Attendance by seven Madrone Audubon Society members at the California Coastal Commission meeting in Santa Rosa on May 8 brought to our attention a disgraceful situation regarding a primary breeding ground of the Snowy Plover, a federally-listed "species of special concern". This breeding area is in the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area in San Luis Obispo County.

The dunes are a park set aside so that ORV (off-road vehicle) owners may charge up and down the sands and in and out of the water. But the sand is where the plovers lay their eggs, and the edge of the water is where the tidal vegetation provides the birds' food. For 30 days, from hatching until they can fly, the plover chicks must walk back and forth between these two locales. Last year, out of 72 chicks, 70 did not fledge. No one can say for sure what losses were due to natural predation or other causes, but to say the least, the ORVs are suspect.

The Snowy Plover breeds along the Pacific Coast between Southern Oregon and Baja California. It has been estimated that a total of 3000 pairs are necessary to maintain a viable population, spread out over the total breeding area. About 40% of these should come from this crucial San Luis Obispo area.

The Coastal Commission now has a committee of scientists making a three-year study of the situation. However, the ORV enthusiasts are many and vocal. Their interest groups have considerable influence with the State Parks Department. All who are concerned about the survival of a charming, and probably important, bird species need to keep a sharp eye on this situation. Watch the Leaves for future information and possible advocacy opportunities.

Joannie Dranginis is this year's recipient of the Bewick's Wren Award for long-term service to the chapter. Joannie has been active in Madrone since long before I came to Santa Rosa in 1994 and her accomplishments on Madrone's behalf are many. Since I have known her she has been President of the chapter (1998-2000), active in the extremely hard working Mayacamas Sanctuary Committee, member of the Conservation Committee and Madrone representative to the Sonoma County Conservation Council. She is also part of the team that gets out this wonderful newsletter each month. Joannie has been a key Madrone representative in important local conservation issues, such as the fight to include a bona fide wildlife area at the West 3rd Street sports complex and the ongoing dialogue to create legislation to preserve the rural heritage of Sonoma County. Thank you for all you have done Joannie!

The Evalyn and Les Bowen award for important contributions to the Chapter was given to Daphne Smith for her outstanding work as editor of the Madrone Leaves. The Leaves is Madrone Audubon Society's face in the community and is a vital part of the Chapter. Getting the Leaves ready each month, and ensuring that the contents are interesting, relevant, timely and attractive is a huge task that Daphne has been more than equal to. Her ideas and suggestions for improvement have ensured that the Leaves is a newsletter that we can all be proud of. Thanks, Daphne!

As incoming Madrone president, I would like to thank all the members who have given their time to help with the chapter activities. As a volunteer organization we depend completely on the involvement of our members to remain active as ambassadors for birds and the natural communities of our beautiful county. Thanks to our stellar volunteers, Madrone Audubon Society is currently a very vital force for local education and conservation. We do not have awards for everybody, but please give yourself a big pat on the back!

If you have not participated actively in chapter activities before now, but would like to help out, we have many opportunities for all levels of availability. Whether you can give one hour a month or several hours a week we can use you, and no previous experience is required! Look for "Help Wanted" articles in each newsletter and please give us a call.

ANNOUCEMENTS

Help Wanted for the Membership Committee…
The new local membership program will increase our need for record-keeping and mailing duties. This is the ideal job for those who can contribute a limited amount of time-easy work, no major responsibilities!
Call Claire Shurvinton at 527-6118 if you could help.

And a Few Other Easy Jobs!
The Audubon Adventures program needs a coordinator to help our local teachers subscribe to this valuable nature education series. There's not a lot of time involved, and it's mostly completed in the fall. Call Kathy Angell at 838-4041 about this. Another slot for an occasional volunteer is with Anne Hudgins on the Outreach Committee. She takes Audubon materials to local events fairs geared to nature and the environment. Anne can be reached at 538-8871.

Make your membership count!
If you are a member of the National Audubon Society only, our chapter's share of your membership fee is no longer enough to support the cost of production and mailing of this local newsletter, which includes our monthly calendar of events. Consider becoming a local member (see back page for details) or make a small donation to Madrone Audubon to cover this cost.

Board Notes
Joining Claire as President are two new officers for the 2002-2003 year: Sylvan Eidelman will serve as Vice-President and Rekha Agrawal has taken over the job of Treasurer. Continuing in their posts are Becky Olsen as Assistant Treasurer, and Joyce MacLaury and Liz Donath as Recording Secretary and Corresponding Secretary, respectively.

National Audubon Society Elections…
Madrone Audubon's Board will be voting in June on the selection of a new chapter representative to the NAS Board of Directors from the Western Region. There are three candidates for the post: Kenneth Johnston of Klamath Falls, Oregon, Charles Kahle of the Seattle Audubon Society, and Jess Morton of the Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society.

All Madrone Audubon members are invited to review the statements of these three candidates on the NAS website (www.audubon.org/nas/board/regional) and contact Claire Shurvinton or Bryant Hichwa with any input or preference they may have.

MMAS Update
The Geysers pipeline work on Mayacamas Mountain is in full swing. According to Manager Curtis Kendall, construction within the Audubon Sanctuary area has a completion date of October 31, 2002. For further information you may contact Curtis at 473-0601.

Madrone Audubon Society is instituting the Bentley-Smith Award in 2002. The award will recognize a Madrone member for contributions to the protection and enhancement of the environment through education and/or conservation activity in the community.

This award has been created in honor of Martha Bentley and Ernestine Smith, who joined the fledgling Madrone Audubon Society as charter members in 1967. They continue to be lifelong environmental advocates and inspirations to us all. As educators, Martha (through the Bird Rescue Center) and "Ernie" (through the Bouverie Preserve of Audubon Canyon Ranch) have reached untold numbers of children and adults. As environmental advocates they have worked tirelessly to protect wildlife and habitats, and to improve our earth community. We salute them and their lifetime accomplishments.

The first recipient of the newly-established Bentley-Smith award is a teacher who has inspired generations of youngsters with her love of nature: former Madrone Audubon Secretary Phyllis Schmitt. Phyllis is retiring this year after completing her 44th year of elementary school teaching. She began her career at the age of 17 with a class of 28 fourth graders in a parochial school in Little Rock, Arkansas. After more than 10 years of teaching, both in Little Rock and also in the West Texas German community of Rhineland, she went to officially complete her studies at the University of Texas. A move to California enabled her to find a permanent "home" at Harmony School in Occidental, where she has taught for the last 30 years.

At Harmony, Phyllis "got into nature", as she says. Starting with a geology course at SRJC, she gradually expanded her studies in the natural sciences through workshops and summer travel, enthusiastically sharing what she learned with her third and fourth grade students. Studying marine sciences in 1985, she was able to set up a cold water marine aquarium at Harmony and get a collector's permit. She would take a few students at a time out to the coast after school or on weekends to collect specimens, always stressing the importance of that necessary permit! We wish Phyllis well in her retirement, and feel sure that she will continue to share her appreciation of the natural world with those around her.

Bodega Bay, Thursday, April 18
Twenty-three birders joined Jean Tonascia at Bodega Bay on a sunny, cold, windy day with 80 species seen. The highlights were the Emperor Goose, a Peregrine Falcon and all six grebe species.

Duncans Mills, Wednesday, April 24
Dennis Beall accompanied 21 birders for a beautiful spring day of birding at Duncans Mills, Willow Creek Road and Goat Rock. Our usual lunch stop at the station in Jenner was closed for "structural reasons". Wilson's and Orange-crowned Warblers, a late Yellow-rumped Warbler, Downy and Nuttall's Woodpeckers were seen, but the highlights of the day were seeing a river otter clambering onto a rock in the Russian River and an Anna's hummer on her nest on Willow Creek Road. Sixty-six species were seen.

Lake Sonoma, Thursday, May 2
On a cool but sunny spring day, 18 birders joined Lew Edmondson at the Lake Sonoma Visitor Center where they viewed an interesting slide show on the life cycle of steelhead trout, Coho and silver salmon and an overview of the functioning of the fish hatchery. Forty-seven birds were seen around the visitor center, viewing platform, and campground and parking areas above the lake. Highlights included Bullock's Orioles, Ash-throated Flycatchers, Lark Sparrow, Western Tanager and White-tailed Kite. Once again, the Long-billed Thrasher often seen in the campground eluded us.

Point Reyes, Wednesday, May 8
On a beautiful, clear day guest leader David Wimpfheimer led Don McCarthy and nine others through various habitats at Point Reyes. Sixty-two species were found on Earthquake Trail, Miwok Trail, Olema Marsh, Mount Vision Road and the Estero trail, where we again found the bird of the day, an Olive-sided Flycatcher. As always, Don McCarthy had a great time with nice people.

One of the good things about birding is being able to go to a completely unfamiliar piece of the globe and recognize "friends", or at least members of the same family.

I recently spent a month in Egypt visiting my daughter Monique, who teaches at the Cairo American College. With binoculars and Egyptian field guide handy I chanced to see several new (to me) species, usually inadvertently. On my first morning in Cairo, I stretched, then looked out my daughter's balcony window to the neighboring roof in time to spot a Hoopoe. Whoopee! I had been looking for the owner of the strange early morning call which had awakened me-the Laughing Dove, a beauty with distinctive black, white and rufous markings that I later saw numerous times. On the Nile with British birders, I chanced to see the Nile Valley Sunbird. It had a long, iridescent green scissor tail, head and back, with a lemon butter breast. A jewel! Other Nile birds included the Pied Kingfisher. Its black and white acrobatics kept those of us on the top deck amused for miles.

A day at the Red Sea shoreline gave me a Ringed Plover. Couldn't help but think he was blown down by the sandstorm that was currently raging, as he was totally alone. Looking against a grey-tan sky that day I saw the telltale flaming, glittery, V-formation of migrating flamingoes. I saw these again flying directly over Cairo, seemingly undaunted by heavy air pollution .

And OF COURSE the ubiquitous house sparrow was busily nesting in several monuments in the Valley of the Kings!

The best part of my grand adventure was being able to share my love of birds with my daughter's class. I spent two weeks with her fifth grade students and did a brief unit on Egyptian birds. Hopefully these kids came away with a few useful facts about natural Egypt and some positive environmental attitudes they can take with them wherever this small planet takes them.

The Bouverie Preserve of Audubon Canyon Ranch has a most unusual goose, who for the past four years has built her nest on top of the 75 foot stone bell tower in the residential compound. Preserve Director John Petersen sent us the following update on this year's nesting drama:

Thanks to a generous donation in 1999 of a "BirdCam" from Madrone Audubon Society, we now have a live feed from the nest to a monitor inside Gilman Hall. This is an incredible educational tool for the over 3,000 school children and other guests who visit the preserve annually. We thank Madrone for this contribution and acknowledge their gift with a plaque adjacent to the monitor.

Though much of the observation, while the goose sits on the nest for hours on end, is as stimulating as watching paint dry, it can be quite fascinating. Patience rewards the observer with a view of egg-rolling, preening, and for a short time, bright yellow goslings roaming around seemingly oblivious to their precarious perch.

This year, six eggs were laid, and on April 17, after approximately 25 days, four hatched. As we've learned, within a day of hatching the female is ready to move them off the bell tower and out into the grasslands and vernal swales of the preserve. Though a safe location while in incubation, the tower becomes a major challenge for the flightless goslings. When the time is deemed right, the male and female go to the base of the bell tower and call wildly. The chicks follow dutifully, launching themselves into the void and falling unceremoniously to the ground below.

After the first year when only a couple survived the descent, we devised strategies to soften their landing, including mattresses and cushions, and this year a tightly stretched tarp that slid them right into the waiting wings of the parents. From there they made a hasty retreat into the tall grass, where presumably they are currently eating their fill and living a discrete childhood.

This spectacle has become an annual rite. We hope that it continues, and that perhaps one of the offspring will take over this prime piece of real estate when the time is right.

Thanks again to Madrone for their support of the Bouverie Preserve.

Sincerely,

John Petersen, Associate Director, Audubon Canyon Ranch

Madrone's Gift to Bouverie Preserve
We can expect more interesting wildlife reports from Bouverie Preserve in the future. A donation of $500 received from Madrone Audubon this spring will be used towards the purchase of an automated motion detector wildlife camera, with matching funds to be contributed by ACR.

According to Director John Petersen, this very special camera, with its ability to remotely capture images along animal trails, will be a management tool to aid in wildlife inventory, such as monitoring the growing Wild Turkey population. In addition, the resulting photos can be used in education programs and displays in the Bouverie education center.

This year the Bouverie Preserve of Audubon Canyon Ranch is celebrating 20 years of environmental education. Twenty-five new docents graduated from the first training classes in February, 1982, and remarkably, nine of this original class are still involved in the preserve is some capacity. Thousands of adults and children visit the preserve annually.

Here's a fairly easy method of making an earth cast birdbath. You'll need to purchase two 60-pound bags of mortar. You'll also need a small piece of chicken wire and you'll want to have a wheelbarrow, shovel, and hose available. It's fun to embed decorative pieces of rock, shell, glass or ceramic into the edges of the bath, so have a selection of those at hand.

First, dig a shallow scoop of a hole in the soil, approximately 22 inches across. You want it to end up being the right depth for birds to wade into at the center, probably about 2 inches. Lay a board or stick across the hole to find the depth from soil surface to the lowest point in the center. It should be graduated from deep to shallow at the edges. Pat the hole smooth and remove any rocks or other debris.

Mix one bag of mortar in the wheelbarrow with water. Just keep adding small amounts of water and mix it around with the shovel until the consistency is like a wet cookie dough. You want to be able to pour/scoop it into the hole in the soil.

Shovel the wet mortar into the hole, and using gloves---the stuff is caustic-pat it into a birdbath shape. Cut a round section of chicken wire, which will be embedded in between the mortar on the bottom and the next layer of mortar. The wire should not come all the way out to the edges, but extend to about 3 inches from the edges; it is covered, not seen. You'll have to bend it a bit in order to shape it into a form that will lie in that bottom layer of mortar without pushing through to the soil below.

Mix up the second bag of mortar as you did the first, then shovel it over the chicken wire and pat it down; again, be sure to wear gloves. You'll need to shape and mold it to the depth you want the finished product to be. At this point you can tuck little pebbles, shells, or pieces of glass or ceramic into the wet mortar as decoration.

The last step involves covering the whole thing with the soil that came out of the hole. Cover it and even mound it up with soil and debris and water it down. The point is to let it cure in the earth for about two weeks. Keep spraying it down with water every day so it doesn't cure too quickly and crack.

After two weeks, you can carefully dig it out. You now have a very heavy birdbath that will require creative moving. Mine is up on a short stack of concrete blocks. You could also put it on a pile of bricks or an upright log-any method you can come up with to get it up off the ground. It could stay on the ground if there are no cats or other bird predators in your yard. Use caution about where you place it, as when placing any other birdbath. You need to avoid locating it too near shrubs where predators can hide. I put several large, twiggy branches around mine, leaning them up against it for the birds to use as landing perches. You could even embed non-rusting wire in the mortar to serve as perches.

(Madrone Audubon is truly grateful for the support received from all the wonderful donors listed here and in the May Leaves. The 2002 Birdathon total has just gone over $9000!)

Gene Abbott, Kathy Alexander, Laurel Anderson, Rebecca Anderson-Jones, Gail Arata, Autodesk Location Services, Cindy Barker, Martha Bentley, Dave & Kathy Biggs, Gay Bishop, Donna Bley, Liz Brown, Becue Brown-Watson, Margaret Brubaker, Liz & Jeff Bundschu, Denise Cadman, Tom Cashman, Debbie Caspersen, Michelle Cattalin, Inez Center, Mike Center, Nolan Center, Joe Clopton, Cindy Codding, Robert Daniel, David Denton, Russ & Judy Dieter, Susan Diez, Carolyn Dixon, Robin Doherty, Liz Donath, Joan Dranginis, Vikki Dupee, Dan Elsber, Linda Escobar, Robin Faultley, John Ferrari, Ginney & Grant Fletcher, Dilynn Fotts, Jim & Glenda Gentile, Fran Goodfriend, Eleanor Guilford, Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Gyanne Hall, Jean Hanks, Judy Hartwig, Peter Haywood, Catherine Heater, Catherine Hickey, Diane Hichwa, Melinda Hill, Martha Howell, Penny Hunter, Chris & Wendy Iaconis, Karina Junge, Karen & Eric King, Don Kirker, Shannon Krickenberg, Rich Kuehn, Jodi Kyle, Michelle Lanting, Peter Leveque, Ann Luft.

Adeline Mandiyano, Thomas McCuller, Alana McDonald, Pat McLorie, Nancy Morgan, Karen & Ted Nagel, Bob Nusbin, Brian O'Brien, Bill Payne, Charles Payne, Gail Payne, Mr & Mrs WA Payne, Celeste & Roger Phillips, Janie Phillips, Dr. Tim Pile, Gail Pippi, Val Plum, Sally Pola, John Reese, Rhio Reigh, Linda Reichel, Marlene Russell, Nancy Rutherford, Maggie Salenger, David Schaaf, Dean Schuler, Marilyn Scott, Sandra Settle, Gloria Shay, Claire Shurvinton, Daphne Smith, Ernestine Smith, Mark Spina, Shirley Spina, Bruce Standifer, Barbara Stewart, Melody Sugars, Jim & Elinor Taylor, Don & Diane Trowbridge, Craig & Tammie Vough, Janice Vough, Read Warriner, Donna Watson, Susan Webb, Arlene Weis, Valerie White, Tom Winters, Erica Wolfson, Kathy Wright, Quincy Zlotnick.

Pee Wee Audubon is our monthly nature program for children and their families. Claire Shurvinton, the Pee Wee chair, is taking over as President of Madrone Audubon Society and will not be able to be as involved with Pee Wee as before. She will still coordinate the program initially, but needs to find people who would be prepared to take phone reservations, or be responsible for organizing one or two programs over the course of the year. If you are interested or have any questions about what would be involved, please call Claire at 527-6118.

Thank you for the fun day at Bullfrog Pond. I loved the pretty pond, and that I didn't fall in-usually I like to get wet if I can. The mallard duck we saw was beautiful. I liked the redwoods, the blue oak and doing the treasure hunt. Picking up litter was fun and it felt good to do it. It shouldn't be there or left there. We did it because we saw it, not to win the prize-but we did win the prize anyway (Sierra and I)! The weather was beautiful too. Thank you for the beautiful bird feeder. It's red and clear colored. Daddy still has to put it up. It's lonely sitting in the garage and birds need it now. Daddy likes the baby-blue-eyes wildflowers the best.
Sara Higson, age 7

I really liked the treasure hunt and looking through the binoculars. I saw lots of flowers and birds. Looking through the microscopes was fun, too. You could see algae and fly larvae.
Sierra Marantz

Orienteering Meet: Saturday, June 9, 9 AM to Noon at Indian Valley Open Space in Novato. Practice with map and compass to be more confident on or off the trail. There are clinics for beginners; this is a great family activity. For information call (408) 255-8018 or go to www.boac.org.

Resident Raptors: Saturday, June 15. Natural history and observation of the birds of prey that breed on the Point Reyes peninsula-a field class with John Klobas. Contact Point Reyes Field Seminars, (415) 663-1200.

Open House at the Hallberg Butterfly Gardens: Sunday, June 30, 10 AM to 4 PM. The Gardens are located at 8687 Oak Grove Road, Sebastopol.

The Return of the Terns: Sunday, June 30, at the Crab Cove Visitor Center in Alameda. Learn about the endangered California Least Tern and see them nesting at the Alameda Wildlife Refuge. For information call (510) 521-6887 or go to www.ebparks.org.

Northern Pintail (2) 5/6 Schollenberger Park DN, TCN
Blue-winged Teal (6) 5/6 Schollenberger Park DN, TCN
Ruddy Duck (10) 5/6 Schollenberger Park DN, TCN
Tundra Swan (ad.) 5/9 Schollenberger Park M. Storey
Tundra Swan (still pres.) 5/12 Schollenberger Park GP
Nene (origin??) 5/3 Jenner DVP, MB
White-faced Ibis (lg.grp.) 5/12 Schollenberger Park GP, et al
Green Heron 5/6 Schollenberger Park DN,TCN, et al
Spotted Sandpiper 4/30 Spring Lake, swimming lagoon SB
Franklin's Gull (ad.) 5/10 Bolinas Lagoon, northbound w/ Bonies KH
Mountain Quail 5/7 Sugarloaf State Park KM
Peregrine Falcon 4/13 near Gunsight Rock, Sugarloaf S.P. KK
Swainson's Hawk 5/6 Over downtown Sebastopol LH, CC
Bald Eagle (pr.) Apr-May Lake Sonoma- nesting for a 2nd year fide KH
Great Horned Owl Apr-May Nesting, near Milk Barn Road, Healdsburg VW Rufous Hummingbird 4/16 At feeder, near Willowside Road CS
Rufous Hummingbird 4/30 At feeder, near Willowside Road CS
Rufous Hummingbird 4/29 At feeder, Oakmont JG, BG
Ash-throated Flycatcher 4/18 Glen Ellen KM
Ash-throated Flycatcher (2) 5/11 Spring Hill Road. DN
Western Wood Pewee 5/11 Spring Hill Road DN
Olive-sided Flycatcher 4/29 Ranch Road, Bodega Bay NC
Olive-sided Flycatcher 4/30 Ledson Marsh, Annadel S.P. KM
Dusky Flycatcher 5/10 near Hood Mountain DS
Western Bluebird Apr. Pr. nesting in box, Kenwood SAN |Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5/7 Sugarloaf S.P.; Brushy Peak KM
Yellow-breasted Chat (2) 4/26 W. of Willowside Road CS |
Yellow-breasted Chat (4) 5/13 W. of Willowside Road CS, LP
Bullock's Oriole 4/4 Sebastopol KA
Bullock's Oriole 5/7 Lytton Road, Healdsburg GR
Bullock's Oriole 5/11 Spring Hill Road DN
Hooded Oriole (2) 4/19 RagleRoad/ Valley View Drive GM
Hooded Oriole (male) 4/28 Petaluma, Westridge area KC
Chipping Sparrow 4/1 Graywood Ranch, Kenwood SAN
Golden-crowned Sparrow 4/26 Bodega Bay: last date, birds gone next day NC

CONTRIBUTORS: Kay Ashbrook, Sara Blauman, Matt Brady, Kristine Cohen, Nancy Conzett, Chris Corbin, Jack & Betty Groce, Keith Hansen, Lisa Hug, Kirk Keeler, Gary Maresh, Kathy Mugele, Dan Nelson, Tyler Cannon-Nelson, Linda Petrulias, Gail Powell, Gail Roper, Doug Shaw, "San7667", Claire Shurvinton, M.Storey, David Vander Pluym, and Valerie White.

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