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The Hooter Kittitas Audubon April 2017
All Audubon meetings, held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at the Hal Holmes Cen-
ter 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, April 20th, 2017
“The Rarest Wildcat in Washington State” presented by Benjamin Maletzke WDFW
7:00 PM at Hal Holmes Center next to the library ~ 209 Ruby Street
The elusive Canada Lynx is the rarest wild cat in Washington State and it is currently facing some difficult challenges to its existence here. Due to recent wildfires creating large scale habitat alter-ations, and potential threats from climate
change, lynx were recently up-listed to endangered species status by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Come find out about the ecology of lynx, where they are found, and their current status in Washington.
Presenter Ben Maletzke has been a Wildlife Biologist for 10 years with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) conducting research on black bear, cougar, lynx, and wolves. Prior to that, he completed his MS degree from WSU studying habitat characteristics of lynx in North Central Washington, and a PhD from WSU researching the effects of hunting on cougar spatial organization (come find out what this means!). (photos by Ben Maletzke)
Gree
k C
oin: Ath
ena’s O
wl
Congratulations were given to Board member Norm Peck for his selection representing KAS on the WA State Hydraulic Citizen Advisory Committee.
Both Board Minutes and Treasurer’s Reports were ap-proved.
The membership drive recently put in place indicates it has been very successful in raising funds and adding new members. Thank you to all who responded!
Kittitas Audubon’s native plant brochure compiled by Judy Hallisey is now on the KAS website.
Since KAS purchased the film, The Messenger, it is available for members to borrow for private viewing. Contact Diane Gauron.
Comment period for the introduction of Grizzly Bears into the North Cascades is open until April 28th. Web site: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?documentID=77025
Discussion ensued regarding an art contest and possi-ble uses of designing a new KAS logo, maybe for KAS’s 30th anniversary next fiscal year.
KAS is participating in the Home Show at the Event Center ~ Barry Brunson leading, assisted by Me-ghan Anderson, Jan Demorest and Jim Briggs.
KAS is participating with a table at the Othello Crane Festival with volunteers Barry Brunson, Judy Hal-lisey, Jim Briggs, Tom and Diane Gauron.
KAS was co-sponsor to a Solar Power Happy Hour at Iron Horse Brewery to educate people about solar power.
Meghan Anderson has developed a brochure on de-vices to prevent birds from being trapped in vent pipes at outdoor toilet facilities.
A nominating committee of Norm Peck, Gloria Baldi and Sharon Lumsden was formed to locate people for officers for the coming year in KAS.
Page 2 The Hooter
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-
[email protected] 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 –Tom Gauron 968-3175
Vice President – Judy Hallisey 270-792-9188
Secretary – Jim Briggs 933-2231
Treasurer – Sharon Lumsden 968-3889
Conservation- Board members
Education – Judy Hallisey 270-792-9188
Field Trips – Steve Moore 933-1179
Historian – Gloria Lindstrom 925-1807
Programs – Jeb Baldi 933-1558
Publicity – Meghan Anderson 253-987-7629
Scholarship – Gloria Baldi 933-1558
Climate Change–Barry Brunson 270-792-9186
Past President – Jim Briggs 933-2231
*Newsletter – Jan Demorest 933-1179
*Membership – Tuck Forsythe 925-2356
*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 on the 1st Thursday of each
month in the PUD meeting room,
1400 Vantage Highway. These meet-
ings are open to the public and all
Audubon members; please come and
join in the discussions. Meetings ad-
journ by 6:00 or 6:30, after which we
all go out for a sociable dinner ~ NO
business discussion allowed!
Board Notes by Gloria Baldi
Wenas Audubon Campout
Memorial Day
May 26-29, 2017 Weekend This annual event takes place on Memorial Day Week-end (May 26-29) at the Wenas Creek Campground (SW of Ellensburg).
This casual and friendly gathering offers a variety of activities, including birding field trips, flower walks, field sketching, and bat and owl prowls. You do not need to be an Audubon member to attend. All are wel-come.
Visit the Wenas Audubon website (www.wenasaudubon.org) for directions, an outline of field trips and programming, and more information (2017 program coming soon). Pre-registration is not required. The campout is free and open to all ages; however, donations are encouraged. Every vehicle must display a Washington State Discover Pass: (http://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/).
Contacts:
Doris Johnson, [email protected]
Laura Johnson, [email protected]
Field Trip Reports Page 3 The Hooter
March 4 ~ First Saturday Birdwalk, Rinehart
Park ~ 12 participants appreciated a sunny day
that gave views of 24 species, with a foot of old
snow still on the ground. The Downy Woodpeck-
ers are starting to pair up, and invisible Bewick’s
Wrens are calling from the trees. We saw many
Red-tailed Hawks, perched and flying, and 3 im-
mature Bald Eagles. Ring-necked Ducks were in
the Reecer Creek wetland rather than the ponds,
amid the noisy male Red-winged Blackbirds that
are staking out territories. Song Sparrows, Stel-
ler’s Jays, Mallards, Canada Geese, a few juncos
and chickadees, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and
maybe an early House Wren were sighted, but no
warblers yet. A visual treat was seeing a River
Otter in the wetland being “shoved away” by sev-
eral Mallards, which skittered away quickly when
the otter dove, then reappeared running across
the dike. Only then were we sure that what we
saw wasn’t a muskrat! ~ Steve Moore
CWU Mascot
Did you know that the CWU Wildcat mascot
is a lynx? Recently in the Daily Record’s
issue about CWU celebrating 125 years, the
following was written for 1951-53.
“A live lynx named Tuffy was the offi-
cial mascot, loaned by a Cle Elum business
for sporting events. When Tuffy was at a
game, Central won. When a fire burned
the Cle Elum business, the Student Govern-
ment Association took over Tuffy’s care. In
fall 1952, Tuffy escaped, hid in shrubbery
and was found just in time for the game.
After that, Tuffy found a home at the Seat-
tle Woodland Park Zoo to live out the rest
of his days.”
With today’s wildlife protective laws in
place, Tuffy’s situation would never have
occurred. ~ Gloria Baldi
Varied Thrush
in Cle Elum 3-7-17
Photo by Roy Cook
On March 1st, four members, Jerry Scoville, Jan Demorest, Steve Moore, and Gloria Baldi trav-eled to Tacoma to the University of Puget Sound and its Slater Museum of Natural History. With a previously arranged appointment, we were gra-ciously treated to a fantastic ‘behind the scenes’ tour into the work, specimens, and stories of the museum by Curator, Peter Wimberger. Loaded with two boxes of specimens (all those dead birds that members have brought to our meet-ings) we entered a well-lit room where two stu-dents were working on stripping, stuffing, and sewing skins.
Completed ‘round skin’ specimens of birds were absolutely beautiful, plump, and lying side by side in pull-out shallow drawers to keep them dust free……and can you believe a total of more than 18,500? A few of the birds were preserved
in a flight or standing form allowing them to be used in display situations.
Additional bird related collections include almost 3,000 skeletons, nearly 5,000 egg sets, 1,300
nests, and over 7,000 fully-splayed wings, the second largest wing collection in the world. Just beautiful!
Mammal skins, almost 30,000, were hung from the ceiling in climatic controlled rooms ………..and they were so luxurious and sensuous to touch.
This was in addition to 25,000+ mammal skulls and 2,100 complete skeletons. Of course, we were unable to see all, because there were also over 8,000 amphibians and reptiles, plus 6,000 insects, encased in cup-boards or jars. Most specimens are from Washington, Oregon, and elsewhere in west-ern North America, which makes the Slater an excellent source of material for the study of regional geographic variation. However, many have been acquired from other parts of the world through collecting and exchange.
Historically, specimens were used for identifi-cation between species, but today they are
“libraries” of DNA. A piece of feather from a bird reveals a wealth of data, including the im-pacts of climate change, reconstructing the genomes of extinct species, what changes
(Continued on page 5)
Page 4 Hooter Slater Museum of Natural History
Notice the date on these tags: below is
1920, lower left is 1949
Pangolins - scaly mammals from Asia; critically endan-gered due to poaching.
2016 –17 CBC results (cont.) Page 5 The Hooter
in diet and genetic variation have oc-curred, the rapidity of that change, what impacts humans have made with pollu-tants, and the historical presence of pathogens, like Hantavirus.
The Slater’s collection is one of the larg-est in the NW, although the Burke Muse-um at the University if Washington is larger. Kittitas Audubon’s birds have gone to the Burke in the past, but a new facility is being constructed, plus two large collections from other institutions have recently been received, leaving them with much to do. Our two boxes given that day to the Slater included 98 birds consisting of 45 species, and they were much appreciated. We felt each bird would find a new life for decades, maybe centuries. Such a fun day! ~ Gloria Baldi
(Continued from page 4)
Gloria and her new friend share a private joke!
American Kestrel pair, returned to claim their KAS nestbox at Charli & Nels Sorenson’s home 3-25-17
Cassin’s Finch
3-28-17
Meghan Anderson
American Robin
Photo by George Hansen
Wilson’s Snipe
Photo submitted by Meghan Anderson
Page 6 Hooter Climate Change News
Serious Word Play!...
Coo. Instead of the mighty roar heard in Ju-
rassic Park, the actual vocalization of T. rex and other avian ancestors might have been closer to the cooing of a mourning dove, according to a 2016 study published in the journal Evolution. See https://news.utexas.edu/2016/07/11/dinosaurs-may-have-cooed-like-doves, which has a link to the actual article.
Cool. Royal Dutch Shell has decided to sell off
most of its Canadian oil-sands assets, “as the chief executive warned that the industry risked losing public support without progress towards cleaner energy.” See https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/10/shell-sells-canadian-oilsands-as-boss-warns-of-losing-public-support. [Thanks to Jan for directing me to this!]
Coal. On Tue 28 Mar, coal miners were in
attendance as an Executive Order was signed, di-
recting the EPA to begin the process of withdraw-ing and rewriting the Clean Power Plan. If carried out, this will be a big step backward in addressing climate change. I would like to recommend the 2015 book Coal Wars: The Future of Energy and the Fate of the Planet by Richard Martin, energy editor at the MIT Technology Review, which deals with miners as well as the broader picture. Martin explains in depth why, photo-ops notwithstand-ing, coal mining jobs are not “coming back”. Hear Martin himself in a 39-minute interview on the Science for the People podcast #411 of 3 Mar 2017, at www.scienceforthepeople.ca/episodes/coal-warsrebroadcast.
If you continue listening, the final 20 minutes of the podcast features Jeff Deyette, assistant direc-tor of energy research in the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, who describes both the science of coal and its ex-traction.
Barry Brunson, Chair, Climate Change Committee
GET “THE HOOTER”
ONLINE
Save paper, printing, postage.
If you would prefer to receive
the electronic version, send your
name, mailing address, & email
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At the beginning of each month, we’ll
send you an email with a quick link to the
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Welcome New Members:
Phil Klucking
Linda Sharpe (NAS member joining KAS at Bluebird level)
Thanks for Donations
Phil Klucking (nest boxes)
Election! Election! Election! Each May KAS elects officers for the upcoming year, which begins in June. The following four people are willing to serve.
President ~ Judy Hallisey
Vice President ~ Barb Masberg
Secretary ~ Jim Briggs
Treasurer ~ Sharon Lumsden
Nominations are also encouraged from the floor. We will be voting at the May program meeting.
Attend a Board meeting……..perhaps you will decide to join us every month!
Membership Form ~ Kittitas Audubon Society
Please make checks payable to: Kittitas Audubon Society, P.O. Box 1443, Ellensburg, WA 98926
Name __________________________________________Phone___________________________
Address_________________________________________________________________________
City___________________________________________State________Zip___________________
Email Address____________________________________________________________________
Would you like to receive occasional emails related to Audubon issues? Yes ___ No___
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 $______________
Community Education $_______________ Special Committees $______________
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:
Name ________________________________________Phone_____________________
Address_____________________________________________________________
City _________________________________State________Zip________________
Email Address________________________________________________________
You may join National Audubon Society separately by visiting their website at:
http://www.audubon.org
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 April
1st, Saturday ~ First Saturday BirdWalk, Irene Rinehart Park. Meet at 8 AM at Irene Rinehart riverside parking lot off Umptanum Road for our monthly 3 hour walk through woods, river and wetland. The snow is gone and southern vis-itors are arriving: ospreys, vultures, kinglets, warblers, maybe a shorebird. The April walk is a special time when the trees are still bare – you’ll see the birds better! Leaders Tom & Diane Gauron; call 968-3175.
11th – 14th, Tuesday through Friday ~ Bird-ing Lopez Island. We will be mid-week guests of Don & Sharon Cocheba who invite KAS mem-bers for a look around “their” island in the San Juans. There will be 2 full days of birding, ex-ploring the parks and shores of the island, with Tuesday and Friday as travel days. Sign up with Steve Moore, 509-933-1179 or s.moore(at)kvalley.com.
May
6th, Saturday ~ First Saturday BirdWalk, Ire-ne Rinehart Park. Meet at 8 AM at Irene Rine-hart riverside parking lot off Umptanum Road for a 3 hour walk. By now, spring migrants like Yel-low-rumped and Nashville Warblers should be passing through our woods; other arrivals are vir-eos & tanagers. Jan & Steve lead; 933-1179.
23rd - 26th, Tuesday through Friday ~ Mal-heur National Wildlife Reserve, Oregon. KAS last visited this bountiful central Oregon wetland in 2012; our list of 95 species included warblers, vireos, Lazulis, many waterfowl and shorebirds, phalaropes, terns, sageland birds, Sage Grouse and Short-eared Owl. Accommodations are dorm-style at Malheur Field Station. We self-cater in the AM but reserve wonderful ranch-style dinners at nearby dining venues. Please indicate your interest by April 15 to s.moore(at)kvalley.com or 509-933-1179.
Kittitas Audubon
P.O. Box 1443
Ellensburg WA 98926
The Hooter ~ April 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!
Visit a WA State Park on their Spring FREE Days!
April 15 & 22
