Kodiak Audubon Spring 2011 Newsletter

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Kodiak Audubon Society April 2011

VOLUNTEER BIRD WALK LEADERS

NEEDED FOR WOODY ISLAND

OUTDOOR SCHOOLBy Rich MacIntosh

Twenty four years ago, Main Elementary School began taking its fifthgraders to Camp Woody on Woody Island for a three day spring OutdoorSchool. For many years now, East Elementary and Peterson Elementary

have participated as well. One of the standard activities at Woody hasbeen a bird hike that caps a spring bird study curriculum. Again this year,volunteer bird guides are needed to lead 5th graders on the bird hikes.

What: Accompany small groups of kids and at least one adult from thecamp on one to two hour bird hikes around the meadows, beaches, andforests of Woody Island.

Special skills necessary: While you do not need to be a birding expert,some knowledge of the birds of the area is helpful. The students will keepa bird list for their excursions, and will need assistance in identifying

most species. The volunteers also need to be able to get in and out of asmall boat easily. The Audubon Birds of Woody Island photo-basedlaminated bird guide will be available in the field to assist both guidesand kids in bird ids. There is also a Birds of Woody Island PowerPointpresentation that I will show to the volunteers before the trips if there isenough interest. It could probably be shown one evening at the KodiakNational Wildlife Refuge visitor center.

The time periods for the trips are approximate at this point. Travel backand forth to Woody can be in an open skiff, or in a larger boat. Theactivity occurs pretty much rain or shine. If you are interested, call (486-

3087) or email ([email protected]) me and I will sign you up orprovide you with additional information. Extra assistant guides are also

encouraged to participate.

5 MAY - THURSDAYWOODY ISLAND BIRD GUIDES WITH EAST ELEMENTARYSCHOOL

TeacherMatt Freeman Hours: approximately 7:00 am to 3 pm.Number of Guides needed4 (minimum)

April2011

Upcoming

Events:

-Whale Fest(pg. 3-6)

-Volunteer

Opportunities(pg. 10)

- HikingSchedule(pg. 11)
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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A presentation by marine naturalist Doug Thompson will explore why whales, living wild and free in theocean, seek encounters with humans in a remote, hidden lagoon in Baja. Thompson will share his thirtyyears of experience studying gray whales and explore the mystery of this extraordinary interspecies

connection. He will also share his latest experiences with curious Blue whales, which are now approachingvessels off Southern California.

And he will share, too, his love for the whales. It is an inspiring story, and illustrates how conservation ofwildlife, the economic well-being of the local people, and the often life-changing experience of those whobecome involved are, together, weaving a message of hope for the future of the whalesand for us all.

Dougs book, WHALES Touching the Mystery is on sale at the Alaska Geographic store in theKodiak Refuge Visitor Center


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Calendar of Events Whale Fest2011


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On-Going Events


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KODIAK AUDUBON CONSERVATION

COMMITTEE REPORTBy Stacy Studebaker

Over the last year, we have continued to focus our conservation efforts on the FAAs Kodiak AirportEnvironmental Impact Statement for the proposed Runway Safety Areas (RSA). The Federal AviationAdministration is preparing this EIS to evaluate actions proposed by the Airport Operator, the Alaska StateDepartment of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF), to improve the Runway Safety Area

(RSA).

For those of you that may be unfamiliar with this issue, the RSA is a clear and graded area surrounding arunway. This area is there to minimize the severity of injury and aircraft damage in the event that anaircraft needs extra room to land. The project in Kodiak is part of a nationwide effort by the FAA toimprove what they believe are deficient RSAs at older airports such as ours, even if no accidents involvingRSAs have occurred at those airports.

Kodiak Audubon members have attended meetings, participated actively in discussions, and submitteddetailed comments since the first public scoping meetings began in 2008. Basically, we are opposed to theFAAs original proposal to extend the north-south runway with 1000 feet of fill toward the mouth of the

Buskin River. We believe that would impose drastic negative impacts to the Buskin River State RecreationArea, including the wetland bird habitat, the salmon, bears, and rare plants found there. Working withmany agencies and tribal groups that also strongly oppose that alternative, we have offered sound science,constructive criticism and alternative ideas. We are trying to do everything we can to prevent suchdevastating impacts to Kodiaks most popular road system recreation and sports fishing area, not to

mention the great birding!

At the last meeting in February, the latest version of the EIS was unveiled by the FAA planning team andit was clear that they had listened to our community and gone back to the drawing board to come up withsome new alternatives. They have scaled back on the north-south runway extension and are now proposinga couple of new alternatives. All of these offer a new technology called engineered materials arresting

system (EMAS) which is a bed of lightweight, crushable concrete built at the end of a runway. Thepurpose of an EMAS is to stop an aircraft overrun with no human injury and minimal aircraft damage. Theaircraft is slowed by the loss of energy required to crush the concrete blocks. An EMAS is similar inconcept to the runaway truck ramp made ofgravel or sand. It is intended to stop aircraft that have overshota runway when there is an insufficient free space for a standard runway safety area (RSA).

One alternative would extend the north end toward the Buskin 450' with EMAS, and extend the south endtoward the USCG Base 240' with no EMAS.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concretehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runaway_truck_ramphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runway_safety_areahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runway_safety_areahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runaway_truck_ramphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete


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Another alternative would extend the north end toward the Buskin 240' w/ EMAS, and extend toward thesouth 600' with no EMAS.

As for the east-west runway, the one we most often land on, they are now proposing to extend it 600' tothe east into the ocean with 400' of EMAS.

We havent heard when the final EIS will be released but we will stay vigilant. If you have any comments

or questions, contact Leslie A. Grey, Environmental Protection Specialist

FAA - Alaskan Region, Airports Division

907-271-5453

For more information:http://buskinstewards.blogspot.com

Consider registering for
http://buskinstewards.blogspot.com/http://buskinstewards.blogspot.com/http://buskinstewards.blogspot.com/http://buskinstewards.blogspot.com/


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KODIAK: Monitoring LandbirdsBy Robin Corcoran

In the summer of 2010, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge staff and volunteers established aMonitoring Avian Productivity & Survivorship (MAPS) Program near Refuge Headquarters on the BuskinRiver State Recreation Area. MAPS is a nation-wide program established in 1989 to monitor landbirdsurvivorship and productivity through mist netting and banding. There are currently about 500 MAPSstations throughout the US. The Refuge initiated the program to complement the two road-side Breeding

Bird Surveys conducted annually on Kodiak and to connect the public with conservation issues throughbird banding.

In accordance with MAPS protocols, we used mist nets to capture and band birds for six morningsbetween June and August, approximately once every 10 days. To capture the birds we established 10permanent mist net stations over an area of about 20 acres. The mist nets are 12 meters long and 2.6meters tall and made of very fine, soft nylon mesh, making them nearly invisible. Each morning that webanded the nets were opened at sunrise and were left open for exactly six hours. Unsuspecting songbirdsflew into the nets and were entangled as they went about their daily business of finding food anddefending their territories. Adhering to MAPS protocols allows us to calculate seasonal capture rateswhich will give us a measure of survivorship. We can also use the ratio of young birds to adult birdscaptured as an index to productivity for the most abundant breeding species. The MAPS program requires

that each station be run for at least five years.This past season on Kodiak, our six mornings were very productive. We banded 259 birds

representing 16 species. Some birds were captured more than once during the season which brought thetotal number of birds handled to 351. The most common species captured were Wilsons Warblers, HermitThrushes, and Fox Sparrows. We are still early in the data summary process, but interesting patterns arebeginning to emerge when comparing our data with MAPS data collected between 1992 and 2001throughout the state of Alaska. Statewide data typically shows two adult hermit thrushes caught for everyyoung bird captured. This year on Kodiak we saw the exact opposite trend with almost twice as manyyoung Hermit Thrushes captured than adults, suggesting very high productivity for this species. Incomparison, the ratio of Fox Sparrow young to adults was very similar to the mean estimates reportedfrom the earlier data, while the ratio for Wilsons Warbler was much lower than in the 1990s. These

contrasts could reflect regional differences in productivity, or possibly changes over time for species thathave not exhibited significant differences in productivity between regions in the past.

Our cooperators from the community included Cindy Trussell, biology professor at KodiakCollege, and Rich MacIntosh, a retired biologist with NOAA Fisheries, who was instrumental inestablishing the Breeding Bird Survey Routes on Kodiak. Most mornings we had three to five volunteershelping us with the banding process including the Kodiak Refuge Youth Conservation Corps participants.We look forward to next season when many of our landbird species return to Kodiak from their southernwintering grounds. We hope to recapture several of the birds that we banded this summer since theycommonly return to the exact same territory year after year to nest.


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Additional hike leaders and locations welcome. Please contact Margie Draskovich to get your name onthe official list for summer 2011. We'd love to see someone lead Barometer, Pyramid, or Sharatin formountains. It would also be a fun trip if someone led Narrow Cape/Fossil Beach in July when thewildflowers are just amazing. Please note that KodiakAudubon does not lead hikes on Lesnoi land. Thisexcludes a few hikes such as Termination Point and Chiniak Lake.


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Coming in 2011May 21, 2011 International Migratory Bird Day: Go Wild, Go Birding beginning at 10:00a.m. at the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center

October 21, 2011 Director of Audubon Alaska, Nils Warnock, will present. Details tofollow.

Other Upcoming Events of Interest:May 5-8, 2011 Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival with Carl Safina as the keynote speaker

May 5-8, 2011 Cordova Shorebird Festival withJune 2-5, 2011 Yakutat Tern FestivalJune 11, 2011 Potter Marsh Discovery DayAugust 26-28, 2011 14th Annual Tanana Valley Sandhill Crane Festival

On the WebKodiak Audubon Society - kodiakaudubon.blogspot.comAlaska Audubon Societyak.audubon.org

Bird Checklist for Kodiakhttp://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/chekbird/r7/kodiak.htm

Going Birding?

Check this guide before heading out!
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/chekbird/r7/kodiak.htmhttp://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/chekbird/r7/kodiak.htmhttp://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/chekbird/r7/kodiak.htm


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National Audubon Society/Kodiak Chapter

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Yes, I want to join National Audubon Society and Kodiak Audubon. For first-time members joining theNational Audubon Society, introductory 1-year dues are $20. Basic renewals are $35. Senior/Student rate is$15.

NAME: _____________________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS: __________________________________________________________________________

CITY, STATE, ZIP: ___________________________________________________________________

PHONE: ____________________________________________________________________________

My Check for $____________________________ made out to the National Audubon Society is enclosed.

MAIL TO: Membership Chair, Kodiak Audubon Society, Box 1756, Kodiak, AK 99615

Please indicate how you want THE PUFFIN: Regular Mail ______ Email ________ Both ____________

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Documents

Kodiak Audubon Spring 2011 Newsletter