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Bluebirds return to Kittitas County each spring. Pairs of these birds in-stinctively need to nest in an enclosed space (cavity-nesting), so in nature they will be looking for old woodpecker holes in rotting trees. But as Na-tive Americans, pioneering farmers, and recent generations of conserva-tion-minded birdlovers have found, bluebirds will set up house in a sim-ple, roofed wooden box with a 1 ½“ hole, and become good neighbors. Since 1978, the North American Bluebird Society has been encouraging people to mount nestboxes in open landscapes, and the resulting interest has helped stop the decline in numbers of Eastern Bluebirds, and has
given western species a boost as
well.
In our area we get a double treat: two blue species! The Western Blue-bird male sports indigo plumage with an orange and gray breast. The slightly larger and geographically
more adventurous Mountain Bluebird male is all-over azure. Fe-males of both species avoid undue attention by wearing gray.
Hiking through natural landscapes, soaking up sunshine, having a picnic outing, watching spring flowers bloom – these are a few reasons to monitor a string of bluebird nestboxes – a “bluebird trail”.
That’s how we got started in 2005. The citizen science as-pect also adds to the satisfaction of beginning again each year. Monitoring means visiting the boxes often – to keep track of nesting times, numbers of eggs and chicks in the nests, and watching the chicks grow big enough to leave the box, in about 18 days. We’ve monitored trails as often as every 3 weeks, and end up with data that show year-to-year
variation in schedules, nest-success and habits.
Join us for a close look at some bird neighbors – an intimate look at raising families in small boxes!
The Hooter Kittitas Audubon March 2015
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!
“A Decade of Bluebirds in Kittitas County” ~ presented by Steve Moore & Jan Demorest
Membership Meeting - Thursday, March 19th - 7:00 PM ~ Hal Holmes Center
Male Western
Bluebird ready to feed
nestlings
Male Mountain Bluebird
Female and male Western Bluebird
Photos by Jan & Steve
Page 2 The Hooter
GHOST BEARS—STUDYING GRIZZLY AND BLACK BEARS IN THE NORTH CASCADE ECOSYSTEM
Jim Briggs, Kittitas Audubon
Back in January the National Parks Conservation Associa-tion sponsored a lecture in Ellensburg on Grizzly Bears in the North Cascades. The speaker was Dr. Bill Gaines with The Washington Conservation Science Institute. Like many KAS members I attended and found that the lecture was excellent and very informative. I wished at the time that I had taken notes so I could report in the Hooter. Well, once in a while you get a do-over: Dr. Gaines was giving the same lecture at the Wenatchee River Institute in Leaven-worth; I attended with notebook in hand.
He defined the North Cascade Ecosystem as the area of the Cascades from I-90 north to and beyond the Canadian bor-der. That is an area of 6.5 million acres, one of the largest
contiguous forests in the US, and good for grizzlies. A fe-male needs 100 square miles, males even more. In short, said Gaines, they need wilderness to minimize conflict with humans.
Gaines said population recovery for both grizzly and black bears is very slow and so unsustainable under extreme hunting and trapping, which has been the case for bears until relatively recently. Bears have a low reproductive rate which was adaptive when the bears were at the top of the food web (before humans). A top predator does not want to outnumber its prey. But bears are also herbivores and they don’t want to “overgraze” their range. Actually grizzlies are 70 to 90% vegetarian, according to Gaines;
the characteristic hump is muscle, necessary when the bears are using their long claws to dig roots and tubers. In the ecosystem, this newly-turned mineral soil encourages new growth of edible grasses and forbs.
Gaines said one serious issue for both grizzlies and Black Bears arises with so-called “problem bears”. If they be-come acclimated to human presence and learn that food comes with it, they can become a potential threat. Bear-proof garbage cans and enlightened camping are critical. Females keep the cubs with them for several years. If the mother becomes a problem bear and must be destroyed, the cubs have to be killed as well, since they learn from their mothers. This creates another handicap in the bears’
already slow reproductive rate.
In describing his study of Cascade bears, Gaines explained that telemetry (which involves capturing and sedating a bear in order to attach a radio) has been used by biologists for decades, but now there are less invasive methods to see who is there and what they are doing. In his survey
for grizzly presence in the North Cascades, he and his team designed a simple but ingenious technique using ad-
(Continued on page 4)
Send in your stories & photos!
The Hooter is the newsletter of
Kittitas Audubon, published
monthly except for July.
~~~~~~~
Submissions from members &
other readers are most wel-
come and encouraged! The editor reserves the right to edit
for space, grammar, and/or suit-
ability. Email text and/or photos to
[email protected] or snail mail
to Jan Demorest, Hooter Editor,
712 E 2nd Ave, Ellensburg, WA
98926. Submissions need to be in
by the 20th of the preceding month.
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 – shared by all board members
Education – Judy Hallisey 674-6858
Field Trips – Steve Moore 933-1179
*Newsletter – Jan Demorest 933-1179
Historian – Gloria Lindstrom 925-1807
Programs – Jeb Baldi 933-1558
Publicity – Gerry Sorenson 968-4857
Wildlife Habitat – Joe Meuchel 933-3011
*Bluebird boxes – Jan Demorest 933-1179
Past President — Jim Briggs 933-2231
Membership – Tuck Forsythe 925-2356
*Christmas Bird Count – Phil Mattocks 962-2191
*Social/Greeter – Kay Forsythe 925-2356
*NON-VOTING 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 discus-
sion allowed!
February First Saturday BirdWalk ~ Seven birders assembled to find birds in Irene Rinehart park on a relatively mild February morning (in the 40’s.) 20 species were recorded, plus the un-usual sighting of a beaver swimming south in the first lake. A cheery note was the sandwich board at the road entrance gate, stating that a SEPA proposal to cut trees off the levees had been withdrawn by the City. Continuing on, we found 5 Bald Eagles cruising the river, a dip-per at the water’s edge, abundant starlings, a
flock of Golden-crowned Kinglets, and a trio of kestrels in the cottonwoods. A Red-tailed Hawk is staying close to the nest - hope to see an occupant there next month. Echoing in the distance were our usual kingfisher and several Bewick’s Wrens in the woods. Robins were in attendance but blackbirds were not. (All just winter resident birds, but within subsequent
warm February weeks, re-ports have come in of mi-grating birds – bluebirds & phoebes, so we can expect some long distance travel-ers next month – tune in then.) ~ Steve Moore
Trip Reports Page 3 The Hooter
The Sorenson family ~ 13 of us ~ took the week before Christmas and went to Rocky Point, Mexico. We had rented a large house about 2 or 3 miles beyond the town, right on the Gulf of California. The beach was 30 yards out our front door at high tide, and about 60 yards at low tide. Our everyday visitors at low tide were: Long-billed Curlew, Willet, and large bunches of juvenile Coots. We also had Say’s Phoebes around the house each day. At various other
times we saw: Heer-man’s Gull, Western Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Brown Pelican, White Pelican, Black Oystercatcher, Sanderling, Common Loon, Brandt’s Cor-morant, Spotted Sandpiper, Long-tailed Duck, Red-headed Duck, Bufflehead, and a tern cruising the shore,
diving for fish, but I never did get a good ID of it. Other birds we saw, not shore re-lated, were: House Finch, American Kestrel, Black Vul-ture, Great-tailed Grackle (in Rocky Point), and Great Egrets, back in the tidal sloughs. ~ Gerry Sorenson
Intrepid Birders
Great hat, Kay!
Jan Demorest photos
Long-billed Curlew
Sanderlings
(Web photos)
Olympic Birdfest 2014: April 4-6, Sequim, WA
A bird watching vacation for beginners to
experts, BirdFest program information
and registration can be found at
www.olympicbirdfest.org. Stay on for a
three-day, two-night birding/sightseeing
cruise of the San Juan Islands, April 6-8,
2014. Register separately at
www.pugetsoundexpress.com/audubon.
Early bluebird sightings coming in from several quarters: Manastash Ridge forest trail (2/19/15), Hayward Road
(2/28/15), Hays Canyon near Cashmere (2/15/15), Ellensburg Pass Rd (2/14/15 Valentine Blue-birds!), Wenas (2/16/15)
Meeting on grizzly bear restoration
options in the North Cascades ecosystem
Monday, March 9, 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Putnam Centennial Center Meeting Room
719 East 3rd Street ~ Cle Elum, WA 98922
Pre-Meeting Happy Hour: 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Cottage Café Fireside Lounge ~ 911 E 1st St
Cle Elum, WA 98922
Hosted by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and U.S. Forest Service.
RSVP: An RSVP is not required to attend, but please let us know if you are coming. Please RSVP to David Graves at [email protected] or 206.462.0821.
OTHER INFO: In addition to these open houses, the public is invited to submit written com-ments at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/NCEG. Comments may also be submitted through March 26, 2015, via regular mail or hand deliv-ery at: Superintendent’s Office, North Cascades
National Park Service Complex, 810 State Route 20, Sedro Woolley, WA 98284.
Please join us to learn about the possibility of restoring the grizzly bears to the North Cas-cades!
Page 4 Hooter More about Grizzly Bears!
vances in DNA technology.
They built enclosures encircled by a single strand of barbed wire. In the center was a pile of
brush, soaked with a pungent mixture of rotting roadkill and fish. This was preferable to using meat for bait because they didn’t want the bears lingering at the site. When the bears came to investigate, they crawled over or under the barbed wire, leaving hair samples. These hair samples were sent to a lab in Canada that does DNA analysis. DNA results can show whether the bear was a grizzly or black, male or female, if it was related to another bear that was tested, and other subtle differences, like possible variations on opposite sides of a barrier, such as a highway or rough mountain range.
They installed cameras to see if anything else visited the sites. Wolverines, lynx, wolves, and lots of Black Bears showed up, but no grizzlies. Over five years they set up 604 “traps”, covering about 20% of the North Cascades (and a lot of foot-miles!). Gaines said the official response is: “We don’t have evidence of Grizzly Bears in the
North Cascades.” He adds that they have only looked at 20% of the area and are still looking.
Their results on black bears are important since they now have one of the largest data bases of Black Bear DNA in the world. A few trends:
The northern bears are not mixing with
the southern ones. This is possibly due to a physical barrier of rough country.
I-90 is apparently not a barrier to Black
Bear travel but it does somewhat reduce movement. Wildlife passages, if properly designed should help.
In the absence of competition from Griz-
zly Bears in the North Cascades, the Black Bears have adopted some grizzly-like behavior. They are occupying more open habitat for example.
Gaines speculated on the future of Grizzly Bears in the North Cascades. He said that sadly, they may “wink out” in the area if they have not al-ready done so. But the information from their study may help in a recovery plan. Climate change could be important to hibernation ecol-ogy and could result in the bears being active during the season of food scarcity. But bears
are generalists and may have time to evolve mechanisms to cope with climate change. This will probably not be the case for lynx, though, according to Gaines. Lynx are too closely linked to subalpine fir which could decline under chang-ing climate conditions.
Gaines said that right now Black Bear popula-tions are healthy in the Cascades but he feels the hunting season is too liberal. Two bears per person per year is not sustainable with their slow reproduction rate. This problem is fixable with enlightened wildlife management. Problem bears and climate change are much more diffi-
cult. ~thanks to Jim Briggs for pursuing this and writing it up!
(Continued from page 2) Ghost Bears
Bird Art Exhibit & Other Bird News Page 5 The Hooter
Of a Feather: Artists, Birds
and the Northwest
January 14 ~ June 7, 2015
This exhibit presents seemingly disparate works of art and ties them together with a common subject matter ~ birds. The col-lection reveals artists inspired by place and nature, by birds as
metaphors for human experience and hope, and by more than a
touch of the divine and mystical.
Of a Feather ~ 26 major works of art from 19 northwest artists, including stone sculpture, jew-elry, sumi, printmaking, papier-mâché, oil, acrylic, wood, and feathers.
At the White River Valley Museum in Auburn 918 H Street SE, Auburn, WA Phone: 253-288-7433
http://www.wrvmuseum.org/
upcoming_exhibits.html
Golden Eagle, by Seattle artist,
Tony Angell
~ from the KAS Climate Change
Committee
Say goodbye? These are two of the native Wash-ington state bird species that face severe threats—perhaps even-tual extinction—because of climate change.
Maps… “The key value of modeling the relation-ship between bird data and climate data is the ability to project that relationship onto a map of future climate. Collectively, this provides insight into how each modeled species might respond to future climate with a sense of both the magni-tude and location of these changes.” — Audubon’s Birds and Climate Change Report, p. 16
I’m not a scientist … The vast majority of cli-mate scientists are in agreement that human activities are major contributors to the increased level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is the major force driving global warming. A host
of scientific organizations worldwide are in agreement as well! Here are a few more, to-gether with links where their formal statements can be found:
American Association for the Advancement of Science ~ http://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-reaffirms-statements-climate-change-and-integrity
American Medical Association
https://www.ama-assn.org/ssl3/ecomm/PolicyFinderForm.pl?site=www.ama-assn.org&uri=/resources/html/PolicyFinder/policyfiles/HnE/H-135.938.HTM
The Wildlife Society (international)
http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/policy/global.climate.change.11.21.11.pdf
What can I do?? … Avoiding catastrophe will require a combination of major national actions and a multitude of individual efforts. Even small things can help!
Audubon suggests that we create safe spaces for birds in our homes and communities by using
fewer pesticides, letting dead trees stand, in-stalling bird baths, and converting lawns and gardens to native plants.
Of course, among the most important things: Talk about climate change to your friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and representatives!
~ KAS Climate Change Committee ~ Barry Brunson, Chair,
Jim Briggs and Jan Demorest
Join the Sagebrush Songbird Survey
Training: March 21, 2015
9:30am-3:30pm
Wenatchee Valley College,
1300 Fifth Street, Wenatchee Wenatchee Hall Rm 2217
See the February issue of The
Hooter for details of the pro-
ject and this day of training.
Additional workshops in Richland, March 7
and Spokane, April 4
For more information, schedules, and RSVP: email Steve Moore, Kittitas Audubon, [email protected] or Christi Norman, Audubon Washington, [email protected]. Watch for Sagebrush Songbird Survey updates at wa.audubon.org.
Sage Grouse White-headed
Woodpecker
If you are interested in joining a day-trip to see this exhibit, contact the Editor at [email protected], or 509-933-1179. Date to be determined.
Page 6 Hooter Great Backyard Bird Count
The Great Backyard Bird Count took place this year from February 13 through February 16th. On Sunday the 15th, Audubon members Marianne Gordon, Jo Ellen Richards, Judy Hallisey and Ann Fink set out to count birds around Kittitas County. After meeting for breakfast, we began counting in the IHOP parking lot and proceeded down I-90 to Vantage and Wanapum Dam. We spent a nice morning along the Columbia River and spotted 21 species. Early arrivals Say’s Phoebe and Canyon Wren greeted us with their sing-ing from high on the cliffs. The Cove (aka Getty’s Cove) surprised us by its appearance after one year of de-watering (with the draw-down of the lake for re-pairs to the dam). What used to be a nice pond is
now mostly a big tub of tumbleweed with no waterfowl to be found. We wonder what will become of the vegetation as the pond re-fills this year. For now, the vegetation is providing lots of insect habitat and Violet-green Swallows were taking advantage (Violet-green Swallows were questioned by a GBBC counter). A new bathroom stop near the dam gave us views of Bald Eagle, Horned Grebe, Common Goldeneye, and one lone loon. Not much was stirring at Ginkgo State Park nor up the Vantage Highway. During the afternoon, scouting around the Valley west to Thorp produced a few more species for a total of 44 species for the day. We suspect the day was slow due to weather conditions: many winter birds have gone and few of
The mission of Kittitas
Audubon is to develop an appreciation of
nature through
education and conservation, with
a focus on birds.
BOOK SALE! BOOK SALE!
BOOK SALE!
March 19th KAS meeting:
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THE PAST TW0 YEARS, GENEROUS PEOPLE HAVE DO-
NATED BIRD BOOKS TO KITTITAS AUDUBON TO BE USED AS A FUNDRAISER!
~~~ VINTAGE BOOKS ~~~IDENTIFICATION BOOKS ~ FOREIGN & DOMESTIC ~~~GENERAL BIRD RELATED TOPICS
A FEW WILL HAVE PRICES, BUT MOST WILL BE BY
DONATION!!!
Expand your birding horizons! You KNOW you need another book! Give as generously as you can to
support your local Audubon chapter!
Come early so you’ll have time to browse ~ we all
know:
“the early bird gets the best books!”
the spring/summer birds have arrived yet. Folks have reported early sight-ings of bluebirds, but none were found that day, although we looked hard for them. It was a great day due to pleas-ant weather and company!
~ thanks to Judy Hallisey for this birding report
Thanks for renewing your membership!
Linda McFarlane
The Cove
Page 7 Hooter
It’s Nest Cam Season!!! Here are a few links:
http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles
http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/41/Laysan_Albatross/
You can go to the Cornell “All About Birds” site and click on
“Bird Cams” where you will find a long list of links, or go to
“UStream” and search for bird nest cams (there sill be ads).
These cameras record in real time, so you are seeing the birds “in
the moment”! Right now: Barn Owls in Texas, Bald Eagles in
Iowa, Great Horned Owls in Georgia, Albatross on Kauai, and
much more! Get a personal glimpse into the private lives of our magnificent birds! I’ve been watching Naia groom herself!
Membership & other news!
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!
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____ Join as a new National Audubon member $20 (includes KAS membership)
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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 ~ [email protected]
See The Hooter in COLOR on our website ~ http://www.kittitasaudubon.org
Laysan Albatross chick, Naia stands for the
first time! 2-2-15 (Cornell image)
Upcoming KAS Field Trips & Other Events of Interest
March
7th, Saturday ~ First Saturday Bird Walk, Irene Rinehart Park. Meet at 8 AM at Irene Rinehart parking lot by the river for a 3-hour walk. It’s been a weird winter and it feels like spring in February. Let’s see what the birds think! Some migrants are already in the area so we may catch a few stopping over at Rinehart. Jeb & Gloria Baldi lead ~ call 933-1558.
15th SUNDAY ~ Sandhill Crane trip. We think the cranes will show up early in this strangely warm late-winter season (but watch out for March snow flurries.) We’ll look for Burrowing
Owls, too. Columbia basin driving loop around Wanapum Lake, Crab Creek, Othello ponds and Vantage. Call Steve or Jan for details, 933-1179. Note that this is a Sunday all-day trip.
Othello Sandhill Crane Festival: March 27–29 ~ Field trips, lectures, exhibits, vendors, banquet and silent auction, art contest, silent auction, children’s events. Check the website for details: http://www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org/
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. Get your bird seed here!
Kittitas Audubon
P.O. Box 1443
Ellensburg WA 98926
The Hooter ~ March 2015 The Newsletter of Kittitas Audubon - http://www.kittitasaudubon.org
2-22-15 Saw the first Yellow-headed
Blackbird at the feeder, today.
~ Diane in Parke Creek
Photo by Cricket Webb
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