Upcoming Events

May 5, Wednesday, 6 to 8 p.m., Training for Black Oystercatcher Nest Monitoring (online)

May 8, Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon, Training for Black Oystercatcher Nest Monitoring (online)

Black Oystercatchers are charismatic and beloved shore-birds that we love to see on the South Coast. Because of their small global population size, low reproduction rate, and reliance on rocky intertidal habitats, they are considered a “species of high conservation concern” and serve as an indicator of intertidal ecosystem health. This year’s survey effort will focus again on monitoring nests through the sum-mer (May through August). The expected time commitment is monitoring twice a month or more, but there can be some flexibility if you partner up with other volunteers. This is a fun way to get to better know these fascinating birds and our coastal ecosystems. If you are interested in helping, please plan to attend one of the two virtual training sessions. For more information, contact Allison Anholt, Coastal Community Science Coordinator for Portland Audubon, who is orchestrating the monitoring effort coastwide: asopcoastalbirds@gmail.com.

May 9, Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., COASST Training (online)

COASST (Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team) is a citizen science program that focuses on monitoring beaches from Alaska to northern California for beached birds and marine debris. The information collected by volunteers is then used to track ocean and beach health. This online training session for southern Oregon is designed to teach new vol-unteers the basics of beach surveying and mon-itoring with COASST. Future trainings will be planned to cover more advanced information for full-fledged COASST volunteers. For more information, contact Paige at COASST: coasst@uw.edu. Here is a short link to the training registration: https://bit.ly/3wKM1CI.

Storm Petrel Kalmiopsis Audubon Society

Curry County, Oregon Volume 44, Number 2 Spring 2021

Black Oystercatcher

Photo: Peter Monteforte / Audubon Photography Awards

Sanderlings and Dunlins Photo by Rowly Willis

◄ ▼ ► ◄ ▼ ► ◄ ▼ ► ◄ ▼ ► ◄ ▼ ►

With continuing precaution for Covid-19 and our area still at risk, we have no field trips planned yet for this spring. Please sign up for the KAS HOOT OUT email newsletter or follow us on Facebook.

We’ll keep you posted if conditions change!

H appy spring to all! The lengthening and bright-ening days just make me want to get outside —

into the garden, with its blooms and birds — and also to explore the beautiful and remarkable natural land-scapes in our public lands “back yard.” In our Curry County “beat,” we have such an extraordinary array of amazing wild ecosystems! Many are truly national treasures.

Beginning in the north, at Floras Lake Natural Area, we have unusual “pygmy forests”— not to mention stunning views! In the Wild and Scenic Elk River’s

watershed, we have two wilderness areas with awe-inspiring old-growth forests that host Marbled Murrelets, plus unusual serpentine headwaters with rare Brewer’s spruce atop Iron Mountain. We have so many state park gems — from Cape Blanco to Humbug, Sebastian to Boardman, with dramatic wind-sculpted coastal scrub, brilliant irises about to bloom, plus rocky habitat and pocket beaches!

The Wild and Scenic Rogue River (and Wild Rogue Wilderness) country offers so much that is outstand-ing — from its one-of-a-kind constricted canyon at Mule Creek (accessible only by lengthy hike or boat-in); to high peaks, with Mount Bolivar to the north and Brandy Peak to the south; to beautiful lower can-yons, which host oak savannas and runs of salmon and ancient sturgeon — plus Bald Eagles and Os-prey! The greater Kalmiopsis Wilderness country, with its unique serpentine geology, hosts rare plant communities — including ancient Jeffrey pines, pitcher plants, and stunning lilies found nowhere else. This wildland block is the source of several of our fabulous Wild and Scenic Rivers — the Illinois and Chetco and North Fork Smith, which flow with brilliant clear water for salmon and a host of other aquatic species and wildlife. A little closer in, Snow Camp and the headwaters of Hunter Creek and Pistol River also have unique botany and amazing back-country, including the proposed Veva Stansell Botan-ical Area.

At the southern end of our range, we have the Ore-gon redwoods, which, I swear, keep getting bigger

and more majestic each year. Beyond that, the rich offshore waters host whales, Steller sea lions, seals, and more, while our rocky sea stacks and shores host millions of seabirds, plus hundreds of species of ma-rine algae (aka seaweed) and invertebrates! Even just this overview is overwhelming in the best sense —there is so much to learn about, to see, and to be in-spired by in the natural world! What are your favor-ite, wondrous local places? I’d like to pull together a better collection of photos to showcase the beautiful and astounding array of natural beauty, biodiversity, and life in our extraordinary corner of Oregon. If you’d like to help, please send me your photos and stories at ann@kalmiopsisaudubon.org.

I’d hoped that by now we’d be able to plan for some late spring KAS outings, but alas, Curry County is still designated as a moderate-risk area for Covid, so we’ve put off making plans. If conditions change, there is the possibility that we may yet organize something, so please sign up for our email HOOT OUT so we can keep you posted. Send an email to ann@kalmiopsisaudubon.org.

Through more than 40 years of conservation advoca-cy in Curry County, our award-winning Storm Petrel has been a steady source of news for everyone who cares about the local environment. Now, thanks to the determined efforts of Storm Petrel editor-

The Storm Petrel Page 2 Spring 2021

The Storm Petrel is the quarterly newsletter of Kalmiopsis

Audubon Society, P.O. Box 1265, Port Orford, OR 97465, in

Curry County, Oregon. Kalmiopsis Audubon Society is a chapter

of the National Audubon Society.

Permission to reprint articles in this publication is granted,

provided credit is given to both the author and the newsletter,

unless the article is under copyright.

The KAS board meets quarterly. Visitors are always welcome at

meetings and other functions. Please call any of the listed officers

for the date and location of the board meeting.

Officers President Ann Vileisis (541) 332-0261 Vice President Foncy Prescott (541) 332-1032 Secretary Max Beeken (541) 373-1599 Treasurer Sara Lovendahl (541) 366-2063

Coordinators Conservation Chair Ann Vileisis (541) 332-0261 The Storm Petrel Penny Suess (541) 332-3017 Membership Linda Tarr (541) 332-1032 Dark Skies Al Geiser (541) 332-6720 Let’s Go Birding Gary Maschmeyer (541) 412-0806

Directors Max Beeken 2018 - 2022 maxbeeken@gmail.com Deborah Buitron 2020 - 2024 grebes@frontier.com Al Geiser 2018 - 2022 oneocean@frontier.com Joan Geiser 2018 - 2022 oneocean@frontier.com Sara Lovendahl 2021 - 2025 sjlovendahl@charter.net Tim Palmer 2019 - 2023 tim@timpalmer.org Foncy Prescott 2019 - 2023 foncyprescott@frontier.com Linda Tarr 2019 - 2023 lindatarr@frontier.com Ann Vileisis 2020 - 2024 ann@kalmiopsisaudubon.org Joy Wolf 2021 - 2025 joyful.heart1215@gmail.com

KAS Website http://www.kalmiopsisaudubon.org

From the President’s Desk

We have an extraordinary

array of amazing wild

ecosystems! Many are

truly national treasures.

coordinator Penny Suess, an archive of our group’s publication will become part of the record of local history at the Curry Public Library. Penny also se-cured a WorldCat library catalog entry for the Petrel, which will provide access via the Multnomah County Library portal to our digital issue archives, available through our website: www.kalmiopsisaudubon.org/storm-petrel-archives. Thank you, Penny!

Finally, I want to thank Sheila Chambers for donat-ing a pair of binoculars to KAS, which we can hope-fully put to good use when we get back to hosting bird-watching field trips. Thanks to all for being part of our Kalmiopsis Audubon Society (KAS) commu-nity on the South Coast! – Ann Vileisis

KAS Annual Meeting, a Fun Gathering Online Thanks to all who attended our virtual annual meet-ing this year! I am pleased to report that we elected Treasurer Sara Lovendahl to another term and Joy Wolf, whom some of you know from past birding trips, as a new board member. We appreciated the many contributions of all our board members but es-pecially those of outgoing board member Penny Suess, who has helped us get our Storm Petrel news-letter into tip-top shape — leading the charge to navi-gate us through a big transition to a new printer, new masthead, and more. Although Penny will be step-ping down from our board, we are grateful that she will be staying on as our Storm Petrel editor-coordinator!

We made the best of these strange pandemic times, with members Zooming in from Brookings to Merlin to Gold Beach to Port Orford to Charleston! And in our online format, we enjoyed fabulous original mu-sic performed by Greg Thelen and Cliff Stansell; a moving poem recited by Vicki Graham; great photos shared by Gary Nuechterlein and Deb Buitron, Mike

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Graybill and Jan Hodder, Anne Morgan and Phil Arnold, Tim Palmer, and Rowly Willis; as well as a fun birding quiz, set up by Joy Wolf. It was so nice to see everyone! Thanks to Joy for helping to host our online gathering!

Gardening for Birds Having birds visit is one of the delights of gardening. If you want to consider ways to attract more birds to your garden, Kalmiopsis Audubon has some terrific tips for local gardeners on our website: https://kalmiopsisaudubon.org/gardening-for-birds. You’ll find recommendations for native plants plus best times for pruning and more. Look under Discover> Birding Resources>Gardening for Birds.

Workshops: Advocacy Through Writing and FERNS In early April, KAS sponsored an “Advocacy through Writing” online workshop about how to write letters to the editor and op-eds. Maya Holiman spoke about the importance of advocacy writing to share infor-mation and build community, then author Tim Palm-er gave guidance and tips based on his long experi-ence. (Tim’s tips from this session are available on

request. Email tim@timpalmer.org.) Thanks to Maya for organizing this terrific educa-tional event! In late April, Teresa Bird will lead another workshop to help more citi-zens on the coast learn how to use Oregon’s FERNS (Forest Electronic Notification and Reporting System) to track aerial spraying and clearcuts in local watersheds. This training can help empower citizens with information to stay safe and hopefully im-prove forest practices. ■

Top: Anna’s Hummingbird Photo by Sheila Chambers

Left: Western Tanager with Red Hot Pokers Photo by Lois Miller

Conservation News by Ann Vileisis

Representative DeFazio Leads on SOWSPA!

I am pleased to report that, since the last Storm Pet-rel, the bill to protect the headwaters of Hunter Creek, Pistol River, the Illinois (Rough and Ready Creek), and North Fork Smith from the threats of strip mining — the Southwestern Oregon Watershed and Salmon Protection Act (SOWSPA) — has passed the whole U.S. House of Representatives as part of a larger public lands bill (the Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act), thanks to a big push by our Representative Peter DeFazio! If you’ve not yet thanked Congressman DeFazio, please send a quick note via the contact page on his website to ex-press appreciation (and help to keep him engaged!): https://defazio.house.gov/contact/contact-peter.

Now it’s time to ask our senators to do their part! They have already introduced a different bill, the River Democracy Act, which — based on nomina-tions from hundreds of Oregonians — would desig-nate thousands of miles of new wild and scenic rivers throughout our state, giving clear guidance to federal land managing agencies to accord our wild rivers with a higher level of protection. But most important, we need our senators’ help to finish the business of passing SOWSPA, which remains crucial to protect-ing threatened headwaters from mining.

As longtime KAS members know, SOWSPA builds on years of communities coming together — on both sides of the Oregon and California border — to advo-cate for protecting outstanding wild rivers, drinking water, salmon and steelhead runs, recreation opportu-nities, and other natural values. The initial impetus was a proposal for mineral exploration in the head-waters of Hunter Creek/Pistol River by a company that also held a large block of mining claims in the headwaters of the North Fork Smith River. The later-ite soils (what we often call “serpentine”) are rich in minerals but are of low grade — so mining would require removal of massive amounts of overburden. Such strip mining, plus piling and leach-processing of rock, in our high-precipitation area would be like opening a Pandora’s box at the headwaters of our special wild rivers.

Working for increased protections for our public lands is a long process that demands perseverance, but I know that all our local voices together — YOUR VOICES — have been absolutely critical in getting us this far. Please let’s press ahead together. I thank you for your help in keeping this ball rolling along!

ACTION NEEDED: Please send an email to Senators Wyden and Merkley thanking them for introducing

the River Democracy Act and encouraging them to introduce and advance SOWSPA in the Senate.

Here is the contact page for Senator Wyden: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/email-ron

Here is the contact page for Senator Merkley: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/contact

Here is a sample message to help you with writing your own note:

Dear Senator Wyden/ Senator Merkley,

Thank you for introducing the River Democracy Act. I appreciate your listening to Oregonians and giving federal agencies clear guidance to better protect the rivers that flow through our federal public lands. However, in southwest Oregon, we have some rivers that need additional protection from the threat of strip mining at their headwaters. To address this issue, I urge you to please re-introduce the Southwest Oregon Watershed and Salmon Protection Act (SOWSPA). The U.S. House of Representatives re-cently passed this bill, and so your leadership is now needed on the Senate side to get this important act passed into law. Please re-introduce SOWSPA soon!

Floating Offshore Wind Power: Coming SOON to a Coast Near Us

In late March, KAS along with the Oregon Audubon Coalition (OAC) hosted a webinar with planners from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Manage-ment (BOEM) and the State of Oregon about current planning for future installation of floating wind tur-bines in federal waters off our coast. In short, BOEM is now preparing to identify potential leasing areas, called “call areas,” for wind energy development companies, and the agency wanted to “engage” with us to tell us what they are doing to address concern about impacts to birds.

Of course, we’re very interested to know. Our “beat”— Oregon’s South Coast — is seabird central! Oregon hosts one-half of the West Coast’s breeding bird colonies, and our part of the coast hosts more

The Storm Petrel Page 4 Spring 2021

than one-half of Oregon’s colonies. We have millions of seabirds that come to breed here precisely owing to the wind, which churns the surface and causes upwelling of deep, cold water and nutrients that

nourish the invertebrates and fish they forage on; it’s one of the richest and cleanest marine ecosystems on the West Coast. Moreover, these rich waters also attract nearly 100 species of pelagic birds from all across the Pacific, including albatrosses, shearwaters, fulmars, and more. I’ve never yet been out on a pelagic birding trip, but friends who have say that 25 miles out is where one starts to see many of these

unique species. Of course, fish and wildlife, includ-ing whales and other marine mammals, depend on rich offshore waters, too.

So what is BOEM doing? It is currently assembling and starting to analyze known data with the aim of identifying areas where presumably impacts to birds,

fish, and wildlife can be minimized. I am grateful that BOEM is making this effort, but I have no delu-sions. This is the same agency that oversees offshore oil and gas leasing, and its process aims to expedite installation of industrial-scale energy production fa-cilities by big energy companies. Though it sounds at first like BOEM’s planning will inform the site selec-tion, actually the companies decide where they want to site facilities first, and then a public process fol-lows from there. It is expected that BOEM will invite companies to propose sites for projects later this year (likely in November). Then there will be two oppor-tunities for public input — the first in response to general siting of “call areas” and another with the NEPA-required public process — after areas have been leased and companies have put forth their spe-cific plans, which is, of course, quite late in the game for making meaningful adjustments.

Meanwhile, with the Biden Administration’s big push to address climate change with green energy projects, there is now a rush to bring these facilities to Oregon to take advantage of substantial, time-limited federal subsidies. On the state level, in early April, the Oregon House Committee on Energy heard a bill put forth by our Representative David Brock Smith to expedite installation of three gigawatts of power — roughly 250 to 300 massive turbines — off our coast by 2025 or 2030. The initial bill called for a

task force to expedite development and included no mention of birds, fish, wildlife, or ecosystems, but it was substantially amended to instead direct the Oregon Department of Energy to collect information about the benefits and challenges of connecting the offshore energy facilities with Oregon’s electric grid. The amended version includes a

The Storm Petrel Spring 2021 Page 5

►

Above: Ruby-crowned

Kinglet

Right: Aleutian Cackling Geese and New Chicks

Photos by Rowly Willis

Opposite page: Hiking the

Rogue River Trail

statement about minimizing impacts to ocean ecosystems and also, very fortunately, includes

clear language about the need to plan for decommis-sioning of such facilities. This improved bill has bipartisan support, is expected to pass, and aims to give different economic stakeholders and the State of Oregon greater leverage in deciding where and how wind energy facilities might be sited — though to be clear, the primary permitting process will be federal.

In the past, land-based wind power on our coast had been deemed economically infeasible because the big BPA (Bonneville Power Administration) transmis-sion lines stop at the California border and so could not carry electrons south to lucrative, larger markets seeking renewable energy. Now, however, a new model is being put forth — to tap Oregon’s offshore wind to supply power to coastal communities and then use our state’s existing grid infrastructure to also convey electricity into the Willamette Valley, freeing up other energy for energy-demanding metropolitan areas to the north and south. It is widely thought from a national perspective that wind power will help

to reduce our dependence on polluting fossil-fuel en-ergy sources, namely oil and gas, with an overall ben-efit of ultimately reducing impacts of climate change.

National Audubon has a policy of supporting wind energy development that minimizes impacts on birds — recognizing that the environmental stressors associated with climate change are already affecting birds, fish, and wildlife. The harsh reality is that we now live in a time of increasingly heartbreaking tradeoffs based on the tragic failure of past energy policy decisions.

One thing I have learned about reducing impacts of wind turbine arrays is that siting is supremely im-portant; wind generators are a good idea but are not suitable everywhere. With concern about potential impacts of industrial wind installations on birds, fish, and wildlife in the rich waters off Oregon’s coast, KAS and the OAC intend to engage to ensure that the expedited federal permitting process will not sidestep these concerns.

Honestly, when I listened to the state hearing online, heard our coast described as the “Saudi Arabia of

Wind,” and saw that the initial bill to expedite energy development included not a single word about birds, it was hard not to worry about the gold-rush mentali-ty of wind developers. It made me realize we’ll sure-ly need to stand up for the albatrosses, petrels, and puffins, and hopefully be a force to make sure these potentially massive industrial facilities get sited in the least damaging locations and operated in the least damaging manner possible. Please stay tuned on this important emerging issue.

Administration Revokes Bad MBTA Opinion

In early March, the Biden Administration revoked the controversial opinion made by the former admin-istration’s Department of the Interior Solicitor, the so-called “M-Opinion,” which in 2017 had weakened the Migratory Bird Treaty Act — one of America’s bedrocks for bird conservation. Reversing decades of legal interpretation, the “M-Opinion” declared that the Act did not prohibit incidental — albeit the pre-dictable and preventable — killing of migratory birds by commercial activities. In addition, the Biden Ad-ministration started a public process that hopefully

The Storm Petrel Spring 2021 Page 6

◄

Top: Bald Eagles

Left: Dunlin

Bottom: Mating Northern

Harriers

Photos by Rowly Willis

will also revoke the pending regulation intended to further codify the unfavorable-to-birds “M-Opinion.”

With ever increasing development along their migra-tory flight paths, our birds face increasing threats — from potential for collisions with tall buildings, wind turbines, and communications towers, to finding former wetland resting and feeding habitats reduced to crowded, disease-ridden, or polluted-by-industry sinks. Several industries, including wind energy, have made great effort to develop best practices and miti-gation measures to reduce incidental bird mortality, owing precisely to the “stick” of the MTBA. This bedrock law remains critically important as a tool for bird conservation into the future.

Protect Forests to Address Climate Crisis

President Biden’s first big action on the environment was to re-enter the Paris climate agreement, and his administration has hit the ground running with efforts to accelerate a transition to renewable energy. How-ever, there is another important approach that many in the conservation community would like to see advanced, too: protecting our forests.

Safeguarding current carbon stored in forests and in-creasing those stores is recognized by the Intergov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as an essential strategy for addressing the climate crisis. U.S. forests already sequester nearly 12 percent of our nation’s annual carbon emissions, but they could do more if public lands forests were strategically managed to retain carbon.

The Storm Petrel Spring 2021 Page 7

Mature trees in old-growth forests play an outsized role in storing and sequestering carbon because they serve as a centuries-old bank. Intact, primary, or un-logged forests store 30 percent to 70 percent more carbon than logged forests. It will take quite a long time for newly planted trees to catch up — 100 or 200 years, of course. In addition, protecting mature forests would have the multiple benefits of also pro-tecting clean water and biodiversity.

For all these reasons, Kalmiopsis Audubon joined with more than 100 conservation and environmental groups in sending a letter to Biden Administration climate policy leaders, urging them to include protec-tion of mature and old-growth forests as a key strate-gy to assure compliance with the Paris climate treaty. At a global climate summit on Earth Day, Biden an-nounced an ambitious new goal of reducing carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030 — signaling greater urgency and commitment to addressing the climate crisis. There is a lot of focus on new technologies, but let’s not forget the value of our trees and forests as tried-and-true carbon sequesterers.

KAS Supports ODFW Efforts to Protect Habitat

Earlier this year, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) submitted applications for “in-stream water rights” to ensure future flows for fish in more than 100 streams around the state, including in our area the Sixes, Chetco, and Winchuck. The flows of all our local rivers are pretty much already “fully-appropriated” for the low-flow summer

Native Plant Notes by Teresa Bird / Illustration © Aislinn Adams / Photo by Teresa Bird

Wild Ginger: Asarum caudatum

I’m sure you’ve seen the dark green, heart-shaped leaves as you’ve walked through a moist, forested area, but the flowers of the wild ginger are reserved for the curious! If you peek beneath the bed of leaves, you may be lucky and spot the witchy-looking blooms, rang-ing from white to deep purple, with three long, tapered, twisted petals. The Latin root of Asarum means “sanctuary” (as the leaves provide for the flow-ers, I’d guess), and caudatum means “tailed” (for the “long-tailed” petals). Though the leaves, stems, and rhizomes smell and taste like ginger, A. cau-datum is not related to the ginger root you’d use for cooking at home. It was used medicinally by native peoples, but some Asarum species are toxic, so consumption is not recommended. Instead, I do recommend seeking out this other-worldly plant in the forest! April 2021 was declared National Native Plant Month — so get out there and do some botanizing! I also want to give a shout out to the KAS Facebook page, where you can see photos of the wild ginger flower as it unfolds — it’s magical! ■

►

months, which means that water users already have the rights to take all the water that is avail-

able down to a fairly minimal flow level, not always leaving enough as would be optimal for fish and aquatic life. Like most states in the West, Oregon’s water allocation system is based on the antiquated doctrine of first in time, first in right — established long before anyone could envision a scenario of scar-city and certainly before anyone remembered to leave some water in the river for fish.

Fortunately, many of our rivers already have some minimal in-stream water rights for fish, and in some cases, farmers or ranchers have worked with ODFW to allow their water rights to flow in-stream for the purpose of conservation — so the new ODFW applications were submitted as a kind of insurance policy, giving fish priority should any flows become available in the future. Nevertheless, Curry County’s commissioners decided to oppose the in-stream flow proposals, suggesting that they would preclude

The Storm Petrel Page 8 Spring 2021

◄ “future development” that would be more important. I honestly can’t imagine many local residents prefer-ring more development to rivers with insufficient wa-ter in the summer or fish in the fall. On behalf of KAS, I submitted a letter to the commissioners and also to the State Water Resources Department to back up ODFW’s applications for local in-stream flows, and I appreciate other KAS members from the specific watersheds who helped by sending addition-al letters. We also sent a letter to support ODFW in updating the state’s Essential Fish Habitat maps. These official maps determine where the many laws intended to protect salmon habitat actually apply — and affect activities such as mining and logging.

Port Orford Dark Sky Ordinance

Keeping Port Orford’s skies dark — for natural beau-ty, birds and wildlife, human health, and energy con-servation — has been an issue championed by KAS for more than two decades with notable success, but

Winging It by Mark Lanier / Photo © David Brown / Macaulay Library

Osprey

I love how we humans have snuck birds into our lives. We’re night-owls, odd ducks, and some — crazy as a loon. Distances are measured as the crow flies, and we recognize feathered travelers as the harbingers of spring. Thus, Mich-iganders watch longingly for March robins, Scissortail Fly-catchers in Oklahoma foretell warmer days, and Mountain Bluebirds replace Colorado’s melting snow. Here on the South Coast, I’ve noticed that many folks see spring’s arrival carried on the wings of the first Osprey.

David Marshall’s Birds of Oregon, A General Reference, backs my observation, noting March 20 as the typical larg-est influx of Osprey into the state. Those first to arrive tend to be the old guard, returning to their previous years’ nest to dust off and use again. Before long, the males take the lead in courtship by performing the “sky dance” display for potential mates, along with treating the female to as many fish as he can catch. By late April, the parents are taking turns incubating one to four eggs for the next 38 days. Another 55 days or so pass before the young fledge and nests are abandoned again until next year.

As for many raptors, Osprey populations were severely impacted by DDT in the 1950s and ’60s but have bounced back. Estimates in 1976 had only 33 pairs on the entire length of the Rogue, but by 1996, 42 pairs were found on the lower third of the river alone.

With a feet-first dive and the ability to rotate the outer talon to improve the slippery grip, Osprey are extraordi-nary fishing specialists. One study estimated that a pair rearing two young consumes about 375 pounds of fish over the breeding season!

We live in an exceptional place to observe these remarkable birds. A few years back, in 15 minutes at the mouth of the Rogue, I saw more osprey diving for fish than I’d witnessed in my entire life before. And if you’ve ever seen and wondered about lampreys or surfperch lying on roads or lawns, a good bet for the cause is that a Bald Eagle harangued an Osprey into dropping its catch.

The rain is abating, fruit trees and skunk cabbage are blooming, and the Osprey are back. Ah, Spring! ■

evolving LED lighting technology has made an up-grade of the Port Orford outdoor lighting ordinance necessary. The public process has taken longer than expected, but we’re now getting close. At its March meeting, the City Council sent the latest version back to the Planning Commission (PC) with a request for some specific fixes related to enforcement provi-sions, street lights, and security lights. At its April meeting, the PC stated its intent to make the fixes in May and then to hold another public hearing in June. The ordinance will then head back to the City Coun-cil, hopefully for final approval. Please sign up for the KAS HOOT OUT to learn more about how you can help at the critical junctures. It will be important to show public support! ■

The Storm Petrel Spring 2021 Page 9

To stay informed, join fellow KAS members by signing up for the

HOOT OUT alert list. You will receive timely

emails between issues of the Storm Petrel. Contact

ann@kalmiopsisaudubon.org.

Interactive Map of Clearcuts and Sprays Across Oregon

If you haven’t done so yet, I’d recommend checking out the map created by Coast Range Forest Watch that compiles all the clearcuts and sprays planned so far in 2021. A zoomed-out view shows just how much forestry activity is planned in the Coast Range, and zooming in will allow you to see if activities may be planned in a specific area you care about. It also al-lows you to see which clearcuts and sprays are taking place within municipal drinking watersheds. You can view the map online at

www.sprayfreecoast.org/sprays-across-oregon/

which also provides information about more of the map’s functions and how to use it.

If you’re interested in helping to monitor forestry activity in a watershed near you, please contact teresa @kalmiopsisaudubon.org. – Teresa Bird

POETRY CORNER

Spring on the Gravel Bar by Vicki Graham

Here on the gravel bar, spring begins not with violets or toothwort, iris or trillium, but with stones:

the riverbed scoured clean by winter floods, cobble packed tight, willows stripped, uprooted, gripping air.

A spotted sandpiper, feathers the colors of stone, picks along the shore, tail bobbing.

And the nest? Somewhere, on the bank above the river, a shallow scrape in dry sand, and four eggs the colors of stone.

Walking barefoot, stone to stone. Wanting to see: poised on that knife edge of desire between yes and no. Knowing it is there and deciding not to.

Elfin Moth Photo by Rowly Willis

Bird Notes Winter / Early Spring 2021

JANUARY

6 – A Swamp Sparrow was reported by Tim Roden-kirk at Jerry’s Flat, a few miles up the Rogue River from Gold Beach, and it was present through at least February 7.

14 – A Shorted-eared Owl was spotted by Mick Bressler and W. Michaelis at Jerry’s Flat.

16 – The first Tree Swallow report happened quite early this year; Mick Bressler and W. Michaelis found two birds near Jerry’s Flat. Tree Swallows are not normally back to breed until February; they are one of our earliest migrants.

16 – Tony Kurz reported a rare Glaucous Gull at the mouth of the Winchuck River. Bleached Glaucous-winged Gulls are often mistakenly reported as Glau-cous Gulls because they can appear completely white. The key is to look for a pink bill with a sharp-ly demarcated black tip; if the bill is all dark or the tip is not sharply demarcated it is likely a Glaucous-winged Gull.

17 – A wintering Clay-colored Sparrow was report-ed by Jason Vassallo (et al.) in Gold Beach, and it was present through at least February 6. Only a few stray from their Great Plains migration path and show up on the Pacific Coast; those that do usually just migrate through and rarely stay the winter as this bird did.

18 – Barn Swallows have been appearing in mid-winter for the past decade. They appear in December when no other swallows are around, then disappear again by February — no one knows for sure why or if these birds survive the cold temperatures. This winter, Russ Namitz and Leisyka Parrot saw six of them at Floras Lake on this date. This species histor-ically arrives to breed in late March. Russ and Leisyka also found a female Bullock’s Oriole in Gold Beach that was observed through January 28. A more common summer breeder, it is only rarely found overwintering.

22 – Paul Shallert reported seeing his favorite “black” Red-tailed Hawk in Cedar Valley again, after not seeing it for several months since last fall.

30 – Paul reported seeing a (big!) Northern Goshawk at Geisel Monument in Gold Beach.

FEBRUARY

6 – The male Costa’s Hummingbird that was found by Chris Hinkle and Logan Kahle coming to a feeder

in a neighborhood near the Winchuck River mouth on December 22 was last reported on this date. This species is rarely observed north of its normal range in the deserts of southern Arizona and California.

6 – Say’s Phoebes overwintering at three locations around the Brookings area were last reported on this date; one about a mile up the Winchuck and two in different locations along Oceanview Drive. Over-wintering Say’s Phoebes arrive in Oregon in late September and leave by early March — it is one of the earliest migrants back to its breeding grounds in eastern Oregon in March and early April.

6 – Tim Rodenkirk and others reported an over-wintering Northern Mockingbird in Brookings off Oceanview Drive through at least February 6. Tim also reported seeing a Nashville Warbler near the

The Storm Petrel Page 10 Spring 2021

Short-eared Owl

Photo: Jerry AmEnde / Audubon Photography Awards

Costa’s Hummingbird

Photo: Katherine Poulsen / Audubon Photography Awards

The Storm Petrel Spring 2021 Page 11

their house in Port Orford. An impressive 1,450 were seen in one hour off Brookings on April 10, heading north. On April 13, Rick McKenzie estimated 40,000 on his ranch west of Langlois. The next day, Terry Wahl saw thousands passing over his ranch near Cape Blanco, likely headed over to the McKenzie Ranch, further boosting the numbers there! This spe-cies winters in California, stages for a few weeks in the New River bottomlands each April, then heads nonstop to their breeding grounds in the Aleutians in late April. The megaflight seen each year in coastal Curry is certainly one of the highlights of spring!

8 – A migrating Pacific Golden-plover was photo-graphed at the McKenzie Ranch west of Langlois.

13 – Deb Buitron and Gary and Emily Nuechterlein reported seeing a flock of 20 White-crowned Spar-rows and hearing the California Quail on Joy Wolf’s land on Elk River.

14 – Linda Tarr and Foncy Prescott saw a Wilson’s Snipe (a lifer for Foncy!) above Butler Bar on the road to Barklow Mountain.

17 – Tim Palmer and Ann Vileisis saw half a dozen Caspian Terns, five Pacific Loons, and two Whim-brels at Battle Rock Beach.

18 – Migration is upon us! Tim Rodenkirk reports that he is already seeing thousands of Pacific Loons per hour flying by offshore. Keep your eyes out for shorebirds zipping along our beaches, too. Shorebird migration usually peaks the last week of April and first week of May. During this same period, there will likely be more Pacific Loons migrating offshore — in the tens of thousands per day — and large num-bers of Bonaparte’s Gulls and Caspian Terns may also be seen when weather permits.

Compiled by Tim Rodenkirk and Joy Wolf. Thanks to KAS members and friends for sharing your unusual bird sightings. Send your new observations to KASbirdnotes@gmail.com. ■

library in Brookings. In case you were wondering, the Nashville Warbler does not nest anywhere near Tennessee!

17 – Angelika Nelson spotted two Redheads on Dewey Ponds off Cape Blanco Road. These diving ducks stuck around until at least March 14.

27 – Gail and Jordan Dawn reported the first Turkey Vulture and American Goldfinch at their place up Euchre Creek.

MARCH

7 – One of the overwintering Say’s Phoebes along Floras Lake Loop was last seen on this date.

13 – The other overwintering Say’s Phoebe along Floras Lake Loop was last reported on this date.

14 – The overwintering Northern Mockingbird along Highway 101 at the Sixes River Flat area (just north of the Cape Blanco turnoff) was present through at least this date (Terry Wahl et al.).

26 – Paul Shallert reported seeing many brilliant Western Bluebirds at Cedar Bend Golf Course in Gold Beach.

APRIL

6 – This date began the amazing migration reports of Aleutian Cackling Geese. Ann Vileisis and Tim Palmer witnessed the first huge flocks flying over

Barn Swallows

Photo by

Lois Miller

Above: Wilson’s Snipe Photo by Lynette Spence

Bottom left: Pacific Loons Photo by Mick Thompson

Audubon Photography Awards

Kalmiopsis Audubon Society P.O. Box 1265 Port Orford, OR 97465

What’s Inside

Upcoming Events ....................................... 1 From the President’s Desk by Ann Vileisis ........................................... 2

KAS News ................................................... 3 Conservation News by Ann Vileisis ........................................... 4 SOWSPA Passes the House, Offshore Wind Power Looms, Bad MBTA Opinion Revoked, In-stream Water Rights for Fish, Protecting Forests for Carbon Storage, News About Port Orford’s Dark Sky Ordinance

Native Plant Notes

by Teresa Bird ............................................ 7 Winging It by Mark Lanier .......................................... 8 Map of Oregon Clearcuts and Sprays by Teresa Bird ............................................ 9 Poetry Corner by Vicki Graham ........................................ 9 Bird Notes by Tim Rodenkirk and Joy Wolf ............... 10

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