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Kittitas Audubon Society
The Hooter March 2009
Paul Bannick, a 4th-generation NW native, will talk about his
book The Owl and The Woodpecker: En-counters With North America's
Most Iconic Birds, and about North American habitats, with a focus
on Kittitas county and the Pacific NW. Paul is a director with
Conservation Northwest and teaches natural history, photography,
and outdoor sports for several NW organizations.
―The Owl and the Woodpecker is a monu-mental work of
photojournalism by one of North America's top wildlife
photogra-phers. The images you'll encounter in this book are the
result of an encyclopedic knowl-edge of birds and their habitats,
an intense love of nature, and endless patience.‖
- excerpt from Audubon Magazine review
All Audubon meetings, held on the 3rd Thursday of each month,
September through May (except De-cember), are open to the public,
so feel free to come and meet with us. A brief business session
pre-cedes the program. Stay afterwards for juice, treats and
conversation.
MARCH PROGRAM : “The Owl & the Woodpecker:
Encounters With North America's Most Iconic Birds” Presented by
Paul Bannick
THURSDAY, March 19 @ 7:00 PM ~ ELLENSBURG HIGH SCHOOL ~ ROOM
232
Gila Woodpecker
We are updating our county bird list and want it to reflect
changes in frequency: more or fewer, arrival and/or departure
times, duration of stay, etc.
Should a few of us ardent bird-ers get together and look at each
species? Especially since we are starting to get more in-formation
from twice monthly
trips. There are some we don't see any more at all.
We are starting out, with the “Birding by Map” Field trips, by
going to each site over a three-year period. It would be even
more helpful if each site could be surveyed quarterly.
Maybe we can find people to "adopt" a particular area,
includ-ing places that are not on our birding map, like Badger
Pocket, or the west side farm area. Or maybe someone who has kept
records for their yard for a num-ber of years.
People might choose a favorite species, or a favorite site, and
keep records by visiting and re-cording species and numbers seen at
least several times dur-ing each season.
If you are interested in being a part of this “citizen science”
pro-ject, please contact any of the board members. Let us know your
favorite county birds and what area you’d like to adopt.
If you have bird lists from areas in the county, send them to
Marianne: [email protected]
“Do chickens
count?”
(Web photo)
KAS NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Darling Bird Studios ©2007 UNA
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Page 2 The Hooter
KAS BOARD MEMBERS President – Tom Gauron 968-3175 Vice President
– Gloria Lindstrom 925-1807
Secretary – Jim Briggs 933-2231 Treasurer – Denee Scribner
933-2550
Conservation – Janet Nelson & 656-2256 Chris Caviezal
425-434-0899
Education – Beth Rogers 674-1855
Field Trip Coordinator- Jeb Baldi 933-1558 Newsletter – Jan
Demorest 933-1179
*Librarian - Ginger Jensen 925-5816 *Social/Greeter – Sue
Wheatley 968-3311
Membership – Amanda Hickman 901-1513 Historian – Marianne Gordon
964-2320
Program Coordinator – Hal Lindstrom 925-1807
Publicity – Gerry Sorenson 968-4857 Wildlife Habitat – Joe
Meuchel 933-3011
Bluebird boxes – Jan Demorest 933-1179
Past President — Gloria Baldi 933-1558
*Christmas Bird Count – Phil Mattocks 962-2191
*NON-VOTING VOLUNTEER POSITIONS
KAS Board Meetings are held at 4:30 PM on the 1st Thursday of
each month on the third floor of the CWU Science Bldg, Room 301
(above the elephant desk). These meetings are open to the public
and all Audubon members; please come and join in the discussions.
Meetings adjourn by 6:00 or 6:30, after which we all go out for a
sociable dinner ~ NO business discussion allowed!
Report from Janet Nelson, Conservation Co-Chair
The board of Kittitas Audubon has been involved in conserva-
tion issues for years. There seems to be a growth in the num-ber
of these issues which our board members have been work-ing on.
The Conservation Committee is composed of a fluctuating group
depending on the issues. People currently involved are: Janet
Nelson (wind farms and forestry), Chris Caviezel
(Washington Audubon meetings), Beth Rogers (Spotted Owl , I-90
Wildlife Bridges & Coalition), and Hal Lindstrom (a little of
everything). Anyone who has an interest in conservation issues is
welcome to come to a board meeting (first Thursday of each month at
4:30 pm in the conference room on the top floor of the Biology
building on campus) and join in. You can also call one of us using
the numbers in the Hooter.
We welcome fresh input and involvement.
Following is a summary of what we have been doing for the past
few months and what’s new on the horizon.
A scoping notice has just been released for the Kachess
Campground Vegetation and Safety Analysis. Although
the comment period for that has closed KAS did make a com-ment.
Another public document will be going out soon on the alternatives
they will be looking at. There will be a 45 day comment period.
This campground is located in the Snoqualmie Pass Adaptive
Management Area of the Wenatchee National Forest. This plan
required that the forest service manage the campground for-ests
to enhance old growth forest and connectivity. Kittitas Audubon
participated in the I-90 Wildlife Coalition, a group of
environmental organizations which helped secure funding for
purchasing private sections of forest to help improve connec-tivity
for wildlife in this special area. Kachess Campground is located in
an old growth forest which is critical to connectivity for wildlife
across the pass as well as across the lake to old growth on the
other side.
From the notice of Public Scoping: ―The proposed action would
remove over-story hazard trees on approximately 30 acres in the
Thetis, Lodge, and Mineral loops and a less intense annual tree
removal throughout the campground. Other proposed ac-tivities
include soil and vegetation rehabilitation.
The objective is to make the campground safe for public use and
to enhance soil and forest health in the campground.‖ Public
safety, related to falling trees causing property damage or harming
campers, is a major concern for the Forest Service.
The Kachess Campground is one of the largest campgrounds close
to Seattle and one of the most popular. It features 170 campsites,
2 boat launch areas, 2 picnic areas, a group camp-ground, 2
streams, and trails all within a large grove of old growth trees.
At one time Spotted Owls were found there.
(Continued on page 4)
KITTITAS AUDUBON CONSERVATON CONNECTIONS 2009
Send in your stories & photos!
The Hooter is the newsletter of the
Kittitas Audubon Society, pub-
lished monthly except for July.
The editor reserves the right to edit
for space, grammar, and/or suitabil-
ity. Email text and/or photos to
[email protected] or snail mail to
Jan Demorest, Hooter Editor, 1009
North B Street, Ellensburg, WA
98926. Submissions need to be in by
the 15th of the preceding month.
Submissions from readers are most
welcome and encouraged!
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Saturday BirdWalk, February 7
A frosty 25o greeted our group of 11 birders at Irene Rinehart
park for the February First Saturday BirdWalk – but what a relief
after January’s zero weather! By the end of our walking loop,
intermit-
tent sun was giving us great views of the Downy woodpeckers –
quite a numerous flock, flitting and flirting, and chasing up and
down the cottonwood trunks. Several Bald Eagles, immatures and
adults, stood guard
over the Yakima River, plus a Great Blue Heron on a
sur-prisingly high perch.
Scattered Common Merganser pairs patrolled the river; Mallards
huddled in the ditches; but the ponds, though partly open water,
were completely empty! A Brown Creeper foraged near a group of
chickadees; our resident Belted Kingfishers didn’t disappoint, one
streaking across the distant edge of the far pond. American Robin
(just one) and Red-winged Blackbirds have probably arrived just in
the last few days. 19 species were tallied. We were impressed with
the dramatic evidence of the January floods—lots of debris high in
the trees!
Steve Moore
The 3rd Saturday Birding by the Map field trip on February 21st,
was to location #25, the Fair-view area. The area north and east of
Ellensburg, during calving season, is a Mecca for Bald Eagles, and
the birders who wish to see them. A pair of trees provided perches
for 6 eagles of all ages. In one scope view, there were juveniles,
a 2nd year, and mature eagles. At a few locations there were
so many eagles it became a real trick to get them all counted,
particularly where some were in the air.
We each had our favorite sighting: Jeb was thrilled by the
excellent view we got of one of the Rough-legged Hawks, Tuck’s was
the first sighting he’d had of a shrike in a long time. My favorite
was the breeding pair of Red-tails. When we first spotted them the
female was at the nest eating, perhaps something the male had
brought to her. When she was finished, she flew 4-5 trees down to
where the male was perched and settled in next to him.
Mammal of the day was the mother coyote trotting across a field
with her pup .
The field trip turned out to be a 7-raptor day. In addition to
the 72 eagles, there were 3 Rough-
legged Hawks, Red-tails in abundance, Cooper’s Hawk, a Prairie
Falcon, a Great Horned Owl (on the nest) and a Northern Shrike.
Robins and Red-wing Blackbirds were everywhere, along with a couple
of Killdeer. (yes - there will be spring some-time soon.)
Cricket
Field Trip Reports Page 3 The Hooter
Cricket Webb
Cricket
Webb
Your Help Is Needed! Volunteer Attorney for occasional legal
advice and/or review of documents for some of its pro-jects. If you
are an attorney or know of someone
who would be interested in and willing to donate some time,
please contact KAS President Tom Gauron 968-3175 or email:
[email protected]
The mission of Kittitas Audubon Society is to develop an
appreciation of nature through
education and conservation, with a focus on birds. The goal for
KAS is a vibrant active
organization recognized in Kittitas County.
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Conservation (continued) Page 4 The Hooter
In 2007 and 2008 some of the large trees in these
loops blew over and in one case in 2007 a camper/RV was
destroyed when a tree fell on it. No one was hurt.
The three loops are presently closed.
Forest Service Pathologist was contracted to do a
survey on the three loops where trees had failed in the last two
years. He found extensive root rot and soil compaction on the three
loops which are on a peninsula that juts out into Lake Kachess:
Mineral, Lodge, and Thetis campground at the very tip. He surveyed
for Annosus root rot on hemlocks and Pacific Silver Fir, as well as
laminated root rot
and hemlock dwarf mistletoe. I talked to Jim Had-field, the
forest pathologist who did the study; his major concern was the fir
forest on Thetis loop which has a number of large Douglas firs but
no laminated root rot which primarily affects Doug Firs. He felt
that on the Thetis loop single Douglas
Firs, which would be prone to blowdown and there-fore highly
dangerous, could be cut, leaving groups of large Doug firs which
would support and protect each other in high wind conditions. He
also spoke of how these areas of root rot are all over the for-est
and move around gradually over the years.
Hopefully the document with the alternatives will give an idea
of the number of trees proposed to be cut. I have asked for this in
a letter we sent on the scoping. We also suggested consulting with
the forest pathologist again who stated his primary concern was the
solitary Douglas firs in the Thetis loop.
HISTORY
This is the second time around for the Forest Ser-vice looking
at extensive cutting of large trees at Kachess Campground in order
to mitigate safety issues for the campers. Knowledge of root rot in
the large trees has been documented since 1993 when a forest
pathologist did a survey of the trees on the entire campground and
identified four types of root rot. He also identified a dwarf
mistletoe in-fection in the Western Hemlock in the areas of soil
compaction from years of heavy camper use. He recommended all trees
over 6 inches be removed
for safety reasons. Root rot weakens the roots and trees are
more prone to fall in heavy winds. At that time the need to prepare
the Snoqualmie Pass Adaptive Management Area plan and the finding
of a rare fungus in the campground halted further planning on the
project. The SPAMA was com-
pleted in 2001 and things moved forward. In 2002 a plan with
various alternatives was sent out for public comment. The preferred
alternative was to
cut most of the trees over 12 inches in diameter on the whole
campground. This would have been something like 3000 Trees!
There were only 10 comment letters sent in but they were
powerful, especially the letters from WA Fish and Wildlife’s Ken
Bevis, Sierra Club’s Mark Lawler, Northwest Ecosystem Alliance (now
Con-servation Northwest)’ Barbara Swanson, and Leavenworth Audubon
LEAF’s Pat Rasmussen. Pat’s excellent 7-page letter delineated what
embarrass-ment was caused in a similar campground in the
Leavenworth area when they pressed for a root
core analysis. It was done and it was discovered that the number
of trees involved was much less than thought. She pointed out that
―Kachess Campground is a jewel‖, that it was shocking to cut 3000
trees and that there was no point in having a campground in such a
circumstance. ― People do
not come to the forest to camp in a clear-cut or near a
clear-cut.‖
The original data was found missing when one per-son asked to
see it. At that point, the Forest Ser-vice decided to go back and
do a root core analysis (not done originally) of each tree and
examine
stumps. From this they found that the problem was not nearly
what they had thought originally. They then chose a modification of
one of the original al-ternatives and about 100 trees were removed,
in-cluding about 30 in the Thetis Campground. 30-50 trees were to
be removed annually after that. Slash was used to limit foot travel
and to help re-
store the soil.
A formal DEIS will be forthcoming and will have a 45 day comment
period.
Call John Agar, Cle Elum District at 509-852-1061 to get a copy
mailed to you and ask questions.
Janet Nelson
(Continued from page 2)
When these
graceful fliers appear, spring can’t be far away!
Tree Swallow drawing (1897) by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Cornell
Labs Art Gal-
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Olympic BirdFest 2009
Come Bird With Us! Sequim, Washington, April 3-5, 2009
Grab your binoculars and join the Olympic BirdFest 2009
celebration at the Dungeness River
Audubon Center, April 3-5, 2009.
The stage is set…quiet bays and estuaries, sandy beaches, a
five-mile-long sand spit, and a
protected island bird sanctuary on the Strait of Juan de Fuca;
wetlands, tide pools, rainforests,
and lush river valleys. The players are ready … Marbled
Murrelets, Rhinoceros Auklets, Harle-
quin Ducks, Black Oystercatchers, Peregrine Falcons, and Pygmy
owls will be sporting their fin-est spring plumage for this
celebration. Enjoy guided birding trips, boat tours; and a
traditional
salmon bake at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Center.
Come bird with us and experience with others the spectacular
landscapes of the Olympic Penin-sula …you just might go home with a
new bird for your life list! Check out the offerings by going
online (http://www.olympicbirdfest.org),or calling for a
brochure.
Also this year! Follow your BirdFest weekend with a three-day,
two-night birding cruise of the spectacular San Juan Islands on
April 5-7, 2009. Visit San Juan and Sucia Islands, and more.
Stay at the historic Roche Harbor Resort. Get program
information and registration forms online
at: http://www.olympicbirdfest.org. Or contact us by phone, at
360-681-4076.
E-mail us at [email protected]
Or write to us at: Dungeness River Audubon Center, P.O. Box
2450, Sequim, WA 98382
Things to do Page 5 The Hooter
Sightings Sunday, February 15, 2009
I was out in the Fairview area for about an hour around noon. I
saw 26 Bald Ea-gles, a couple Rough-legged Hawks, 6 Red-tails, a
Northern Harrier, and one hawk that had a tail feather pattern
where the stripes seemed to run the
long way, rather than across as the nor-mal banding is.
My best spot was 8 eagles in a field about 2 miles north of
Fairview Hall; I continued north then west, coming to Naneum, down
it and back to Fair-
view via Rader Road. I saw most of the rest in the 4 or 5 miles
I traveled after the first sighting. Weather was light snow
showers, and visibility still pretty good.
Gerry Sorenson
For the last 3 years a
Northern Goshawk has wintered in my neighborhood and hunted at
my feed-ers. I have wished, the same way I once wished for a pony
for Christmas, that this bird would appear for the Christmas bird
count or when there was someone else
there to see it. Please, please would it just hang around for a
pic-ture? It did!
Cricket
Cricket Webb
Photo
Northern Goshawk
Future Programs (mark your calendar!)
April 16th: ―Machu Picchu‖ by Christine Zeigler & Dale
Comstock
May 21: ―Great Observations: A history of ornithology as
revealed by bird painting‖ -
Vanessa Hunt
http://www.olympicbirdfest.org/http://www.olympicbirdfest.org/mailto:[email protected]
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Page 6 The Hooter Bird of the Month: Swans Our two native North
Amerian species, the Trumpeter and Tundra Swans, are most abun-
dant on Western Washington coastal wetlands but also visit
Kittitas County ponds and rivers in the winter months. Come spring,
the Tundras will travel north along interior flyways to nest-
ing areas in the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic. Coastal Trumpeters
fly north to Alaska, but
other populations stay to breed at inland wetland sites across
the U. S. and Canada.
Swans have captured humanity’s awe and imagination for
centuries. It’s easy to think of folk
tales, music, ballets, and geographic names inspired by their
presence in our landscapes.
The Trumpeter Swan, the world’s largest waterfowl (to 25-30
lbs), was almost wiped out around 1900 by private hunting and the
commercial feather trade. Reintroduction programs
involving egg-rearing and reintroduction have been very
successful locally in restoring num-
bers. In Michigan, for example, Trumpeter census numbers doubled
every three years during the 1990’s to 400 by 2000, and a
Washington count in 1999 found 2000 in Skagit County.
There may now be about 15,000 total in North
America. There are related problems: several
hundred swans have died of lead shot poisoning each year in the
Northwest, and several birds
were shot illegally in WA this year. Other pro-
grams have tried to lure the birds to expand their winter range
in the West and Midwest; for
example, the Rocky Mountain population got
―stalled‖ in the Yellowstone ecosystem in the 1930’s due to
die-offs of older birds with experi-
ence of other wintering sites. As these birds live
to be 25 years or more, younger introduced
populations suffer from ―cultural‖ deprivation – lost knowledge
and experience.
The slightly smaller Tundra Swan (or Whistling Swan) has a
larger population in North
America (170,000) and as a species occurs around the Arctic
across the Old World. Hunting is
permitted in several states, and poaching, subsistence, and lead
shot poisoning also take a yearly toll of several thousand birds.
However, populations are mostly stable, and the species
has adapted to farmland feeding along with human expansion.
Both species visited Kittitas County this winter, and as
Trumpeters have been unusual here in
the past, we can hope they will continue to find us! Steve
Moore
Trumpeter on the ice, Easton pond
Tundras, Hansen ponds, Cle Elum
Photo by Steve Moore
Photo by Steve Moore
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Page 7 The Hooter
BECOME AN AUDUBON MEMBER!!
Receive The Hooter ~ help support education and conservation
activities and projects!
_____ Become a member of Kittitas Audubon $20 (includes monthly
newsletter)
_____ Join as a National Audubon member $20 (renewals $35)
(includes local membership & monthly newsletter)
_____ Make a donation. Amount enclosed $_______
Mail to: Kittitas Audubon, PO Box 1443, Ellensburg, WA 98926
Checks payable to Kittitas Audubon Darling Bird Studios, ©2007
UNA
Kittitas Audubon is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational society.
All memberships and donations are tax-deductible.
Membership forms are also available on our Web site:
Kittitasaudubon.org.
Webmaster – Mark Whitesell Email [email protected]
Check out our website ~ see The Hooter in COLOR at
Kittitasaudubon.org
Name ___________________________________
Address __________________________________
City ______________________________________
State, ZIP ________________________________
Chapter Code Y22 XBP
Phone ____________________________________
Cell ____________________________________
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Would you like to receive The Hooter electronically?
Yes ____ No, prefer paper edition ____
The Sun and Sage Loop, the fifth of Audubon's Great Washington
State Bird-ing Trails maps, was officially unveiled in Olympia
February 19th. The Sun and Sage Loop covers sites from the ridge of
the Cascades east through Kittitas County, Vantage, to Walla Walla,
and from Blewett Pass south through Ellens-burg, the Yakima Valley,
and to the Co-lumbia Gorge.
Appropriately, live native birds high-lighted the festivities.
Those attending the event in Olympia included (l to r) Audubon
Washington’s Hilary Hilscher with Great Horned Owl, map graphic
designer Al Tietjen with son Hans, map artist Ed New-bold, Gloria
Lindstrom from Kittitas Audubon Society, Birding Trail Program
Director Christi
Norman, and Tee Martino with Red-tailed Hawk. Both educational
birds are from Vashon Island’s non-profit Wolf-Town.
The new map area features more than 200 of Washington's 346
annually recorded bird species. Like the first four maps, the new
route is a collaborate effort of local Audubon members and the
State Audubon. It features original artwork by noted Washington
wildlife painter Ed Newbold.
The trails and their birds attract visitors to primarily rural
locations, which spurs economic development and gives residents
increased incentive to safeguard natural areas around their
communities, according to Audubon Wash-ington Birding Trail
Director, Christi Norman. Signs marking birding trail sites will be
installed in coming years. Copies of the map can be ordered online
for $4.95 from www.wa.audubon.org or from KAS board member Beth
Rogers. Many thanks to Beth Rogers and Marianne Gordon for their
hard work on this project!
Photo courtesy WA State Senate
New South Central Washington Birding Trail Map
mailto:[email protected]://www.wa.audubon.org/
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Kittitas Audubon Society
P.O. Box 1443
Ellensburg WA 98926 http://www.kittitasaudubon.org
March 7th: First Saturday Bird Walk at Irene Rinehart Riverfront
Park. Meet at 8:00 AM at the bridge parking lot off Umtaneum Rd.
Dress for
valley spring weather, bring binoculars and a friend, or
several. Spring birds are returning so we will see what we can find
before the leaves appear.
March 21st: Third Saturday Birding by Map, site #13 at McDonald
Road Pond. Call Cricket,
674-4035 or Marianne 964-2320, for details.
March 20-22: Annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival. Although,
this is not a KAS field trip, it is a great opportunity to see the
thousands of Sandhill Cranes and other birds of the basin. There
are also speakers and displays about the
birds. For more info call 509-488-2802 ext.100,
or check the website at Othello Sandhill Crane Festival.
April 4th: First Saturday Bird Walk (see above)
April 5th: Yakima Training Center for Sage Grouse. Please note
this was scheduled for March 28th but the new date is due to
military maneuvers. Please call Jeb to sign up (933-
1558) as space is limited. The Army is only allowing two groups
this year to view these birds. A big thank you to Charles Hawkins
for making the arrangements.
April 18th: Third Saturday Birding by Map, Site #19 - Hayward
Hill/Bettas Road (see above
for contact info)
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
and prints our county bird lists. Get your bird seed here!
Upcoming KAS Field Trips
GET YOUR
E-HOOTER
HERE!!!!
Save paper,
printing,
postage. If you would pre-
fer to receive the electronic
version, send us your name,
mailing address, & email
address to:
[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
