Klamath Basin Audubon Society
The Grebe
August/September 2006
KBAS August and September Meetings
Sunday, August 27 KBAS Annual Picnic
You are invited to join other KBAS members and Friends of Audubon for a wonderful picnic graciously hosted at Charlotte and Ralph Opp's home at 2:30 p.m. on August 27. Their home is located at 2650 Memorial Drive. Memorial Drive is off Greenspring Drive just before reaching Southside Bypass. Turn left and their home is the third house before reaching Memorial Cemetery. It is a large red brick house.
Attendees are asked to bring a side dish to share as well as an entree of your choice to grill on the barbeque. Please also bring your own beverages. Coolers will be available and all eating utensils will be provided.
For additional information, contact the Opps at 882-8488 or .
Thursday, September 14
The first KBAS general meeting is scheduled for September 14 at 7:00 in the Klamath County Courthouse, Lower Level Meeting Room.
Program Description Updated on September 5, 2006:
Ron Cole, Refuge Manager for the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges, will be giving a slide presentation on his recent trip to the Heilongjiang Province of China. Ron was part of a five person wetlands delegation from the United States that was invited to tour some of the vast wetland reserves in China's eastern most province as part of the International Conservation Exchange Program between the U.S. and Chinese governments. China's remaining natural wetlands rank 4th in size world-wide and cover over 163 million acres. The Chinese government is serious about their wetland conservation, recently committing over $1.1 billion to be spent over the next 4 years on the nation's natural wetlands. The delegation traveled over 2,200 miles over China's highways, lakes and river systems to visit numerous and remote wetland and forest reserves. Red-crowned and white napped cranes, whiskered terns, whooper swans, oriental great reed warblers and pied harriers were but a few of the species seen. The wetlands were vast and at times breathtaking. The cities were bustling and crowded, high tech yet industrial. The countryside and farmland often extended beyond the horizon. The people were curious but always gracious and friendly, relaxed yet disciplined. The food and drink was exotically delicious, plentiful and forever interesting.
This promises to be a very special program, one that you will not want to miss! Please be prepared to share highlights of YOUR birding experiences this summer. There are always delectable treats during the social time.
We welcome and encourage members and non-members to attend. If you are not a member, please consider joining. See you there!
Future General Meetings: October 12, November 9, and December 14
Field Trip Reports . . .
Sycan Preserve: A Nature Conservancy Jewel!
By Julie Van Moorhem
On June 10, 2006, 23 people participated in the KBAS field trip to the Sycan Preserve, owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy. About 15 of us met at the For the Birds store for the 0630 departure. At Beatty, we met several more folks and Craig Bienz, manager of the Sycan Marsh Preserve. After a few preliminary remarks, instructions regarding directions, and the distribution of radios, we headed to the preserve with a few stops to check out Willets and other birds seen along the route.
The forest-lined Sycan Marsh is stunning -shades of gold and green and a great big blue sky stretch out over many acres. The Preserve lies in the northeast corner of Klamath County and extends into Lake County. The name Sycan, according to the Nature Conservancy literature, comes from a Native American word that means, "level, grassy place."
Our first stop overlooked the marsh, and we spent a while here, birding and socializing. In a very informal, free-flowing wave, groups wandered around looking at birds and flowers, responding to first one and then another call of, "Hey, look at this," or "Wow, look at that beautiful Mountain Bluebird!" We actually saw several gorgeous Mountain Bluebirds, and one was even seen entering a nest in a fallen log. Black and Forster's Terns, with their buoyant flight, criss-crossed the wetland. Sandhill Cranes were spotted in several areas of the marsh; no matter how many times you see them, each time is special. Common Nighthawks, Clark's Nutcracker, and some high-flying gulls (only Kevin Spencer could identify them--Ring-billed Gulls) caught our attention over the course of the morning. All three nuthatches were spotted, and, of course, swallows showed off their aerial acrobatics. A coyote put in an appearance as it trotted along the edge of the marsh looking for some tasty morsel. As we prepared to leave this area, Craig filled us in on preserve management practices and showed us a map of the area which indicated the locations of various research projects in areas such as forest management and cavity-nesting birds.
Our second stop was along the river where Craig explained how they had put in rip-rap to keep the bank from eroding. It was a pretty spot with meadow grasses and the river meandering through. A nice crop of mayflies (I think that's what they were) adorned our backs as we stood chatting. Again, we just wandered around looking for birds. Several Song Sparrows and Yellow Warblers were spotted and a male Williamson's Sapsucker was the highlight for one birder. Other birds caught our eyes, and ears, too--Western Wood Pewees seemed to be everywhere.
By this time, everyone was getting hungry so we headed to the research station. It's a great place with lots of environmentally friendly features such as solar lighting, composting toilets, and a special kind of fireplace of Norwegian or Swedish design that throws heat very efficiently. Everyone sat around and socialized while eating lunch and asked Craig questions about the facility. After lunch, we all headed back to Klamath Falls individually. It was a great field trip and many thanks to Craig Bienz, Preserve Manager, who did a great job of introducing us to the marsh. It was a nice blend: helping us find birds and educating us about the preserve and what The Nature Conservancy is trying to do there-- restore the wetlands that have historically provided nesting and stopover habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds. They are also trying to determine whether or not grazing practices and wetland restoration can work together. Scientists from around the world come to the preserve to conduct research in areas as diverse as cavity-nesting birds, bull trout, aquatic species such as mussels, and the breeding status of yellow rail.
Special thanks to Jean and Al Van Hulzen, KBAS members, who worked with Craig Bienz to set up and organize this trip. Through their special efforts, we all had a great time and learned a lot about the Sycan Preserve.
Species Observed: 56
Participants to Sycan Marsh: Tamara Wallker, Harry Vincett, BJ Matzen, Woody Morf, Jo Massey, Ken Johnston, Al Van Hulzen, Jean Van Hulzen, Craig Bienz, Jim Collins, Sue Collins, Joan Brown, Marilyn Christian, Todd Christian, Sally Stroud, Kevin Spencer, Rick Hardy, Dave Potter, Paula Hickman, Charlotte Kisling, Paul Boersma, Cy Phillips, Julie Van Moorhem.
COLD & TAMARACK SPRING FIELD TRIP JULY 9, 2006
By Ralph Opp, KBAS President
Eight people met for an annual field trip to visit and critter watch at two spring development projects off Bly Mountain. Objectives of the field trip by the KBAS was to observe an abundant variety of mountain meadow wild flowers, observe forest type birds, note development site improvements and picnicking.
The KBAS chapter maintained the spring protection projects for about ten years up until last year when the Oregon Dept. of Forestry, the hosting land management agency, took it over in 2005. The Cold springs water source was sanitized and a one-acre area fenced by the Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife, (in 1974) to exclude campers and livestock creating a mini wildlife area. About 8.5 acres were fenced around Tamarack Springs in 1992 by ODFW and the ODF, with building assistance from local chapters of the Oregon Hunters Assn., the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the Klamath Basin Audubon Society. Both sites had suffered years of overuse by livestock and somewhat by campers (hunters). Disease problems to deer had also been a problem due to bacterial infection via muddy areas.
Possible future activities by chapter members still are; upgrading of cooperative project signs, replacement of nest boxes and perhaps upgrading fence-crossing styles were noted. Nature observing and project upgrades are likely chapter field trip items for June of 2007. Tamarack spring fences showed very heavy damage largely due to-over winter snow loads but some also due to animal (livestock and elk) trespass.
August/September Field Trips Scheduled
Saturday, August 19. Moore Park
Meet in the parking lot next to the tennis courts at 8:00 to beat the heat and preferably see more active birds. The length of the outing will depend on weather conditions and the interest of those present. Bring sun screen and snacks/lunch if desired.
Saturday, September 9. Canoe Trip
Meet at the Forest Service Rocky Point Boat Ramp just south of Rocky Point Resort at 9:00 a.m. Canoes available for rent at the Resort ($30 for a half day or $40 for a full day). Bring sunscreen,
insect repellent, life vests, and water as well as snacks or lunch. The trip can vary from easy to moderately strenuous depending on the interest of the group. Reservations suggested for canoes. Contact Rick Hardy, Leader at 882-3169.
Saturday, September 16. Crater Lake
Meet in the southeast corner of the Home Depot Parking Lot at 8:00. This is an all day trip. Bring lunch or snacks and water. Contact Cy Phillips,
Field Trip Chair at or 723-2161 for additional information on the Moore Park or Crater Lake field trips.
Navigating the Bird Migration Highway
By Philip Zalesky
Years ago Laura and I and our West Highland terrier, MacLain, undertook a week long trail-less backpack trip into Kluane National Park on the eastern forefront of the St. Elias range west of Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory. Informed about a narrow river canyon barring our exit to the Alaska-Canada Highway, we would have to route cross-country and not follow our river route. For two days we would have to cut overland. On the last day we traveled through scattered black spruce forest with moss at least six inches deep.
I was pushing on ahead unmindful of those behind when I found MacLain scratching at my leg. I turned to see Laura with tears streaming down her face. "What's wrong?" Laura replied, "We're lost and traveling in circles." I had to assure her, and possibly MacLain, that my navigation instincts were O.K. "Remember I started the cross country bypass with a compass reading and have memorized the map, the river is to our north and I am mentally using it as a baseline heading for the highway, the sun has been a focus for me, and distant hills which can be seen at times are along the river baseline. I have been using all these as focus for my navigation" Everything now O.K., we moved on for two more hours and surprisingly hit our exit point on the AlCan Highway right on the nose.
Birds use the same type of navigation and more, but for humans this is a learned process. For birds it has become genetically innate. Researchers using an opaque circular cage and placing a bird inside with blotting paper on the sides - sometimes with a magnet to change a compass direction, or with a planetarium to misdirect the stars, and other means to re-direct a sunset - they will see this bird orient itself incorrectly scratching on the paper at the time of its migratory restlessness. Because of site fidelity researchers find almost all birds returning from migration to their previous nesting or fledging vicinity - a topographical landscape must be mapped in their mind.
Three birds for which this has been most consequential - birds fatally not equipped to land in the Pacific Ocean, but flying unimaginable distances across oceans for days at a time - are the Pacific Golden Plover, Bristle-thighed Curlew, and Bar-tailed Godwit.
Pacific Golden Plover breed in the Bering Strait and Yukon Delta areas having migration routes that disperse on two continents to mid Pacific Islands. A very few come by Washington and Oregon to winter in southern California, but the most interesting migrations are to Hawaii, Marianas, Marshall, and Crolines islands, and Solomon atolls. Many flights over water take them from Alaska to Hawaii where they establish further staging efforts. They like the proliferating golf courses of Hawaii for feeding, to which Laura and I can personally testify. These grass courses seem increasingly to hold them from going further south. Younger ones may winter over to return the following year. What we find is awesome distances of 6,000 miles for many of these birds.
Bird scientists first discovered and researched the Bristle-thighed Curlew's breeding area in the 1940's. Just in the past few decades they have also found the distance it flies. Curlews arrive on their breeding grounds near the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta in Alaska in May. Leading their chicks soon after hatching overland, they join other Curlews in forming nurseries where a few parents care for the whole nursery. Other species will join them to seek their protection against predators. Four weeks after the precocial chicks can fly, their parents desert them to go to their own staging area to prepare for migration. A two week period is all that is needed to load up on the crowberry and blueberry fruit and to include some insects. As the migration begins with the males going first, as most bird migrations do, females going later, and juveniles as they become increasingly stronger launching and flying on their own for their wintering grounds across the Pacific weeks later. These flights will take most of them 5,000 miles non-stop to islands in the mid-Pacific. Some may go no further than Hawaii. This is an incredible journey for the adults, but an extraordinarily incredible journey for the juveniles.
Nearly 100,000 Bar-tailed Godwit have the longest non-stop migration of all birds with most landing 6,000 miles away across the Pacific Ocean in New Zealand. This is four or five days of continuous flight at wind aided 45 miles per hour. They can only hope the wind direction doesn't change. Some others may land in the mid Pacific islands and a few in Hawaii. The heaviest fat loading of any migrant makes this possible. Breeding in the Arctic tundra, they reduce their body weight by decreasing the size of their digestive organs, which they will not need in flight. Adding to heart and breast muscles makes possible their physical flight. This very rare vagrant has been sighted about 50-60 times in Washington and Oregon. Fierce Pacific storms must have blown them off course.
Why do they do this? How did it first happen? At best theories are simply conjecturing. Could it be in age-old Pleistocene times a flock of birds took off following a leader with his migration wiring askew? Setting down on the first land they spotted, they wintered. Having found the habitat good, they decided to return another time with corrected compass readings this time. It's an interesting idea. Or could it be just the other way around? What we call wintering ground was home and they went north for breeding habitat. Ornithologists argue about this last point too.
Scott Weidensaul was right on when he said, "Migrations leave us staggered, for we are such stodgy, rooted creatures."
Thank You KBAS!
From Woody Morf
I want to take the opportunity to thank the KABS Board and members for your kindness and support during Jane's fight with cancer and after.
Our participation with the Klamath Basin Audubon has meant a great deal to both of us. We were so very fortunate to find such a wonderful group of people. We knew when we moved to the Klamath Basin that we wanted to become a part of KBAS and we were very glad we did. Birding was a significant part of our lives and was a strong bond between us. I hope to continue my participation with KBAS.
Jane wrote an article entitled "Box 19" for which she would have been proud to have been included in the Grebe. I hope you enjoy it.
BOX 19
By Jane Morf
Box 19 was just like any of our other nest boxes. Painted pale gray-blue and measuring about 4.5" X 4.5" X 9", it occupied the eucalyptus tree near the handball courts. My husband Woody and I gave it the same amount of diligent attention and care as the other 25 boxes on our Western Bluebird trail at Craig Park, in Brea, CA. In the three years since the box was first hung by bluebirder par excellence Dick Purvis in 1996, it had seen 3, then 5, and then last year, 8 chicks fledge. The park bluebird population was seeing a nice, steady growth in all our nest boxes.
And then one day we got an urgent call from our friend Linda Violett who monitors a bluebird trail in Yorba Linda. She had two runts which weren't going to make it in their current nest box, and no other suitable box to transfer them to on her own trail. Did we have a box of younger chicks which would be the size of her runts? Would we be willing to adopt these scrawny kids to give them their only chance at making it?
A quick review of our logbook revealed that we had only one box which had nestlings of the right size to match the runts. But it already had five chicks! This might prove to be a challenge. Would the adoptive parents be capable of raising such a big brood? Linda and I felt that the runts would never make it unless we tried, so we agreed to meet at the park the next day and introduce the runts to their new family.
Our first step was to remove the nest with its five chicks from its standard-sized Peterson box. We stretched out the nesting material and placed it and the original chicks in a new larger two-hole model that Linda had built. Then we added the two runts and re-hung the box. (All our boxes are the Dick Purvis hanging box style.) We put out some mealworms and moved about 200 feet away to sit and see what would happen.
The challenge was on. First the parents had to accept the new and improved nest box, and then we had to hope they couldn't count.
The process was slow. The parents approached fairly quickly, but with much caution. We watched as they would get close, and then closer. But it seemed like they were never going to go inside. But finally it happened. First one, then the other entered the box. And then they found the mealworms, and began making trips up to the box carrying three or four worms at a time.
Ah, success! Or so we thought. But it wasn't quite a done deal yet. After all the worms were gone, both parents flew over to where we were sitting and landed on a branch just over our heads. They had obviously watched all of our efforts with much curiosity and knew we were responsible for all the changes. They then began to read us the riot act for several minutes. And it was very definite that they were talking to us. I interpreted all their chattering as: "Nice try, but don't you know how hard it is to raise five kids these days, let alone seven? How do you think we're ever going to get all these guys fledged?"
I looked at Linda, and she looked at me, and the answer became obvious - MEALWORMS!
So for the next two weeks, I came to box #19 everyday bearing a healthy supply of easy pickings - either medium or large mealworms depending on what I could purchase. The parents became quite used to me and seemed to await my arrival. Several times the male would see me coming and fly from across the baseball field to follow my car as I approached the box location. During the second week I brought along my camera and took over a hundred pictures of the parents as they dropped down from the box and landed within three feet of me to scoop up a mouthful and return to the chicks. I was never able to get any shots of those chicks, but I certainly could hear them.
I'm happy to say that all seven chicks successfully fledged. But I also know that there are those who would say that we never should have interfered by moving the runts or by making food so readily available. But neither Linda nor I could just sit and do nothing. We did what we could to ensure their survival, and I really got to know these great little creatures by spending so much up-close time with them. They really do have a personality all their own, and I know I would recognize Box 19's dad in a lineup of a hundred bluebirds.
Epilogue:
The male and female went on to do a second nesting in their new, bigger box and to lay five more eggs. As we monitored the box, I told them that they would be on their own this time, and I was glad that they hadn't decided to lay seven eggs. (You do know it's OK to talk to birds, don't you?)
We watched as the chicks hatched and we got a good look at them at 10 days. When next we returned, the chicks were 19 days old, and so we only observed the comings and goings of the adults and didn't open the box. As we were leaving to continue monitoring the rest of our trail, the female exited the box and was joined by the male. They both flew after us as we walked, and kept landing close by. It seemed that they wanted to tell us something, but this time we didn't have a clue what they were trying to say. As much as we wanted to go look in the nest box, we didn't want any of the chicks to fledge early, so we reluctantly went on our way.
A week later when we returned and lowered Box 19, we found that four chicks had fledged, but there was also one chick dead in the box. It had probably been dead about five days. We were unable to determine the cause, and who knows if we could have done anything had we investigated on our earlier visit. But maybe, just maybe, next time we'll listen a little harder.
If you would like to experience the thrill of monitoring the progress of bluebirds and their nests, eggs and chicks , please contact Glen Chappell at (909) 981-1996 about setting up your own trail in an area close to your home. Start small if you want, but don't blame me when you find out how addictive it can be.
Editor: Our sincere thanks to Woody for sharing this wonderful, enduring gift from Jane, with us ...
President's Message
By Ralph Opp, KBAS President 2006/07
Well "Surprise! Surprise!" as Gomer Pyle was wont to say. After all these years, I finally took on the position of KBAS president. Although I was one of the founding members of our chapter in the early 1980s, for a variety of reasons I have worked since then much in the background with KBAS. The desire to serve as President has long been there, especially after retiring from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1994 and the busy work of being the local wildlife biologist and one of the state's key bald eagle specialists. WOW! That was all a fun ride.
We started the Bald Eagle conference in 1980, with the assistance of the Portland and Eugene chapters of Audubon. About 1982, I again strongly encouraged forming our own Klamath Basin Audubon chapter and used the plight of the eagle and the educational eagle conference as the springboard. (I said "again" as there were earlier efforts to form a chapter; however, another birding club, The Nature Society, was covering our basin's birding needs and the preference was not to splinter the group. It was organized in the 1950s I believe.)
Why do we all belong to and support KBAS? There are many different reasons, but mostly these reasons relate to bird-watching, education, and environmental concerns. Audubon means not just birds, but all wildlife, endangered species, habitat, and people that care about our disappearing natural world. Being key players in helping to restore the Bald Eagle population over many past years, organizing the very well known Bald Eagle Conference, active contributions to and participation in Winter Wings are just a few of the many positive contributions KBAS has made to the Community of Klamath Falls.
KBAS has an outstanding educational and natural resource supporting record over the many years of its existence. We will continue to build on that strong record. Among the many Community outreach projects, KBAS has contributed significantly through the Scott Memorial Fund grants. This program will be profiled in depth in a later issue of The Grebe.
KBAS has terrific general meetings with a short business meeting, sharing bird sightings, a social/desert time and an educational program. Please join us on the second Thursday of each month, except June, July and August. We also lead at least one field trip each month. You will be welcomed at any and all of these activities and we do look forward to seeing you soon.
Board Member Profiles
Who is this guy? Check below . . .
We will profile all KBAS Board members in the next several issues as a way of introducing you to those who have chosen to contribute in a large way to the work and mission of KBAS. The newer members of the Board will be featured first.
Ralph Opp, 2006/2007 President
I graduated from Oregon State University in 1965 with a degree in wildlife management. As a wildlife ecologist, I worked for the state of Oregon for over 33 years, most of that time here in the Klamath Basin. I was a Klamath district biologist responsible for most of the critters essentially in Klamath County, an area over 5000 square miles. My specialty was peregrine falcons and especially bald eagles. I represented the state on the Pacific states recovery team and the consequent effort towards recovery of the species. I helped start the Klamath Basin Bald Eagle Conference as an effort to educate and gain more support for the bald eagles recovery. I am quite proud that the conference served well in that respect not only for Klamath County but also having made an impact nation wide and in other nations. A great spin off was that it helped the county economically during its 25-year life. I also led the effort of identifying the Bear Valley winter bald eagle roost and helping to gain protection under the national federal refuge program. I am current president of the Oregon Eagle Foundation, active in other conservation organizations and still participate in eagle surveys.
I too am proud to say I one of very few remaining charter members of our local Audubon chapter.
Marilyn Christian, Grebe Editor
I retired a year ago from a long career in healthcare, serving a hospital in the California Bay Area as Director of Health Information Management (Medical Records), Safety Director, Privacy Officer and Accreditation Coordinator. I was very active in my professional association as well, ultimately serving as state President. I have long been interested in birding, but it has been mostly the "what I see out my kitchen window" type. But now retired and living in one of the most beautiful and important birding areas in the nation, I hope to increase both my knowledge and time spent on birding and wildlife issues.
Recently I signed on with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Home Study Course in Bird Biology. Resources and testing are online; however, there is a rather daunting 3" thick reference book as well. It is highly recommended from my point of view; although I admit probably most of my study will be during those frigid November - March months. Check it out at www.birds.cornell.edu/homestudy. The resources are quite amazing!
The Little Guy (Gal?) Above
A baby bald eagle! Check out the following website at the BioDiversity Research Institute in Maine. They have a live web cam on an eagle nest with two fledged eagles now. The biologist's field notes as well as archived pictures are available. Awesome! www.briloon.org/ed/eagle/
KBAS Community Financial Contributions
| Grant Dollars to local teachers | $2,630 |
| Web Site/Public Relations | $750 |
| The Grebe Newsletter | $690 |
| Winter Wings Support | $500 |
Tom Essex, KBAS Treasurer
KBAS Board Schedule
August 16
September 6
October 4
November 1
December 6
Please contact Ralph Opp for location if you are interested in attending.
FEEDBACK
We would love to hear from you. Please direct your comments, suggestions, or ideas to: Editor of The Grebe, c/o Klamath Basin Audubon Society, P.O. Box 354, Kamath Falls, OR 97601.