The Hooter Kittitas Audubon March 2017

All Audubon meetings, held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at the Hal Holmes Center

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 after-

wards for juice, treats, and conversation.

Many thanks to the Ellensburg Public Library for sponsoring our meetings here!

Membership Meeting - Thursday, March 16th, 2017

Rare Woodpeckers of Central Washington: Life Histories, Research, and Stories

Presenter: Teresa Lorenz, Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Forest Service

7:00 PM at Hal Holmes Center next to the library ~ 209 Ruby Street

To observe one of Central

Washington’s rare woodpeck-

ers…..the White-headed,

Black-backed, or the Ameri-

can Three-toed………..is a

highlight of any birding day in

our spectacular Ponderosa

Pine Forests. But what do we

really know about these fasci-

nating creatures? What is

their diet? Who predates on

the nestlings, or even the

adult birds? What happens to

the fledglings after leaving

the nest?

Teresa Lorenz will present findings from several years of research in which she has been involved us-

ing (1) telemetry tracking on juvenile survival and dispersal; (2) video monitoring of nests for re-

search on causes of nest failure; and (3) next-generation sequencing to examine woodpecker diets

and to identify wood decay fungi necessary for woodpecker nest excavation.

The Forest Service management objective for this research is to examine the role of prescribed fire

versus wildfire in providing key habitat for these bird species; some answers to the questions above

were revealed. These woodpeckers are attracted to recent high severity burns and it is important for

managers to know whether prescribed fire can also provide useable habitat for these bird species.

Teresa will have some entertaining stories about the birds to demonstrate that each bird is an individ-

ual with its own personality and life history.

Please join us for this rare look at our rarely-seen woodpeckers!

White-headed Woodpecker

Photo by Hugh Fraser Three-toed Woodpecker T. Lorenz

Page 2 The Hooter

Board Notes by Gloria Baldi

from February 2, 2017

The Secretary’s and Treasurer’s Reports were approved.

Steve Moore and Jan Demorest w ill lead the First Sat-urday Birdwalk on February 4th.

Lopez Island trip is changed to April 11 to 14. Malheur is scheduled for May 23 to 26.

The new membership form came out in the January Hooter, and will be added to the website. A sample of a thank you card was circulated and discussed. January memberships and donations are continuing to arrive.

Jeb Baldi reminded the Board that as of May he w ill retire as Program Chairman. Also Tom Gauron will be retir-ing from the position of President.

February program will be the film The Messenger hosted by Barry Brunson and Judy Hallisey.

March will feature a Forest Service speaker on woodpeckers and forest habitats. April is open.

May will be Tim Boyer on shorebirds and the miracle of mi-gration.

Judy Hallisey attended a meeting in Tukw ila sponsored by the Society of American Foresters, part of a nationwide look at gaps in forest research. She was invited to represent Audubon Washington based on her KAS involvement, as well as her forestry background. Major issues were urban forestry and invasive species.

Tom Gauron schedules nest box-building. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP IN THE FUTURE, PLEASE CALL TOM.

Meghan Anderson was complimented on her solar en-ergy information. She also reported on Winter Fair where two tables were filled with displays; information and packets were distributed.

There will be a public meeting on February 13 at the Putnam (Sr. Citizens) Center in Cle Elum for community input on the reintroduction of grizzly bears.

(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-

cat@kvalley.com or snail mail to Jan

Demorest, Hooter Editor, 712 E 2nd

Ave, Ellensburg, WA 98926. Sub-

missions need to be in by the

20th of the preceding month.

The mission of Kittitas Audubon is to develop an appreciation of nature

through education and conservation, with a focus on birds.

KAS BOARD MEMBERS President –Tom Gauron 968-3175

Vice President – Judy Hallisey 270-792-9188

Secretary – Jim Briggs 933-2231

Treasurer – Sharon Lumsden 968-3889

Conservation- Board members

Education – Judy Hallisey 270-792-9188

Field Trips – Steve Moore 933-1179

Historian – Gloria Lindstrom 925-1807

Programs – Jeb Baldi 933-1558

Publicity – Meghan Anderson 253-987-7629

Scholarship – Gloria Baldi 933-1558

Climate Change–Barry Brunson 270-792-9186

Past President – Jim Briggs 933-2231

*Newsletter – Jan Demorest 933-1179

*Membership – Tuck Forsythe 925-2356

*Bluebird boxes – Jan Demorest 933-1179

*Social Greeter – Kay Forsythe 925-2356

*Christmas Bird Count–Phil Mattocks

*non-voting members

KAS Board Meetings are held at 4:30

PM on the 1st Thursday of each

month in the Methodist Church meet-

ing room, across from the library.

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, after which

we all go out for a sociable dinner ~

NO business discussion allowed!

Field Trip Reports Page 3 The Hooter

February 4 ~ First Saturday Birdwalk, Rine-

hart Park ~ We had five walkers on a gray

morning with fresh snow and icy air (20—25o).

What didn’t we see? Not a rhetorical question,

as we missed seeing a Northern Flicker, usually a

vocal presence somewhere in the cottonwoods.

We crunched right along to reach the far pond

before the waterfowl bolted, and were rewarded

with a nice group of Ring-necked Ducks and a

few wigeon, dabbling in circles near the far

shore. A second look at the Ring-necks revealed

a single Lesser Scaup, which we specified be-

cause the back of the head is “higher”. Expert

presences on websites tell us that his “highness”

is really better described as a straight or flat

contour along the back of the head, versus the

very rounded head of the Greater

Scaup. The photos can help you next time you

see scaups!

Among the smaller birds out, there were few

chickadees, a couple jays, few Downy Wood-

peckers, and juncos feeding in bark crevices near

the parking lot. Bigger birds were present in sig-

nificant numbers: 4 Bald Eagles, 2 Redtails, 60

geese, a heron, about 10 Mallards in the river

and here and there, and, scoop #2, four Ameri-

can Dippers, one mid-river near the old weir, and

3 calling above the river at the end of the walk.

What does a dipper sound like? For me, it’s a

metallic chirp, akin to those valves clicking in an

old Volkswagen engine. The morning’s tally: 17

species.

~ Steve Moore

The Climate Change committee met and dis-cussed plans for fulfilling their grant: these in-clude presenting at the Ellensburg Home Show, and at the Leavenworth and Othello bird festivals.

Jennifer Syrowitz with Audubon Washington en-couraged us to participate in a solar energy initia-tive targeting municipalities. Sara Lukins from Environment Washington is asking communities to commit to generating 15% of electricity from solar sources by 2025. Barry circulated a sample proclamation from Whatcom County.

Jan Demorest reported on progress w ith the KEEN Birdfest. They are recruiting sponsors. Paul Bannick is the keynote speaker and will con-duct a photography workshop. There will also be a mist-net demonstration, falconry demonstra-tion, and an avian illustration workshop. KAS will be a sponsor and authorized a $250 donation.

Steve Moore distributed the updated/reprinted KAS county birding maps.

Any member is welcome to attend Board meet-ings. March 2nd at 4:30 is the next date.

(Continued from page 2) KAS Board Notes

Photo by Brian Currie

20th Othello Sandhill Crane

Festival ~ March 24, 25, 26 Greater Scaup drake

Lesser Scaup drake

http://www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org/

On January 10, 2017, The Society of American

Foresters (SAF) held an invitational day-long

meeting, “Dialogue for the Greatest Needs for

the Future” in Tukwila, WA. Invitations were

sent to groups viewed as leaders who build

broad-based support among their constituents.

Representatives from King County, Department

of Natural Resources, Washington State Parks,

USDA Pacific Northwest Research Station, Ameri-

can Forest Resource Council, Weyerhaeuser,

Puyallup Watershed Council, U.S. Forest Service,

and Washington Audubon were at the table. The

Society of American Foresters is recognized as a

purveyor of science with its world-renowned

Journal of Forestry and seeks sustainable forest-

ry and natural resource management. It is com-

posed of over 12,000 professional foresters with

550 members in Washington State. SAF is hold-

ing eight dialogue sessions nationwide, seeking

ways of keeping research current and relevant in

science for the future.

I was honored to be asked by Dr. Trina Bayard,

Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon Wash-

ington, to attend and represent Audubon Wash-

ington as well as Kittitas Audubon. I was the

lone attendee from Eastern Washington and did

my best to impart Eastern Washington issues

and concerns into the dialogue.

Discussions centered around 3 points: needs

facing communities; needs of nature; and meth-

ods of science. Themes emerged around society

needing to be connected to nature, and the sus-

tainability of our natural resources. Scientific

data was brought up and considered: the meth-

ods of gathering data, living in the era of big da-

ta, gaps in science, and the distribution and use

of science.

Why and how does this relate to Audubon? As

discussion of the themes evolved, I used the fol-

lowing examples to brag about Audubon’s ac-

tions. Connections to Nature? Getting people

connected to nature is the goal of our field trips,

birding trails, backyard feeders and environmen-

tal education. Birding is an easy-to-do activity

with readily available parks, forests and open

spaces. Engaging youth to become aware of

nature? Ask any of our members who lead field

trips and workshops how rewarding it is to open

the eyes of children and young adults to the

wonders of birds. Working together toward sus-

tainability? KAS and Audubon Washington work

across all chapters in the state for unified sup-

port on environmental issues. KAS has part-

nered with local organizations such as Our Envi-

ronment, Master Gardeners, and KEEN over local

concerns and projects. Climate change and

threats to nature? KAS has a very active climate

change committee delivering native plant mate-

rials and giving presentations to various groups

about our climate change-threatened birds. Citi-

zen science to connect the public with science

and add value? Audubon has that one nailed

with its data - Christmas bird counts, First Satur-

day bird walks, bluebird trails, and sagebrush

songbird surveys! Yes, Audubon is a leader with

broad-based support.

“Wicked” questions (those questions we often

are hesitant to ask) were discussed. I’ll mention

just a few that seem interesting and relevant to

Audubon: What are ocean habitat conditions for

Marbled Murrelets? If this isn’t well understood,

should defining compartments for protection be

delayed? How many snags in a forest are really

needed for woodpeckers and other animals?

How do we choose one species over another

when conflict arises? Examples - Northern Spot-

ted Owl versus Barred Owl; corvids versus Mar-

bled Murrelets; cormorants versus salmon. How

do we, or should we, set limits on recreation?

Where do tribal rights, invasive species, and wa-

ter distribution fit into the future of sustaining

natural resources?

SAF and the USDA Pacific Northwest Research

Station appeared interested in these issues for

future research and science. I do not know if a

summary of all 8 sessions will be published, to

know if Washington State concerns are similar to

those in the other sessions. With the scuttling of

climate change data and muzzling of scientists

by our government, we may not have infor-

mation, answers, or solutions for years to come.

I hope our birds survive.

~ Judy Hallisey

Hooter A Dialogue for Science Page 4

Sagebrush Songbird Survey 2017 Page 5 The Hooter

Practice birding skills in the field 2017 promises an extraordinarily lush and song-filled shrub-steppe

spring once the snow melts!

Hone your songbird identification skills w ith training from our partner, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Experience new adventures exploring the back country to survey for our focal species: Sage Thrasher, Sagebrush Sparrow, Brewer’s Sparrow, Loggerhead Shrike, and more…

Join volunteers from eight chapters in our community science breeding-bird survey covering eastern Washington’s public lands to help conserve our birds and their habitats.

Here’s how: Contact Steve Moore, 509-933-1179; s.moore@kvalley.com , to register for trainings:

April 1-2, 2017 The “Gold Standard” for Sage-

brush Songbird Survey field training!

Day One: Bird ID Day Two: GPS practice

Instructors: WDFW’s Matt Vander Haegen and Dr. Micheal Schroeder

plus David St George

Training site: Nature Conservancy’s Moses Coulee Field Station and WDFW Sagebrush Flats

Wildlife Area

Mileage and hotel reimbursement

March 22-23 (optional) eBird trainings with the Chelan Douglas Land Trust and Washing-

ton Dept. of Fish and Wildlife; in Wenatchee and Leavenworth

Survey dates. Surveys are made once each month:

April 13-16 or April 20-23

May 11-13 or May 18-21

June 1-4 or June 8-11

Mileage and hotel reimbursement

Thanks to Christi Norman, Audubon Washington Program Director

Welcome New Members:

Jess Stevenson Randy Hoffman M. Paula McMinn Kris Kaylor Jackie Herum Mickey Parker Keyna Bugner Renewing Members:

Norm Peck Eva Tyler

Barry Brunson & Judy Hallisey Meghan & Andy Anderson Vicki & Gene Potts Jan Demorest & Steve Moore (Bluebird) Jean Clark (Kestrel)

Thanks for Donations

Jackie Herum Keyna Bugner

Thanks to New and Renewing Members!

www.olympicbirdfest.org

Brewer’s Sparrow

Survey site

Photo

s b

y S

teve M

oore

Page 6 Hooter Climate Change Thoughts

We’re coming out of a sometimes brutal and highly (deeply?) snow-covered winter, and I fully expect to hear more jokes about “so-called global warming”. However, more fre-quent extreme weather events of many kinds are entirely consistent with actual global warming. I thought I would share some recent data and analysis produced by NOAA’s Nation-al Center for Environmental Information: Global Analysis 2016. Here are some excerpts. The full article is at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201613. (So far, it’s still up and acces-sible.) Global Temperatures

With the contribution of eight consecutive high monthly temperature records set from Janu-ary to August, and the remainder of the months ranking among their five warmest, 2016 became the warmest year in NOAA's 137-year series. Remarkably, this is the third con-secutive year a new global annual tempera-ture record has been set. The average global temperature across land and ocean surface areas for 2016 was 0.94°C (1.69°F) above the 20th century average of 13.9°C (57.0°F), sur-passing the previous record warmth of 2015 by 0.04°C (0.07°F). The global temperatures in 2016 were majorly influenced by strong El Niño conditions that prevailed at the begin-ning of the year.

This marks the fifth time in the 21st century a new record high annual temperature has been set (along with 2005, 2010, 2014, and 2015) and also marks the 40th consecutive year (since 1977) that the annual temperature has been above the 20th century average. To date, all 16 years of the 21st century rank among the seventeen warmest on record (1998 is currently the eighth warmest.) The five warmest years have all occurred since 2010. Overall, the global annual temperature has increased at an average rate of 0.07°C (0.13°F) per decade since 1880 and at an av-erage rate of 0.17°C (0.31°F) per decade since 1970. Regional Temperatures

The vast majority of the world's land surfaces experienced above-average annual tempera-tures, as indicated by the Temperature Per-centiles map below. Record warmth for the year-to-date was present across Far East Rus-sia, Alaska, far western Canada, a swath of the eastern United States, much of Central America and northern South America, south-ern Chile, much of eastern and western Africa, north central Siberia, parts of south Asia, much of southeast Asia island nations and Pa-pua New Guinea, and parts of Australia, espe-cially along the northern and eastern coasts. According to NCEI's Global Regional Analysis, all six continents had at least a top five annu-

ally-averaged temperature, with North America experiencing its highest annual temperature since continental records began in 1910, at 1.86°C (3.35°F) higher than the 1910–2000 average. No land areas were cooler than average for the year.

~ Barry Brunson

Climate Change Committee

Key to map chart:

Deep Red = Record Warmest

Deep Blue = Record Coldest

Membership Form ~ Kittitas Audubon Society

Please make checks payable to: Kittitas Audubon Society, P.O. Box 1443, Ellensburg, WA 98926

Name __________________________________________Phone___________________________

Address_________________________________________________________________________

City___________________________________________State________Zip___________________

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Join with any of these Annual Membership Options: (check your option below)

Kittitas Audubon Society Individual Membership $20 ____ Family Membership $30 ____

Premium Memberships: Bluebird $50 ____ Kestrel $75 ____ Hawk $100 ____

Lifetime Individual Membership: $300 ____ Lifetime Family Membership $500 ____

Business Membership $200 ____ Business Lifetime Membership $1000 ____

Make a Charitable Donation: What interests you? We want to know!

Please enter dollar amount donation below:

Scholarship Fund $______________ Nest Boxes $_____________

Bird Surveys $_______________ General Interest $______________

Community Education $_______________ Special Committees $______________

May we list your name in The Hooter to acknowledge your membership/donation? Yes ___ No___

Your generous donation to a specific project is symbolic. Kittitas Audubon is a chapter of National Audubon Society serving the communities of Kittitas County, Washington. Go to kittitasaudubon.org for more information. KAS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

Give the Gift of Kittitas Audubon for a year! This gift membership is for:

Name ________________________________________Phone_____________________

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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

March

4th, 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. (or snow…) Jan & Steve lead; 933-1179

April

1st, Saturday ~ First Saturday BirdWalk, Irene Rinehart Park. Meet at 8 AM at I rene Rinehart riverside parking lot off Umptanum Road for our monthly 3-hour walk through woods, river and wetland. Spring migrants are arriving: os-preys, vultures, kinglets, warblers, maybe a shorebird. The April walk is a special time at which migrant birds are arriving and vocal but the trees are still bare – you’ll see the birds better! Tom & Diane lead: 968-3175 for info.

11th – 14th, Tuesday through Friday ~ Birding Lopez Island. NOTE: dates have changed for this trip. We w ill be mid-week guests of Don & Sharon Cocheba who invite KAS members for a look around “their” island in the San Juans. We will have 2 full days of birding, exploring the parks and shores of the island, and Tuesday and Friday as travel days. Please sign up by March 31 to help planning. Steve, 933-1179, or s.moore(at)kvalley.com

Kittitas Audubon

P.O. Box 1443

Ellensburg WA 98926

The Hooter ~ March 2017 The Newsletter of Kittitas Audubon - http://www.kittitasaudubon.org

THANK YOU…..TO KITTITAS COUNTY BUSINESSES SUPPORTING KAS! Inland Internet, Roslyn ~ donates Internet service for our Website: http://www.kittitasaudubon.org

Old Mill Country Store, Ellensburg ~ Provides a discount on bird seed to KAS members.

Get your bird seed here!

Three-toed Woodpeckers

Elliot Coues Key to North American Birds

(Boston, MA: Estes and Lauriat, 1884)

Let’s not miss the great program on March 16th! Teresa is talking about

our private lives!

Save the Date! May 12th-14th First Annual KEEN

Yakima River Canyon Bird Fest!

Field trips, workshops (photography), clas-ses (avian illustration), falconry demon-strations, owling, birding by ear & more!

Keynote speaker: Paul Bannick

www.ycic.org