THE FISH HAWK
HERALD
Coeur
d’Alene Chapter of the National Audubon Society
April, 2007 Volume 16 Issue 8
The annual subscription fee for a hard copy of The Fish
Hawk Herald is $15 for one year, or
$25 for two years. To subscribe to a mailed copy send a check payable to:
COEUR
D'ALENE AUDUBON CHAPTER,
c/o
Membership
P.O.
Box 361
Coeur
d'Alene, ID 83816
AUDUBON GARAGE/YARD SALE
Jan Severtson
June 9th, Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Theresa Potts'
home at 4103 Arrowhead, Coeur d'Alene.
Please save your "junque" for our yearly
fund-raising sale. Pick up for large items can be arranged. We
will take just about anything except clothing unless they are in excellent
condition. Check your yard for pretty plants that can be potted for sale.
We always need and appreciate help. Sign-up sheets
will be available at the Audubon meetings, or call Jan at 667-6209, or email: jansjam@verizon.net. Friday, June 8th is
the day to help us sort, mark, and
organize for Saturday's sale. We definitely need help
on sale day. We will need two people at the cashiers' table,
additional people to help customers and keep things organized, and
several people to help at the end of the sale to haul away unsold items and
clean up Theresa's garage. There will be several shifts to choose
from so no one should have to stay all day. THANK YOU !!!!
2007 Yard List
Challenge and other lists
Now is the time to
take your bird watching one step further, join Lisa Hardy's "2007 Yard
List Challenge". It can be as simple as keeping a list of
species observed in 2007 and 
date seen or keeping a detailed personal
journal of what birds and other wildlife use your yard. You can also count all
birds that fly over, swim by (if you are looking out over water), are perched
across the street or can be heard from your yard. In your journal you could include information about feeders,
bird baths, plant utilized by birds for food, or shelter, nesting boxes
etc. Other information to include could
be arrival and departure dates of
migrant, numbers, and interesting
behavior observed.
email Lisa at basalt@earthlink.net and she will send Yard List Checklist .
The variety of
bird lists you can keep is endless. Some of the more popular lists are: North American list, state list, county
list, yard list, year list, and trip list - that is, recording all the birds
seen on a particular trip.
Here are some tips for keeping bird lists:
v Good birders are absolutely positive of
its identification before adding a bird to their lists. This is called
keeping "clean" lists.
v Decide on what kind of lists you want to
keep.
v Get familiar with the birds around you
and be able to identify them accurately.
For those of you who find the lister approach a bit too
"serious" think of it instead as motivation to hone your observation
skills. You may need to spend a little
more time with a bird field guide in order to sort out the Cassin's and House
Finches so that you can tally both of them on your list.
v Make a note of the birds you see that
qualify for your list, use a local checklist, a notebook, or the checklist in
your field guide.
v Include the date, location, number of
birds, habitat, weather, and a running total of the number of species.
v For any rare or hard to identify bird,
take notes. Include field marks observed,
distance from the bird, optical equipment used, and if possible take a
photo-graph. Contact other experienced
birders to confirm the sighting.
v
Familiarize
yourself with the birds that are found in North Idaho and know which ones are
common or rare. You can do this by
going to the Kootenai County Big Year List on the Audubon Website: http://www.cdaaudubon.org/KootenaiCo2007.htm
which includes a checklist of birds for Kootenai County compiled by Stephen
Lindsay.
WHY MONITOR
BIRDS ON THE IBA?
Kris Buchler
Lisa
Hardy and Kris Buchler have been doing monthly bird counts on the Wolf Lodge
Important Birding Area (IBA) for four years.
You may wonder why they do this and at times, so do they. The idea is to gather data and gain an
understanding of the IBA and I imagine, to also support its classification as
an Important Birding Area. This data is important to Idaho Fish and Game which
sponsors the IBAs and to the Bureau of Land Management which owns three fourths
of the plots we survey. Scott Robinson of the BLM nominated Wolf Lodge for IBA
status, and the BLM sponsors us by paying our mileage expenses when we conduct
surveys. Scott nominated Wolf Lodge because of the Bald Eagles that concentrate
there in winter to feed on spawning kokanee salmon, and so, it is ironic that
we actually pick up very few eagles on our winter surveys. This is because our
plots are not in the primary roosting and feeding areas of the eagles.
Why
do Kris and Lisa keep doing these counts?
If you are one of the Yard Listers, you may understand. You know your
yard and you are aware of the seasons and the birds which use your habitat. You
are in tune with it.
I
like getting to know an area, immersing myself in it and becoming aware of its
pulse. Lisa and I know when to expect
the swallows to turn up. We anticipate our first drumming Ruffed Grouse and
know just where it will be. Spring
really seems to have arrived when we hear our first Willow Flycatcher or Yellow
Warbler in willows along Blue Creek.
Today we observed a pair of Pygmy Nuthatches examining a snag for
nesting holes in ponderosa pine forest. Our usual Spotted Towhee had returned
right where we expected him to be. Soon the Spotted Sandpiper will be calling
from the edge of the bay south of the spit on Wolf Lodge Bay.
Surprises
are another reason to keep monitoring an area. This morning we saw a singing
Brown Creeper which is not that easy to come by. Last time we flushed a Ruffed
Grouse where we didn’t expect it.
Several seasons ago we observed a flotilla of over 70 Western Grebe on
Wolf Lodge Bay while driving the roller coaster-like Yellowstone Trail above
the bay. One fall, several Pine Grosbeak
were an unusual surprise. We have twice observed immature Bald Eagles flying up
Blue Creek, something which has sparked our interest. We had a wonderful
opportunity to observe a lone Trumpeter Swan at our leisure, one spring.
We
have made the acquaintance of Mr. Forest, son of Wallace Forest, the man who
purchased great parcels of land around Blue Creek Bay and put it into
conservation easements or sold some back to the BLM. Many fishermen may wonder about our early hours and we even met a
poor soul who had had a fight with his wife and sought the early morning
solitude of Blue Creek Bay. Duck hunters have asked for information. Cat rescue
and duck rescue are not beyond our limits, even though we failed at both
You
may see the results of our four years of monitoring on eBird: www.ebird.org. All of our data will soon be available for the six plots
we survey.
For
more information on the IBA program, go to:
http://www.audubon.org/bird/iba/
And
for more specific information on the IBAs in Idaho, go to:
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/wildlife/nongame/birds/iba.cfm
REHAB REPORT
Kris
Buchler
Birds of Prey Northwest has been busy as usual. Jane and Paul Cantwell treated three Bald
Eagles the last couple of months that all succumbed to their ailments. Blood tests performed at WSU revealed that
two of the eagles had severe lead poisoning.
By the time poisoned birds are brought to rehabilitators, they are often
beyond saving. BOPNW has purchased a
very expensive chelating agent that will help remove lead from a bird if it is
given in time. Since it takes weeks to
order, it has to be on hand to administer immediately.
Two Northern Saw-whet Owls were admitted for care. One had a broken wing. One will be rehabbed and is releasable.
The Snowy Owl is frisky and showing signs of wanting to go
north. This owl will be exercised on
the wing to build up flight muscles before release in the very near future.
Birds of Prey Northwest is very grateful for the support of
Coeur d’Alene Audubon. The Board voted
to reimburse members, Ed and Kris Buchler, for up to $500 in rehab supplies for
the year. This helps pay for veterinary
medications, equipment such as syringes, needles, tubing for feeding, saline,
special nutritional items for starving birds and the chelating agent.
It should be noted that Dr. Kevin Rogers of Kootenai Animal
Hospital has provided all care, x-rays and wing-wraps free of charge. Without this type of support, no birds would
be rescued and returned to the wild.
EDUCATION REPORT
Kris Buchler
Janet Callen and Kris Buchler traveled to
Kellogg on March 15 to present a bird program to third graders at Sunnyside
Elementary School. We have visited this
school for five years running and have a slide program titled “Adaptations”
that fits their curriculum. As well as
talking about adaptations of birds’ beaks, feet and plumage, we introduce the
students to some vocalizations of birds that may surprise them. No one seems to believe Bald Eagles have a
chirpy voice or that some owls hiss or gurgle rather than hoot.
This year the students received two Audubon singing birds,
an American Kestrel and a Snowy
Owl. They were given a photograph of a
Snowy Owl and encouraged to research them in the library. Magic, a Merlin, made her very first guest
appearance. She is an educational bird
in training that is permitted to Birds of Prey Northwest.
Board meeting doings
- March 19, 2007
·
Public comments are due May 15 on the
USFS CdA River Ranger District travel plan. We will review the plan for
possible effects on IBAs and BBS routes.
·
We discussed the need for maintenance on
the nesting platforms in Mica Bay. We will look for someone with the equipment
needed to prop up tilting platforms.
·
We discussed the problem of raptors
being electrocuted on power poles (because of the highly visible dangling
carcass on Harrison Flats). We will contact the power companies to see if they
have someone who could give us a presentation on preventive measures.
·
The Coulee trip dates are changed to
April 28-30.
·
Kris Buchler and Janet Callen did a
presentation at a Kellogg school.
·
The board votes to spend up to $70 on
brochures and native plant seedlings for our Earth Day booth.
Limericks by lynn
Members are invited to join the fun. Send in a limerick, poem or quotation for
our next newsletter.
Lynn Sheridan
|
There once was a cat from Toronto
Who wanted to catch him a Junco
But his owner would stand
With a leash in her hand
But the cat always tried on the morrow!
|
I once knew a lad from Post Falls
Who said he had heard a Nuttals
A southern woodpecker?
Not likely young feller -
You must try to be sure of your calls!
|
GREEN TIP:
LIGHTING
Green tip
is a monthly feature in our
newsletter. It is designed to give you
ideas for taking personal conservation action to improve the environmental
health and habitat quality of our yards and neighborhoods. (Members are encouraged to send tips to the
editor for inclusion in future.
Lisa Hardy
Twenty-two
percent of our nation's energy consumption goes to lighting residences and
businesses. When I switch off a light at home, the phrase, "Turn off a
light, save a salmon" often runs through my head. Using less energy for
lighting is of benefit to both the environment and your pocketbook. Besides
turning off lights, energy consumption can be reduced by using alternate
lighting technologies.
The
introduction of cheap kerosene for lamps in the mid-1800s had a profound effect
on American society. While gas lighting was available in the cities, kerosene
was the first affordable lighting that allowed rural families to peruse
newspapers, catalogues and books in the evening hours after their daylight
labors were completed. (Cheap kerosene also had the effect of ending the whale
oil industry, to the benefit of marine cetaceans worldwide.)
The
incandescent bulb, still used by most of us today, was developed in the
mid-1800's. The first fluorescent tubes were sold in 1938. More recent advances
in lighting include halogen bulbs, compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs,
light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, and fiber optics.
Incandescent
bulbs convert only 5% of their energy consumption into light. The other 95% is
emitted as heat. Halogen bulbs are incandescent bulbs that are filled with an
inert gas to increase filament life. They last longer, and have a somewhat
better energy efficiency (9%) than incandescents, and they are hotter than
traditional incandescents, making them unsuitable for some applications.
Compact
fluorescents have a 20% energy efficiency, and last more than 6 times as long
as incandescents. The color of the light produced has improved over the last
five years. Recently, I compared a CFL side-by-side with an incandescent. The
quality of light was slightly different, but both were quite acceptable. The
older CFL that I have in my kitchen makes tomatoes look sickly because of the
reduced red wavelengths relative to sunlight and incandescents. The increased
cost of CFLs is eventually repaid by their better efficiency and longer life.
LEDs
are the newest bulb type, primarily available at present in only a few
applications such as vehicle brake lights, backpacker headlamps and holiday
light strings. LEDs emit 90% of their energy consumption as light. To purchase
LED bulbs for residential lighting, see http://www.ccrane.com/. The high
up-front cost of LEDs makes them less economical overall (at present) than
CFLs, but you may want to consider installing them in hard-to-reach fixtures
that you would rather not have to change out again, in say, the next ten years.
Expect to pay $35 to $50 each for LED bulbs.
Fiber
optics in the form of solar tubes that conduct natural light into a building
are passive systems requiring no energy input, but have a higher installation
cost than artificial light systems. They can be combined with artificial
systems to provide light all day and night at a reduced energy cost relative to
an entirely artificial system. At present, solar tubes are seen only in cutting-edge
architecture.
At
present, CFLs are the most cost effective residential lighting when initial
bulb cost, bulb life, and energy consumption are considered. Be sure to buy
bulbs with the Energy Star label, and take care that the bulbs will fit your
existing fixtures. The environmental trade-off (there usually is one) is that
CFLs contain small amounts of mercury. Kootenai County does not currently
maintain a separate wastestream for disposing of small numbers of fluorescent
bulbs from residential use, so they are just disposed of in your regular
household garbage.
Another
consideration with CFLs is that some people, like my mother, find that
fluorescent lights give them headaches or otherwise make them feel
uncomfortable. I don't know if the CFLs have the same effect on these sensitive
people as do the standard, long fluorescent lights used in commercial
applications. If they do, the CFLs could still be used in places where one does
not sit for long periods, such as porches and utility rooms. I'd be interested
to hear about other people's experiences with CFLs.
WATER
FOUL TRIP
March 11, 2007 Field
Trip to Upper Chain Lakes
Lisa Hardy
ardy
ardy
We
met in the early morning rain and the first stop on our itinerary was Hardy 
Loop near Cataldo. We joked about
whether this was a "waterfowl" or "water foul" trip, but as
we drove across the causeway over Mission Slough, we flushed over a hundred
swallows from their perch on the power line. These proved to be all Tree and
Violet-green Swallows, and were our first taste of spring. In the marsh at
Hardy Loop, we looked over the waterfowl in the rain and noted some
tweety-birds at feeders, including Steller's Jay and Evening Grosbeak. In spite
of the rain, the Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrows and Canada Geese kept up
a continual soundtrack appropriate for the season.
The
rain tapered off as we drove on River Road along Canyon Marsh, where a truly
daunting number of waterfowl awaited our tallying efforts. We split up the
duties, and counted some 4300 waterfowl, probably just a minimum estimate. By far
the most numerous species was Northern Pintail, which Janet estimated at over
2500. We also noted 400 Tundra Swans, and 370 Ring-necked Ducks. We were
treated to our first Northern Shovelers of the year, as well as good numbers of
Barrow's Goldeneye (12) and Canvasback (58).
We
decided that since the rain had stopped, we would walk for a bit, and so we
proceeded to the Schlepp Ranch and hiked along the bike trail for a mile or so.
The fields upstream of the Schlepp residence are being re-engineered to support
stopovers of migrating waterfowl under a conservation easement agreement with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This project was the focus of a talk given
to our group last year by Ivan Lines of Ducks Unlimited. We could see that the
wet fields were hosting a large number of Canada Geese and Northern Pintail,
which we dutifully tried to estimate the numbers (75 and 800, respectively). Also present were about 60 American
Wigeon and a lone male Eurasian Wigeon. Janet spotted a Mountain Bluebird along
the edge of the field, our first of the year. Last spring our first Mountain
Bluebird in Kootenai County was March 19.
In 2004, one showed up on March 7.
As
its name suggests, Eurasian Wigeon is an Old World species, and is the most
likely Old World duck species to turn up in the Pacific Northwest. Every
winter, a handful of Eurasians are recorded from Idaho and other inland areas,
though the bulk of the birds on this continent are found following the Pacific
flyway. This distribution is reflected by the fact that only Nevada of the
west-northwest states continues to list Eurasians as a review species. Eurasian
Wigeon are typically found with their cousins, the American Wigeon, and most
reports are of drakes, as the hens of the two species are difficult to
distinguish.
Most
curious were two leucistic birds - a Canada Goose and a European Starling -
that we spotted at the Schlepp Ranch. The goose had a white body with a
normally-colored head and neck. Naturally, we tried to make this into a Snow
Goose at first. In flight, it was seen to have pale brown on the outer wings
and dark banding on the tail. The starling was largely white-bodied.
Since
we had used up most of the day counting birds, we headed home after a brief,
unsuccessful stop at Lane Marsh to check for Yellow-headed Blackbirds. After
the group dropped me at Rose Lake junction, I returned to Lane Marsh for a more
detailed look over, and found 4 Eurasian Wigeon amongst 160 Americans to bring
our day's total to 5. Two Greater White-fronted Geese were also present at Lane
Marsh, mingling with the Canadas.
Trip
participants: Kris Buchler, Janet Callen, Roland Craft, Bill & Joan
Gundlach, Lisa Hardy.
Complete
trip list :
|
Greater White-fronted Goose
|
2
|
|
Canada Goose
|
1931
|
|
Tundra Swan
|
700
|
|
Wood Duck
|
9
|
|
Eurasian Wigeon
|
5
|
|
American Wigeon
|
250
|
|
Mallard
|
580
|
|
Northern Shoveler
|
6
|
|
Northern Pintail
|
3545
|
|
Green-winged Teal
|
6
|
|
Canvasback
|
58
|
|
Redhead
|
101
|
|
Ring-necked Duck
|
371
|
|
Lesser Scaup
|
35
|
|
Bufflehead
|
21
|
|
Common Goldeneye
|
97
|
|
Barrow's Goldeneye
|