july-august 2005 pelican newsletter lahontan audubon society

8/9/2019 July-August 2005 Pelican Newsletter Lahontan Audubon Society

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The Pelican 1

the

PelicanLahontan Audubon Society P.O. Box 2304 Reno, Nevada 89505 www.nevadaaudubon.org 775-324-BIRDMission statement: To preserve and improve the remaining habitat of birds and other wildlife, restore historical habitat, and educate

the public, with emphasis on children, providing vision to all about our unique Nevada environments.

MONTHLY MEETINGSDate: Fourth Tuesday of the month

Time: Social at 6:30 p.m. Program starts at 7 p.m.

Location: South Valleys Library

15650A Wedge Parkway, Reno

Exterior door, west side of building

Directions to South Valleys Library: Take Hwy 395 to the Mt. Rose Hwy. Head west

on the Mt. Rose Hwy and take the first right turn onto Wedge Parkway, just past Raleys

shopping center. Go about one mile on Wedge Parkway and look for the boldly de-

signed, mustard yellow library on the right.

JULY/AUGUST 2005

vol. 42, no. 6

Inside This Issue

1 Field Trips

2 News

3 Important Bird Areas

4 Love of Listing

5 Conservation Corner

6 Birds In Town

7 LAS Sales

Membership

Submissions for the September/October

issue are due August 1, 2005

There are no LAS meetings during the summer months. The next

meeting is Tuesday, September 27.

SUMMER FIELD TRIPS 2005July 9 (Saturday) 8:30 a.m.

Davis Creek Park, Washoe Valley

Trip Leader: Bob Goodman (775) 972-7848, [email protected] will meet in the picnic area at the far end of the Davis Creek Parking Lot at 8:30

a.m. During this half-day trip, we will walk along the park trails. This is a great spot

to check out our local forest birds: nuthatches, bushtits, woodpeckers, sapsuckers,

chickadees, and more. Birders of all experience levels are welcome. Bring a snack

and water.

ITF TOURSPlease check the website www.ifttours.com for details.

July 21 Lecture: The Black Rock Desert and Beyond

July 23 Field Trip: The Black Rock Desert and Beyond

July 26 Lecture: Ruby Mountains: NE Nevada; in search of the Himalayan

Snowcock

July 29-31 Field Trip: Ruby Mountains: NE Nevada; in search of the Himalayan

Snowcock


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2 The Pelican

SUBSCRIPTIONS

The Pelican is the official newsletter of the Lahontan AudubonSociety and is published six times annually. Subscriptions are

paid for as part of the dues of LAS or the National Audubon

Society. LAS welcomes gifts, donations, and bequests in

general, or gifts in honor or memory of relatives and friends.

Such donations will be used as specified or, if unspecified, will

be used to support LAS education and conservation projects.

All donations are tax deductible.

WHERE TO WRITE:Keep conservation to the forefront. Write your elected officials and

tell them how you feel:

Senator Harry Reid Senator John Ensign

400 S. Virginia St. #902 400 S. Virginia St. #738

Reno, NV 89501 Reno, NV 89501

Reno phone: 686-5750 Reno phone: 686-5770

Representative Jim Gibbons Governor Kenny Guinn

400 S. Virginia St. #502 Executive Chambers

Reno, NV 89501 Capitol Complex

Reno phone: 686-5760 Carson City, NV 89710

Organizational Changes

Chapter elections were held at our May General Meeting with the following results. President Karen Kish, Vice President Alan

Gubanich, and Treasurer Dave Straley were reelected. Trustees Judy Kretzer and Jim Lytle were reelected to Seats #2 and #4,

respectively, with terms to 2008.

Our current Recording Secretary Jane Burnham expressed an interest in taking on other responsibilities in LAS. Trustee Bonnie

Wagner nominated Jasmine Vittori for the Secretary position, to which she was elected. Jasmine went to high school in Yerington,

where she participated in many sports, 4-H, and a variety of volunteer activities. She graduated from UNR in Conservation Biologyand has been accepted into UNRs Masters program in Biotechnology. During college she served as a Conservation Corps volunteer.

We welcome Jasmine and thank her for stepping forward.

Very active LAS members Carol and Ron Conkey have decided to travel for a couple of years and, thus, cannot continue their

current positions. Carol has been serving as Membership Chairman as well as a Board Trustee. Ron developed and created theNevada

Birding Map . He helped out extensively with guiding school trips to Washoe Mitigation Wetlands, took over LAS Sales, and helped

lead a round of field trips on behalf of LAS at last autumns ABA Reno Conference. Many, many thanks go to the Conkeys for all of

their contributions. They will stay in touch, and we look forward to having them in the area again soon.

Judy Kretzer, formerly Hospitality Chair, volunteered to become Membership Chair. Jane Burnham has now taken over both the

Hospitality Chair and LAS Sales. Leaving Recording Secretary, a Board position, Jane has been appointed to fill Trustee Seat #1 (to

2006) vacated by Carol Conkey. Both Judy and Jane have moved quickly and enthusiastically into their new tasks.

LAS Education Programs

As we come to the end of the school year, its time to reflect a bit and thank those that have contributed so much to the LAS

education effort.

Working with Adrienne Forbes of Nevada Department of Wildlife and Washoe Lake State Park, we continue to lead birding field

trips at the Washoe Lake mitigation ponds during the breeding season. This year we led 18 field trips with about 750 kids. We also

were invited into several classrooms to give talks about wetland birds. LAS volunteers donated time to community events directed

at children: a couple of school science fairs, the Tune in to Kids Fair, and a Girl Scouts community service event. The total student

participation at these events exceeded 2000 students. Thanks to SueStephenson, Tom Beard, Ron Conkey, and Cheryl Furgeson

for their help on the field trips. Thanks to Jim Lytle, Nancy Bish, Diane Wong, and Jane Burnham for their help with special events

This year a portion of your LAS financial contributions went to the purchase of binoculars for school kids to use on field trips. A

special thanks to Jacque Lowery at Wild Birds Unlimited who donated several pair of binoculars and made a special arrangement

for LAS to allow our purchasing power to go much farther.

We are always interested in seeking new opportunities to inform the young about the beauty and natural history of birds. If youknow of an organization or teacher that might benefit from our efforts please have them contact me at www.raynloa.powernet.net

or 775 849-0312.

Ray Nelson

Education Committee Chairperson


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The Pelican 3

IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS PROGRAMDon McIvor

775-882-2597

[email protected]

For more

information about the

Spring Mountains

IBA, visit www.fs.fed.

us/r4/htnf/districts/

smnra.shtml.

Nevadas Important Bird Areas

Exploring Franklin Lake

The Spring Mountains IBA is

in southern Nevada near the

California border. The IBA lies

primarily within Clark County

with a small section of the

northwest corner extending into

Nye County. The IBA is encircled

by Highways 95 to the east and

north and 160 to the south and

west. Additionally, Highways

156 (Lee Canyon) and 157(Kyle Canyon) enter the IBA

from the east and provide the

primary access points. The IBA

encompasses nearly 109,000

hectares and largely overlaps

the Spring Mountains National

Recreation Area, administered by

the Forest Service.

The Spring Mountains Range

runs the length of the IBA, north

to south, and offers dramatic

relief from the surrounding

desert valleys. The Range lies

in a transition zone between

the Colorado River Plateau, the

warmer Mojave Desert and the

cooler Great Basin Desert. Fairly

well developed riparian habitat

occurs along five year-round

streams. Additional riparian

habitat is provided by the 200springs within the IBA.

Lying at a biogeographic

crossroads, the Spring Mountains

are probably the most biologically

diverse of all Nevadas mountain

ranges. This diversity is reflected

by the number of tree species

known from the range (37), more

than any other mountain range in

the state. There are likely more

than 1,000 species of plants inthe Spring Mountains, and thus

it has about a third of the entire

Nevada flora, including many

endemic species. Because the

Spring Mountains are a sky island,

some of the less mobile fauna,

including many small mammals,

have become isolated since

the Pleistocene and many have

evolved into endemic subspecies

or species.Against the extraordinary

diversity offered by the plant

and small mammal communities,

the avifauna actually looks

unremarkable. But, compared

against other landscapes in

Nevada, the site stood out and

was recognized as an IBA. The

IBA supports 24 species identified

as high conservation priorities

by the Nevada Partners in FlightConservation Plan.

The majority of priority bird

species identified during the IBA

selection process are associated

with high elevation conifer forests

and woodlands. Nine of the 24

key bird species are associated

with these communities, including

Northern Goshawk, Coopers

Hawk, Flammulated Owl,

Lewiss Woodpecker, Red-napedSapsucker, Olive-sided Flycatcher,

Western Bluebird, Calliope

Hummingbird, and Graces

Warbler.

With its proximity to Las

Vegas, the principal threat to this

landscape is the shear number of

visitors the area receivesover

four million annually. Fire

also constitutes a significant

potential threat to this site, and a

catastrophic wildfire could convert

a vast landscape to a far less

desirable habitat condition.

Getting There

Popular access points to the

Spring Mountains include Kyle

and Lee Canyons. The Forest

Service maintains many miles of

trails that access the backcountryand remoter terrain.


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4 The Pelican

As those who know me a bit are

all too aware, I frequently describe

myself as a mid-line, perennially

rusty birder. Im not a competitive

birder. Well, not exactly. Nor am I a

hard-core lister. Not exactly.

I respect a good checklist, but

I require different devices. The

most important lists, though by no

means my only records, are my

set of beaten-up pocket notebooks

reverentially preserved in a plastic

box. I transcribe any new life listing

to bound volumes, world and/or

North American, and check off the

bird in my field guide. Special birds

in the yard may appear in my gardencalendar. I take pleasure in scribbling

down sightings in chronological

order rather than simply ticking off a

checklist. The chronological list lets

me run and rerun the movie reel of

the days sightings.

There is, however, the matter

of honor: mid-line birders report

to no one. No one else checks the

notebooks. You answer only to

yourself. My first step was to note

carefully who led or accompaniedme. Then came the asterisk for LIFE

BIRD. Then the parentheses: They

saw it, but I didnt. Parentheses,

of course, could be scribbled out if

I later saw the fool bird. Then there

was h. for heard, not seen, also

amenable to scribble-out later in

the trip. Then, the five pointed star

for special view or other special

circumstances. Then, two five-

pointed stars for It was special, andIwas the one who spotted it.

All well and good. An honorable

system for the internal monitor. The

first area of trouble was the lifer. If

the mid-line birder is with a skilled

birder and he or she says, There is a

Red-cockaded Whimbrel, do I list it,

knowing that on my own I may never

have found or successfully identified

the phenom? In the alternative, do I

forgo listing nearly every bird Ive

seen for the first time, especially

those I may never see again? Canany red-blooded birder forbear? The

criterion is that I will list it as a lifer

if I see the bird well enough to think,

or delude myself into thinking, that I

might recognize it again on my own.

Heard-onlies are never listed. But

even that comfort level of definition

did not last long. What of birds I

might have seen on my own, either

with a group or even in my own

back yard? Bad enough that it might

be a challenging identification forthe mid-line birder. Heaven forbid

it might hold the pure agony of a

potential lifer.

A few years ago, on the third

day of Nevada winds greater

than hurricane force, I noticed a

remarkably quiet jay resting at

great length on a low branch in the

backyard. It looked different from a

Western Scrub-Jay. It sat for hours,

taking water intermittently. PerhapsI had never really studied Western

Scrub-Jay. In my field guide, the

only picture that matched was the

Island Scrub-Jay, found on Santa

Cruz Island. Photos and a pleading

call to a member of the Rare Birds

Committee ensued. We crept around

all the back windows studying,

sketching, photographing. He

generously offered that it might be

the coastal californica subspecies.

For my part, I see it being lifted upand off Santa Cruz Island in very

stiff winds and then thrust up over

the Sierra at 160 mph. In my heart it

is the first, perhaps only, sighting of

an Island Scrub-Jay in Nevada if not

on the entire mainland. But, alas, I

have not listed it.

FROM THE PRESIDENTS PERCH:For the Love of Listing

I have said there are no heard-onlies

on my life list. Not exactly true. I

was once fortunate enough to visit

Australia, where by dumb luck I

had my own personal guide into the

Blue Mountains west of Sydney.And there we heard he said it was

so, and I thought it too a Laughing

Kookaburra. We traipsed around

searching, searching but never saw it

while it continued to mock us in tones

more haunting and sardonic than gay.

With no likely chance ever to return

and scratch out the h. symbol, I

listed it and checked it off in the two

parts of my world life list, reluctantly

noting it as heard-only in very small

print. How could I deny a bird of

whom Id sung with such relish in

elementary school?

Then, of course, the American

Ornithologists Union keeps changing

names and splitting and merging

species. And the American Birding

Association has just published a

whole issue ofBirdingdevoted

to recognizing hybrids. Life gets

complicated. The mid-line birder

can only tremble: My official lifelists shift and grow yet shakier. But

I own the movie reels that play in

my tatty pocket notebooks. Laugh,

Kookaburra, laugh.

Karen L. Kish

DONORSLAS gratefully acknowledges the following

donors:

American White Pelican ($100-$499): MikeA. Strem, James & Irene Thompson

Mountain Bluebird ($20-$49): Carmelisa

Caverhill, Carol E. Colip (in memory of Jack

Walters), Dorothy OHearn, Betty L. Schmidt

Ruby-crowned Kinglet ($10-$19): William

& Julie Frame, Carol Grigus, Andrea Robb-

Bradick, Peggy B. Robinson

In-kind: Jacque Lowery, Wild Birds

Unlimited, three pairs of binoculars for LAS

school trips


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6 The Pelican

BIRDS IN TOWNby Alan Wallace

Ah, springtime in the desert. Take storms, winds, and blow-dry heat, add in some 163(!) species of

birds, and it was a pretty amazing April and May in northern Nevada towns. And with yards providing a

bounty of great sightings, we didnt even have to leave the comfort of home to enjoy the birds.

April blustered in with you guessed it a storm, and with it increasing swallows of several species

plus other early migrants. As the month progressed, migration kicked into high gear, with abundant GrayFlycatchers, Warbling Vireos, Bullocks Orioles, and Orange-crowned Warblers appearing in riparian

areas, to be joined by Black-headed Grosbeaks, Olive-sided and Western Flycatchers, Western Wood-

Pewees, Western Tanagers, Black-chinned and Annas Hummingbirds, MacGillivrays, Wilsons, Black-

throated Gray, and Yellow Warblers, and a once-only Tennessee Warbler. On the local lakes and sewage

ponds, overwintering waterfowl departed and were replaced by Bonapartes Gulls, Blackand Caspian

Terns, Dunlins, Western, Lesser, and Spotted Sandpipers, Snowy and Semipalmated Plovers, Marbled

Godwits, Whimbrels, Wilsons Phalaropes, Great Egrets, Green Herons, dowitchers, yellowlegs, and

Eared, Western, and Clarks Grebes, with noisy Marsh Wrens, Common Yellowthroats, and Yellow-

headed Blackbirds in the fringing rushes. At Swan Lake north of Reno, Virginia Rails and Soras put on

a fantastic (to quote one birder), full-view show, providing easy opportunities to actually see these normally

secretive birds rather than just hear them in the cattails.

And then there were the migrants that passed through yards, providing a much-appreciated change

from the House Sparrows and Mourning Doves. Reno feeders hosted (albeit briefly in most cases)

Yellow-breasted Chats, Fox and Lincolns Sparrows, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Great-tailed Grackles,

Townsends Solitaires, and Green-tailed Towhees (the latter in at least four yards). Fallon and Fernley

yards added a Harriss Sparrow, Dusky and Hammonds Flycatchers, Wilsons Warbler, Eurasian

Collared-Doves, Cassins Vireo, and anotherYellow-breasted Chat; Debbie and Randy Pontius in Lovelock

had seven Lazuli Buntings among other good birds; Larry Williams estate in Palomino Valley produced

Calliope Hummingbirds, Western Kingbirds, and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers; Cathy Eckart and Ian Griggs

had a Red-breasted Nuthatch and anotherHarriss Sparrow in Smith Valley; and Lois Ports reported Red

Crossbills from Elko-area yards. Hooded Orioles appeared at feeders in Reno, Mogul, Fernley, Lovelock,and Fallon, and a male Scotts Oriole visited the eastern Carson Valley. Several people in western Nevada

also commented on the abundance ofPine Siskins, even as far inboard as Lovelock.

The birds dont migrate here just to play the slots, and nests and offspring were noted everywhere.

Fluffy Great Horned Owl owlets appeared in many locales, clusters ofCanada Geese goslings rimmed

area lakes (with four batches at UNR alone), Coopers Hawks reoccupied a past nest in Reno, the heads of

Red-tailed Hawkfledglings poked above tree-top nests, and various passerines had nests and eggs by early

May (including one House Finch nest in Reno that was robbed by an unknown predator). Many other species

were seen carrying nesting materials through the end of May, and there was no escape from the abundant

territorial and breeding calls throughout towns.

Sources of information for this column included Carol Amos, John Anderson, Philip Brown,

Richard Brune, Beth & Bill Clark, Cathy Eckart & Ian Griggs, Mary Jo Elpers, Cindy & MikeGoddard, Bob Goodman, Linda Hiller, Nancy Hoffman, Ed Kurtz, Sue Anne Marshall, Heather

Mathewson, Martin Meyers, Inez Miles, Patty Moen & Dave Emme, Chris Nicolai, Fred Peterson,

Harold Peterson, Kris Pizzaro, Debby & Randy Pontius, Lois & Mark Ports, Bill & Jean Sherman,

Tom Stille, Rose Strickland & Dennis Ghiglieri, Dennis Trousdale, Rich Vadenais, Larry Williams, and

me. Contributions are welcome, so send a postcard/note to 1050 Sumac St., Reno, NV 89509 or an email to

[email protected], or continue to post items on the Nevada bird list-serve. The deadline for the next

column is July 25. Good birding!


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The Pelican 7

LAS SALESPrice Postage TOTAL

A Birding Guide to Reno and Beyond(2000) $10 $1.50 _____Published by Lahontan Audubon Society

Nevada Birding Map (price includes postage) $ 4 _____

TOTAL ORDER _____

NAME (please print)_____________________________________________________

ADDRESS ____________________________________________________________

CITY _________________________ STATE ________ ZIP CODE ____________

PHONE _______________________________________________________________

E-MAIL_______________________________________________________________

Make checks payable to Lahontan Audubon Society and mail with this form to:Jane Burnham, LAS Sales, 8071 Big River Drive, Reno, NV 89506

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION/DONATION FORM

Lahontan Audubon Society Membership (all funds remain in the community):

We invite your membership. Please complete and mail this form with payment.

Individual/Family - $20/year Full Time Student/Senior (over 62) - $15/year

Members receive The Pelican newsletter. Make check payable to Lahontan Audubon Society and mail to:

Lahontan Audubon Society, Attn: Membership, P.O. Box 2304, Reno, NV 89505

Donations: Please select one and make check payable to Lahontan Audubon Society. Mail to P.O. Box 2304,

Reno NV 89505

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - $10

Mountain Bluebird - $20

American Avocet - $50

American White Pelican - $100 Golden Eagle - $500 or more

NAME (please print)_____________________________________________________

ADDRESS ____________________________________________________________

CITY _________________________ STATE ________ ZIP CODE ____________

PHONE _______________________________________________________________ July/August 2005 issue

E-MAIL_______________________________________________________________


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8 The Pelican

Printed on Recycled Paper

THE PELICANLahontan Audubon Society

P.O. Box 2304

Reno, Nevada 89505

NONPROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

RENO, NEVADA

PERMIT NO. 181

LAHONTAN AUDUBON SOCIETY

OFFICERS President Karen Kish [email protected] 841-1180Vice President Alan Gubanich [email protected] 857-0191

Treasurer Dave Straley [email protected] 832-9222

Recording Secretary Jasmine Vittori [email protected] 224-6064

TRUSTEES Seat #1 to 2008 Jane Burnham [email protected] 677-4178Seat #2 to 2005 Judy Kretzer [email protected] 826-6891

Seat #3 to 2006 Ali Chaney [email protected] 813-3494

Seat #4 to 2008 Jim Lytle [email protected] 577-9641

Seat #5 to 2006 Ray Nelson [email protected] 849-0312

Seat #6 to 2007 Nancy Bish [email protected] 884-1570

Seat #7 to 2007 Bonnie Wagner [email protected] 829-6311

IBA Director Don McIvor [email protected] 882-2597

COMMITTEE Activity/Program Alan Gubanich [email protected] 857-0191CHAIRS Birding Classes Bob Goodman [email protected] 972-7848

Communications Karen Kish [email protected] 841-1180

Conservation Ali Chaney [email protected] 813-3494Education Ray Nelson [email protected] 849-0312

Field Trips Diane Wong [email protected] 324-0762

Fundraising Dave Straley [email protected] 832-9222

Hospitality Jane Burnham [email protected] 677-4178

LAS Sales Jane Burnham [email protected] 677-4178

Membership Judy Kretzer [email protected] 826-6891

Volunteers Bonnie Wagner [email protected] 829-6311

PUBLICATION AND The Pelican Editor Mike Greenan [email protected] 445-3238INFORMATION The Pelican Distribution Connie Douglas [email protected] 425-1305

Birds in Town Alan Wallace [email protected] 786-5755

LAS Info Line Jim Lytle 324-BIRD

Web Master Jim Lytle [email protected] 577-9641

Postmaster: Please send change of

address to The Pelican, P.O. Box

2304, Reno, NV 89505.

july-august 2005 pelican newsletter lahontan audubon society

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