The Valley Habitat

May/June2019

The Invention of Nature:

Alexander Von Hum-

boldt’s New World

by Andrea Wulf

Who has more

things named after him

than anyone who has ev-

er lived, including a cur-

rent, a penguin, and a

county in California? If

you cannot come up with

the name, don’t feel

alone. He is Alexander

von Humboldt (1769-

1859), the scientist and

explorer who is the sub-

ject of Andrea Wulf’s bi-

ography. The book was

named one of 2015’s

(continued on page 6)

A joint publication of the Stanislaus Audubon Society and the Yokuts Group of the

Sierra Club

Flight Plans 2

Recent Sightings 3

Field Trips 4

More books! 5

Inside this issue:

Sierra Club Monthly Program May 17, 2019

College Avenue United Church of Christ, 1341 College Ave. Modesto 95350

Programs begin at 7:00 PM

City of Modesto Recycling Program

Vicki Rice, Coordinator

Vicki Rice is the Recycling Program Coordinator for the City of

Modesto. Her main emphasis is to recommend and implement a

variety of recycling programs for the City. She is responsible for ad-

ministering recycling awareness and creating partnerships that

promote sustainability as we continue to protect our natural re-

sources, become good stewards of the environment and adopt

the reduce-reuse-recycle way of thinking in all aspects of our lives.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree from San Jose State Univ.

and has worked for the City of Modesto for 25 years.

Yokuts/Audubon Annual Summer Potluck

Friday, June 14, 6:00pm—?

Location: 1009 Clarksburg Way in Modesto

Calling all environmentalists! Doug Hardie is hosting our annual

summer get-together at his home. Please come join the fun!

We are initiating a new practice this year . We are asking that you

bring your own dinner service to this event—plates, cutlery, nap-

kins and so on. We do this in the spirit of conservation and to put in

practice our shared environmental values. As always, bring a dish

to share and beverages for yourself and perhaps some extra to

share. We will again be having a plant exchange, so please bring

a happy, healthy plant to give away to a good home.

And what is a picnic without music? Bring your musical instruments

and a willingness to sing along. (Elaine and Doug are partial to

ukuleles!)

“…flight is the single most out-

standing feature of birds…” Paul

Kerlinger, How Birds Migrate

As a birder, I know that

you appreciate when the bird

you are watching is perched still

or hopping about, close enough

to be thoroughly examined. As

soon as that bird takes to the air

and flies away, though, I have

seen some birders bring down

their binoculars, and some will

drop their gazes as well. That mo-

ment is a lost opportunity. If you

have difficulty tracking the bird in

flight with your binoculars, you

can always track it with your eyes,

in that expert hunting way that

your ancestors did. Follow the bird

until it is gone, for tracking its flight

may yield one of its best field

marks, and perhaps your most

memorable moment, in the field

that day.

Birds do not all fly the

same way. The pattern of flight is

determined by the bird’s size and

weight, by the shape and length

of its flight feathers—basically, by

its overall anatomy. In addition,

there are several features of the

air that will change the course of

a bird’s flight. Certain entire fami-

lies of birds, however, use one

flight pattern consistently, while

occasionally switching to an alter-

nate pattern. Each of those flight

moves falls into distinct catego-

ries.

The first of these is pow-

ered flight, during which the birds

flap their wings constantly, except

when they land, using their wings

to parachute or glide down. As

you can imagine, this continuous

action takes a lot of energy to

sustain. Such families of birds as

sandpipers, rails, geese and ducks

use powered flight, and their tra-

jectories keep an even course

through the air.

This is not true of the sec-

ond pattern of bounding flight,

which is used by some of the

smallest birds like warblers, vireos,

thrushes, smaller woodpeckers,

and other passerines. These birds

seem to bounce a bit in midair.

They flap in short bursts, during

which they gain a little altitude,

descend slightly with wings held

against their bodies, and then

make a recovery upstroke with

their wings folded. A lucky pho-

tographer may catch such a bird

looking like a projectile hurtling

through the air.

A third flight pattern goes

by many names—wandering,

yawing, tacking—and involves the

bird listing or angling first to one

side, then to the other. This twist-

ing, dodging pattern may have

evolved from birds avoiding aerial

prey. Some of the bird species

that you may see doing this locally

are Mourning Doves, Say’s Phoe-

bes, and Wilson’s Snipes.

A fourth pattern is called

partially powered glide. This con-

sists of flapping in long bursts, fol-

lowed by holding their wings

straight out in a brief glide, then

back to flapping again. Birds of

all sizes use this method, from swal-

lows and swifts to cormorants, peli-

cans, herons and egrets. Small rap-

tors as varied as Prairie Falcons or

Red-shouldered Hawks can almost

be identified at some distance by a

keen observation of this flight path.

Sometimes the glide will last

longer than the flapping. This tech-

nique enables birds to soar at slow

speeds, often in wide circles. With

these birds, mostly raptors, there is

very little flapping, or none at all, for

long periods of time. Buteos such as

Red-tailed and Ferruginous Hawks,

as well as Golden Eagles, Bald Ea-

gles, and Turkey Vultures, perform

these pirouettes in the sky.

Although certain specific

flight patterns of birds are innately

true to their species, they will have

to vary according to atmospheric

conditions. The air is invisible, but it is

not uniform in texture. This immense

habitat consists of winds of variable

strength and directions, as well as

mist, fog and clouds. There are also

bands of high pressure when the air

cools and low pressure as it ascends.

The birds must change accordingly.

When hawks migrate, for example,

they take advantage of the updrafts

of thermals to be lifted high enough

to carry them forward, thermal after

thermal. Their flight pattern at these

times becomes one of just soaring.

During strong crosswinds or in a

storm, birds that normally would be

seen in straight flight will have to

make sudden adjustments to main-

tain control. In calm conditions,

birds will revert to their customary

ways of flight.

I have emphasized before, and

here again, that the flight of a bird

can be a fairly reliable field mark.

But you probably don’t engage in

this fine art for the sole purpose of

putting names onto birds. If you are

like me in this, you can get abun-

dant joy in just reading birds as they

write their vivid signatures across the

sky.

FLIGHT PLANS by Salvatore Salerno

PAGE 2 THE VALLEY HABITAT

ACORN WOODPECKER

© Rich Brown

members of the California

Young Birders Club had a

GREATER SCAUP at the Mod-

esto Wastewater Treatment

Facility on March 9.

Emilie Strauss had two CAS-

SIN’S KINGBIRDS at Orestima

Creek on March 14. Subse-

quent birders had six of them

at that location, which is a

likely breeding spot for that

species.

John Harris found two LAW-

RENCE’S GOLDFINCHES with

Sal Salerno at the Beckwith

Road observation platform

on February 16. Subsequent

birders had as many as nine

of the goldfinches, whose

movements on the valley

floor are little known.

Stanislaus Audubon Society Recent Sightings of Rare or Uncommon Birds

PAGE 3 THE VALLEY HABITAT

STANISLAUS COUNTY

(*committee review)

Harold and Sharon Reeve

saw three SHORT-EARED

OWLS near Woodward Reser-

voir on February 10. Ralph

Baker had a male RED-

BREASTED MERGANSER at

Woodward Reservoir on Feb-

ruary 16.

Based on a tip from David

Yee about a rare gull in near-

by San Joaquin County, Jim

Gain went to Gaffery Road

and saw a SLATY-BACKED

GULL* there on February 18.

He also had twelve WESTERN

GULLS and one GLAUCOUS

GULL. If accepted, the Slaty-

backed Gull would be a first

county record.

Dave Weber found a male

EURASIAN WIGEON at Daw-

son Lake on February 26. Jo-

nah Bennenfield and other

Red-breasted Merganser

© Dale Swanberg

Slaty-backed Gull

© Jim Gain

Cassin's Kingbird

© Oscar Moss

Daniel Gilman had a WHITE-

THROATED SPARROW at Dry

Creek Regional Park on Feb-

ruary 18.

Sal Salerno and Daniel Gil-

man had three HOODED

ORIOLES and two CHIPPING

SPARROWS at Del Puerto

Canyon on March 26. Ralph

Baker saw a mass migration

of at least 128 WHIMBRELS

among the Long-billed Cur-

lews on Bentley Road on

March 31. Xavier Sandoval

had a NASHVILLE WARBLER

at East La Loma Park on

April 4.

MERCED COUNTY

Gary Woods saw a CALI-

FORNIA THRASHER on Febru-

ary 3 at the San Luis N.W.R.

Dale Swanberg had two

BAND-TAILED PIGEONS at

Henderson Park on February

15. Rob Fowler saw a male

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER

at San Luis Reservoir S.R.A.

on February 21. Dale Swan-

berg and other birders saw

125 YELLOW-HEADED BLACK-

BIRDS on Hearst Road on

February 23, as well as a pair

of BLUE-WINGED TEAL at San

Luis N.W.R. Also on that day,

Chris and Teri Wills had a

SWAMP SPARROW at

Merced N.W.R. Ed Ver-

meulen had an EASTERN

PHOEBE on February 10 at

Los Baños Wildlife Area.

Lawrence's Goldfinch

© Ralph Baker

PAGE 4 THE VALLEY HABITAT

Audubon Field Trips

Saturday, May 18. - Calaveras Big

Trees State Park

Day use fee required. This visit to

the old redwood groves provides

an opportunity to see warblers,

flycatchers, vireos, and flycatch-

ers. More uncommon species

such as Pileated Woodpecker,

Northern Pygmy-Owl, or Northern

Goshawk may be seen. The trip

leader is Sal Salerno (209-985-

1232). Meet at 6:30 a.m., Star-

bucks at 2213 Claribel Road,

Riverbank. Carpooling is encour-

aged. Bring lunch and insect re-

pellent. R.S.V.P. is not mandatory,

but recommended, by Saturday,

May 11. We will return to Riverbank

late in the afternoon.

Saturday, May 25—Del Puerto

Canyon

This canyon is Stanislaus County’s

most diverse natural environment.

Its habitats range from grasslands

along the western valley floor to

chaparral, blue oak woodland, and

pines. Over 150 species of birds have

been observed in Del Puerto Can-

yon. Birders from the Bay Area fre-

quently come here looking for Yel-

low-breasted Chat, Costa’s Hum-

mingbird, Greater Roadrunner, and

Grasshopper Sparrow. The birds,

along with interesting geology, other

wildlife and wildflowers make this a

must-see birding spot. The birding in

Del Puerto Canyon is good at any

time of year but can be fantastic in

migration, which is when we’ll be

there. Trip leader Ralph Baker

(SASFieldTrips@yahoo.com). Bring

lunch (we will picnic at Frank Raines

Park), water, sunscreen and insect

repellent. Meet at the Stanislaus

County Library parking lot (1500 I

Street, Modesto) at 6:30 a.m. or at

Starbucks (2952 Speno Dr., Patter-

son) at 7:10. We will return to Modes-

to mid-afternoon.

Saturday, June 8 – Dry Creek

Meet at in front of 728 North

McClure Road at 7:00. We will bird on

volunteer trails along the creek to

Claus Road and back along the

paved bike path. Trip leader TBD. This

walk will be fairly short and should

finish before lunch. Email Ralph Baker

@ SASFieldTrips@yahoo.com if you

have any questions.

Sunday, May 19 & Saturday, June 15 -

San Joaquin River National Wildlife

Refuge.

This refuge near Modesto offers di-

verse habitats, including mixed spe-

cies transitional areas, riparian forest,

oak woodlands, grassland and sea-

sonal wetlands. On these field trips

we are allowed to go into areas of

the refuge that are normally closed

to the public. Birding is typically done

either on foot or by car, we may walk

anywhere from 2-6 miles on mostly

level dirt roads and trails. Meet at the

Stanislaus County Library parking lot

(1500 I Street, Modesto) at 7:00 a.m.

We will return to Modesto early-to-

mid-afternoon. Trip leader: Ralph

Baker (SASFieldTrips@yahoo.com).

Community Nature Walk

Saturday May 18—-9 :00am to 11:00am

Join Audubon and Sierra Club members on a 1-mile walk at the lovely and unique Hughson Arboretum

and Garden in Hughson. We will stroll through the grounds with a trail guide and learn about the hun-

dreds of plants that are grown there. Audubon members will share their knowledge local birds and avi-

an life. Sierra Club members will discuss natural history. This walk will be geared to families and begin-

ners.

Started in 1994 by Hughson resident Margaret Sturtevant and her family, the arboretum is a secret gem

of Stanislaus County. There are oaks, pines, coastal habitat, desert habitat, historic trees, and more.

Bring sun hat/sunscreen, walking shoes, binoculars (recommended), jacket, water, and a snack. All

members of the community are invited to participate.

The arboretum is located at 2490 Euclid Avenue, Hughson, 95326, just east of Hughson High School on

Whitmore Ave. in Hughson. Parking is available on the grounds off Euclid Ave.

Rain cancels. For more information contact Elaine, 209-300-4253 or Ralph,

sharks_hockey_maniac@yahoo.com.

PAGE 5 THE VALLEY HABITAT

Edible Wild Foods

Find them in your backyard!

Saving our environment may seem like a

big picture effort, but knowing about the re-

sources in the very places we live can be a pow-

erful pathway to making strides to contribute

more fully to the larger effort. These two books

are recommended to change the way you view

the plants you usually call weeds!

The Bay Area Forager

by Mia Andler and Kevin Feinstein

The Wild Wisdom of Weeds,

by Katrina Blair.

Please join Yokuts members and the neigh-

borhood group for the monthly clean-up

along the Helen White Memorial Trail

Wednesday, May 15

Wednesday, June 19

The group starts the cleanup at 8:00 AM.

Meet us at the King Kennedy Center, 601

Martin Luther King Dr., Modesto. We finish

by 9:00 AM. For more information about

this activity, contact Elaine Gorman at 209-

300-4253. You can also sign up on S-M-S

Sierra Club Meetup. Rain will cancel this

activity.

Bring gloves and a trash bag!

Buckets and trash grabbers are helpful too.

Helen White Memorial Trail

Clean Up

Recycle at the Yokuts

Monthly program!

Yokuts member Ray Nichols will accept

these materials for recycling at our

monthly programs:

Magazines and books

Household batteries

Button batteries

Burned out light bulbs, CFLs

Eye-glasses

Old cell phones

Please tape over the contacts on 9 volt bat-

teries.

THE VALLEY HABITAT PAGE 6

Stanislaus Audubon Society Board of Directors, 2018-2019

President: Salvatore Salerno bees2@sbcglobal.net

Vice President, Website: Jim Gain

Treasurer: David Froba froba@comcast.net

Secretary: John Harris johnh@mills.edu

Conservation: Jody Hallstrom ponydr@pacbell.net

Field Trips: Ralph Baker sharks_hockey_maniac@yahoo.com

Christmas Bird Counts: Harold Reeve birder@sbcglobal.net

Online Newsletter: Jodi Smith; Events: Chris Magaña, Ralph Baker, Kathy Rasmussen;

Education: Daniel Gilman, Jim Gain, Harold Reeve, John Harris, Xavier Sandoval.

Visit our website: www.stanislausbirds.org

Join our Meetup Group and/or Like us on Facebook.

New or renewing members $20 From National Audubon Society: www.audubon.org/renew

Chapter Code C 36. Membership expiration date is printed on newsletter labels.

(Invention of Nature, continued from page 1)

top ten books of the year by the New York Times

Book Review.

Though now almost forgotten, Humboldt

has had a profound effect on how we under-

stand nature today. Wulf’s book is partly an ad-

venture tale, detailing Humboldt’s explorations

of the volcanos and river systems in South Ameri-

ca to anthrax-infected Siberia. From his studies,

Humboldt formulates the view that nature is an

interconnected organism. He discusses similari-

ties between climate zones across the world and

predicts human-induced climate change.

Wulf’s book is an impressively researched

account of Humboldt’s exploits, writings, and his

influence on naturalists such as Darwin, Muir, and

Thoreau. The Invention of Nature reveals how

Humboldt’s prescient ideas form the basis of

modern environmentalism, and remind us how

vital and relevant they are today. This book is

available at the public library.

See more of Andrea Wulf’s

books about nature on her web-

site:

https://www.andreawulf.com/

Book Review by Kent Mitchell

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING OF STANI-

SLAUS AUDUBON SOCIETY

The members of Stanislaus Audubon Soci-

ety are invited to the board meeting on Tuesday,

May 28 at 7:00 p.m. at 1824 Fallon Lane, Modes-

to. The chief purpose of this meeting will be to

vote on the following positions for the Board of

Directors for the 2019-20 term: president, vice-

president, treasurer, and secretary.

EARLY BIRDERS CLASS, SUMMER 2019

Salvatore Salerno is offering another Early

Birders class through M.J.C. This course is de-

signed for the beginning or intermediate bird

watcher in the identification and enjoyment of

birds. The classroom session is on Thursday, May

30. The first field trip is on Saturday, June 1 to La

Grange. The second field trip is on Saturday,

June 8 to Knight’s Ferry. Early Birders is listed in the

mailed catalog or online at www.mjc4life.org.

Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club

Management Committee

Chair: Rick Delvin: rick.delvin@gmail.com

Vice Chair: Elaine Gorman

Political Chair: Kent Mitchell

Secretary: Sandra Wilson

Treasurer: Steve Tomlinson

Hospitality: Candy Klaschus

Program Chair: Elaine Gorman

Membership: Anita Young

Mailing: Kathy Weise

Publicity: Dorothy Griggs

Conservation Chair and

Population Chair: Milt Trieweiler

Calendar Sales: Doug Hardie

Outings Chair: Randall Brown

Outings Leaders:

Sandra Wilson

Randall Brown

Elaine Gorman; , vevado@yahoo.com

Newsletter: Maryann Hight

To send stories to the Habitat, email

mhight@csustan.edu

Website:

http://www.sierraclub.org/mother-lode/yokuts

For hikes and other outings

http://www.meetup.com/S-M-S-

SierraClub

PAGE 7 THE VALLEY HABITAT

“When people downsize to tiny houses, they

adopt a more environmentally friendly life-

style.” ~Maria Saxton

Read the article here:

Yokuts Group Non-Profit Organization

Mother Lode Chapter U.S. Postage PAID

Sierra Club Permit Number 139

P.O. Box 855 Modesto, CA

Modesto, CA 95353

CURRENT RESIDENT OR