The Hooter Kittitas Audubon February 2018
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, February 15th, 2018
“On Foot Along the Coast of Wales” presented by Steve Moore & Jan Demorest
7:00 PM at Hal Holmes Center next to the library ~ 209 Ruby Street
The western coastlines of Britain display dramatic sea
cliffs stretching for hundreds of miles; many parts of
these scenic shores are lined with continuous footpaths
to which thousands of
ambulatory tourists are
lured each year. Jan
Demorest and Steve
Moore sampled parts of
the Cornwall coast a
few years ago, describ-
ing that trip for Kittitas
Audubon in January
2013.
This past year, it was
Wales that beckoned
us with its justly famous Pembrokeshire Coast Path, a continuous trail 160
miles long, that rounds the southwestern headlands of Wales. Walking
along the cliff-top path exposes you to a backpack-full of visual experienc-
es: contorted rock layers laid bare by the power of the sea, sandy coves
with swimmers and surfers, historic villages with old churches and friendly
pubs, ancient prehistoric ruins and monuments scattered about the country-
side, trailside flowers poking through the gorse and heather, smallish cities
and marine ports, and, of course, birds big and small, seen continually along
the path perching on twigs, flying above, or nesting on offshore rocks. De-
termined to document the birds along the way in photos, we found ourselves
reaching for camera and cellphone as the views changed around each bend
in the coastline.
We walked on our own, but to simplify logistics, hired a local firm to book
accommodations and transport bags. This company was able to customize
(Continued on page 3)
Page 2 The Hooter
Board Notes by Gloria Baldi
From the January 4th meeting ~
National Geographic Magazine is partnering with National Audubon, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, and Bird Life International to designate 2018 as “The Year of the Bird”. The intent is to have a multifaceted approach to recogniz-ing and conserving birds. By reviewing their periodicals and websites, we will all learn and enjoy new information about our avian species.
Tom and Diane Gauron attended the Audubon Confer-ence of Washington in Sequim, giving a report on the ses-sions, speeches, and field trips.
Steve Moore and Jan Demorest gave a report on bird-ing on Whidbey Island while participating in South Whid-bey Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count.
The December Board minutes and Treasurer’s reports were approved.
Kris Kaylor reported ten new members to KAS in the month of December.
Rose Piccinini, the new Program Chair stated that all programs are planned through the end of the May, plus into September.
Steve Hall, the new Education Chair, reported that the 5th grade Outdoor Education Program is approaching 50 years, and birding is a part of it. He is pursuing KAS in-volvement. He is also looking at Middle School ideas.
Rose and Meghan Anderson are working on the Christ-mas nestbox building opportunities with Knudson Lumber Co, who furnishes wood, and Wahluke High School shop classes, who cut the wood according to plans.
Norm Peck, because of his participation on the WA State Hydraulic Committee, gave details regarding the dredging of small bodies of water in Washington State. He recom-mended KAS sign a letter to WDFW commission stating our concerns, which the Board approved.
Norm also gave a report on the Wenas Target Shooting Committee, which is finalizing its report. At this time WDFW will patrol the area more frequently and better se-cure backstops and berms.
Judy Hallisey is serving on a Kittitas County committee regarding fishing access to the Yakima River, which will
(Continued on page 3)
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 – Judy Hallisey 270-792-9188
Vice President – Barb Masberg 509-406-3104
Secretary – Jim Briggs 933-2231
Treasurer – Sharon Lumsden 968-3889
Conservation – Norm Peck 933-4233
Education – Steve Hall 925-4877
Field Trips – Steve Moore 933-1179
Historian – Gloria Lindstrom 925-1807
Programs – Rose Piccinini 509-631-0591 Publicity – Meghan Anderson 253-987-7629
Scholarship – Gloria Baldi 933-1558
Climate Change–Barry Brunson: 270-792-9186
Past President – Tom Gauron 968-3175
*Newsletter – Jan Demorest 933-1179
Membership – Kris Kaylor 509-304-4103
*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 ~ 1st Thursday of each month at
the Methodist Church across from
The Ellensburg Public Library. 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, then we all go
out for a sociable dinner ~ NO busi-
ness discussion allowed!
Field Trip Reports Page 3 The Hooter
January 6 ~ Saturday
Birdwalk, Rinehart
Park ~ Instead
of a “normal”
and hoped-for
New Year’s
arctic wonder-
land, this year
we encoun-
tered the rem-
nants of thaw-
ing weather, slipping and sliding over rough frozen
patches that shortened the walk to a stroll up and
down the park entrance road. The woodland trail
was too icy to navigate. Eight of us turned out to
share a Yellow Church breakfast, and then to
peer through a fog blanket that began to lift under
weak sunshine at mid-morning. All was quiet until
about 10 am, when all at once flocks of multiple
species - chickadees, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and
Downy Woodpeckers - began to appear in the
branches above us. What was notable about the
day is that a couple of birds often seen just once
were in “clumps”: 3 or 4 dippers were active un-
der the bridge and heard again upstream, and a
similar number of Brown Creepers were gleaning
up the trunks of trees along the road – I don’t
think we’ve ever seen so many before. Bewick’s
Wrens were around and vocal too, and we got a
good look at a single Song Sparrow nibbling grass
seeds on the roadside, practically at our feet. With
1 eagle and 1 redtail as well, we logged 16 spe-
cies to call it a day.
~ Steve Moore
also help birding access.
Norm reported that there will no longer be Atlan-tic salmon fish farms off Washington’s shores. (This decision is due in part to the inability to con-tain fish when the nets tear.)
Meghan Anderson is gathering materials for a booth to be used at Home Shows and other events. The purchase of banners was authorized by the Board.
Gloria Baldi stated the Scholarship applications are ready to go out mid-month for 2018-2019 re-cipients.
Several members attended, and some spoke, at the state EFSEC hearing regarding the solar farm project in Kittitas County. If the project is ap-proved, Judy Hallisey encouraged the TUUSSO Energy Company to plant native flowers beneath the panels for the benefit to birds.
Barry Brunson, Judy Hallisey and Meghan An-derson have been active with the Our Environ-ment group.
All members are welcome to attend the Board meetings. Please come!
(Continued from page 2) Board Notes
the trip based on the distance we wanted to
walk in a day, 7-10 miles. Allowance was
made for extra days to tour Pembroke’s minia-
ture city of St. David’s, and to visit an island
wildlife preserve by boat. On the trail we of-
ten found that, with photo stops and the stud-
ied appreciation of nature’s spectacles, one
mile/hour was a good average. Our program
will trace the highlights of our route and intro-
duce the birds of Britain - pipits to peregrines
and chaffinches to choughs - that we encoun-
tered on the path.
(Continued from page 1) The Coast of Wales
The Year of the Bird
Celebrating 100 Years of the Migratory Bird
Treaty Act
In 2018, we mark the centennial of the Mi-gratory Bird Treaty Act, the most powerful
and important bird-protection law ever passed. In honor of this milestone, nature
lovers around the world are joining forces to celebrate the “Year of the Bird” and commit
to protecting birds today and for the next hundred years. https://
www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/year-of-the-bird/
Kittitas Audubon will be celebrating with informative and inspiring features in each issue of The Hooter during
this special year of raising awareness about birds.
Apologies for miscommunica-tions about this BirdWalk! We
are truly sorry that anyone missed the walk. We hope you’ll forgive us, and join us at anoth-
er First Saturday BirdWalk!
Each year in April, two CWU students are selected
by a committee of CWU professors and a Kittitas
Audubon representative from applications submit-
ted for a $2500 scholarship each to be used for
tuition or expenses for a research project. (Three
KAS members advise our representative.) Five
scholarships have been awarded over the last
three years, and in April 2018, two more will be
given. The five varied projects of the recipients
have all supported the mission of KAS.
For 2017 and 2018 Lindsay Millward and Scott Ku-
gel were selected. Both are graduate students.
SCOTT KUGEL
Scott Kugel is a second-year graduate student in
Central Washington University's Cultural and Envi-
ronmental Re-
source Manage-
ment program.
Originally from
Anchorage,
Alaska, Scott
received a
bachelor's de-
gree in Geology
in 2014 from
the College of
Wooster in
Wooster, Ohio.
He has always
had interests in
water resources
and how they
impact the nat-
ural world around us. To that end, his research is
examining the environmental impact of several
abandoned hard rock mines on the water quality
of the upper Yakima River.
Scott is looking at the ore processing techniques
used by miners during the turn of the 20th century
to see if they have lasting environmental effects
that can seriously impact the health and well-
being of the species that rely on the river. He
spent this past summer conducting research on
these mines, visiting several of them, and collect-
ing water and sediment samples that he has ana-
lyzed to evaluate how harmful they may be. He
plans to finish his thesis this spring, after which he
would like to move to a job as a Park Ranger for
the National Park Service.
LINDSAY MILLWARD
Lindsay Millward is a terrestrial population and
community ecologist with research interest in con-
servation biology, road ecology, and human-
wildlife interactions. She received her B.S. in Biol-
ogy from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Pre-
vious research experience includes observing red
kangaroo behavior at the Nashville Zoo, recording
dolphin wake and bow riding behaviors in the Mis-
sissippi Sound, and measuring decomposition
rates of invasive exotic honeysuckle in a terrestrial
forest.
We know Washington State Department of Trans-
portation (WSDOT) is expanding I-90 east of
Snoqualmie Pass and has constructed wildlife
crossing structures (WCS) and underpasses similar
to the natural environment to address the effects
on wildlife of
increased
traffic vol-
umes, wider
roads, and
wildlife-
vehicle colli-
sions, in ad-
dition to al-
lowing the
connectivity
of species
between the
Central Cas-
cades and
the Cascades
to the south
of I-90. Few
studies have evaluated the use of the crossing
structures by small mammals. As indicators of
healthy ecosystems, small mammals serve many
important roles functioning as prey species and
dispersers of seeds and mycorrhizal fungal spores.
Her objective is to use mark-recapture, tracking
stations, and wildlife cameras to evaluate which
small mammals are using the wildlife undercross-
ing and if they were using those installed with
habitat features. Part of last summer was spent
collecting this data. Preliminary results indicate
high abundance of generalist species (mice and
voles) and lower diversity near the crossing struc-
ture compared to the adjacent forest. The results
of her study will provide baseline data, offer a
snapshot of small mammal crossing structure use,
and suggest habitat improvements to WSDOT.
Upon completion of her M.S. degree this summer,
Lindsay plans to work as a wildlife technician and
ultimately earn her PhD.
Page 4 The Hooter KAS Offers Scholarships!
Short-eared Owls Survey WA
The Western Asio Flammeus Landscape
Study (WAfLS) is a citizen science project
designed to gather information to better evalu-
ate the population status of this species. Such
information is needed by conservation practi-
tioners who want to design management ac-
tions that will reverse the Short-eared Owl
population declines. Visit this website to read
about the survey and sign up!
http://www.avianknowledgenorthwest.net/citizen-science/short-eared-owls
Many sites in Eastern Washington have been claimed, but there are still a bunch waiting for you!
Volunteer Citizen Science Projects Page 5 The Hooter
NASA’s earth science division is seeking citizen
science volunteers who snowmobile, snowshoe, or
cross country ski, to measure snowpack in the
backcountry. Maybe this is something we could ad-
vertise or promote among communities of people
who do such things? Details are at:
https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/
scientists-seek-us-backcountry-skiers-to-
measure-snowpack/
I learned of this via the 15 Jan newsfeed (I’m way
behind in my reading!) from Sigma Xi, The Scien-
tific Research Honor Society.
~ Barry Brunson
Love to Ski, Snowshoe, Snowmobile?
Need Volunteers to Measure Snowpack in the Backcountry!!!
“If you take care of birds, you take care of most of the environmental problems in the world.”
Thomas Lovejoy ~
Biologist and Godfather of Biodiversity
40th Ellensburg Christmas Bird Count - December 16th, 2017 Page 6 The Hooter
White-fronted Goose 17 Northern Shrike 1
Cackling Goose 6 Steller’s Jay 88
Canada Goose 1324 Scrub Jay 1
Snow Goose 4 Black-billed Magpie 395
Trumpeter Swan 4 Am. Crow 11
Gadwall 1 Raven 184
Am. Wigeon 56 Black-capped Chickadee 328
Mallard 412 Mountain Chickadee 7
Green-winged Teal 24 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3
Ring-necked Duck 60 Red-breasted Nuthatch 27
Lesser Scaup 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Bufflehead 16 Brown Creeper 4
Common Goldeneye 34 Bewick’s Wren 23
Barrow’s Goldeneye 2 Pacific Wren 4
Hooded Merganser 36 Marsh Wren 2
Common Merganser 134 Am. Dipper 3
Wild Turkey 46 Golden-crowned Kinglet 13
California Quail 772 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
Great Blue Heron 61 Hermit Thrush 1
Bald Eagle (19a,9i) 28 Am. Robin 9
N. Harrier 18 Varied Thrush 7
Sharp-shinned Hawk 9 Cedar Waxwing 20
Cooper’s Hawk 21 Starling 3020
Red-tailed Hawk 318 Audubon’s Warbler 1
Rough-legged Hawk 15 Spotted Towhee 3
Buteo, sp 3 Am. Tree Sparrow 3
Am. Kestrel 58 Fox Sparrow 4
Merlin 2 Song Sparrow 106
Prairie Falcon 1 White-crowned Sparrow 73
Am. Coot 5 Golden-crowned Sparrow 20
Killdeer 3 Dark-eyed Junco 519
Wilson’s Snipe 8 “Slate-colored Junco” 2
Rock Pigeon 218 Red-winged Blackbird 239
Eur. Collared Dove 754 Brewer’s Blackbird 87
Mourning Dove 269 Brown-headed Cowbird 10
Barn Owl 7 House Finch 788
Great Horned Owl 10 Red Crossbill 2
Long-eared Owl 1 Common Redpoll 63
W. Screech Owl 1 Pine Siskin 7
Anna’s Hummingbird 1 Am. Goldfinch 357
Belted Kingfisher 12 House Sparrow 1115
Downy Woodpecker 49
Hairy Woodpecker 2 Total Birds 12,510
N. Flicker 56 Total Species 84
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1
Seen also during Count Week: Barred Owl
Twenty-nine observers in 9 parties, plus two at feeders; 64 party hours, plus 2 hours owling.
Cloudy/overcast all day, 24-40 degrees, 0-4” snow, ponds mostly frozen, creeks mostly open.
A new all-time high species count, two new species for the Count, and five highest ever species counts
for the 40 years of the Ellensburg CBC are in boldface.
Observers: Jeb & Gloria Baldi (co-compiler), Dick & Ter-ry Carkner, Gordon Crane, Joan Cawley-Crane, Lana Cruse, Jan Demorest, Bob Dittrick, Scott Downes, Sierra Downes, Deb Essman, Kay Forsythe, Tom & Diane Gauron, Judy Hallisey, Steve Hall, Doug Kuehn, Hal & Gloria Lindstrom, Phil Mattocks (co-compiler), Steve Moore, Lisa Morehead, Norm Peck, Brad Rasmusson, JoEllen Richards, Roma Stokes, Walter Szeliga, Margy Taylor, and Judd & Muriel Weaver for the Kittitas Audubon Society.
The weather this year for the weeks preceding the Count was almost balmy. Last year was extremely cold; yet both years saw the highest or almost highest-ever va-riety of species. This year five species were found in their highest ever numbers for the Ellensburg Count. The usual 30 observers participated, for the usual number of field hours. Perhaps there actually is a more varied avifauna in the Kittitas Valley recently, or maybe we observers are getting smarter about finding birds in our areas.
Canada Geese were again well above their 12-year av-erage. There was a new high for White-fronteds, and a few Cackling and Snow Geese were around. Numbers of ducks were up also; Mallards, American Wigeons, Ring-necked Ducks, Common Goldeneye, Hooded & Common Mergansers were all present in about double their 12-yr averages. Two Barrow’s Goldeneyes on the Yakima River off the Ringer Loop were the first seen on the Count since 2012.
The Rough-legged Hawk count was low; all other hawks were at about average numbers. Bald Eagles were at nor-mal numbers after last year’s all-time high. The Red-shouldered Hawk found last year along Woodhouse Road apparently did not return. The two Merlins found were in town; one just south of the water tower and the other south of the High School.
There was a new high count of “Wild” Turkeys; 46 seen by four! Groups. The last Gray Partridge was seen on the Count in 2012; surely that is a coincidence.
We have counted about 900-1300 doves & pigeons here every winter since 2001. This year the count of Eur. Collared Doves was up 43% from last year to a new high count of 754. And we were still below 1300 doves count-ed within the Circle. It is no surprise that the count of Mourning Doves has been below their 12-yr average 6 years out of the last 7, and lower each year since 2013. Up to now I have been saying that E. Collared Doves are a tree dove and prefer the thicker trees of towns, while Mourning Doves prefer countrysides with brush and sparse trees, and so the two could coexist. We shall see.
Five species of owls were found, as is usual, and with counting the Barred Owl of Count Week. However, one of these five was a Long-eared Owl, found at Helen McCabe Park for the first record for the Ellensburg CBC.
The other new species for the CBC is an Anna’s Hummingbird that has been coming in to the feeder at Norm Peck’s house in town. We wish this tiny bird good
luck. Global warming yes or no, it is still cold in the Kittitas Valley in the winter.
The Lindstroms found a Red-breasted Sapsucker in their yard, for the first one seen here since one was seen every other year 2001-2005 in Steve & Linda Hall’s yard.
The 88 Steller’s Jays was a new high count for the CBC; the old high was 64 in 1996. One of the California Scrub Jays resident since 2011 was still around to be seen. Mag-pies, crows, and ravens were in their usual numbers, whereas all three species of chickadees were seen in above average numbers. Red-breasted Nuthatches set a new high count, 60% higher than the old high of 17 seen in 1989.
Steve Hall & I found almost no small birds in our area and we thought they had all gone up to the mountains. However, total counts of wrens, thrushes, most sparrows, blackbirds, House Finch, Goldfinch… all about normal. There were only about half the average number of White-crowned Sparrows and juncos, and there was one Audu-bon’s Yellow-rumped Warbler, at Doug Kuehn’s feeders. We wish it well also.
Finch excitement was provided by 63 Common Red-polls, along Fairview Road just north of Watson Road. (I heard that the flock was not seen there the next day). There were also 74 Pine Siskins spread among four groups and two feeders, for the highest count since 2004.
Thanks to all observers. As we keep saying, these data become more valuable with each year. Put Saturday, De-cember 15, 2018 on your calendar for next winter, and thanks again to our hosts Steve and Linda Hall.
Gloria Baldi & Phil Mattocks, compilers.
40th Ellensburg Christmas Bird Count - December 16th, 2017 Page 7 The Hooter
Page 8 The Hooter Climate Change Communication
(The other) Washington
Some recent news doesn’t bode well for either
birds or people (especially the younger and yet-to-
be-born generations).
On killing birds
On 22 Dec 2017, the Deputy Solicitor of the De-
partment of the Interior issued a legal opinion that
overturns decades of interpretation of the 1918
Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This new view asserts
that the MBTA prohibits only intentional killing,
and will not be applied to things that incidentally
kill lots of birds, e.g., oil field wastewater evapora-
tion ponds and communication towers. How radi-
cal a change is this? Seventeen former top DOI
officials sent a strong letter of protest to Ryan Zin-
ke. They include all but one of the Directors of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1973, span-
ning the administrations of Nixon, Carter, Ford,
Clinton, and both Bushes. See the detailed article
by Elizabeth Shogren in the 26 Jan 2018 High
Country News:
https://tinyurl.com/yc8hfeab
For the actual letter signed by the 17 former offi-
cials, see: https://tinyurl.com/y77jfnzu.
The MBTA itself was one of the first wildlife protec-
tion laws ever enacted. “Its creation was one of
the National Audubon Society’s first major victo-
ries,” as stated in an article that contains more
detailed analysis by the NAS. See:
https://tinyurl.com/y8rk5m5x
Please note that the NAS article ends with an ex-
hortation for us to write our congressional repre-
sentatives, and urge them to oppose any legisla-
tion that would weaken the MBTA. Oh, this was
but one among many policies that the DOI re-
scinded in late Dec, via “Order 3360” signed by
the Deputy Secretary, with no public fanfare.
Among the others was to erase the entire climate
change chapter of the DOI manual. For more spe-
cifics, see: https://tinyurl.com/y9uk4c75
On solar panels
Donald Trump imposed a 30% tariff on imported
solar cells and solar panels, ostensibly to help do-
mestic manufacturers who claimed to be harmed
by cheap imports. Two companies that had com-
plained were Suniva and SolarWorld. The Solar
Energy Industries Association is a trade associa-
tion representing all aspects of U.S. solar industry.
It estimates that the tariffs will cause the loss of
23,000 jobs in the U.S., including many in manu-
facturing. See the article by Kirsten Korosec in the
23 Jan Fortune: https://tinyurl.com/y9f4kkzy
It evokes some sense of irony that Suniva is ma-
jority owned by the Chinese firm Shunfeng, and
that SolarWorld is a German company with a sub-
sidiary in Oregon.
More extreme weather events
For years, those of us urging action on climate
change have shared the scientific consensus that
the increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmos-
phere leads, indirectly but inexorably, to an in-
creasing frequency of increasingly extreme weath-
er events. However, we typically include a caveat
about not being able to assign blame on climate
change for any specific event. That caveat is be-
coming less necessary. For details see the 2 Jan
Scientific American/ClimateWire article “Scientists
Can Now Blame Individual Natural Disasters on
Climate change” by Chelsea Harvey
at: https://tinyurl.com/yd8q22c8
~ Barry Brunson, Chair,
Climate Change Committee
Membership Thanks!!! Rose Piccinini ~ family New!
Don & Sue Sorenson ~ individual renewal
Martha Wyckoff ~ lifetime membership!
Susan Bangs ~ individual renewal
Gerald & Marilyn Sorenson ~ Hawk renewal
Dr. R.D. Perkins ~ individual renewal
Diane Driscoll ~ individual renewal
Keith & Karen Johnson ~ Bluebird renewal
Membership Form ~ Kittitas Audubon Society
Please make checks payable to: Kittitas Audubon Society, P.O. Box 1443, Ellensburg, WA 98926
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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:
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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:
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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
February
3rd, Saturday ~ First Saturday BirdWalk, Irene Rinehart Park. Meet at 8 AM at Irene Rinehart parking lot for a 3-hour walk to look for waterfowl, early-returning blackbirds and robins, and riparian residents. Steve & Jan lead; 933-1179.
16th—19th ~ 21st Annual Great Backyard Bird Count ~ Count birds any or all days for 15 minutes or more, wherever you are! See Page 3 for information and visit birdcount.org
17th, Saturday ~ Fort Simcoe, Yakima County. This will be a full-day trip, with return by suppertime. The farmlands and brushy water-ways below Wapato are rich in raptors this time of year. We weave our way along farm roads to the old fort last visited by KAS in 2014. Oak woods around the grounds attract Lewis’ Wood-peckers, and this year an Acorn Woodpecker has joined them for part of the winter. Our last trip also turned up swans, a
March
3rd, Saturday ~ First Saturday BirdWalk, Irene Rinehart Park. Meet at 8 AM at Irene Rinehart parking lot for a 3-hour walk. A hint of spring weather may bring noisy wrens, nesting Redtails, wailing Killdeers, and maybe a swallow or two checking out available real estate. Lead-ers Jan Demorest & Judy Hallisey; 933-1179 or 270-792-9188.
Kittitas Audubon
P.O. Box 1443
Ellensburg WA
98926
The Hooter ~ February 2018 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!
Save
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you would pre-
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your name, mailing address, &
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with a quick link to the new
Hooter.
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ONLINE
Action Alert!
Please write letters to your Washington State legis-lators! Bills related to climate change SB6253
and carbon emissions HB 2338 are proceeding to the floor for discussion and vote.
Visit WA State legislative agenda. Contact Tom
Dent [email protected] and Judy Warnick
warnick.src.wastateleg.org (if you live in this dis-
trict).