Environmental wars are never "won". Though it appears that they are won, they really just fade away and pop up again when the environmentalists are off guard. A sterling example is the current pollution of the Fountain Grove ridgeline brought about by scalping its trees and covering it with houses. This despite a 20-year-old Santa Rosa Planning policy specifically stating that construction on ridgelines would not be permitted.

Numerous environmentalists must have known that this policy existed. In fact, some of us are the very fighters who led to its creation at the time Annadel Heights was built. We let our guard down and as a result, all of us will have to live forever after with the current eyesore.

Vigilance is vital! And right now what we particularly need is many eyes on the numerous water and wetland proposals that are in the works. This is not to say that these projects are bad. In fact, most of them sound pretty good. But "the devil is in the details", and only by careful monitoring from the very beginning can one influence those details. Here are just a few of these numerous water projects:

1) San Francisco Baylands Restoration is an Audubon-California program which aims to restore thousands of acres of our vanished wetlands. It has major implications for the Petaluma River (actually a tidal estuary) and for the Napa River/Sonoma Creek delta. Sylvan Eidelman is Madrone Audubon's representative to the Baylands program.

2) The Russian River Watershed Council is a body of citizens working with the Corps of Engineers and bringing together all the different interests involved with the river and its tributaries. This involves solving profound conflicts over the Eel River, endangered species, water usage rights, gravel dredging, etc. Scott Barrow is our representative to the Council.

3) Napa/Sonoma Marsh Restoration is a Sonoma County Water Agency project to resuscitate the former Cargill salt ponds in the Sears Point/Vallejo cutoff area with high quality fresh wastewater. A Madrone watchdog needed.

4) The City of Santa Rosa is being asked to fund a new study seeking more capacity for disposal of wastewater-the Geysers pipeline being already outgrown. Among the possibilities to be studied are urban irrigation, agricultural irrigation, four storage reservoirs, enlargement of the Geysers pipeline and increased Russian River discharge. This is a program with immense potential for either environmental help or harm! Madrone watchdog needed.

5) The North Sonoma County Water Conservation Corporation has a plan to develop large wastewater irrigation facilities. This project, developed by a consortium of north county vineyardists, involves a potential 75 miles of new pipelines and numerous new reservoirs. Madrone watchdog needed.

6) The Sonoma County Water Agency plans to procure 26,000 more acre-feet of fresh water to serve the county's burgeoning population. This involves either tapping the local ground water, pumping more from the Russian River, or both--and laying new transmission lines. Madrone watchdog needed!

Four-legged watchdogs do not necessarily need to bark and growl. In fact, many of the best simply go and alert their master. The same applies to Madrone Audubon's watchdogs-they merely need to report to our Conservation Committee. It often is fascinating work to follow in detail the development of just one program. Won't some of you join us by becoming "watchdogs"? If you are at all interested, please call Diane Hichwa, Conservation Chair, at 579-1182.

To get a taste of what "watchdogging" is all about, try to attend one of these two informative water programs that are coming up in June:

Wednesday, June 6, at 7 PM. Dr. Marty Griffin will speak about the north coast vineyardists' irrigation project before the start of Madrone Audubon's Board meeting at the Environmental Center. All MAS members are welcome to attend.

Saturday, June 23, at 10 AM. The second League of Women Voters' Water Forum at the Rincon Valley Library will focus on water quality, with reference to ground water sustainability.

Point Reyes, Thursday, April 19
Thirteen birders joined Betty Groce at the Earthquake Trail parking lot on an unexpectedly nice day, weatherwise. One of the participants was birding guru Rich Stallcup, who, as a surprise for the group, had been engaged by Don McCarthy to lead us. Needless to say, it was a thrill to bird under Rich's guidance and added expertise regarding sub-species, range, etc. We all learned a lot and totalled a whopping 103 species on the Earthquake Trail, Lighthouse, Fish Docks, Inverness and Olema Marsh. Highlights besides Rich were a pair of Purple Martins at Olema Marsh, Osprey and Red-shouldered Hawk on nests, a Peregrine Falcon, Black Scoters and at least three whales spy hopping in the water just out from the Lighthouse.

Duncan Mills/Bridgehaven/Jenner, Wednesday, April 25
Fifteen birders (five first timers) joined Richard Hurley for a somewhat sunny day at the Duncan Mills area. All the different swallows were present in abundance. We had great views of an Olive-sided Flycatcher, and thanks to Jean Tonascia's talent with birdsong, we were able to add several birds to our trip list. Fifty species were seen.

Lake Sonoma and Warm Springs Dam, Thursday, May 3
Nineteen birders met leader Richard Hurley at the Visitor's Center at Lake Sonoma for a warm, windy day of birding. The Spotted Sandpiper (bird of the day) made his usual appearance at the spillway. Bullock's Orioles, Common Mergansers, nesting Cliff Swallows, and Canada Geese goslings guided by parents were also seen. Birding the rest of the day was sparse, but the scenery was grand as we "butterflied" and "wildflowered" through the campgrounds. As we left Lake Sonoma, we made a side trip to the Ferrari-Carano Winery gardens (8761 Dry Creek Road). This showcase garden where six gardeners tend five acres is well worth an extra hour if you are in the area.

Salmon Creek Road, Thursday, May 10
Twenty birders joined Richard Hurley for a beautiful day of birding Salmon Creek Road in Bodega. Red Crossbills were the species of the day, sighted at the pond where the peacocks hang out. Other highlights were Ash-throated, Olive-sided and Pacific-slope Flycatchers, Green Heron, Western Kingbird, Bullock's Oriole, all of the swallows, Swainson's Thrush, Hutton's Vireo and Wilson's Warbler. Male turkeys were strutting in full display, with red snood and wattle, white heads and blue faces. Benjamin Franklin would have been proud. We saw 48 species. Note: A local requested that we park on the right side of the road for driving safety.

I started loving the birds first and after several years came around to loving their food sources...the flowers, their pollinators and the insects that lived on them. I began to realize that with the advent of the severe decline in our honeybee population we were in big trouble. Most of our plants and food crops depend on some type of insect or animal pollinator to sustain, increase and diversify their populations.

Brought from Europe on the boat with our sugar habit, the honeybee has been declining in numbers since after World War II. Albeit a great pollinator, they are disappearing so rapidly that the Department of Agriculture has declared we are in the midst of a pollinator crisis. So I have been eager to find who did all the work before their arrival. The answer-a great diversity of different insect and animal species that all evolved with plants native to North America: bees, flies, bats, beetles, wasps, butterflies and birds. Such huge diversity! This time around I will only share a few tidbits about our most commonly recognized native bees, and, in particular, the bumblebee.

Unlike the social honeybee, our native bees are almost all solitary bees, and the fertilized queen must build a completely new hive each spring. Unlike the honeybee, they only fly short distances from their nest site to nectar site. However they fly hard, fast, stay on flowers longer and don't spend time collecting honey, which makes them excellent pollinators. They also make nice backyard friends, not as aggressive as a honeybee because they don't store honey and have nothing to protect unless you are actively disturbing their nest.

In warm winters such as this one, I began to see the bumblebee (Bombus spp.) early, working overtime on the rosemary blossoms even during the February 12th snow! Cold and wet, the fertilized queens flew while the fair weather honeybee was still shaking its head, too cool to fly. The queen's first mission is to fuel up on nectar and get her wax glands activated. Next she must search out a good site for an underground nest, preferably in a clay type soil. Old burrows or tunnels are often chosen. Someone I heard of buried an old teakettle in the soil with the spout sticking out, and it made a great bumblebee nest.

The queen then lines the nests with grasses or bits of old bird or mouse nests. At the entrance of the nest, she constructs a wax cup the size of a tiny thimble and makes many trips to many flowers to fill this cup with nectar. Once it is filled, she gathers more nectar to rebuild her wax glands and make another wax cup. When the second cup is complete, she begins to collect pollen. Constructing a pollen ball mixed with saliva in the second cup, she lays several eggs on it and seals it with a wax top. Then, in "queen-like" fashion she sits down, broods her eggs and nourishes herself by "royally" sipping from the first cup she filled with nectar. Once she senses her eggs have hatched and the larvae are eating the pollen, she is free to go back outside and repeat the process.

After the young emerge from their wax chamber, they begin to help the queen brood and take care of the hive. By mid-summer, she can build her hive to approximately 100 members. A hive this size is an important source of pollinators and a good source of protein for birds and other animals. The new "queens to be" are born in late summer, and they mate. -The rest of the hive dies in the fall, and the fertilized queens search out a place to hibernate until spring.

Once I understood the lively life story of the bumblebee I better understood my role as a "habitat" gardener. The bumblebee is a long-tongued bee and prefers flowers that are tubular in shape. It is especially attracted to blue, purple and yellow colors and sweet smelling flowers. If I provide the bumblebees with enough flowers in early spring, by summer these "buzz" pollinators will thank me by increasing the yield of my tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, raspberries, eggplants and strawberries.

The garden is my teacher, revealing her wisdom and asking me to observe intently, to see our world as a whole. Once again I remind myself to take care when digging in the soil. Best to just sit back and observe, see if anyone is coming and going in the area I want to dig in. Such a lovely excuse for going about my gardening more slowly and consciously-taking time to smell the roses...and, of course, check them out for pollinators.

Many Thanks to Our Sponsors (Birdathon contributors, continued from last month)

Tom Cashman, Liz Donath, John Ferrari, Karin Gare, Carl Hansen, Jeffrey Holtzman, Don Kirker Ann Leavell, Peter Leveque, Andrew Levy, Charlotte Ludemann, Ralph Lynch, Clem Maasen, Joe Maloney, Linda Maloney, Pat Marsh, Sandy Martensen, Don McCarthy, Virginia McDonagh, Pat McLorie, John McMahon, Suzanne Merz, Carla Miles, Ellie Miller, Karen Mivad, Edith Moran, Judy Morrison, Barbara Murray, Doug Murray, Rebecca Nagel, Ted Nagel, Clark Nattkemper, Dr. & Mrs. Peter Nelligan, Clyde Nelson, Tim O'Shea, Brenda O'Shea, Charlotte Oldaker, Craig Olsen, Kelly Olsen, Carol Orme, Margaret Owles, Mike Parmeter, Bill Payne, Charles C. Payne, Gail Payne, O. C. Payne, Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Payne, Paul Pera, Liinda Petrulias, Duane Phillips, Celeste Phillips, Roger Phillips, Britta Piper, Bill Piper, Sally Pola, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Pompeo, John and Polly Post, Chris Powell, Dave Powell, Sarah Quider.

Bob and Bertha Rains, Eldon Ramsland, Cynthia Rathky, John Reese, Rhio Reigh, Rio Rhea, Betty Richardson, Sherri Rieck, Jacqueline Rienecker, Mary Robinson, Ruth Rudesill, Bob Rulsin, Maureen Rumford, Marlene Russell, Nancy Rutherford, Jack Ryan, Joy Ryan, Maggie Salenger, Teresita Salter-Haag, Don Sanders, Marilyn Sanders, Claire Sapers, Steve Sapers, Phyllis Schmitt, Cindy Schumann, Rob Schumann, Sam Sebastiani, Sandra Settle, Catherine Sharp, Lucille Shepard, Richard Shipps, Ann Shrader, Claire Shurvinton, Jack Shuyler, Dorothy Small, Mike Smiley, A.K. Smiley, Ernie Smith, Daphne Smith, Dottie Smith, Jean Smith, Jim Smith, Bobbie Sparrow, Shirley Spina, Jackie Stadtman, Joan Stagnaro, Laura Stanley, Ruth Stanton, Lise Stevens, Ginny Stewart, Cy Stewart, Marilyn Strand, Thelma Stratton, George Stratton, Susan Strible, Todd Strible, Carol Sunlight.

Ardis Talburt, Jim Taylor, Elinor Taylor, Barbara and Laurence Taylor, Tony Thatcher, Mr and Mrs Bob Thomas, Mr and Mrs Don Toms, Barbara and Gene Toschi, Cheryl Traendley, Sue Tredich, Jack Troutfetter, Terri Van Horn, Deborah Votek, Danna Vough, Tammie Vough, Craig Vough, Gene Wachspress, Mr and Mrs Jerry Wagner, Frances Waska, Susan Webb, Arlene Weis, Tom Welch, Carrie White, Ward Williams, Mary Winkler, Tom Winter, Betty Witchey, Erica Wolfson, Kathy Wright, Mr and Mrs Larry Yabroff, Cathy Zbikowski.

Bodega Bay: Abigail Myers El Verano: Robert Yates Forestville: The Eakins Family Geyserville: Roy D. Chapin, Angus and Donna Loop Guerneville: Liam Davis Healdsburg: Marci Cook, Elizabeth Donath, Sharon Martinez Occidental: Beverly Benoit Penngrove: Bonnie Kneibler, David Oliver, Cha Rinehart, Anne Rogers Petaluma: Margaret Garnett, Kenneth Lyons, Jeri P. Olson, Bruce Schumikowski, Leah Sudran, Robert Valentine, Frances L. Wilson Rio Nido: David Hines Rohnert Park: Robert Adams-Kane, Maureen Barnett, Jeff Burton, Cathy Fox, Melissa E. Laurice, Marie Garon Maloy Santa Rosa: Morgen Bahn, Charles E. Baker, Deborah A. Bell, Linda R. Bernstein, Kathleen Cipolla, Mary Delap, K.A. Depuydt, Lois N. Dolley, Eric Fritsch, Amanda Haas, Patricia S. Lewis, Stephanie Nacouzi, Lanette Nelson, Jeremy Nichols, Linda Price, Dru Robinson, Bill Robotka, Barbara Sersen, Gary and Sue Specker, Beth Stevens, Richard Thatcher, Linda Tobes, Anna E. Ueltzen, Terrence Vail, Maxine Wortman Sebastopol: Ondine W. Crispin, Claire Etienne, Dorothy Husby, Ellen Rayner, Bonnie Shanahan, Joni Silver Sonoma: Mary-Linn Benning, Katharina Hughes, Laura Nagle, Mr. and Mrs. C.D. Peterson, Teri Shore, Barbara Spain Windsor: Margaret L. Allen

Our final program before the summer break is sure to be one of the best ever! Local dragonfly expert Kathy Biggs will be teaching us all about these amazing creatures and how they fit into our ecosystem. We will learn how to identify some of the local species, and we'll even use insect nets to catch (and release) some dragonflies so that we can see them up close. We will meet at the boat docks at Spring Lake Regional Park, Santa Rosa.

Please call Amy Kelsey (473-9785) to reserve your spot.

Three very special Madrone Audubon volunteers were honored at the 34th Annual Meeting on May 21.

The Evalyn and Les Bower Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to the chapter (see insert) went to Betty Burridge for compiling the Sonoma County Breeding Bird Atlas, first published in 1995 and now in its second printing. The BBA has spurred ongoing research and brought considerable recognition, as well as financial reward, to the chapter. Betty is still contacted for data needed for other research and for environmental impact reports.

Ken Wilson received the Bewick's Wren Award for on-going service vital to the chapter's activity. Co-compiler of the annual Christmas Count since 1994, he has also worked to get IBA (International Bird Areas) recognition for Bodega Bay, and to raise awareness in our chapter for the migratory bird program Partners in Flight. He helped start the popular Saturday Beginners Bird Walks and is still a co-leader of these outings.

A special award was given this year to Karen Nagel in recognition of her 14 years of service as Madrone Audubon's membership chair. Not only has Karen provided excellent record keeping, but also she has put a lot of personal effort into finding ways of attracting new members. The success of this effort is reflected in our chapter's higher-than-average membership retention rate.

Heartfelt thanks to all three for their hard work and dedication.

When Evalyn and Calvin (Les) Bowen moved to Santa Rosa in 1965 from San Diego, they were appalled to find that this area had no Audubon Society Chapter. They set about to remedy the situation, and Evalyn Bowen became Madrone Audubon's founding president in 1967. Thus began a decade of leadership and dedication to the Audubon cause. They led many bird walks; Evalyn was in charge of membership for many years; and Les served as Sanctuary Chair. Early on, they set a tone of environmental stewardship and activism, expressed in Evalyn's succinct phrase, "No habitat, no birds".

Les Bowen died in 1982 and Evalyn in 1988. In their memory, Madrone Audubon established the Evalyn and Les Bowen Memorial Award in 1988. In 1991 the chapter created the Bewick's Wren Award, named after our chapter's symbol, an active bird with an energetic voice. The original Bewick's Wren insignia was designed for the chapter by Les Bowen.

These two awards are given annually at the end-of-the-year Annual Meeting. For a number of years now, the recipients have been given Wolfard oil lamps, generously donated by Linda Wolfard of Wolfard Glass Blowing.

With the help of dozens of experts throughout the state, Audubon-California has completed a list of nearly 300 potential Important Bird Areas ("IBAs"), representative of the wealth of bird diversity in the state. California's IBA program, modeled after similar efforts in other states (and in countries around the world), seeks to guide future bird conservation activities by drawing attention to critical habitats and regions for birds, using criteria such as concentrations of sensitive species, large numbers of particular groups of birds (e.g. shorebirds) and the presence of rare and unique bird habitats. A list of preliminary IBAs for the state has been posted on Audubon-California's website for comment. If you have additions or suggestions, we hope to hear from you soon, as we are eager to finalize the list and to begin preparing accounts of each site for publication.
To view the list, go to: Audubon-ca.org. Once in the website, click on "Conservation" (left side, 4th item under "Web Pages"), then on "IBA Program" (top, far right). [Web newsletter readers click here.]

For a hard copy of the preliminary IBAs, contact: Daniel S. Cooper, Biologist, Audubon-California, at (323) 254-0252.

There is an excellent article on birds and birding in the May 14 issue of The New Yorker. Entitled "The Ghost Bird", by Jonathan Rosen, the article considers bird identification and observation in the context of a search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the swamps of Louisiana. Among its many thoughtful paragraphs:

Ideally, bird-watching gives you both the symbol and the living bird: a Van Dyck painting that eats grubs. You bring along a guidebook, an artifact of the literary world, even as you wander out into nature in pursuit of something wild. You experience the thrill of seeing an untamed creature, but immediately you cage it in its common and scientific name and link the bird-and yourself-to a Linnaean system of nomenclature that harks back to the Enlightenment notion that nature can be ordered. And behind Linnaeus lurks the Biblical belief that, like Adam and Eve, we have always named animals: it is our job. Looking for an ivorybill today takes the mediating nature of bird-watching to an even higher level, because the quarry is a kind of ghost bird, a creature that does and does not exist.
Submitted by Jackson Rannells

League of Women Voters Water Forum. Saturday, June 23, from 10 AM to Noon at the Rincon Valley Library on Montecito Boulevard in Santa Rosa. The second in a series on water issues, this discussion will focus on water quality. Free, no reservations required.

Open House and Plant Sale at the Hallberg Butterfly Gardens. Sunday, July 9. For details, contact Gay Bishop at 823-4929.

Leadership Program for Sustainability. The Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy offers a leadership training program focused on sustainability in public policy. The course covers a broad spectrum of issues, from local to global, and focuses on the ecological, economic, and social equity aspects of each topic.

Classes are taught by locally recognized leaders and experts, and include field trips to locations throughout Sonoma County. The nine-month class meets one full Friday each month, beginning September 7. Cost is just $400 for the full nine-day series, including transportation, binder and all materials. A limited number of openings are available at a reduced fee based on financial need. Space is limited; application deadline is July 1.

For more information, including a course description and list of presenters, visit www.ecoleader.org, or call Daniel Solnit at 578-9133.

Pipeline construction will begin on the Mayacamas Sanctuary on June 15. We strongly discourage visiting the area at any time after that date. Access will be extremely limited due to the heavy equipment in use on Pine Flat Road.

The following officers for the 2001-2002 year were installed at the May General Meeting: President Bryant Hichwa,Vice-president Claire Shurvinton,
Recording Secretary Joyce MacLaury, Corresponding Secretary Liz Donath, Treasurer Elizabeth Desmond and Assistant Treasurer Becky Olsen.

The officers and Board members will have a special planning meeting in August. Any interested Madrone Audubon members are welcome to attend this meeting. Call Bryant Hichwa at 579-1182 for the exact time and place.

There are still vacancies in several important Board positions. We need a membership chair to take over for Karen Nagel, who is "retiring" from the post-someone to maintain the records as they come in from National Audubon and make up a monthly report of all new members. We also need to replace Amy and Rodd Kelsey, who are moving out of the area. Amy has done an excellent job of coordinating the Pee Wee Audubon activities this past year, and Rodd managed our extremely successful Birdathon. Jackson Rannells would also be happy to turn over the task of publicity to a willing volunteer; this task mainly involves sending notice of our monthly outings to local newspapers.

If you would like to help in any of these capacities, or would like more information about the duties, call Diane Hichwa at 579-1182.

Linda Curry, a former Leaves editor, is helping Ernie Smith write her biography, and she would like to ask for contributions from those who have stories of working with Ernie over the years. Ernie was a founding member of Madrone Audubon, and her many accomplishments have included some important conservation battles and a lot of dedicated community service.

You can call or fax Linda the information at (707) 526-7865. (For faxes, call first so that she can connect the machine!) You can write a letter and send it to Linda at 1015 Bush Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. You can also send an email to Linda at nadajnsn@jps.net. Please make your submittals by September 1, 2001.

OBSERVATIONS

Back to the home page