March-April 2010 Sandpiper Newsletter Grays Harbor Audubon Society

8/8/2019 March-April 2010 Sandpiper Newsletter Grays Harbor Audubon Society

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Membership MeetingSunday April 11, 2010Gardening for Birds

1:30 pm 3 pmPearsall Building

2109 Sumner Avenue, Aberdeen

The

Sandpiper

March/April 2010

Teshekpuk Lake an IBA inAmericas Arctic Reserve

By Taldi Walter, NASLocated in Alaskas Western

Arctic, the National PetroleumReserve-Alaska (Reserve) is thelargest single tract of public landin the nation covering a large por-tion of Alaskas North Slope. The23.5 million acre Reserve was

established in 1923 by PresidentWarren Harding as a source of oilfor the United States Navy.

In 1976, Congress transferredmanagement authority from the Navy to the Department of theInterior and required maxi-mum protection of sh, wild-life, and other surface resourcesduring petroleum exploration inthe Reserve. In 1980, Congressauthorized leasing and develop-

ment, but once again recognizedthe extraordinary biological re-sources of the area and directedthe Secretary of the Interior tominimize ecological disturbancein the Reserve. The TeshekpukLake Special Area, located in thenortheastern part of the Reserve,is one of the most ecologicallyimportant wetland complexes inthe circumpolar Arctic.

The wetland complex aroundTeshekpuk Lake is recognized

as an Important Bird Area ofGlobal signicance, provid-ing an ideal habitat for moltinggeesea remote location thatsfree of development, with largelakes where ightless birds canescape from predators, and feaston tender sedges to fuel their en-ergy demands. Molting geese areextremely vulnerable to preda-tors and human disturbance. This

globally signicant molting habi-tat attracts geese by the tens ofthousands; as many as 35,000Greater White-fronted Geese and37,000 Pacic Brant molt at Tes-hekpuk Lake, plus thousands ofCanada Geese and Snow Geese.Teshekpuk Lake is more than just

a hotspot for molting geese, itsalso a seasonal home to more thana dozen Alaska WatchList species

that nest, molt, or stage near Tes-hekpuk Lake. Of special concernis the Yellow-billed Loon, whichnests on deep, sh-bearing lakesin the area and is a candidate spe-cies for listing under the Endan-gered Species Act. You can alsond threatened Spectacled Eider,Long-tailed Duck, King Eider,Red-throated Loon, Dunlin, andBuff-breasted Sandpiper.

A number of birds that spendtheir summer around Teshekpuk

Lake have international connec-tions. For example, some of thePacic Brant migrate to Mexico,Buff-breasted Sandpipers to Ar-gentina, Bar-tailed Godwits to New Zealand, and Yellow Wag-tails to Asia while Greater White-fronted Geese make their way toTexas and Tundra Swans over-winter in North Carolina.

In addition, the 45,000 head

Teshekpuk Lake caribou herdconverges near Teshekpuk Lakeeach May and June, seeking calv-ing grounds with few predators,low levels of disturbance, andabundant, high-quality forage.After calving, the caribou typi-cally move to the coast north ofTeshekpuk Lake, seeking relieffrom insects.

Appropriately, the area aroundTeshekpuk Lake has been sparedfrom oil and gas development formore than 40 years. Multiple Sec-retaries of the Interior from CecilAndrus under President Carterto Bruce Babbitt under PresidentClinton have recognized the ne-cessity of balancing developmentand conservation in the Reserveand have prohibited oil and gasleasing in this globally signicant

habitat.Despite the long-standing rec-ognition of the need to safeguardthe exceptional resource valuesof this area, in January 2006, theBureau of Land Management(BLM) under former PresidentBush reversed this history of protection and opened all landsaround Teshekpuk Lake, otherthan the lakebed itself, to oil andgas leasing. This decision ignoredmore than 200,000 public com-

ments, expert opinions from biol-ogists and wildlife managers, ob- jections from Alaska Natives onthe North Slope, and the wisdomof four previous administrations.Only an 11th-hour federal districtcourt rulingthe result of a law-suit brought by Audubon and veother conservation groups

Spectacled Eider photo by Jeff Wilson

Continued on page 3


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The Presidents Perch

By Mary ONeil

page 2

So, whos the new bird on theperch? You voted me in as prez back in December. Ive beenwith the Grays Harbor chaptersince 2006. I moved to Ho-quiam from Seattle in 2005and switched my chapter al-legiance from the South KingCounty Chapter as soon as I gotsettled. Before coming here, Ihad worked as a ship agent inand around Seattle/Tacoma for

25 years. My job occasionallybrought me to Grays Harbor totend my ships on which occa-sions I always made extra timeto explore and get acquaintedwith The Harbor. Many times asI drove out of town I would sayto myself, What a great placeto retire! So here I am, retired.(But still working?)

I believe we retire many timesin our lives, but I hope we never

quit. Since moving to Hoqui-am, I have taken a job at LakeQuinault working with both theLodge and the US Forest ser-vice as an Interpretive ProgramWorker. I get to tell people toTake a hike or Jump in theLake or even go to Kalalochand Fly a kite. Seriously, Iassist at the Customer Servicedesk at the Forest Service andlead my own little Walk in theWoods - an enjoyable 2 hour

stroll through the rainforestlooking at the many varieties ofmoss, ferns, trees, owers, andsometimes even wildlife.

In my spare time I volunteerwith US Fish and Wildlife atthe Bowerman Basin WildlifeRefuge either trail roving orlending a hand at work parties pulling invasive species andpicking up trash. The Shorebird

Festival (coming soon: April30th to May 2nd) is a wonderfultime that nds me helping withthe eld trips and joining in onthe others. In the winter youcan count on me to be countingthe birds for the Christmas Bird

Counts both on the Harbor andin the East County/Satsop area.

We have been truly fortunateover the last two years to havehad a truly remarkable leader inour outgoing (in many ways!) president, Arnie Martin. Weowe him a debt of gratitudefor his faithfulness to an oftenthankless task; for keeping usfocused; and for going out of hisway to make our group a creditto the community at large. He

leaves a big gap that Im goingto need much help to ll.

I am sure that the momentumof the position will automatical-ly hurl me into projects of vari-ous types. Nevertheless, I havetried to outline for myself somegoals and objectives for the yearahead. First and foremost, I plan to attend all the meetingsincluding the annual picnic.This will be a rst as I usually

work on Sundays. I would liketo reach out for greater membership participation. We havesome fantastic projects aoat, particularly in our habitat andconservation committees.

In many places Audubon is allabout eld trips. Maybe we geta little lazy here being on one ofthe worlds greatest migrationstopovers. We start thinking,Oh, the birds will come to meif I wait. But just maybe we

should work harder at puttingtogether more eld trips and goout to see the birds and otherwildlife. (Audubon isnt just forthe birds, you know!)Finally, no matter what I think or

dream or plan, this is ultimatelyYOUR club, and its going no-where without you. Therefore,I ask you to dream your dreamsand plan your plans and then

send us your feedback. --Butdont take too long! Sit andwatch the birds. Then realizethat without some help from us,this might be the last time yousee this one or that one. Theyare disappearing everyday. Get

involved. Make a difference.

Are you interested in receivingThe Sandpiper online? Send usyour email address and we can for-ward the latest issue the moment itis ready to publish or visit http://ghas.org to view the newsletteras a color pdf le. Your email re-mains private with us.

Craig Lee, keynotespeaker at the ShorebirdFestival Friday April30th, 7:30pm Craig Lee, founder and directorof National Audubons Interna-tional Alliances Program (IAP)and a national Vice President,will be the Shorebird Festivalskeynote speaker on April 30th,7:30 PM at Central Elementary

School.His program builds the effec-

tiveness of organizations work-ing on the conservation of birdsand biodiversity in Latin Amer-ica and the Caribbean. IAP iscurrently active at ImportantBird Areas in seven countries.Before joining Audubon, Craigserved for two decades as VicePresident and Northwest (U.S.)Regional Director for the Trust

for Public Land. Craig has ad-vised the start-up and organiza-tional development of over 40land trusts and conservation or-ganizations in Canada, the U.S.,and Latin America. He current-ly serves on the executive of theAmericas Council of BirdLifeInternational and on the boardsof Bahamas National Trust andAmerican Friends of CanadianLand Trusts. The title of his talkis Bird Conservation Without

Borders. A dessert receptionwill precede the lecture.


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Why do I belong to theAudubon Society?

by Becky Durr

You might think its becauseI am interested in the naturalworld and want to learn more,or because I like to watch birds,or because I believe in conserv-ing resources and habitat, or be-cause I enjoy the company ofother Audubon members, or be-cause I appreciate the programsand eld trips, and you would be right, but theres anoth-

er reason, the main reason,and I will tell you about it.Over 30 years ago, my husband

and I didnt have much morethan each other and our baby.We saw an announcement in the paper about a guided walk on

the tall-grass prairie where wecould learn about the newly es-tablished tall-grass prairie pre-serve near Manhattan, Kansas -and it was free! We drove about50 miles and found the meet-ing place, an immense parkinglot. We were a little early, andI assumed that the parking lotwould soon ll up with all the people wanting to participate.After a while, another vehiclepulled in beside our truck. The

two leaders had arrived. Wewaited past the announced timeand no one else showed up. Theleaders suggested that we gowith them in their vehicle, sowe set off on our prairie adven-ture - the two leaders, the two ofus, and our baby in a backpack.We had a leisurely afternoon on

the prairie and learned so muchfrom our very knowledgeableteachers, who did not mind that

the class was so small, and whowere happy to answer all ourquestions. When we had seenit all, they drove us back to ourtruck. Before leaving, they re-trieved a huge stack of Audubonmagazines from the trunk oftheir car and gave them all to us.

Those magazines are the rea-son why we eventually joinedthe Audubon Society. I had nev-er before heard of the AudubonSociety, and I dont remember

our leaders on that day talkingabout it either. But we took themagazines home, kept them formany years, and gradually readthem all. Those magazines werea reminder of a splendid after-noon on the tall-grass prairiewith people who were passion-ate about that place and eager toshare it with perfect strangers.Several years later, when we

Membership Meeting For those of you dismayed bythe rise in bird seed prices andthe mess under the feeders, comejoin us at our April 11th meetingfor Dianna Moores Gardeningfor Birds.

As both a Master Gardener anda birder, Dianna will discusswhat to plant for our areas thatwill look good, do well in thevarious micro-climates, and ap-peal to the local birds as well as

those that migrate through. Alist of what to plant to attractwhich birds will be available.We will meet at 1:30PM at thePearsall Bldg, 2109 Sumner Av-enue Aberdeen.

Refreshments will be served.

Teshekpuk continued frompage 1halted the lease sale in Septem- ber 2006, just days before thescheduled sale. The court ruledthat the BLM had failed to con-sider the cumulative environ-

mental impacts of developmentin Reserve.

Finally, in July 2008, after re-ceiving more than 150,000 com-ments from Audubon members,scientists, Alaska Natives, hunt-ers, and conservationists acrossthe country, BLM released arevised plan which deferred oiland gas leasing in the Teshek- puk Lake area for at least tenyears. This decision fell short of permanent protection but lifted

the immediate threat of leasing.The effort to protect Teshekpuk

Lake was a huge victory in thegrowing campaign to conserveAmericas Arctic. Audubonsnext step is to continue the workwith scientists, subsistence us-ers, land managers, conserva-tion organizations and others tosecure permanent protection forthe Teshekpuk area. Taldi Walter is the Assistant Directorof Government Relations for National

Audubon Society

had money to spare, we used theinformation in the magazinesto send our rst contribution tothe National Audubon Society.Weve been members ever since.

Online Info

Dont forget, you can accesscurrent and back copies of TheSandpiper by going to http://ghas.org, select newsletter atthe top of the page and selectthe edition you are interested inreading.

Other Audubon chapters arefollowing this technology aswell. See alsohttp://www.willapahillsaudu-bon.orghttp: / /www.discoverycoas-

taudubon.com/http://www.blackhills-audubon.com/http://www.audubon.org/states/index.php?state=WA

Or contact Mary ONeil formore information or copies.


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Poetry is for the birdsby Anne Schneider

On February 3, 2010, The Dai-ly World printed the followingexerpt of a letter by Gary Da-vis: Your new weather pageis for the birds. I often checked

the weather in other U.S. citieswhere friends and relatives are,and now I cant. Bring backthe old weather page.

What did Mr. Davis mean by the new weather page isfor the birds? That it is onlygood for the bottom of a birdcage? Where did this curiousidiom come from? It seemsstrange because most peopleenjoy birds. St.Francis was forbirds, Audubon is for birds, you

and I are for the birds. When Irecently bought cracked cornfor ducks, the lady handed it tome with a smile and said: Forthe birds.

One notable person I knewwho was decidedly for the birdswas Harold Enrico, our local poet laureate. There is barelya poem in which he doesntemploy a bird image to makea signicant statement. Going

through his collected work, Ionce counted 140 images fea-turing 47 different species,connected with the Pacic Northwest. Without the birds,Harolds subject matter wouldbe hardly intelligible. The po-ems, in turn, evoke the birdswith such precision that it is asif we were seeing them and theirlandscape for the rst time.

This relationship of the birdimage opening up a world we

never knew will be exploredin a talk jointly sponsored byThe Friends of Aberdeen Tim-berland Library and the GraysHarbor Chapter of Audubonon Saturday, April 17, from2:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Poets to be featured will be Coleridge,Dickinson, Eliot, Hopkins,Keats, Poe, Shakespeare, Shel-ley, Stevens, Tennyson, Whit-

man, Wordsworth and Yeats.Presenters: Franz Schneider,

Arnie Martin and DianaMoore. The audience will alsobe interactively involved in thisserious and sometimes humor-ous presentation of bird poetry,

sights and sounds--a tting wayto celebrate the 2010 ShorebirdFestival.

Clever crows are realcommunicators

from The Oregonian, 2/6/2010Common Crow (Corvus brachy-rhynchos), the most intelligent bird species in North Americaand perhaps the world, have at

least 23 different inections orcombinations of caw and canmimic dogs, cats, human voices,chickens and other birds.

Naturalist Dwight R. Cham-berlain, who did early researchon common crows, identied,among their calls, signals forassembly, dispersal and hungerand a plaintive call made bydying crows. He said the birdsmade a squalling call to sum-mon other crows quickly for

emergency help. The sounds ofcourtship, however, were toughto record because of the crowssecretive nature, he reported.

Crows live in family groupsand communicate with as closeto a language pattern as birdscan develop. Even single andrepeated cawing can mean dif-ferent things with changes ininection. The only time crows

become quiet is near their nest,to avoid attracting attention totheir mates and young.

Crows also have exceptionalmemories. They seem to asso-ciate certain sounds with food-- combines, corn and carrot

harvesters, etc. They can solvepuzzles and even count to threeor four.

Scientists at the University ofOxford in England mounted tinyvideo cameras to the tail feath-ers of crows and discovered thatthe birds use a variety of toolsto seek food. They select, pluckand bend twigs and grass stemsinto tools for poking and shinginto nests, and keep especiallygood tools for future use.

A zoologist last summer dem-onstrated that Aesops fableabout crows, The Crow andthe Pitcher, was based on fact.Aesop wrote of a thirsty birdwho discovered that the waterlevel in the pitcher was too lowto reach -- so he dropped stonesin to raise the level till he coulddrink.

Christopher David Bird ofQueen Mary, University of Lon-

don showed that rooks, members of the crow family, couldgure out how to retrieve aoating worm from a tall glass beaker by dropping stones intoit to raise the water level.Crows, like jays, store food and

remember where it was put.They are difcult to lure, re-

sponding most often to a call thatmimics a mob of birds gangingup on a predator or enemy.Hunters and farmers have often

shot crows to save crops withoutrealizing how many insect spe-cies and infestations crows maybe thwarting.

These amazingly adaptable birds are omnivorous and willeat the young of other birds,insects, snails, eld crops, any-thing in your garden.

Continued page 5

Crows continued from page 4


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Young crows often play gameswith each other like tug-of-war.To really watch crows, head outto the countryside -- say, Sau-vie Island. There, crows use thesame roosts in the evening andfan out in squads by day to feed

and forage.Drive around until you nd a

eld of crows and simply watchthem for a while. Before long,youll recognize different be-haviors and separate groups ofbirds working in teams.

Take a peepby Arnie Martin, Chair

2010 Shorebird FestivalThe 15th annual Grays Harbor

Shorebird Festival will again be held at Central ElementarySchool, due to a conict with

the Math Olympics having theHoquiam High School. Thanksto the Hoquiam School Districtfor giving the Festival access tothis location. The schedulingconict arises from our havingto schedule the Festival as closeto the peak of shorebird migra-tion, and when high tides occurduring the day.

Last year was the rst year theFestival had to contend with newfederal regulation that prevent-

ed Grays Harbor Transit fromdonating the busses and driversas they had so generously donein the past. We were forced tohire Petermann Transportationin Rochester, WA to transportour eld trips. Petermann didan excellent job, but using their busses seemed not to be veryenvironmentally friendly, astheir busses are garaged nearly

50 miles away from Hoquiam.The requirement of hiring bus-ses also put a crimp in the festi-val nances.

We are very pleased that thisyear we will be using the Ho-quiam School District busses,

which were not available lastyear due to the short time be-tween our receiving notice ofthe new federal regulation andthe start of the Festival. TheHoquiam School District wasmore than helpful in renting usthe busses, and the bus driversunion, Public School Employ-ees, Hoquiam Chapter, hasagreed to favorable terms inorder to promote this valuablelocal event. The fares for theeld trips have been increasedslightly to cover the transporta-tion costs. We are expecting an-other excellent experience withthe Hoquiam School Districtproviding the transportation!

Have you seen that the Festi-val advertising has gone nation-wide? Thanks to Grays HarborTourism for sponsoring an ad inthe March 2010 Audubon Mag-azine, page 110! It was their

idea, and a very generous con-tribution to the Festivals suc-cess.

We wish to thank all the lo-cal merchants who have againgenerously donated items forthe Festival Auction, providingfunds to support nature educa-tion for Grays Harbor schoolchildren.

All of our eld trip leadershave donated large portions oftheir Festival weekends in past

years, and again this year. TheFestival would not be a successwithout their time, expertise,undying patience, sharp eyesand ears.

Many people have donateddays and weeks of their timeto make this Shorebird Festivala good experience for you, theattendees. We look forward toseeing you all again this year.

Radar Ridge follow upby Arnie Martin

At the last GHAS membershipmeeting members and guestsmet with the Grays HarborPUD about their need to pro-vide clean alternative energy.

Besides much discussion aboutscheduling and cost over-runs,the proponent of the installa-tion, Energy NW (formerlyWPPS) is planning on usingthe Merlin radar system to de-tect incoming Marbled Mur-relets (MAMU) and shutdownwind turbines that the incomingbird(s) might strike. The web-site for this company is: http://www.detect-inc.com/. Thistechnology is being used by the

Armed Forces and NASA tominimize the possibility of birdstrikes. For this use, the systemwould have to have both hori-zontal and vertical detectioncapabilities, in order to ignorebirds that are ying much high-er than the turbine blades.

Im not sure if this system hasbeen implemented on any windfarms other than those thathave raptors passing through.

We were told that it was beinginstalled on a large installationin Texas. It would seem thatdetecting raptors (typically Bu-teos) would usually be easierthan MAMUs, as they typi-cally y much slower than theMAMUs 45 MPH. I dontknow if they can discriminate between MAMUs and Falco-niformes, but there may not be many falcons ying acrossthe turbine line. They are talk-

ing about having a eld test inthe Queets area to see what thedetection distance and reactiontimes with MAMUs will be.It typically takes about 30-45seconds to feather and stop oneof the turbines. It seems to methat predicting the ight path ofthe MAMUs and stopping theproper turbines prior

Continued on page 6


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GHAS Board of Directors

Steve Hallstrom 273-9280 [email protected]

Arnie Martin 612-0437 [email protected]

Dianna Moore 289-5048 [email protected]

Mary ONeil 533-9833 [email protected]

Linda Orgel 648-2476 [email protected] Prine 268-0485 [email protected]

Diane Schwickerath 495-3101 [email protected]

Janet Strong 495-3950 [email protected]

Chapter Ofcers

President Mary ONeil 533-9833

[email protected]

Vice President Arnie Martin 612-0437

[email protected]

Treasurer Diane Schwickerath 495-3101

[email protected]

Secretary Lynn Smith (253) [email protected]

Committee Chairs

Newsletter R.D. Grunbaum, 648-2476

[email protected]

Membership Dianna Moore 289-5048

[email protected]

Conservation Janet Strong, 495-3950

[email protected]

Education Renee Prine, 268-0485

[email protected]

Field Trips Dianna Moore 289-5048

[email protected]

Program Chair Dianna Moore 289-5048

[email protected]

Hospitality Linda Orgel 648-2476

[email protected]

Publicity Vacant

Habitat Vacant

Other Audubon Contacts

GHAS voice mail (800) 303-8498State Audubon (360) 786-8020

National Audubon (212) 979-3000

GHAS Website http://www.ghas.org

Endangered SpeciesAlert

Grays Harbor Audubon is anendangered species at this point,and we must cut back on our ex-penses.

If you want to have a voice inthe issues facing the birds ofGrays Harbor and those pass-ing through on their migration,

you must join us, by updatingyour membership and makingan additional tax-deductiblegift to GHAS. Through yourpast generosity, we were able to preserve almost 4,000 acres ofcritical bird and other wildlifehabitat. We are more powerfulas an organization than as indi-viduals, and the birds need ourhelp. Update and donate gener-ously today.

Ridge continued from page 5to potential impact will requiresome fairly sophisticated pro-gramming of the Wind FarmsSCADA (Supervisory Controland Data Acquisition) system.

There was much discussion

about project scheduling, andwhether to obtain an IncidentalTake Permit, or go for an En-vironmental Impact Statement.Their consensus was that the project would have a greaterpossibility of governmental ap-proval if they go ahead with theEIS.


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Please Fill Out and Mail Back

ANNUAL GRAYS HARBOR AUDUBON

CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES

If you would like to join Grays Harbor Audubon Society (GHAS), please ll out the form below, makecheck payable to Grays Harbor Audubon Society and return it with your check to:

Grays Harbor Audubon SocietyP.O. Box 470

Montesano, WA 98563

Chapter Memberships include a subscription to The Sandpipernewsletter. All Chapter Membershipsabove the Sandpiper category provide nancial support to our Chapter. The Grays Harbor AudubonSociety is totally self-supporting.

Name _________________________________________________ Date ____________

Address _________________________________________________________________

City _____________________________________ State/Zip_______________

Phone Number _____________________ E-Mail ______________________________

Heron $25.00

Pelican $50.00 Falcon $75.00

Eagle $100.00

The Sandpipersubscription only $15(Fixed or limited income membership orSandpipernewsletter only)

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To join National Audubon or renew your National Audubon Membership, call 1-800-274-4201.

If your newsletter is stamped withLast Issue-Please Renew, be sure to ll out the Membership Formabove and send it in to keep your membership active and keep receiving the newsletter! Thanks!

A SPECIAL GIFTWe know that the economy is causing difculties for everyone, but we know that GHAS

provides special effort to protect habitat for birds and other living things. Enclosed is a specialgift to GHAS to keep our organization off the endangered species list.

$_______________


8/8

MembershipMeetingGardeningforBirds

PearsallBuilding1:30-3:00pm

SundayApril11,2010 News&Editorial sendmaterialsto

P.O.Box1044Westport,98595-1044

[email protected]

InsidethisIssue

Teshekpuk1PresidentsPerch2Keynote,Festival2Teshekpukcontinued3

WhyIbelong3Membershipmeeting3Poetryforthebids4CleverCrow4Crowcontinued5RidgeFollowup6Board&Ofcers6

MemberApplication7

The SandpiperP.O. Box 470Montesano,WA 98563

HowDoIKnowWhenMyMembershipIsDue?

Lookintheupperright

handcornerofyourlabelanditwillgiveyouyour

renewaldate!Forthoseofyouonemail,wewillnotifyyouviaemailofyourupcomingrenewaldate.

GHASMissionThemissionoftheGrays HarborAudubonSocietyis

toseekasustainablebalancebetweenhumanactivityandtheneedsoftheenvironment,andtopromoteenjoymentofbirdsandthenaturalworld

March-April 2010 Sandpiper Newsletter Grays Harbor Audubon Society

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