Do you have a blue agate? Or an attractive piece of blue agate jewelry? How was the stone formed and what makes it blue? Where can the ‘blues’ be found? Do they exist elsewhere in the world? Nick Zentner from the CWU Geol-ogy Department will answer these questions, as well as tell us when they were delivered to the Kittitas Valley, and why they’re only found in a corner of the valley. Zentner has been teaching about the geology of Washing-ton since his arrival in 1992 at CWU, where he is an aca-demic advisor and teaching mentor to most of the students in that program. He has received CWU's Most Inspira-tional Faculty Award and Presidential Faculty Award. In 2015, Nick re-ceived the James Shea Award, a National Association of Geoscience

Teachers award that recognizes excep-tional delivery of Earth Science content to the general public. If you have never attended one of Nick’s presentations, you are in for a treat. His knowledge of local geology and his lecture skills will have you wanting to know more about the formation of the beautiful Kit-titas Valley and the Pacific Northwest. Information about his free lectures, field trips, and videos will be available at the meeting. Come join us for an informative and enjoyable evening! Bring a friend or family member, call up your rockhound friends! See you there!

The Hooter Kittitas Audubon January 2016

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. Please come and meet with us. A brief business session precedes the program. Stay afterwards for juice, treats, and conversation.

Many thanks to the Ellensburg Public Library for sponsoring our meetings here!

“Ellensburg Blue Agates” ~ presenter: Nick Zentner, CWU Geology Professor

Membership Meeting - Thursday, January 21st @ 7:00 PM

Hal Holmes Center next to the library

Page 2 The Hooter

Board Notes by Gloria Baldi

From the December 3rd meeting:

Volunteers are being sought to lead field

trips.

Discussion ensued on membership renewal.

Jan Demorest is organizing our participation at the e3 event on January 30th.

The statewide Proposition 732 regarding car-bon tax was briefly discussed.

A list of presentations to be made by KAS’s Climate Change Committee was given. Barry Brunson is chair of the committee.

Several members participated in the Climate Walk, and KAS will support the ban on plastic bags.

Because of the presentations of the Climate Change Committee, a projector is needed. The cost will be covered from the grant mon-ies.

Steve Moore gave a presentation for the Sci-ence & a Pint program at Cornerstone Pie about success stories on several endangered bird species.

Do join us on January 7th at the PUD build-ing at 4:30 for the next KAS business meeting.

Send in your

stories & pho-

tos!

The Hooter is the

newsletter of Kit-

titas Audubon,

published monthly

except for July.

Submissions from members & oth-er readers are most welcome and

encouraged!

The editor reserves the right to edit

for space, grammar, and/or suita-

bility. Email text and/or photos to

bobcat@kvalley.com 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.

KAS BOARD MEMBERS President –Tom Gauron 968-3175 Vice President – Judy Hallisey 674-6858 Secretary – Jim Briggs 933-2231 Treasurer – Sharon Lumsden 968-3889 Conservation- Board members Education – Judy Hallisey 674-6858 Field Trips – Steve Moore 933-1179 Historian – Gloria Lindstrom 925-1807 Programs – Jeb Baldi 933-1558 Publicity – Gerry Sorenson 968-4857 Scholarship – Gloria Baldi 933-1558 Climate Change – Barry Brunson 674-6858 Past President – Jim Briggs 933-2231 *Newsletter – Jan Demorest 933-1179 *Membership – Tuck Forsythe 925-2356 *Wildlife Habitat – Joe Meuchel 933-3011 *Bluebird boxes – Jan Demorest 933-1179 *Social Greeter – Kay Forsythe 925-2356 *Christmas Bird Count–Phil Mattocks 899-3370

*non-voting members

KAS Board Meetings are held at 4:30

PM on the 1st Thursday of each

month in the PUD meeting room,

1400 Vantage Highway. These meet-

ings are open to the public and all

Audubon members; please come and

join in the discussions. Meetings ad-

journ by 6:00 or 6:30, after which we

all go out for a sociable dinner ~ NO

business discussion allowed!

The mission of Kittitas Audubon is to develop an

appreciation of nature through education and conservation, with a

focus on birds.

Crossbills in Downtown Ellensburg! Some 20 crossbills, both Red and White-winged, visited our spruce tree on 2nd Ave., Wednesday 12/30. We didn’t really notice the “rattling trill”” that Sibley mentions for the White-wingeds. Also we were puzzled by the descriptions of juvenile birds: “January to Sep-tember” - wouldn’t first-years be juvenile the preceding fall too? (See below)

White-winged Crossbills are far-ranging, as they search for maturing spruce and tamarack and other conifers whose cones are not held tightly to the branches; that are their sole food source. They will breed and nest in any season, includ-ing mid-winter, depending on the food supply. Thus, imma-ture birds may be seen at any time of year.

Field Trip Reports & Special Bird Sightings Page 3 The Hooter

First Saturday BirdWalk ~ December 5th, 2015 ~ Three birders took to the Irene Rinehart Riverfront Park trails. Temperature started at 28 degrees; by 11:30 it was still only 35. It turned out to be a fairly nice day, with light snow at the end of the walk.

Downy Woodpecker, North-

ern Flicker, Steller’s Jay,

Dark-eyed Junco, Song

Sparrow, House Sparrow,

White-crowned Sparrow,

Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Black

-billed Magpie, European

Starling, Great Blue Heron,

Mallard duck, Canada

Geese, American Wigeon,

Ring-necked Duck, Ameri-

can Kestrel, Belted Kingfish-

er, and a Bald Eagle.

White-winged Crossbill females

Female Red Crossbill

Probable White-winged Crossbill male

Page 4 Hooter Christmas Bird Count ~ December 19th 2015

Twenty-nine observers in 9 parties, plus five at feeders; 66 party hours, plus 2.5 hours owling. AM Fog, overcast, PM fog, 19-25 degrees, 6-8” snow, still water mostly frozen, moving water open. Several unusual species and two highest ever counts for the 38 years of the CBC are in boldface.

Canada Goose 522 Northern Shrike 2

Tundra Swan 2 Steller’s Jay 45

Gadwall 4 Scrub Jay 1

Am. Wigeon 42 Black-billed Magpie 377

Mallard 161 Am. Crow 7

N. Shoveler 3 Raven 111

Green-winged Teal 48 Horned Lark 40

Lesser Scaup 16 Black-capped Chickadee 173

Ring-necked Duck 47 Mountain Chickadee 1

Bufflehead 18 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1

Common Goldeneye 25 Red-breasted Nuthatch 9

Hooded Merganser 11 White-breasted Nuthatch 1

Common Merganser 24 Brown Creeper 2

Ruddy Duck 1 Bewick’s Wren 28

Wild Turkey 26 Pacific Wren 3

California Quail 1354 Am. Dipper 2

Ring-necked Pheasant 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 7

Pied-billed Grebe 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 12

Great Blue Heron 23 Am. Robin 26

Bald Eagle (30a,24i,2u) 56 Varied Thrush 32

N. Harrier 6 Starling 1583

Sharp-shinned Hawk 10 Spotted Towhee 13

Cooper’s Hawk 13 Fox Sparrow 1

Red-tailed Hawk 170 Song Sparrow 168

Harlan’s Hawk 1 White-crowned Sparrow 188

Rough-legged Hawk 24 Golden-crowned Sparrow 40

Buteo, sp. 2 Dark-eyed Junco 963

Am. Kestrel 94 “Slate-colored Junco” 2

Merlin 1 Red-winged Blackbird 76

Prairie Falcon 2 Brewer’s Blackbird 160

Virginia Rail 1 Pine Grosbeak 3

Killdeer 7 Cassin’s Finch 1

Common Snipe 8 House Finch 901

Rock Pigeon 94 Pine Siskin 21

Eur. Collared Dove 243 Am. Goldfinch 405

Mourning Dove 351 House Sparrow 1280

Barn Owl 5

Great Horned Owl 7 Total Birds 10,254

W. Screech Owl 1 Total Species 77

Belted Kingfisher 17

Downy Woodpecker 56 Seen also during Count Week: Barred Owl

Hairy Woodpecker 1 Cedar Waxwing

N Flicker 65 Red Crossbill

Pileated Woodpecker 1

CBC Summary & Comments Page 5 The Hooter

Observers: Jeb & Gloria Baldi (co-compiler), Lee Barnes, Janet Burcham, Lana Cruse, Gary & Gia Cummisk, Jan Demorest, Scott & Sierra Downes, Joan Dumas, Deb Essman, Kay For-sythe, Tom & Diane Gauron, Marianne Gordon, Judy Hallisey, Steve & Linda Hall, Doug Ku-ehn, Hal & Gloria Lindstrom, Phil Mattocks (co-compiler), Steve Moore, Bob Ota, Raychel Parks, Norm Peck, Ken Pless, Karen Raymond, JoEllen Richards, Gerry Sorenson, Margy Taylor, and Jud & Muriel Weaver, for the Kittitas Audubon Society.

A warm late fall and early winter, then bam! cold and deep snow. All that and fog; heavy in the am, gone for a while mid-day, and back again in the late afternoon. As might be ex-pected, most species were recorded in lower than usual numbers. The total count was actu-ally the lowest since 1994. That count day was also foggy, with 6” of snow, and tempera-ture of 30-35F. With this weather variable, trends can be difficult to detect.

However, some conclusions can be drawn. Heavy snow in the Cascades and foothills seems the likely cause for our high count of Varied Thrushes and the appearance of Pine Gros-beaks. New high counts were set for Spotted Towhees, Golden-crowned Sparrows, and Wild Turkeys. Fifty-six Bald Eagles! This is twice the 12-yr average, and one less than the all-time high of 57 set in 2008. Count Day 2008 was also snow-covered and very cold; 10” snow and a high of 12 degrees.

The count of California Quail was twice that of the last two years, but still only back up to their long-term average. Numbers of the relatively new resident Eurasian Collared Doves and Bewick’s Wrens were just below their all-time high counts.

On the low side, consider this headline: Starling Count at Near Record Low! Numbers were less than half their 12-year average, and the lowest since 1987. House Sparrows were also found at about half their 12-year average. Can we blame (or credit) Collared Doves? Will these trends continue?

There were very low counts of Canada Geese, Great Blue Herons, N. Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks (though Rough-legs and Kestrels were found in normal numbers), Belted Kingfishers, N. Flickers, Crows, magpies, Black-capped Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets, and all blackbirds. Many of these counts were the lowest in the last 15 years.

The Pileated Woodpecker was found just past the dam along highway 10, in the same area that one has been found in almost every year since 2008. The Scrub Jay is one of a family group located in town very near the site of the first count record in 2011. The Ruddy Duck is the first seen here since 2002.

Thanks to all observers. As we keep saying, these data become more valuable with each year. Put Saturday December 17, 2016 on your calendar for next winter, and thanks again to our hosts Steve and Linda Hall.

Gloria Baldi & Phil Mattocks, compilers.

Page 6 Hooter More Bird News!

Update from Midway Island!

A Dose of Inspiration and Love Comes Back to

Midway! Photo by: Kiah Walker/USFWS

The world's oldest known bird in the wild, named

Wisdom, returned November 19, 2015 to Pihe-

manu (Hawaiian place name given to Midway

meaning "loud din of birds"). She was sighted with

her mate on November 21 and on Saturday, No-

vember 28 was observed incubating her egg. For

More Information visit: http://bit.ly.1lhYM78; November

2015 Imagery; Photo and Video Chronology. Stay tuned!!

Common Redpoll, American Goldfinches, Dark-eyed Juncos

On January 3rd, 2016, Sharon Lumsden wrote: It's been 3 years

since we've had Redpolls visit. Welcome back!!! Must be our

colder temperatures and snowfall. Just two were seen today,

(I think a male and a female) with their friends the juncos and

goldfinches, on the Niger Thistle feeder.

Hope the rest of the flock show up so I can get a picture with lots

of them!

Thanks to Sharon Lumsden for submitting great photos and re-port. We are jealous!

Page 7 Hooter

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send your name, mailing address, &

email address to: in-fo@kittitasaudubon.org

At the beginning of each month,

we’ll send you an email with a quick

link to the new Hooter.

Darling Bird Studios, ©2007 UNA

BECOME A KITTITAS AUDUBON MEMBER!! (Or renew your membership)

Receive The Hooter ~ help support education and conservation activities and projects!

Two options are available:

OPTION 1: Membership in National Audubon includes a subscription to the magazine, Audubon, membership in the local chapter (KAS), and KAS monthly newsletter, THE HOOTER

____ Join as a new National Audubon member $20 (includes KAS membership)

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Make check payable to KAS and mail to: KAS, P.O. Box 1443, Ellensburg, WA 98926

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Kittitas Audubon is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization. All memberships and donations are tax-deductible.

Membership forms are also available on our Web site: Kittitasaudubon.org.

For membership information contact Membership Chair, Tuck Forsythe ~ forsythe@fairpoint.net

See The Hooter in COLOR on our website ~ http://www.kittitasaudubon.org

December 30th, 2015 ~ re-

port from the Lindstroms’

bird sanctuary:

A kestrel finishing up his

lunch in the snow.

See Page 8 for more!

Upcoming KAS Field Trips

February

6th, Saturday ~ First Saturday Bird Walk, Irene Rinehart Park. Meet at 8 AM at Irene Rinehart parking lot; about a 3-hour walk. Some birds to look for include swans & waterfowl, early-returning blackbirds and robins, and wading birds. Steve & Jan lead; 933-1179 for info.

February ~ dates TBA. Columbia Basin Lakes and Ponds. A wintering waterfowl extravaganza in our own “Large Igneous Province”. A route will be planned to examine wetlands and waterways to find as many Anatidae and kin as we can; check February Hooter for dates and details.

Kittitas Audubon

P.O. Box 1443

Ellensburg WA 98926

The Hooter ~ January 2016 The Newsletter of Kittitas Audubon - http://www.kittitasaudubon.org

THANKS TO KITTITAS COUNTY BUSINESSES SUPPORTING KAS!

Inland Internet, Roslyn ~ donates Internet service for our Website: http://www.kittitasaudubon.org

Old Mill Country Store, Ellensburg ~ Provides a discount on bird seed to KAS members. Get your bird seed here! Shop Locally!

Mostly juncos and a nuthatch on a bird ball and a couple of quail eating an apple. On an-other day, a flicker eating an apple and a kestrel finishing his lunch (see page 7).

1899 ~ Walter Crane, from the book “In the Tapestry Room”