sign in sign up
<<
Home , Bird vision

All Audubon meetings, held on the 3rd Thursday of each month, 7:00pm, September through May November 2019 (except December), at the Hal Holmes Center next to the Ellensburg Public Library, are open to the public. Please come and meet with us, and stay afterwards for juice, treats, and conversation. Many thanks to the Ellensburg Public Library for sponsoring our meetings! 7:00pm • November 21st • General Program There’s a Fungus Among Us! What lurks beneath us on earth’s carpet? The mission of Can I safely eat that? What purpose does Kittitas Audubon that organism serve? is to develop an appreciation of Find out at November’s program on the 21st! nature through Helen Lau will introduce the audience to the secret life of fungi and discuss some of their ecological functions. She will share images of some of our most common education and local fungi and common edible fungi as well as their look-a-likes. Helen Lau is a conservation, botanist for the USFS on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. She manages with a focus on the rare botanical species (plants, lichens, bryophytes and fungi), native plant restoration and invasive plant program on the Cle Elum Ranger District. Helen’s . research interests are in fungi biodiversity and she received an undergraduate degree at Evergreen State College and her master’s degree on mycorrhizae ecology in the Biological Sciences Department at Central Washington University. Photos provided by Helen Lau

The Hooter • Kittitas Audubon’s Newsletter kittitas audubon • www.kittitasaudubon.org By Gloria Baldi

Following is a brief summary of the September 5th Board minutes: Board Members Announcements • Injured birds from Kittitas County have previously been taken to Blue Mountain Wildlife in Pendleton, PRESIDENT Oregon. Because of a state requirement for interstate avian transport, BMW may no longer be able to Judy Hallisey...... 270.792.9188 take the birds unless an Oregon Veterinarian decrees the is disease free, a monetarily prohibitive VICE PRESIDENT requirement (as well as a senseless requirement). Jan Demorest...... 509.933.1179 • A discussion on ensued. It was suggested leaving feeders out through the month of October for those hummers migrating later than others. In the case of the Anna’s Hummingbirds, SECRETARY which do not migrate, discussion centered on heated feeders, or how to keep a feeder from freezing. Jim Briggs...... 509.933.2231 If you do have an Anna’s coming daily to your feeder, please contact KAS for possible feeder solutions. TREASURER Audubon Conference of Washington was attended by Judy Hallisey and Barry Brunson. Sharon Lumsden...... 509.968.3889 • The big news was the impending release of the October 10th Audubon Climate Initiative listing 389 CLIMATE CHANGE Barry Brunson...... 270.792.9186 species of North American birds on the brink of survival due to climate change, habitat destruction, , windows, and more. 140 million points of observation are included in the data. (The latest issue CONSERVATION of the Audubon has detailed information.) Norm Peck...... 509.933.4233 • The next national Audubon Conference will be in Tacoma in 2021. EDUCATION Conservation/Wildlife Open Position...... contact us! • Norm Peck is monitoring the early scoping of the wolf recovery program. FIELD TRIPS Steve Moore...... 509.933.1179 • The south end Wenas shooting range continues to be developed. • Judy Hallisey wrote the PUD about an nest that had been removed. HISTORIAN • Judy has been approved to be a member of the Nature Conservancy Checkerboard Project, with the Open Position...... contact us! goal of managing the lands as community forests. MEMBERSHIP Climate Change Kris Kaylor...... 509.304.4103 • Thanks to all the KAS members and Climate Change people who participated in the worldwide climate PAST PRESIDENT strike on September 20th. There were 200 to 300 participants rather than 100 reported by the Daily Tom Gauron...... 509.968.3175 Record. PROGRAMS Lesley McGalliard...... 509.933.2812 Old Business • A grant for the ‘butterfly garden’ at Helen McCabe Park is being pursued. PUBLICITY Open Position...... contact us! • The solar farm siting resolution was discussed at WA State Audubon, and continues to be refined. SCHOLARSHIPS Scholarship Gloria Baldi...... 509.933.1558 • Kiana Rose, a senior at CWU and one of KAS’s present scholarship recipients, spoke about her project. NEWSLETTER She is surveying the birds found at Englehorn Pond and the Native Plant Garden on the CWU campus, Kris Kaylor...... 509.304.4103 an area near the CWU Parking Facility and not accessible to the public. Therefore bird behavior is rather undisturbed. Total acreage is 1.97 with 0.82 acre in pond habitat and the balance in wetlands * BOXES Jan Demorest...... 509.933.1179 and a garden….all designated as a critical area by the City of Ellensburg. The primary question of her research is: what is the species composition, diversity and abundance of birds at Englehorn Pond? *SOCIAL GREETER • Secondary questions include determining if there are climate-sensitive species in the area, what Kay Forsythe...... 509.925.2356 factors are disturbing the health of the pond and garden ecosystems, and are there steps the CWU *CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT Biology Department could take to restore and improve the habitat. Phil Mattocks • Kiana will publish a booklet of the birds and findings to be used by teachers and students. KAS Board Meetings are held at The next Board meeting is November 7th. Come join us. 4:30pm on the 1st Thursday of each month at the Methodist Church across from The Ellensburg Library. The 2019 KAS Christmas Bird Count is These meetings are open to the public and all Audubon members— happening on December 14th. please come and join in the discussions. Meetings adjourn by More information will be in the 6:00 or 6:30pm, then we all go out December Hooter, but if you intend for a sociable dinner—NO business to count, please mark your calendar! discussion allowed! *Non-voting members

2 The Hooter • Novembert 2019 • Kittitas Audubon’s Newsletter October 5th 1st Saturday BirdWalk Report by Steve Moore. Photos by Kris Kaylor We had 10 walkers on a cool sunny morning with a definite autumn feel to the air. Our winter residents are arriving and settling in: juncos just getting in from the forests, many Steller’s Jays around and perhaps arriving from upland areas, and some less common birds for these woods (chased in by cooler weather maybe?)***********************: Spotted Towhee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Fox Sparrow. No , but a couple of Pied-billed in the upper pond. Still around after summer were aWarbling Vireo, and small groups of Yellow- rumped Warblers gleaning bugs off the branches and moving from tree to tree. We tallied 24 species. The Big Event of the day was finding a dark lump perched in a tree at the edge of the river, evidently patient enough to bear several moments of our scrutiny with the binocs. Careful looking resolved the dark cap-with-earflaps of a Peregrine Falcon, by now looking at us with suspicious interest. As we watched, a shape, a missile, crossed our from upper right to left and disappeared in a tree – it was like seeing a meteor when you don’t expect it. Some large bird, of course, and the falcon flushed immediately, screaming its discomfort up the river, then back again overhead. It returned another time or two after some minutes, still keening. That was some angry bird! Next, we moved left-wise through the woods and found the object of its ire, sitting non-plussed on an inclined branch: a Great Horned , who remained there, half- interested in us, for 5 minutes or more. Wonder why it flew in like that? – perhaps it had seen the falcon and wanted a more secluded perch. Anyway, both characters gave us a good show and a memorable Oregon Shorebird Festival by Dick and Terry Carkner The 33rd Oregon Shorebird Festival was the weekend of September 20 in Charleston, Oregon, just south of Coos Bay. We gathered at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology to register. They offered lodging but we drove down in our camper. The RV park was within walking distance to the Institute and several restaurants. They offered 3 different tours Saturday and two on Sunday plus a pelagic tour. We signed up for the Bandon Marsh and beach trip for Saturday and the pelagic tour for Sunday. At the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife refuge observation deck we saw Black-bellied Plovers, Semipalmated Plovers, a MewGull and Surf Scoters. The tide was going out so the birds were pretty far out. Lots of and cormorants. We drove around to the south jetty to find Wandering Tattlers, and Black Turnstones. Further down the coast at China Creek along Bandon Beach we looked for the Western Snowy Plovers. At Face Rock we added a Common Murre to the list. The Tufted Puffins and Black Oystercatchers nest on these rocks in the spring so we might make a trip back there in the spring. We had three good leaders with scopes and we were surprised that no one had a field guide. I had mine! It was a lovely fall day, perfect for birding. Unfortunately, rain was forecast for the pelagic tour on Sunday but we were prepared with rain gear, muck boots to keep our feet dry, and patches behind our ears to help prevent motion sickness. Sunday morning we got up very early to catch the pelagic tour in hopes of seeing and adding a lot of new birds to my life list. Oregon Pelagic Tours led this five hour tour. Our guides, both named Tim, were enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. We went about 13 miles out on the rolling seas with gulls always following us. We saw Sooty Shearwaters, Rhinoceros Auklet, Cassin’s Auklet, Pigeon Guillemot and Red-necked Phalarope close to shore as we motored out of the bay. They attracted birds to the boat with oil and bits of beef fat so the birds came swooping in close to feed. Tim pointed out a Pomarine Jaeger stealing food from a , as he ran from one side of the boat to the other. Had to look quick to see that event. We saw , Northern Fulmar, and Arctic . A Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel was a pretty little bird, we saw him again and again. It was exciting to be able to see a bird often enough to actually identify the next time I saw it. Tim saw aTufted Puffin but it was gone in the waves before I got to see it so I didn’t count that. Next time. We also saw seals, and whales, one almost too close! It was a very enjoyable experience, and I added 24 new birds to my life list.

kittitas audubon • www.kittitasaudubon.org 3 Bird’s View Window Films Reduce Bird Strikes by Meghan Anderson

The first year we moved into our home, we had many strikes. The second year, I installed some of the Bird’s Eye View decals, but not as many as I should have. We also began drawing our solar shades during the morning hours, when the birds were the most active. We had very few strikes the next year with these precautions. We also moved our bird bath away from our viewing area and placed in on the side of the house, so the birds wouldn’t launch from the bird bath through our house. This move was very effective. We have bluebird nest boxes around our home, and placed them out of sight of the large windows as a precaution. As we have discovered from the work Audubon has done to help I’ve included pictures of my installation this year of the Bird’s Eye understand the bird population crisis, they have identified steps we View products, they recommend (2) of the 6”x6” films per window can take as individuals to help support bird populations locally. and (4) of the 4”x4” films per window. First, we can keep our cats indoors. Second, we can put films, I’ll let you know next year how our precautions work with these stickers and hang decorative items in our large picture windows to completed installations and lowering sun shades during the help prevent bird strikes. There are other applications also available morning hours. to reduce window strikes. As Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, Last year, I installed some of these devices, the Bird’s Eye View product line. The can be found online at abirdseyeview.com. has stated; ‘Everything we do matters’. The website states the following: “Artscape, the leader in privacy and decorative window film, developed Bird’s Eye View to help reduce bird strikes by making the glass more visible to birds. The unique geometric lenses refract UV light and have proven highly effective in reducing bird window collisions. It is estimated that in the US alone nearly a billion birds are killed annually from window strikes. This product emits light where bird vision is sensitive but human vision is not. This allows birds to differentiate reflections in windows from actual habitat while remaining aesthetically pleasing to people. The films absorbs light peaking at 410 nanometers (nm) and reemits the light peaking at 450 nm. Bird vision extends well into the range and is near maximum sensitivity at 450 nm. To birds, Bird’s Eye View film presents a bright blue glow spreading out in all directions across the window surface disrupting the reflection of A view of a window with the solar shade drawn. Solar shades let you see habitat.” You can read more laboratory tests online at the website. the view, while reducing solar glare.

Michigan. After a decades-long effort by conservation groups, the Image of the Day: No Longer birds rebounded to more than 2,300 breeding pairs by 2015, double the original goal. Their range now covers parts of Wisconsin and Endangered Canada as well. Back from the brink of near-extinction, the Kirtland’s “The delisting of the Kirtland’s Warbler is cause for celebration and warbler population has grown and expanded its range. proof that the Endangered Species Act works,” says Shawn Graff, The Scientist, Oct 11, 2019, Emily Makowski the vice president of the American Bird Conservancy’s Great Lakes program, in the press release. “But this warbler is still among the The Kirtland’s Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii), one of the first rarest, most range-restricted migratory songbirds in North America. animals to be placed on the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s It is conservation-reliant, meaning that continued management Endangered Species List, has made a comeback. The species was efforts are imperative for the population to hold its ground and removed from the list on Tuesday (October 8), according to a press continue to expand.” release from the American Bird Conservancy. The population of Kirtland’s Warblers was down to fewer than 200 Emily Makowski is an intern at The Scientist. individuals during parts of the 1970s and 1980s and only found in Email her at [email protected].

4 The Hooter • Novembert 2019 • Kittitas Audubon’s Newsletter • New variables, including vegetation, land use, agriculture, urbanization, surface water • Habitat-based analysis (grassland, boreal, arctic, etc.) • Localized impacts (sea level rise, fire, drought, false springs, etc.) Birds and Climate Visualizer This is a signature interactive feature. You enter your zip code or state, and you get: • A list (with pictures) of the birds there, with species sorted by high/ medium/low vulnerability or stable • That list changes as you click on +1.5º, +2.0º, or +3.0º. The differences often are dramatic! • Scroll down a little farther, and you see a map of that location, showing the current range for a particular bird. The range changes as you click on +1.5º, + 2.0º, or +3.0º. The differences often are dramatic! (Sorry to be repetitious, but the context deserves it.) Go to https://tinyurl.com/y2agsnly (scroll down bit to get to the Visualizer). Survial by Degrees: The entire report Go to audubon.org. At the bottom of the page, click on the link that reads: 389 Species on the “Two-thirds of North American birds are at increasing risk of extinction || Read On”. Or, just go directly to Brink https://www.audubon.org/climate/survivalbydegrees. Submitted by Barry Brunson Not just gloom and doom The 2019 Climate Change report from National Audubon is out, in The report pulls no punches, but, there is room for hope. Two-thirds print, and online! Every KAS member should take a look at it, and of bird species are at risk. But if we (as a household, community, then continue taking further looks at it. Headline: “Two-thirds of nation, world) take concerted action, we could protect 75% of them. North American birds are at increasing risk of extinction from global Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, speaking of climate temperature rise.” change and the environment more broadly, said “… if we get The original 2014 Audubon report concluded that over half of North hopeless, we lose. We’re in the fight of our lives. Get tough!” [See American species were threatened. The maps displayed habitat the Sep 2018 Climate Change Communication for source. The ellipsis ranges as of 2000, and users could observe the changes that were masks a further statement that I will share privately with anyone predicted for 2020, 2050, and 2080, if we didn’t change direction. who emails me to ask for it.] The new report displays habitat ranges as they are now, and users What concerted action? can observe predicted changes, assuming a global temperature • Reduce use of energy: support energy-saving policies. increase of 1.5º, 2.0º, and 3.0º Celsius. The differences often are • Ask elected officials to expand clean energy development. dramatic! • Reduce carbon emissions The 2014 report was a great achievement. The new one is vastly • Advocate for natural solutions more so: • Tell your elected officials that climate and conservation are • More data sources (70 vs 2), tremendously more records (140 election issues! million vs 45 thousand) • Make those concerns felt at the ballot box! • All of North America (just US and Canada before) Note: The original 2014 report prompted KAS to establish a Climate • 1 km resolution vs 10 km resolution in maps Change Committee, which I have been privileged to chair.

“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” —Henry Van Dyke

kittitas audubon • www.kittitasaudubon.org 5 November 2019 • Barry Brunson, Chair, Climate Change Committee Billions of Birds Gone! This was a justifiably major story, when it broke just a bit too late for me to include in the Oct Hooter. The new national Audubon “Survival by Degrees” report takes center stage, of course, and has its own blurb elsewhere, but it just adds further emphasis to this “missing birds” story, which appeared in a wide range of newspapers, magazines, and other outlets. The title in The Scientist is “North America Has 3 Billion Fewer Birds Than it Did in 1970”, by Catherine Offord, and dated 19 Sep. See https://tinyurl.com/y6mylxvk. For context, this represents a 25% - 30% decline; it’s not due to climate change alone, and it’s not just “threatened and endangered species”: common species, including backyard birds, are included. Further emphasis comes from Kenyon College ornithologist Natalie Wright, who was not involved in the study: “There’s always uncertainty, but if they are wrong, they are likely underestimating the magnitude of population declines.” Offord’s article includes a link to the peer-reviewed research in the AAAS journal Science, the abstract of which contains this: “… extinction begins with loss in abundance …”. A companion Science article by Elizabeth Pennisi, dated 20 Sep, reminds us of the Passenger Pigeon. That abstract is at https://tinyurl.com/y6mylxvk, but the entire article is behind the AAAS paywall. Major Bank Sees the Writing on the Wall Have you ever heard of BNP Paribas? I hadn’t, but that French bank ranks among the top ten in the world, in terms of total assets (I saw it listed as #5, #8, or #9, depending on who does the reporting). In any event, they have serious chops in the financial world. Their Aug 2019 report “for professional investors” is entitled “Wells, Wires, and Wheels … EROCI and the Tough Road Ahead for Oil”, by Mark Lewis, their Global Head of Sustainability Research. The acronym EROCI denotes Energy Return on Capital Invested. That measure impels the author to say: “We conclude that the economics of oil for gasoline and diesel vehicles versus wind- and solar-powered EVs are now in relentless and irreversible decline, with far-reaching implications for both policymakers and the oil majors.” (The context is that of electric vehicles being charged by wind and solar power, not EVs carrying their own solar panels or wind turbines mounted on the roof!) For the gruesome (or encouraging, depending on your point of view) details, go to the BNP Paribas “Investor’s Corner” at https://tinyurl.com/y395rzm5; this will give highlights as well as a link to the full report in pdf form. Note: I learned of this report via a 12 Aug 2019 article “BNP Paribas Says The Party Is Over For Oil Companies” by Steve Hanley, on the CleanTechnica website at https://tinyurl.com/y22656u6.

KAS is looking for passionate, individuals to fill these board positions: PUBLICITY CHAIR • EDUCATION CHAIR HISTORIAN Please email Judy Hallisey: [email protected] if you are interested.

6 The Hooter • Novembert 2019 • Kittitas Audubon’s Newsletter Kittitas Audubon Society MEMBERSHIP FORM

Name

Address

City

State Zip

Email (please print)

Phone

NEW Membership RENEWING Membership Membership Options: Thank You in KAS Individual $20 Family $30 Premium Memberships: Advance for Bluebird $50 Kestrel $75 Hawk $100 Your Membership! Lifetime Individual $300 Lifetime Family $500 Make a Charitable Donation: (Please enter dollar amount) Scholarship Fund $______Nest Boxes $______Education $______General $______Your generous donation to a specific project is symbolic. Kittitas Audubon is a chapter of Nation Audubon Society serving the communities of Kittitas County, Washington. Go to kittitasaudubon.org for more information. KAS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. GET “THE HOOTER” ONLINE Please indicate membership preferences below: Save paper, printing, postage. If you would prefer to receive the electronic version, send your name, mailing address, YES I want to “Go Green” by receiving the Hooter and email address to: [email protected] newsletter online only Each month, we’ll send you an email with a link to the new Hooter. YES I wish to receive occasional emails related to Audubon activities May we print your name in the Hooter to acknowledge your membership/donation? Yes No

GIVE THE GIFT OF KITTITAS AUDUBON! INTERESTED IN BIRD BOXES? Please send gift recipient’s name, address, email, and phone to address below. Hand-crafted Bluebird, Kestrel, and Barn Owl Boxes by Tom Gauron Please make checks payable to: Kittitas Audubon Society Please contact PO Box 1443 Tom at 509.968.3175 Ellensburg WA 98926 for more information. THANK YOU!

kittitas audubon • www.kittitasaudubon.org 77 PO Box 1443 Ellensburg, WA 98926

Thursday Program! Join us November 21st!

November 2019 Kittitas Audubon Hooter

Mark Your Calendars! First Saturday Board Meeting BirdWalks Meet at 4:30pm at the Methodist Church on the corner of 3rd and Ruby. ROOM 3 Irene Rinehart Park on Umptanum Road THANK YOU! at 8 AM for a 3-hour walk November 7th KITTITAS COUNTY BUSINESS November 2nd December 5th SUPPORTING KAS! Many birds have left for parts south; boreal birds will be heading our way. Thursday Programs Inland Internet • Roslyn Jan and Steve lead; 509-933-1179 for info. Donates Internet service Start at 7:00pm • Hal Homes December 7th for our website: Thursday, November 21st http://www.kittitasaudubon.org See front page for all the details! Old Mill Country Store • Ellensburg Provides a discount on bird seed to KAS members. Happy Thansgiving!