• equo1a Bulletin of the Sequoia Audubon Society San Mateo County Volume 49, No. 1 eedles September, 1998

This Month's Program From the President Tom Ryan, chief biologist Welcome back to another year of the Bird with Sequoia Audubon! In forth­ Observatory will tell us of his ex­ coming issues of the Sequoia Nee­ periences searching for and sur­ dles you will read announcements veying Least Tern colonies along of the various activities and pro­ Mexico's west coast from San grams we offer throughout the year. Bias Nayarit south to Manzarillo. For those of you new to our organi­ His talk will be il­ zation, these include monthly meet­ lustrated with slides. ings with a featured speaker (subjects all relate to birds and nature), a full slate of field trips, our chapter-sponsored Christmas Bird Counts and Meetings are the - ...... second Thursday of the birdseed sales. I am pleased to announce that Sue Cossins has agreed to month at the San Mateo chair our Program committee, and will undoubtedly come up with an in­ Garden Center on the teresting schedule of speakers. at Parkside at I urge newcomers and old-timers alike to become more involved 6:30PM. Hwy.101 with your Chapter. There are numerous opportunities, both large and small, easy and more challenging. Being more involved gives you the chance to meet interesting people, learn about birds and the environment Next Month's Program and make a difference in our ever-more threatened world. Please call me The program is still being developed or any of the other officers listed in the Needles if you would like to A t but is expected to tie in with next month's know more about Sequoia and how you might become a part of the group • ~ .. field trip to look for migrating hawks in that makes our chapter possible. Marin County. The subject is expected to See you at the September meeting. be Identification of Raptors Overhead.

Writers Wanted In the opposite column, you'll find, along with Francis Toldi his greeting, a plea from our President for you to get involved. Having done this newsletter for more than fif.. teen years, you may perhaps excuse me if I some­ times take a proprietary attitude or occasionally take a deliberately provocative stance to try to arouse your interest. Having said that I now apologize that during the last year, two letters to the editor did not make it into these pages. This was not deliberate. Somehow both letters got misplaced and didn't get to me until much too late for publication. This is not my newsletter, It is yours and we welcome any input from you. Letters and articles on birds, birding, conservation or on Audubon in general are welcome and solicited. -The Editor

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Sequoia Audubon Society 1 September, 1998 lions inhabit the scrub in amazing numbers. Surprisingly, some The S A S Calendar forest and riparian species such as Pygmy Owl, Saw-whet Owl September and Screech Owl are known to nest in and use the scrub. The scrub is threatened by developmental pressure, frag- A mentation and grazing. In some areas -- particularly in Southern • THURSDA'Y, SEPTEMBER 3-BOARD -- fire suppression can lead to spectacular reactions. OF DIRECTORS MEETING at the Audubon Office at 7:30 Fire is natural to the coastal scrub and regular fires maintain a PM. All Rlembers are welcome to attead. healthy ecosystem. When fire is suppressed it can lead to a buildup of dry woody undergrowth that will fuel much larger THURSDAY, SEPTEMMR 10, G:EN.ERAL MEKTING at and hotter fires that can do severe damage to man-made struc- the San Mateo Garden Center on the Alameda at Parkside at tw'es, and to the underlying soil as well. 6:30PM. One of the finest and most attainable local examples of the coastal scrub ecosystem can be found along the Hazelnut Trail SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20- HALF MOON BAY - Over in San Pedro Valley County Park in Pacifica. The Hazelnut the years this area has proved to be a reliable "warbler trap" Loop, using portions of two other trails, is a relatively easy 5 with errant eastern species showing up in the trees, shrubs and mile round-trip from San Pedro's parking lot. grasslands around town. We will be looking for possible va­ grants and for regular migrants in these local hot spots. We will meet at 8 AM at the Half Moon Bay Coffee Company Cafe on Rain Forest Woes the southeast comer of Stone pine Rd. and main St. one block south ofHwy. 92. Cliff Richer LEADER AL JAMARILLO 712-1272 Slash and bum clearing of the rain forest for agriculture continues unabated and in this year of El Nifio, it has been exag­ SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27- BEGINNERS' TRIP TO gerated by unusually dry weather in Central America. Forests MOUNTAIN VIEW FOREBAY- This area affords some of which once burned only by continuous assistance from farmers the most varied shorebird and waterfowl wintering habitat in a became tinderboxes. Wildfires raged unabated across Mexico small area and in every year it has produced a surprise bird or and clouds of smoke drifted as far north as Kansas City. The two. The trip will involve walking on level well-defined paths. situation was further aggravated by a lack of forest fire-fighting We will meet at 8;30 AM at the foot of San Antonio Rd. near capacity in countries which never before had a need for such the entrance to Mountain View Shoreline Park. To get there, skills. take Hwy. 101 to San Antonio Rd. and take the San Antonio Rd. I also became aware of an- e (North) exit. Follow San Antonio Road for a short distance until other threat to this habitat this it makes a right angle tum and becomes Terminal Road. Stop summer. r tuned in late to some and park as close to the intersection as feasible. radio talk show where the guest, LEADER ROBIN SMITH 325-3306 proclaiming himself an ecolo- gist, was promoting his firm as a consultant on "sustainable" de­ Coastal Scrub velopment of the rain forest. The Unappreciated Habitat What was terrifying to me was · this "expert's" advocacy of in­ Cliff Richer troducing non-native plants to The vegetation that dominates the area between our coast replace the natural growth of the and the coastal mountain ranges is generally referred to as rain-forest and obtain the coastal scrub. In some areas it is relatively thin, with expanses "maximum yield" from poor of grass separating stands of larger plants. In others it is so soils. thi~k as to be virtually impenetrable. A spectacular array of The one thing this "ecologist" ignored was ecology. At vanous thorny bushes, stinging nettles, prickly seeds and poison no time did he ever mention the impact of any plant -- native or oak can make it seem aggressively hostile. When dry, it poses introduced-- on other plants or on wildlife. He even defended an explosive fire hazard. blue gum eucalyptus, claiming that Californians simply didn't yet, diminutive jungle is home to a truly amazing ~d ~s know how to use this tree properly. The only negative feature fecundity of arumal and bird life. Birding can be both frustrat­ he saw in the blue gum was as a fire hazard. He advocated the ing and rewarding. The sound of the scrub is the Wrentit with ~egul~ harvesting of eucalyptus for firewood and eucalyptus oil, its loud bouncing call. Both Spotted and California Towhees t~onng the fact that the blue gum is not particularly good for are commonly heard. California Quail, White-crowned and etther use and there is no ready market for either of these prod­ Song Sparrows, Anna's and Allen's Hummingbirds, California ucts in California. ~ashers are some of our common breeding species. Yet, these If this man represents any kind of trend in forest manage­ btrds are much more often heard than seen in the thick growth. m~nt, firms like his, masquerading under environmentally Black-tailed deer, bobcats, foxes, raccoons, rabbits and friendly names, could pose as great a danger as traditional slash hares, mice and voles, snakes and lizards and even mountain and bum techniques. September, 1998 2 Sequoia Audubon Society Turbulent Mixing & Resource Supply Mono Lake Update Research Projects to Phytoplankton El Nifio ful­ Marine Science Institute filled its promise at Mono Lake University of California Santa Barbara at Mono Lake as Mono Lake and the Mono Basin continue to attract scientific researchers. ~~-llf~~~_.., it reached its Oxygen Isotope Concentrations ~.-....._.... ,. highest level University of Southern California since 1972. The Mono Basin Geomorphology, Lee Vining Canyon Bighorn Sheep ..~ lake surface is Sedimentology, Biogeography & White Mountain Research Station ·'~~,_ now 6384 feet Paleoclimatology above sea level. and The Trust for Public Land has pur­ Sand Dune Genesis Studies Management chased the historic Conway Ranch prop­ California State University Hayward erty north of the lake. The land will be Stream Restoration Studies Agreement at Los passed on to Mono County once the California State University Humboldt county can raise enough funds to repay Banos the Trust. The county plans to restore ri­ The Importance of Mono Lake to A landmark agreement to coopera­ parian and wetlands habitat and to use it Eared Grebes Nesting in British tively manage lands within the Grassland for a fish hatchery. Columbia Ecological Area has been forged among The importance of Mono Lake to Pacific Wildlife Research Centre public agencies and private landowners. migrating Eared Grebes seems to have Canadian Wildlife Service The been severely under-estimated. Aerial sur­ Coopera­ veys reveal that as many as two million Mono Basin Air Quality Monitoring tive Land grebes may visit the lake each year! Great Basin Air Pollution Control District Manage­ All of the news is not good news. ment The California Gulls are having a hard Mono Lake Migratory Bird Studies Agreement Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute time adapting to the rapidly rising waters. among the Data is not available for this year, but Mono Basin Hydrology Monitoring state De­ 1997 was a poor year for gull nesting and Los Angeles DWP partment of a they failed to re-colonize the now co~ote- Fish and • free Negit Island. (Fortunately, surviVal of Evolution of Desert Colluvial Boulder Game, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the species no longer is dependent solely Fields and the Grassland Water and theRe­ on Mono Lake. The California Gull colo­ Mankato State University source Conservation Districts commits nies in south San Francisco Bay are pros­ them to manage the state's largest, con­ pering and now fledge more chicks than Remote Sensing & Tufa Investigations tiguous wetlands as a single entity. the Mono Lake colony.) NASA More than 550 species of birds, ani­ Part of the problem may be that the mals, and plants- including 47listed as Riparian Bird Population Monitoring incoming fresh water is affecting the sensitive, threatened, or endangered - and lake's natural controls. In 1997 the lake have been identified in the area. failed to "mix" as temperatures changed California Gull Nesting & In addition, the agreement has been and it remained stratified in fresh and al­ Reproductive Success forwarded to the US. BuRec and to Cali­ Point Reyes Bird Observatory kaline layers, with each layer bearing fornia Parks for their signatures. fewer nutrients than the whole was capa­ Goals of the agreement are to: ble of producing. Mono Lake Water Chemistry US Geological Survey • Provide quality wildlife-dependent These and other changes associated public use activities such as hunting, with the dynamics of an evolving Mono Alkali Fly Population Monitoring fishing, environmental study, wildlife Lake under continuing scientific study are Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab interpretation and photography. by a wide variety of individuals and pub­ University of California • Provide optimal feeding and resting lic interests. (See next column.) habitat for wintering waterfowl, The Mono Lake Committee and the Demography & Mating Systems of the shorebirds, and other migratory birds. town of Lee Vining are celebrating the Bee-Fly Lordotus • Manage for the conservation of twentieth anniversary of the founding of and unique and sensitive natural habitats. the Committee and the beginning of the Development of Sand Dune Ecosystems • Provide a natural diversity and fight to save Mono Lake. Restoration on the North Shore abundance of flora and fauna. Days will feature four days of lake- University of California Davis The agreement formalizes a relation­ - oriented activities over the Labor Day ship that has. been in existence among the weekend, as well as a reunion of all those Nutrient Cycling & Plankton Dynamics local refuge managers for years and guar­ who participated in the effort. and antees continuance of current policies.

Sequoia Audubon Society 3 September, 1998 next three or four years to be sure they Status Monterey Pines & will not have a negative effect on Califor­ Due to the generosity of 3,815 Pine Pitch Canker nia's native plants. CNPS members are Penizsula Open Space Trust (POST) do­ working to gather native seed plants and e nors, the pennanent protection of Bair A petition to list Monterey pine, raising funds for this phase of the testing. Island is fast becomilg a reality. To date, Pinus radiata,as Threatened under the (c\'ome of the ir!formation in this article $4,283,666, or 86% of the $5 million in California Endangered Species Act has was reported on by Jake Sigg in the sum­ private funding required to purchase aod been sumitted by the Monterey Pine For­ mer issue of the California Native Plant protect this vital wetland has been raised. est Watch. The native stands of this tree Society Bulletin.) have been reduced to approximately 57% POST is confident that once they of their original acreage through attack by have met their $5 million commitment, pine pitch canker, a fungus disease the remaining $1 0 million required to CNPS Wins Suit complete the purchase will be forthcom­ with no known cure. On May 7, the judge granted a mo­ ing from the Land and Water Conserva­ The disease is spread by tree-boring tion for summary judgment filed by the tion Fund. POST has already secured beetles and, along with the beetles, made California Native Plant approval of $2 million for the purchase great headway during the drought years. Society and ordered the from the fiscal year 1998 federal budget. The California Department of Agri­ US Fish and Wildlife Your letters and donations in sup­ culture regards this threat so seriously Service to comply with port of protecting this vital wetland have that they have created a task force spe­ the mandatory listing re­ been truly inspirational and will continue cifically directed at finding a cure or con­ quirements of the Endan- to play an important role in POST's ef­ trol tor this infestation, which was gerd Species Act by forts to secure the full federal funding recently found spreading to Douglas firs. September 30, 1998. needed to save Bair Island. The suit was brought by CNPS be­ Your continued support is critical. cause even though the law requires the Peninsula residents will never have a bet­ Cape Ivy Under Service to take action on any candidate ter opportunity to protect local wetlands, Attack species within one year, many candidate the Bay, wildlife habitat, and essential species had languished without decision With the help of grants from the Na­ open space. The time and the opportunity for several years. tional Park Service, the David & Lucille is now - with your continued financial The decision will result in final list- ' Packard Foundation, the California Ex­ support, Bair Island will be pennanently ing and !,'Teater legal protection for 43 otic Plant Pest Council, the California protected. rare plants in California and, by exten- Department of Parks & Recreation and sion, many animal and bird species as For those of you who would like a the EPA, an all-out war is being waged well. closer look at the island, San Francisco against the plant that is variously known Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) is con­ as Cape ivy or Gennan ivy. (German ivy ducting two events that allow you to get is my choice ofnames, since the plant is close to Bair Island. neither German nor ivy. ~-Ed.) Coffee Break Evening Kayak Tours ofBair Island Some of these grants are to local Cliff Richer are conducted at low tide along Red­ organizations for specific eradication ef­ If you've been following the discus­ wood Creek and the sloughs surround­ forts in specific areas, but the largest sion on the potential en- ing Bair Island. Thousands of grants, augmented with donations from vironmental harm ~f shorebirds should be visible on the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) resulting from replace- 1 mudflats of the south bay. No experi­ Chapters and members, are being utilized ment of shade-grown eqce necessary. Birding ethics in a search for a safe and effective bio­ coffee plantations with observed. Advance registration is re­ control weapon. Through an international sun-grown coffee, you quired. Dates; Sundays, September 6, agreement between the US Department of may have noticed that & 20; October 4. Cost- Members Agriculture (USDA) and the Plant Protec­ there is a great deal of $60, Non-members $75 tion Research Institute (PPRI) in South anecdotal evidence to support both sides Accompany two SFBBO biologists on Africa, scientists in that nation are mak­ - with the preponderance falling on the their monthly Wildlife Surveys of ing field surveys and doing the careful favoring of shade-grown crops. Bair Island. These surveys will be detective work needed to discover possi­ The Nature Conservancy is now conducted at high tide both on foot ble biocontrol agents. A number of insect about to resolve the controversy. They, and in our 13' powered inflatable species have been found on Cape ivy in along with their Mexican counterpart, boat. Space is liniited to only 4 par­ its native range, and a list of possible can­ have commissioned a study to determine A ticipants on each trip. Dates; Septem­ didate species is being prepared. which birds use coffee plantations and W ber 19, October 17, November 17, how these are used. This should effec- December I 7. Cost-$35. After these control species are iden­ tified they will have to be tested over the tively end the debate.

September, 1998 4 Sequoia Audubon Society They're Waiting for You!

Keep them well-fed this fall and winter.

FALL 1998 BIRDSEED SALE ORDER FORM ALL ORDERS WITH PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED BY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7 Proceeds support local Audubon conservation and education proJrBJDS Please check preferred pkkup loeatiolt. Piduap dates will be October 15-18, 1998 _. ddaU. to be...., ...... Os.n Bruno 0BurUqaae 0HalfMoo. Bay

0Paelfka Os.a Mateo 0Atlaertoa Os.a CariDI

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BLACK OIL SUNFLOWER .....·---··-····-··· 25 lb@ $14.00 !bag

WHITE PROSO MILLET...... 25 lb@ $10.00 /bag THISTLE ...... 5 lb@ ' 9.00 /bag - SUNFLOWER CHIPS...... _ •...... •..•.•••• 25 lb@ $25.00 /bag ------SALES TAX IS (NCWOID IN ALL PRICES ABOVE Contribution to Sequoia Audubon Society (tax deductible)

CHECK# TOI'AL THE NEXT SEED SALE WILL BE HELD IN FEBRUARY 1999 Please enclose a !taJII!!d Klf-adcii'JIHd puloJ!C to receive your order confirmation and direc:tiona to.your pkbp ~ Name Mail your check aod order to Address SEQUOIA AUDUBON SOCIETY City Zip 30 West 39th Avenue, Suite 202 Phone (Home) (Work) San Mateo, CA 94403 345·3724

Sequoia Audubon Society 5 September, 1998 Fall Birding Shearwater 1998 Monterey Bay Classes Journeys Bird Festival Evening bird classes taught by Joe Half Moon Bay Trips A Window on the Flyway Morlan and endorsed by Shearwater Journeys' twenty-second October 3 & 4 Audubon Society will be starting Septem­ season of pelagic natural trips features Monterey Bay and its surrounding ber 9, 10 and 15. All classes meet 7-9:15 departures from Half Moon Bay for Pio­ landscape offers some of the most diverse p-m. in room 222, Marina Middle School, neer Canyon and Seamount. These 12 and spectacular birding opportunities on 3500 Fillmore at Bay St. Free parking is hour trips on September 19, October 17 the Central Coast. Headquartered at one in the school lot off Bay St. on the east and November 8 will give seabirders the of California's rarest jewels, Elkhorn side of the building. opportunity to visit a new area that has Slough, the 1998 Monterey Bay Bird Fes­ The instructor is co-author of Birds good potential for producing rare birds tival will take place October 3 and 4, ofSan Francisco and the Bay Area and and Sperm Whales. In addition they' are 1998. Sponsored by the Elkhorn Slough Birds ofNorthern California. He is also continuing their regular schedule of Cor­ Foundation and the Department ofFish & coordinator of the recorded "Northern dell Bank, Bodega Canyon and Farallon Game, the weekend will offer unique California Birdbox" sponsored by Golden Island trips. The Half Moon Bay trips are field trips, workshops and festival activi­ Gate Audubon Society. Slides illustrate $95 and full payment by check or money ties designed to inspire both novice and all lectures, and the text for all classes is order is required at the time of registra­ experienced birders and introduce birding A Field Guide to the Birds ofNorth tion for all trips (no credit cards). opportunities in the Monterey Bay Area. America, second edition, by the National Through the Seasons, a 36 minute Special Tours -- Elkhorn Slough boat Geographic Society. video depicting many of the sea birds and and kayak tours, Big Sur, Cannel • Field Ornithology I meets on marine mammals is also available from River, Watsonville Slough, Moss Tuesdays. It is an introduction to Shearwater Journeys for $28 postage Landing, Salinas River Wildlife Area birds and birding, combining basic paid. and Special Pelagic Trips. field skills with the study of bird Workshops - Bird Banding, Bird ecology, biology and behavior. Songs and Calls, Photography, Shore­ Part A (EA101) starts September birds, Gulls, Native Plants, Raptors, 15 and ends October 27; Part B Food and Feeding of Birds and Study (EA105) starts November 3 and Skins. t:nds December 15. A special keynote address Saturday • Field Ornithology II meets on night featuring a Herb Clarke photo Wednesdays, It is a continuing in­ presentation on "Northern California depth study of the identification Birds". and status of North American land Festival Activities - Live music, ex­ birds, including blackbirds, tana­ hibits, food, special demonstrations on gers, finches (Part A) and water a variety of topics including identify­ birds including loons, grebes, and ing bird eggs and nests, dissecting owl seabirds (Part B). Part A (EAUO) Contact Debra Shearwater at (408) and cormorant pellets, wildlife view­ starts September 9 and ends Octo­ 637-8527 for information and a full trip ing stations with spotting scopes and ber 21; Part B (EAUS) starts Oc­ schedule. (The Shearwater Journeys' of­ more. tober 28 and ends December 16. fice will be closed September 7-14 during Located on the Pacific Flyway, Elk­ • Field Ornithology III meets the ABA Conference in Monterey.) hom Slough and Monterey Bay are major on Thursdays. It is a continuing stopovers for shorebirds, waterfowl and study of North American land Pesticide Pulled landbirds. This weekend promises to be a birds including owls, nightjars, According to the latest issue of Bird fantastic experience. swifts, hummingbirds and wood­ Conservation, Novartis (formerly Ciba · For information, a registration peckers. Part A (EA120) starts Geigy), announced that they were phasing packet and schedule of events, contact September 10 and ends October out all manufacture and sale of monocro­ tile Elkhorn Foundation at (831) 728- 22, Part B (EA125) starts October tophos. Monocrotophos was the insecti­ 5939. E-mail inquires may be sent to., 29 and ends December 17. cide responsible for huge number of esf@@elkhomalough.org .. Optional field trips on weekends Swainson's Hawks' deaths in Argentina. Website: www.elkhomslough.org. may be arranged by the instructor. Please American Bird Conservancy (ABC) had bring binoculars and field guides to class been working with Novartis on the )f if you have them, Fees are $90 for each Swainson's Hawk mortalities. Novartis The* world* *is full * of willing* * people; some* seven week course. Pre-registration is also announced the phase-out of five willing to work, the rest willing to Jet strongly advised. For further information other organophosphate insecticides. them. -Robert Frost call (415) 561-1860. September, 1998 6 Sequoia Audubon Society but problems remain. The birds hunkered Murre Update Whooping Crane down and survived two "minor' hurri­ canes, but three of them flew into power Oevil's Slide Colony e Success in Florida lines and were killed. Another was shot. The re-establishment of a breeding After a disappointing start in which The culprit is unknown despite a large colony of Common Murres on the San most of the birds were lost to bobcats, it reward posted by the USF&WS. Mateo coast is now in its third year and appears that the US Fish and Wildlife the colony appears to be successful and The establishment of this flock is Service has succeeded in establishing a growing. non-migratory flock of the endangered considered essential to the survival of the This year, as Whooping Crane in Central Florida. species. Otherwise the cranes could be wiped out by a single oil spill or ·other many as 82 murres disaster affecting the historic flock which were seen on Egg breeds in Canada and winters on Texas' Rock at one time, Gulf coast. with 30 of them establishing breed­ Avian Cholera ing pairs. Murres Waterfowl Affected lay only one egg a year and eight of Nationwide the eggs were lost Last year's waterfowl die-off at the to predation or accident. Salton Sea was generally attributed to pollution, a reasonable assumption given The seven surviving chicks face a the quantity of natural and agricultural harsh future. Murre chicks drop off the toxins which pour into the lake. Another cliffs to the sea below while still unable contributing factor is that the Salton Sea to fly or feed themselves. Some are There are now 60 of these birds -­ has no outlets and the pollutants become dashed to death on the rocks and the oth­ North America's largest wader -- in the even more concentrated by evaporation.· ers are entirely dependent upon their par­ Kissimee River basin north of Lake ents finding them and feeding them. Okeechobee and south of Orlando. They Most drown, starve or fall prey to the per­ are learning their survival skills by imitat- ils of the sea before they become self­ ~ng the local Sandhill Cranes. sufficient. However, once they become In an earlier experiment in Idaho, adults their chances of survival are Whooper eggs were placed in Sandhill greatly enhanced. Adult murres often Crane nests and raised by Sandhills. Un­ reach an age of 15 years or more. til the birds reached breeding age it Murres are very site faithful. The seemed the experiment was working. odds are that the chicks will return to the Unfortunately, when the mating urge same rock where they were born, thus came upon them, the Whooping Cranes perpetuating the colony. refused to have anything to do with each The Fish and Wildlife Service has other. They all believed they were been so encouraged by the results that it Sandhill Cranes. Meanwhile, the has established a second breeding colony Sandhill Cranes which had accepted the on San Pedro Rock just to the north of the Whoopers as part of their flock drew the line on accepting them as mates. present site. This site is much further from any mainland viewing sites and In Florida, the introduced birds were However, it now appears that the more difficult to monitor. Although live raised in captivity and placed in the wild murres have been seen among the decoys, only after they had imprinted on their extreme severity of the 1997-98 die-off was probably due to the presence of avian there is no indication of any nesting ac­ parents. With no survival skills the first tivity at this time. introduced birds fell prey to the bobcats. cholera. This disease has nothing to do This problem was largely overcome by with water quality but is a bacterial infec­ The original murre colony on San trapping and relocating many of the cats, tion passed on from bird to bird. Deaths Pedro Rock was wiped out by illegal egg and making the introductions into a large from the disease were at all-time epi­ gatherers in 1906. The colony on Egg fenced area cleared of predators. demic highs throughout the United States. Rock survived the egg gatherers but was In the Los Banos area alone, some 30,000 extirpated in the 1982 Puerto Rico oil This worked. 70% of the birds have coots and ducks were killed. spill. Because of the negative connota­ a_urvived and are approaching maturity. tions associated with the name, the Fish .,even pairs have bonded and nested, but There is no known cure for the dis­ and Wildlife Service uses the alternative no eggs have resulted as yet. ease and prevention efforts consist of gathering up dead birds and incinerating name of De vii's Slide Rock rather than The future looks bright for the es­ them, precisely as was done at the Salton Egg Rock for this site. tablishment of this non-migratory flock, Sea. Sequoia Audubon Society 7 September, 1998 Gifts and Bequests Inger Biscbofberger RC. Murphy Peking Handicraft, Inc. and an anonomous donor in memory of Nancy Jean Chow

Sequoia NEEDLES is published monthly except in January. July and August. M~mbers ar~ ~ncouraged to submit material to be puhlish.od 111 the NEEDLES. The deadline for the submission of materials is the first day ofthc month preceding publication. These may be original articles, original artwork or cartoons, or uncopyTi3hterl material fonn other sources. Items dealing with conservation issues must be submitted to the Conservation Committee prior to publication. lnfonnation for all officers and chairp<.>rsons should be mailed to 30 W.ost 39th Ave., Suit.; 202, San Mateo, CA 94403-4561. Please send RENEWAL 1\U:MBERSHIPS directly toN ational Audubon in the envelope accompanying your r~-ncwalnoticc.

Please send LATE RENEWALS or NEW MEMBERSHIPS through Sequoia Audubon Society to insure continuity of newsletter or maga.t.ine subscriptions.

SEQUOIA AUDUBON SOCIETY'S WEB PAGE'S URL l•ihttp://www.belmont.gov/orgslsas/

OFFICERS STANDING COMMITTEES Presid~-nt Francis Toldi 344-1919 ACR Hosting Debbie Frant.L 571-6759 Pas1 President Anne Moser 324-1718 Audit Rick Baird 574-1067 Vice-president Marilyn Noah Christmas Count Robin Smith 325-3306 Secretary Barbara Arrais Conservation Eileen Jennis-Sauppc 726-1081 Treasurer Tom Vanden-Bosch 369-8305 Education OPEN DIRECTORS Field Trips-W cekday Nick Coiro 349-1834 Term ending '99 Sue Cossins 347-9358 Weekends Merry Haveman 344-2146 (: AI Jamarrillo 712-1272 NEEDLES Editor Cliff Richer 873-1754 Tenn ending '00 GaryDcghi 726-1340 Circulation Editor Sue Cossin~ 347-9358 llARIBIRD ALERT Eileen Jennis-Sauppe 726-1081 Programs Sue Cossins 347-9358 Term ending '0 I Merry Haveman 344-2146 Publicity OPEN Cliff Richer 873-1754 Memcbership OPEN Finance/Budget Rick Baird 574-1067 (.415) 681-74ll. STAFF Celinda Sanchez 345-3724 Hospitality Sue Cossins 347-9358

SEQUOIA AUDUBON SOCIETY We Invite your membenhip in the National 30 West 39th Avenue, #202 NON-PROFIT ORG. Audubon Society & SAS. To join, please complete San Mateo, CA 94403-4561 U.S.POSTAGE PAID and mail this form with payment to SAS, 30 West SAN MATEO, CA. 39th Ave., #202, San Mateo, CA 94403 PERMIT NO. 293 0 National Audubon Society Membenhip New $20 (1 year) Student/Seniors $15 Members receive Audubon Magazine & NEEDLES. Make checks payable to National Audubon Society. 0 Needles subscription only. $15 for 9 issues 0 Donation: SAS appreciates your tax-deductible donation which helps fund the chapter's education, conservation and ongoing activities. For membership renewal information call National Audubon Society at (800) 274-4201 HOWARD RATIIJ,fSBFRGFR Name. ______230RIDGEWAY RD Address.______WOODSIDE, CA 94062 City______State __ Zip_

Telephone Number.______7XCH C16 J Prinlcd on Recycled Pap.·r l•Y nr ( W G Time Valued Material - Pl~'l:~e no i\Jot r:l""'?" Sequoia Audubon Society 8 September, 1998