Age Record for Laysan Albatross: My news of the week is that while looking up band numbers of albatrosses that I had recaptured on Midway Atoll in February, I discovered that one of them was a Laysan Albatross I had initially banded in 1956. This bird was incubating an egg when I banded it, indicating that it was at least five years old at the time. I had replaced the worn band in 1962, and other colleagues had replaced it again in 1985 and 1993. When I gave this bird its 5th sequential band in February 2002 it was brooding a healthy chick at the age of at least 51 years. This breaks the longevity record for North American birds in the wild, the previous record being for this same species at the age of 42 years 5 months.

Meyers Presents "Backyard Birds For Graduates" in Athens, Georgia

Backyard Birds for Graduates: Joe Meyers of USGS Patuxent-Athens will present a program on backyard and forest birds at the Graduates Luncheon, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Athens, GA on Tuesday, April 9th. The Graduates are active retired persons, who volunteer for many community projects. Joe will present a program that will introduce them to common and not so common birds of their backyards and nearby forests in Athens. He will also provide handouts and information on feeding birds, nesting boxes, cats indoors, hummingbirds, bird guides, binoculars, and bird CDs. Birding has become a popular hobby in the United States, especially as our population ages. Many retired persons undertake the hobby enthusiastically even if they had no outdoor experiences earlier in life. Information on the conservation and enjoyment of birds will be in increasing demand with the baby boom generation about to retire in the next 9 to 12 years.

Sauer Receives 2001 Partners in Flight Avian Conservation Award

Avian Conservation Award Presented to Dr John Sauer: Patuxent researcher John Sauer was presented with a 2001 Partners in Flight National Conservation Award during the Third PIF International Workshop held at Asilomar State Park, Monterey, California. These awards are presented yearly to individuals and groups for contributions toward bird conservation. The citation on the award reads: "For Outstanding Contributions to Bird Conservation, Partners in Flight Public Awareness Award, 2001." During the presentation, Dr. Sauer's research and internet activities in providing population information for use in support of bird conservation were highlighted. The award, featuring a carving of a Blackburnian Warbler, will be displayed in the Director's Office of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.

Contact: John R. Sauer 301-497-5662

Dr John Sauer and other Patuxent Researchers Present Papers at Third International Partners in Flight Conference: John Sauer attended the Third International Partners in Flight Conference, A Workshop on Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration, March 20-24, 2002, at the Asilomar Conference Grounds, Monterey, CA, and co-authored several presentations: (1) Sauer, J. R., W. A. Link, and J. A. Royle. Estimation of spatial and temporal components of population and community change from North American Breeding Bird Survey data using hierarchical models; (2) Farnsworth, G. L., J. D. Nichols, J. R. Sauer, S. G. Fancy, K. H. Pollock, S. A. Shriner, and T.R. Simons. Statistical approaches to the analysis of point count data: A little supplemental information can go a long way to enhance the quality of the results; (3) Wood, P. A., D. K. Dawson, J. R. Sauer, and M. Wilson. Bird-habitat relationships in a forest-pasture mosaic of southern Mexico: managing for birds and cattle; (4) Sauer, J. R., J. Taylor, H. Laskowski, and J. Casey. Using Local and Regional Survey Data to Model Bird Populations and Establish Local Management Priorities on National Wildlife Refuges; and (5) Knutson, M., T. J. Fox, J. R. Sauer, E. Kirsch, B. Gray, C. Ribic, and T.Will. Modeling Bird Habitat Associations within an Ecoregion: Linking Science and Conservation Planning in the Prairie Hardwood Transition Bird Conservation Region.

Patuxent Scientist Meyers Selected as Judge for Georgia State Science Fair

USGS Scientist selected as Tier II Judge for GA State Science Fair: On April 11, 2002, more than 700 students, winners from district science fairs throughout Georgia, will display their projects at The University of Georgia's Coliseum. The State Science Fair is a tremendous undertaking and is successful because of its many volunteers from academia and science agencies in Georgia. Dr. Meyers has contributed to the fair every year since 1996 and was selected this year as a Tier II Judge. The judging event and student interviews take place on day one and usually take 12 hours. Tier II Judges lead groups of judges and interview semifinalists. Dr. Meyers also contributes as a Special Award's Judge with other faculty from the Warnell School of Forest Resources. Experienced scientists, who interact with and encourage young student scientists, can contribute to their careers. It's invigorating to see all the projects and work of the students. In the second day, students visit science departments and museums at the university. Awards, including two trips to international science fairs, are given on the morning of the third day.

See Previous HiLites:

August 31, 2000
September 21, 2000
September 28, 2000
October 5, 2000
October 16, 2000
October 30, 2000
November 8, 2000
November 16, 2000
November 22, 2000
November 30, 2000
January 4, 2001
March 15, 2001
March 22, 2001
March 29, 2001
April 5, 2001
April 12, 2001

May 17, 2001
May 24, 2001
June 6, 2001
June 21, 2001
August 27, 2001
September 12, 2001
September 26, 2001
October 31, 2001
November 29, 2001
January 21, 2002
February 11, 2002
February 19, 2002
February 26, 2002
March 4, 2002
March 18, 2002
April 1, 2002