The October 2020 Issue of the |
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Our Mission: To conserve and restore natural ecosystems and protect birds and other wildlife for the benefit of humanity and biological diversity in south King County and the world we live in. |
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Monthly Membership Meeting
Ethiopia: A Natural History Travelogue
By Sally Vogel
Monday October 19, 2020 at 7 pm
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Ethiopia has a history I never knew. I was first enticed to go there by the thought of seeing the endangered Ethiopian Wolf and other wildlife of the highland and deserts. But I saw far more than that. In this program is a glimpse of Ethiopia’s history and current religious life as revealed in the stone churches of Lalibela and the mighty stelae of Axum. But beyond that you will see the country and lots of its birds and mammals, with an insect or two thrown in for good measure. |
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"I don't know, Helen, looks to me like he's up to no good."
Gelada Baboons
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Sally Vogel is a naturalist with an interest in photography and just about everything else. She graduated from Pomona College with a major in Botany, but pursued her love of nature after graduation by taking post-graduate courses in various natural sciences.
For the past 40 years, she has traveled extensively to places where nature is the main draw. In 1984 she began an adventure travel company, Peruvian Adventures, while simultaneously teaching high school Spanish. (Love those vacations.) She says it was a great way to make new friends and pay for her travel addiction.
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Ethiopia: A Natural History Travelogue
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LOCATION
Virtual Meeting
DATE AND TIME
10/19/20 7:00pm
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10/19/20 8:00pm
Are you comming?
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Covid 19 virus Update - August 17, 2020
Jay Galvin
Due to the continuing outbreak of the Covid 19 virus, the RAS Board is suspending all in person activities until further notice. We would like to thank those members who responded to our online and mail in survey on this matter. Your input did help the Board in making this decision.
We are planning to continue online monthly meetings on the third Monday of each month. The Board is also planning on other activities that can be done safely either online or individually. Online tools such as our National Website, You Tube, Facebook, etc. offer excellent ways to stay involved with Audubon.
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Upcoming Programs
- Dale Meland
- November 16th - Dennis Paulsen.- Changing World, Changing Birds
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December 21st - Gary Luhm - "Composition for Bird Photographers"
- January 18th - Jay Galvin (no topic yet)
- February 15th - Eduardo Gallo-Cajiao.- High Politics and Bird Conservation: A View to International Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and the Americas
- March 15th - Robert Howson - Galanatious Birds
- April 19th - Marcy Summers & Ellen Kirtzman.- AlTo (Alliance for Tompotika Conservation)
- May 17th - The Dinosaurs Amonst Us - Part 2, The birds who co-existed with dinos;- Kim Dolgin
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Save the dates!
Audubon Council of Washington - October 2 - 3
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Seen and Heard
by Calen Randall
Birds and Wildfire Smoke
The damp cool fall-like mornings returned early this September, but before fall weather truly arrived in the Pacific Northwest, the atmosphere took a detour through “summer heat” and “smoky skies”. On Labor Day, temperatures soared into the upper 80s and anomalously powerful winds gusted through the Cascades, the perfect recipe for wildfires. Smoke enveloped much of the west coast, forcing millions of people indoors. I spent much of the smoky period working on the University of Washington’s Dawgcast, forecasting when the smoke would leave and broadcasting the smoke’s effects on human health. However, I could not help but wonder, “How were the birds impacted by the wildfire smoke?”
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Also, from National Audubon
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Great Blue Heron on Roof top in Smoke - Carley Randell |
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Praying Mantises arrive at two different locations on same day during smoke. |
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Field Trips
by Heather Gibson
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Boeing Ponds
A self-guided Field Trip
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The Boeing Ponds are located in the Kent Valley. There are three or four ponds here, depending on the current water level. This area can be good for raptors, and shorebirds may be seen during migration. It is a great spot to view waterfowl in fall and winter.
Directions: From I-5: Take exit 152, Orillia Road. This is near SeaTac airport. (So. 188th St. borders the airport and becomes Orillia Rd. at I-5.) From I-5, turn east and travel on Orillia down into the valley (1.5 miles). Orillia Rd. becomes So. 212th St. at the light at 42nd Ave. So. at the bottom of the hill. Reset your odometer and travel east on 212th to 64th Ave. So. 1.2 mi. From I-167: Take the So. 212th exit which is to the north of downtown Kent. Travel west across the valley on 212th to the light at 64th Ave. So. (1.5 mi.). Turn onto 212th (going east). Get in the left lane and turn left onto 59th Pl. So. Travel north on 59th Pl. (0.5 mi) to just past the Brighton Best, last building on the right. There's a gravel pullout here on the right and a trail around the perimeter of the ponds.
Waterfowl are numerous in winter and shorebirds may be seen here in migration. Continue on 59th Pl. as it reaches the intersection with 62nd Ave. So. (0.8 mi). Park at the barrier on 62nd, and walk south into the ponds area about 0.1 mi.
There is a pond all the way back by the fence that you can't view from the road. It goes dry in summer, but can be productive for snipe and shorebirds when still wet. Peregrines are known to perch on the tall building SE of the ponds, and the tall utility poles.
Despite the constant changes in the Kent Valley due to development, we who bird there are still surprised by the variety of bird species we continue to see at Boeing Ponds.
eBird.com data shows multiple sightings of ducks ( Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Duck), Tree and Barn Swallows, Cedar Waxwing, Western Meadowlark.
Link to eBird data for Boeing Ponds:
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Rainier Audubon Christmas Bird Count |
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Snowy Owl at Ocean Shores - Jan 1, 2013 - Dan Streiffert
The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is a program run by the National Audubon, which is its own 501(c)3 non-profit organization. On behalf of National Audubon, Rainier Audubon administers our local CBC. Our CBC is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, January 3rd, 2021—however, we will be determining whether or not our CBC will happen.
On account of Covid-19 and its impacts, National Audubon has stated that we must wait until November 15th, 2020 at the earliest to determine whether or not our Rainier Audubon 2020 CBC will happen and whether local rules will allow such an event. National Audubon sent the following letter:
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education corner
by Cindy Flanagan
NATURE EXPLORATIONS: Ladling into Dipper Life
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Photo by Gregg Thompson
Fall is here, with migration abounding. One bird we might not think much about in terms of migration is our only underwater food seeking songbird, the American Dipper. Some dippers of the Pacific Northwest are year-round residents, while others seek higher elevations during breeding season and lower elevations in winter.
David Green, from British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University has spent over 15 years researching the migration habits of the dipper. Green believes that dipper migration is influenced by competition, with the desired food spot being downslope in lower elevations. Those who fail to anchor territory at lower elevations are forced to look for food upslope at higher elevations. Dippers pushed to higher elevation are forced to a migratory lifestyle and usually remain migratory; whereas the dippers who hold territory in lower elevations tend to remain year-round. Of the 600+ dippers that Green’s team monitored, only seven changed their migratory status.
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Little Tyrants
by Thomas Bancroft
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“Dzeer” came from over the marsh. It was high in pitch and buzzy in nature. Twice, the call filled the air, and then there was a pause before it appeared more toward my left. I scanned the air above the cattails along Mary Anne Creek. My binoculars were held just below my eyes in the ready mode. There it was, maybe ten feet above the vegetation, making a loop out from a dead snag, an Eastern Kingbird.
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GRNRA September Census
by Roger Orness
Another census was successfully completed on Sunday and the weather cooperated, as is usually the case. With the new construction project limiting access to the meadows, a new route was implemented and all went well, although the habitat lost from the new dike footprint likely skewed the numbers somewhat. Future counts will likely change when the next phase of the project removes the earth leading down to the river and a decision will have to be made as to where the west boundary of GRNRA actually is. Will it be the dike, or the river?
After some 260 plus censuses were done in the exact same order, the Sunday's census was done in reverse order. After parking my vehicle at 212th and Frager Road, I was let off at 64th Ave, where the footbridge accesses the paved powerline trail. I walked west to Russell Road and then followed the new dike route past the nursery and red barn to the far southwest corner of the meadows trail, where the new dike provides access to that part of the existing trail.
After making my way north to the original service road, I came to the new dike and followed it north. It appears the original service road from Russell Road has been eliminated. I was able to leave the dike and walk past the amphibian pond, but this route will likely go away in the future. I continued north and walked to Russell Rd and past Anderson Park, where only four pine trees were left standing. The owl box tree is gone and I hope the box has been recovered.
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King County Strategic Climate Action Plan |
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King County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) is a five-year blueprint for County action to confront climate change, integrating climate change into all areas of County operations and its work in the community. The SCAP provides a “one-stop-shop” for county decision-makers, employees, and the general public to learn about the County’s climate change goals, priorities and commitments.
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Support the Bird-Safe Buildings Act to Reduce Collisions! |
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Collisions with glass windows, walls, and other structures kill up to a billion birds a year in the U.S. alone – making this one of the greatest human-caused threats to bird populations.
The Bird-Safe Buildings Act (H.R. 919) would reduce these deaths by directing public buildings to incorporate bird-friendly building design and materials.
Earlier this year, the House passed this bill as an amendment to an infrastructure package. Now, under the Expanding Access to Sustainable Energy Act, it has an even stronger chance of becoming law, but the Senate needs to act now.
Please urge your U.S. Senators to pass this critical measure to protect our nation’s birds.
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Explore the mountains of China from your couch.
The 2019 Expedition to China – A Zoom Talk by Steve Hootman
When: Thursday, October 8 from 5-6:30pm.
Where: Participate from the comfort of your home!
Cost: $10 for Current Members, $20 for non-Members
Join Steve Hootman for a Zoom lecture featuring his latest expedition to China. Steve will take you to the mountains of south Yunnan and adjacent Guangxi with images and details about the plants seen during his fall 2019 expedition. This trip is another in a series designed to explore the regions away from the main center of distribution of the genus Rhododendron in an effort to fill in the gaps in our knowledge and to introduce new taxa into cultivation.
Highlights include the first botanical exploration of a rhododendron-covered mountain on the Vietnam border, as well as several days in some of the finest remaining old-growth forests in China. Steve will also discuss and illustrate new findings and theories about subsection Fortunea, including several new, enigmatic, and even unknown species and their relationship to each other.
As always, this will be an entertaining and educational lecture and discussion with beautiful images from some of the most remote and least explored regions of China. The talk will be followed by a moderated Q&A
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Make Compost, not Garbage
by Tony Donati, Conservation Coordinator, City of Kent, WA
Studies show that the average family in King County throws away nearly 500 lbs. of food-related waste each year! This material is a resource when made into compost. Don’t waste it by sending it to the landfill. Add your pizza boxes, paper towels, paper plates and food waste to the green food/yard waste bin! Tip: Wrap meat, chicken, or fish in newspaper to reduce smelly odors.
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Prevent birds from flying into windows...
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Become a supporting member
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