MAY/JUNE 2018 NEWSLETTER OF GREAT SALT LAKE AUDUBONwww.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org

INSIDE

BIRDS ‘n BITES Join us for our monthly informative and entertaining programs. The meetings are free and open to all and presented in the Education Building at the Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park. Doors open at 6:30 pm for refreshments and socializing; the programs begin at 7 pm. Enter Liberty Park at 600 E 900 South.

Board Highlights...............................................page 2 Membership Information..................................page 2 Basin and Range................................................page 3 Calendar of Events.......................................pages 4-5 Invaders of Great Salt Lake pt. 2.................pages 6-7

Tuesday, May, 15th, 7 PM, “Birds & Power Lines: Rocky Mountain Power’s Avian Protection Program”, Sherry Ligouri, MS, Avian biologist, Rocky Mountain Power

Raptors and other birds can be impacted by power lines. Rocky Mountain Power, an electric utility in UT, WY, and ID, has been an active leader in efforts to minimize avian impacts from power lines. Sherry Liguori, Rocky Mountain Power’s avian program manager, will discuss the company’s Avian Protection Plan, including how bird electrocutions and collisions occur, species at risk, and techniques to prevent bird mortalities associated with collision risk assessment surveys, power lines. She will provide a summary of the company’s unique avian electrocution studies which have been conducted for the past 17 years and have provided valuable data to guide local and national avian protection efforts. In addition, she will discuss nest management and raptor nesting platform installation, practices implemented to prevent disturbance to birds during construction activities, and what to do if you find a dead or injured bird near a power line. Sherry has 24 years of experience as an avian biologist, is the lead author of the Avian Power Line Interaction Committee’s (APLIC) national guidance for avian protection, and was the first woman to receive APLIC’s national conservation award in 2017.

2 The Pelican

THE PELICANNEWSLETTER OF GREAT SALT LAKE AUDUBON

Printed on recycled paper.

Mission Statement: Great Salt Lake Audubon is dedi-cated to protecting and enhancing habitat for wild

birds, animals and plants, and to maintaining healthy and diverse environments for wildlife and people

throughout the state.

GREAT SALT LAKE AUDUBON DIRECTORYwww.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org

OFFICE152 W. Burton, Suite J, SLC, Utah • (385) 313-0608Send correspondence to P. O. Box 520867, SLC, UT 84152-0867

OFFICERSPresident, Heather Dove.......................................801-201-3637 Vice President, Ray Smith....................................801-532-7384Secretary, ..........................................................OPENTreasurer, Kandy Richards..................................801-599-7410

BOARD OF DIRECTORSTerm Ending 2020Jeanne Le Ber.......................................................801-532-7384Term Ending 2019Kandy Richards....................................................801-599-7410Melanie Taylor......................................................801-733-0760Heather Griffiths.................................................. 435-213-6565Term Ending 2018Ian Batterman.......................................................920-360-0805Karin Kirchhoff................................................... 801-793-0484 Anne Terry............................................................361-649-2430

COMMMITTEE CHAIRSFinance, Melanie Taylor........................................801-733-0760Newsletter Editor, Heather Griffiths.................... 435-213-6565Education, Anne Terry...........................................361-649-2430Field Trips, Ian Batterman....................................920-360-0805Events Coordinator, Jeanne Le Ber........................801-532-7384 Social Media Editor, Heather Griffiths...................435-213-6565 Hospitality, Bob & Darlea Stack............................801-487-3792 Membership, Heather Dove ..................................801-201-3637 Programs, Karin Kirchhoff.....................................801-793-0484 Publicity, Rollie and Martha Westman...................651-308-2717 Conservation, Deb Drain........................................801-455-4353 Volunteer Hours, Barb Eastman.............................801-671-8932 Website, Heather Dove & David Druker................801-201-3637

Submission Guidelines: Original articles and photos arewelcomed. The editor reserves the right to choose and edit as needed. Email articles to newsletter@greatsaltlakeaudu-bon.org. The Pelican is published 6 times a year. Submis-sion deadline for the July/August issue is June 10, 2017.

Three ways to join or renew your membership:

1. Great Salt Lake Audubon-only membership is $30 a year. All dues support local education, advocacy, habitat restoration, field trips, newsletter publication, and more. (See membership form on page 8 of The Pelican). Local membership is very important, as GSLA is primarily self-supporting.2. A new membership to National Audubon Society (NAS) costs $25, with renewal of $35 after the first year. Benefits include the quarterly national magazine and automatic membership in GSLA. Most of your dues support environmental campaigns at the national level. As a new NAS member, you will receive a courtesy subscription to our newsletter, The Pelican, for one year. Thereafter, if you wish to continue to receive The Pelican, please join Great Salt Lake Audubon. 3. You can join both GSLA and NAS if you wish to support both local and national activities.

BOARD HIGHLIGHTS MARCH/APRIL by Heather Dove

March and April this year were busy with personnel changes for GSLA. Sharyn Isom, our recently installed Secretary of the Board, decided to move on to full-time retirement. We appreciate the great job she did for us and wish her well in her next adventures.

Melanie Taylor has agreed to be Chair of the Finance Committee and will also serve as Secretary, at least for the short term.

Karin Kirchhoff, our Program Chair, will be rotating off the Board at the end of May, but will continue on the Program Committee. She will now split the chair position with our new recruit, Leah Richardson. We are hoping that Leah chooses to accept a position on the Board. Welcome, Leah!!

We are very happy to announce that longtime member and very accomplished volunteer Jeanne Le Ber has agreed to join the Board. Jeanne coordinates many regularly occurring projects for us, including the January 1st Jordan River Bird Count, the Bluebird Box Trail, the potluck for the Christmas Bird Count, Basin & Range, the Brighton Bird Count every July and the annual Seed Sale Fundraiser in the fall. So, we’ve created a new position that encompasses most of this work – Jeanne is now the Events Coordinator.

Spring is here and May is the height of spring migration. There are many activities on tap especially as this is Year of the Bird, so make sure you look at our calendar, read the emails we send you and periodically check our website.

Happy birding to you all!!!

3MAY/JUNE

Please join us for Basin & Range 2018

Great Salt Lake Audubon invites you to the 36th Annual Basin & Range weekend seminar, June 2-3, 2018 at the Box Elder Campground, Mantua, Utah. While the campground is somewhat rustic, this is a new location for the field seminar with the benefit of being relatively close for Wasatch Front residents. Box Elder Campground is a U.S. Forest Service facility that is 4.5 miles (7 minutes) east of Brigham City on Highway 89. The riparian habitat is perfect for birds, plants, insects, and butterflies.

If you have never attended a Basin & Range seminar, please consider joining us in Group Site C. This is an excellent venue for enjoying the out-of-doors, meeting people with similar interests, and learning more about our natural environment.

We are pleased to offer six field sessions with excellent instructors. Cooper Farr, Bryant Olsen and Terri Pope will lead the birding field sessions. Lynn Bohs returns with her well received plants session. Christy Bills, from the Natural History Museum of Utah, focuses on insects and spiders. Two new instructors, Huygen Bui and Jack Skalicky jointly teach a session on butterflies. The evening program features Christy Bills talking about her favorite subject, fireflies! Christy is also planning an evening insect prowl after the evening program.

The event is limited to 50 people. Please register early to get the classes you want. The registration form is included as in insert in this issue of The Pelican, or you can print the form linked on the GSLA website. We ac-cept mail registration and payment by check only. Questions? Please contact Jeanne Le Ber (jeanne.leber@utah.edu) or Ray Smith – 801-532-7384.

Hope to see you there!

GSLA Grant Programby Kandy Richards

Spring AwardsThe GSLA Grant Program continues to support other organizations that share our mission of protecting and enhancing habitat and maintaining healthy, diverse environments. In April, we were thrilled to award two grants of $1,000 each to the following organizations:

Friends of Great Salt Lake – This award will support their research work via the Doyle W. Stephens Research Program. This program encourages further research on Great Salt Lake ecosystems and seeks to make the conclusions accessible to the general public.

Tracy Aviary – This award will be used in conjunction with funds raised via their Trumpeter Swan naming contest to purchase two GPS tracking collars for placement on Trumpeter cygnets being released from a restoration program in Oregon. The collars would transmit migration data for three years.

Fall Grant ApplicationsApplication Deadline September 1, 2018 with awards announced October 15, 2018Maximum award $1,000. Please see the link on our website for more program details and application instructions.

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Beginning birders and nonmembers are always welcome.We encourage carpooling on our field trips. Contributions to drivers for gas money would be appreciated. Be sure to call the field trip leader to confirm that arrangements are still as published.

Physical Difficulty:EASY - little or no walking, smooth paths.MODERATE - 1 mile or more, possible rough terrain.DIFFICULT - extensive walking which could include rough terrain and significant changes in altitude.Despite our best efforts, ratings for the field trips are still somewhat subjective. Please consult with the leaders.

****PLEASE NOTE: EXPECT FIELD TRIPS TO LEAVE ON TIME SO ARRIVE 5-10 MINUTES EARLY TO ARRANGE CARPOOLS.****

Wednesday, May 2, 7:30am-12pmMountain Dell Rec. Area, Parley’s Canyon—MODERATELeader: John Middleton: john.middleton0@gmail.comCome and join us for our monthly bird survey. May ought to be a good month to see a variety of birds as the spring migrants are beginning to return. Ospreys and Red-tailed Hawks are already nesting. We’ll meet by 7:30am in the parking lot just west of REI on 33rd South and 3285 East for a morning of birding.

Friday, May 4-Sunday May 6 Lytle Ranch, Washington County—EASY/MODERATELeader: Jeanne Le Ber: 801-532-7384/jeanne.leber@utah.eduDepart at 6am on Friday morning, with a couple of stops en route to St. George (Oak Grove and Red Cliffs Campground). Cox Park, Spring Pond, and Tonaquint Park are on the agenda for late day. We’ll stay in motels (everyone is responsible for their own accommodations) and drive to the ranch early Saturday morning, checking for desert species along the way, then stop at Gunlock and Ivins reservoirs on the way back to town. Up early on Sunday morning to bird at Washington Fields, Sand Hollow, Grandpa’s Pond, and other spots before heading home. This trip is limited to 15 people (4-5 cars only).

Wednesday, May 9-Friday May 11, 2018 Great Salt Lake Is-sues ForumVisit fogsl.org/programs/great-salt-lake-issues-forum to view program and to register. Call Lynn de Freitas if you have ques-tions 801-450-8934.

Saturday, May 12th-Sunday, May 13th 10 AM-3 PM, Urban Bird Festival, Tracy AviaryVisit https://tracyaviary.org/events/event/8-urban-bird-festival for details.

Tuesday, May 15th, 7 PM, Birds ‘n Bites, “Birds & Power Lines”, Sherry Ligouri, MS, Avian biologistSee page 1 for details.

May 17th-21st Great Salt Lake Bird FestivalVisit www.greatsaltlakebirdfest.com for details. Some field trips may still be available. All Saturday workshops are free and do not require registration.

Saturday, May 26, 7:30am-1pmRandom Rarity search—EASY/MODERATELeader: Ian Batterman: 920-360-0805/imbatterman@gmail.comPart of the fun of bird watching is going out to find rare species. Thanks to today’s technology like texting, social media, and eBird, it is even easier to stay connected with other birders to help locate rare species faster. In this field trip, we will be looking specifically for rare birds seen in the area (no more than 50 mi from Salt Lake City) within the past few days. Meet at the Sego Lily Pavilion Parking Lot in Sugar House Park at 7:30 am and we will decide as a group what bird(s) to look for. Contact Ian Batterman to let him know you are coming.

Sunday, May 27, 7:30pm-10pmNight of Nocturnal Birds—EASYLeader: Ian Batterman: 920-360-0805/imbatterman@gmail.comNormally our field trips look for birds early in the morning, but for this trip, we will be searching for nocturnal bird species. We will meet 7:30PM in the parking lot just west of REI on 33rd South and 3285 East and then head into the Wasatch mountains to look/listen for different owl and nightjar species. Contact Ian Batterman if you are interested in attending.

Monday, May 28, 7am-1pm Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve (Kennecott’s Mitigation Wet-lands)—EASYLeader: Bryant Olsen: bryant_olsen@yahoo.comWe have obtained permission to do a monthly bird survey of the Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve from Rio Tinto/Kennecott Utah Copper. This is seldom open to the general public and features all of the familiar Great Salt Lake wetland habitats and birds that we usually have to travel farther north to find. Who knows what new birds we can document for Salt Lake County out there? We will also explore areas around Lee Kay ponds, the International Center and Saltair/Marina, depending on time and where birds are being reported. We meet at the Sego Lily parking lot of Sugar House Park at 7am. PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED as there is limited space on these field trips. Contact Bryant to sign up.

Great Salt Lake Audubon, www.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org(385) 313-0608

Calendar of Events including Field Trips for MAY/JUNE 2018

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Great Salt Lake Audubon, www.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org(385) 313-0608

Calendar of Events including Field Trips for MAY/JUNE 2018

MAY/JUNE

Wednesday, May 30, 7am-1pm Antelope Island & Farmington Bay—EASYLeader: Bryant Olsen: bryant_olsen@yahoo.comMeet at the Sego Lily parking lot in Sugar House Park by 7:00am to carpool OR meet at 7:30am at the parking lot just outside the Ante-lope Island Causeway. After birding Antelope Island for the morning, anyone interested can continue birding at Farmington Bay with Bry-ant. Space is limited, so contact Bryant if you plan to attend.

Friday, June 1-Sunday June 3, Basin & Range 2018 at Box Elder CampgroundSee insert for details.

Wednesday, June 6, 7:30am-12pm Mountain Dell Rec. Area, Parley’s Canyon—MODERATE Leader: John Middleton: john.middleton0@gmail.comSee May trip for details.

Saturday, June 9, 8am-1pm Bluebird Boxes in Strawberry Valley—EASY/MODERATELeaders: Jeanne Le Ber and Ray Smith: 801-532-7384/jeanne.leber@utah.eduPlease join us. We will meet at 8am in the Sego Lily parking lot in Sugar House Park or 9:15am at the Strawberry Valley Visitor Center. The morning will be spent checking the boxes and recording the species using each box, and if there are eggs or young birds. It’s very exciting – you never quite know what you are going to find! Afterwards we will gather for lunch. Please bring your own food; GSLA will provide cold drinks. Call Jeanne or Ray at if you have questions or to let them know you’ll be there.

Saturday, June 16, 7am-1pm Restoration Site in Fairfield and Powell Lake, Lehi—EASYLeader: Darwin Bundy/Ian Batterman: 920-360-0805/imbatter-man@gmail.comDarwin Bundy has a passion for the environment and has spent 20 years transforming his land (161 acres) from an overgrazed area to a place of diverse habitats using native trees, bushes and grasses. As a result, many birds and other animals find this a welcoming place. After spending time here, we will drive back to Lehi and tour the wetlands known locally as Powell Lake. We will meet in the Sego Lily parking lot of Sugar House Park at 7am for carpooling. Bring water and lunch. Contact Ian Batterman to let him know you are coming.

Saturday, June 23, 7am-12pm Yellow Fork Canyon—MODERATELeader: Ian Batterman: 920-360-0805/imbatterman@gmail.comDown in the Southwestern corner of Salt Lake County is Yellow Fork Canyon, a wonderful hiking spot and a unique area for birding in the county. Here you will find a mix of mountain and desert species that in many cases can only be found in the more arid areas of the state. This will be a somewhat strenuous hike, so please

remember sunscreen and water. We will meet at the SW section of West Valley Target parking lot at 7am to arrange a carpool. Please contact Ian Batterman if you are interested.

Monday, June 25, 7am-1pm Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve (Kennecott’s Mitigation Wet-lands)—EASYLeader: Bryant Olsen: bryant_olsen@yahoo.comSee May trip for details.

Wednesday, June 27, 7am-1pm Antelope Island & Farmington Bay—EASYLeader: Bryant Olsen: bryant_olsen@yahoo.comSee May trip for details.

Wednesday, July 4, 7:30am-12pm Mountain Dell Rec. Area, Parley’s Canyon—MODERATE Leader: John Middleton: john.middleton0@gmail.comSee May trip for details.

Join our email listWe regularly send out event reminders, action alerts and legislative updates via email. If you would like to receive this important info, send an email request to Heather Dove at member-ship@greatsaltlakeaudubon.org. GSLA does not share your email information with any persons or organizations.

Sharp-shinned Hawk photograph by Marguerite Roberts

6 The Pelican

Invaders of Great Salt Lake’s South Shore Preserve (Part 2)By Ella Sorensen, Manager, Gillmor Sanctuary

Pulling weeds is a part of my heritage. My father grew up on a family farm in West Layton and continued his agricultural roots on a two acre fruit orchard in the foothills of North Salt Lake. The task of weeding where the plow could not go, among the peach, cherry, and apple trees, along ditches and in the flower and vegetable gardens fell to my siblings and me. I grew up making a hands-on acquaintance with June (cheat) grass, common mallow, and Western salsify.

Not all weeds were created equal in my father’s eyes. Two were especially onerous. Puncturevine introduced long ago from Europe spread its stems up to five feet long matted and flat across our property. The plants themselves were not problems, it was their produce we found loathsome. Small yellow flowers turned into hard spiny tack-like structures that lay in wait to puncture bare-footed children and bike tires. We regularly sat feet elevated as my mother’s needle-probed out the embedded broken tip. My father once offered a penny a plant for each one we plucked before it produced its hundreds of seeds. We told him he couldn’t afford it, but we were just being lazy.

My father’s second most hated plant was what we called morning glory, a bane of many gardeners, agriculturists, and land managers today. Field Bindweed as it is commonly called is a perennial introduced from Europe. It produces an extensive root system with a taproot that can extend 10 feet into the ground. The flowers are about an inch in size, shaped like a trumpet, and are white or pinkish. It is extremely adaptable to different environments and climbs anything, forming thick tangled mats. Once I bought a packet of seeds for a larger purple and magenta variety of morning glory and planted them in the flower garden. It wasn’t until the next year when they had jumped the flower garden boundaries and invaded the orchard climbing up the fruit trees that my father took notice. After waging an all-out war of extermination lasting years, he eventually successfully eradicated this version of morning glory from the property. During his battles, he could be heard mumbling under his breath questioning how he could have hatched an offspring that would intentionally plant a version of his dreaded morning glory. He recently passed away. Puncturevine and field bindweed thrive on the property he left behind.

Referring to a plant as a weed is a human judgmental call that relies on context. A weed is a plant that is not in harmony with a land’s management objectives or desired land use. Weeds can be harmful or poisonous, compete with native plants, agricultural crops, gardens and lawns or just not be wanted where they are growing.

To be an official noxious weed requires a designation. The State of Utah Department of Agriculture and Food’s Utah Noxious Weed List begins with the following paragraph: “The following weeds are officially designated and published as noxious for the State of Utah, as per the authority vested in the Commissioner of Agriculture under Section 4-17-3, Utah Noxious Weed Act.”

The definition of “Noxious Weed” in the Utah Noxious Weed Act is: any plant the commissioner determines to be especially injurious to public health, crops, livestock, land or other property.

As mentioned in the last newsletter, National Audubon Society will be conducting a survey for certain noxious weeds that occur on the South Shore Preserve which includes nearly 3,000 acres. This includes the Gillmor Sanctuary and Mitigation Commission Property. Three of the target species Dalmatian toadflax, Russian Knapweed, and Scotch Thistle are either on the Utah Noxious Weed List or a County Noxious Weed. They are highly invasive species that out-compete the upland desirable plants of the saline plains that surround the Preserve’s wetlands. Each of these invasive species has potential of taking over large areas of upland.

Dalmatian Toadflax: I first started seeing this plant on a large adjacent land tract where I was conducting professional bird surveys. Here and there, scattered across the dull landscape, I would discover a single plant or two. It grew about three feet tall with columns of bright yellow flowers that looked like snapdragons. I loved seeing this beautiful, colorful contrast. A few years later, I was informed by Dr. Ty Harrison, an expert on plants of Great Salt Lake, of the plant’s highly invasive nature, its ability to out-compete many of the native plants desired on the Preserve. Dalmatian toadflax is native to Europe and introduced as an ornamental flower. I soon discovered that it is becoming a serious invader on the Preserve along the oolitic sand dune that runs adjacent to Great Salt Lake and along some of the roadways. An extensive deep root system and leaves protected by a waxy substance make this invader a very difficult plant to control.

Russian Knapweed: Many years ago when Dr. Ty Harrison visited the adjacent area where I conducted bird surveys, he looked out the car window and asked if I knew there was Russian knapweed in the area. I have since watched the devastation this hardy plant has caused as it has taken over huge areas of uplands. Russian knapweed is native to Eurasia. A chemical substance released by the plant reduces other plants’ ability to compete, giving an edge to the knapweed. It grows one to three feet tall in clones or thick colonies. The small flower is pinkish purple. It is on the Utah State Noxious Weed List. Russian knapweed has been sprayed in partnership with Salt Lake County in recent years. There is a need to determine the success of these efforts as well as locating isolated or new sites.

MAY/JUNE 7

GSLA thanks the voters of Salt Lake County for their support of the Zoo, Arts & Parks program.

Scotch Thistle: Scotch thistle is a member of the sunflower family. It is a biennial plant that has reached over six feet tall along the roadways of the Preserve. Other areas have recorded growths of 12 feet. It is native to Europe and Asia. The showy flowers are pinkish purple. Both leaves and flowers are spiny and prickly. Invasion is thought to be limited on the Preserve. It is most easily controlled in the rosette stage. In April 2018, an eradication project is planned. The mapping will help determine success and locate isolated locations.

Call for Volunteers! Workshops will be conducted in June to familiarize volunteers with plant identification and mapping methodology.

The survey date will be chosen to maximize the ease of identifying the weeds while they are in bloom. Small groups will walk parallel lines across fairly level but uneven ground, identifying and marking populations of weeds on a provided map. The focus of this survey will be to locate and map infestations of Dalmatian toadflax, Russian knapweed, and Scotch thistle. Other noxious weeds will be noted.

Please contact Ella Sorensen at esorensen@audubon.org to sign up.

More Year of the Bird Events in May

May 5th is the 4th annual Global Big Day, the largest single-day birding event in the world. Go to ebird.org/news/global-big-day-5-may-2018 for more info.

May 12th is World Migratory Bird Day. Go to fws.gov/birds/education/internation-al-migratory-bird-day.php for more info and to find out how this day is celebrated across the globe.

May – June is the 1st Annual Western Rivers Bird Count. Throughout May and June, residents and visitors around the West are encouraged to help document bird observations. Go to audubon.org/western-rivers-bird-count for more information on this initiative and details on how you can participate.

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