June 2008 Heron Herald Newsletter Rainier Audubon Society

8/8/2019 June 2008 Heron Herald Newsletter Rainier Audubon Society

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hen I took over as Editorof the Heron Heraldseveral years ago, I

began regularly reading newslet-

ters from other Audubon chap-ters in an effort to stay currentwith what other groups weredoing, and to get ideas for ourown newsletter. As time went on,chapter after chapter publishedan announcement that they wereceasing hard-copy publicationand mailing of their newsletter infavor of putting it online. I couldreadily understand their point:Online newsletters have noexpensive printing and mailingcosts and yet are readily avail-able and completely free foranyone to print and read. I hadoften thought about whether ornot Rainier ought to go thisroute, as our newsletter has beenour biggest financial outlay everymonth for decades, but I alwaysrejected the idea as one whose

Vol 27 N

Newsletter Changesby Nancy Hertzel, Heron Herald Editor

Che ck u s ou t on th e web : www . r a i n i e r a udubon . o r g

Field Trips on Page 4

R a i n i e r A u d u b o n S o c i e t y ~ J u n e 2 0 0 8

time had not yet come. TheHeron Herald was a popular

newsletter in our community;Becky and I often got nice com-pliments on it from our memberand were pleased when it wonthe national Audubon newslettecontest for chapters of its size,several times. Besides, Becky anI really had a blast workingtogether and weren't ready togive up our monthy "workinglunches" at various restaurantsin the south county area.

With Becky's decision to retire

W

This issue of the Heron Heraldmarks the end of another season,and the beginning of a well-deserved summer break, for ourvolunteers; we will have no monthly

programs or newsletters in July orAugust. Monthly programs willresume in September. An abbrevi-ated version of the Heron Heraldwill be sent to subscribing membersfor the last four months of the year(Sept, Oct, Nov, and Dec) and thenbeginning in January 2009, will gopaperless and will be available onour website for all to print and read(www.RainierAudubon.org).Although we won't have programsor newsletters over the summer, wewill continue to be involved in localenvironmental and birding activi-ties, such as participation in theKing County Fair in Enumclaw onJuly 18-20. Information andupdates on all our activities can befound on our website, so pleasecheck that site out from time to

time and see what we're up toand if you'd like to participate inany of our activities, you canalways send us an email [email protected]. We wel-come volunteers at any level of par-ticipation! Meanwhile, have a greatsummer from all your friends atRainier Audubon.

contd on page

Enjoy Your Summer!


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Rainier Audubon Society is the

Washington State

South King County Chapter

of the National Audubon Society.

The Heron Heraldis published by Rainier

Audubon Society 9 times a year.

All content is subject to copyright

and may not be reproduced without

permission from the editor.

Nancy Hertzel, editor:

[email protected]

Rebecca Westby, layout artist:

[email protected]

2

From Your Presidentby Carol Stoner,Rainier Audubon President

his has been a year of

changes for RainierAudubon. With NancyHertzel leaving the Presidentsjob and Becky Westby complet-ing her wonderful work as theHeron Herald layout artist, wevehad to adapt and evolve. Also,Bernedine Lund, who has keepus well fed with deliciousmunchies for several years, hasturned in her spatula, choosinginstead to wield a saw and

pruners in her crusade againstivy (never fear, Jane Gardner andPatti Coolsen have agreed torustle up food for our meetings).

Our move to Federal WayUnited Methodist Church hasbeen a successful one; churchtrustees approved our request touse some of their closet space tostore our materials, so we haveeverything in one place. We havecontinued to give presentationsthis year, and will be talkingabout birds and native plants toa variety of organizations duringthe summer and fall.

Our field trips, coordinated byCarol Schulz, continue to helpour members see and learnabout local birds. Deb Russelland I guided a group of excitedfourth graders from Talbot Hill tosee the Great Blue Heron colony

at the Black River Riparian Areain Renton. The trip was orga-nized by the events coordinatorat the Renton Chamber ofCommerce who wants our helpin promoting Renton as a desti-nation for birders.

July will be a busy month forRainier, too: Put our annualgarage sale on your calendar for

July 11, 12, and 13. Wed lovedonations and your help for anhour or two. We are scheduled tohave a booth at the King CountyFair the following weekend, July

18, 19, and 20, which will beanother chance to use our fabu-lous new button maker (a hugehit at the Tukwila BackyardWildlife Festival) and talk topeople about birds, plants, andAudubon. The Ivy Pull Team willcontinue their work in DashPoint State Park on Saturdays, aswell. The Rainier board will meetagain in August to map out plansfor 2008-2009. Weve had a

busy, successful year, thanks toour marvelous volunteers.

Got ideas for programs or pro-jects? Contact me or any boardmember. Wed love to hear aboutthem. Meanwhile, enjoy a won-derful summer, keep up with usat www.rainieraudubon.org(always up-to-date), and join uswhen we return in September foranother great year with greatpeople, devoted to, and caringfor, our local flora and fauna.

T

Its Time to SayAu Revoir

fter 8 years of doing thelayout for this newsletteris time for me to say

farewell. I have greatly enjoyed

my time here, and have learnedmuch along the way. Ive workewith talented and astute editorswho have caught my mistakes ilabeled a bird photo incorrectlyor chose the wrong illustration a species. I couldnt have done as well without their help. I havhad fun in the process, and havmade many lifelong friends, andmy life has been enrichedbecause of my work here. It hasnever felt like a job.

In the past few years myhusband and I have made travea priorityI just returned from aweek in Paris!and I realized afew months ago that I wasunable to always be around atthe end of each month when Ineeded to complete the issue fothe time-sensitive print deadlineIt wouldnt do any good if the

newsletter was printed a weekafter most of the events hadalready happened! I am relievedthat Rainier was ready to switchto an online newsletter at thesame time I felt I was abandon-ing them. I hope all of you faithful readers will keep abreast ofevents by checking in with thewebsite frequently, as I intend odoing. I am not leaving Rainier,but will try to find other ways to

contribute.

Becky Westby,Heron Herald Artist

Note: After reading the messagesfrom my fellow Auduboners on thenext page, I am overwhelmed bytheir generous comments. What away to go!

A


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Heron Herald layout anddesign artist, Rebecca Westby,announced to the RainierBoard that she would be retir-ing at the end of this season

in June. Here are some com-ments from members inresponse to her decision.

Becky,

You've done such a outstanding job with theHeron Heraldquietly behind the scenes, makinga difficult job look so easy. Thank you for all yourexcellent work! Your creative talents will be

greatly missed. Wishing you Happy Adventures.Adele Freeland

Becky has done an excellent job fitting in allthe Christmas Bird Count data and participantsinto the February newsletter layout, year afteryear. Thank you, you're amazing!

Mark FreelandChristmas Bird Count Compiler

We cannot put into words how lucky we were

to have Becky put our award-winning newslettertogether for these past years. Becky, I wish you allthe best and take good care of yourself.

Deb Russell

When I first joined Rainier, one of the best ben-efits would arrive in my mailbox every month. TheHeron Herald was always full of interesting articlesand tantalizing field trips. Becky's work designingthe layout and illustrating the material always

made our newsletter a pleasure to read. Thankyou, Becky, for your countless hours on behalf ofRainier. Go play, have fun, and keep in touch!

Carol Stoner

Rainier Audubon will sorely miss Becky's dedi-cation and wonderful work on the Heron Herald.As with many organizations, there are alwaysthose volunteers who work countless hours behindthe scenes and Becky is just such a person. Overthe past eight years, she has produced an award-

winning newsletter that Rainier Audubon has useto inform and inspire all those who read thenewsletter.

Bernedine Lund

BeckyThanks so much for all your hard worand commitment that you have given the HeronHerald over the last several years. You and yourbeautiful work will be missed! Good luck on yourfuture adventures!

Pat Toth

What a terrible loss for Rainier! You have donsuch an outstanding job and beautiful work...youreally will be sorely missed...it was always suchfun working with you! It's certainly understand-

able that you and your husband now have theopportunity to go on to other interests, such astravelingand so many wonderful places to seeand experience. And do keep in touch!

Thais Bock

Becky,

Ross and I thoroughly enjoyed working with yoon Rainier Audubon. We really got to know youwhen we worked on the Girl Scout project atSeward Park. What a rewarding experience! An

such an ending to our teaching - your gettinglocked out of your car was quite the experience!We were sad when you moved south, but it was sgood of you to continue doing the Heron Herald.Thanks for all you've done. It was super quality!Take care.

Annette and Ross Tabor

I think I have every single Heron Herald thathas been issued since I joined Rainier Audubonsix or eight years ago. I've read every one cover t

cover, and keep them for items of interest and asan archive of our activities. When I served asPresident, I reviewed all the other newsletters thacame to us from the other Audubon chapters, andours was always the best by far. Content, layout,illustrations were all better than any of the othersThe Heron Herald just had a professional feel andlook to it. All due to Becky's talent. It won't be thsame without her. Thanks for years of top qualitywork.

Steve Feldman

Thank You, Becky

BECKY & HER HUSBAND BOB ON AMEXICAN CRUISE IN MARCH 2008


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By Carol SchuField Trips

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Flaming Geyser Park

Saturday, June 21

8:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Leader: Steve Johnson

In June, the summer birds should beon their territory in the beautifulGreen Valley east of Auburn. We'llvisit Academy Drive, Green ValleyRoad, and Flaming Geyser StatePark. We may see warblers, thrushes,Red-breasted Sapsuckers, Red-eyedVireos, flycatchers, rails, and dippers.

We may walk up to one mile ontrails, but those who don't want towalk should be able to see and hearbirds near the cars. People whobring their own cars and want toleave early, may do so.

BR ING: Lunch, snacks, drinks, hik-ing shoes. Scopes welcome.

MEET: Auburn Safeway at AuburnAve. & Main at 8:00 AM.

Directions: Take Hwy. 18 to Auburn,and exit at Auburn Ave. (Hwy. 164).Turn north (right) on Auburn Wayand drive three blocks north.Safeway sign and gas station is onthe left. Park in the lot just beyondthe gas station straight out from theright entry door at Safeway at 8:00AM.

S IGN-UP : Call or email SteveJohnson: (253) 941-9852 or [email protected]

Protection Island Bird Cruise

Sunday, June 22

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Leader: George Gerdts

George leads tours for KitsapAudubon, and is an expert birder.Take a Protection Island birdwatchcruise aboard the Glacier Spirit witGeorge Gerdts, Sunday, June 22. Tcruise leaves the Port Townsendmarina at 10 a.m. and returns abou2 p.m. Protection Island is a 400-aNational Wildlife Refuge at theentrance of Discovery Bay. More th70% of the marine birds that nest Puget Sound breed on ProtectionIsland. That includes an estimated4300 pairs of Glaucous-winged G22,000 pairs of Rhinoceros Aukletthousands of Pigeon Guillemots,Double-crested and PelagicCormorants and a few pairs of BlacOystercatchers. On of the main

attractions is the nesting colony ofto 20 pairs of Tufted Puffins. HarbSeals and Elephant Seals are oftenhauled out on the beach. Coffee asnacks will be provided, but bringyour own lunch and dress in approate layers. The strait can be very ceven in June.

COST : $75 per person. Makechecks payable to Pandion NatureTours. Send to P.O. Box 4687, Rolli

Bay WA 98061.S IGN-UP : Call (206) 842-8138 email [email protected].

Weekly Bird Walks at Nisqually

NEW DAY & TIME: Wednesdays,

7:30 AM to NOON

Leader: Phil Kelley

[Please note. The midweek Nisquallytrips have been changed toWEDNESDAYS, 7:30 - Noon start-ing in April 2008]

Join Phil on his weekly bird walk ashe counts the birds at NisquallyNWR. On the first Wednesday ofthe month, the group walks fairlyquickly around the full loop, a dis-tance of over five miles (this longertrip gets back in mid-afternoon).Other weeks, the trip is shorter,walking out to McAllister Creek,back to the Visitors Center, thenout to the Twin Barns and the RingDike Trail, totaling about four miles.

BRING: Good walking shoes orboots, raingear, water, snacks, and$3 entry fee unless you have a

pass. Scopes are welcome.MEET : At the Visitors Center.

Directions: Take I-5 south fromTacoma and exit to Nisqually NWRat exit 114. Take a right at the light.

SIGN-UP: Call or email Phil Kelleyto confirm details: (360) 459-1499 or [email protected].

PHOTO OF SCRUB JAY JOSEPH HIGBEE


5/10

Spring Field Trips Were Great This Year By Carol Schu

Rainier had some terrific springfield trips this year. Guy McWethyled a trip to Ocean Shores on April19. We saw lots of birds (89

species!) on that trip. It was Guy's

first experience leading a field tripfor a group. We all thought he did ajob worthy of a professional birdguide! The following week, JeffCohen led a trip on April 27 which

started in Issaquah, went to theCarnation area, and ended up atSnoqualmie Falls. It was wonderful,we saw 68 species, and there were

some real highlights. Finally, JimTooley led a trip from SnoqualmiePass to Vantage on May 17. Most

people saw or heard over 74 specieson a day that reached 100 degreesin Vantage. Here are some reportshighlights from these excellent trips.

Ocean Shores andHoquiam Report

by Guy McWethy

had a great day at OceanShores today with theRainier Audubon field trip!Started interesting upto about 1.5 inchesof snow at MudBay!Entertainingroad conditionsbetweenOlympia andHoquiam!

Hoquiumsewage ponds, inthe sun. Lots ofswallowsBarn, VG[Violet-Green], Tree, Cliff,and Northern Rough-winged.Large flock of Greater White-fronted Geese, with two SnowGeese. Several Hundred GreaterWhite-fronted Geese flew over-head. Cinnamon Teal, Orange-

crowned Warblers, Townsend'sWarbler, Merlin, and one Turkey

Vulture.The weather wassuperb by the

time we got to Bill's Spit, just asthe tide was coming in. MarbledGodwit, Long-billed and Short-billed dowitcher, about 2,000Dunlin, Lots of WesternSandpipers, Whimbrel, Black-bellied Plover, Semi-PalmatedPlover, Greater Yellowlegs.Another flock of several hundredGreater White-Fronted Geeseflew over. Marvelous looks at theshorebirds!

Point Browns Jetty Another Merlin,

About 300 Brantflying past,anotherlargeflock ofGreaterWhite-frontedGeese,

Sanderling,Black Turnstones,

and a Surfbird.

Oyhut Game range Black-bellied Plover, Dunlin,Caspian Tern, Black Scoters. A

greatmixed flock of rock-typepipers: Black Turnstones (~6),Surfbirds (~25), and RockSandpipers (8) !!!

Then the highlightWewatched a Merlin grab aDunlin, and then get chasedby a gull! He outflew the gulin straight, but ascending

flight while carrying it. Then got exciting!

AnotherMerlin approachedthe first; they vocalized ateach other, bumped, then thefirst Merlin dropped theDunlin and the secondgrabbed it mid-air! They thenflew off towards the sewagetreatment plant. It certainly

seemed to be courtship behavio

The day ended at Damon Spitin a hail storm. 14 Shorebirdspecies for the day, 89 speciestotal.

A great trip over-all, especiallgiven the start!

Carnation and SnoqualmFalls Trip

by Carol Schulz

eff Cohen led an excellenttrip for Rainier Audubon on

Sunday, April 27. Eight of us meat 7:00 AM in Issaquah. Justbefore the group met, RogerOrness and I went to Tibbett'sField Park & Ride, which is justto the east of Hwy. 900. Therewe observed one Osprey nearthe large Osprey nest in the

middle of the ballfields. AmericaGoldfinches and Purple Fincheswere singing. They were singingat many of our areas during theday. We traveled to Carnationmarsh and observed many birdspecies including Pine Siskinsfeeding in a ditch almost at ourfeet. It appeared that they were

Whimbrel Dan Streiffert

contd on page

W J


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8th Annual Tukwila Backyard Wildlife Festival

ainier Audubon had abooth at the 8thAnnual Tukwila

Backyard Wildlife Festival inMay, alongside other environ-mentally-minded organiza-tions such as Cascade LandConservancy, King CountyNoxious Weed Control,Friends of the Cedar RiverWatershed, and many localmerchants selling birdhouses,native plants, wild honey, andother goods. In spite of over-cast skies and cool tempera-

tures, the festival was a hugesuccess. Members DebRussell, Ross Tabor, NancyHertzel, Carol Schulz, andBernedine Lund took turnsstaffing the booth, handing outmaterials on birds, and talking topeople who stopped by. It wasalso our first opportunity to useour new professional button-maker, purchased with a grantfrom National Audubon. Rainier's

table was very popular; we gaveaway all our handouts and madeover 100 buttons for children(and adults!) who came up to

our table. Carol Schulz(pictured on the posterat the entrance to thefair) put up signsannouncing thatshe would lead abird walk down theDuwamish River at

9:45 AM, and whenthe time came,there were so manypeople gatheredaround, it wasn'tlong before wecouldn't see Carolany more! It was a

fun and rewarding day andwe all look forward to doingit again next year.

R

6

THE POSTER FOR THE BACKYARD

WILDLIFE FESTIVAL FEATURED A

PHOTO OF OUR OWN CAROL

SHULZ, MASTER BIRDER.

RAINIER AUDUBON MEMBER BERNEDINE LUND SHOWN DEMONSTRATING THE BUTTON MAKER

CAROL SHULZ IS BARELY SEEN (IN WHITCAP NEAR MIDDLE OF PICTURE) AS SHE ISURROUNDED BY ENTHUSIASTIC PEOPLEJOINING HER FOR A WALK ALONG THE

RIVER.


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eating grass in the flowing water.From there, we drove into thetown of Carnation, and took a

right onto Blanche St. We turnedright again onto Stossel Ave. andwent into a lovely park with hugeevergreens, called ValleyMemorial Park. Here we saw oneVaried Thrush, and 12 EveningGrosbeaks. We continued norththrough Carnation and turnedleft on Carnation Farms Rd. Justafter crossing the SnoqualmieRiver, we took a hard right onto agated gravel road. This is

Chinook Bend Wildlife Area. Wewalked on the road next to theriver about two blocks, and sawa pair of Western Bluebirds at abluebird box. The bluebirds werebringing grass into the box. Wethen traveled to Carnation Farms,which is now a Nestle trainingcenter, and parked at a largepullout overlooking the beautifulvalley. Jeff heard a NashvilleWarbler. With his good eyes, hemanaged to eventually get us allto see warblers rapidly flyingabout in a thick maple treebelow the overlook. There was aNashville Warbler, twoWarbling Vireos, and fourOrange-Crowned Warblers inthe tree. Wow, thanks, Jeff! Wethen drove over to a rough-

Field Trip Stories contd from page 5

looking building on the corner,and drove in behind it, wherethere is an overlook (and asanican). We could see birds andwaterfowl at Sikes Lake, and

swallows flew nearby. We thendrove down to the bridge nearSikes Lake. In the field by thelake, there were three Yellow-Headed Blackbirds. We thendrove back to the main highwaynorth of Carnation and north tothe Stillwater Refuge. At therefuge, we heard and saw a Sora.From there, we drove toSnoqualmie Falls, arriving about3:15 PM. We got to see both the

male and female PeregrineFalcons, flying and at the nest,and saw two or three of thedowny young birds. The bestviewing is down at a lower partof the trail behind the chain-linkfence. Many thanks to Jeff Cohenfor showing us some new areasand great birds.

Snoqualmie Pass to

Vantage Field Tripby Carol Schulz

im Tooley led a Birdathontrip on May 17 to the Pass

and to Eastern Washington. Sixof us went on the trip in twocars. The day started out sunnyup at the pass where there was

EVENING GROSBEAK D-K

Answers to Quiz on Page 8:

J 1 D2 O3 N4 K5 G6 C

7 P

8 H9 I10 B11 Q12 L

13 M

14 J15 A16 F17 E

the Rainier Board felt that itwould be a difficult, if not imposible, task to find someone astalented, professional, and givinof their time as Becky; we exam

ined this issue from every angleand finally came to the conclu-sion that Becky's retirement hasled us to the natural and rightevolution of the Heron Herald inthe 21st century: it is time for uto follow other chapters andconvert to an online newsletter.Here is the conversion schedule

If you are a member whoreceives a paper copy of the

Heron Herald every month, youwill begin receiving an abbrevi-ated paper version beginningnext fall, for four monthsSeptember, October, November,and December. This abbreviatedversion will include Field Trips,the upcoming Monthly ProgramAnnouncement, Seen & Heard,and Quizzical Owl. There will bno "fillers" such as Bug of the

Month or volunteer opportuni-ties. Then, beginning January 1,2009, our abbreviated newslettewill go completely online; print-ing-and-mailing will cease alto-gether. An announcement aboutthis conversion will be run in alfour of the fall newsletters, toremind our members of theupcoming change.

Newsletter contd from pag

ILLUSTRATION OF A SORA BY DANIEL S. KILBY

contd on page 9


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8

AnswerstoQuizzicalOwl:1.Dunlin,2.BlackTern,3.kleptoparasites,4.Black-crownedNightHeron,5.AshyStorm-Petrel

1. What small shorebird is a circumpolar breeder from northern Alaska to

Scandanavia and Russia?

2. This tern can be found sweeping over eastern Wa marshes in summer.

3. Birds specializing in stealing food from other birds are known as __________.

4. Resting during daytime, what heron hunts after dark?

5. While storm-petrels live in the NE Pacific, this one remains all year off the coast of

Calif. near Monterey.ANSWERS ARE UPSIDE DOWN BELOW

by Thais Bock

Colloquial Bird Names: A Matching Quiz

1 Whiskey Jack A Greater Yellowlegs2 Fly-up-the-creek B Common Merganser3 Crow Woodpecker C American Wigeon

4 Cherry Bird D Gray Jay5 Mud Martin E Short-billed Dowitcher6 Baldpate F Lesser Yellowlegs7 Bog-pumper G Cliff Swallow8 Big Blue Darter H Cooper's Hawk9 Little Blue Darter I Sharp-shinned Hawk10 Goosander J Snow Bunting11 Honker K Cedar Waxwing12 Mudhen L American Coot

13 Sea Swallow M Common Tern14 Snowflake N Lewis' Woodpecker15 Tell-Tale O Green Heron16 Yellowshanks P American Bittern17 Brownback Q Canada Goose

Answers on page 7

COOPERS HAWK

COOPERS HAWKCOOPERS HAWK

L-R: CEDAR WAXWING, AMERICAN COOT, CANADA GOOSE


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Rainier Audubon SocietyRainier Audubon Society is the Washington State South King County

Chapter of the National Audubon Society. Our mission is to conserve

and restore natural ecosystems, and to protect birds and other wildlifefor the benefit of humanity and biological diversity

in South King County and the world we live in.

Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rainieraudubon.o

Questions? Contact us at: . . . . . [email protected] Carol Stoner*. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 854-32

E-mail: [email protected]

Vice President Steve Feldman* . . . . . . . . . . . . (360) 802-52E-mail: [email protected]

Board Members Tricia MacLaren. . . . . . . . . . . . (360) 802-03E-mail: [email protected]

Debra Russell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (425) 271-06E-mail: [email protected]

Max Prinsen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (425) 432-99E-mail: [email protected]

Erin Wojewodski-Prinsen . . . . (425) 432-99E-mail: [email protected]

Backyard Habitat Chair Carol Stoner*. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 854-32


Christmas Bird Count Nancy Streiffert . . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 852-83E-mail: [email protected]

Charlie Wright and Mark Freeland (compilers

Conservation Chair Dan Streiffert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 852-83E-mail: [email protected]

Education Ross Tabor and Annette Tabor*(253) 927-32E-mail: [email protected]

Field Trips Carol Schulz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (206) 824-76E-mail: [email protected]

Heron Herald, Editor Nancy Hertzel . . . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 255-18E-mail: [email protected]

Heron Herald, Layout Rebecca Westby. . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 951-54

E-mail: [email protected] Thais Bock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 839-20


Hospitality Bernedine Lund* . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 839-37E-mail: [email protected]

Mailing Crew Debra Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . (425) 271-06E-mail: [email protected]

Membership Pat Toth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (206) 767-49E-mail: [email protected]

Nestbox Coordinator Bernedine Lund* . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 839-37E-mail: [email protected]

Programs Dale Meland* . . . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 946-16E-mail: [email protected]

Publicity Stacy Colombel . . . . . . . . . . . . (206) 433-82E-mail: [email protected]

Administrative Asst. Amy Flanigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 826-00E-mail: [email protected]

Sightings Charlie Wright. . . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 862-052E-mail: [email protected]

Treasurer Jim Tooley* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 854-30


Web Editor Nancy Hertzel . . . . . . . . . . . . . (253) 255-18

National Audubon Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (212) 979-30

NAS Membership Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-274-42

* ALSO SERVES AS A BOARD MEMBER

still several feet of snow. We walked across thestreet from the Traveler's Rest and viewed manyspecies of birds including Rufous Hummingbird,and Yellow-Headed Blackbird. A very-special stop

was down the east side of the pass, where weexited at the Hyak exit, and turned left under I-90.This is Gold Creek. From the snow-covered bridge,we saw some beautiful, bright birds in the morningsunlight. There was a close-in McGillivraysWarbler, several Yellow Warblers, and Yellow-Rumped Warblers, a Wilsons Warblers, and aVaried Thrush. Wow. The birds were very active.Farther east, we took the Stampede Pass exit, andturned right, going past some ponds. Here therewas a special bird, a Red-Breasted x Red-NapedSapsucker. This is a hybrid that can occasionally

be seen in the Cascades. We then traveled east tothe Roslyn exit, turned left and traveled about onemile to a dirt road intersection. On the left isBullfrog Basin, a wonderful swamp. Here we saw anumber of warblers, and watched Great BlueHerons flying into a heronry in the tops of tall firtrees. After that, some great stops were at theRailroad Ponds in Cle Elum, where we had goodviews of Red Crossbills, the Bar 14 Pond inEllensburg, and various places along the OldVantage Highway where we saw and heard somesage species like Sage Sparrow, and Sage

Thrasher. Down in Vantage, several people sawand heard a Lark Sparrow on a telephone line byGinkgo State Park overlook. On the grass in thepark, there were two tiny Killdeer, with the adultbirds enjoying the sprinklers on the hot day. Thetemperature in Vantage was over 100 degrees. Itwas late in the afternoon, and at that time, weheaded home. Most people saw and heard over 74

species which includedseven warbler

species, 10sparrow species,and five speciesof flycatcher.The partici-pants had very

good eyes andears, and we all

thanked them and JimTooley for the great dayof birding.

KILLDEER

Field Trip Stories contd from page 7


10/10

The

Rainier Audubon SocietyP.O. Box 778Auburn, WA 98071

Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. Postage Paid

Kent, WA 98031

Permit No. 441

TIME VALUE MATERIAL

Address Service Requested

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

10 The Heron HeraJune 2008

Inside Your June 2008 Issue

Presidents Message. . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2

Field Trips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4

Quizzical Owl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6

Name .......................................................................

Address ....................................................................

City..........................................................................

St..........Zip.........................

Phone ......................................................................

Email .......................................................................

Audubon Membership Subscr iption Form

Rainier Audubon Society (RAS) Membership ...................................$15

A one-year membership in Rainier Audubon Society includes participa-

tion in all our field trips and activities; and fun monthly membership

meetings. Plus, well add you to our email listserv, so youll get all the

latest information online. (Make checks payable to Rainier Audubon.)

To join RAS or renew, mail this application withyour payment to:

RAINIER AUDUBON SOCIETY

P.O. Box 778

Auburn, WA 98071

Y16 7XCH

NEED HELP FOR INJURED WILDLIFE?

For an extensive list of wildlife rehabilitorsand other wildlife resources,visit our Chapter Web Site at:

http://www.rainieraudubon.org/

To join National Audubon, please visit their website at www.audubon.org

RAINIER AUDUBONS TERRITORY

Documents

June 2008 Heron Herald Newsletter Rainier Audubon Society