an avian population that presents the opportunity to collect sensitive information about the performance of that population is growth rates of young throughout the brooding period. Growth rate data are sensitive to many conditions of the breeding cycle: proximate influences, such as food availability and weather (Francis, et al., in prep.), and ultimate factors, such as species-specific characteristics, (Ricklefs, 1968). Additionally, the measurements themselves can be obtained with precision. The ability to make such detailed observations is extremely useful and is not always possible for other population parameters, such as determining life table data. …

Preliminary Laboratory And Field Trials Of Curb, A Possible Avian Repellent, Ken Ewing, A. Charles Crabb, Lee R. Martin, Roger Moitoso

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Grape growers in California lose between three and four million dollars annually from damage caused principally by two bird species: Linnets (carpodacus mexicanus) and Starlings (sturnus vulgaris) (DeHaven, 1974; Crase, et al., 1975),. Few effective tools exist for the growers to use in reducing crop losses from bird damage; and current bio-political trends may preclude the use of toxicants to control local depredating bird populations, especially Linnets. The use of chemical repellents is a possible alternative. Testing of the chemical repellent methiocarb [3,5-dimethyl-4-(methylthio) phenol methylcarbamate] to protect California wine grapes has been conducted by Denver Wildlife Research Center personnel (Guarino, …

Land Use Planning For Control Of Birds Near Airports, Michael J. Harrison

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

During the 1966 Bird Control Seminar, we began to look at birds as a hazard to air- craft, and a possible new role was emerging for the pest control industry. Ten years later, we have yet to see the concept of bird control as seen through the eyes of our Canadian and European counterparts. You know of the assistance role the Air Force is playing in reducing bird strikes, and the Federal Aviation Administration is beginning to actively participate in bird control programs. Success has been seen in habitat modification as a means of reducing bird strikes. The Canadians (Blokpoel, …

Winter Bird Roosts In Kentucky: An Introduction Of The Problem, Richard N. Smith

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

When the first Bowling Green Bird Control seminar was held in the early sixties, emphasis on the blackbird problem was centered in Ohio. I believe John Beck, who is here, was one of the first peoples in the State to become involved with this situation. The problem (and it was a problem related to crop damage, primarily corn) had been building for a number of years, but it wasn't until September of 1965 that it really received national recognition. During that month, at the demand of local farmers at a meeting in Vickery, Ohio, Federal, State and local officials were …