Volume 58, Number 2 October 2012 Greater Sage-Grouse ✦ Alan Krakauer Sage-grouse breeding congregations, or leks, are one of the great marvels of nature. Imagine waiting in a blind with the howls of coyotes and songs of open country birds drifting down the cold pre-dawn air. Suddenly staccato wing beats herald the daily arrival of male sage-grouse. The lek comes alive with all manner of sounds—swishes, coos, whistles, pops, guttural clacking from the males, along with quacks and whines from the females. As the sky lightens, you can finally see the action: males looking like alien ambassadors, inflat- ing their vocal sacs and flashing white breast feathers, confronting other males on territory boundaries and battling with their wings. All the while, the much smaller females wander Greater Sage-Grouse. Photos by Alan Krakauer. through the commotion like shoppers at a Davis will introduce us to some of the work bazaar, assessing each male in turn in their he and his collaborators have been undertak- Ornithology. He also worked as a field biolo- search for Mr. Right. ing to answer some of these questions. For gist in Guam and Venezuela before moving For decades, animal behaviorists have example, new recording technology has led to the Bay Area in 1998 to start graduate been studying the male displays and female to the discovery of “two-voiced” vocaliza- school at the University of California Berkeley. mating patterns of sage-grouse, yet many tions that previous researchers had assumed Although the allure of studying birds in the mysteries persist. Females seem to attend to were the overlap of multiple males’ calls on a tropics was strong for him, Alan turned his at- the sounds that males make during court- busy lek. Males also make sounds by rubbing tention to a fascinating local species, the Wild ship; however, sage-grouse are a complicated feathers together, yet seem to do this in a way Turkey. He spent several years at UC Berke- “instrument”, and we still have a lot to learn unique to birds. ley’s Hastings Natural History Reservation about the ways males make sound. Dr. Alan Unfortunately sage-grouse are more often in upper Carmel Valley, observing turkeys Krakauer from the University of California in the news these days due to the many threats and collecting DNA samples to unravel the to their declining populations. Among the mysteries of the turkey’s social system. His challenges faced by the birds is development study of cooperation among males is now Meeting Schedule in sage-brush habitat. The birds can fare featured in several textbooks for ornithology poorly in areas with intensive energy devel- and animal behavior. Alan is now a lecturer The next general meeting of and project scientist at UC Davis, and has Mount Diablo Audubon Society opment, but what is less clear is what aspects been working there since receiving his Ph.D. will be Thursday, October 4, in of the development are responsible for these the Camellia Room of The Gardens population declines. Alan will describe an in 2005. He has published close to twenty at Heather Farm, Walnut Creek. impressive three-year experiment that shows scientific articles and book chapters. 7:00 pm Birding Information noise from development can cause a range of BIRDING INFORMATION 7:25 pm Announcements problems for this species. 7:40 pm Refreshments,* raffle Brian Murphy will talk about why it is Alan is originally from the east coast 8:05 pm Speaker: Alan Krakauer so difficult to see Wood Ducks in our local (North Carolina and Virginia) and received * Please remember to bring a cup. wooded creeks and what we are going to his B.S. from Cornell University. During his Thursday, November 1: do to change that. Saturday, October 6th Jack Barclay: Galapagos studies he was fortunate to work with bird biologists at the famed Cornell Laboratory of Continued on Page 2 » DEDICATED TO HABITAT CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION the Quail —1— October 2012 President’s Corner By Jimm Edgar Welcome back to the new fall season Society have teamed up in the “Cats Indoors” Welcome for MDAS. Our first meeting on September campaign to protect both birds and cats. (Cats 6 was well attended and our speaker was that are outside do not live anywhere as long New Members extremely interesting. His talk about the com- as indoor cats)} I hope they have an impact. Dolores Butkus Walnut Creek plexity of bird song was just fascinating. Also, Then, to add more to the problem I read Jolynn Lacasse Pittsburg Dia DeRose, our first recipient of the Jean this article in the Wall Street Journal in June, Richmond scholarship award spoke during 2012. The title was “Dousing lights to save birding information. She attended a birding birds.” The lights spoken of are the red lights Mount Diablo camp near Yuba Pass this summer. She did a on communication towers and it is estimated great job and had a wonderful week. that there are 84,000 towers in North Ameri- Audubon Joins I think all of you ca. It is estimated that Watershed Council every year 6.8 million know how tough it is Mount Diablo Audubon has joined with birds are killed when for all of our birds to Save Mount Diablo, Muir Heritage Land they hit these towers. get through life and Trust, East Bay Regional Park District and They are drawn to it seems to be getting other organizations as a member of the the red lights during tougher. I cut an ar- newly formed Walnut Creek Watershed night migration and ticle out of a magazine Council, a voluntary, non-regulatory group either hit the tower a couple of years ago that supports a healthy and sustainable or wires or fly around entitled “The trouble Walnut Creek watershed. The Council's and around the tower with cats.” Again, I task is to work to protect and enhance Sketch by Meg Sandri light until they die think all of us know the watershed and to facilitate actions from exhaustion. 70% what an impact cats that increase awareness of the watershed, of the deaths occur on about 2% of the tallest have on bird populations. It is estimated implement watershed projects and serve as towers. The good news is that if the red lights that in the US and Canada 1 billion birds a forum for sharing information and activi- are blinking, which are just as visible to pilots, are killed each year by cats! Now Bettie and ties that affect the watershed. I have a wonderful cat, Frida, but she never the birds leave almost immediately. Good There are currently more than 25,000 goes outside. We have three or four cats in our news on that front. acres in the Walnut Creek watershed that neighborhood that I see often and I know that The article in the WSJ showed these are owned and managed by various entities they have killed birds. The article I read said a grim figures: deaths of birds per year: cats, for open space purposes. This represents New Zealand study determined eight species 1B; buildings and windows, 1B; power lines, more than a quarter of all the space within of birds had become extinct in New Zealand 130M; hunting, 120M; pesticides, 67M; cars, the watershed. The open space areas pro- and another 40 species eliminated. Feral cats 60M; towers, 6.8M; wind turbines, 400,000; tect and preserve habitat value, riparian are probably the most devastating, but our airplanes, 25,000. vegetation, wildlife corridors, aesthetic pets do damage also. Some say a bell on a cat Sorry to start our year out with some grim vistas, stormwater quality and storage, and or well fed cats do not kill wildlife, but stud- news, but know that Audubon is in the middle recreational opportunities. More acreage is ies confirm they do. The article said that the of all of this trying to make an impact. Your added each year and The Watershed Coun- American Bird Conservancy and the Humane membership and support make a difference. cil provides an overview of the open space areas in the watershed. Birding Information » Continued from Page 1 is Walnut Creek Com- This species is restricted munity Service Day and in its range to the State of we have a project to in- Q California, although a few stall eight Wood Duck are also reported in Baja. boxes around the pond The juvenile female bird at Heather Farm Park. resembles its father—not its mother. Wood Ducks should be Unscramble these letters, or turn to returning to the pond Page 6 to learn more. to nest in the spring. On ACDEEKLLNOOPRSTTUW the large pond, Wood Ducks are less nervous and people should have The Quail is published monthly except the opportunity to enjoy January and August by Mount Diablo Audubon Society, P.O. Box 53, Walnut watching them at that Creek, CA 94597-0053. The Quail is printed location. on 30% post-consumer waste recycled paper. Mother and ducklings The deadline for the November issue is October 9. the Quail —2— October 2012 the 51st Street entrance to Meeker Slough in Richmond. SL, 8/25. By Maury Stern Observations On 8/17, HH saw an unusual Ameri- can Kestrel in the area of Heather Farm. Submit Contra Costa County sightings to A Wood Duck was seen by a group led A Black-necked Stilt was at the base of [email protected] or (925) 284-5980 or by DW on 9/4 at Upper San Leandro Res- the Lafayette Dam on 9/1.