january-february 2007 chaparral naturalist - pomona valley audubon society

8/8/2019 January-February 2007 Chaparral Naturalist - Pomona Valley Audubon Society

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The raucous sound of parrots is not the most pleasant morning wake up call, but it is aninteresting start to the day!

I am familiar with the squawks, squeaks and jabbering sounds of parrots from the years

I worked at the L.A. County Arboretum in Arcadia. I remember in the late 1970s andearly 80s a small flock made frequent visits to what used to be referred to as the Jungle

on the east side of Baldwin Lake. They may have been permanent residents then, but Imnot certain. Later on, the dense, tangled Jungle was deemed hazardous to visitors and was

cleared to create a tidier Tropical Forest. I think the parrots vacated that immediate areawhile landscaping was in progress.

On Saturday, December 9, at about 7:15 in the morning, a large flock of mixed parrots

descended in and around our house just south of Foothill Blvd., near 12th Street in La Verne.I counted about 80 in the trees and on the utility lines in our yard and the neighbors on either

side. There were several more small groups scattered up and down the block. This was a mixed

flock with Yellow-headed, Red-headed and Green Amazon parrots and Im sure I spotted twoslightly larger African Grays. At one point they mobbed crows and drove them out of the area

by surrounding them tightly in the middle of the flock ushering them away.

This is the first time the parrots actually landed in our yard. However, my sister lives about a

half-mile away, and she says they have been regular visitors on her block for some time. She hasa 50-ft. tall Chorisia speciosa (Floss silk tree) in her front yard. The birds stripped all the large bright pink flowers off the

tree one morning. She said it was raining petals. I suspect the parrots were chewing to the base of the trumpet-shapedflowers for the nectar. Her neighbors across the street lost their

ripe avocados and pecans to the flock the same morning.

Since I was already outside and the morning was warming

up beautifully, I lingered after the parrots moved a few blocksaway. Our usual backyard birds had taken cover. Mourning

doves, mockingbirds, phoebes and towhees didnt reappearfor about half hour. Before I headed back indoors, I also saw a

dozen Canada geese flying northeast in formation and a smallgroup of Great blue herons passed overhead.

Tis the Season!

Pomona Valley Audubon Societyhttp://faculty.jsd.claremont.edu/dguthrie/pvas/

A publication of

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2007 A Chapter of the National Audubon Society Volume 46, No. 3

IN THIS ISSUE...

Parrots in My Backyard ....................................................Pg.1

The Salton Sea and Ross's Gull ......................................Pg. 2

Village Venture .................................................................Pg. 3

Conservation ....................................................................Pg. 4

New Members .................................................................Pg. 5

Field Trips .........................................................................Pg. 6

Announcements ...............................................................Pg. 7

Membership Meetings............................................ Pgs. 6 & 8

by Judy Hayami

December 9, 2006

Parrots in My Yard!


2/82

On Friday, November 17, Guy McCaskie (who else?)

found a Rosss Gull at Red Hill Marina at the south endof the Salton Sea. Guy regularly birds the sea and also

regularly finds unusual birds. This is perhaps the mostunusual. Rosss gull nests in northern Siberia. The gulls

migrate past Barrow, on the edge of the Arctic Sea andthen disappear for the winter, presumably wintering in theopen ocean close to the ice. Vagrants have been found in

the U.S, including some that stayed for a week or more inNorth Dakota, Illinois, Nova Scotia, etc. There has never

been one before in California or this far south.

Truly a mega- rarity.

Guy found the gull at 3 p.m. on Friday and immediately

called some local people, who also saw the bird andphotographed it. One birder arrived after dark and saw

the bird in Guys car headlights! Ive never seen a RosssGull. My choice was to go on Saturday, in the hope the

bird would still be there, or wait until Sunday. A yearor two ago I made the trip to Doheny Beach in OrangeCounty to see an Ivory Gull, also the first and only one

ever in California and also found late in the day. I waitedthe next morning with at least 100 other birders but in vain,

the bird was never seen again.

The Rosss gull did show up on Saturday, so Sunday

morning I arose at 3 a.m. drove past a turned over pickupon I-10 (police just arriving no traffic stop yet), had abreakfast of bear claw and coffee in Mecca, and arrived at

the Red Hill Marina parking lot at 5:50 a.m. A group ofbirders who had driven in the previous night and camped

there already had their scopes up scanning the flock ofhundreds of gulls off shore. At about 5 :52 someone call

out there it is! We all watched the bird walking on themud flats, flying into the middle of the gull flock, and

then disappearing, only to be refound on the other sideof the marina. I took some photos through the telescope

at 6, just as the sun was rising. At 6:15 the bird flew off,and was not seen again that day. When I left at 7:30 there

were about 100 birders with 100 telescopes, most of whomarrived at 6:30 or later, hoping the bird would reappear.

Many had driven for over 10 hours from places in northernCalifornia.

by Dan Guthrie

The Salton Sea, Rosss Gulland Other Thoughts

Bob Miller, a professional tour guide who specialized in

Salton Sea trips, wrote the following;

The Salton Sea that you all saw this weekend... you

will NEVER see again. Never. The decision on its

future will be made in April and no alternative includes

keeping it as it is now because there will never, no

matter how you cut it, be enough water to do that. It

will continue to lower and drastically so in about seven

years or so. The politics of it all are excruciating to me

and it is a very complicated issue so please, no twenty

questions of me. I highly recommend that you all take

a look at what the Salton Sea Coalition (Audubon,

Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and more) are

supporting.

I was surprised at how low the sea was. It clearly is going

down. And loosing it would be a great shame for wildlife aswell as us birders. Over the weekend 13 (!) species of gulls

were seen at the sea, plus piping plover, roseate spoonbiland the usual assortment of geese, terns, grebes and heronsThe sea has provided me, as a birder, with my first Laysan

albatross, least storm-petrel, spoonbill, and lesser black-backed gull to name but a few. Despite the sometimes bad

odor, the solitude of the place plus the possibility of findingsomething unique if not simply the spectacle of thousands

of geese in the air continually entices me back.

I am writing this on Monday, November 20 at noon and,

so far, the Rosss gull has not reappeared. I think, over

the holiday, I will go down anyway. The spectacle really

is refreshing to the soul. - Dan

Photo credit: Howard Kin


3/83

The day dawned bright and sunny as Pat and Rod

Higbie, Dan Guthrie, Nancy Strang, Fraser Pemberton,

Pam Kling, and Richard Trier prepared and manned the

PVAS booth for an onslaught of admirers. We wereonce again fortunate to have three representatives from

Wild Wings, including Bob Everett and Craig Gerth.

They were kind enough to bring along Andrew, the

great horned owl; a western screech owl, Adonis, the

peregrine falcon; Timmy, the Harris' Hawk; and a

sleeping common nighthawk. Pat, Rod, Nancy, Fraser,

Liza Alldredge, Pam, and Richard all got to hold birds

while drumming up interest the birds and our chapter.

The Strang's managed to procure his and hers mountain

bikes for our raffle and by the time our voices had gonehoarse, we had raised a total of $824.00 in support of

Wild Wings.

Our raffle winners were Patti Burros from Riverside,

and eleven year old Danny Goris from Chino.

Patti bought a ticket for the drawing, mainly as a

donation for the birds, and was very surprised to receive

the call that she had won a bicycle.

Danny's family came to Village Venture because a friend

had told them about the birds at the Audubon booth. He

had been wanting a bike for his birthday and was very

happy to find out that his ticket had been drawn.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this a

successful day!

Village Ventureanother greatSuccess!

Danny Goris, winnerof the first drawing.

Patti Burros, winner ofthe second drawing.

Fraser answeredmany a visitor'squestions.

Liza and Craig posedwith their birds.

Rod and Patgetting themessage out.

Pam

accessorizedthe bikes

Nancy worked with thewestern screech owl.

Richardwith one of

Andrew'smany fans.


4/8

Conservation

4

Crucial Legislation toProtect Migratory Birds

Signed Into LawIn the waning hours before Congress recessed,the Senate unanimously passed a revisedNeotropical Migratory Bird Conservation

Improvement Act of 2006 (NMBCIA, H.R. 518).The legislation, originally authored by Rep. Ron

Kind (D-WI) and Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI),was added to H.R. 4957, the Tylersville Fish

Hatchery Conveyance Act. The Act was signedinto law by the President on October 17.

The NMBCIA authorizes matching grants tosupport conservation programs for migratorybirds, and when fully implemented, will authorize

$6.5 million per year for projects until 2010.

NMBCIA is the only federal funding program

designed specifically for migratory bird speciesthroughout North America, and it also provides

the only dedicated source of funds for migratorybirds on their wintering grounds in Latin America

and the Caribbean.

Conservation groups, including ABC and othermembers of the Bird Conservation Alliance,fought to gain passage of the Act, which

reauthorizes the Neotropical Migratory BirdConservation Act of 2000 that expired last year.

Partners in 42 U.S. states and 30 Latin Americanand Caribbean countries have been involved in

186 projects supported by the Act. More than$17.2 million in grants have leveraged some$89.1 million in total partner contributions to

support activities that bring long-term benefits to

neotropical migratory birds. Projects involvingland conservation have affected some 3.2million acres of bird habitat, and species that

are benefiting include the Cerulean Warbler,Golden-winged Warbler, Bobolink, Red Knot,

and Bicknells Thrush.

NMBCIA enables the only significant federal

funding source for neotropical migratory birdsto continue through 2010.

Global Warming and Birdsby Dan Guthie

Dick Moore, who as our conservation chair, checks a number

of web pages and receives a number of messages, recently sent

me the following, asking if it were true:

Nairobi - Unchecked climate change could force up to 72 percent

of the worlds bird species into extinction but the world still has

a chance to limit the losses, conservation group WWF said in

a report on Tuesday.

It certainly is true that some species are in serious trouble. If

in the next 100 years, the earth heats up, some species will

disappear. Specifically, those living on low lying islands tha

will be completely inundated An example is the LaysanFinch, found only on an island that does not rise more than 10

feet above current sea level. Another example might be the

Hawaiian honeycreepers. These birds live near the tops of the

Hawaiian Islands and are safe from rising sea levels. However

they are very susceptible to avian malaria, brought to the islands

with colonization, and mosquitos are moving up the mountains

with rising temperatures.

However, as a paleontologist, I study birds during the Pleistocene

epoch, birds that lived before, during, and survived after severa

periods of continental glaciation and several interglacial periodswhen temperatures and sea level were above present levels.

When the continental ice sheet covered everything south to

Kansas and New York, the same life zones we have today were

still in existence. Starting with the ice edge there was tundra,

taiga, northern boreal forest, and then the biomes we are more

familiar with; grassland, deciduous forest, etc. The zones

were very narrow, but they were all there. Bird populations in

each zone were undoubtedly smaller, but some of their habitat

survived. Similarly, during warmer periods, there was stil

some tundra to the north, not as much, but some. The point isthat if global warming is not instantaneous but takes decades

bird ranges will adjust. We may be seeing some of this today

with northern birds staying further north during the winter.

So, as the article stated, birds on low islands and on some

mountain tops may be in trouble, but the vast majority of species

will survive because, whether the earth gets colder or warmer

a portion of their habitats will survive.


5/85

JANUARY

Saturday, Jan. 6 Big Day Trip to Orange County.Dan Guthrie, 7 a.m.

Sunday, Jan. 7 Beginners Bird Walk RanchoSanta Ana Botanic Garden, 8 a.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 9 Prado County Park. Dan Gregory,

7:30 a.m.Saturday, Jan 27. Craig Regional Park and the

Brea Area. Valerie Wheeler, 7:30 am.Sunday, Jan 28. Bonelli Park Bird Walk.

Rod Higbie, 8 a.m.

FEBRUARY

Sunday, Feb. 4. Beginners Bird Walk Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden 8 a.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 6. Lake Perris. Dan Gregory. 7 a.m.Sat-Sun, Feb. 10-11 Salton Sea Weekend.

Dan GuthrieSunday, Feb. 25 Bonelli Park Bird Walk.

Rod Higbie, 8 a.m.

MARCH

Sunday, March 4 Beginners Bird Walk Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden 8 a.m.

Tuesday, March 6 Los Angeles County ArboretumDan Gregory, 7:30

Saturday, March 17 Piute Ponds and the AntelopeValley. Dan Guthrie, 7 a.m.

Sunday, March 25 Bonelli Park Bird Walk.

Rod Higbie, 8 a.m.

PVAS WINTER/SPRING FIELD TRIPS 2007

APRIL

Sunday, April 1 Beginners Bird Walk Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden 8 a.m.

Tuesday, April 10 Living Desert Reserve.Dan Gregory, 7 a.m.

Sunday, April 22 Bonelli Park Bird Walk.

Rod Higbie, 8 a.m.Saturday, April 28 Santiago Oaks. Valerie Wheeler,7:30 a.m.

MAY

Tuesday, May 1 Big Morongo Nature Preserve.Dan Gregory, 7 a.m.

Sunday, May 6 Beginners Bird Walk RanchoSanta Ana Botanic Garden, 8 a.m.

Saturday, May 12 Day Trip to Anacapa Island.

Dan GuthrieSat-Sunday, May 19-20 Kern River Valley.

Dan GuthrieSunday, May 27 Bonelli Park Bird Walk.

Leader TBA, 8 a.m.

One day and half day trips start at Memorial

Park, Indian Hill Blvd at 10th Street, Claremont.

Weekend trips usually meet at the destination on

Saturday morning. Bonelli Park trips meet at park

headquarters on Via Verde, just off the 57 freeway.

Alta Loma: Garrett Zimmon

Baldwin Park: Maria Pichardo

Chino: Junwu Liu

Chino Hills: Helen Ainsworth

Claremont: Leonard Dickey, David Kajtaniak, GeorgeReuter, Anelise Smith, Susan Thompson, Betty Webb,

Liz Yaeger

Corona: Yvonne Glass

Diamond Bar: Carol Campbell, Joey Menefee,

Cheri Owings

Glendora: Elisabeth Bellinghau

La Verne: Barbara Patten, Fred Wellington

Mira Loma: Ethel Kempton

Rancho Cucamonga: Ken Aven, Jonathan Glazier,

Dave Kiedrowski

Upland: Katie Mac Carthy, Helena Casenave,Eddie Potter

Walnut: Virgilio Soriano

West Covina: Duncan Bell, Patricia Goddard,

Kathleen Hardy, Thomas Jewik, ClairePavitch, Douglas Payton, Otfried Rechenberg,

Carolyn Silar

Welcome New MembersWe extend a warm welcome to all new members. Subscribers to Audubon Magazine from our area are automaticallyenrolled in our chapter and receive the Chaparral Naturalist at no additional charge. You are welcome to all ourevents.


6/8

Field Trips

6

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Beginners Bird Walk,Rancho Santa Ana Botanic GardenJoin us for our monthly (first Sunday, Sept. through June)

bird walk at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Bring

binoculars if you have them. Adults and children welcome

The walk is flat and slow and takes about two hours. Mee

at 8:00 a.m. at the front entry gate (north end of College

Ave., north of Foothill Blvd., 1500 N. College Ave.)

Leader: Fraser Pemberton 909-624-6451.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007Lake Perris and VicinityMeet at Memorial park at 7 a.m. for a half day trip for

ducks, hawks, etc. Leader: Dan Gregory 909-944-2259.

Saturday& Sunday,February 10-11, 2007Salton Sea WeekendMeet at the Wister Unit headquarters on Hwy 111 4 miles

north of Niland at 8 am on Saturday. We will bird the

sea and spend the night in Brawley. Sunday we will bird

Brawley and south, looking for Sandhill Cranes, returning

in the afternoon. Leader: Dan Guthrie 909-607-2836

Sunday, February 25, 2007Bonelli Park Monthly HikeMeet a t the Bonel l i Park headquarters on

Via Verde near the 57 f reeway a t 8 a .m

Leader: Rod Higbie

Saturday, January 6, 2007Big Day Trip toOrange CountyMeet at Memorial Park at

7 a.m. for a trip to OrangeCounty in search of rarities

found on recent Christmas

censuses. We will shoot for 100

species. Bring a lunch. Leader:

Dan Guthrie 909-607-2836

Sunday, January 7, 2007Beginners Bird Walk,Rancho Santa Ana Botanic GardenJoin us for our monthly (first Sunday, Sept.

through June) bird walk at the Rancho Santa

Ana Botanic Garden. Bring binoculars if you

have them. Adults and children welcome. The walk

is flat and slow and takes about two hours. Meet at

8:00 a.m. at the front entry gate (north end of College

Ave., north of Foothill Blvd., 1500 N. College Ave.)

Leader: Fraser Pemberton 909-624-6451.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007Prado County Park

A half day trip for wintering ducks, sparrows, etc. Willthe Bald Eagle return this year? Meet Memorial Park at

7:30 a.m. Leader: Dan Gregory 909-944-2259.

Saturday, January 27, 2007Craig Regional Park and the Brea AreaA good trip to nearby Orange County for ducks and

wintering song birds. Meet at Memorial Park at 7:30

a.m. Leader: Valerie Wheeler 909-595-4200.

Sunday,January 28, 2007Bonelli ParkMonthly HikeMeet at the Bonelli Park

headquarters on Via Verde

near the 57 freeway at 8 a.m.

Leader: Rod Higbie


7/8

PVAS OFFICERS 2006-2007

President ......................Dan Guthrie ........909-607-2836Vice-President .............Bruce Strang ..... 626-339-6984Secretary .....................Pam Kling ...........909-596-7604Treasurer ......................Neil Gilbert ........ 909-626-0334Board Member ...........Nancy Strang .... 626-339-6984Board Member ............Dick Moore ......... 909-626-1127Board Member ............Pat Higbie .......... 909-599-6526Board Member ............Rod Higbie ........ 909-599-6526

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Conservation ...............Dick Moore ......... 909-626-1127Education .....................Dan Guthrie ........909-607-2836Field Trips ....................Dan Guthrie ........909-607-2836Membership ................Dan Guthrie ........909-607-2836Volunteers ....................Open! ........................................Publications .................Neil Gilbert ........ 909-626-0334Publicity .......................Shirley Harris ......909-982-9727Door Prizes ..................Karlene Campo ..909-627-8191Hospitality ....................Gloria Slosberg ..909-626-4754Website ........................Open!

CHAPARRAL NATURALIST

Editor ............................Pam Kling ...................596-7604

The Chaparral Naturalistis published bimonthly,except July and August by the Pomona Valley

Audubon Society. Copy deadline is the lastThursday of the month. Articles may be reprintedwithout permission, but please give credit tothe author and the Chaparral Naturalist. Weencourage members to submit articles and photosby email at [email protected].

Subscriptions to the newsletter are available for$10 per year to non-members. Make checkspayable to PVAS and mail to W. M. KeckScience Center, 925 N. Mills Ave., Claremont,CA 91711.

Name__________________________________________

Address________________________________________

City, State, Zip___________________________________Chapter Code: Pomona Valley Audubon CO8, 7XCHYou may also join National Audubon via our website at:

http://www.ca.audubon.org/chapters.html/

7

National Audubon MembershipAnnual membership in the National Audubon Society is$30 per year. New membership dues are $20. Membersreceive the Audubon Magazine and Chaparral Naturalistnewsletter. Renewals of membership are computerized byNational Audubon and should not be sent to PVAS. How-ever, a new membership may be sent directly to PVAS.

Make checks payable to National Audubon Society. Mailpayment with membership form below and mail to PVAS,W. M. Keck Science Center, 925 North Mills Avenue,Claremont, CA 91711. (Please note chapter code number,CO8, 7XCH on your check.)

Count for the Birds in Americas Great Backyard BirdCount, February 16-19, 2007.

No Fee or registration required

All ages and skill levels welcome

Track results in real time online Count in your backyard, balcony, schoolyard, park,wildlife refuge

Be a part of the network

Join with thousand of others to find out how many birdsare being seen in your area and across the continent thiswinter. By participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count,you help document where birds are, and track changesin their numbers compared to previous years, helpingscientists paint a picture of the state of birds this winter.

For more information, and to view results, go to www.

birdsource.org/gbbc/

10th AnnualGreat Backyard Bird Count

Blue Grouse No MoreIn its 47 th supplement to the Check- List of North

American Birds, the American Ornithologists Unionsplit the Blue Grouse, an ABC Green List species, into the

interior Dusky Grouse and the coastal Sooty Grouse. Therecent split follows DNA analysis published in Molecular

Ecology in 2004.

Dusky Grouse males have purplish-red air sacs (that

are inflated during breeding display) as opposed to theyellow air sacs of Sooty males. They also have darker

tail bands and lighter flecking on the wing coverts andflanks. Each of the new grouse species has four separate

races. Analysis of the southernmost population of thenew Dusky Grouse shows significant genetic divergence,

although the researchers fell short of declaring it a separatespecies as well.


8/8

Membership Meetings

Pomona Valley Audubon SocietyW.M. Keck Science Center925 North Mills AvenueClaremont, CA 91711

Printed on recycled paper by Moore-Bergstrom Co., 1341 W. Brooks, Ontario , CA

Return Service Requestedhttp://faculty.jsd.claremont.edu/dguthrie/pvas/

NON-PROFIT ORG.

U.S .POSTAGE

PAIDCLAREMONT, CA.

PERMIT NO. 240

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Cathy McFaddenand Paul Clarke

"Birding in theKingdom of theThunder Dragon"PVA members Cathy

McFadden and Paul Clarke

will give a presentation on

their recent birding trip

to the remote Himalayan

kingdom of Bhutan, featuring

dzongs, chortens, yuhinas,

fulvettas and minivets.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Jeff Burkhart

"Honduras"Jeff Burkhart,

professor at La Verne

University and reptile

specialist, will present a

program about his partici-

pation in biological inventory

work in Honduras.

Meetings are held in Bauer Forum of Claremont McKennaCollege. The evening begins with a bird identificationsession at 7 p.m. followed by refreshments, a short businessmeeting, and our evening program.

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Larry Arbanas

"California Birds"

If you like your birds up-close, youll really like this

presentation. Bay Area bird/

nature filmmaker Larry

Arbanas has whipped up a

bevy of bird mini-movies to

watch at our January 4, 2007

meeting. Well see White-

tailed Kites, Burrowing Owls,

Clapper Rails, Pygmy Nuthatches, dancing Western

Grebes, Mono Lake birds, the amazing water ouzel-

better known as the American Dipper-plus recent, close-up footage of our national symbol, the Bald Eagle and

maybe even Southeast Arizona and Sonora, Mexico birds,

as well!

The Exxon Valdez oil spill motivated Larry Arbanas to

leave the commercial video world to pursue what has

become his lifes passion-bird and nature filmmaking.

Shortly thereafter, he was shooting footage and producing

finished pieces for Earth Day celebrations, the US Fish and

Wildlife Service and wildlife rehabilitation centers.

Today Larry lives and works throughout California,Arizona and Oregon, where he shoots high-definition

footage of bird behavior for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology,

his primary gig. He believes strongly in the mission

of nature festivals and produces video for their parent

organization, Watchable Wildlife. He also makes videos

for organizations and individuals involved in avian/

environmental study, research and education.

january-february 2007 chaparral naturalist - pomona valley audubon society

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