Flyer Cheyenne – High Plains Audubon Society Chartered by the National Audubon Society since 1974

Serving southeastern Wyoming Audubon members

Officers and Committee Chairs

President—vacant

Dennis Saville, Vice president—

307-632-1602, dtsaville@gmail.com

Donna Kassel, Secretary—307-634-6481 Chuck Seniawski, Treasurer, Webmaster—307-638-6519, chuckski@aol.com

Jack Palma, Audubon Rockies liaison—

jpalma@hollandhart.com

Greg Johnson, Bird Compiler—

307-634-1056, gjohnson@west-inc.com

Jan McKee, Conservation

Belinda Moench, Education

Field Trip—Vacant

Historian—Vacant

Mark Gorges, Newsletter, Habitat Hero pro-

gram—307-634-0463, mgorges@juno.com

Art Anderson, Important Bird Areas—

307-638-1286

Wanda Manley, Member at Large

Susan Parkins, Membership

Barb Gorges, Programs—

307-634-0463, bgorges4@msn.com

Lorie Chesnut, Hospitality

The CHPAS Flyer is published monthly as a benefit of chapter membership. Submissions are welcome. The current issue is available

online at http://home.lonetree.com/audubon.

Please become a CHPAS member—Send $12 and your name and mailing address to the chapter. Include your e-mail address to get your newsletter digitally to save re-sources and see the photos in color. All chap-ter memberships expire Sept. 1.

Cheyenne-High Plains Audubon Soc.

P.O. Box 2502

Cheyenne, WY 82003-2502

http://home.lonetree.com/audubon New this month: If you would like to be-come a new member of the National Audu-bon Society, send a $20 check made out to National Audubon Society to our chapter at the address above. We will forward your check to NAS to start your national member-ship and subscription to Audubon Magazine.

Wyobirds e-list - Subscribe, post and/or read interesting sightings: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-

October 2016

Oct 18—Program: Research and conservation of Wyoming's big game migrations– Matt Kauffman 5 p.m. No host dinner with the speaker at The Albany, 1506 Capitol Avenue. 7 p.m., Cottonwood Room, Laramie County Public Library, 2200 Pio-neer Ave. Recent research at the University of Wyo-ming has advanced our understanding of why ani-mals make long migra-tions and how they are changing due to develop-ment. Matt is director of the Wyoming Migration Initiative, www.migrationinitiative.org, professor at UW’s Department of Zoology and Physiology and with the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and U.S. Geological Sur-vey. He’ll talk about what we are learning about the ecological im-portance of ungulate migration and discuss study findings showing how disturbance, from energy and housing development, could diminish the benefits of migration and lead to its loss. Because of these threats, new conservation tools have emerged that our bringing people, agencies, and NGOs together to make these journeys easier for migrating big game. BOOK SALE at Oct. 18 meeting: Beth Babcock has donated 30 of her classic bird books to CHPAS. You get first pick before they go to the library’s book sale room. Proceeds go to the library.

Oct 22—Field Trip: Curt Gowdy State Park birding hike on the Canyon Trail between Granite and Crystal Reservoirs. 8 a.m.: We will leave from the Lions Park parking lot between the Old Community House restroom and Children's Village. Carpooling may be available. Or you can meet us at the Curt Gowdy Visitors Center at about 8:30 a.m. Finish by 1 p.m. Bring water and your lunch, if you like. Please contact Mark & Barb for more information, 307-634-0463, and to be on the list of par-ticipants to be notified of any change in plans due to weather.

Oct 25—Board Meeting 7 p.m. Laramie County Library, Windflower Room: planning for the coming year. Anyone interested in helping the chapter move forward with programs, outings or other activities is welcome to participate.

Oct. 28—Cheyenne Country Club Survey 8 a.m. Contact Chuck if you wish to take part or be on his email notice list: 638-6519, chuckski@aol.com. Anyone is wel-come to join the group, but you must register with Chuck by the week before the sur-vey.

Report on burdock clipping field trip at Curt Gowdy State Park by Barb Gorges

Sept. 30 Cheyenne Country Club survey results by Mark Gorges It was a very pleasant morning temperature wise. A light shower damp-ened us for the middle third of the survey. Jerry Johnson and I were the only ones participating. We saw 14 species. The highlight of the morning was the lone male wood duck. The cedar waxwings and the young white-crowned sparrows were all feeding together in the tops of three adjacent spruce trees. All the red-winged blackbirds looked like young males who did not know that they were

supposed to have gone south with the rest of the rest of their families. Wood Duck 1 Mallard 3 Pied-billed Grebe 4 American Coot 1 Black-billed Magpie 3 American Crow 14 Red-breasted Nuthatch 3 American Robin 8 European Starling 20 Cedar Waxwing 12 White-crowned Sparrow 12

Red-winged Blackbird 13 House Finch 3 House Sparrow 1

It was a great day for a field trip Sept. 24 at Curt Gowdy State Park, sunny, no wind. We plunged into the thickets where burdock is getting a foot-hold, wielding our trusty clippers. Burdock is an invasive species that grows in wetter areas. It gets about 8 feet tall here. The concern is that the prick-ly little seed clusters (the inspiration for Velcro) can trap small birds that touch them, and then they starve. Burdock is also a nuisance to people and their pets and livestock. We were not able to work on

the area at the turn off for the Aspen Grove trailhead because someone was camped there, but we did get a lot out of what’s known as the Middle Kingdom area, along the Canyons trail both to the east and west of that trailhead. We collected the burdock in large paper sacks sold at the big box stores for collecting leaves and other yard waste and left 10 bags for park personnel to burn. The heavy paper sacks withstand pokey weeds better than plastic and are better for burning. I’d like to thank the intrepid

crew that came out to do a little gardening: Beth Babcock, a longtime Master Garden-er who will tell you she is now 86; Lou Larsen and her son Joe, a 14-year-old Boy Scout getting in some volunteer hours for his next rank; Lisa and John, our recent transplants from Hawaii; and Donna Kas-sel, our chapter secretary. Thank you. Should you be out at Curt Gowdy and identify any burdock—this time of year it looks like little brown trees with little brown ball decorations—please let me know. Or take your clippers to them and fill a paper bag!

Wyoming Citizen Science Conference—your input valued

The University of Wyoming Bio-diversity Institute is organizing the first Wyoming Citizen Science Conference to be held in Lander Dec. 1-3. Speakers from a variety of organi-zations around the state will talk about their citizen science projects (moose, am-

phibians, eagles, jays, archeology, etc.) with discussions about the science and philosophy as well as hands-on workshops. CHPAS member Barb Gorges will talk about how to keep citizen scien-tists happy. If you have any ideas on that topic, please contact her at 307-634-0463

or bgorges4@msn.com. See http://www.wyobiodiversity.org/programs/wcsc/. Registration information will soon be available.

Chapter News

Save these dates: Nov. 15 — Program: Photo tour of the Galapagos by Pete Arnold Nov. 19—Field Trip: Birding the

Front Range Lakes Dec. 27 (a Tuesday) - Cheyenne Christmas Bird Count and Pot luck in the evening

Dec. 30 (a Friday) - Guernsey Christmas Bird Count

Photo by Mark Gorges: Wood Duck

Welcome our chapter’s new hospitality chair, Lorie Chesnut

Daly Edmunds, director of policy and outreach for Audubon Rockies, had a full room for her presentation Sept. 20. She began with the population status and history of the Golden Eagle, then discussed various techniques the wind energy industry has developed to try to reduce deaths of eagles at wind farms.

A system being tested at a site west of Casper by IdentiFlight using stereo-scopic cameras to detect and identify eagles in flight far enough out to shut down a tur-bine, preventing a deadly collision (see Page 4). We will have a presentation by IdentiFlight at our January program to dis-

cuss the results of their testing in Wyoming. Daly also summarized the work of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to change protections for eagles. See more at www.CheyenneBirdBanter.wordpress.com. Search “wind” or click on “Wind energy and birds” in the list of categories on the right.

September program report: Eagles and wind energy

What a treat to have someone contact our chapter before they even move to Cheyenne. And show up at the first fall board meeting. And volunteer to bring refreshments for the first meeting. And bring a wonderful assortment of cookies,

cake and fruit, displayed on a table cloth! And then—volunteer to bring refreshments for the other meetings—except for one she’ll have to miss. We’ve appointed her Hospitality Chair. If you need additional incentives

to make chapter meetings, the refresh-ments could be it this year. Also, you’ll want to meet Lorie Chesnut and her hus-band Don Chesnut, recently of Kentucky. We hope their enthusiasm is catching.

How to Make Your Yard Bird-Friendly (Editor’s note—National Audubon has a new initiative focused on

bringing birds to your home by growing native plants. This part of the initiative can be found at http://www.audubon.org/plantsforbirds.)

Grow a beautiful garden that provides a safe haven for birds in the face of climate change. Birds are nature’s messen-gers, and they're broadcasting loud and clear: They are already experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change, and this danger will only grow over time. One of the best ways to help birds thrive is to make sure your yard is bird-friendly. By following the steps below, you can create a patch of habitat that attracts colorful birds, sweet melo-dies, and vibrant colors. If you don’t have a yard, you can still help birds by creating a native plant container garden on your patio or balcony. The secret to success lies in choosing locally native plants, which brim with nutritious insects, berries, nectar, and seeds to give birds vital food and refuge. 1. Choosing Native Plants Choose native plants that are adapted to your particular growing conditions, such as the amount of sunlight or shade, the type of soil, and the amount of precipitation the site receives. Search our native plants database (http://www.audubon.org/native-plants) for listings of the best bird- and wildlife-friendly plants for your area, as well as a list of native plant nurseries and other resources near you. Focus on native plants that support the highest variety and quantity of bird food.

Native trees such as oaks, willows, birches, and maples, and native herbaceous plants such as goldenrod and asters host numerous caterpillar species that are a vital source of pro-tein for birds, especially during the breeding season.

Red tubular flowers such as columbine, jewelweed, and bee balm serve up nectar for hummingbirds.

Native sunflowers, asters, and coneflowers produce seeds for songbirds.

Berries ripen at different times, so include seasonal variety: dogwood and spicebush for songbirds flying south; cedar and holly trees to sustain birds through cold winter days and nights.

(You can also check out a few suggestions for native plants na-tive to North America (http://www.audubon.org/news/10-plants-bird-friendly-yard), but remember to find out what’s native to your particular area.) 2. Planning Plan for a variety of shapes, sizes, and kinds of plants to give vertical structure to your garden and add cover for our feath-ered friends.

Cluster the same plant species together.

Design for color palettes and seasonal blooms.

Add habitat features like hollowed boulders that catch rain-water for birds to drink and bathe in.

3. Preparing your garden Prepare your garden well to save headaches later. If your site currently has turf grass or invasive plants, you will need to remove these, and you may want to enrich your soil by adding organic compost. An easy method is to lay down newspaper at least six sheets deep, with plenty of overlap; wet it down; cover it with 4 to 6 inches of mulch; and let it sit until you are ready to plant. Use deep edging—putting some sort of barrier (steel or plastic

edging) that goes into the ground to separate the native plant area from the lawn area—to keep out lawn grass. 4. Planting Plant in spring or fall and on cooler days. Follow plant-ing instructions carefully and get tips on mulching around plants from the plant nursery or gardening center. Water only as needed when young plants are adapting to their new habitat. 5. Caring for Your Garden Steward your native plant garden with tender loving care.

Pull up noxious and invasive weeds.

Enhance your garden area with brush piles that hide birds and shelter other wildlife too.

Leave dead trees and branches that nourish life. Check out more tips from the native plant master Doug Tallamy in Bringing Nature Home (http://www.bringingnaturehome.net/). Remember, what's good for birds is also good for people. Here are some possible impacts of your native plant garden: 532: Varieties of butterflies and moths supported by native oak trees, as compared to only 5 butterfly and moth species supported by non-native ginkgo trees. 96: Percentage of land birds that rely on insects to feed chicks. 1,200: Number of crops that depend on pollinators to grow. 40 million: Acres of lawn in the U.S. cur rently. 80 million: Pounds of pesticides applied to lawns in the U.S. annually. Native plants, on the other hand, support a balance of predator and prey and thrive without pesticides. 800 million: Gallons of gas used annually by lawn mowers. This produces significant amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases driving climate change. Learn more about why native plants are better for birds and for people (http://www.audubon.org/news/why-native-plants-are-better-birds-and-people).

Photo from Audubon’s native plants database: American Plum

(Prunus Americana); the fruits provide an important source of

food for many species of birds.

Cheyenne – High Plains Audubon Society

P.O. Box 2502

Cheyenne, WY 82003

IdentiFlight: Collaboration could keep eagles safe Published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle Sep. 4, 2016

By Barb Gorges Last month, while researching the wind energy/eagle issue, I learned about new technology that could help eagles survive encounters with wind farms. IdentiFlight uses stereoscopic cameras to detect and identi-fy eagles in flight far enough out to shut down a turbine, prevent-ing a deadly collision. The idea that cameras hooked up to a computer can learn to “see” eagles, using machine vision technology, is as remarkable as the collaboration behind it. It starts with Renewable Energy Systems, started in 1982, and now a global company in the business of designing and in-stalling as well as developing wind energy projects. I spoke with Tom Hiester, vice president of strategy for RES Americas, whose office is in Broomfield, Colorado. He said RES is funding the development of IdentiFlight and will own the rights to the technology and sell equipment. Oth-er wind companies concerned with avoiding the fines for killing eagles will be the customers. RES is working with Boulder Imaging, a Boulder, Colora-do, tech company specializing in industrial precision applications. Initial testing of the IdentiFlight system was done through the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Labora-tory. Its testing facility, the National Wind Technology Center, is south of Boulder on 300 acres up against the foothills, where the wind can be ferocious. Companies, universities and government agencies come to test their turbines for reliability and perfor-mance. Machine vision requires training the computer. In this case, it needed to see how real eagles fly. A golden eagle and a bald eagle were brought in from the Southeastern Raptor Center, where birds of prey are rehabilitated. They also happened to be the mas-cots for Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. You can see a vid-eo at www.energy.gov/eagles. Hiester told me they have found that eagles are more sus-ceptible to collisions when hunting. Their heads are down, eyes concentrating on the ground. Machine vision has to identify a moving object as an eagle at 1,000 meters to give the appropriate turbine the 30 seconds needed to shut down. This summer, IdentiFlight is getting tested by a third party selected by the American Wind Wildlife Institute. AWWI was organized about eight years ago. Half its partners are a who’s who of wind energy companies. The other half are national environ-

mental organizations such as Audubon and the National Wildlife Federation, as well as wildlife managers represented by the Asso-ciation of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and scientists represented by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

One of AWWI’s interests is minimizing eagle deaths. They expect to publish and share what they learn. Besides detect-ing and deterring eagles from wind turbine collisions, they are also looking at lead abatement (lead shot in carcasses left by hunters will poison eagles because eagles often eat dead animals), reduc-ing vehicle strikes (by removing dead animals along roads), and improving the habitat of eagle prey species. AWWI science advisors include Dale Strickland of Chey-enne. His environmental consulting firm, Western EcoSystems Technology, has studied wind and wildlife interactions across the country for a number of years. AWWI selected the Peregrine Fund to conduct the testing. The Peregrine Fund, established in Idaho in 1970 to protect and reestablish peregrine falcon populations, also works now with other raptors around the world. The test site is Duke Energy’s Top of the World wind farm outside Casper. In general, Wyoming has more eagles than other states, and some of our topographic features that cause strong wind also concentrate eagles. For the test, IdentiFlight cameras have been set up on a tower with a 360-degree view. When motion is identified as an eagle, and velocity and proximity figured, human researchers in an observation tower confirm it. In the future, the system would be totally automated and the identification of an eagle would trigger the shutdown of the turbine in the eagle’s path. IdentiFlight can also be used to survey for eagles on prospective wind sites. Hiester said the number of eagles actually killed by wind turbines is minor. There are more deaths from other causes. But as more and more wind projects are built, that could change, espe-cially in Wyoming where there is a lot of wind and a lot of eagles. Most other bird species flying through wind farms don’t have the federal protections that eagles do. IdentiFlight won’t do much for them unless they fly alongside the eagles. Hiester said that thermal imaging techniques could help identify them and bats. Hiester has been invited to share the results of this sum-mer’s IdentiFlight trials the evening of January 17, 2017, at the meeting of the Cheyenne – High Plains Audubon Society, which is expected to be held at the Laramie County Public Library.