Membership Meeting - Thursday, November 17th, 2016

“The Grand Canyon: Rafting Adventure & Research” Presented by William Meyer

7:00 PM at Hal Holmes Center next to the library

Everyone should visit the Grand Canyon!! Raft-ing this marvel of the world quickly makes one understand just how big the world is...and how small we are.

William has been fortunate to take two very dif-ferent whitewater raft trips through the Grand Canyon, one trip in September 2013 of 250 miles over 21 days for sheer adventure, and another in June 2016 to research the native fish of the Colo-rado River. He will share images from those trips, along with stories of the adventures, river life, the natural history of the Canyon, and the native fish research results.

The Grand Canyon is a BIG place! Around every corner, beauty unfolds and tranquility awaits, captured by his photos.

Kittitas Audubon has enjoyed prior presentations by William, one on his Antarctica work with pen-guins, another on the Yakima Beaver Project.

William Meyer has been a W ildlife Biologist for close to three decades, and for the later part of his career has been with the WA Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) in Ellensburg working in

Central Washington. His main assignment is writing grants to achieve large-landscape conservation, currently working on the Yakima Basin Integrated Water Plan, wild-life connectivity on the I-90 Wildlife Bridges, and several additional habitat restoration projects.

William’s research in the past has involved many species, including Spotted Owls and Bull Trout in the Yakima Basin, Northern Fur Seals in Alaska, and Southern Fur Seals, penguins and seabirds in Antarctica. He earned a B.S. from UW and an M.S. from CWU.

December’s meeting is the annual Christmas Bird Count on December 17th. More details will appear in the December Hooter.

The Hooter Kittitas Audubon November 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.

Flannel-mouthed Sucker

Navigating Rapids

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 - Board members Education – Judy Hallisey 674-6858 Field Trips – Steve Moore 933-1179 Historian – Gloria Lindstrom 925-1807 Programs – Jeb Baldi 933-1558 Publicity – Meghan Anderson 253-987-7629 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 *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!

Board Notes by Gloria Baldi

The October 6th KAS Board meeting began with a presen-tation by one of our scholarship recipients, Brandon Rossi. His project involves the effect of the Common Raven on the Greater Sage Grouse at the Yakima Training Center. Ravens have increased 1500% in Washington, due to hu-man influences, such as landfills. Ravens have also ac-counted for Sage Grouse nesting losses, and Brandon is trying to determine if this is a limiting factor on Sage Grouse populations. We will hear more as his research continues. (photos on Page 4)

Steve Moore showed the impressive poster/chart he devised from years of First Saturday BirdWalks bird recordings at Irene Rinehart Park. It designates spe-cies, time of year a species is expected to occur, as well as the occurrence of common and rarer species.

The membership committee continues to fine-tune management of our membership.

Six members are attending the Audubon Conference of WA in Wenatchee to share and receive ideas from oth-er WA Audubon chapters. (See Page 6)

Judy Hallisey has submitted KAS’s Annual Report.

Hal Lindstrom voiced concern over an editorial in the Seattle Times regarding the threat to public lands by individuals desiring to turn the lands over to private interests.

Meghan Anderson, Publicity Chair, was complimented for the notices she has placed regarding KAS activities.

Scholarship monies will soon be deposited at CWU.

Barry Brunson distributed flyers on the forum held Oct. 6th in support of I-732. Jen Syrowitz from Audubon WA was one of the four panelists.

Jim will distribute the KAS Native Plant brochure at the Megafire presentation on October 18th at the CWU Sci-ence Building.

KAS is considering joining the movement to screen-cover vents of vault toilets in public facilities/forests and parks. Birds often fly into them for roosting, and are unable to escape.

Jan Demorest reported on the progress of the injured Bald Eagle that was transported to Blue Mountain Wild-life Rehab. (See Page 4 for details). Transporting birds is an opportunity for others as well ~ call Norm Peck or Tom Gauron if interested.

Join the Board meeting on November 3rd and learn all about us.

Send in your stories & photos!

The Hooter is the

newsletter of Kit-

titas Audubon,

published monthly

except for July.

~~~~~~~

Submissions from 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 bob-

cat@kvalley.com or snail mail to Jan

Demorest, Hooter Editor, 712 E 2nd

Ave, Ellensburg, WA 98926. Submis-

sions need to be in by the 20th of

the preceding month.

Field Trip Reports & more... Page 3 The Hooter

October 1st, 2016 ~ First Saturday BirdWalk ~ A bright-overcast morning of 53 degrees brought out 7 intrepid birders, including two new people. There was a slight breeze that increased only a little as the temperature rose a few de-grees and the clouds thinned to reveal some nice patches of blue sky and actual sunshine! It was a most enjoyable walk with much teaching and learning and exclamations of recognition. Lots of dog-walkers shared the road and trails, along with a parade of colorful cyclists riding in the Manastash Metric (Yellow-breasted Cycleroller?).

We saw a total of 18 species - the “Usual Sus-pects” - including Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpeckers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Song Sparrows. We scratched our heads over this juvenile starling, but with the help of Sibley, finally agreed on his identification. And got a good look at a handsome Red-tailed Hawk, who seemed to be getting a good look at us!

If you want to get acquainted with the common birds in your town, join us on this monthly bird-walk, always the first Saturday, 8 AM, at Rine-hart Park! Hope to see you on November 5th!

~ Jan Demorest

Reports on injured birds: 3 Oct 2016: I received a call from Gloria Lindstrom passing on a report of a disabled hawk in Kittitas. Darrell Piercey had called her. I called him at about 1520 hrs. and he said the hawk was still below the window, but had folded its wings. I asked him to call me if it recovered and flew away; contacted Dr. Fuller’s office and arranged to pick up a carrier... I drove to Kittitas and contacted Darrell at about 1640 hrs. He showed me the hawk, which appeared to be a male or small fe-male Cooper’s Hawk. The hawk was attentive, and according to Darrell had moved from its ini-tial position. When I moved around some orna-mental shrubbery and opened the carrier door, the hawk took about 4-5 hops and flew away strongly. It landed in a tree about 300 meters from the house, and I assumed it was no longer in need of rescue. I returned the carrier to Dr. Fuller’s office and reported the outcome to the receptionist. ~ Norm Peck Oct 18th ~ Yesterday we were notified by a walker who regularly goes by our house and knows we are birders, that a Red-tail was on Riverbottom Road with an injured wing. So with his help, we captured it and took it to Dr. Mike Fuller. Pretty feisty, so hope it heals okay.

~ Jeb & Gloria Baldi

Juvenile European Starling

Downy Woodpecker

Red-tailed Hawk

First Saturday BirdWalk Photos

Photos by Kristine Kaylor

10-31-16: Dr. Fuller reported that this hawk’s shoulder was dislocated and was not a good candidate for surgery, so he chose to euthanize this bird.

Brandon Rossi’s project involves the effect of the Common Raven on the Greater Sage Grouse at the Yakima Training Center. Ravens have increased 1500% in Washington, due to human influences, such as landfills. Ravens have also accounted for Sage Grouse nesting losses, and Brandon is trying to deter-mine if this is a limiting factor on Sage Grouse popu-lations.

Brandon will provide updates and present his results in a program for KAS next year.

Page 4 Hooter Scholarship Recipient News

Brandon Rossi, KAS scholarship recipient,

with Greater Sage Grouse

Big Guy! Common Raven

going for a ride...

Blue Mountain Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

Oct 4th report on Bald Eagle transported in late September:

Yes, I think he is doing very well. The photo was taken a few minutes after he was moved outside. I would like to release him in mid-November with a juvenile Bald Eagle we ad-mitted in July. She was a starving fledgling and was moved from a small mew to the same flight pen as the adult just before he was put in the flight pen. I'd like to release them at McNary Wildlife Refuge near Burbank. By mid-November there will be quite a few Eagles there. I'm hoping the female will hang out with the group of Eagles so we can pro-vide supplemental food while she learns how to be an eagle. Who knows if my strategy will work, but we can't have a falconer fly a bald eagle because of USFWS rules. I'm also hop-ing their willingness to scavenge will give the juvenile time to figure things out while we supplement food. That's the current plan any-way. I'll let you know once we pick the date.

Mature recovering Bald Eagle (center, fly-ing), released in flight pen with juvenile

female Bald Eagle (perched right).

Report and photo by Lynn Tompkins, Blue Mountain Wildlife Rehab

Visit http://www.bluemountainwildlife.org/ to learn more and give a donation!

See Page 5 for guidelines if you find an injured bird.

Thanksgiving Bird Count Page 5 The Hooter

Help! I Found An Animal That Needs

Care!

Put a towel in a box or crate with air holes. Pet carrier (of ample size) or sturdy cardboard box.

Using another towel, carefully put the animal in the box & secure the lid.

Keep the animal in a dark, quiet place.

Never feed the animal!

Call Tom Gauron 509-968-3175 or Norm Peck 509-933-4233 or Dr. Mike Fuller at Ellensburg Animal Hospital 509-925-2833

On Thanksgiving Day this year the last Western Thanksgiving Bird Count will take place. Dr. John Hewson from Humboldt State Universi-ty is 93 years of age, has undertaken this count for 25 years, and is ‘backing off’ from his last large birding project. Maybe we can make it a memorable one for him by turning in several counts?

On Thanksgiving, pick ONE HOUR and establish a 15-foot-diameter circle, imagining it like a cylinder to include birds that fly through. In-clude a bird bath, or feeders, or cover plants, to which the birds are attracted. Now, sit in a comfortable chair with a cup of coffee in

hand and count all the birds, but be sure not to count any bird twice. If flocks come, count the flocks and use the highest number. Your final count should show how many indi-viduals of each species entered the count area during the hour.

Send your count results to: Dr. John G Hewson, Natural Resources Building, Humboldt State University, Arcata CA 95521

Include your name, address, location of the count (if not at home), date, time begun and ended, weather conditions, habitat type, feeder type, bath type, with the num-ber feeders or baths. Or you can come to the November KAS meeting and pick up a form.

Dr. Hewson will mail you the total count of the day’s tallies. In the past, KAS has been mentioned as one of the top five cities for number of participants. Maybe we can do this again, on this very last count!

Page 6 Hooter This & That…

Nature of Night! Saturday November 19th,

2016, at 10:00 AM ~ CWU Black Hall

It’s FREE!!!

Sponsored by CESME (Center for Ex-cellence in Science and Mathematics

Education)

A daytime (10 AM - 3 PM) event for grade-school children (and their parents) to learn about the sights, sounds, and critters of the night. This event is hosted by CWU's CESME (Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Educa-tion). Activities allow Cub Scouts, Webelo Scouts, Brownie Girl Scouts, and Junior Girl Scouts to earn their astronomy-related badges.

ACOW 2016 Members from Kittitas Audubon were able to attend this annual meet-ing, hosted by the Wenatchee chapter, that includes representatives from all or most of the Audubon chapters in Washington State! Attend-ing from KAS were Tom Gauron & Diane Bullock, Judy Hallisey, Barry Brunson, Jan Demorest & Steve Moore.

Peter Goldmark, Washington Land Commissioner, opened the ses-sion with a discussion of changing climate, changing forest fire re-gimes, and suggestions for dealing with these changes (e.g. fire-wising forest- residence interfaces).

A panel discussion on fire ecology followed, with viewpoints ex-pressed by reps of the WA departments of Fish and Wildlife and Nat-ural Resources and the BLM.

Seattle Audubon reviewed issues in land management to help con-serve the threatened Marbled Murrelet.

Three members from Audubon Washington staff discussed current programs directed toward coastal estuaries, sagebrush ecosystems, and carbon pricing.

David Ringer, new Chief Network Officer for National Audubon, spoke of innovative ways to network with the members and the public.

Finally, chapter members in small groups brainstormed on several topics including membership, programs, education, and social net-works.

Friday evening, Paul Bannock, Conservation Northwest photographer, gave a presentation on his new book, ”Owl”. Sunday morning, there was a wonderful field trip to the Hawkwatch Migration Survey site on Chelan Ridge.

Saturday morning at 7:30 AM dedicated volunteers of the Sagebrush Songbird Survey met with Christi Norman for a review of 2017 schedule and new ideas.

Page 7 Hooter

Membership & other news! GET “THE HOOT-

ER” ONLINE

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postage. If you would

prefer to receive the

electronic version,

send your name, mailing address, &

email address to

kittitasaudubon@hotmail.com

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

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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

Welcome New Members!

Ian Plagmann

Thanks for renewing! Janet Nelson

Bonnie Bricker Smith

Upcoming KAS Field Trips

November

5th ~ Saturday ~ First Saturday Birdwalk, Rinehart Park. Teenaged birds are finding out that it’s not summer all year long. Expect to see a few fluffed-up birds, and bring your own fleece and fuzzy hats. Meet at the Irene Rinehart river-side parking lot off of Umptanum Rd at 8 AM. Jan and Steve lead; 933-1179 for info.

December

3rd ~ Saturday ~ First Saturday Birdwalk, Rinehart Park. Waterfowl are pushing the ice aside on the ponds. Someone may bring a scope along for close-up looks. Sparrows & snipes are trying to keep warm. Dress for the weather and meet at the Irene Rinehart river-side parking lot off of Umptanum Rd at 8

AM. Jan & Steve lead; 933-1179 for info.

Kittitas Audubon

P.O. Box 1443

Ellensburg WA 98926

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

THANK YOU…..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!

The mission of Kittitas Audubon is to develop an appreciation of nature through education and

conservation, with a focus on birds.

Happy Thanksgiving!