Conservation Update

Black Hills Audubon Society Olympia, Washington Volume 39, Number 6 November/December 2008 In this Issue of The Echo: Northwest Trek Frog Release ....................... p 1 Northwest Trek Raises 2008 Birdathon Wrap-up ............................. p 2 State-endangered Frogs Fall Feeder Cleaning a Success ..................... p 4 Missed the Fall Feeder Cleaning? ................. p 4 for Reintroduction Christmas Bird Count Dec. 14th ................... p 4 The tiny one-ounce dye-marked amphibians leap en- Birding in Earnest ........................................ p 5 thusiastically out of their plastic containers and into Conservation Update ................................... p 6 the lush grass, water and thick mud at the edge of the Echo Paper vs. Electronic Results ................. p 6 lake. These juvenile Oregon spotted frogs BHAS Calendar ............................................ p 7 are taking off into the big world after BHAS Roster ................................................ p 8 being carefully monitored and pro- Field Trip Descriptions ................................. p 9 tected for six months at the Conserva- Alternative Gift Fair ..................................... p 9 tion Center at Northwest Trek Wildlife Bird Book Reviews ......................................p 10 Park. The animal care team has fretted Annual Auction/Dinner Reminder ...............p 10 over water quality, chopped and cooked kale Membership Form ...................................... p 11 and romaine, wrangled crickets and consulted with Marbled Murrelet Delisting ........................ p 12 Continued on page 2 Thursday, November 20th Thursday, December 18 Midway Atoll Holiday Party 50 Years Later Come join us in a holiday party celebrating the successes of BHAS in 2008! Sometimes we don’t Come join Elizabeth Rodrick as she shares her 2- have enough time set aside to share stories, gab, or week “working vacation” on Midway Island, and just hang out with like-minded folk! Board mem- how the island has changed since she lived there bers will be on hand to welcome new members and as a child 50 years ago. Her “vacation” was spent re-connect with staunch supporters over the years. counting albatross. She will give an overview of all Bring a favorite recipe or sample of bird-friendly species on the island with special emphasis on al- snacks, and for us bipeds there will be hot cider batross species biology and techniques used to take and yummy cookies on hand! the census. Elizabeth will also talk about current national wildlife refuge issues affecting the atoll. Elizabeth is the Conservation Lands Manager for the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. BHAS membership meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month at the Capitol Museum Coach House, 211 W. 21st Street, in Olympia. Social hour is at 7pm, with programs beginning promptly at 7:30. Driving directions: From I-5 in Olympia, take Exit 105 following the State Capital/City Center route. After the tunnel, turn left (south) onto Capital Way. After 7 blocks, turn right on 21st Avenue. The museum is two blocks down on the left. The Coach House meeting room and adjacent parking are behind the Museum building of Olympia). 2008 Birdathon Wrap-up The 2008 Birdathon (in May) was a huge success. man, Sheila Harper, Lee Hoemann, Liz Hoenig, Scott With the help of field trip leaders and many indi- Jarvis, Whittier Johnson, Nancy Judge, John and viduals, $2483 was raised for our Chapter. Forty- Donna Keith, Phil Kelley, Erika Krupp, Jean Mac- three people participated in Birdathon field trips led Gregor, Clarice McCartan, Sheila McCartan, Cathy by field trip leaders Woody Franzen, McGuire, Michael McGuire, Sam and Jim Pruske, Phil Kelley, Jean MacGregor, Susan Merrill, Melody Mier, Greg Miller, Tom Schooley, and Lonnie Sommer. Anne Mills, Paul and Bobbie Moody, Several people led their own field trips Deb Nickerson, Tom Oliva, Steve Parrett, or birded on their own and found cre- Starleen Parsons, Matt and Lisa Pike, ative ways to include others in this fun Michael Pike, Ralph Pike, Jane Poole, and important fundraising event. Sam Powell, Jim Pruske, Dave Richard- son, Doug Roster, Michael and Maria Information about the 2009 Birdathon Ruth, Bob Saunders, Tom Schooley, will come your way at the Annual Din- Jan Sharkey, Eric Slagle, Jean Smith, Lonnie Somer, ner in March. Remember – May is Birdathon month! Mary Ann Steele, Kristin Stewart, Alexis Sulek-Dom- Thanks to all the following 2008 Birdathon partici- mes, Bob Sundstrom, Tim Sweeney, Jean Takekawa, pants and supporters: Nancy Wells, Merlin Wiese, Cathy and Ross Wig- JL and JD Anderson, Marian Bailey, Andrew and gins, Gary Wiles, Deborah Wilhelmi, Sharon Willis- Shirely Beelik, Patty Brock, Linda Carter, Pat Brady, Green, and Sharon Wilson. Rob Cole, Michele Collins, David and Peggy Ed- wards, Eve Failor, Fred Fiedler, Woody Franzen, —Sheila McCartan Karen Fraser, Bill Frymire, Mark Grey, Burt Gutt- NW Trek Frog Release First of its Kind in Washington From page 1 Lake on the Fort Lewis Military Reservation in Pierce partner agencies which has generally kept them County in a collaborative effort to return the state- hopping. endangered frog to a portion of its historic habitat. “This is the first-ever cap- “Frogs are found in all parts tive rearing and release of the world and are known program for the Oregon as sentinel animals by alert- spotted frog in Washington ing us to serious environ- and represents a significant mental and climate changes first step in our joint effort that can affect all species,” to help recover this fragile said Jim Lynch, biologist species,” said Harriet Allen, for the Fort Lewis Fish and Washington Department of Wildlife Program. “They also Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) play an important role in endangered species pro- balancing ecosystems and gram manager. when they disappear from “We’re excited to be part their habitat, that ecosystem of this project because it Tiny radio transmitters are attached to six frogs to is disrupted.” fits so perfectly with our enable biologists to track the movements of the The captive-rearing strat- conservation mission,” said animals for at least a month. egy, called “head starting” Dave Ellis, deputy director at is based on the premise that Northwest Trek. “Not only that, but our specialty at juvenile frogs are thought to be less vulnerable and the park is North American species, so this dove- better able to survive when released back into na- tails beautifully with our work.” ture. The goal of the this pilot program is to estab- The zookeepers joined biologists from the WDFW lish a self-sustaining population of Oregon spotted and the U.S. Army released the frogs into Dailman frogs at Fort Lewis and set the stage for a structured Continued on page 4 2 Black Hills Audubon Society environment and the health of our bird friends. We Fall Bird Feeder even got to socialize and learn more about each other while our hands were busy scrubbing feeders Cleaning a Success! in dish pans filled with warm soapy water. What Satisfaction, pride, problem-solving, pizza, and could be better?? Well, maybe a little less rain and camaraderie…. I experienced all that on October 4th wind, but heck, that’s the Pacific Northwest we live at the annual Fall Bird Feeder Cleaning held at Wild in and love!! Birds Unlimited on Olympia’s west side. We thank everyone who brought in feeders to be The satisfaction came when I learned that 124 bird cleaned. Huge thanks to Ruth Pagel and her friendly feeders had been cleaned and sanitized, and that and knowledgeable staff at Wild Birds Unlimited birds who ate from them would not be exposed to for hosting this, the 13th year of twice-yearly feeder disease from moldy and contaminated feeders (at cleanings. Thanks also to Top Foods for the hot least for a couple of months). I experienced pride in water, without which the actual cleaning would be knowing how hard we volunteers worked to trans- much less effective and definitely less pleasant for form moldy dirty feeders into clean healthy feeders. our volunteers. The problem-solving opportunities were numer- And speaking of volunteers, we can’t thank the fol- ous, since it seemed each feeder had its own unique lowing folks enough for working the feeder cleaning, way of being taken apart. The whether it was pressure wash- puzzle didn’t always end ing, scrubbing, ferrying feeders, with disassembly, either; taking in the feeders, or staying sometimes it was a chal- until the feeders were picked lenge to put them back up: Jane Poole, Susan Markey, together, too! But that part Bob Markey, Gary Wiles, Jan of the fun… Sharkey, Sue Danver, Whit- tier Johnson, Vicki Aden, We had 4 different kinds Noah Aden, Nolan God- of pizzas to choose from frey, John Godfrey, Bev for lunch, plus cider and Gorman, Debra Jaqua, assorted donuts. We did and the Coordinator not lack for food! of this event, Debbie Last, but not least, I Nickerson. valued working alongside —Deb Jaqua others who care about our Missed the Fall Bird Feeder Cleaning? Don’t wait until next April for us to clean your 5. Wash the feeder feeders! BHAS volunteers do an unusually thor- 6. Then immerse it in a solution of ten parts ough cleaning job, but some feeders should be water to one part bleach for two to three min- cleaned every month during the damp Pacific utes to disinfect them before rinsing if fresh Northwest winters to help avoid spread of infec- water and air drying. tious diseases of our backyard birds. As word of dirty-feeder dangers spreads, sales of “quick-clean” feeders are growing. Tube feeders You can give your feeders a maintenance cleaning and finch feeders with snap-off bases and several in about ten minutes: easy-to-clean styles of hopper and tray feed- 1. Wash the feeder in warm, soapy water, ers are available locally. Ruth Pagel of Wild Birds 2.

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