NOTICE: There will not be a regular Audubon Chapter meeting on Wednesday,
April 1st. Instead, we are
sponsoring the following program on Saturday, April 4th.
"CREATING A GARDEN ATTRACTIVE TO BIRDS"
Phyllis
Stephens, the premier voice of Inland Northwest gardening, will be speaking at
Lutheran Church of the Master (Kathleen and Ramsey) in Coeur d’Alene on April 4th. The program begins at 6:30 p.m.
and will include a question and answer time as well as refreshments to enjoy.
Phyllis,
a Spokane native, is a professional horticulture consultant and landscape
designer. She will present a great program on this subject.
Birders
and gardeners are encouraged to attend. It will be an enjoyable evening
for all. For information or to help with treats and publicity, contact
Eula Hickam 661-3228 or ehickam@roadrunner.com.
A $5.00 donation per adult is requested
ADOPT
-
A - HIGHWAY PROJECT
Time again for some
spring cleaning along the two mile stretch of Highway 95 that our chapter of
Audubon has adopted. We meet at the Mica Grange and work our way down the
backside of the hill going south. Our
first trip out was in the fall of 2003 and every spring and fall we return to
do some badly needed tidying up.
The date this spring is Saturday, May 9. Meet at the Grange for the ritual fueling up with
donuts and juice at 8:00 a.m. Plan on about 1-2 hours. Long pants, long
sleeves, and water are advisable. Come out and enjoy a pretty spring morning and see if this is the time
that one of us finds a treasure out there.
For more info call Judy Waring at 765-5378.
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SANDPOINT FIELD TRIP
MARCH 7,
2009
Lisa Hardy
Two
Palouse Auduboners joined five Coeur d'Alene Auduboners for a late winter trip
to Sandpoint. We proceeded around the north end of Lake Pend Oreille as far as
Denton Slough, which was largely frozen. Our first stop was City Beach. We
found few gulls in attendance, and no rarities. We had traveled up from Coeur
d'Alene on dry roads, but now it began to snow lightly. Our cups of hot coffee
steamed the windows as we scoped the lake from our warm cars, and so we were
surprised when a handsome young man appeared, clad only in swim trunks and
running shoes, having just emerged from the steel-gray waters of the lake. Our
mouths agape, we lowered our binoculars to watch him sprint by us, grinning
broadly.
Water bird numbers have been reported as
rather low this winter, and we found no large rafts of ducks to contradict this
impression during our travel along Sunnyside. Terry Gray showed us where he had
found three Pacific Loons the month before at Hawkins Point. We scoped various
loons through the snow, and finally had a few glimpses of a probable winter
plumage Pacific. Common Loons were numerous along Sunnyside and off Hawkins
Point; we counted at least nine. These were mostly still in drab winter
plumage, though two birds showed darker heads that indicated they were starting
to molt into their more contrasting summer plumage.
Also at Hawkins Point, Diana called out,
"Swallows!" At first we disbelieved her, but after searching through
the blowing snow, we found two Violet-green Swallows dipping and fluttering
along the ice edge. Like the swimmer at City Beach, these swallows were not
waiting for spring.
At Denton Slough, we found small groups
of Tundra Swan in tiny pockets of open water. As the snow came down harder, we
called it a day, and headed home.
Trip participants: Kris Buchler, Janet
Callen, Roland Craft, Dick Cripe, Terry Gray, Lisa Hardy, Diana Johnson
Trip list:
|
Canada Goose
|
57
|
|
Tundra Swan
|
14
|
|
Gadwall
|
22
|
|
American Wigeon
|
1
|
|
Mallard
|
122
|
|
Northern Pintail
|
26
|
|
Green-winged Teal
|
2
|
|
scaup sp.
|
34
|
|
Bufflehead
|
61
|
|
Common Goldeneye
|
25
|
|
Hooded Merganser
|
15
|
|
Red-breasted Merganser
|
1
|
|
Common Loon
|
9
|
|
Horned Grebe
|
10
|
|
Double-crested Cormorant
|
1
|
|
Great Blue Heron
|
2
|
|
Bald Eagle
|
16
|
|
American Coot
|
2600
|
|
Ring-billed Gull
|
44
|
|
California Gull
|
3
|
|
Herring Gull
|
2
|
|
Rock Pigeon
|
17
|
|
Downy Woodpecker
|
1
|
|
Northern Flicker
|
2
|
|
American Crow
|
43
|
|
Common Raven
|
12
|
|
Violet-green Swallow
|
2
|
|
Black-capped Chickadee
|
5
|
|
Mountain Chickadee
|
1
|
|
Brown Creeper
|
1
|
|
Golden-crowned Kinglet
|
3
|
|
Townsend's Solitaire
|
1
|
|
American Robin
|
158
|
|
Varied Thrush
|
1
|
|
European Starling
|
2
|
|
waxwing sp.
|
15
|
|
Dark-eyed Junco
|
5
|
|
Red-winged Blackbird
|
2
|
|
Pine Siskin
|
75
|
:
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TOP WAYS
TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING
AND ITS IMPACT ON
BIRDS
News Release from Audubon
All
of us have a role to play in reducing the worst impacts of global warming. As individuals and engaged citizens, we can all
take steps to reduce our energy use, switch to cleaner sources of power,
conserve habitat and encourage our leaders to take immediate action. Here's a short list:
1. Be an Active Citizen
Join Audubon's activist team and urge our elected official
to make global warming a top priority by
signing our petition at www.birdsandclimate.org/
Voice your support for new approaches to help solve global
warming, move us toward a 100 percent clean energy future, reduce our
dependence on oil, and protect our environment. Stay informed, write letters to your leaders, and support
candidates who promise to take the aggressive and farsighted actions necessary
to curb global warming.
2. Get Involved in Your Community
Support conservation efforts that protect and restore
essential bird habitat, keeping it healthy to better withstand global
warming. Visit www.audubon.org/ to learn how the
Important Bird Areas program is building a national network of conservation
stewards. And join in "Citizen Science" efforts like the Christmas
and Great Backyard Bird Counts:
www.audubon.org/bird/citizen/index.html
3. Determine Your Energy Profile and Carbon Footprint
An energy audit assesses how much energy you consume. A
carbon footprint shows how much greenhouse gas you emit into the atmosphere.
These figures can help you determine steps you can take to make your home,
school, or office more energy efficient.
Many footprint calculators are available online.
4. Reduce Energy Consumption
Save money and energy by switching to compact fluorescent
light bulbs and maximize the use of your natural sunlight for daytime lighting
needs. Reduce excessive use of home
heating and cooling and weatherize your home.
Buy energy efficient appliances such as those that are "Energy
Star" compliant.
5. Eat Locally Grown and Organic Produce
The fewer miles your products travel, the less energy is
used for refrigeration and transport. And buy organic. That reduces the use of
pesticides that kill the organisms which help keep carbon in the soil.
6. Shop Smarter
Manufacturing, packing, transporting, and selling goods not
only use huge amounts of energy but also release excessive amounts of
greenhouse gases. When shopping, always
ask, "Do I really need this? Does
the Earth really need this?" You'll probably save money as well.
7. Save Gas and Money
Use public transportation, ride your bicycle, walk,
carpool, and drive a more energy-efficient vehicle. Keep tires properly inflated to increase fuel efficiency-it
will lower your fuel costs.
8. Plant More Trees and Buy Good Wood
An average tree absorbs ten pounds of pollutants from the
air each year, including four pounds of ground level ozone and three pounds of
particulates. So, plant leafy trees
around your house to provide windbreaks and summer shade. When shopping for
wood, ask about certified wood to support sustainably
managed forests that are bird-friendly.
9. Switch to Green Power
Power plants are the single largest
source of heat-trapping gases in the United States, but in some states you can
switch to utilities that provide 50 to 100 percent renewable energy. You may
also want to consider installing solar panels on your home.
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See the article in our OctoberNovember2008.htm about the Idaho Birding Trail Signs by Kris Buchler. In the October/November issue, we featured
the Red-naped Sapsucker sign that is now up in Mica Bay. The Pygmy Nuthatch
sign is scheduled to be put up at North Idaho College sometime soon.
Pygmy Nuthatch photo is by Tom Davenport
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SOUTH
DAKOTA OSPREY RESTORATION PROJECT
By Dr.
Wayne Melquist
In an effort to establish a population
of Ospreys in southeast South Dakota, in 2004 the South Dakota Department of
Game, Fish, and Parks requested the assistance of the Idaho Department of Fish
and Game and University of Idaho in providing nestling Ospreys. Northern Idaho is home to a healthy
population of nesting Ospreys. Since
inception of the project, 72 juvenile Ospreys have been collected from nests
(one nestling is always left in a nest) in the Coeur d’Alene River drainage and
transported by plane and vehicle to release (hack) sites in SD.
In 2008, the release of 20 birds in Yankton, SD was
coordinated by raptor biologist and rehabilitator Jane Fink (Birds of Prey
Northwest), with assistance from Greg Kaltenecker (Idaho Bird Observatory in
Boise), and a host of volunteers.
Similar to other hacking projects, the Ospreys were placed in hacking
boxes at approximately 6 weeks old and fed daily. Once the Ospreys reached
their normal fledging age of about 7-9 weeks old, the box was opened to allow
the birds to fly for the first time. The Ospreys were continually monitored
during daylight hours and provided food at the hack site. It took a few weeks
for young Osprey to be proficient at catching prey (fish) and thereby
independent from the hack site.
Five of these birds received satellite-tracking
transmitters in a continuing effort to monitor migration routes and wintering
areas. Based on past tracking efforts,
the released Ospreys tend to follow the Missouri and Mississippi River
drainages to the Gulf coast. Once
there, the birds may turn east and migrate down Florida and island-hop through
the Caribbean to South America.
Migrating young that turn west tend to migrate along the Texas coast
into Mexico and Central America. One of
the youngsters appeared to winter in Cuba, while another went west and south
into Costa Rica.
The transmitter on 1 of the 5 birds instrumented this
summer failed before the bird initiated migration. The remaining 4 instrumented birds (1 male and 3 females)
initiated migration on September 7 (A-01), 12 (A-15), 14 (A-04), and 24 (A-00),
with the male (A-00) being the last to leave.
Female A-01 left the Mississippi River drainage in central Arkansas and
headed east, ending up in the Columbus, GA area near the Alabama-Georgia border
north of the Gulf of Mexico. A-01
remained in this area for a month when the signal was unfortunately lost on 21
September.
A-15 arrived at the
Gulf of Mexico near Freeport, TX on 16 September, 4 days after leaving the hack
site. The bird continued down the coast
to the La Coma, Mexico area, where it remains today. A-04 arrived at the Gulf coast in Louisiana near the Texas border
on 17-18 September, 3-4 days after initiating migration. The bird then migrated east to the Louisiana
delta area at the mouth of the Mississippi River, where it remains today. A-00, the only male sporting a transmitter,
arrived at the Gulf coast south of Mobile, AL on or before 3 October. From there it migrated east along the coast,
staying in the Steinhatchee, FL area for a few weeks before moving again south through
the Everglades and settling near Flamingo.
It will be interesting to see if the birds continue
migrating south, as expected, or if they choose to remain where they have been
for more than a month. Conditions are
obviously adequate where they are, or they would have continued their
migration.
Young Ospreys remain in the wintering area until they
approach 2 years of age, when they migrate north to find a nesting area, often
in the location where they were released.
Males have a greater tendency than females to return to the area they
fledged from. It may take 20 or more
released birds to get a single nesting pair established, as 50% or more young
Ospreys die before the end of their first year. Thus far, no released birds have been observed back at the hack
sites (all the birds were banded with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service numbered
leg bands and 52 have either blue or green coded leg bands), but we remain
optimistic. This project is scheduled to repeat the release of 20 more Ospreys
each year through 2010.
Follow
up email from Wayne
March
2, 2009 The birds remain in their
respective locations, as previously reported.
Wayne Melquist is the
former
IDFG Nongame Wildlife Manager. Upon retiring
from IDFG in 2003, he spent 3 years as a Research Associate Professor at the
University of Idaho, where he continues to work part-time on the Osprey and
other wildlife projects. He has banded and worked on Ospreys in North Idaho for
36 years and coordinated the collection of these Ospreys.
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BIRDING FESTIVALS
are you planning
any trips soon? You might be interested
in adding a birding festival to your itinerary. Bird Watchers Digest
has a Birding and Nature
Festival Finder that can help you select from many available festivals
occurring all over the counrty.
www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/finderTool/birdFestFinder/birdFestSearch.aspx
The American Birding
Association also has a festival finding site.
www.aba.org/festivals/
Here are
three Festivals not too far from here
John Scharff Migratory Bird Festival John Scharff Migratory Bird Festival
Date:
Always the first full weekend in April
Location: Burns,
Oregon
Address: 484
North Broadway
Burns Oregon 97720
Phone: (541)
573-2636
Fax:
(541) 573-3408
E-Mail:
info@migratorybirdfestival.com
Website: www.migratorybirdfestival.com
Description:
Spend an amazing weekend witnessing the spectacular spring migration in the
Harney Basin of Southeast Oregon. View thousands of migratory birds as they
rest and feed in the wide open spaces of Oregon's high desert. From waterfowl
to shorebirds, cranes to raptors, wading birds to songbirds, you'll see it all!
The festival offers non-stop birding activities as well as historical and
cultural information sure to entertain you and your family. So whether you're a
beginner or a life-long wildlife enthusiast, the festival has something for
everyone. Registration opened February 9th!
Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival
Date: April 24th, 25, 26th, 2009
Location: Hoquiam High School, Hoquiam, WA. & Grays Harbor
NWR
Address: Grays Harbor
Shorebird Festival
P.O. Box 470
Montesano, WA 98563
Phone: 1-800-303-8498
Fax: na
E-Mail:
www.shorebirdfestival.com
Description:
This is your chance to see migrating shorebirds at one of their main stops
on the Pacific flyway. We have field trips, lectures, a featured speaker, a fun
fair for the kids, and a banquet/auction. Grays Harbor is an Important Birding
Area and gives festival-goers a real close-up view of some amazing travelers!
Snake River Birds of Prey Festival Snake River Birds of Prey Festival
Date:
May 15-17, 2009
Location: Kuna,
Idaho - 15 miles southwest of Boise
Address: Western
Heritage Foundation
P.O. Box 84 Kuna Idaho 83634
Phone: 208-861-9131
Fax: na
E-Mail:
DJALyon@aol.com
Website: www.snakeriverbirdsofpreyfestival.com
Description: The
Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA), in southwest Idaho,
was established in 1993 to protect a unique environment that supports one of
the world's densest concentrations of nesting birds of prey. The festival
coincides with the peak of nesting for birds of prey, providing opportunities
to see falcons, eagles, hawks, and owls. Friday movie night begins with a
falconry demonstration and tribute to Morley Nelson. Field trips and lectures
available on Saturday and Sunday.
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