Redwood Region Audubon Society

Announcements and Happenings for April 2004

Godwit Days Are Here!

Arcata invites you to the 8th annual Godwit Days, the three-day spring migration festival celebrating the Marbled Godwit and all birds of the coastal redwoods, bays and marshes of Northern California!

More than 75 birding field trips and workshops are offered in and around Arcata - in the heart of California’s redwood coast.

Amid our ancient redwood forests, marshes and the Pacific Ocean, 450 species of birds have been recorded visiting here annually. Won’t you visit too?

Watch Marbled Murrelets arcing through towering redwoods at dawn, have face-to-face encounters with spotted owls, and take small boat tours of Humboldt Bay to view migrant shorebirds at their peak.

For more information, call toll-free at 800-908-WING or log on to http://www.godwitdays.com/.

Conservation Report, by Chet Ogan

The Clam and Moonstone Beach Draft Management Plan will be discussed at Azalea Hall, McKinleyville on March 31. A paper in the Journal of Field Ornithologists by Tamiko Ruhlen showed that most damage to snowy plover populations at Pt. Reyes occurred on weekends, evidence that human disturbance reduces snowy plover chick populations. We owe a word of gratitude to the County Board of Supervisors for their efforts to create a management plan for this area. Although the majority of people are complying with the new regulations, incidents are occurring that threaten the snowy plover population stabilization in this area.

BLM staff in the Kings Range has been encouraging swallows to nest on the sides of the buildings away from doors and walkways and by discouraging them along the sides of their buildings where staff and visitors enter.

RRAS is increasingly frustrated by the lack of action by the City of Eureka to comply with the provisions of the contract with the California Coastal Commission to improve the Eureka Marsh. The culverts that allow tides to enter the marsh need to be reengineered to allow for adequate tidal exchange and the agreed upon improvements need to be completed.

Calpine Corporation decided to pull out of negotiations to site an LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) plant on Humboldt Bay. RRAS did not join the coalition against LNG, though we supported the coalition, because we felt our voice could be better expressed by giving our own statement. Sue Leskiw read the statement at the public meeting March 16 emphasizing the need to conserve the environment and protect wildlife.

The Conservation Committee meets the third Thursday each month at noon at the Golden Harvest Restaurant in Arcata. Members are welcome. The next meeting is scheduled for April 15.

Wildlife & Native Plant Garden Tour to Be Held June 26

Nine gardens – from downtown Eureka to McKinleyville, including residential and commercial sites – will be featured in the second annual Wildlife & Native Plant Garden Tour. The event, to be held Saturday, June 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is co-sponsored by the Redwood Region Audubon Society and the North Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.

The selected gardens showcase plants that attract wildlife (especially pollinators such as hummingbirds and butterflies) or emphasize native species. The event is intended to increase community awareness of backyard habitats and to raise funds for both nonprofit groups.

Tickets will go on sale in April/May and cost $15. Eureka ticket outlets are Pierson’s Garden Center, Strictly for the Birds, and Freshwater Farms; Arcata/McKinleyville sales locations are the Northcoast Environmental Center, Garden Gate, Mad River Gardens, and Miller Farms Nursery.

RRAS Sponsors Science Fair Award

“Wildfires: Give Me a Break” by Joshua Compton, a seventh-grader at Pacific Union School, was selected as the best project dealing with birds and their habitat at the annual Humboldt County Science Fair held in March. This was the third year that RRAS has sponsored a prize at the fair.

Joshua’s project determined the effects of ridgetop fuelbreaks in a conifer stand on moderate (35%) and steep (65%) slopes. He constructed a small-scale (1/150^th) model in his back yard using pine branches, alder twigs, chemise brush, pine shavings, and moss. The fuels were ignited and results gridmapped according to the degree of vegetation consumed. He found that ridgetop fuelbreaks can be an effective tool in fire management.

RRAS judges Louise Bacon-Ogden, Sue Leskiw, Gary Bloomfield, Hal Genger, and Shana Stearn evaluated exhibits created by students in grades 4 through 8 to choose a winner. The prize – a $50 check and 1-year RRAS membership – was awarded during a ceremony on March 19 at Humboldt State University.

Joshua also was selected as one of 14 grand prize winners from Humboldt County, which means that he will have his expenses paid for a trip to the state competition at the University of Southern California in May.

Thank You to More Auction Donors!

Our apologies to the following people who were inadvertently left out of the donor listing in the March issue: Carol Andersen, Frank & Marji Anderson, Joan Dunning, John Hewston, and Jim & Virginia Waters.

West Nile Virus Surveillance

The State Department of Health Services (DHS) is asking birders to help track the timing and regional spread of West Nile virus (WNV) in California. Last year, 8,670 dead birds were reported; of 1,750 tested, 96 birds were positive for WNV (approximately 80% of them being crows).

You can report dead birds by calling toll-free 1-877-WNV-BIRD (1-877-968-2473) Monday-Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. The DHS and local vector control agencies will collect and test species most susceptible to the virus: corvids, sparrows, finches, and raptors. To be acceptable for testing, a bird must be dead no longer than 24 hours. Birds can be refrigerated but do not put carcasses in a regular freezer. For more information, visit the DHS website at www.westnile.ca.gov.

Redwood Region Audubon Society welcomes the following new members and subscribers: