Storm Petrel Kalmiopsis Audubon Society Curry County, Volume 43, Number 4 Fall 2020

▲ Belted Kingfisher Red-shouldered Hawk ► Peregrine Falcon bathing at Arizona Beach ▼

Birds of the South Coast Photographs by Rowly Willis

◄ ▼ ► ◄ ▼ ► ◄ ▼ ► ◄ ▼ ► ◄ ▼ ► Given the continued need for coronavirus precautions, we’ve put off planning in-person programs and events. Please sign up for the KAS email HOOT OUT or follow the Kalmiopsis Audubon Facebook page for upcoming virtual events and opportunities related to nature and conservation. November–December 2020, Kalmiopsis Audubon Society Annual Raffle Please keep your eyes out for this year’s annual raffle mailing, which will be sent in late November.

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of expert birder Tim Rodenkirk). In this issue, I am From the President’s Desk pleased to welcome Mark Lanier, who will be writ- ing a new column about local birds called “Winging he tens of thousands of Cackling Geese flying It.” Mark began birding in his teens, tromping around T south overhead signal the turn of time as we get his grandparents’ central Oklahoma farms. He worked ready to welcome the season of rain and green, for 25 years on six National Wildlife Refuges in the mushrooms and salmon, kinglets and varied thrushes, Rocky Mountains, taught high school science for a shorter days and longer nights. I hope that everyone couple of years in Montana, and has been dabbling in is weathering the challenges of the coronavirus pan- writing and enjoying the South Coast with his wife demic as well as possible. Tina, since moving here in 2013. With writings about With many people having more time at home, simple news and natural history, birds and plants, policy and pleasures, including watching birds, seem all the poetry, it’s our aspiration that the Storm Petrel will connect, inform, and inspire us all in many ways. By the time you read this, it will be close to election Those who contemplate the day 2020, a day perhaps more fateful for the environ- ment than any in my lifetime. One way or another, beauty of the earth find reserves we’ll get through these turbulent times together. Please stay healthy, and enjoy autumn! – Ann Vileisis of strength that will endure as

long as life lasts. — Rachel Carson

more important. Despite an overwhelming onslaught of bad news in the human realm this year, watching birds — or botanizing or fishing or stargazing — reminds us that life in a larger natural world persists with an indomitable aim to thrive: hummingbirds dipping into blossoms; owls hooting at dusk; osprey busy with a fish in tow; the towhees scuffling around The Storm Petrel is the quarterly newsletter of Kalmiopsis the yard. “Tuning in” to that other realm is a balm for Audubon Society, P.O. Box 1265, Port Orford, OR 97465, in the spirit that nature lovers know well. Rachel Car- Curry County, Oregon. Kalmiopsis Audubon Society is a chapter son put it best: “Those who contemplate the beauty of the National Audubon Society. of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure Permission to reprint articles in this publication is granted, as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely provided credit is given to both the author and the newsletter, healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the unless the article is under copyright. assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring The KAS board meets quarterly. Visitors are always welcome at after winter.” meetings and other functions. Please call any of the listed officers for the date and location of the board meeting. In this issue of the Storm Petrel, you’ll read about Officers redwoods bursting with life after fires, more new bird President Ann Vileisis (541) 332-0261 Vice President Foncy Prescott (541) 332-1032 species than ever seen before, ungainly Brown Peli- Secretary Max Beeken (541) 373-1599 cans and delightful hummingbirds — as well as our Treasurer Sara Lovendahl (541) 366-2063 ongoing conservation efforts. Helping to keep the Coordinators Conservation Chair Ann Vileisis (541) 332-0261 natural world thriving in our special corner of Ore- The Storm Petrel Penny Suess (541) 332-3017 gon is what drives our ongoing efforts to conserve Membership Linda Tarr (541) 332-1032 Dark Skies Al Geiser (541) 332-6720 habitats from fragmentation and degradation, and to Let’s Go Birding Gary Maschmeyer (541) 412-0806 support policies that help birds, fish, and wildlife. Directors Max Beeken 2018 - 2022 [email protected] In the last issue, I shared the sad news that Kalmi- Deborah Buitron 2020 - 2024 [email protected] Al Geiser 2018 - 2022 [email protected] opsis Audubon Society (KAS) founder and long-time Joan Geiser 2018 - 2022 [email protected] Petrel contributor Jim Rogers would be signing off Sara Lovendahl 2017 - 2021 [email protected] Tim Palmer 2019 - 2023 [email protected] from writing his beloved columns, Bird Notes and Foncy Prescott 2019 - 2023 [email protected] Curry Mammals, owing to difficulties related to Penny Suess 2017 - 2021 [email protected] Linda Tarr 2019 - 2023 [email protected] Parkinson’s disease. We’ll miss Jim’s writings, but Ann Vileisis 2020 - 2024 [email protected] last month, we welcomed Joy Wolf to take on the job KAS Website http://www.kalmiopsisaudubon.org of compiling our quarterly Bird Notes (with the help Fall 2020 The Storm Petrel Page 3

Join the Nest Egg Club! Would you like your support of Kalmiopsis Audubon to have a lasting impact on the protection of our precious South Coast wildlife and natural resources for future generations? If so, you may wish to become a part of our new “Nest Egg Club” by including KAS in your estate or retirement planning. By making a planned gift to KAS, you help to build a lasting legacy of critical educational and advoca- cy efforts to sustain the beauty and environmental health of our region. The most common way to make a planned gift is by leaving a bequest through your will or living trust. Simply include language in your document stating that you “bequeath ($ amount) to the Kalmiopsis Audubon Society, a not-for-profit organization located at P.O. Box 1265, Port Orford, Oregon 97465 (federal tax ID #93-1018752) for its ongoing conservation and education programs.” If you’d like, you can let us know that you have bequeathed a gift to KAS so that we may thank you. Of course, your gift will be anonymous unless you wish to be openly acknowledged. If you would like more information about these or other planned giving opportunities, please contact KAS vice president Foncy Prescott at [email protected]. Thank you so much for your invaluable on- going support! ■ Great Egret: Mary Lundeberg/Audubon Photography Awards

Ways You Can Help Kalmiopsis Audubon As a grassroots group, Kalmiopsis Audubon relies almost entirely on our members’ donations and vol- unteering to do our work. Under the CARES Act, everyone is now eligible for up to $300 in tax credit for donations made in 2020 to qualified charitable non-profits, even if they don’t normally itemize de- ductions. The deduction is only for gifts of cash Membership Report made in calendar year 2020. Please keep KAS in by Linda Tarr mind as you consider year-end donations this year. Our Kalmiopsis Audubon membership continues to Also, if you shop on Amazon, you can designate Kal- grow slowly but steadily. Thanks to our long-time miopsis Audubon as your charity of choice by sign- members for your patience as we process the details ing up with AmazonSmile. Amazon will make a to keep the renewals flowing. Of course, we forgive small donation to us every time you make a purchase. you if you forget to renew promptly, as we hope you Finally, please keep an eye out for our Annual Raffle will forgive us if we sometimes make errors on your mailing, which will be sent in late November. The correct renewal notices. Let’s all keep doing our best raffle is our fun way of raising money for KAS and a to keep it together! May I suggest passing along your good time to send an annual donation or to renew Petrel, after you read it, to a friend. Let’s get as much your membership if it’s overdue. from that paper as we can. Giving a Petrel to one of the many newcomers to our area might be a good Please Help Save Us Postage. way to invite them into a deeper knowledge of this Notify Us When You Move! place and of ways to protect its nature. Let us contin- ue to grow slowly and steadily together. ■ Page 4 The Storm Petrel Fall 2020

Conservation News possible” and recommended using fixtures no higher than 3000k. Beyond human health, studies have by Ann Vileisis found impacts of excessively bright lights on birds, Port Orford’s Dark Sky, Update wildlife, pollinating insects, and more. The capacity KAS has continued to participate in the City of Port for new LED fixtures to emit such bright, blue, glar- Orford’s effort to upgrade its “dark sky” Outdoor ing light prompted KAS to urge a cap on kelvins. Lighting Code to account for changes in technology. This has particular relevance for the streetlights on The basic principle of dark sky lighting is to point Highway 101. ODOT has plans to repave and reline lights down or properly shield them to reduce sky Highway 101 through Port Orford and says it must glow and light trespass into other people’s yards. now apply national crosswalk safety standards. This However, new LED fixtures pose new challenges, will require six new pairs of lights mounted on 30- requiring us all to learn a new language of illumina- foot poles, taller than what we currently have (a mot- tion. Watts remain the energy required per second; ley collection from 20 to 28 feet). The small town of lumens are the measure of light output (brightness); Port Orford has low pedestrian use and low traffic at and kelvins describe a light’s “color temperature” on night. We’ve long had crosswalks without lights, and so many have questioned whether new lights are tru- ly needed, worried that our main street will end up looking like a Walmart parking lot. ODOT’s answer is simply that all crosswalks now need to meet na- tional safety standards. Other coastal cities have met the safety requirements by footing the sizable bill for greater numbers of low, decorative lights, but Port Orford doesn’t have the budget or inclination for that. Initially, the ODOT lighting design called for 3000k lights. Fortunately, in response to strong public concern, ODOT’s engi- neer has now approved use of warm lights (2700k) with full cutoff fixtures to meet Port Orford’s dark sky goals, as long as lights can be mounted high on the 30-foot poles, but it remains unclear whether Coos-Curry Electric Coop will be able and willing to source these dark sky– compliant fixtures. They say not all fixtures can stand up to coastal conditions. KAS Lunar Eclipse, April 14 – 15, 2014 has pressed for use of warm-colored lights and has Photo by Lois Miller also asked the City Council (CC) to urge ODOT to consider other options for pedestrian safety, such as a scale from 2700 kelvins (k), describing the warmest lights that come on only when someone needs to use LED fixtures (the color of incandescent bulbs), to a crosswalk. 3000k (cool white), to 3200k (fluorescent bulb–like), In August, the Port Orford Planning Commission and beyond, with lights rated at 4000k and above (PC) passed its upgraded Outdoor Lighting Code and having blue elements experienced as extremely cool recommended it to the CC, which voted unanimously and bright. to pass it in September. But then, during a “second While LED fixtures are excellent for conserving reading,” CC members decided to make some chang- electricity, lights that are too blue and bright can es to address concerns about placement of security have unintended impacts to human health and wild- lights and how fines would be levied. Owing to out- life. Reports from the American Medical Association standing questions related to the ODOT-required (AMA) have raised concerns about possible adverse lights on Highway 101, the CC has sent the code effects of shorter wavelength blue light that can back to the PC and is now waiting for answers before suppress melatonin during night. According to the considering a final version. A huge thanks to all KAS AMA, recent large surveys found brighter residential members who are helping to work on this issue. It’s nighttime lighting associated with reduced sleep times, not over yet, so if you want to help, please send me dissatisfaction with sleep quality, excessive sleepi- an email. ness, impaired daytime functioning, and obesity. The AMA concluded that communities should be careful Salmon on the South Coast “to minimize and control blue-rich environmental ODFW is currently developing a plan to manage sev- lighting by using the lowest emission of blue light eral fisheries on the South Coast. The public process Fall 2020 The Storm Petrel Page 5 has been limited this time primarily to angler stake- holders, with the exception of the Lower Rogue Watershed Council, but KAS has participated to advocate for the local species that are not fished for (threatened Coho), for birds unfairly vilified because they are fish predators (cormorants), and for stronger consideration of climate change impacts to our local fish runs. Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast

Coho is a threatened species that has already been reduced to perilously low levels, and ODFW scien- tists have said that our cherished rivers will come under far greater stresses with climate change, including lower flows and higher temperatures. This new plan will deal with steelhead, Coho, and

cutthroat trout from Elk River south (two other plans alltrails.comPhoto: deal with Chinook and rivers from the Elk north), and aims to specify “harvest” levels and hatchery output, as well as some goals for habitat improve- ment. Some fish conservation groups are pressing ODFW to allow anglers to harvest steelhead only if there is sufficient monitoring and data to demonstrate that populations can handle fishing pressure. There has also been discussion about the need to evaluate Port Orford Heads both harvest goals and hatchery programs in light of climate challenges, recognizing that natural origin for the first time in 25 years. Rocky coastal habitats fish will have greater genetic capacity to adapt to include offshore rocks and islands, tidepools, and new conditions. Planning ahead for how we will have headlands — features that provide natural beauty but resilient salmon and steelhead populations and fisher- also outsized ecological values to so many creatures ies into the future will likely require a more precau- that depend on them for food and shelter, from tionary approach from ODFW. unique invertebrates to our beloved Black Oyster- catchers and turnstones. If ODFW doesn’t take climate change seriously in all aspects of its work, it will be harder to ask individu- The Rocky Habitat Management Strategy will pro- als who own riverfront properties to actively engage vide for three new types of protective designations — in the river stewardship and restoration activities that Marine Conservation, Marine Gardens (focusing on will also be critical, such as conserving water if you education), and Marine Research — to safeguard tap into groundwater or river flows for irrigation or these unique habitats into the future. lawn watering, planting trees and native plants that To develop the new Rocky Habitat Management can help provide shade to cool the water temperature, Strategy, the state of Oregon has asked citizens and or allowing beavers to recolonize in tributary communities to nominate rocky sites that deserve streams. If you are a riverfront property owner and protection. At this point community groups have want to help to do more to help our rivers prepare for formed up and down the coast and are in the process climate change, contact Curry Watersheds Partner- of developing substantial, site-specific proposals based ship (541-247-2755, ext. 0), to learn more. Also, if on input received earlier this summer. Full proposals, you are new to our area, you may not be aware that which will go to state agencies and decision-making Curry County has a Riparian Buffer Corridor Over- bodies for review, are due at the end of the year. lay Zone (50 to 75 feet from rivers and streams, de- On the South Coast, Shoreline Education for Aware- pending on flow) that prohibits permanent clearing of ness, South Coast Rocky Shores Group, Partnership riparian vegetation, a policy that helps to protect wa- for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (based ter quality and fish habitat. It’s going to take us all at Oregon State University), the Oregon Kelp Alli- supporting conservation policies and restoration of ance, and Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition riparian habitats if we want to keep our birds and fish have taken the lead to develop site-specific proposals into the future. for Coquille Point, Blacklock Point, Cape Blanco, Oregon’s Rocky Habitat Plan Update Port Orford Heads, Rocky Point, and Crook Point. The state of Oregon is currently updating and revis- You can help support these designations by ing its policies to protect rocky coastal habitat areas writing letters of support, sharing observations ► Page 6 The Storm Petrel Fall 2020

◄ about proposed sites you regularly visit, and urged a cautious approach, especially with regard to participating in community meetings to support hazards of invasive plants taking over in the wake of the site designation process (which is currently being logging, questioning the feasibility of how prescribed held online). To learn more about sites that are being burns could actually be implemented, asking for considered for designation in our area, and how you more explicit plans for how restoration will actually can get involved, please contact CoastWatch Vol- be accomplished after logging is done, and under- unteer Coordinator Jesse Jones (503-989-7244, jesse scoring the need for adaptive management, since this @oregonshores.org). type of restoration is new to this area. We questioned More information on the Rocky Habitat Management the need for commercial logging in riparian areas and Strategy, which nests within the state’s Territorial Sea serpentine pine areas, where mineralized soils al- Plan, can be found at: https://www.oregonocean.info/ ready create a mosaic of habitat. In addition, we index.php/tsp-rocky-shores-amendment. asked for more careful consideration of how recent affected the larger landscape of southwest Shasta-Agness Project Oregon, pointing out that the forest habitat still In late July, the Rogue River–Siskiyou National For- standing in the vicinity of Agness may now be all the est released the Record of Decision for its Shasta- more important for birds and wildlife, including the Agness Landscape Restoration Project, a plan that coastal marten, that have dispersed from the large will guide management of nearly 7,000 acres of pub- areas burned in the Chetco Bar and Klondike Fires. lic lands in the vicinity of Agness. The idea for this With the Final Record of Decision, we were disap- project started many years ago, with Forest Service pointed that our main concerns were not adequately planners and the Forest Collaborative aiming to find common ground on logging that could provide tim- ber but also accomplish conservation goals, such as restoring oak savannas, while supporting recreation opportunities. Owing to fire suppression, the landscape around Ag- ness in particular has been shifting from oak savanna vegetation to Douglas firs. But the warming climate may now be making it harder for Douglas firs to thrive in thin soils. Already some have died owing to persistent drought. According to the Forest Service, thinning in areas with encroaching firs, plus pre- scribed fires, could help shift the ecosystem back to white oaks; then revenues generated from timber could fund positive conservation actions such as re- placing old culverts and decommissioning old log- ging roads that still spill sediment into tributaries. However, one controversial aspect of this plan is to log some firs in LSR (late-seral reserve) areas that Northern Parula Photo by Lois Miller are now more than 80 years old — and so already well on the way to providing the kind of big-tree hab- itat that is more resistant to fire and that is needed by addressed. We submitted objections raising concern some forest birds and wildlife. The plan includes about several aspects of the project: commercial log- 3,770 acres of commercial logging in oak woodlands, ging in riparian reserves and serpentine pine areas; pine forests, and riparian zones. the likely increase of invasive species in oak savanna restoration areas; and the short timeline of the project This project, like all public-lands projects, has gone over a large area, which precludes the ability to actu- through a NEPA public process designed to identify ally apply the promised “adaptive management” environmental impacts and consider different op- approach. In short, it’s hard to shift gears and adapt tions. (NEPA is the National Environmental Planning management to new information after all the trees Act.) KAS has submitted comments throughout the have been cut. Objections will be considered at a entire public process. We supported thinning of plan- meeting in late October. In early September, the tations (already logged areas that are now thick and coastal marten was designated as a federally threat- fire-prone) and all actions related to stream restora- ened species under the Endangered Species Act. We tion. We supported restoration of oak savannas but hope this will require the Forest Service to make

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Native Plant Notes by Teresa Bird Giants of the Earth This time of year is a dreary one for plant lovers, just in general. Imag- ine, then, going for a plant hike this time of year in forest that burned a few years back at pretty high severity. It seems like a bleak scene, with many dead trees, and most plants dried and dying back for the year, which is only one reason why the vibrantly green redwoods stood out to me on my recent visit to the Bombsite Trail. The Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is well known for being the world’s tallest tree, long-lived and magnificently large. But most people think of California, not Oregon, when they think of these giant trees. I’d lived in Curry County several years without a visit to our redwood groves, until I heard that the Chetco Bar fire burned through many of these areas. Curious whether or not the trees survived the fire, I drove down later that year and was surprised to find that the red- woods, despite being completely charred, were already resprouting tiny shoots — all over the trunk. I knew that the redwood’s thick, fibrous bark made them superbly fire-resistant, but I was still astonished at the level of resilience I was seeing from these thoroughly burned trees. Now, several years later, the burned redwoods up the Chetco are so covered in new growth they look like fluffy caricatures from a Dr. Seuss book. After the widespread fires across Oregon this fall, a visit to the redwoods was a great reminder for me of the forest’s long relationship with fire, and how important it is for us to look to nature to learn how we can develop a healthy relationship with fire as well. Redwoods thrive in the coastal fog belt, capturing fog droplets with their flat, spreading needles to create a little microclimate of year-round precipitation despite the Mediterranean dry summers. I was once told by a meteorologist that over half (and likely up to 70 percent) of the precipitation in the redwood coastal “rain” forest comes from fog. Their thick bark is not only fire-resistant, but fungus- and insect-resistant as well. Despite the redwood’s massive size, the roots are generally shallow and short, and so the trees gain stabil- ity from roots interlocking rather than deeply penetrating. They are also unique for their amazing ability to grow huge burls, clonal clumps, and reiteration offshoots at all levels of the canopy. Their branches are often laden with duff, moss, ferns, shrubs, and even other trees! No wonder they are a favorite place for Marbled Murrelets to choose to lay their eggs. Curry County holds the northernmost redwood groves of the species’ entire range. There are several great places to see our resident redwoods, the easiest being the Redwood Nature Trail or near Redwood Bar (both along North Bank Chetco Road), or the Oregon Redwoods Trail up the Winchuck. The Bombsite Trail I hiked this year is a much longer drive, being that Forest Road 1205 is washed out from the Chetco, and you need to access the trailhead from the Winchuck. These groves are relics of another time and cli- mate when redwoods grew further up the Oregon coast, and I often wonder if redwoods will regain some of their former range as the climate continues to warm and change. ■ some adjustments to its plan. The last major timber ing on nearby private timberlands. As we’ve come to management plan in our area, Coastal Healthy Forest learn, Oregon’s Forest Practices law is weak, with Treatments, focused on plantation thinning and has only narrow buffers from logging and spraying to guided the direction of local timber sales for over 10 protect fish-bearing streams and no buffers to protect years. This plan has scheduled timber sales over the smaller non-fish-bearing streams, even those that next four years. flow into drinking water sources. Earlier this year, Protecting Forest Waters we hosted an online training to help volunteers learn how to monitor for spraying through the state’s aerial Over the past several years, Teresa Bird has headed spraying notification program (FERNS). up KAS efforts to help local citizens and communi- ties better understand and find out about aerial spray- I am pleased to report a positive outcome from ►

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Winging It by Mark Lanier / Photo by Lois Miller Brown Pelican Gracefully gangly? Majestically awkward? Beautifully ugly? Now, we’re all bird lovers here, but be honest; there is no bird more con- tradictory than the Brown Pelican. I mean, if first impressions rule, put yourself in the shoes of some- one stepping onto our shores who doesn’t know pelicans. What would you think upon spotting this big, rotund lump-of-an-Ave on the beach? Huge bill that seems to defy gravity and aeronautics. Rubbery, bulging throat that has to make vultures and turkeys feel good about themselves. And an “ET”- like shuffle-of-a-walk that seems destined to end in a face-plant. You’d be wondering how natural selection hadn’t wiped these critters out eons ago! But as you looked closer, you’d catch the profile of the bird gazing contentedly out over the ocean. Its neck in a gentle fold resting on its body. The bill suddenly looking manageable, with its slight dip toward the surf. And you’d realize, this gawky bird looks ... regal, somehow. When the Brown Pelican takes flight, you’d stand in awe and witness that landlubber clumsiness vanish, that hint of nobility transform to pure elegance. Long wings lift the bird’s deceptively light weight, making takeoff of that large body much easier than you anticipated. And effortless wingbeats — models of effi- ciency — take the bird up and away faster than seems possible. You’d note that elegance revert to awkwardness as the flying pelican spots a potential meal, though. Terns and kingfishers, when they spy a fish, seem to suddenly realize gravity is a thing and plummet into the water with a jetlike zip almost too fast to follow. But a pelican’s dive feels futilely unhurried: a turn of the head; a slow-motion dive ending in a wing-splayed, long-bill-led, surely-bones-must-have-been-broken crash into the water. But, unharmed, the bird pulls up its head, strains the meal out of its pouch while fighting off the gulls, swallows the catch, then jumps into another easy launch. If you’re lucky, it’ll be one of those calmish days where the breaking waves are still high. Then, you’d see Brown Pelican watching at its best! In a precisely spaced line, the birds gracefully glide millimeters above the sea, seemingly in a limbo-like (“how low can you go?”) competition to see who can get closest to the water. Breakers intermittently try to disrupt the game. But with nary a twitch of muscles, the group glides over the interruption in a one-at-a-time, fantastic-feathered wave of their own, renewing their contest on the other side. In the end, I think you’d conclude, as I do, that we South Coasters are so privileged to be able to regularly observe these wonderfully awkward, beautiful birds! ■

◄ these efforts. Through monitoring of the Hub- Watershed Council went out with the company to bard Creek watershed, which supplies drinking flag the buffer zone. Kudos to the Port Orford Water- water for the city of Port Orford, Teresa identified an shed Council for negotiating this positive deal for upcoming timber sale and spray in the North Fork. Port Orford’s water drinkers! She alerted the local Port Orford Watershed Council. The buffer deal is good news given the imminent The council was then able to reach out to the land- logging in the city watershed, but honestly, 20 feet is owner to request that the logging company leave a not much to protect water quality. Yet in the absence buffer around the stream and avoid aerial herbicide of meaningful reform of the Oregon Forest Practices spraying. Because this stream is both non-perennial Act, continued vigilance by citizens will be needed to and non-fish-bearing, there are absolutely no require- protect the streams that flow through Oregon’s private ments to leave buffer trees or to avoid spraying, even timberlands, many of which are now owned by real though it flows into a public drinking water supply. estate investment companies. If you’d like to help us In the end, the company agreed with a handshake to monitor for local aerial sprays, please contact Teresa leave a 20-foot buffer and to use only manual appli- at teresa@kalmiopsis audubon.org. ■ cation of herbicides. The chair of the Port Orford

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15 – Luke Ruediger of Klamath Forest Alliance re- Bird Notes ported seeing a Spotted Owl in forests north of Late Summer / Early Fall 2020 Foster Bar on the Rogue River while ground-truthing SPECIAL NOTE! We have an extra-long Bird Notes the Forest Service’s proposed Shasta-Agness log- this time. Longtime South Coast birding expert Tim ging/restoration plan, a sighting later confirmed by Rodenkirk shared that September 2020 will probably the Forest Service. go down in history as the month with the greatest 24 – Victoria Netgen found a Leach’s Storm Petrel number of amazing rarities ever found in one 30-day blown ashore at a house north of Ophir. She and her period in Curry County. Three or four rarities each husband Karl managed to transfer the injured bird to year is the norm, but this September, there were over the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center for rehab. 20! This is likely due to a couple of factors. First, some amazing out-of-town birders showed up start- 25 – Tim Rodenkirk spotted a Buff-breasted Sand- ing on September 7. Second, an explosion of wild- piper at the Euchre Creek mouth. fires on September 8 created an enormous amount of 27 – Rowly Willis photographed a beautiful North- smoke, including offshore, that likely disoriented ern Waterthrush at Arizona Beach SP. The last one some birds and compelled them to head to the coast seen in Curry County was in 2013. instead of bypassing Oregon. Many of these rarities were photographed and can be seen on eBird. SEPTEMBER JULY 1 – Terry Wahl observed a Yellow-headed Blackbird on the family ranch near Cape Blanco. 10 – Gary Maschmeyer photographed a White- winged Dove at his feeder in Brookings. This species 3 – Tim reported a fly-over calling of an American is very rare to the region. Golden-plover at Floras Lake. Steven Hunter found a Lark Sparrow at Chetco Point in Brookings. 13 – Kathy Mullen also identified a White-winged Dove in Gold Beach, perhaps the same bird. 4 – Tina and Mark Lanier reported a Spotted Owl in their backyard in the Ophir vicinity. It’s extremely rare to see this bird in a residential setting, so they

► Northern Waterthrush Rowly Willis

took photos that later confirmed the sighting. Most ◄ Spotted Owl sightings in town are actually Barred Spotted Owl Owls that have become pretty regular in towns as Kameron well as in forest settings. Perensovich 7 – Chris Hinkle and Em Scattaregia found a Black- poll Warbler at Lone Ranch. The same day they found a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at the Winchuck AUGUST River mouth. 4 – Eric Hopson spotted a Tufted Puffin near Brook- 9 – Chris and Em, now joined by Adrian Hinkle, saw ings. a rare Black-and-white Warbler at Lone Ranch 10 – Frank Mayer spotted a very early Yellow- Wayside, also seen by several others through the 12th. headed Blackbird at the wet area along the road into Terry Wahl reported three (!) Short-eared Floras Lake. Owls at his family ranch near Cape Blanco. ►

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◄ 10 – Charley Kahler reported a Say’s Phoebe, flycatching at Lone Ranch Beach on Cape Ferrelo. The day before, Chris and Em saw one at McVay Wayside in Brookings. These are the first of several reports of this bird throughout September, including overwintering birds arriving back in Brookings and the Euchre Creek area by month’s end. The Hinkles and Em also found a Northern Mockingbird in . Mick Bressler and W. Michaelis spotted a Northern Goshawk at a place they have named Z Birdy Bar, about five miles up the Rogue. Amongst the 87 spe- cies seen during the smoke-filled bird “fallout” were 850 (!) Violet-green Swallows, a Long-billed Cur- lew, a Dusky Flycatcher, 29 Warbling Vireos, 31 Yellow Warblers, 47 Black-throated Gray War- blers, eight Townsend’s Warblers, 25 Wilson’s Warblers, and 26 Western Tanagers. Wow! ▲ Black-and-white Warbler Robert Cook/Audubon Photography Awards 11 – Russ Namitz reported a Black-and-white War- bler at Arizona Beach SP, the second one in Curry in Yellow-billed Cuckoo ▼ just a few days. It stayed through the 12th. At dusk at Kevin Jordan/Great Backyard Bird Count the south jetty of the Rogue River, the Hinkles and Em saw a Burrowing Owl and a Short-eared Owl fly by headed south! 12 – The Hinkles and Em found two more rarities, a Northern Parula and a Black-throated Sparrow, at the Indian Creek Trail just a half mile upriver from the Rogue River bridge. Tim found a Black-and- white Warbler at the Indian Creek Trail, the third one in a week in Curry. This bird was around through the 13th. Courtney Kelly Jett, Caleb Centanni, and Colby Neu- man found some more great rarities at Floras Lake: a Black-necked Stilt on the road in and a Brewer’s Sparrow north of the lake. The next day Adrian Hin- kle located likely the same Black-necked Stilt about a at the Rogue’s south jetty by Adrian, Colby, Court- mile south along the Elk River. The following day ney, and Caleb. What a great fall for this species! Rick McKenzie found likely the same Black-necked Adrian found a Tennessee Warbler at the Winchuck Stilt on his ranch just across the Curry/Coos line near River mouth. New Lake. Mick Bressler found Curry’s second-ever male Summer Tanager at Z Birdy Bar. 15 – Tim saw a light morph adult Broad-winged Hawk at Lone Ranch Wayside near Brookings. Although there had already been six incredible rari- ties sighted this day, the rarest bird was discovered 18 – Don Munson observed a Parasitic Jaeger at the by the Hinkles and Em — a Yellow-billed Cuckoo Port of Brookings. at Arizona Beach SP. This is a first county record 24 – Jay Withgott found an immature male Rose- and perhaps the only one ever found on the Oregon breasted Grosbeak at the Indian Creek Trail. This coast. eastern species is almost regular in the spring but is 13 – The Hinkles and Em saw a late Common much rarer in the fall. He also reported the first Clay- Nighthawk in the heavy fog north of Floras Lake. colored Sparrow of the fall at Euchre Creek. Tim reported a fly-over calling Pacific Golden- 25 – Jay had the high count of the year for Elegant plover at Floras Lake. Terns — 113 in the Brookings harbor area. 14 – Two Yellow-headed Blackbirds were observed 28 – Mick Bressler and W. Michaelis observed

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Curry’s second Williamson’s Sapsucker in the Siskiyou National Forest east of Gold Beach. This POETRY CORNER species is super rare west of the Cascades. Tim found two Horned Larks with a Pipit flock at Floras Lake. 29 – Rob Santry spied a juvenile American Golden- plover at Floras Lake. 30 – Rich Hoyer and Alan Contreras found another Tennessee Warbler at Chetco Point in Brookings. On the same day, near Mill Creek Beach in Brook- ings, they found a Chestnut-sided Warbler. OCTOBER While Watering 3 – Tim reported the same, or possibly a different, the Rose Geranium Chestnut-sided Warbler at Chetco Point. by Vicki Graham 5 – Terry Wahl has five (!) CA Scrub Jays on the Whir blur hover sheen, family ranch near Cape Blanco. This species is regu- beak a needle, tongue lar on the coast to about Ophir but rare north of there. a fine thread sliding deep. Terry had never seen more than one there before or during migration. Pause. My wrist a stalk. Pin claws, tail like silk: 9 – Mick Bressler, W. Michaelis, Rich Hoyer, and Chris Hinkle spotted a Tropical Kingbird, a West- wings stilled, tongue flicking ern Kingbird, and a Black Phoebe, all on the same in out in out in fence line in the pastures north of Gold Beach along fire throat pulsing — Old Coast Highway. The Western is rarer than the and gone: a green shine, Tropical this late in the year. a green shade. 10 – Linda Tarr spotted a Sora while kayaking in Garrison Lake. It was in the reeds near the 12th Street boat dock. Rich Hoyer and Chris Hinkle found a Bobolink at Lone Ranch Wayside. Don Munson reported a Snowy Egret from his yard along the South Bank of the in Brookings. Marbled Murrelet Tens of thousands (!) of Cackling Geese were seen Surveys Continue all along the South Coast migrating south. Rich and by Teresa Bird Chris counted 9,000 off Chetco Point in Brookings in This summer I continued to look for murrelets in our an hour and a half. The migration continued the next nearby coastal forests with the help of Max Beeken. two days but in much lower numbers. The most exciting surveys this year were along the 11 – Rich and Chris found an early Swamp Sparrow South Fork Sixes River, where Max and I both saw at McVay Rock Wayside and a Northern Mocking- an amazing amount of murrelet activity on both sides bird on Tanbark Road in Brookings, where one has of the river! I also heard many of the murrelet’s dis- overwintered in recent years. tinctive “keer!” calls from all around me during a survey a third of the way up the Humbug Mountain 11-12 – Gary and Emily Nuechterlein and Deb trail. While we usually focus our survey efforts on Buitron, and Linda Tarr and Foncy Prescott watched the forest surrounding Elk River, this year we also 1,000-plus Cackling Geese migrating through Port helped Coast Range Forest Watch survey a proposed Orford, the “V” formation symbolizing the fall season! timber sale on Board of Forestry lands in the Elliott State Forest. The many combined murrelet sightings Compiled by Tim Rodenkirk and transcribed from our surveys in the area effectively confirmed by Joy Wolf. Thanks to KAS members and friends that the area was being used by murrelets, and the for sharing your unusual bird sightings. Keep timber sale was halted by the Oregon Department of them coming to [email protected]. Forestry. Thanks to the National Audubon Society ■ for a grant that helped to fund this survey effort! ■

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What’s Inside Photo Gallery: Birds of the South Coast .... 1 From the President’s Desk Port Orford by Ann Vileisis ...... 2 Dark Skies Ways You Can Help KAS ...... 3 Conservation News by Ann Vileisis ...... 4 Shasta- Port Orford Dark Sky Update, Salmon on Agness the South Coast, Rocky Shores Habitat Plan Landscape Update, Shasta-Agness Project, Protecting Restoration Forest Waters Native Plant Notes Salmon by Teresa Bird ...... 7 Fisheries Winging It by Mark Lanier ...... 8 Plan Bird Notes by Tim Rodenkirk and Joy Wolf ...... 9 Poetry Corner by Vicki Graham ...... 11 Marbled Murrelet Surveys Continue by Teresa Bird ...... 11