Chapter Year Report

General Meeting

Russian River Water Wrangling

October Birding

Bird Walk Reports

Observations

Backyard Birding:
Water Gardening for Birds, Part One

Pee Wee Update

Related Activites

Eagle Feathers-a Legal Flap

North Coast Birds on Tape

British Birders for Corks

Protecting Coastal Rocks, Islets

New Edition of Field Guide

Magazines Benefit Audubon

Pee Wee Audubon
Pee Wee Audubon offers guided experiences in nature for children ages four through 12 and their families. It is open to the public and free to all participants.
October 16: Observatory Campout
Pee Wee Audubon's October event will be a campout at Ferguson Observatory, Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, on Saturday, October 16. We have reserved the group campground near the observatory, so bring your tent and warm sleeping bags for a night under the stars! After a brief slide show at 7:30 PM, we will split up into small groups to view the night sky through the telescope.
Madrone Audubon is covering the fees for the Observatory and the campsite. Families will be on their own for meals. Bring marshmallows and a stick or two of wood for a group roast after the event, for those who are still awake!
Supervising adults are responsible for their children, both camping and at the observatory. There is no age limit, but please bear in mind that parents of children who are disruptive may be asked to take them out of the building for a break.
Space is definitely limited and this is going to be a very special event, so please call Janice for reservations: 433-1150.

November 13: Oceansong
Mark your calendar now for Pee Wee's pre-Thanksgiving program, Saturday, November 13, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. We'll be going to Oceansong for a "Thanksgiving to the Earth" with David Berman and Jim Kirk. Call Janice for more information.

Pee Wee Reports
The following are reports by children who attended some of the spring and summer Pee Wee Audubon outings.

Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, May 15
"...I will tell you about my favorite plants that I saw. The Valerian is a purple and white flower and can be used to make medicine....My very favorite part was the Jerusalem Sage. It was like a bush with leaves looking like sage leaves with yellow flowers. When you picked a flower you could suck on it and taste something better than honey....
We also saw two ponds that were for tadpoles that would become tree frogs that later would eat bugs in the gardens. It helps the gardeners keep the gardens organic....We saw potatoes growing in plastic barrels with holes in the bottom to keep away gophers. Then we headed to the nursery, where we got to plant our own seeds...."
--Cecilia Senocak, age 9

Orienteering, May 16, Spring Lake Park
"I went to the Pee Wee Audubon compass class and had a great time, but my head was whirling when we were through! It was hard to look at the maps and try to figure out North and South and the other directions, but we did learn to take a bearing on different objects around the Swimming Lagoon. It was fun!"
--Langston Brand, age 9
(Note: Special thanks to Andy and Ian of Marin Outdoors for putting on the Orienteering workshop for Pee Wee, free of charge.--Janice Sinclaire)

Dragonfly Walk, June 5,
Airport Business Park Ponds
"Today we had a lot of fun looking and holding the dragonflies. Today, I felt like a dragonfly (even though I am not a dragonfly and I do not know how to fly - except in my dreams). I thought the colors were very beautiful and creative of mother nature. The sound of a dragonfly flying by you is very peaceful. I learned that their habitat had to be around water with someplace where they could lay their eggs. I thought the people giving the class had a lot of knowledge about dragonflies and were excited about this animal."
--Trinity Hampton, age 8.5
(Note: Kathy and Dave Biggs led a group of about 40 Pee Wee children and adults on this walk. The group saw eight different species of dragonflies and netted some of them.)