2012-September - Kittitas Audubon Society

The Hooter
Kittitas Audubon
September 2012
Darling Bird Studios, ©2007 UNA
“A FALCONER AND THE IMPORTANCE OF NATURAL HABITAT”
presented by Doug Pineo
Membership Meeting - Thursday, September 20th @ 7:00 PM
Have you ever wanted to know about falconry? Doug Pineo
has been an avid falconer since 1964 and will be bringing his
4th generation Gyrfalcon from Spokane. This will be the opportunity for in-depth knowledge of the natural history of the
birds used in falconry and game hawking, as well as information on the status of the Gyrfalcon species. The importance
of protection of the western landscapes and ecosystems by all
of us will be discussed with spicy political insight. Observing
the bird “up close and personal” will be a rare experience in
itself.
~ Hal Holmes Center
Gyrfalcon
Falco rusticolus
Doug was born in North Carolina into a Marine family, and
thus grew up on many northern hemisphere shorelines. He
obtained a BA in Biology from Earlham College in Indiana, and
as a Graduate Fellow, received an MS from WSU in Resource
Management. Various positions involving resources have
been with WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife, WA State Parks and
Recreation Commission, and the WA Forest Protection Association. Recently retired after twenty-five
years with the WA Department of Ecology, where he was a Shorelands Specialist applying landscape
ecology and stream restoration science with technical assistance to comply with the Shoreline Management Act, Doug now has more time to pursue his additional intense interests of angling and photography, along with flying his 'gyr'.
All Audubon meetings, held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at the Hal Holmes Center next to the
Library, September through May (except December), are open to the public, so feel free to come and
meet with us. A brief business session precedes the program. Stay afterwards for juice, treats, and
conversation. We are most grateful to the Ellensburg Public Library for sponsoring our meetings here.
Apologies for this abbreviated issue ~ Steve and I
are leaving for a month’s travel in Cornwall in SW
England. We’re hoping for some sunshine, but
taking necessary precautions just in case it might
rain! See you in October! Jan the editor
Page 2
The Hooter
KAS BOARD MEMBERS
President – Jim Briggs
933-2231
Vice President – Bud Rechterman 962-4508
Secretary – Diane Bullock
968-3175
Treasurer – Sharon Lumsden
968-3889
Conservation – Vacant
Education – Judy Hallisey
674-6858
Field Trips – Steve Moore
933-1179
*Newsletter – Jan Demorest
933-1179
*Historian – Vacant
Programs – Jeb Baldi
933-1558
Publicity – Gerry Sorenson
968-4857
Wildlife Habitat – Joe Meuchel
933-3011
*Bluebird boxes – Jan Demorest
933-1179
Past President — Gloria Baldi
933-1158
Membership – Tuck Forsythe
925-2356
*Christmas Bird Count – Phil Mattocks
962-2191
*Librarian - Ginger Jensen
925-5816
Social/Greeter – Kay Forsythe
925-2356
*NON-VOTING POSITIONS
KAS Board Meetings are held at 4:30
PM on the 1st Thursday of each
month on the third floor of the CWU
Science Bldg, Room 301 (above the
elephant desk). These meetings are
open to the public and all Audubon
members; please come and join in the
discussions. Meetings adjourn by 6:00
or 6:30, after which we all go out for a
sociable dinner ~ NO business discussion allowed!
Send in your stories & photos!
The Hooter is the newsletter of
Kittitas Audubon, published
monthly except for July.
~~~~~~~
Submissions from members &
other readers are most welcome and encouraged!
The editor reserves the right to edit
for space, grammar, and/or suitability. Email text and/or photos to
[email protected] or snail mail
to Jan Demorest, Hooter Editor,
712 E 2nd Ave, Ellensburg, WA
98926. Submissions need to be in
by the 20th of the preceding month.
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
Wow, it sounds like I missed a great summer barbeque at “El
Rancho Lindstrom”. Thanks Bud, for conducting the pleasant
business of rewarding Past-president Gloria Baldi and her trusty
sidekick, Jeb, for a great Audubon year.
Sorry to say, I had to go check out changing of the avian guard
on Kauai. I made it there for the fledging of the last of the Laysan Albatrosses and the first arrival of the Pacific Golden Plovers.
There is a small albatross breeding colony on Kauai and when
the chicks get old enough the parents just quit feeding them.
Eventually they teach themselves to fly and head out to sea for
several years before returning to breed themselves. The plovers
have an equally remarkable life plan. They breed on the Alaskan
and Siberian tundra, then fly to Hawaii in 88 hours (that’s two &
a half days without a stop!!). This takes all of their stored energy, so they borrow a trick from geese and fly in V-formation.
They arrive the first or second week of August and are heartily
welcomed by everybody.
It looks like I missed the big event of the Kittitas Valley - the
Taylor Bridge Fire. I couldn’t believe the landscape coming over
Bettas Hill. I noticed the wind turbines were still working and
maybe it was just the right pattern of wind currents, but there
seemed to be an unusually high number of raptors soaring over
the black area. Maybe Joe Meuchel will know if it’s common after-fire behavior to look for rodents emerging from their burrows
without any vegetative cover.
Speaking of Joe, I would also be interested in his assessment of
the impact on the Mule Deer herd in the area. I saw a newspaper article that said the area is winter range for over 1000 deer
and they could be in real trouble if we have a hard winter.
KAS volunteers are gearing up for the fall migration of Vaux
Swifts and will be counting them at the old hospital chimney. There is an ongoing issue about the Yakima River Basin
Water Enhancement Project (YRBWEP). A group of agencies and
NGOs, headed by the Bureau of Reclamation, is forging a plan to
insure future water for the users in the basin. One provision
calls for creating two National Recreation Areas (NRAs--an unfortunate acronym if I’ve ever seen one). The NRAs would allow
motorized recreation, drawing the opposition of some twenty-six
organizations including Kittitas Audubon, through action of its
Board.
So that’s it for the end of summer. Let’s enjoy the shorebird and
raptor migrations and get together on September 20th to meet a
Gyrfalcon. Remember, we still need a Conservation chair and
Historian.
Jim Briggs, President
The Hooter
Field Trip Reports
First Saturday Birdwalk ~ August 4th ~ An
unusually large group of 19 people (with 5 new)
gathered for the August BirdWalk, producing
much chatter while meeting and helping one another view the thirty species of the morning.
Great day to be out--sunny, no wind, but rather
warm to hot (pushing 90 degrees). There were
the usual species for late summer, plus those we
do not see all that often, specifically the Wood
Duck, Cliff Swallow, Bewick’s Wren,
and Brown Creeper. Please join us
and bring your rodeo guests for the
First Saturday BirdWalk on Labor
Day weekend, September 1st when
Tom and Diane will be our leaders.
Jeb Baldi
Page 3
did manage to paddle some interesting and
weed choked passages. We found a big tree for
a shaded lunch and spent a pleasant hour passing goodies around, Next year we'll go at a time
when the water is higher!
Jud Weaver
THE AUGUST 16th POTLUCK SOCIAL
Maybe it was because it was such a devastating fire
week and we were the fortunate ones................or
maybe it was just such a
comfortable evening…...
or maybe it was being
with good company…….
or maybe for all these
reasons. Whatever the
factors, August's social
potluck was a most enjoyable event. When
guests remain until dark,
they must be having a
good time!
Great Egret “chicks”
awaiting lunch
Hang on to those binocs!
“Putting in” at the Potholes
So thanks to all those
who made it a success:
Hal & Gloria Lindstrom..........for the yard
and all the preliminary
preparation
Barb Masberg……for
being such a gracious
greeter
Tom & Diane ..............for coming early to help set up
Tom, Jud Weaver, & Jason
Scribner..........for manning
the BBQs, producing delicious
burgers (such chefs!)
Bud Rechterman............a
cracker-jack emcee!
Gerry Sorenson..................for getting
us the chairs
Alice Yee & Muriel gliding along…….
Saturday, August 11th, twelve Auduboners in
kayaks and canoes set off from the Job Corps
Dyke at the head of Potholes Reservoir in search
of the elusive Cormorant rookery, and were
turned back once again by low water. But we
saw hundreds of birds, twenty-six species, and
And Paul White, Mick and Sally Little, and any I have
missed, for all the clean-up in the dark.
Thanks ever so much............as it would not have been
such fun without you all. If you missed it this year, we
hope you can join us next year!
Gloria Baldi
*Canoe trip photos by Michelle Paris & Steve Moore
Upcoming KAS Field Trips
September
October
1st ~ Saturday ~ First Saturday Birdwalk,
Irene Rinehart Park. This walk completes 10
6th ~ Saturday ~ First Saturday Birdwalk,
Rinehart Park. It’s the tail end of the warblers and
years of Saturday Birdwalks, a tradition begun October 2002 by Gloria and Jeb Baldi. Despite some
changes along the way, this is still a park full of birds
and trails, used and appreciated daily by many Ellensburgians. A short side trip to the new Reecer Creek
floodplain restoration area is where migrating shorebirds visit. 8 AM at the bridge parking lot. Tom Gauron
and Diane Bullock lead, 968-3175 for info.
vireos of summer, but October is a good time to spot a
few ducks and grebes arriving, and perhaps an unusual
hawk. 8 AM at the bridge parking lot. Jan and Steve
lead; 933-1179 for info.
29th ~ Saturday ~ Northrup Canyon. Come
visit a canyon on the northern edge of the Columbia
River basalt flows, with underlying granite exposed! Across the road from Steamboat Rock, this
canyon features the only naturally growing Douglas fir
trees in Douglas County. Conifers, aspen trees, and
sagebrush habitats will provide us a nice variety of
birds. We’ll visit an old homestead, with a possibility of
continuing on to Northrop lake, if we have avid hikers. Bring water, lunch, and snacks for a full day. Reserve your space! All Northrup Canyon hikers must reserve a spot ahead of time. Begin arrangements by
contacting Kay or Tuck, 925-2356 or
[email protected]
7th-8th ~ Sunday-Monday. Canoe camping
trip, Potholes Reservoir. This is an encore of a
fun-but-too-short August trip to the potholes rookery.
Take a Columbus day break and join Jud and Muriel
Weaver on the water, this time with tent and stove.
We’ll have higher water, beat the duck hunters, and
hope for end-of-summer sunshine. Sandhill cranes will
be on their way south. Extra canoes available from
Jud’s boathouse. Call Jud, 925-9297 for details.
19th-20th ~ Friday-Saturday ~ Nisqually
Delta. Said to be the best bird-watching in the South
Sound area. Looking for waterfowl on their way in, a
few waders passing through, and raptors all the time.
A spring trip had to be cancelled; let’s try it again.
Leave Friday at 4 pm, overnight in Olympia, and spend
Saturday in the wetlands, returning later afternoon.
Call Steve and Jan, 933-1179.
Kittitas Audubon
P.O. Box 1443
Ellensburg WA 98926
Vintage 19th Century drawing
The Hooter - September 2012
The Newsletter of Kittitas Audubon - http://www.kittitasaudubon.org