[obol] Studies in Oregon Ornithology Available for Free at ScholarsArchive at OSU

[Range Bayer]

Hi,

    ScholarsArchive at OSU has made all 10 issues of Studies in Oregon
Ornithology/Yaquina Studies in Natural History available for free as
PDF files (see http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8288).  Their digital
repository is highly ranked
(http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ncs/newsarch/2008/Feb08/scholarsarchive.html).
 Below my signature is a link to each issue and abstracts of those
issues probably of most interest to OBOL readers.

    I had been able to make HTML files for only some of the issues because
it was too cumbersome to convert obsolete word processing files
accurately.  I had also been looking for a digital repository, so that
issues would be available when I become unable to maintain my web
site.  I found it with ScholarsArchive at OSU.

    Current Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology has made great
advances, so ScholarsArchive was able to quickly scan and convert
printed pages into computer searchable PDF files that kept the
original appearance.  Another advantage to ScholarsArchive is that
material is catalogued for searching libraries (WorldCat) and also for
Internet search engines such as Google.  PDF files can easily be
printed out.

    Including material in digital repositories such as ScholarsArchive
will also allow the material to be accessible via other information
links.  For example, OSU Libraries' Oregon Explorer
(http://www.oregonexplorer.info/ and http://hdl.handle.net/1957/29)
and Oregon Wildlife Explorer
(http://www.oregonexplorer.info/Wildlife/) are information portals
that link to ScholarsArchive and other digital resources.  However,
Explorer and Wildlife Explorer are still being developed, so their
potential has yet to be realized.  As time goes on, digital material
can be expected to become more interconnected.

      If you have an Oregon natural history project for which you are
looking for a depository, consider ScholarsArchive at OSU
(http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/dspace/ [see "Quick Guides" in
left column for more information]).  To see other collections in
their Natural Resources Community, see http://hdl.handle.net/1957/5

    Cheers,

Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOO No. 1.  Bayer, Range D.  1986.  1884-1923 Oregon coast bird notes in
Biological Survey files.  Studies in Oregon Ornithology No. 1.  This is at
http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8429 (0.86 MB).
      ABSTRACT.  The purpose of this work is to make available reports and
letters for the Oregon Coast that were in the files of the
Biological Survey and that are now in the files of the Biological
Survey's successor, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  I have
changed outdated bird names to those that are used today, so that
the reader can more easily understand the reports.  But this
monograph does not analyze these reports or letters; that is left to
the reader.  Not all of these reports were done for the Biological
Survey.  The reports in 1884 and 1885 were for the American
Ornithologists' Union Committee on Bird Migration, reports in
1886-1890 were for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),
Division of Entomology, Investigations in Economic Ornithology;
reports in 1891-1896 were for the USDA, Division of Economic
Ornithology and Mammalogy or Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy;
reports in 1897-1905 were for the USDA, Division of Biological
Survey; and reports in 1906-1923 were for the USDA, Bureau of
Biological Survey.  Ira N. Gabrielson and Stanley G. Jewett both
worked for the Biological Survey and used some of the unpublished
information in the Biological Survey files in writing their classic
1940 book.  They discussed the work of the Biological Survey in
Oregon on their pages 56-58.  The observations in the Biological
Survey files and those cited by Gabrielson and Jewett (1940) are
sometimes the only information available about birds in some parts
of Oregon prior to 1940.  Unfortunately, it has not been widely
known that at least some of the files accumulated by the Biological
Survey still exist and are on microfilm ("Bird Migration Schedules,
Reel 17, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Ohio") at the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Library in
Laurel, Maryland.  Upon request, the Patuxent Library may loan out
the microfilm reel through Interlibrary Loan to an established
library, where the reader can then peruse the contents.

SOO No. 2.  Bayer, Range D.  1986.  A guide to the bird notes of Grace
McCormac French of Yamhill County, Oregon.  Studies in Oregon Ornithology
No. 2.  This is at http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8413 (0.57 MB).
      ABSTRACT.  This monograph gives a brief biography of Grace McCormac
French (1881- 1957), who was the "Bird Woman" of the Carlton and
Dayton area in Yamhill County from about 1925 to her death.  She
wrote articles for newspapers, gave talks on radio stations, and
spoke at many clubs about birds and conservation.  Although it was
not feasible to summarize her 45 volumes of bird notes in this
monograph, the arrivals and/or departures of 43 bird species she
noted in Yamhill County are included as are a partially annotated
listing of the 116 bird species she reported.  Records of the people
she came into contact with are also incorporated, so this monograph
gives details about some of the people involved in Oregon
ornithology near Portland in her time.  The purpose of this
monograph was only to be a "Guide" to Grace's work.  Hopefully,
someone will use this guide to go through her notebooks and work up
her bird notes, so that we can learn from what she saw and
faithfully recorded.

SOO No. 3.  Bayer, Range D. and Reed W. Ferris.  1987.  Reed Ferris'
1930-1943 bird banding records and bird observations for Tillamook County,
Oregon.  Studies in Oregon Ornithology No. 3.  This is at
http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8414 (4.23 MB).
      ABSTRACT.  This monograph gives a brief biography of Reed W. Ferris
and discusses his vocational and avocational work at the Beaver
cheese factory in Tillamook County, Oregon.  From 1930 to 1943,
Ferris banded nearly 33% of the birds banded along the Oregon coast
that were later recovered. Ferris banded 8,000 seabirds (including
4,996 gulls and 2,820 Common Murres), 3,042 terrestrial birds
(including 1,089 Dark-eyed Juncos) at Beaver, and 61 Song Sparrows
and Red-winged Blackbirds at Daley Lake.  Ferris also colorbanded
many terrestrial birds at Beaver.  Except for the gulls, details
about the recoveries of all birds banded by Ferris are given. 
Highlights of Ferris' bird work include: Lewis' Woodpeckers were
abundant at Beaver, Bank Swallows nested near Beaver, Western
Bluebirds were being driven out of nest boxes at Beaver by House
Sparrows long before Eurasian Starlings arrived, Song Sparrows
banded at Beaver included one population of permanent residents and
another population of winter residents, White-crowned Sparrows
(mostly immatures) were uncommon in winter at Beaver, Peregrine
Falcons were probably nesting at Haystack Rock, 27% of the banded
Common Murre chicks were found south of the colony where they were
banded, murre chicks began appearing off the outer coast of
Washington in August and in British Columbian waters in September,
American Coots nested at Daley Lake, and Red-winged Blackbirds
banded at Daley Lake were later found elsewhere in western Oregon.

SOO No. 4.  Bayer, Range D. and Roy W. Lowe.  1988.  Waterbird and mammal
censuses at Siuslaw Estuary, Lane County, Oregon.  Studies in Oregon
Ornithology No. 4.  This is at http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8416 (1.48 MB).
      ABSTRACT.  At the Siuslaw Estuary or some adjacent areas, U. S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Biologists John Annear, John Cornely,
and Roy Lowe conducted 67 censuses; Maureen Woolington made 90
censuses, and Range Bayer completed 429 censuses.  Unfortunately,
these censuses do not give a complete picture of the seasonality,
abundance, and distribution for all waterbirds or mammals at Siuslaw
Estuary because USFWS biologists mainly censused waterfowl, Bayer
pooled all gulls and "peeps," only Bayer censused mammals, no one
censused the entire Siuslaw Channel for all birds, and no one made
many censuses in summer.  Further, only Woolington sometimes
censused nonwaterfowl in intertidal salt marshes.  Nevertheless,
there are sufficient censuses to greatly elucidate the status and
distribution of many species.  Highlights are given in the rest of
this paragraph.  Humans, especially those with hunting dogs,
sometimes disrupted bird activity.  Harbor seals regularly rested in
the water or hauled out at two embayments in the lower Siuslaw
Estuary during high tide.  Brown Pelicans were uncommon.  The
Siuslaw region is a very important area along the Oregon Coast for
wintering Tundra Swans, but their abundance sometimes changes from
year to year.  Great Basin Canada Geese (which were released here in
1983) now nest at the Siuslaw and appear to be permanent residents
with some migrants sometimes swelling the population.  Dabbling
ducks and diving ducks were most abundant in January-March.  Osprey
and Bald Eagles were occasionally present in low numbers, but no
Peregrine Falcons or Snowy Plovers were reported.  American Coot
numbers averaged less than 10/census.  Yellowlegs and Whimbrels were
only recorded during spring and fall migrations.  Sanderlings were
the most common "peep" in winter with as many as 260 recorded. 
Western Gull nesting was not apparent in the Estuary.  Crows were
abundant in intertidal areas in November-March, and Common Ravens
were not numerous but were seen surprisingly often.  Several birds
normally considered as "terrestrial" were occasionally found on
intertidal rocks, mudflats, or sandflats.  It is also clear from
these censuses that there can often be significant within-day (i.e.,
tidal), within-month, seasonal, and yearly variation in bird
numbers.  If possible, there should be several censuses each month
under similar tidal conditions, so that the range in monthly
variation can be determined.  Unless monthly variation is measured
each year, apparent differences in animal numbers between years may
not represent real yearly variation in animal populations but may
simply be artifacts of inadequate censusing.  Unfortunately, it may
not be feasible to do more than one census each month.  But if the
results are cautiously interpreted, one census/month is valuable and
is certainly better than none.  Because of the different censusing
methods of Woolington, Bayer, and USFWS Biologists; it isn't
possible to robustly compare their different study areas at the
Siuslaw.  However, a few comments about specific areas are in order.
 Many waterbird taxa (especially waterfowl) were more abundant east
of the Highway 101 bridge at Florence than west of the bridge.  The
South Jetty Deflation Plain was the most important area at the
Siuslaw for Tundra Swans.  Site 8 (which is proposed to become a
boat marina) was used by a greater variety of birds and usually more
birds than the two adjacent, potential mitigation sites.  Finally,
Wendson Pasture received the heaviest use by Canada Geese and
dabbling ducks of any area that was censused at the Siuslaw.

SOO No. 5.  Bayer, Range D.  1988.  Oiled birds: how to search for and
capture oiled birds at Oregon intertidal areas.  Studies in Oregon
Ornithology No. 5.  This is at http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8417 (0.93 MB).
      ABSTRACT.  This is written primarily as a step-by-step guide for the
person(s) responsible for organizing searches of oiled birds and/or
for training volunteers to handle oiled birds.  It also gives
details that can be useful to anyone that catches or handles birds,
whether oiled or not.  This monograph is based on the author's field
experience after an oil spill along the Oregon Coast.  But its
findings are also applicable elsewhere, if the appropriate
governmental agencies are substituted as necessary for the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service or Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. 
Perhaps the most significant point made is that a bird's legs should
be fully supported when it is picked up.  If supported, the bird
remains calmer, and the bird won't be able to use its feet to
scratch a volunteer.  Photographs illustrate the correct way to
handle an oiled bird from capture until it is transported in a box. 
This publication does NOT include information about rehabilitating
oiled birds.
	[In 2008, searching and recovering oiled birds is done by professionals,
so this monograph is outdated.]

SOO No. 6.  Bayer, Range D.  1989.  The cormorant/fisherman conflict in
Tillamook County, Oregon.  Studies in Oregon Ornithology No. 6.  This is
at http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8418 (1.45 MB).
      ABSTRACT.  May not be of interest to OBOL readers.

SOO No. 7.  Bayer, Range D.  1989.  Records of bird skins collected along
the Oregon Coast.  Studies in Oregon Ornithology No. 7.  This is at
http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8428 (2.88 MB).
      ABSTRACT.  In spite of imperfections, this monograph is useful in
locating bird skins collected along the Oregon Coast that are stored
in about 80 museums.  This monograph lists over 11,000 records of
skins for 279 bird species and 192 records of skeletons for 52 bird
species.  Each record includes the species, subspecies (if given),
sex or age class, date of collection, location of collection,
collector, and museum number.  Most bird skins were collected in
Tillamook County, but most bird skeletons were from Lincoln County. 
62% of the bird skins were collected in the 1930's and 1940's with
five collectors accounting for 74% of the skins.  61% of the bird
skeletons were collected in the 1970's and 1980's with the top five
collectors collecting 65% of the skeletons.  Each record is indexed
by species, subspecies, collection site (i.e., county, beached or
pelagic specimen, offshore island, lake, and/or shell mound), and
collector.

SOO No. 8.  Faxon, Darrel and Range D. Bayer.  1991.  Birds of the Coast
Range of Lincoln County, Oregon. Vol. I: Birds of Thornton Creek.  Studies
in Oregon Ornithology No. 8.  This is at  http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8419
(5.61 MB).
      ABSTRACT.  Incidental to his outdoor activities such as farming,
fern-picking, and horse logging, Darrel Faxon made 17.4 years of
detailed observations at Thornton Creek during 1973-1990.  He
determined bird presence, not bird abundance, and made about 99,800
records, where a record is one bird species found during one day. 
Depending upon the calendar month, Faxon averaged 19-24 observation
days/month, 13-34 bird species/day, and 34-66 species/month.  He
noted an average of 101 species each year.  Faxon found 12 species
only during casual observations prior to 1973 and 179 species in
1973-1990.  He detected 47 waterbird species, so most birds he noted
were terrestrial. 30% of waterbird species and 20% of terrestrial
species were recorded in only one year, and just 16% of the
waterbird species were seen in 16-18 years.  However, Faxon noted
the majority (50.4%) of terrestrial species in 16 or more years. 
For each species, daily relative frequencies of occurrence for each
month and average monthly relative frequencies of occurrence for the
1973-1981 and 1982-1990 periods are given.  Further, arrival and
departure dates are listed for each species for each year, if
appropriate.  Faxon's records indicate that many migratory
terrestrial species are often not present in the 10 days following
their arrival or prior to their departure.  Thus, determining
arrival or departure dates may be very dependent upon daily
observation effort.  For example, if there are inadequate daily
observations, then the actual arrival date may be missed, and it may
be several days or a week before the species may re-appear.  This
inconsistency of presence after their "arrival" results in many
species not being found on their "average" arrival date.  Although
Faxon did not record a spring migration wave, he usually noted a
major movement of passerines during August-September.  In fall, his
records also indicate that some raptors appeared to be migrating
through.  In addition to his bird observations, Faxon recorded daily
precipitation from 1975-1990, and monthly totals are given.
      [For an update for 1991, see Birds of Thornton Creek, Lincoln
County, in 1991 by Darrel Faxon and R. D. Bayer.  1993 Journal of
Oregon Ornithology 1:71-80.  (This is at
http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8054).  Faxon has also written a book: "A
Voice in the Wilderness: Economics, Biodiversity, and Man."  2000. 
Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222.  This
book is also available from Faxon (541-875-2313; 5hats at peak.org).
 In this book, he includes information about birds that he has seen
at Thornton Creek as well as his outlook upon the environment.  J.
Gallob wrote a newspaper article about Faxon's book ("Local logger
turned writer urges middle ground on environment."  2000.  P. D4 in
Nov. 17 News-Times (Newport, Oregon newspaper) at
http://newportnewstimes.com/articles/2000/11/17/community/community-07.txt]

SOO 9.  Bayer, R. D.  2000.  Cormorant Harassment to Protect Juvenile
Salmonids in Tillamook County, Oregon.  Studies in Oregon Ornithology No.
9.  This is at http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8359 (0.34 MB).
      ABSTRACT.  May not be of interest to OBOL readers.

YSNH No. 10.  Bayer, R. D.  2003.  Review: Bird Predation of Juvenile
Salmonids and Management of Birds Near 14 Columbia Basin Dams. Yaquina
Studies in Natural History No. 10.  This is at
http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8430 (2.86 MB).
      ABSTRACT.  May not be of interest to OBOL readers.