sep 2007 corvid crier newsletter eastside audubon society

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The Corvid Crier ~ September 2007 1

East Lake Washington Audubon Society Vol 26, No 7— September 2007

The Mission of the East Lake

Washington Audubon Society is to

protect, preserve and enhance

natural ecosystems and our com-

munities for the benefit of birds,

other wildlife and people.

E AST L AKE W ASHINGTON

A UDUBON SOCIETY

25TH A NNIVERSARY

Interested in learning about the bears inyour backyard? Join us for an informa-

tive interactive presentation with Julie(Hayes) Hopkins, a biologist with the Griz-zly Bear Outreach Project. Julie is a Threat-ened and Endangered Species Specialist withmore than 15 years experience working withmany large mammals and birds, whales anddolphins in the Pacific Northwest and aroundthe world.

You may not have bears in your own back-yard, but there are bears in the Cascades.Grizzlies and black bears. In fact the NorthCascades, from I-90 to Canada, is one of

only six Recovery Areas for the Threatenedgrizzly bears in the lower 48 states. Juliewill share with us some of the latest informa-tion on how grizzlies are doing in some of these recovery areas.

Statewide there are an estimated 25,000black bears and less than 20 grizzly bears.These large omnivores eat a diet of 90%vegetation and insects. They have to pack ona lot of calories to make it through the win-

ters and are always on the search for foodsources. Julie will discuss the biology of both grizzly and black bears, how to live andrecreate safely in bear country, and how tokeep your backyard from being one of theirfood sources. She will also bring skulls,claws, and fur from both bear species toshare with us.

The goal of the Grizzly Bear Outreach Pro- ject team is to provide an educational re-source to the public about bear behavior,safety and sanitation issues associated withliving and recreating in the beautiful out-doors of the Cascade Mountains.

Please join us Thursday, September 27 forJulie’s stimulating and informative discus-sion about bears. Come at 6:30 for the socialhour. Enjoy a brief monthly meeting andrefreshments from 7:00 to 7:45, followed byJulie’s presentation.

The social hour, meeting, and presentationare free and open to the public. Invite afriend or anyone who will enjoy learningabout bears in Washington.

Bears in Your Backyard?Thursday, September 27 at 7:00 pm (after the social hour)Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church (ELWAS Headquarters)

HIGHLIGHTS INSIDE:

President’s Message:

Home Sweet Habitat — 2

ELWAS Office Hours

and Directions — 3

Volunteer Opportunities — 3

Book Review — 4

My Summer Camp

Experience — 4

No on I-960 — 4

A Bargain at Burke Museum — 5

Field Trips — 6

Bird of Month — 7

Marymoor Birdloop — 8

Conservation Corner :

Going Carbon Neutral — 9

Directions to ELWAS HQ

Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church,308 4th Ave. S. (corner of 4th Ave. S. andState). Take I-405 exit 18 (NE 85th, Kirk-land). Drive west on Central Way to 3rd St. (stoplight). Turn left (south) on 3 rd St.and follow it as it bears left and changes

name to State St. Turn left on 4th

Ave S.TAKE THE BUS! Routes 540, 230 and255 serve State Street in Kirkland.




President Christy Anderson (425) [email protected]

Vice President Jim Rettig (425) 402-1833 [email protected]

Secretary Carmen Almodovar (425) [email protected]

Treasurer Ellen Homan (425) [email protected]

Executive Director Jan McGruder (425) 822-8580 [email protected]

At large board member Amy McQuade (206) [email protected]

At large board member Sunny Walter (425) [email protected]

At large board member Tricia Kishel (206) [email protected]

Birding Brian Bell (425) 485-8058 [email protected]

Adult Education Open Bird Photography Tim Boyer (425) 277-9326

[email protected] Trips Hugh Jennings (425) 746-6351

[email protected] Plant Walks Sunny Walter (425) 271-1346

[email protected] Walks OpenSpecial Events OpenBird Questions? MaryFrances Mathis (425) 803-3026

Conservation Tim McGruder (425) [email protected]

Advocacy OpenCitizen Science Tim McGruder (425) 822-8580 Conservation Tim McGruder (425) 822-8580

[email protected] Park Jim Rettig (425) 402-1833 [email protected]

Education Mary Britton-Simmons (360) [email protected]

Programs Sunny Walter (425) [email protected]

Youth Education Mary Britton-Simmons (360) [email protected]

Library Carolyn Kishel (425) 746-1817

Communication Open Historian Open Newsletter Tom Grismer (206) 720-9892

[email protected] Tracey Cummings (425)788-4663

[email protected]

Webmaster Nancy Nicklas (425) 869-7827 [email protected] Development Cindy Balbuena (425) 643-4074

[email protected] Christy Anderson (425) 747-4196Gift Wrap Open Merchandising Cindy Balbuena (425) 643-4074

[email protected] Membership Margaret Lie (425) 823-2686

[email protected] Claudia Welch (425) 827/2548Volunteer Coordinator Tricia Kishel (206) 948-3922

[email protected]

308 4th Avenue S. (Corner 4th Ave. S. and State)P.O. Box 3115, Kirkland, WA 98083-3115

Committee Chairs/Board (board positions underlined)

Executive Officers

East Lake Washington Audubon Society(425) 576-8805 — www.ELWAS.org

I attended the Street of Dreams thisyear for the same reason many oth-ers do; for decorating ideas! But itgot me thinking about the concept of home.

There has been a trend recently to

build homes bigger and bigger, theStreet of Dreams being a premier example of that. Thisyear’s event was promoted as being “green”. And therewere some good ideas about using recycled materials,energy efficiency and so on. But can a house of 5,000square feet ever really be considered green?

Even a “green” house has an impact and obviously, thebigger the house, the bigger the impact. Think of the ma-terials used, recycled or not, and the energy used tomanufacture them and truck them to the site. Biggerhouses use more of everything. The physical space occu-pied by the house no longer functions to soak up rain-

water and filter it down into the water table. Not to men-tion the trees, plants and soil removed to make room forthe house. The loss of tree canopy is adding to the prob-lem of global warming. Many of these houses built inexisting neighborhoods stretch from lot line to lot line,leaving basically no outdoor spaces at all, let alone anyroom for wildlife. And if suburban zoning codes encour-age megahouses, they also tend to encourage auto-basedsprawl and decimation of green space by restricting pe-destrian-friendly, mixed-use development.

There are some architects seeing a different way. SarahSusanka has struck a nerve with her “Not So Big House”series of books. Another book, “Patterns of Home”, talksabout siting a house so it does not conflict with its loca-tion, but rather slips in as if it belongs. Outdoor spacesare every bit as important as indoor ones. The land itself,as well as the interior rooms, should be taken into ac-count when designing the house. And we, as human be-ings, feel better in such a house, even if we’re not surewhy.

The sense of shelter, of home, is integrally tied to theway the house relates to its setting, its habitat, if youwill. And the house needs to fit us on a human scale. Ihave written before in this column about our need to seenature and feel a part of the larger ecosystem. Apartment

and condo dwellers also need to look out onto livinggreen spaces, at the very least as created by pots of plants. If it is important for us to feel a part of the naturalworld on this planet, shouldn’t that start at home?

Street of Dreams? If only it were. But the phenomenonof megahouses in our communities is all too real. Thereare indications that people are finally getting the messagethat maximum square feet is not the key to happiness.Something for us all to keep in mind as we think aboutour own “dream house.”

Home, Sweet HabitatBy Christy Anderson, ELWAS President




The Corvid Crier, Vol 26, NO 7Publication Date: September 1, 2007.Published by: East Lake Washington Audubon SocietyP.O. Box 3115, Kirkland, WA 98083-3115

The Corvid Crier is published monthly by the East LakeWashington Audubon Society except that there are noissues in January or August.

Deadline for material submission is the first Wednesdayof the month preceding publication. Send material byemail to:

[email protected]: ELWAS Newsletter

or by mail to:East Lake Washington Audubon Society

Attn: Tom Grismer P. O. Box 3115, Kirkland, WA 98083-3115

The “Raven in Flight” used as our graphic logo wascreated by Tony Angell, and is ©1978 University of Washington Press. Used with permission.

ELWAS Office/ Audubon CenterThe office is downstairs at NorthlakeUnitarian Universalist Church inKirkland, 308 4th Avenue S. (Corner4th Ave. S. and State). Directions: I-405 exit 18 (N. E. 85th-Kirkland). Gowest on Central Way to the light on 3rd

St. Go left on 3rd St. Follow this street(it bears left and changes name to StateSt.) Then turn left on 4th Ave. S.

(425) 576-8805 — [email protected]

Hours: Mon, Tues, Fri — 9:00am -1:00pm

ELWAS Sept Meetings

Sept 5 (Weds) 6:00 pmWeb CommitteeMeets first Wednesday each month inELWAS Office. All interested partiesare invited. Questions? Email NancyNicklas at [email protected]

Sept 11 (Tues) 7:00 pm

Youth Education CommitteeMeets in the ELWAS Office. All inter-ested parties are invited. Questions?Email [email protected]

Sept 13 (Thurs) 7:00 pmPhoto GroupMeets in large room upstairs from EL-WAS Office. Questions? Email TimBoyer at [email protected]

Sept 27 (Thurs) 7:00 pmMonthly Program and meetingSee article on page 1.

Volunteers: We Need You!Eighty percent of what ELWAS accom-plishes is done by volunteers. The other20% is done by paid staff With yourhelp and expertise, and a little of yourtime, we can grow the Chapter and doeven more in our community.. We cando more classroom presentations, morehabitat improvement, more advocacy,

more education, and more birding.Whether you want to be in front of acrowd, or work behind the scene, weneed you! Some of our volunteer oppor-tunities are:

Birdathon Database – Organize andpost the Birdathon checks andwrite thank you notes.

ELWAS E-Mail List Moderator –Moderate the ELWAS e-mail listsfrom the comfort of your ownhome.

Events Coordinator – Schedule EL-WAS volunteers to staff tables atvarious events on the Eastside, andorganize display and materials foreach event.

Membership Meeting Greeter - Greetguests and members at the monthlymeetings.

Document Scanner – Scan field tripmaps and other documents forposting on the website.

Website Volunteer - Work with theWeb Committee to update or add

new content to the ELWAS web-site.

Office Staff Coordinator - Call andschedule volunteers to staff theoffice.

Bird List Organizer – Using field triprecords, create bird lists for the

website Birding Hot Spots.

Movie Night Chair - Reserve moviesand host guests and members onMovie Night.

Nature Walk Coordinator - We needsomeone to work with Parks De-partments, walk leaders and ourpublicity team to schedule and pub-licize the walks.

Volunteer Office Staff – Work in theELWAS offices, answer the phonesand greet visitors and customers.

We will work with each volunteer, andgive them as much training and supportas they need to be successful. You mayread a thorough description for eachopportunity on our website, or contactJan McGruder at (425) 822-8580 or [email protected] for further details.

If you believe ELWAS is acause worthy of your time, givea little of yourself. The birdswill thank you!

Thanks to Lea Knapp for the Kirkland Marina Beach Clean-up and Juanita BayNature/Bird Walk, and to Carolyn Kishel , Claudia Welch and Jill Keeney forworking on the ELWAS library.

For weeding the plantings and resuming the war on canary reed grass and Scotsbroom on the Marymoor Bird Walk; thanks to Brian Bell, Therese Eby, Ella El-man, Bruce Lieberman, Steve Pope, Jan Rettig, Jim Rettig, Sharon Rodman,Ben Smith, Cyndi Smith, Jake Stone, and Stan Wood.

Thanks to all those on the Education Committee: Jill Keeney, Sharon Pagel, Jimand Shirlee Hall , Margaret Lee, Jeani Goodrich, Tora Roksvog, NancyMendenhall, and Mary Britton-Simmons. They work each month on the Educa-tion Committee.

Thanks for working in the office: Bev and Hugh Jennings, Len Steiner, JanLoux, Pat Vernie, Paul Jensen, Tina Klein-Lebbink and Jill Keeney.

Thanks to those who helped get the Summer Corvid Mailing out: Lea Knapp,

Melanie Bishop, Barbara Dietrich, Jane Paige , and Carolyn Kishel.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better.

It's not." — Dr. Seuss , from The Lorax

Thank You ELWAS Summer Volunteers




Ihad always wanted to do something of science where at the same time you

had fun. Here was my opportunity atCamp Rocks, Rafts and Rivers where Icould do something like that. For me itwas so good. Starting the first day, I

started having fun. This isn’t like schoolwhere someone hates another person. It’s just a place to have fun.

On the second day of camp, we went toDenny Creek where you get to enjoy na-ture which was great. It wasn’t a long hikeso we could enjoy it for a pretty goodtime. On that same day, I got to experi-ence rock climbing which was at the sametime somewhat hard but great. On the nextday, we started talking about rock forma-

tions at Discovery Park where we alsohiked down to the beach. Along the way,we explored various sorts of rocks andlooked at the geology of the area. For meit was interesting to talk about, touch andlook at the rocks which were awesome.

On Thursday we went river rafting whichwas one of the coolest things I’ve everdone. We drove up to the WenatcheeRiver—a four-hour drive. For me it wasworth it. When we got there, we learnedhow to paddle the raft so we knew what todo. We went rafting for a pretty goodtime, and it was very exciting and fun.The camp members got to experience raft-ing over rapids which are rocks andbumping places that have great waves to

get wet in. The rafting was great, theweather was perfect, and we all had agreat, fun, exciting day.

So now I would like to thank the PacificScience Center for giving us kids the op-portunity to experience activities that we

never imagined ourselves doing.

Note: And a big thank-you to the ELWAS

members who so generously donated to

the camp scholarship fund and made it

possible for the Education Committee to

send six middle school/junior high stu-

dents to environmental camps for a week.

The committee and campers are very

grateful to all of you for your generosity.

— Mary Britton-Simmons

My Experiences at Rocks, Rafts and Rivers Summer Campby Bricelda Torres, seventh grader at Kamiakim Junior High

The Kerrys have co-authored a well-documented book that acknowledges

the threat of global warming as well as theefforts of citizens throughout the UnitedStates who are working hard to combat it.The book is both inspirational and disturb-ing: inspirational because of people likeHelen Reddout, a sixteenth-generationfarmer from Yakima County who foundedthe Community Association for Restora-tion of the Environment (CARE). This

grassroots nonprofit organization success-fully sued an industrial dairy over its pol-lution of the environment. The far-

reaching judgment in favor of CARE re-sulted in changing how the Clean WaterAct is regulated and enforced nationally.

This Moment on Earth is also disturbingbecause it describes in detail the environ-mental abuses that abound in our societyand the toll that pollution takes on theplanet and on each of us. The Kerrys raisequestions that need to be answered now,not in the future. For example, shouldU.S. citizens not be protected from thedangerous chemicals from which theEuropean Union protects its citizens?Why hasn’t the federal government sig-

nificantly raised our fuel economy stan-dards for new vehicles?

The book closes with a list of actions thatindividuals can take. In fact, Audubon iscited as a source for more information onthe environment. Jim Hansen, the leadingclimatologist and director of the GoddardInstitute for Space Studies in New York,warned world governments that “theworld has a ten-year window of opportu-nity to take decisive action on globalwarming and avert catastrophe.” The Ker-rys’ book inspires readers to take decisiveaction.-- Mary Britton-Simmons

Book Review: This Moment on Earth: today’s new environmentalists and their vision for the future

— by John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry

Audubon Washington is joining a grow-ing coalition opposed to Initiative 960 –on the statewide ballot this November –because it would put funding for conser-vation and clean-up of natural ecosystemsand bird and wildlife habitat at risk.

Tim Eyman’s latest initiative would makeit much more difficult to obtain vital pub-lic funding for conservation. I-960 is arigid, confusing and costly bureaucraticproposal to vastly expand the definition of a “tax increase.” It would require theapproval of two-thirds of the State Legis-lature, along with expensive public advi-sory votes in many cases, on every changein revenue, even routine fund transfers.

Innovative efforts to fund conservation or

clean-up efforts would have to be sold to asupermajority of legislators – and in manycases to the public as well – as a tax in-crease, even if they did not raise anyone’staxes. Actions that require a public advi-sory vote would be identified as a “taxincrease” and allotted just 13 words in the

voters’ pamphlet to justify their ten yearcost. Hundreds of millions in state dollarswould be wasted on endless ballots andexpensive court battles.

Even transferring funds from one stateaccount to another to fund conservationwould be a “tax increase” and could beheld up by a minority of lawmakers. Rou-tine decisions about budgets and feescould be turned into polarizing debates

over “tax increases” if I-960 is approved.Raising the parking fee at state recrea-tional areas by 25 cents to invest in main-tenance would require legislative action asa “tax increase.”

It is already difficult enough to obtainfunds for efforts like the State Departmentof Ecology’s grants to improve and pro-tect dozens of waters across the state.When you cast your ballot in November,imagine how hard it would be to get fund-ing for any Audubon priority – even infla-tion adjustments to current projects, to saynothing of new investment – if I-960 isapproved.

To find out more about I-960 visit this

website: www.WATaxFairness.org.

I-960 Threatens Future Conservation Funding




Clip the coupon below and present it to the admissions desk at the Burke Museum of Natural History andCulture to get 2 for 1 admission to their exhibit, Yellowstone to Yukon.

Clip the coupon for 2 for 1 admission to Burke Museum




Meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 8:00. Bringbinoculars and meet in parking lot. No registration required.MaryFrances Mathis 425-803-3026

Sept 22 (Saturday) 8:00 am to noon

Montlake FillThis is a hot spot for birds in Seattle. It is one of the few placeswith open fields and freshwater ponds in the Seattle area.These ponds attract migrant shorebirds in small numbers but inan amazing diversity. Virginia Rails and Soras can be found inthe cattail marshes. In Union Bay large numbers of waterfowlare usually present. Meet before 8:00 am just south of the busstop at the South Kirkland P&R (on 108th Ave. NE just northof hwy 520 and Northup Way). Passenger cost/person $2.00.Hugh Jennings 425-746-6351

Sept 24 (Mon) 9:00 am to noonBirding the Hot Spots of King CountyMonthly field trip on fourth Monday of each month towherever the birds are. Meet before 9:00 a.m. at north end of the Newport Hills Park-N-Ride (I-405, exit 9) and plan to beback by noon. Passenger cost/person $2.00.Hugh Jennings 425-746-6351

Sept 26 (Weds) 7:00 am.Native Plant Walk: Fall Color at Mt BakerThe Heather Meadows area of Mt Baker is surrounded byscenic mountains & lakes. We will walk the trails to seehillsides bright red from the blueberry fall color and identify thetrees, shrubs, birds and mammals. Berries should be ripe and juicy. We will either walk the easy Artist Point and PictureLake trails or try a longer hike to Bagley Lakes or Chain

Lakes.Bring good walking shoes, binoculars, plant and bird guides,lunch, snacks, beverages, and raingear. Meet before 7:00 a.m.at the Kingsgate P&R. Northwest Forest Pass or InteragencyPass (formerly National Parks Pass) required. Passenger cost$12/person. Trip limit 12.

To reserve your space, contact Melinda (before Sept 19), 425-827-5708 or [email protected] or Sunny (after Sept19), 425-271-1346 or [email protected].

Sept 1 (Sat) 9:00 am to noon — Marymoor ParkJoin us in restoring native habitat at the Marymoor Park interpretive area on the 1st Saturday of every month. Dress forthe weather and bring clippers, gloves, snacks and water. Park in Lot G and follow the signs to work parties. Free parkingpasses are provided. Glenn Eades 425-885-3842

Sept 7 (Fri) 8:00 am to noon — Marymoor ParkJoin us for a morning walk along the nature trail, seeing whatbirds are in the area. Meets the 1st Friday of each month at8:00. Bring binoculars and meet at the SW corner of the Dog

Area parking lot (Parking Lot D). No registration is required.To reach Marymoor Park, take SR 520 east from Seattle to theWest Lake Sammamish Parkway exit and follow the signs.The entrance to the park is one block south of the exit. Turnright at third stop sign, to Dog Area parking lot. Parking is $1.

Sept 8 (Sat) – 5:30-8:30 pm — Vaux’s Swifts in MonroeThis is an evening trip to Monroe to watch thousands of Vaux’s Swifts go through their evening ritual before droppingin a chimney to roost for the night. About an hour before dusk they begin circling and swirling around the chimney as thenumbers keep increasing. A few will start making feints at thechimney, then a few will start dropping down into the

chimney. These are followed by more and more until the skyis empty about dusk. We will meet at the south end of theKingsgate P&R by 5:30 pm and carpool to MonroeElementary School in Monroe. Passenger cost/person is$3.00. If you plan to go, email Hugh Jennings at:[email protected] or call 425-746-6351. Pilchuck Audubon is planning on meeting us at the school.

Sept 18 (Tues) 8:00 to noonJuanita Bay Park Bird Walk

A relaxed walk in the Park, seeing what birds are in the area.

FIELD TRIPS Parents and children over 8 are welcome on all trips. **FRS Radio owners, please consider bringing them on trips.**Check our website at http://www.elwas.org/events/ for the latest information and for reports of last month‘s field trips.

Meeting Places for Field Trips:

• Tibbetts P&R in Issaquah: I-90, exit 15, turn right(south) and go to Newport Way NW, turn left (east) and

then right (south) into P&R and park on west side.

• Kingsgate Park and Ride (Detour route): The detourroute has you either take the Totem Lake off-ramp fromI-405 northbound and turn left at the light at the bottomof the Totem Lake off-ramp onto Totem Lake Blvd, ortake the NE 124th St off-ramp from I-405 southboundand turn left to the light at 124th Ave NE. This will putyou on Totem Lake Blvd, the detour route. Take TotemLake Blvd north to the light at NE 132nd Street, turn leftunder I-405 and then immediately turn left onto 116thAve NE and into the P&R..

• Newport Hills Park and Ride: I-405, exit 9

• South Kirkland Park and Ride:108th Ave. NE justnorth of hwy 520 and Northup Way.

• Wilburton Park and Ride: I-405, exit 12.

Dr. Kerri W. Scarbrough, Optometrist

17320 135th Ave. N.E. ? Woodinville

(425) 398-1862

See the birds better!




The Wilson’s Phalarope (WIPH)is about 9.25” long with a

wingspan of 17” and a weight of 2.1oz. (60g). The genus name Phalaro-

pus (fal-AY-row-pus) is Latin from

the Greek phalaris, coot, and pous, foot. The species name tricolor

(TRY-color) is Latin, and refers tothe three colors of this bird: white,black, and brown-red. The commonname is in honor of Alexander Wil-son, an early American ornithologist.

The WIPH is the largest and mostland-oriented of the three phalaropesand is the only one limited to theNew World. All three phalarope spe-

cies have lobed toes. Phalaropes re-verse the sex roles commonly ob-served in birds: females are largerand more brightly colored than themales and take the lead in courtship.The females leave after egg-layingand the males incubate the eggs andraise the young. The female in breed-ing plumage has a light gray crown,back, wings and tail. A broad black streak goes through the eye anddown the neck, blending into a red-

dish-brown. The legs are black. Thethroat, belly, sides and undertail arewhite. The black bill is very long andthin compared to the other phala-ropes. (Photo was provided by MarvBreece). The breeding male hasgray-brown upper-parts and top of head. The neck is reddish-brown tolight brown with a white throat. Inwinter plumage, non-breeding, both

have light gray upperparts and yel-low legs. In flight, the upper wingsare gray with no wing-stripes and awhitish rump. Both other phalaropesshow a white wing streak in flight.

The WIPH is a bird of inland waters:shallow prairie lakes, fresh marshes,mudflats, and it nests mostly on thenorthern Great Plains. In Washingtonstate, the birds are a fairly commonlate spring and early fall migrant, and

nest in eastern WA. Their voice is alow, muffled, nasal grunting ormoaning usually in flight on thebreeding grounds. Huge numbersmay gather in the fall on salty lakesin the west including Mono Lake andGreat Salt Lake, before migrating toSouth America.

These phalaropes forage mostlywhile swimming, picking aquatic

insects, flies , larvae, beetles, etc.,from the surface of the water or justbelow it. They often spin in circlesin shallow water to stir the water upand bring food closer to the surface.The nest is usually built in shallowfreshwater marshes in open countryand is generally on ground near wa-ter; it is sometimes a couple of inchesabove ground in marsh plants. Atypical nest is a shallow depressionwith a slight lining of vegetation. The

female takes part in choosing the nestsite, but the male finishes the nest.The male incubates the 3-4 brown-blotched, buff colored eggs for 22-25days and takes care of the youngwhich fledge in about 20 days. Themale may try to lure predators awayfrom the nest or young by feigning abroken-wing.

BIRD OF THE MONTH

Wilson’s Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor

Join the City of Kirkland Parks De-partment from 9:00 am to noon onthe second Saturday of each monthat Watershed Park to remove invasiveplants and improve the important ur-ban forest. The next work party is

Saturday, September 8th.

Bring work clothes, work gloves, raingear (if necessary) and water. Alsouseful are pruning shears or clippers,lopping shears, and pruning saws.

Watershed Park is located at 4500110th Avenue NE.

For more information or to RSVP for

an event, contact Nicci Osborn of Kirlkand Parks and Community Ser-vices at 425-587-3342 or email [email protected].

Green Kirkland: Remove English Ivy and Other Invasive Plants




This summer we passed the halfwaymark on this project with King County(KC), and a lot has been accomplished.However, there is still much to be done.And we need your continued help. Overthe last year 129 ELWAS members andfriends have volunteered 961 hours of their time to help with this project! Howterrific is that? Thank you all so very,

very much! The following is a statusreport as of August 15.Gate: The gate filling the gap to theoff-leash dog area is installed. Thanks toTim McGruder for its construction andinstallation.

Forest Trail: At our July work party webegan to uncover this trail again butfound it more difficult than last year be-cause of trees falling down over the win-ter and lots of new growth. We willkeep working on this as time permits.

East Meadow Trail: While we haveidentified the route for this trail, we arewaiting for permission to begin to buildthis. When we get word, we will beginthis task.

Plants: We continue to remove ScotchBroom and cover patches of Reed Ca-nary Grass in the East Meadow. Thanksto Ella Elman for taking charge of this

part of the Project. We recently got per-mission to cover a large patch of ground,cleared of Scotch Broom, with soil sothat it may be planted in native grassesand a bit of shrubbery. We continue alsoto remove areas infested with blackber-ries, and we plan to plant native speciesalong the off-leash-dog-area fence thisfall.

Kiosks: King County is giving us twoMetro bus stops to be reconfigured intokiosks. The sites for both have beendetermined - one will go near the EastMeadow and one near the SammamishRiver. The display panels are now atMarymoor, and the kiosks themselvesare being painted by KC staff. We hopethe kiosks will be in place by September.Thanks to Sunny Walter for all thework she has done getting the kiosks toMarymoor.

Interpretive Signs: We met with LindaFeltner, the artist, and Dennis Paulsen,the text writer, in late June and reviewedthe first draft of these. They look terrific,according to those who saw them at theJune meeting. We have asked for anothersign to be placed along the river, proba-bly near the weir. Thanks to MeganLyden for her leadership here.

Boardwalk Extension: We are stillwaiting for an answer about whether weneed wetland permits for this, though wethink we do. It would be expensive, but aKC official suggested that ELWASmight get another grant from KC to pur-chase materials and complete this part of the Project. This official mentioned thatperhaps this would be the time to raise

the deck of the current boardwalk so thatit remains out of water throughout thewinter. This is still under discussion.

Work Parties: We’ve held work partieson the first Saturday of every monthcome rain or shine, except when floodwaters forced us to cancel two work par-ties. This pattern will continue throughthe next year, which means our nextwork parties are September 1 and Octo-ber 6. Your participation is always wel-come! Kudos to Glenn Eades for lead-ing these work parties.

Records: The names of volunteers andthe hours they spend working on thisProject are faithfully kept for KingCounty and for ELWAS. Thanks toKaren Ridlon who did this until re-cently, and thanks now to Therese Eby for taking on this important job— Jim Rettig.

Marymoor Park Bird Loop Project Update




The July August issueof Audubon magazinehas an article aboutgoing “carbon neutral”,one of the newest termsin the New OxfordAmerican Dictionary.It has entered our lan-

guage as one way to deal with globalwarming. Virtually everything we do hasa carbon footprint, that is, produces car-bon dioxide, which gets into the atmos-phere and consequently adds to globalwarming. One way of addressing ourpersonal carbon footprints is the attemptto go carbon neutral. One of the worstthings we can do for the planet is totravel on a jet plane, for each flight hasan enormous footprint. (A coast-to-coastflight expends 1.23 tons of carbon diox-ide per person, according to The Conser-

vation Fund.) But how do birders get tothose far away birding spots withoutflying? Do we all stay home? That isprobably not going to happen.

So, one way that is becoming known tothose who fly - and even to those whodon’t but who use home heating fuel,vehicles for transportation, electricity topower appliances, go out to eat - is to

purchase offsets. A growing number of organizations now have websites thatwill help us calculate our personal car-bon footprint, whether one travels or not.The calculator, using the information wegive it, calculates our carbon footprintand then gives a dollar amount. Themoney is then sent to that organization tobe used to plant trees (which remove alot of carbon dioxide from the atmos-phere) or to invest in renewable energyresources, for example. Thus, we go car-bon neutral.

Calculator websites abound, and pricesand carbon estimates vary widely. I re-cently entered the same figures on threedifferent websites: one calculated that Iwould owe $120.00, the other two calcu-lated out to less than $25.00! If you wantto examine your carbon footprint,

whether for your daily routine or for atrip to Europe, for example, here aresome available websites: Native Energy(www.nativeenergy.com). This is the siteAl Gore used in making An Inconvenient

Truth. Travelocity(www.travelocity.com/gozero) helps youcalculate your footprint when traveling,but you have to buy a ticket first. So it’snot possible to use when comparing.

Carbonfund.org (www.carbonfund.org)and The Conservation Fund(www.conservationfund.org/calculator)are the two websites I used to calculatemy future travel plans at a cheaper ratethan Native Energy. Climate Care alsooffers a calculator website (http:// climatecare.org/calculators/flight).

Of course, while going carbon neutral isgood for the environment, it is not acure-all. What we as a nation and allothers need to do is to significantly re-duce our output of greenhouse gases.Figure your personal carbon footprint byviewing one of the websites mentionedabove, then begin implementation. TheLos Angeles chapter of the Sierra Club,while it doesn’t have a calculator web-site, does offer fifteen suggestions as tohow you can neutralize your personal

carbon footprint. Go to http:// angeles.sierraclub.org/news/SS_2005-04/carbonneutral.asp.

So, in order to be good stewards of theearth, and to help our fine furry andfeathered friends, we all need to startthinking about and learning how to gocarbon neutral. And then we all need toact on this.

Going Carbon Neutral—by Jim Rettig

Water may be a life and death situationfor your landscape plants. It may alsoharm your drinking water. Here are sometips to save you money and protect thewater you drink.

Overwatering can kill yourplants. Overwatering clogs soil pores,which suffocates the roots. Let your plantsdry out between waterings to let theirroots breathe.

Overwatering can pollute the water.About 70 percent of the drinking water inthe Redmond-Bear Creek Valley comes

from groundwater. Excess irrigation canleach fertilizers and pesticides into thegroundwater, local streams and lakes.

Tips for Smart Watering Water your lawn deeply and not toooften. This creates a deep, well-rootedlawn that can withstand drought. Yourlawn only needs one inch of water a week to stay green.

Mulch mow to help your lawn stay

green. Grass is mostly water. Leave theclippings to retain water. Mow higher (2to 2-1/2 inches) to shade the soil surface.

Water your trees and shrubs slowly anddeeply. This helps your plants grow deep,healthy roots. All new plantings, evendrought-tolerant plants, need regular wa-ter until roots are established, usually atleast two growing seasons.

Moisten the entire root zone, then letthe soil dry out before you water again.The root zone extends as wide as the plantor beyond. Water below the plant’s outer

branches, not at the trunk.Check your watering. Several hours afterwatering, push a long screwdriver ormetal rod into the ground. It will passeasily through moist soil and stop or slowdown when it reaches dry soil.

Mulch to conserve moisture. Use a fewinches of compost, wood chips, grass clip-pings or other organic materials in land-scape beds. A one-inch layer can reduce

soil surface temperatures by 15 degrees ona hot day.

Group plants with the same waterneeds together so plants get the rightamount of water.

Use a timer. A simple kitchen timer willhelp you remember to turn off the water,saving money and your plants.

Water when it’s cool. Watering mid-day,especially when it’s sunny, will waste half the water to evaporation. Water plants inthe morning or early evening.

Check your irrigation system. Many

people with irrigation systems actuallyuse more water because they set themonce and forget them. If possible, use atimer as part of your irrigation system.

For more watering tips, visitwww.savingwater.org. For gardeningquestions, contact the Natural Lawn &Garden Hotline at 206-633-0224 [email protected].—Annette Frahm, www.sageenviro.com

Landscape Watering Tips

sep 2007 corvid crier newsletter eastside audubon society

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