The Hooter Kittitas Audubon November 2017

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!

Membership Meeting - Thursday, November 16th, 2017 “African Wildlife Safari - A Look at Kenya and Rwanda”

presented by Doug Kuehn

7:00 PM at Hal Holmes Center next to the library ~ 209 Ruby Street

On my first trip to Africa I was joined by my older brother, Rich,

who has traveled there 16 times. He had arranged our trip with

Preston Mutinda of “Preston’s Birding and Wildlife Safaris”, voted

the best guide in East Africa the past 4 years, by the other pro-

fessional guides. We spent the first four days at Masai Mara with

early morning and afternoon game viewing drives to witness the

fight for survival during the migration season. Blue wildebeest,

zebras, gazelle, antelope, Masai giraffe, elephants, Cape buffalo

and primates share the savanna and riverine forests with lion,

leopard, cheetah, hyena and jackals, not to mention Nile croco-

dile and hippos in the Mara river. Kenya has approximately 1356

bird species and we encountered 288 while I was there. We also

viewed 42 mammal species.

Our safari continued to Lakes Naivasha, Bogoria, Baringo, and

Nakuru and other parts of the Great Rift Valley to view rhinos

and the endangered Rothschild giraffe. We continued northward

to the desert-like environment of Samburu Game Reserve, home to a va-

riety of mammals that are not found elsewhere such as gerenuk, Grevy’s

zebra, Beisa oryx and reticulated giraffe. We then headed to the cooler

forests of Mt. Kenya, staying at the Serena Mountain Lodge that featured

birds and animals coming to the lighted waterhole for night viewing.

The trip continued with a flight to Kigali, Rwanda and drive to the Volca-

noes National Park and mountain gorilla view lodge. Tracking gorillas through the mountain forest on

the slopes of the Virunga is a magical experience.

Doug Kuehn is a retired statewide forester for Washington Department of

Fish and Wildlife where he worked on projects to improve wildlife habi-

tat. He has a BS degree from Iowa State University in Forest Manage-

ment and a Master’s of Science from the Australian National University in

Canberra, where he studied the effects on birds from converting eucalyp-

tus forests to Monterrey Pine (Pinus radiata). He is a longtime member of

Kittitas Audubon and an accomplished photographer.

Marabou

Stork

Reticulated

Giraffe

Page 2 The Hooter

Board Notes ~ Oct 5th by Gloria Baldi

KAS scholarship recipient, Lindsay Millward, from CWU gave a short presentation on her thesis research project. It involves determining the use by small mammals of the I-90 underpass at Gold Creek near Snoqualmie Pass. With the information, it is hoped the most successful micro-habitats to encourage use can be noted and enhanced. During the fire and smoke this summer she was able to trap and tag 415 small mammals representing 12 species. Final results will be shared at a later date, and she is very grateful for KAS support.

A report with pictures indicates the exciting discovery that Vaux Swifts migrating through Ellensburg in spring and late summer seem to be roosting in a chimney atop Fitter-er’s Furniture Store. (You may remember they used the chimney of the old hospital on Third Avenue before it was demolished.) Monitoring will begin next spring.

The Secretary’s report with corrections was approved; the Treasurer’s report was also approved.

First Saturday BirdWalk in November is the 4th and will be led by Jan Demorest and Steve Moore.

Kris Kaylor has graciously agreed to be the new KAS Membership Chair. Her computer skills and background in graphic arts fit well with this position. The Board is very thankful for her volunteer offer.

President Judy Hallisey gave an informative tour and birding program about Cuba on October 19th.

Climate Change:

Barry Brunson reported on the unsuccessful attempt by Our Environment to have the City of Ellensburg adopt a solar power resolution, even though indi-vidual council members expressed support.

Meghan Anderson had written a strong letter sup-porting solar power goals to the City Council on Oc-tober 2nd.

Barry asked if KAS would formally form a partnership with Our Environment only on the issues of energy conservation and its use to strengthen the appeal for enlightened energy policy. The Board voted to do so.

Judy Hallisey led a discussion that included climate change (among other topics) at the Next Step Kit-titas County Huddle on October 2nd.

KAS Board meets again on the first Thursday of each month at 4:30. Come join 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. Sub-

missions need to be in by the

20th of the preceding month.

The mission of Kittitas Audubon is to develop an appreciation of nature through education and conservation, with a focus

on birds.

KAS BOARD MEMBERS President – Judy Hallisey 270-792-9188

Vice President – Barb Masberg 509-406-3104

Secretary – Jim Briggs 933-2231

Treasurer – Sharon Lumsden 968-3889

Conservation – Norm Peck 933-4233

Education – OPEN

Field Trips – Steve Moore 933-1179

Historian – Gloria Lindstrom 925-1807

Programs – pending

Publicity – Meghan Anderson 253-987-7629

Scholarship – Gloria Baldi 933-1558

Climate Change–Barry Brunson: 270-792-9186

Past President – Tom Gauron 968-3175

*Newsletter – Jan Demorest 933-1179

Membership – Kris Kaylor 509-304-4103

*Bluebird boxes – Jan Demorest 933-1179

*Social Greeter – Kay Forsythe 925-2356

*Christmas Bird Count–Phil Mattocks

*non-voting members

KAS Board Meetings are held at 4:30

PM ~ 1st Thursday of each month at

the Methodist Church across from

The Ellensburg Public Library. 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, then we all go

out for a sociable dinner ~ NO busi-

ness discussion allowed!

Oct 7th ~ First Saturday Birdwalk, Rinehart

Park ~ We had six people including four Audubon

members. It was a cold windy day with leaves

falling off the trees. That made it difficult to see

bird movement. Nevertheless we did see a few

birds. An adult Bald Eagle flew over the pond

then disappeared down the river. Only Canada

Geese on the pond. Several Downy Woodpeck-

ers. Three Yellow-rumped Warblers, a small flock

of Common Mergansers and a larger flock of Mal-

lards. Of course, there were crows and mag-

pies. That’s about it ~ we enjoyed the outing and

our new board member, Kris Kaylor got some

good photographs.

~ Jim Briggs

Field Trip Reports Page 3 The Hooter

Common Mergansers

Photo

by K

ris K

aylo

r

Flying Insects Decline in Germany!

A Science/Environment BBC article ( http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41670472) reports re-search in "protected" areas of Germany have experienced a 70-75% decrease in flying insects over the last 30 years or so. In addition to known effects as pollinators, flying insects are a major food source for birds and bats, and a reduction in flying insect density is likely to affect birds and flying insectivorous mammals. I'm aware of no similar evaluations in the U.S. ~ Norm Peck

Birding in Cuba: Tobacco and Rum!

Our KAS President, Judy Hallisey, took us all to the Caribbe-

an! A crowd of avid birders listened and watched as Judy

told the story of her trip which might as well be titled:

‘Flexibility and It’s Complicated!’ Traveling with Judy is a well

-rounded event. After describing the difficulties of traveling

to Cuba, Judy then gave an historical background from

Spanish rule to Batista and Castro. She also described the

support from the USSR, Venezuela, and finally Spain. Vene-

zuela brought oil rigs and

Spain is bringing tourism.

The trip was complete

with so many bird species

to see including the Bee

Hummingbird and the

Cuban Trogon. Birding

from 5 am to 10 pm for

many days can take its

toll, but Judy and her sis-

ter maintained this pace for the duration of the trip. The his-

tory, the island habitats, the people of Cuba and the pursuit

of birds made their trip a truly grand tour. After-program

snacks included a dram of rum and a Cuban cigar. . . Just

kidding! We actually enjoyed our usual socializing snacks

with juice, cookies and pickles thanks to Kay. See you in No-

vember for an African safari (photographic)!

~ Meghan Anderson

Dear Editor (Ellensburg Daily Record):

I am very concerned about the plight of beauti-

ful creatures that have nested in or traversed

this valley for hundreds of years. Linda and I

are fortunate to have Mercer Creek slip past

within feet of our kitchen window. The creek’s

trees and abundant riparian undergrowth are an

enfolding environ for birds. Over 70 species

have nested, passed through or over our creek-

side acreage—a blessing. The majority have

been passerines (perching birds) regarded by

ornithologists as, generally, the most intelligent

and adaptable of all avian life. Human en-

croachment has surpassed the ability of these

birds to adapt.

This past spring the joy of an awakening earth

and all the concurrent passages of warming was

diminished for the absence of passerines. I list

the following birds to encourage your readers to

look up a few in guidebooks or on their devices

in the hope of putting a face on species in steep

decline. These birds were not observed on our

property for the first time in 35 years: Orange-

crowned Warbler; MacGillivray’s Warbler; Wil-

son’s Warbler; Yellow Warbler; Black-

headed Grosbeak; Warbling Vireo; Say’s

Phoebe; Western Kingbird; Olive-sided

Flycatcher; Calliope Hummingbird; Lin-

coln’s Sparrow; Golden-crowned Sparrow;

and Red Crossbill. Several other species

like the stunning Western Tanager and

Northern Oriole were seen in small num-

bers.

Yes, not entirely empirical, and anecdotal,

but birding has been an avocation for 50 years

and, frankly, I am alarmed. Readers, please

consider joining conservation organizations like

the Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, and Na-

tional Audubon Society. Local groups like the

Kittitas Environmental Education Network, Kit-

titas Field and Stream, and Kittitas Audubon So-

ciety are actively involved in conservation is-

sues.

Steve Hall

Steve happens to be a charter member of KAS; our first organizational meeting was at his and Linda's home. He has been quite active in KAS and for many years we held our meetings in his classroom at the high school. Our annual get-together and potluck after the Christmas Bird Count is always at the Halls’ home. Steve is an excellent birder!

For the first time in 35 years of daily observa-

tion, these birds were NOT seen…..

Page 4 Hooter Letter to the Editor

Yellow Warbler

Wilson’s Warbler

Black-headed Grosbeak

Western Tanager

Say’s

Phoebe

Orange-crowned

Warbler

NYTimes: The Dirty Secrets Saved in Dead Birds’ Feathers Page 5 The Hooter

The feathers of birds preserved

in natural history museum col-

lections record changes to his-

torical air quality across Ameri-

ca’s Rust Belt, a new study

finds.

Visit this website for the full article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/

science/birds-air-pollution.html?

smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

To summarize: a group of really smart, creative

researchers examined bird collections gathered

from and stored in mid-west/Rust Belt muse-

ums. What they found was pretty shock-

ing. The birds were BLACK from industrial pollu-

tion. Because birds molt annually, the research-

ers were able to use the grit trapped in their

feathers to pinpoint the time and place of expo-

sure to pollutants with considerable accuracy.

They can also see what kind of pollutants the

birds encountered. What the researchers dis-

covered - and the point the article conveys - is

that those dead birds can give us precise and

visceral information about what our national en-

vironment was like before we started taking

steps to protect the environment. In other

words, the gunk and poisons stuck to their

feathers (it was carbon in particular that ren-

dered them black) is what we sucked into our

lungs with every breath, until we started to

clean up our air.

This collection is from the Uni-

versity of Chicago ~ a sample

of Horned Larks collected in

the early 20th century. Birds on

the left were collected from in-

dustrial areas. Birds on the

right were collected on the west

coast away from any industrial

areas.

Two Grasshopper Sparrows,

both collected in the Chicago

industrial sector; the top bird

was collected in 1907, the lower

bird in 1996.

Red-headed Woodpecker collection: dirty & clean

Thanks to Marianne Gordon and her daughter, Susan O’Donovan, for summarizing and sending this article.

Page 6 Hooter Sunday Event: Water, Wind, & Fire

A message from your Chapter

President:

In September, 2014, National Audubon pub-

lished their report on how climate change was

affecting birds. They declare, “Climate change

is the number one threat to birds!” As bird

lovers, we all should take this into serious con-

sideration.

Climate change is a non-partisan issue affect-

ing us all; some more than others but still hav-

ing its impacts to each one of us. Even beyond

changing landscapes and habitats, increasing

intensities of storms and fires, and exacerbat-

ing human health concerns, it is now found to

be reducing food crop yields and nutritional

values that will threaten our economies and

livelihoods.

I am a lot like most of you in that I feel too

small to make an impact and wonder what I

can do as an individual to surmount such a

large-looming issue. I want feasible solu-

tions!

Come to Hal Holmes Center, Sunday, Novem-

ber 5th at 2:30 pm, to join a community con-

versation to move us on a path toward a better

and sustainable future. Representatives from

Washington State Audubon will be there!

Oh, and did I mention “Climate change is the

number one threat to birds!”

~ Judy Hallisey

Jane & Paul Nurick - Donation for Nest Boxes

Nancy Jewett - Bluebird

Gerard Hogan - Family

Paula Hungar & Pat McCutcheon - Family

Ron & Karen Johnson - Family

Rebecca Smith

Kathy Weber

Dick & Terry Carkner - Family & donation for Community Education

Jeb & Gloria Baldi

(plus several other renewing members who wish to remain anonymous)

“Saving our Farms,

Forests & Fish

While Strengthening the

Economy”

Dr. Steve Ghan

Sunday, November 5th ~

2:30 PM

Hal Holmes Center

Thank you for renewing your memberships & for your generous donations!

Membership Form ~ Kittitas Audubon Society

Please make checks payable to: Kittitas Audubon Society, P.O. Box 1443, Ellensburg, WA 98926

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Join with any of these Annual Membership Options: (check your option below)

Kittitas Audubon Society Individual Membership $20 ____ Family Membership $30 ____

Premium Memberships: Bluebird $50 ____ Kestrel $75 ____ Hawk $100 ____

Lifetime Individual Membership: $300 ____ Lifetime Family Membership $500 ____

Business Membership $200 ____ Business Lifetime Membership $1000 ____

Make a Charitable Donation: What interests you? We want to know! Please enter dollar amount donation below:

Scholarship Fund $______________ Nest Boxes $_____________

Bird Surveys $_______________ General Interest $______________

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May we list your name in The Hooter to acknowledge your membership/donation? Yes ___ No___

Your generous donation to a specific project is symbolic. Kittitas Audubon is a chapter of National Audubon Society serving the communities of Kittitas County, Washington. Go to kittitasaudubon.org for more information. KAS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

Give the Gift of Kittitas Audubon for a year! This gift membership is for:

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You may join National Audubon Society separately by visiting their website at:

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YES: I want to 'Go Green' by receiving The Hooter Newsletter online version only

Choosing the online newsletter option saves KAS $15 Annually in printing/mailing costs!

Go Green and enjoy the online version in Color!

Upcoming KAS Field Trips

November

4th ~ First Saturday BirdWalk ~ Irene

Rinehart Park. As the breath turns frosty and

leaves are now seriously yellow and falling about

our shoulders, resident birds and others down

from the mountains are prepared to make a

home among the cottonwoods. For a 3-hour walk

in bracing weather: Irene Rinehart riverside park,

starting at the parking lot off of Umptanum Rd at

8 AM. Steve and Jan lead; 933-1179.

December

2nd ~ Saturday ~ First Saturday Bird-

walk, Irene Rinehart Park. Waterfowl are push-

ing 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 riverside

parking lot off of Umptanum Rd at 8 AM. Jan and

Steve lead; 933-1179 for info.

16th ~ Saturday ~ Christmas Bird Count, Ellensburg. Join teams to cover a sector of the

15-mile circle centered on Ellensburg, traveling

by car and on foot. If you would like to partici-

pate contact Gloria Baldi, 933-1558, in early De-

cember. More information in December Hooter.

Join us on a field trip some-

time ~ you never know

what we might find!

Kittitas Audubon

P.O. Box 1443

Ellensburg WA 98926

The Hooter ~ November 2017 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!

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:

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At the beginning of each month,

we’ll send you an email with a

quick link to the new Hooter.