Feb 2014 Stanislaus Audubon
description
Transcript of Feb 2014 Stanislaus Audubon
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Valley Habitat 1
The Valley Habitat February 2014
A Joint Publ icat ion of the Stan islaus Audubon Soc iety
and the Yokuts Group of the S ierra Club
Trimming the Carbon Footprint
by Steve Tomlinson, Yokuts Treasurer
Hi folks. Needless to say there are several
transportation options which help to reduce the burn-
ing of fossil fuels. In our area this would include
Amtrak, bus services, hybrid vehicles, electric cars, or
bicycles. Personally I have not driven a car for over
eight years. My primary focus today will be on elec-
tric bikes or E-bikes. I recently spent a day in Sacra-
mento and purchased my third E-bike. It was quite
convenient as the bike shop is three blocks from the
Amtrak station and close to good food as well as a
Starbucks. I test drove a couple of bikes on an asphalt
trail along the Sacramento River. After the first ride
I said "It's FUN" when asked how the ride was. The
bike is a "pedal assist" bicycle in that you can regulate
how much the electric motor assists your pedaling. Or
you can go with throttle only. The range of mileage
on a battery charge ranges from about 10 to 25 miles.
Top speed is 20 m.p.h. There are lots of electric bikes
available with a range in prices as well.
I could talk for days about alternate transporta-
tion and E-bikes. I am more than open to anyone's
questions.
However the prevalent concern for me
is whether individuals are willing to make a change or
sacrifice to help save the planet.
The bike shop owner tells me that environ-
mental reasons account for about 5%-10% of E-bike
purchases. The #1 reason is to have "fun". Behind fun
are saving money and health. Of course change is not
always easy, even when done for good reasons. Re-
sistance, rationalizations and excuses are always easy
and convenient. My experience is that cutting the car-
bon or making a lifestyle change is not really that
hard. New habits can take the place of old ones.
Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club Program 7p.m. Friday, February 21, 2014
Adam Blauert : New and Future Hiking Opportunities in California
Adam Blauert is a correspondent to the Merced Sun-Star. He's an avid outdoorsman who enjoys
fishing, backpacking, and exploring the western states.
His talk will center on new and future hiking opportunities in California. For those who want a sneak
preview of what Adam could present, take a look at
some of his columns in the Merced Sun-Star at mercedsunstar.com. His topics range from the dessert to the
coast, the mountains to the Central Valley.
Be sure to explore his galleries on Bodie, Death Valley and the Black Rock Dessert.
College Avenue Congregational Church 1341 College Avenue - Refreshments and socializing begin at 6:45 p.m. and the meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. -Non-members are always welcome! The program is free and open to the public.
The beautiful 2014 Sierra Club Engagement Calendars and Wall Calendars will be sold, discounted, at the
Ferbruary 21st program or you can call Doug Hardie at (209) 524-6651 to order them.
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Valley Habitat 2
Stan islaus Audubon Soc iety RECENT SIGHTINGS OF RARE OR UNCOMMON BIRDS
MERCED COUNTY:
On November 30, Justin Bosler had a PALM WARBLER at Dinosaur Point in San Luis Reservoir; that is only the second Merced County record for this species. Kent van Vuren had three PECTO-RAL SANDPIPERS and a RUFF at the restricted access Los Baos Water Treatment Plant on De-cember 4. At that same location on December 18, Kent had a SAGEBRUSH SPARROW, a species which was split from the newly named Bells Sparrow last summer. Gary Woods saw six MOUN-TAIN PLOVERS off Sandy Mush Road on December 7. On December 28, another RUFF was found by Al DeMartini and Peter Metropulos at the Los Baos Water Treatment Facility ponds. Dale Swanberg found a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL at Henderson Park near Snelling on December 30.
Although not a county record, this was the first visual sighting of this species of owl in Merced County. On January 3, Kent van Vuren reported four BROWN PELICANS continuing at San Luis Reservoir. Also on January 3, Kent Johnson had a male adult VERMILION FLYCATCHER on Santa Fe Grade Road. This is possibly the same bird returning to that location over several previ-ous winters.
STANISLAUS COUNTY:
Harold Reeve, Bill Amundsen, Eric Caine, and Ralph Baker had a female GREATER SCAUP on December 8 at the
Modesto Water Quality Control Facility. On December 11, Sal Salerno had a TOWNSENDS SOLITAIRE in Del Puerto Canyon. Harold Reeve found a HERMIT WARBLER associating with Townsends Warblers at Tuolumne River Regional Park on December 24. While re-finding this warbler at that park on December 28, Frances Oliver had a
WESTERN TANAGER. The Hermit Warbler and tanager are apparently overwintering, which is possibly due to the
warm, dry climate that our county had in December.
Sherrie and Harold Reeve found a juvenile female YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER on Sonora Road, one mile
west of Knights Ferry, on December 30. If this sapsucker is accepted by the S.B.R.C, it would be only the third record of this species since 1987. Jurgen Lehnert, a birder visiting California from Germany, found a BELLS SPARROW in Del Puerto Canyon on January 6.
(NOTE: The LARK BUNTING found on November 1 was still seen by several observers on the Caswell-Westley
Christmas Bird Count on January 5.)
HERMIT WARBLER
John Sterling YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER John Harris
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Stan islaus Audubon Soc iety
Valley Habitat 3
All birdwatchers, from
backyard enthusiasts to ornithol-
ogists, began as beginners. During
that learning curve, each of them
has wondered, Why doesnt that bird in the field look like this one
in the book? Intermediates still get
stumped, and even advanced bird-
ers have been known to retract
their initial calls. In exploring
some reasons for misidentification,
I will have to state the obvious
again. But if we remember how
mistakes were made, we will not
only make fewer of them, but also
we will forgive ourselves, and each
other, when we inevitably stumble.
I would like to highlight
three issues with misidentification:
observers misinterpreting the bird,
the birds themselves being abnor-
mal, or books misaligning from
actual birds.
1. ITS NOT YOU, ITS ME! First, lets put observers
on the spot. Our minds often gain
an unfair advantage over our sens-
es. What we actually see is often
distorted by what we expect or
wish to see. If we swiftly assume
the bird we see is a particular com-
mon species, our minds will em-
phasize only marks that confirm
our assumption, while overlooking
other details that may actually be
there. That bird we dismiss as just
another Savannah Sparrow with a
glance may really be an uncom-
mon Vesper Sparrow with closer
scrutiny.
This observer bias can run
in the opposite direction, too. At
times, we may wish to see a rare
species so urgently that we may
temporarily turn a common bird into a rarity by bending what we
see and hear to our wishes. We
dont want to trust our senses be-cause of what is at stakeso much traveling, so much searchingso we allow our imagination to run,
like wild dogs rampant in the field.
It would seem these
perceptual errors would be reduced
with multiple observers, but there
is often a collective hypnosis among like-minded birders. If a
field trip leader (or someone who
just acts confidently) makes the
first call on a bird, nearly everyone
may not only believe that call, but
will choose to see what they have been told is there. Years ago, I
tramped in the rain with birders in
Humboldt County to see a Spotted
Owl that was called in, and merely
glanced at, by our leader, until an
astute birder borrowed my binocu-
lars and named it correctly as a
Barred Owl.
Yes, we should let our
senses get ahead of our minds, but
no, we cannot always trust our
senses. Optical illusions abound in
the field. Estimating a birds size is tough enough, but a dark back-
ground can make a pale bird ap-
pear larger than the others, while a
light background can cause a dark
bird to appear larger than the rest.
A bird viewed near the horizon
among trees, or seen flying through
fog, or even spotted through a
scope, may appear larger than a
bird flying directly overhead or
flying in a clear sky, or larger even
than a bird seen closer to us with
binoculars. One shorebird by itself
is often more difficult to size than one that is foraging with Dunlins
and Least Sandpipers, which can
provide helpful reference sizes for
comparison.
Judging a birds shape may be made more difficult by its
differing postures, not to mention
its constantly altering feather ar-
rangements. A perched bird facing
the wind may have a sleeker shape
than when foraging on the ground.
A bird may fluff up its feathers
when cold, pull its feathers down
when frightened, or raise its feath-
ers when annoyed, changing its
shape from its neutral position. A bird in flight will be constantly
moving its flight feathers and
body, making its actual shape
trickier to know. For example, one
of the field marks by which a
Common Raven can be known is a
wedge-shaped tail, but often the mercurial flight of ravens wont reveal that feature.
(Continued on page 6)
NOT LIKE THE ONE IN THE BOOK! (Part One) by Salvatore Salerno
What Bird? Joe Devine
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Stanislaus Audubon Society
Board of Directors: Bill Amundsen, Ralph
Baker, Eric Caine, Lori Franzman, Jody Hall-
strom, David Froba, Jim Gain, Daniel Gilman,
John Harris, Harold Reeve, Salvatore Salerno.
Officers & Committee Chairs
President: Sal Salerno 985-1232
Vice President: Eric Caine 968-1302
Treasurer: David Froba 521-7265
Secretary: John Harris 848-1518
Membership: Revolving
San Joaquin River Refuge Field Trips:
Bill Amundsen 521-8256
Other Field Trips: David Froba 521-7265
Christmas Bird Counts Coordinator; Secre-
tary, Stanislaus Birds Records Committee:
Harold Reeve 538-0885
How to Join Audubon
To become a member of the National
Audubon Society, which entitles you
to receive Valley Habitat and Audubon
Magazine, send your check for $20.00 to:
National Audubon Society
Membership Data Center
P.O. Box 422250
Palm Coast, FL 32142
Visit our web site: www.stanislausbirds.org
Valley Habitat 4
Stan islaus Audubon Soc iety
AUDUBON FIELD TRIPS
February 2, Modesto Reservoir/Turlock Lake. In winter these lakes
can attract scores of waterfowl, grebes and the occasional loon. The
shoreline may have large numbers of shorebirds, while the surrounding
grasslands can be superb for raptors. If there is water in the Turlock Lake
outlet canal we may be lucky enough to find Barrows Goldeneye. We may also visit Joe Domecq Wilderness Area and Dawson Lake (time per-
mitting). This is a combined trip with San Joaquin Audubon so the start
time will be later than usual. Meet at the Stanislaus County Library park-
ing lot (1500 I Street) at 8:00a.m. Bring lunch. We will return to Modesto
mid-afternoon. Trip leader Ralph Baker. Please email Ralph
at [email protected] if you plan to go or if you have
any questions.
February 15 and March 16. San Joaquin River National Wildlife
Refuge is huge and offers the most diverse habitats in the area, including
mixed species transitional savannas, riparian forest, oak woodlands, grassland,
and seasonal wetlands. Trip leader, Bill Amundsen ( 521-8256, birdscouter-
@prodigy.net), chooses the particular habitats to visit each month based on
conditions and season. Meet at the Stanislaus Library parking lot at 1500
I Street. at 7:00 a.m. Bring lunch. We will return to Modesto early after-
noon.
March 1. Ideal Duck Club, Los Banos. Duck club owner, Dale Azevedo,
is opening his duck club for us to bird after hunting season. After the sea-
son the water is drawn down, exposing large mud flats and attracting
shore birds by the tens of thousands. We'll be there to watch. Don't miss
this unique opportunity to bird an area seldom seen. Trip leader to be an-
nounced. For more information contact David Froba, [email protected],
521-7265. Meet at the Stanislaus County Library parking lot (1500 I
Street, Modesto) at 7:00 a.m. Bring lunch. We will return to Modesto
mid-afternoon.
Audubon Field Trip Email List
If you would like to be on a group
email to advise you of all
Audubon field trips, please email:
Dave Froba at [email protected].
EARLY BIRDERS CLASS, WINTER 2014
Salvatore Salerno is offering another Early Birders class through the
M.J.C. Community Education Department. This course is designed for
the beginning or intermediate bird watcher in the identification and en-
joyment of birds.
The classroom session is on Thursday, February 6. The first field
trip is on February 8 to Merced National Wildlife Refuge. The sec-
ond field trip is on February 15 to San Luis National Wildlife Ref-
uge.
Look for Early Birders in the mailed class catalog or online at
www.mjc4life.org. For further information, call 575-6063.
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Valley Habitat 5
Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Dayhike 2B
Las Trampas Wilderness. We will
hike up from Bollinger Canyon to the
Las Trampas (eastern) ridge of this
East Bay Regional Park and continue
on trails part-way down the other side
to the Eugene ONeill historic site. The hike will be approximately
7-8 miles in length, and 900 ft in ele-
vation gain. For further information,
including the meet-up time and place,
please contact Yokuts trip leader Ran-
dall Brown at 209 632-5994.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
4-mile Dayhike 1A
Winter Hike Along the Tuolumne
River from Legion Park.
Meet at the parking lot by American
Legion Hall (1001 S.Santa Cruz Ave.)
at 9:30 AM. Dogs and children
welcome. No signup necessary.
Info: Dorothy 549-9155
Thursdays: Midweek Hikes in the
Groveland/Highway 120 Area
(Tuolumne Group, Motherlode
Chapter of the Sierra Club)
Each Thursday meet at Mary Laveroni
Park, Groveland at 9am for an ap-
proximate 6-mile hike. Bring a jacket,
water, sunscreen and a snack in a day-
pack and wear hiking boots. The hike
is generally followed by a YO sack
lunch. Call Frank Oyung for further
details, (209) 962-7585
Happy 2014 and Thanks to all who attended the
Yokuts Holiday Party this past December.
It was a GREAT party with wonderful food, happy friends, caroling
and a raffle for special baskets.
One basket was won by Dorothy Griggs!
We had such a good time.lets do it again next year. Mark your
calendars and watch the Habitat for the exact date.
Kathy Weise
Yokuts Sierra Club Joins Meetup
The Yokuts Sierra Club group, along with the Delta Sierra and
Tuolumne groups have formed a Stockton-Modesto-Sonora
Meetup group that includes Sierra Club outings and events. Its
easy and free to join this Meetup, just go to the link below and sign
up. Its not necessary to be a Sierra Club member to join. Once
you sign up, you will automatically be sent announcements of new
and upcoming Meetup events. Join the fun and get active in the Si-
erra Club.
http://www.meetup.com/Stockton-Modesto-Sonora-Sierra-
Club/
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Valley Habitat 6
Stan islaus Audubon Soc iety & Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club
NOT LIKE THE ONE IN THE BOOK! (Part One) (Continued from page 3)
Judging a birds color is often complicated by the quality and direction of light on the subject. A bird that is
backlit by sunlight will appear as a silhouette, with virtually
all its colors dissolving to shades. Strong, direct sunlight
will enable us to see the bird well, but surprisingly, only
strongly contrasting colors will emerge, not the subtler tones
of the feathers. The light on an overcast day, however, may
enable you to see traces of yellow, olive, and green more
readily. The slanting light of sunrise or sunset may lend red
or orange shadings that really arent on the bird, or it may put highlights on a birds plumage, making it appear whiter than it really is. We must also be aware that the light shed
onto a bird may have been reflected off a surface like snow,
water, foliage in trees, thereby transferring some of its color
onto that bird. Even the angle from which we see the bird
can appear to alter its color; for one example, grayish-
backed gulls appear darker as they turn away from our view.
What can observers do to lessen these confusions?
Look long and well at many individuals of the same bird,
and at many different kinds of birds, under as many differ-
ent field conditions as possible.
(NEXT MONTH: ITS NOT ME, ITS YOU!)
Online Valley Habitat for Yokuts
Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club members who want to receive the color version of the Valley Habitat online can sent an
email to this address to opt-in: [email protected]
Type SUBSCRIBE MOTHERLODE-YOKUTS-NEWS first name last name in the body of the mesage.
Recycle
At the 7 p.m. Friday, February 21, Yokuts
Program
College Avenue Congregational Church 1341 College Avenue - Refreshments and socializing
begin at 6:45 p.m.
Recycle receptacles will be available
to capture your contributions of used house-
hold batteries, used CFL Lightbulbs, old eye-
glasses, and old cellphones.
Lets all do our bit to keep hazardous stuff out
of the trash.
Eyeglasses are turned in to The Lions Club for
distribution to those who can use them.
Used Cellphones are converted to Telephone
Calling Cards for overseas military personnel.
If you have too many magazines and books,
you can bring those, too. They are distributed
to local homebound Veterans.
ONLINE NEWSLETTER REQUEST CONTINUES
Stanislaus Audubon Society is still collecting email addresses from S.A.S. members who wish to receive
Valley Habitat online. You can email [email protected] with Online Newsletter as the subject. Put
your membership name in the body of the text WITH YOUR POSTAL ZIP CODE.
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Valley Habitat 7
Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club
Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club
Management Committee
Co-Chairs Anita Young & Candy Klaschus
Treasurer Steve Tomlinson 544-1617
(steve.tomlinson97@gmail,com)
Secretary Maryann Hight 417-9114
Programs Linda Lagace 863-9137
Conservation Brad Barker 526-5281
Membership Anita Young 529-2300
Hospitality Candy Klaschus 632-5473
Publicity Dorothy Griggs 549-9155
Outings Randall Brown 632-5994
Newsletter Nancy Jewett 664-9422
Mailing Kathy Weise 545-5948
Population Milt Trieweiler 535-1274
Fundraising Leonard Choate 524-3659
Website Jason Tyree
Check out our Website:
http://motherlode.sierraclub.org/yokuts
To send stories to the Habitat, e-mail:
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Rim Fire Recovery and More:
Tuolumne River Trust
http://www.tuolumne.org/content/
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The Valley Habitat February 2014
http://motherlode.sierraclub.org/yokuts
Yokuts Group
Mother Lode Chapter
Sierra Club
P.O. Box 855
Modesto, CA 95353
Non-Profit
Organization
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Modesto, CA
Permit No. 139
CURRENT RESIDENT OR
http://stanislausbirds.org
Home Landscaping Ideas for Drought-Stricken California: Maybe take out the thirsty lawn? Above, low-
water-use home in Turlock, CA. with > 80% native plants: Left photo Summer 2013 (N. Jewett); Right photo Jan-
uary 2014. See http://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/view-gardens for more ideas and pictures.