Volume 62, Number 9 June 2017 June Program : PBS Documentary “Animal Homes: the Nest” DVD Animals, like incredible diversity of nests and their humans, need a strength, even trying his hand at place they can building a few. call home to Te series features a blend of CGI, provide a safe animation, CT scans, and signature and stable place blueprint graphics to highlight to raise a family. engineering principles inside the But , the y go structures. A variety of cameras, about building including tiny HD versions, capture their homes in unprecedented views inside animal entirely different homes without disturbing natural ways. Whether b e h av i o r. W h e n a p p r o p r i a t e , it is a bird’s nest, bear den, beaver filmmakers shoot behaviors in slow Ovenbird nest “blueprint” © THIRTEEN Productions LLC lodge, or spider web, these are homes motion and use infrared and time of great complexity, constructed from lapse to reveal how animals create We begin with a museum a wide range of natural as well as man- their structures over time and through collection of nests and branch out to made materials. Tis documentary the seasons. scenes in the wild all over the world, program investigates just how animals Te program delves into the where birds arrive at diverse nesting build their remarkable homes around amazing flexibility animal architects grounds to collect, compete for, reject, the globe and the intriguing behaviors display, the clever choices they make, steal, and begin to build with carefully and social interactions that take place and the ingenious ways they deal with selected materials, crafting homes for in and around them. troublesome habitats. the all-important task of protecting Hosting the series is ecologist Bird nests come in all shapes and their eggs and raising their young. Chris Morgan (“Siberian Tiger Quest,” sizes, crafted from an inexhaustible “Bears of the Last Frontier”), who diversity of materials, including fur, Meeting Schedule serves as guide and real estate agent. grasses, leaves, mosses, sticks and Te next meeting of the Mount He evaluates and deconstructs animal twigs, bones, wool, mud, and spider Diablo Audubon Society will be abodes, their materials, location, silk. Quite a few also contain man- Tursday, June 1 in the Camellia neighborhood, and aesthetics. In made materials—colorful twine, bits of Room of Te Gardens at Heather addition to Morgan opening the doors wire, even plastic bags. Each one is a Farm in Walnut Creek. of animal homes in the wild, he is also remarkable work of art, built with just in studio showing examples of the a beak! 600 PM Doors open 630 PM Potluck Dinner *please bring a plate, silverware, and cup Annual Potluck Dinner 800 PM Announcements Our fun and festive annual potluck dinner will be held before the regular 815 PM Program:PBS meeting in Te Gardens Camellia Room on Tursday, June 1. Doors will open Documentary “Animal Homes: the early at 6 PM with dinner served at 630 PM. Please bring a main dish, salad, or Nest” DVD dessert to share. Be sure to label serving dishes/spoons with your name so that they can be returned to you. NEXT MEETING: Tursday, To continue in the Audubon conservation tradition, please bring your own September 7 (no meetings in July plate, silverware, and a glass or cup. Coffee, tea, and punch will be served, or you or August, but please join us on a may bring your own wine if you wish. field trip—see page 5 for details) DEDICATED TO HABITAT CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION President’s Corner Paul Schorr I am dedicating my first President’s Corner to each month to organize and publish the Chapter’s acknowledgements and thank yous. outstanding newsletter. First, on behalf of the members of MDAS, I want to Te longtime, continuing success of this Chapter has extend my deepest thanks and appreciation to Jimm Edgar been due to volunteers who graciously and unselfishly have for his many years of steadfast dedication and commitment given of their time and energy. So, whether you have led a as President and Board Member of MDAS. field trip; marched for a cause; talked or wrote to a Secondly, I want to take this opportunity to thank MDAS legislator(s); represented MDAS at an event; worked with members for their confidence in electing me as the 2017-18 children; written article(s) for the Quail; or donated items for President. I am humbled by your support, and I assure you the raffle, thank you so much! And of course, what would our that I will work hard to continue Jimm’s legacy of monthly meetings be without the refreshments that Kathy commitment that has resulted in MDAS being recognized as Kellogg and her committee provide—talk about hospitality!! a notable and highly regarded Chapter of the National In closing, I look forward to serving as President of Audubon Society. MDAS, and with the ongoing support and volunteerism of Next, I want to thank the other 2017-18 elected officers: members, we will continue to fulfill the Mission of MDAS: Kent Fickett, Vice President; Steve Buffi, Treasurer; and Carol “Mt. Diablo Audubon Society is committed to the sustainable Pachl, Secretary. balance of our community’s people, birds, other wildlife, and In addition, thanks and appreciation to all of the Board habitat through conservation, education, and advocacy.” of Directors and the Board Advisory Members. Teir names Please plan to join us at the June Potluck Dinner and the important roles that they play are listed in each issue meeting. We will be recognizing and showing our of the Quail (see page 11). Speaking of the Quail, a very appreciation to some folks who are stepping down from their special thank you to Editor Maren Smith who works tirelessly long-held volunteer positions. ~Paul Schorr Good News For in this manner, Neotropical migrant Welcome New Members populations decrease substantially. Neotropical Birds Deforestation destroys habitat—22 out John Larkin Walnut Creek Your MDA S B oard and the of 42 migratory songbird species that Matt Hess Concord Hospitality Committee are pleased to overwinter on Columbian deforested Marie Delahaye Martinez announce the return of “bird-friendly” plantations have shown significant Gail & Bruce Adair Alamo Birds & Beans coffee at our meetings. declines in North America in spring and Joan Munch Concord Tis coffee is not only delicious, it is summer over time, a phenomenon Rosalynn Sarvi Walnut Creek organic, fairly traded, shade-grown Cornell Lab researchers are studying. Consuelo Inez Martinez coffee grown on small farms in Te Birds & Beans company was Carol Arabian Alamo Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Peru, and is formed out of concern for the rapid certified by the Smithsonian Migratory decline of birds that migrate between MDAS on the Web Bird Center. It is “great tasting coffee that North America and the tropics. Many of www.diabloaudubon.org makes a real difference for bird you have traveled south in winter to www.diabloaudubon.org/mobile conservation, family farmers, and the view these beautiful birds. According to (mobile only) Earth we all share.” their website, “the most important single www.facebook/mtdiabloaudubon “Bird-friendly” coffee maintains a step an individual can do to help stop www.meetup.com/Mount-Diablo- rich habitat for the Neotropical migrant migratory songbird population loss is to Audubon-Society/ birds (tanagers, warblers, thrushes, and always buy certified bird-friendly coffee.” orioles) who fly north in spring to breed, A n d that’s g o o d n e w s f o r What song bird actually but live otherwise in the dense tropical Neotropical birds! sews its nest onto a leaf, forests of Central and South America. If interested, you may purchase the usually a palm frond? Tese forests are typically destroyed coffee online, too, using the discount Unscramble the letters where coffee is grown for maximum code BB17 when ordering. Poke around Q below or look at page 7 production and profit. Te Birds and the website www.birdsandbeans.com to for the answer. Beans coffee is shade-grown, so trees are learn more about the company’s mission not cut down to produce the crop, and their conservation partners. Our IODHEROOLDOE preserving bird habitat and wintering logo will be posted there soon. grounds in the tropical forests. ~Elizabeth Leite, Citizen Science Te Quail is published monthly except in January and August by the Between the 1970s and 1990s, 60% 〰 of Columbian coffee growing lands were Mount Diablo Audubon Society, P.O. F o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n : B o x 5 3 , Wa l n u t C r e e k , C A cleared and sun-grown coffee varieties www.allaboutbirds.org/in-colombia- replaced plants typically grown beneath 94597-0053. Te deadline for the shade-grown-coffee-sustains- July-August Quail will be June 11. other forest trees. Where land is stripped songbirds-and-people-alike/ the Quail —2 — June 2017 TR and SP saw a pair of Nashville by Maury Stern Warblers at White Canyon 4/24. Observations JC saw a Hermit Warbler near April was a month of returning Tere was a Lewis’s Woodpecker Vollmer Peak 4/17, and several were at breeding birds, migrants passing at the north side entrance to Los Mitchell Canyon 4/18 to 4/29. HH, through, and some birds leaving for Vaqueros Reservoir 4/20. LD TR, SP, MD the mountains or farther north. Many Tere was a Hairy Woodpecker Two Chipping Sparrows were in first of season (FOS) birds were seen.