Apr 2013 Stanislaus Audubon

8/12/2019 Apr 2013 Stanislaus Audubon

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Valley Habitat 1

The Valley Hab itatApril 2013

A Jo in t Pub li cat io n of th e St an is la us Aud ubo n Soc ie ty

an d th e Yo ku ts Gr ou p of th e S ie rr a Cl ub

California's Central Valley- the New Dustbowl of the 21st Century?

by Anita Young, Chair, Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club

Many of us have global warming on our minds.We have all heard about a frog, when put into a pot ofcool water that is then gradually heated, will stay in the potand die, whereas a frog put into a pot of already hotwater will scramble to jump out of it to safety. That sto-

ry is an apt description of the effects of climatechange brought about by global warming. New Yorkexperienced a violent superstorm in October 2012which caused billions of dollars in damage to the city andits residents. The mayor and the Department of City Plan-ning have already made recommendation for necessarychanges to prevent future extreme weather damage.

Compare that to the Great Central Valley ofCalifornia - our home. Even with years of droughtdevastating farms in the midwest, we here in the Val-ley are pretty much acting with little sense of urgency

as our pot of water continues to heat up. The bright lightfor many of us is the Sierra Club's policy on water inCalifornia:

"Stewardship of the Delta is important to allCalifornians. Maintaining the long-term viability ofthe Delta, Sacramento, and San Joaquin ecosystemsrequires more than Delta-specific water managementand species restoration programs. It requires support

for rights of all areas of origin, and statewide conser-vation of water supplies and quality. Water with-drawals and water quality impairments impact all ex-

port watersheds, including the Sacramento and SanJoaquin Rivers and the Delta. Given the role of thesewatersheds as a source of water supply for much ofthe State, maintaining water quality and managingsupplies consistent with these natural assets are essen-tial.

The State's long-term water reliability in-

vestments should not depend on maintaining orincreasing water exports. [emphasis added]

Every few years we hear the rattle of sabers asthe perpetual water wars heat up between water-"rich"

Northern California and water-poor Southern Califor-nia. This is especially true when the state faces adrought, as we now are. The Modesto Bee's averagerainfall totals shows us at about 60% of normal, fol-lowing several years of the same pattern. So much for

being water-rich. While urban water use in Southern

California consumes only 20% of water importedfrom the north (after completely consuming water fromthe Colorado River), we have use of the remaining80% in questionable farming practices, such as large-scale agriculture on marginal land. These practicesalso include small farms that rely on irrigation of aridland where rain is infrequent and water sources areunreliable. (Continued on page 5)

April 19th, 2013 Yokuts Program: El Camino de Santiago

Please join us for our April Yokuts program meeting. Our featured presenters will be Alan Bernikoff andBonnie Folkes. Last year they made the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, one of the world's most famous long dis-tance treks, from Sarria to Santiago, Spain. They also spent time as hosts in a Spanish "Refugio-Albergue-Hostel,"

where they encountered other pilgrims on the Camino.

The program will be held Friday, April 19, at the Fellowship Hall of the College Ave. Church, 1341 Col-

lege Ave. (at Orangeburg) in Modesto. Refreshments and socializing begin at 6:45 p.m. and the program starts at

7 p.m. It is free and open to the public


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Valley Habitat 2

Stan islaus Audubon Soc iety

RECENT SIGHTINGS OF RAREOR UNCOMMON BIRDS

MERCED COUNTY: On February 11, Jean Okuye saw a flock of MOUNTAIN PLOVERS near Sandy

Mush Road that was re-found by other birders.

Kent and Karen van Vuren went to Santa Fe Grade Road on February 13 to check on a report of akingbird from nine days earlier by Ken Archambault, and they saw a CASSINS KINGBIRDthere. Also onSanta Fe Grade Road, Ralph Baker showed a EURASIAN WIGEON to many participants of an Audubon

field trip on March 9.

STANISLAUS COUNTY:Sal Salerno had one EURASIAN WIGEON at Dawson Lake on February 15; Jim

Gain found a second Eurasian Wigeon there on the next day.

Jim Gain had a GLAUCOUS GULL on February 24 during a scheduled survey at the ModestoWastewater Quality Treatment Facility. During the once-monthly public access of that facility, Jim had two

GLAUCOUS GULLS on March 9, as well as two PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS. Bill Amundsen had aGLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL there, also on that day.

Mountain Plovers

Kent van Vuren

ONLINE NEWSLETTER RE-

QUEST CONTINUES

Stanislaus Audubon Society iscontinuing to collect email addressesfrom those members who would pre-

fer to receive Valley Habitat in coloronline. This option would not onlyreduce paper, but would also reduce

the cost of printing and mailing.

If you wish to receive thisnewsletter online, then send an [email protected] Newsletter in the subject

line. Put your membership name inthe body of the textAND YOURPOSTAL ZIP CODE. By including

your zip code, you will make it easierfor membership staff to remove yourlabel from the mailing list that is sentfrom National Audubon Society. Ifyou still would like to receive thisnewsletter by mail, no further action

is needed.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Valley Habitat 3

INSULATION

As much as we may admire

all birds for their endurance in beingexposed through all seasons andweather extremes, we may increaseour admiration for seabirds and wa-terfowl. These birds enact most oftheir lives on rivers, lakes, andoceans, so their feathers must providetheir bodies with a complete, continu-al watertight seal. This necessity iseven more urgent for seabirds, due to

the mineral content of sea water.

Water birds must never getsoaked; the peril to their lives is im-mediate if they do. Cold water canbring the body heat of animals downmuch more quickly than cold air, andbirds, with their small body mass, canrapidly perish from hypother-mia. Fortunately, there areseveral ways in which water-

proofing can be assured.

How do birds remaindry? We have all observed

their constant preening, partic-ularly by ducks and other wa-terfowl. This daily groomingritual involves retrieving preenoil from special glands and de-positing the waxy substance

onto their flight and contour feathers.

Another way resides in theproperties of feathers called powderdown. Although most down feathersare somewhat vulnerable to soaking,powder down traps water into drop-

lets. Water streams off the stem (orrachis) of the feather, sits atop thelatticework of the vane and beads up,leaving the underside portion of the

feather dry.

The main secret of water-proofing lies in the intricate structureof feathers. The vanes of feathers

form so many corners and edgeslocking densely into each other that

with many water birds, there are asmany as 900 touch points per milli-

meter.

With so many specializedfeatures that feathers possess, it is apredictable wonder that birds are themost adaptable wild creatures onearth. They can thrive anywhereon

land, in water, and through the air.

COLOR

Birds are also the most color-

ful of earths creatures. The complex-ity and vibrancy of their plumageshave inspired artists and amazed therest of us for as long as humans have

been around.

Why have such brilliant col-ors come about? If the first biologicalimperative is that birds must stayalive as individuals, then the second

imperative is that they must stay aliveas species by propagating. The

breeding plumages of guy birds, inall their often extravagant glory, aredesigned for a single aimto getthe girl. What better way for a male

bird to catch the eye, to prove thathe is stronger and healthier, thus bet-ter able to provide for a brood, than

to present an arresting visual show?

How are colors produced in

feathers? The simplest answer is thatthere are two chief methods, either bydirect pigmentation of feathers or bylight refraction caused by featherstructures. That answer is readilycomplicated, though, because oftencolors are created by a mix of pig-

mentationandstructural design.

The first effect is producedby feathers imbued with pigment.Melanin is a type of pigment we are

familiar with, since it causes our skinto tan. In the feathers of birds, mela-nin creates variations of hues, in therange of black, earthen, and rust col-ors. Feathers that are melanin-basedare also stronger and more resistant

to wear, which is why the tips ofthe flight feathers of many birds are

black.

Another class of pigments iscarotenoids, which are produced byplants. Birds ingest these pigments

either by consuming those plants orthe prey that has eaten those plants.Carotenoids produce lighter colorsthan melanin, such as the orangeand yellows of warblers. Feathercoloration, however, is seldom a

matter of just one pigment or another.Often, melanin and carotenoids inter-act with each other, producing othercolors, like the green on a Green-tailed Towhee or female Scarlet Tan-

ager.

The second effect is pro-duced by microscopic feather struc-tures that refract, refract, and scatterlight in myriad combinations. On thegorgets of hummingbirds, for exam-ple, light refraction operates like aprism. When no light is reflected,

(Continued on page 6)

BIRDS ARE OF FEATHERS PART TWO by Salvatore Salerno

Wood Duck


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StanislausAudubon Society

Board of Directors: Bill Amundsen, Ralph

Baker, Eric Caine, Lori Franzman, Jody Hall-

strom, David Froba, Jim Gain, Daniel Gilman,

John Harris, Harold Reeve, Salvatore Salerno.

Officers & Committee Chairs

President: Sal Salerno 985-1232

([email protected])

Vice President: Eric Caine 968-1302

([email protected])

Treasurer: David Froba 521-7265

([email protected])

Secretary: John Harris 848-1518

([email protected])

Membership: Revolving

San Joaquin River Refuge Field Trips:Bill Amundsen 521-8256

([email protected])

Other Field Trips: David Froba 521-7265

([email protected])

Christmas Bird Counts Coordinator; Secre-

tary, Stanislaus Birds Records Committee:

Harold Reeve 538-0885

How to Join Audubon

To become a member of the National

Audubon Society, which entitles you

to receive Valley Habitat and Audubon

Magazine, send your check for $20.00 to:

National Audubon Society

Membership Data Center

P.O. Box 422250

Palm Coast, FL 32142

Visit our web site: www.stanislausbirds.org

Valley Habitat 4


AUDUBON FIELD TRIPS

Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, May19 San Joaquin River Na-

tional Wildlife Refugeis huge and offers the most diverse habitats in

the area, including mixed species transitional savannahs, riparian for-est, oak woodlands, grassland, and seasonal wetlands. Trip leader, BillAmundsen ( 521-8256,[email protected]),chooses the particu-lar habitats to visit each month based on conditions and season. Meet atthe Stanislaus Library parking lot at 1500 I Street. at 7:00 a.m. We'll be

back early afternoon.

Sunday, April 28, Del Puerto CanyonJoin leader Ralph Baker ([email protected])for atrip through one of the best birding spots in the county. We will try for

such goodies as Golden Eagle, Greater Roadrunner, Costas Humming-bird and Rufous-crowned Sparrow, we should see some migrants andwe may be lucky enough to find a Northern Pygmy Owl. Well have

lunch at Frank Raines Park and if any one feels up to it after birdingthe canyon we may continue into Santa Clara County and bird a littlein the San Antonio Valley, time permitting. Meet at the Stanislaus Li-brary parking lot at 1500 I St. at 7:20am (note special start time). We

will be back in Modesto mid-afternoon.

May 4-5. Monterey Area. This overnight trip will include such loca-tions in Monterey County as Andrew Molera State Park, Pt. Pios,Carmel River Beach, Elkhorn Slough Preserve, and Moss Landing. Wewill be looking for spring migrant and vagrant passerines, shorebirdsand seabirds. Trip Leader, Sal Salerno, 985-1232,[email protected]. RSVP is required. Prospective participants willreceive a tentative itinerary and recommendations for lodging in Pacif-ic Grove by email. Meet at the Stanislaus Library parking at 1500 IStreet at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 4. We will return to Modesto in

the late afternoon of Sunday, May 5.

May 11. String of Pearl Parks. This trip to the series of parks along

the Stanislaus River between Oakdale and Knights Ferry will get youto the right place and at the right time to see the newly arriving springmigrants from the tropics to the south. Trip leader to be an-nounced. Meet at the Stanislaus Library parking lot at 1500 I Street. at

7:00 a.m. We'll be back early afternoon.

Audubon Field Trip Email

List

If you would like to be on a group

email to advise you of allAudubon field trips, please email:

Dave Froba at [email protected].
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Valley Habitat 5

Yokuts Group of the S ierra Club

April 7, Sunday

Sierra Club Day Hike (2A)

Hites Cove, South Fork MercedRiver

A moderately difficult 9.5 milewalk on narrow trail through pro-lific wildflowers in full Spring

bloom. End of trail is at a historicquartz mine active in the 1850 to1880. Sponsored by the TuolumneGroup of the Sierra Club. Detailsand reservations from Leader,Frank (209) 962-7585, oremail:

[email protected]

Modesto Earth Day in thePark Festival , Saturday,April 20

Our Sierra Club Group will

have a information Booth at this

event. Please come by and sayhello, and help make people awareof conservation and sustainabilitypractices. We will have infor-

mation for the adults and crafts forthe children. We hope to sign upnew members at this festival.This event will be held from 10AM. to 4 PM. at Graceada Park,Needham and Sycamore Ave,Modesto. We will have a signupsheet at our monthly meeting forall who would like to help out.Contact Milt at 535-1274 if youhave any questions.

MOTHER LODE CHAPTER ANNUAL

AWARDS BANQUET - MAY 4, 2013For a GREAT time, join us in hon-oring and celebrating the achieve-ments of outstanding environmen-tal activists at the Mother LodeChapter's spectacular annual gala

event in Sacramento. In additionto meeting like-minded folks andre-acquainting with those youknow, youll also have the oppor-

tunity to take home some wonder-ful silent auction and raffle itemsand in the process help support thework of our local activists in

Northern California.

Our Keynote Speaker will be Ma-jor General Anthony L. Jackson(ret), who was appointed by Gov-ernor Brown to be the 19thDirectorof California State Parks. To ac-commodate those who come from

longer distances, the banquet willbegin earlier this year, with the so-cial hour beginning at 5:00 and dinner at6:00. For more information visit

www.motherlode.sierraclub.org

Mother Lode Chapter AnnualAwards BanquetLions Gate Hotel and ConferenceCenter3410 Westover Street, Sacramento

(McClellan) CA 95652Saturday May 4th - Social hour at5 pm & Dinner at 6 pmDirections:www.LionsGateHotel.com

To become a sponsor, or to donateitems for the raffle or silent auc-tion:Please contact the Mother Lode Chapteroffice at [email protected],

(916) 557-1100 ext. 108 if you wouldlike to be recognized as a sponsor of thebanquet, or to make a donation to helpmake this a successful fundraisingevent.Reservations:Attendance is by advance reserva-tion only & the cost is $48.00.Please make your reservation online-

at www.motherlode.sierraclub.org,or call the number above to request areservation form to be mailed to you.Last year we had to turn people

away, so please don't delay.

July 30th Aug 4thBackpack (2B)

19thAnnual Summer Back-packSave the dates: The YokutsGroup annual backpack trip is inthe planning stages. Dates for the 6day trip will be: Tues July 30thSunday Aug 4th. Trip details willappear in the May newsletter.

(New Dustbowl? ...continuedfrom page 1)

While these practices are

questionable during a wet cycle,they are unconscionable in adrought, where water needs to bereserved for the highest use, that offeeding hungry people. The Cen-tral Valley with its prime farmlandis the logical place to do this.Global warming experts have beentelling us for at least 3 years thatby 2050 California will be en-gulfed in a drought that will make

the Dust Bowl of the 1930s looklike a mere meteorological blip.Sabers need to be rattled, then ac-tion taken, to do serious water con-servation in agricultural, industrialand domestic uses. It is already toolate to increase the capacity of ourreservoirs. We need to simultane-ously invest in green technology toreduce the carbon we emit, withthe hope that the climate changes

we are experiencing can be re-versed before that becomes too lateas well.
http://us.mc362.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]://us.mc362.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]://www.motherlode.sierraclub.org/http://www.motherlode.sierraclub.org/http://www.lionsgatehotel.com/http://www.lionsgatehotel.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.motherlode.sierraclub.org/http://www.motherlode.sierraclub.org/http://www.motherlode.sierraclub.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.lionsgatehotel.com/http://www.motherlode.sierraclub.org/http://us.mc362.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]


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Valley Habitat 6

Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club / Stan islaus Audubon Society

Paddle to the Sea

May 18-June 22, 2013

Tuolumne River Trust

http://www.tuolumne.org/

content/

Information / Registerhttp://

www.paddletothesea.org/

paddle/register.asp

Questions?Email:[email protected]

or call us toll-free at 1-888-994-3344

Birds are of Feathers:(Continued from page 3)

the gorget appears black, but when

the angle of view shifts, we seeshimmering, iridescent color. Onother birds, the whole light spectrumis reflected back from the feathersurface. We perceive the feathers aswhite if the reflection is scattereddiffusely, but any type of orderedscatter results in purples, greens, andblues. In fact, the blues on blue-birds, buntings and jays are virtuallyall structural. If you were to back-light the blue feathers of a Western

Scrub-Jay, you would only see abrown melanin tint.

Not surprisingly, there are manystructural designs of feathers andmanysubtle pigment shades, and thetwo effects interact with each otherto produce innumerable hues. Infact, there are more colors on birdsthan meets the human eye, sincesome birds can perceive a range of

ultraviolet shades invisible to us.

Birds cannot propagate,however, unless they survive for an-other breeding season. That bringsus to another purpose of colorationequally important as show, and thatis camouflage, which I will examinenext time.

Sue MurphyThis is the Green-tailed Towhee that was found by Ralph Baker

on Monday, February 4 in Jacob Myer Park, Riverbank.This towhee made at least four forays across the Stanislaus River into our

county. Its last sighting was on Monday, March 4.

EARLY BIRDERS CLASS, SPRING 2013

Salvatore Salerno is offering another Early Birders class through the M.J.C.

Community Education Department. This course is designed for the beginning or

intermediate birdwatcher in the identification and appreciation of wild birds.The

class meets on Thursday, May 9, 2013. The field trips are to La Grange on

Saturday, May 11, and Knights Ferry, May 18. The class is listed in the

Spring 2013 mjc4life catalog. Interested participants can register online at

www.mjc4life.org.
http://www.mjc4life.org/http://www.mjc4life.org/http://www.mjc4life.org/


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Valley Habitat 7

Yokuts Group of the S ierra Club

Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club

Management Committee

Chair Anita Young 529-2300

([email protected])Treasurer Steve Tomlinson

(Steve.tomlinson97@gmail,com)

Secretary Maryann Hight 417-9114

([email protected])

Programs This could be you

Conservation Brad Barker 526-5281

([email protected])

Membership Kathy Clarke 575-2174

([email protected])

Hospitality Candy Klaschus 632-5473

([email protected])Publicity Dorothy Griggs 549-9155

([email protected])

Outings Randall Brown 632-5994

([email protected])

Newsletter Nancy Jewett 664-9422

([email protected])

Mailing Kathy Weise 545-5948

([email protected])

Population Milt Trieweiler 664-1181

([email protected])

Fundraising Leonard Choate 524-3659Website Jason Tyree

([email protected])

Check out our Website:

http://motherlode.sierraclub.org/yokuts

To send stories to the Habitat, e-mail:

[email protected]

Sierra Club Membership

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Contributions, gifts and dues to the Sierra Club are not tax-deductible; they support

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Yokuts Group

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Link to

the

Yokuts

Web-

Yokuts Sierra Club Joins Meetup

The Yokuts Sierra Club group, along with the Delta

Sierra and Tuolumne groups have formed a Stockton-

Modesto-Sonora Meetup group that includes Sierra Club

outings and events. Its easy and free to join this Meetup,

just go to the link below and sign up. Its not necessary

to be a Sierra Club member to join. Once you sign up,

you will automatically be sent announcements of new and

upcoming Meetup events. Join the fun and get active in

the Sierra Club. http://www.meetup.com/Stockton-

Modesto-Sonora-Sierra-Club/


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The Valley Habitat April 2 13http://motherlode.sierraclub.org/yokuts

Yokuts Group

Mother Lode Chapter

Sierra Club

P.O. Box 855

Modesto, CA 95353

Non-Profit

Organization

U.S. Postage

PAID

Modesto, CA

Permit No. 139

CURRENT RESIDENT OR

The Bushtit belongs to a genus of small, drab passerine

birds with comparatively long tails. With many relatives inthe US, it is a member of the same family(Paridae) as Chickadees and Titmice.There is only one member of its genus,Aegithalidae, in the US. The rest can befound in Europe and Asia. In StanislausCounty, the Bushtit is a fairly commonbird in wooded fores ts and ripariancorridors, but can also be seen in urbanneighborhoods. In the breeding seasonthey pair up and build hanging, wovenbasket nests up to a foot long with the

entrance hole high up on one side.

Bushtits are most notable for forming

large flocks in the winter which tend to

move as a flowing mass of chatter and activity as they feed,

often hanging upside down from the tiniest of branches.

They will rarely touch ground and tend to forage on smallinsects and invertebrates in

the protective cover of trees

and shrubs. They look like

tiny, feathered fluffy balls,

with long tails. Birders will

look closely at Bushtit

flocks because other warblers

and kinglets tend to join in

their lively flocks.

Note from Jim Gain

http://stanislausbirds.org

Bushtit

Apr 2013 Stanislaus Audubon

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