The Chat September 2015
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Number 417 The Chat September 2015 A voice for education and conservation in the natural world Rogue Valley Audubon Society www.roguevalleyaudubon.org Deadline for the October issue is September 20. SEPTEMBER PROGRAM MEETING TUESDAY, SEPT 22 at 7 PM “Birding Adventures in South America: Patagonia, Brazil and the Galapagos” . Presented by PEPPER TRAIL Our annual series of monthly programs kicks off with Pepper Trail’s slide show and talk. Pepper will present highlights from his three most recent natural history cruises, with birds as spectacular (and spectacular- ly different) as Blue Manakins and Blue- footed Boobies, Andean Condors and Saf- fron Toucanets, Darwin’s Rheas and Dar- win’s Finches. This is sure to be an enter- taining and educational evening – don’t miss it! Pepper Trail is the long-time Conservation Chair for RVAS, and the ornithologist at the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab in Ashland. During his vacation time, Pepper leads natural history field trips around the world. Nazca Booby, native to the Galapagos Coming Up October Program Meeting, Tuesday, Oct 27 Speaker: Steve Mason of the WISE (Water for Irrigation, Streams and Economy) Project November Program Meeting, Tuesday, Nov 24 Speaker: Kristi Mergenthaler from the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy (SOLC) Page 1 The Chat – September 2015 President’s Column OFFICERS and DIRECTORS President: Linda Kreisman, 541-482-6456 Welcome back after our (brief) summer vacation! [email protected] This year seems to be getting off to a good start. Vice-President: Jon Deason, [email protected] Treasurer: Sue Polich, 541-608-3802 Pepper Trail, our Conservation Committee Chair, and [email protected] I met with representatives from the Southern Oregon Secretary: Mike Guest, 541-857-6334 Land Conservancy (SOLC) to discuss ways our or- [email protected] ganizations can cooperate with each other and came Carol Mockridge [email protected] away with a few good ideas. Carol Palmer [email protected] Angela Stormberg [email protected] With the Board’s approval and Pepper’s help, RVAS sent letters in support of expanding the Cascade- COMMITTEE CHAIRS Siskiyou National Monument, supported other letters Archivist: Alyson Dal Ponte, [email protected] to Protect Crater Lake and to Protect the Bald Eagle Annual Picnic: Gaylene & Judd Hurley, 541-621-3196 and Migratory Birds, and will be sponsoring (as a non Birdathon: Katy Reed, 541-245-5095 -profit organization) Southern Oregon Climate Action Book Sales: Sooney Viani, 541-482-5146 Now’s (SOCAN) Rogue Basin Climate Summit, which Chat Editor: Juliet Grable, [email protected] CBC-Ashland: Carol Mockridge, will be held in October (see our story on page 8 or [email protected] & John Bullock, visit www.socanclimatesummit.info/). [email protected] CBC-Medford: Bob Hunter, 541-826-5569 Conservation: Pepper Trail, [email protected] & Russ Namitz, our Field Trip Coordinator, has sched- Carol Palmer, [email protected] uled a great trip to The SOLC’s Rogue River Pre- Education: Lynn Kellogg, [email protected] & Sooney serve on September 20. Viani, [email protected] Field Notes: Jeff Tufts, [email protected] Field Trips: Russ Namitz, 541-294-2063, Sooney Viani and Lynn Kellogg, our Education Com- [email protected] mittee Co-Chairs, have started preparing for this Holiday Party : vacant year’s educational activities. Hospitality: Katy Reed, 541-245-5095 Master Gardener Fair: vacant Membership: Gary Palmer, 541-245-9815, Katy Reed, our Program Chair, has lined up all of the [email protected] 2015 programs and is working on 2016. Programs: Katy Reed, 541-245-5095 Publicity: Carol Mockridge, [email protected] You’ll see articles is this issue about several of these CHAPTER COMMUNICATIONS activities—stay posted for the rest. E-mail Address: [email protected] Linda The Chat: [email protected] Webmaster: Jeff Tufts, [email protected] Web Site: www.roguevalleyaudubon.org Chapter Program meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of the month, September through April, at 1801 E. Jackson St., Medford, in Lidgate Hall of the Medford Congregational Church. Page 2 The Chat – September 2015 Although confirmed Jackson County breeding Field Notes for Jackson County reports for Green-winged Teal and Northern Pin- (Jun 16 to Aug. 20, 2015) tail are absent, occasional summer sightings suggest that there may be a few pairs that nest lo- Compiled by Jeff Tufts cally. Four Green-winged Teal were spotted at the Kirtland ponds July 8 (CB), and five Northern Pin- Birds on the move—northbound migrants, tail were reported from Willow Lake July 15 (eB). southbound migrants, upslope and downslope Several species that are established breeders in movers, vagrants—are usually the featured sight- Klamath County are seen on an irregular basis in ings in this space—but for the summer of 2015 Jackson County, and the mid- to late-summer one pair (and possibly two) of locally breeding Pur- months are when a few individuals of these birds ple Martins deserve top billing. are likely to make their first seasonal appearance. Six of these large swallows—at least four of One immature White-faced Ibis was spotted at them juveniles—were spotted Aug. 1 (KS) in the a small pond in the Jackson County Sports Park Jeffery Creek watershed near North Valley View August 3 (NB), and the bird remained at that site Road in north Ashland. The birds were seen in this for several days. area for a week, and observers indicated that Single Black-necked Stilts were seen at the there may have been two nesting pairs. Kirtland ponds June 17 (JT) and Agate Lake July Although Purple Martin sightings are reported in 12 (JT). It’s tempting to think that the Kirtland bird Jackson County every year, many of them are ob- could have been from the family that bred there in vious migrants passing through and there have 2013. been no confirmed breeding reports for several The Kirtland ponds also hosted three Wilson’s years. Ralph Browning’s Birds of Jackson County Phalaropes (two adults and one juvenile) June (1975) relates that they “formerly nested in dead 17 (JT) and one Willet from July 15 to July 18 snags on the shore of Hyatt Reservoir until the (BW). snags were removed about 1960. [They are] occa- Black Terns formerly nested at the now- sionally observed during summer at Howard Prai- diminished Hoover Ponds, and a few individuals rie Reservoir where [they are] thought to breed.” annually pop up at other locations. Agate Lake pro- The Ashland birds give hope to the RVAS pro- vided the season’s first of this species when one gram that has installed dedicated Purple Martin was spotted July 22 (FL). houses near the ODFW offices at Denman Wildlife Small numbers of American White Pelicans are Area in Central Point. seen in Jackson County through spring and sum- Other Purple Martin reports from this summer mer, but the biggest aggregations seem to occur include one at Lower Table Rock June 19 (BW), beginning in July. Perhaps in response to reduced one male at Emigrant Lake June 22 (RN), two flyo- water levels in the Klamath Basin, as many as 20 vers near Eagle Point June 28 (HS), one male at of these long-distance flyers were at Agate Lake the Kirtland ponds July 6 (RN), and five at Emi- the first week in July (CB). Later in the month, 30 grant Lake Aug. 13 (RN). were seen at the same location. Last year there Another species with questionable status as a were as many as 60 birds at Agate in late July. regional breeder is Townsend’s Warbler, but one Pygmy Nuthatches occasionally make their adult and three hatch-year birds seen July 12 on way over the Cascades, and they’re most likely to Mount Ashland (FL) would seem to indicate that show up in late summer or through the fall. One somewhere in the Cascade-Siskiyou mountain was spotted on Hepsie Mountain August 12 (RN). complex there are Jackson County breeding pairs. Post-breeding dispersal can also bring interest- Non-breeding waterfowl are usually gone from ing birds to the valley from the higher elevations of Jackson County by early June, but two birds at Jackson County Most notable of these was a Holy Waters—a male Common Goldeneye and a Green-tailed Towhee seen August 15 at Ouster- female Hooded Merganser—were still being seen hout Farm in Eagle Point (BH). It was the first of in late June (Goldeneye, June 25) and mid-July this species ever recorded at this thoroughly-birded (Merganser, July 17). Both birds were first report- location. ed in mid-May. Field Notes continued on page 4 Page 3 The Chat – September 2015 Field Notes continued from page 3 . Common Poor-will: Here’s a classic example of Four Fox Sparrows were reported from Emi- how “birder effort” can affect abundance data. This grant Lake August 14 (eB), two Vesper Sparrows species is listed as “regular, but rare or inconspicu- were at the same site the next day (eB), and North ous” in RVAS’ Birds of Jackson County publication. Mountain Park had a single White-crowned Spar- The combination of cryptic plumage, sedentary row August 8 (eB) and five of the same species habits, nocturnal feeding routines and rarely-visited August 16 (eB). Also of interest were two Chest- habitats make this a bird that can easily go unno- nut-backed Chickadees at Agate Lake August ticed. But with at least two local birders (CB, RN) 8 (CB) and three Red-breasted Nuthatches on combing the local mountains at night while con- Upper Table Rock June 27 (CB). ducting owl surveys, the number of Poor-will re- Northward spring migration reports were ports has increased significantly.