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“Climate Change: Controversy/Consensus, Denialism/Despair, Birds/Backyards, and the Contributions of Citizen Science”
~ presenters: Barry Brunson & Jim Briggs
Membership Meeting - Thursday, May 21st @ 7:00 PM ~ Hal Holmes Center
Climate change is controversial! Global warming is just a hoax!
Scientists will say anything to get research funds!
The Earth’s climate has always been changing!
Maybe the Earth is warming, but humans didn’t cause it!
The climate is changing, but there’s nothing we can do about it!
Have you faced any (or all?!) of these state-ments, in headlines, magazine articles, radio programs, fundraising appeals, or one-to-one conversations? Did they come from pundits, politicians, neighbors or friends?
Context matters. Depending on the context,
the reply to the first statement can be “You bet!” or “Not a bit!” We will provide some con-text for these and other assertions, and for their particular relevance to what unites eve-ryone in Audubon: birds ~ the ones we can see in our backyards, and those we have to go way out of our way to see.
The National Audubon Society spent six years studying the issues, utilizing over a hundred years of citizen science data, along with many other sources of information.
We will examine some of the conclusions they reached, and some of the implications for all of us. We also will discuss some of the things we can do as individuals, as well as part of a larger community.
Barry is a retired math professor and Chair of the KAS Climate Change Committee. He promises to restrain his inclination to solve equations and give quizzes. Jim is a long time member of Audubon who says he never met an equation that didn't terrify him, but not as much as the problems we, and the birds we love, face with climate change. Come join us!
The Hooter Kittitas Audubon May 2015
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!
Page 2 The Hooter
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 – shared by all board members
Education – Judy Hallisey 674-6858
Field Trips – Steve Moore 933-1179
*Newsletter – Jan Demorest 933-1179
Historian – Gloria Lindstrom 925-1807
Programs – Jeb Baldi 933-1558
Publicity – Gerry Sorenson 968-4857
Wildlife Habitat – Joe Meuchel 933-3011
*Bluebird boxes – Jan Demorest 933-1179
Past President — Jim Briggs 933-2231
Membership – Tuck Forsythe 925-2356
*Christmas Bird Count – Phil Mattocks 962-2191
*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 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!
Send in your stories & photos!
The Hooter is the newsletter
of Kittitas Audubon, pub-
lished monthly except for
July.
~~~~~~~
Remember, this is YOUR
newsletter! Do you enjoy read-
ing about other people’s travels and bird adventures? Is there a
topic that you’d like to research and then submit an article? Do
you have a photo of a bird that visited your feeder? Send them!!
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, Ellens-
burg, WA 98926. Submissions need to be in by the 20th of the
preceding month.
OFFICERS FOR OUR NEXT YEAR!
Our organization has a dedicated and active Board of Di-rectors. Four of the Board are elected officers: President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Each May, Kit-titas Audubon elects these officers for the following year. All four of our present officers have agreed to serve an-other year (THANK YOU!), but we will also be asking for nominations from the floor at the May meeting.
It would be sooo….. appreciated if more individuals
would help make KAS decisions!! Any member is invited to attend Board meetings on the first Thursday of every month from 4:30 to 6:30 PM to learn of our activities, voice an opinion, present a proposal, or even complain. You would be most welcome! Please join us!
Gloria Baldi
The mission of
Kittitas
Audubon is to
develop an
appreciation
of nature
through
education and
conservation, with a
focus on birds.
First Saturday Birdwalk, April 4th ~ Cooler weather in the 40’s greeted 6 birders out to spot some spring arrivals. But what we found was mainly local residents. In the category of possi-bles we had a Townsend’s Solitaire barely seen sneaking across the pathway, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler whose migrant companions should be more in evidence next month. Not counting those two, our robust list of 31 species was nevertheless entertaining. We began with 17 Turkey Vultures roosting south of the parking lot.
The eagles have gone on and the ponds held just one American Wigeon but also rafts of female Common Mergansers. The river floated many, mostly male, shiny-white mergansers into view. Belted Kingfishers, a couple of Bewick’s Wrens, noisy groups of Black-capped Chickadees throughout the woods, small groups of Canada Geese flying, and Great Blue Herons were all pre-sent, as well as a Red-tailed Hawk and a harrier cruising for breakfast. Tree Swallows perched in trees to soak up early sunshine but later they were massing in big flocks over the ponds. An American Dipper was sitting on a droopy moss
nest under the parking lot bridge – watch for her chicks in June. Bonus sightings were River Otters in the entry road ditch and lower pond, and a real Easter bunny. ~ Steve Moore
Northern Pintails and Washington
Washington and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:
Linked by One Tremendous Bird
Every spring the Northern Pintail migrates from its wintering grounds in Washington and other portions of the United States north to wetlands and small ponds they find in the northern continental United States, Canada, and Alaska’s Arctic. In years when the prairie potholes of the northern Great Plains dry up, the northern Arctic and Arctic National Wild-life Refuge become particularly key to pintails’ breeding success and sur-vival.
With its long neck and tail, the Northern Pintail is one of the sleekest and most graceful of Arctic-breeding ducks. Pintails are also one of the earliest nesters among ducks. They can be seen braving the sometimes
harsh weather of early spring as they head north.
Of course, not many people see the pintails when they reach the Arctic Refuge. Located in the North-east corner of Alaska, the Arctic Refuge is one of America’s last wildest places. The coastal plain of the refuge hosts nearly 125 species of birds, as well as polar bears, musk oxen, wolves, and the 197,000-animal Porcupine caribou herd during the calving season. About 10,000 pintails breed in the coastal plain of the Refuge, coming from as far away as Mexico.
The Refuge is threatened by oil and gas develop-ment, and the National Audubon Society supports a Wilderness designation for the coastal plain as a way to permanently protect Northern Pintails and a host of other birds and wildlife.
What You Can Do
If you want to help protect the Refuge, please con-sider sending a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or to your Congressional representatives telling them the Refuge is important to all Ameri-cans, and that you want to see it protected. Points to include:
The Arctic Refuge is important to and belongs to all Americans.
The Refuge is crucial to populations of birds such as Northern Pintails that you see and value in Washington.
Designating the Refuge as Wilder-ness will protect Northern Pintails and a host of other important wildlife species from oil and gas development.
Field Trip Report & Northern Pintail Profile Page 3 The Hooter
Web photos
Steve & I ferried across Puget Sound a few weeks
ago to attend the Olympic BirdFest and join a 3-
day boat tour of the San Juan Islands, in search
of birds and whales. The festival offered field trips
everyday, morning and afternoon, taking in the
shorelines, bays, and wetlands of the area. We
went along on a cold and damp “owl prowl” on
Friday night, rewarded with a wild raucous
“conversation” amongst at least 3 Barred Owls
that brought smiles to everyone’s faces!
Early Sunday morning , 23 adventurers boarded
the “Glacier Spirit”, a 75-foot boat with comfort-
able booth seating inside the cabin and ample
standing space at the rail outside. We stayed two
nights at the Roche Harbor Inn, having 3 full
days sailing
the Salish Sea
around Orcas
Island, San
Juan Island,
and through
the channel in
the Skagit
Delta near La
Page 4 Hooter Sailing the Salish Sea*...
Conner. *An intricate network of coastal wa-
terways, the Salish (SAY-lish) Sea includes the
Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the
Puget Sound, and all of their connecting chan-
nels and adjoining waters. This name was only
recently made official (2009), in an effort to
raise consciousness about the interconnectedness
of the region's waters and ecosystems , in rec-
ognition of the indigenous Coast Salish peo-
ples that have inhabited its shores and sailed
its waters for millennia. Coast Salish peoples
and their closely related languages are coex-
tensive with the Salish Sea watershed. ~ Jan
Demorest
There is a wonderful video available: Beneath The Salish Sea by Florian Graner at Sealife Productions.
(all photos by Steve Moore)
Sweethearts...
Rhinoceros Auklets
Harlequin Duck male in breeding plumage
Rufous Hummingbird
Places to go, things to see! Page 5 The Hooter
KITTITAS AUDUBON SCHOLARSHIPS
A couple of years ago the Board decided to give a scholarship to a CWU student whose studies represented KAS’ mission. In-vesting in the future for the
benefit of birds is a goal we believe is of utmost importance, especially with the factors of in-creased population and climate change. How-ever, we had no volunteer to establish the crite-ria and details of the scholarship, and so, after two years I became the Scholarship Chairman.
Martha Duskin-Smith and Denee Scribner joined me to establish the criteria and compile the initial application form. Help from the CWU Biology De-partment has been terrific in offering ideas, final-izing the application, and sending the word to students. One major change occurred because of discussions with CWU, and that was to divide the money and offer two scholarships instead of one. Many people spent hours to arrange for Kittitas
Audubon to give money to deserving students.
The applications are now returned and final se-lections are being made. Next month we will fol-low with a report on the recipients. Gloria Baldi
May 14 - 17, 2015
Birding for Beginners to Experts
Birding by Boot, Boat, & Bike
Fledgling Frolics for Families
Live Music and Art Shows
Wildflower Walks ~ Live Raptors
Vendors, Food, Exhibits
LeavenworthSpringBirdFest.com
Registration: 509-548-7584
Lodging & area info: 509-548-5807
Editor’s note: check out this website! Looks like a fabulous festival with river field trips, several excellent speakers, including our own Jim Briggs, presenting “Grouse of Washington”, and much, much more!!! Register early online now!
Wenas Audubon Campout! Memorial Day Weekend (May 22-25 2015)
Wenas Creek Campground (SW of Ellensburg)
You’re invited to a celebration of birds, botany, and the beauty of spring in eastern Washington.
This annual event invites campers to participate in a variety of activities, including birding field trips, flower walks, field sketching, and bat and owl prowls. You do not need to be an Audubon member to attend. All are welcome.
Visit the Wenas Audubon website (www.wenasaudubon.org) for directions, an outline of field trips and programming, and more informa-tion. Pre-registration is not required. The campout is free and open to all ages; however, donations are encouraged (to help pay for Port-a-Potties). Every vehicle must display a Washington State Discover Pass (http://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/).
Contact: Doris Johnson, [email protected]
Get Intimate with the Shrub
Steppe
May 30th is the
annual family
KEEN (Kittitas
Environmental
Education Net-
work) Get Inti-
mate with the
Shrub-Steppe
(GISS) event. This
single-day event includes fun, education, and
nature walks at the Umtanum Creek Canyon
Recreation Area. Snakes, birds, flowers, plants,
geology, oh my! You are invited! Bring kids and
family and friends. Find info at 509-962-
1520 and online at: www.kittasee.net
Page 6 Hooter A New Project! “PROJECT KESTREL”
The following is a proposal that has been funded by Invenergy, the manager of the Vantage Wind
Project east of Ellensburg, north of highway I-90 and south of the Old Vantage highway.
According to data collected by USGS Breeding Bird Survey between 1966 and 2010 in North America, the American Kestrel population de-clined 63%. Invenergy has recorded some tur-
bine-related kills at their Vantage Wind Project, and therefore, offered Kittitas Audubon an op-portunity to see if, working together, the two organizations can help stop the decline of Ameri-can Kestrels in Kittitas Valley.
Kittitas Audubon members Diane & Tom Gauron,
Sharon Lumsden, Gerry Sorenson, Steve Hall with grandson, Logan, Jason Scribner, Brent Renfrow, Jan Demorest, Steve Moore, Jim Briggs and I gathered to work on a plan to help the lo-cal kestrels.
The main objective is to increase the kestrel
population in the Kittitas Valley by providing more nesting sites for this species. Research has shown that if kestrels do not have a nest site they will not breed. Furthermore, scientists at Boise State University in Idaho have found in peer-review papers “that kestrels nesting in close proximity to roads or developed areas had
elevated stress hormones and high rates of nest abandonment”.
Our plan is to construct 30 Kestrel nest boxes and place them predominantly on public property managed by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Washington Department of
Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Forest Service. (USFS). If placement is on private land, KAS obtains written permission from the land owner before nest box placement.
The 30 nest boxes will be placed in appropriate habitat in areas of low human activity. The
boxes will be monitored by members of KAS dur-ing the months of April, May, June, July and Au-gust for a three-year period, to collect data on
the usage, number of eggs, and number of young fledged. The results will be reported to Invenergy in October of each year, with a com-prehensive report to Invenergy at the end of the
three-year period in October 2017.
The following kestrel data is being used by the Project Kestrel committee:
Incubation period--29 days
4 to 6 eggs--buffy in color, sprinkled, spotted
or blotched, in endless variety with reddish brown
Chicks eat about 2 times as much as adults
(2 to 5 mice/day)
Fledge in 28 to 31 days
Hunt as a family group increasing the
chances to practice hunting skills
If you have an interest in this project, please let me know. We can always use help. It is our goal to help North America’s smallest falcon, the American Kestrel.
Jeb Baldi
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!
Thanks to Joe Meuchel for contributing this photo taken by Dave Hancock near Ellensburg.
Page 7 Hooter
Membership & other news! GET “THE
HOOTER” ONLINE
Save paper, printing,
postage. If you would
prefer to receive the
electronic version,
send your name, mailing address, &
email address to:
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)
____ Renew a National Audubon membership $35
Make check payable to: National Audubon Society Include this form and mail to: Membership Data Center, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235
Name ___________________________ Address __________________________________________
City _____________________________ State, ZIP _________________________________________
Chapter Code COZY220Z
OPTION 2: Membership in only the local chapter, KAS, includes the monthly newsletter, THE HOOTER
____ Join the local Kittitas Audubon Society (KAS) chapter $20
____ Renew your KAS membership $20
____ Make a donation to KAS $______ (amount)
Make check payable to KAS and mail to: KAS, P.O. Box 1443, Ellensburg, WA 98926
Name ____________________________________ Phone __________________________________
Address __________________________________ Cell _____________________________________
City _____________________________________ Email ____________________________________
State, ZIP _________________________________ Would you like to receive The Hooter electronically?
May we print your name in The Hooter as a new, Yes ____ No, prefer paper edition ____
renewing, or donating member? Yes ___ No ____
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 ~ [email protected]
See The Hooter in COLOR on our website ~ http://www.kittitasaudubon.org
Thanks for Renewing! Jeri Prater
Kathy Allen & Todd Schaefer
Diane Driscoll
Lee & Karen Bates (welcome back!)
Upcoming KAS Field Trips
May
2nd, Saturday ~ First Saturday Bird Walk, Irene Rinehart Park. We can hope to find Yel-low-rumped and Nashville Warblers passing through; White-crowned Sparrows are migrating in huge numbers; other arrivals could be vireos
& tanagers. 3-hour walk. Meet 8 AM at Irene Rinehart parking lot off Umptanum Rd. Jeb and Gloria Baldi lead; call 933-1558 for info.
22nd-25th, Memorial Day Weekend ~ Wenas Audubon Campout. Best bet in May for great birding with expert leaders. Camp out or drive
up for half-day and all-day field trips. See Page 5 for details and link to schedule.
June
6th, Saturday ~ First Saturday Bird Walk, Irene Rinehart Park. Nesting season for wax-wings, warblers, woodpeckers, pewees, orioles,
swallows and cowbirds! Meet at 8 AM at Irene Rinehart parking lot by the river for a 3 hour walk. Leader TBA.
Kittitas Audubon
P.O. Box 1443
Ellensburg WA 98926
The Hooter ~ May 2015 The Newsletter of Kittitas Audubon
http://www.kittitasaudubon.org