12-2007 part 2 towhee newsletter tahoma audubon society

8/9/2019 12-2007 Part 2 Towhee Newsletter Tahoma Audubon Society

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December 2007 / January 2008 www.tahomaaudubon.org Page 7

Photo/Michael Macor/Chronicle

An oiled Surf Scoter in San FranciscoBay after a recent oil spill from a

ship that hit the Bay Bridge. Thesebirds dive to get mussels from the

bottom and are one of the speciesmost affected by the spill.

influences on breeding success, and the impacts of hunt-ing, environmental pollution, and commercial fishing.Even the population trends are little more than estimates

that suggest a long-term decline. Surf Scoter breedingsuccess seems to vary from year to year; weather is onefactor, and some adults like Common Eiders and othersea ducks just dont breed every year.

The blackish-brown females also have white eyes, twowhitish patches on the cheeks, and a pale white patch onthe nape; their bills are blackish. Pairs form during thewinter, and the birds are nocturnal migrants to breedingareas. The female fashions a simple nest near a lake,often under cover of low-spreading conifer branches.She usually lays seven or eight eggs, incubates themherself, and tends the precocious downy chicks that can

forage for invertebrates as soon as they reach the water.Predation on the chicks by Common Loons and presum-ably gulls may be heavy, especially when theyre small.By the time the chicks reach adult size and fledge atabout 55 days, the females have already left them; theymigrate back to marine waters to molt with the males off

the coasts of Alaska or British Columbia, or in the Gulf ofSt. Lawrence. The young Surf Scoters then join theadults and remain in marine waters until they reachbreeding age at two or three years.

The recent oil spill in San Francisco Bay shows howvulnerable our diving birds are. They dive to forage inapparently clean water and come up drenched in toxicoil; and Surf Scoters are among the diving birds thatperished. We absolutely need better environmentalsafety practices so that our diving birds including oursea duck with the outlandish bill can continue to livealongside us.

... Surf Scoters from page 1

spots wherehe has seen

Kites in the pastmonth. This man

knows more about theirhaunts in Western Washington

than anyone alive. We knewthere wouldnt be Kites at every

spot, but Rogers goal was to see doubledigits. We started at the Centralia Discovery

Nature Trail, formerly the Centralia WastewaterTreatment Plant, on the Chehalis River. One sur-

prise we found there was the first of many WesternMeadowlarks for the day, now apparently on wintering

grounds. Although Roger tried to keep us on track withRaptors, it was hard not to notice the many Sparrows and

Wrens of different sorts in the brambles and the Scrub Jaysalmost everywhere we went. Scrub Jays, of course, truly

are invading northwards, whether because of globalwarming or because Jays just like to push their limits is

the unanswered question.

As Roger led us through a maze of back roads whichI could never retrace without bread crumbs, we ran

across many other Raptors, notably Kestrels! Ourcar started a running count of Kestrels, settinggoals as we went, ending up with an impres-

sive (at least this side of the Cascades) totalof 41!!! In car #1, Roger was intent on

Kites and large Raptors (although he didseem quite taken with all the MourningDoves), but in our car #2, it was

Kestrel Keno as we kept hittinghigher and higher numbers.Several times we turned the car

around to check out potentialwhite spots that didnt turn

out to be Kites, and thenthere was that one time

that Kathy Andrich wassure she had seen a

Peregrine, so weturned around and

drove back to finda beautiful sculp-

ture of a Falconin someones

barnyard.T h e

Maltese

Scarecrow. Itwas so nicelydone, we didnt real-ly feel that foolish, butwe dont intend to let Kathyever hear the end of it.

Our eyes were grabbed at leastfive times by that other remarkablebird of prey that looks white the MaleNorthern Harrier. Where we live, we seemostly brown females and immatures, sincethe genders winter separately. But we lucked intoat least five different adult males on this day, lookingremarkably like Kites at first with their pearl-coloredplumage, similar habitats, and hunting techniques. Thiswas quite an unexpected treat!

A stunning swoop by a Harlans Redtail Hawk, numerousBald Eagles, elk, and deer rounded out our observations.We saw another kind of kiting when a plane flew over-head and dumped out nine skydivers! At least a coupleof them looked like they had learned their moves from

kites, both the avian and the non-avian sort. As toour Kites, we were lucky enough to see pairs flyingtogether at least twice!By the end of the day, Roger had tallied 85Raptors, finally breaking into the coveteddouble digits on Kites just before dusk (orwed still be there!). He had been hopingfor more, but ten was a huge number foreveryone else who was along! Thenumbers included 10 Kites, 15 Redtails,10 Harriers, 8 Bald Eagles, 1 Accipiter,and of course the 41 Kestrels. Bythe time you read this, everyonein my car will be vacationing insome tropical birding paradiseafter splitting the lotto win-nings that Kathy Andrichwas going to obtain for usby using those numberson her next lotto tick-et.There are jewelsout there just forthe plucking,and we grewricher on thisbeaut i fu lday.

... Kites from page 1

Thanks,Roger!

Top right: Our first Kiteof the day.

Above: ThatMaltese Falcon

Top left: Red-tailHawk practicing its

vulturine stance.Center left: A Kite

perching.Bottom left: A Kestrelperched; one of 41 Kestrels

spotted that day.Right: Trip leader Roger Ornessheading for the next Kite stop.

Story and photos by Diane Yorgason-Quinn


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Page 8 www.tahomaaudubon.org December 2007 / January 2008

Just the other day...Heres what TAS was doing back in 1982

Feedback, comments and reminiscences

welcome, 253-564-3112, [email protected].

By Helen Engle

The 1982 TAS Christmas BirdCount actually took place onJanuary 2, 1983. This was our14th year of doing the CBC andwe were getting more and morepeople involved. Ken Brown

was in charge of the Count and ourArea leaders were Area 1, Joe Quinn;Area 2, Thais Bock, 3 was Fred Tobiason &Ken Batker; Area 4, Carla Hansmann; Area5 Chris Chappell; Area 6, Burt Ostenson;

Area 7, Stan Johnson and Area 8 BettyHeitman. The Count Tally was done at a chilidinner at Helen Engles home. Auduboners across Washington State were

still celebrating the cre-ation of the Mount St.Helens National

Volcanic Monumentwith programs, postersand public involvement

in the planning processfor the Monument.Campaign leaderSusan Saul of

Vancouver Audubonnamed RepresentativeDon Bonker from SWWA the environmentalhero of the 97thCongress. BrockEvans, NAS vice-president for national issues,helped move competing bills through the legis-lative process.As the fall crop of Washington apples went

into the stores we learned of use ofEndrin in the orchards to control

rodents. Contamination has beenfound in birds, other wildlife,and vital bodies of water. WADept. of Agriculture has askedthat no one enter the orchards

for 30 days after treatment.

Carla Hansmann, writing in theTOWHEE about this pervasive rodenti-

cide, learned that it has been banned in NewYork State.

Field trips continue in all kinds of weatherwith bird censuses at Nisqually National WildlifeRefuge led by Karl Lundberg, Wally Wilkins,and jointly with Seattle Audubon, Helen Englecoordinating. Henry & Jean Kyle led a

McNeil Island trip; KenBatker caravanned usthrough SpanawayPark, around WaughopLake, Chambers creekand American Lake.

We were invited toparticipate in the Kent-

Auburn Christmas BirdCount with ThaisBock; and to work-shops at Snake LakeNature Center on

Winter Twigs and Natures HolidayDecorating. Terry

Wahl led a seabird boat trip up Rosario Straitand through the San Juan Islands.

TASerCathy Jerbic, Fort Lewis EnvironmentalOffice, wrote of the controlled burning of Fort

Lewis Prairies. Theburning is scheduledfor late summer whengrasses and bushesare thoroughly dry.This provides fornearly complete com-bustion with a mini-

mum of smoke, insur-ing a hot fire that willkill mature Scotsbroom, and hopefullyits hard-to-destroyseeds -- seeds thatare viable for over seven decades! Late sum-mer is preferred because ground-nesting birdswill have hatched and raised their young.Prairie grasses and wildflowers will benefit, asfire is part of the prairies ecology. The meritsof the control burn program are of interest toother state and private agencies with manage-ment responsibilities for prairies. Fire, whichhad for time immemorial maintained western

Washingtons prairies, may again provide thesolution to allow the return of the native veg-etation and provide habitat for the wildlife ofthe prairies.

Bob Ramsey reported that birding at SnakeLake and its surrounding woods is good yearround. Heres an overview of what he observed,reporting for a three-year period. He saw 95species total, 36 of which were fairly rare forthat location; 69 were seen in spring, 62 insummer, 58 in fall and 37 in winter.

People from all across the United States and

Canada will be watching and counting birds

during the Great Backyard Bird Count---for fun

and for conservation. Last year, they counted

more than 11 million birds, and tallied 616 species,

for the 10th annual GBBC. It was a record-

breaking count, with more than 80,000 checklists

submitted.

National Audubon and the Cornell Lab of

ornithology are hosting the GBBC with sponsorship

from Wild Birds Unlimited. During the event,

everyone who enjoys birds can submit their

observations through www.birdsource.org/gbbc.Be sure to go to the website before you count to see

the very important easy-to-follow instructions and

local checklists.

To have more fun, join Tahoma Audubon

Societys 7th annual GBBC Special which we hope

will again feature four separate days events. The

January flyer will give place, time, etc. Call TAS,

253-565-9278, to get directions and let us know

which days activity you wish to join. There will be

a meal, a crash course, and birding with a Master

Birder. And it is free, though we encourage non-

members to take out an introductory membership

for the family at $20.00 ($15. for seniors or

students).

Do you wish to offer the use of your yard for

this GBBC? You will be asked to choose

whether you would like to make a breakfast,

lunch, or supper. You will be supplied a

Master Birder unless that is a job that someonein your family can do. Thanks for considering

this and letting us know as soon as possible.

Please call Thelma Gilmur, 253-564-8210, to offer

to help or for more information. Call TAS,

253-565-9278, early to sign up so that hosts will

know how much food to plan on .

Photo/Lyn Topinka/USGS

Mount St. Helens on May 19, 1982.

Helen Engle from days ofyore.

BIRDSONGS by Phil Buly All about suetSuet, in its purest form, is simply animalfat. This food is high energy food withlots of calories that birds need, espe-cially as the days and nights get colder.

If youll trim off the fat from roasts orsteaks before cooking or ask at themeat counter of your grocery store,youll soon have a wonderful supply forthe hungry birds. Slice the fat into stripsand small pieces or grind it up. Keep thefat frozen in a bag or plastic containeruntil its needed. Place the fat into asuet cage. Or save the mesh bags fromonions to make great suet holders.

From: about.com:birding/wild birds

Great Backyard Bird Count - Feb. 15-18, 2008

A Mount Rainier National Park ornament is promi-nently displayed on this years official White House

Christmas Tree. The tree is the centerpiece of elab-orate decorations celebrating the theme of Holi-day in the National Parks.

Eatonville artist Dale Thompsoncreated the ornament that rep-resents the park for the WhiteHouse tree. I was reallyvery privileged to havebeen asked to do it(the ornament) and

hope it will be wellreceived by the Bush

family. It is an honor to have iton the tree said Thompson.

Holiday in the National Parks


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Upcoming TAS annual banquetThe annual TAS banquet will be held at the

Tacoma Elks on Friday, February 22, 2008. It will

be a fun-filled evening with a program, election of

board members, presentation of service awards,

and our special auction to benefit our Endowment

Fund. Watch your mail in the early part of January

for the special Towhee Flyer that will contain all

the details and a registration form. The programfeatures Nalini Nadkarni with her story of

experiences entitled, Looking Upward and

Outward; a View of the Pacific Flyway from the

Forest Canopy.

Please help by gathering items needed for the

silent auction. We are looking for interesting

treasures, art, jewelry, goods and services, gift of

restaurant certificates, theater tickets, week-end

getaways-trips-or activities.

All money from the auction goes to the TAS

endowment fund now managed by the Greater

Tacoma Community Foundation.

When you have lined up a contribution, pleasecall Sue Goering at 253-564-2205 or bring the

item by the TAS office between 10:00 a.m. and

1:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Tahoma Audubon bookstore hoursOur TAS bookstore will have special

holiday hours. We will be open from

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays,

December 8, 15, and 22 to help you have

more opportunities to purchase your

Christmas and holiday gifts. The usual

hours for Monday through Friday will

remain the same, opening at 10:00 a.m.

and closing at 1:00 p.m.We have natural history guides,

childrens books, posters, bird calls,

t-shirts, Rite-in-the-Rain notebooks,

bird houses, gift certificates, and various

activity books.

Come visit us at 2917 Morrison Road

W., University Place.

There is a 10% discount for members.

National Audubon electionsIn January, 2007, all elections regions for Audubon

Regional Board Member elections changed. To

equalize the number of Chapters and members ineach election region, and with input from Chapters,

the National Audubon Board of Directors approved

realignment of the election regions. Information is

available at http://www.audubon.

org/nas/board/regional/changes.

html. The Northwest Region encom-

passes the states of Alaska, Idaho,

Montana, Oregon, Washington,

Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah. There

are 36 Directors on the National

Board. The Board meets four

times a year and meetings usually

run over a two-and-one-half to

three-day period. At this time,Chapters in the NW Region may

begin the process of selecting a

nominee to serve a three-year term

on the National Audubon Society

Board of Directors. Please contact

the Tahoma Audubon Board of

Directors if you would like informa-

tion on this election and its process.

Christmas card classesRosanne Becker Instructor

Cost: $10.00 (to be paid

the night of the class)Class meets at Adriana

Hess Audubon Center at

2917 Morrison Road West

in University Place and are

limited to 12 participants.

Christmas Iris Folding

Tuesday, December 11,

6:30-9:00 p.m.

This class will focus on

the art of Iris folding and

the creation of Christmas cards from many different

Iris folding patterns.

Supplies: Please bring a small craft scissors,

Scotch Magic tape (green plaid dispenser) and a

craft mat (if you have one).

Age appropriate for young teens through adult.

Reserve your spot at one or both of the classes by

calling TAS at 253-565-9278 before Dec.1 (for

Dec. 4 class), and before Dec. 8 (for Dec. 11

class).

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WELCOME to New and Returning Members

October 16 to November 15, 2007New: James Banks, Daniel Clayton, Greg Cook*,Ruth Crouch, Marian Fry, Donah Greiner*, Mr &

Mrs J E Gustafson, Mr & Mrs W E Holt, Vivian

Jacqmin, John Koster*, Michael Lawson, Jim &

Ann Leughty, Werner Lemke*, Peter Liljengren,

Jeff Lumberg*, Catherine Morris, Mr & Mrs

Korinne Morris, Alan & Jan Pearson*, Lisa

Rathbun, Walter & Laura Slavin*, Ruth Spitler,

Loy Stafinbil, Lynne Stallcop, Jeffrey & Susan

Stuart*, William C Taylor, James Ward, Mckell

Warnick, Donna Wesley, Cynthia Wiswell, Gayle

Yeary*. (The * shows recruitment by TAS and

now recognized by NAS.)

Returning (Considered new since membership

had lapsed 6 months or more.): L Abel, L

Anderson, Nancy Coleman, Ruth Daugherty, Bob

Dieckmann, Bryan Flint, Lorraine Foss, Lauretta

Lucien, Mrs John Maisel, George Menke, Paul

Morasch, Leo Ross, Jacob Sluka.

Renewal (Several renewed through TAS joint and

now recognized by NAS.): Jean Baranowski, Al

Bednarczk, Lynn Blackwood, Julian Bower,

Michael Bowler, Carole Breedlove, Kathryn

Buckner, Chuck Buzzard,

Randi Byrd, Vernon &

Catherine Lange, Lynn

Cawwthra, David

Chase, Dolores

Collins, Pamela

Darland, Brian Davis,

Dr Edmond B Dennery, Margaret Deturk,

Jacqueline Dock, Helen Frew, Rhonda Hansen,

Bryan Hanson, Ruby Harr, Mr & Mrs Ralph

Harrison, Curtiss Hebron, Vince Heppel, Michael

& Barbara Hill, Patrick Hurley, Mark Kuhlmann,

Judy Lewis, Cynthia Lorch, Dr David Martin,

Joseph McGuire, Robin J Menke, Rajender D

Nelson, Russell Noffke, Diana Noviello, N

OConnell, Charles & Vicky Orwiler, Carolyn

Orwiler, Mr & Mrs Frederick Park, Robin

Partington, Jeanne Powers, Victoria Ray, Tova

Rubin, Tom & Gail Sawyer, Pat Schueller, Ann

Schut, David Senner, Todd Silver, Deborah

Syverson, Priscilla Taylor, Della Taylor, Trula

Thompson, Cole Ulrichs, Lou Val Johnson, Bev

Webber, Mr & Mrs Michael Wotton, Denise

Wilkes.

Introductory (Recruited by TAS.): Tom & Amy

Bettesworth, Stan & Karen Bloustine, David

Cornforth.

Chapter new and renew: Jay & Louise Bollman,

Robert Caughey, Connie Decker, Margaret

DeTurk, Eleanor Ficca, Kelly Hale, George Hess,Wayne Jackson, Scott & Sheila Leek, Annie

Meyer, Carmela Micheli, Robert OBrien, Jack &

Mary Peterson, Judith Schuler, Louise & Fred

Schumock, Sue Summers & Alan Ferguson, Dale

Thompson, Fred Tobiason.

Joint: Walter Arthur, Patricia Berger, Terry

Conner, Millard & Becky Hixson, Diane Kerlin,

Richard & Janet Nelson, Herman Nickel, David

Scott & Aviva Lemberger, Galen Stark & Lynn

Arthur, Jean Trucco.

Tahoma Audubon is looking for an enthusiastic educator to join our staff. Be part of a teamof creative, dedicated and fun volunteers and staff that are working to build the bestcommunity-based nature and conservation education programs in the county.Qualifications include a degree in natural science, education or environmental studies andexperience in curriculum design and delivery. Enthusiasm for connecting people with

nature is a must.This is a full-time salaried position with strong benefits. A complete job description is atwww.TahomaAudubon.org. Mail or e-mail a cover letter and resum by December 15 to:

Bryan Flint, Executive DirectorTahoma Audubon

2917 Morrison Rd. W.University Place WA 98466

[email protected]

Education Coordinator Position Open


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Tahoma Audubon is the Pierce County chapter of National Audubon. As

an Introductory member of Tahoma Audubon you also receive a National

Audubon membership and Audubon Magazine for one year. Renewing

your Chapter Membership ensures that we can continue to do our work in

Pierce County. Chapter membership includes: Towhee newsletter sub-

scription, free family events, birding trip invitations, class & book dis-

counts, conservation activities, annual celebrations and more. Joint TAS/

National Audubon membership includes: Chapter membership, National

membership, annual Audubon Magazine subscription, and support of

Important Bird Areas (IBA) and state and national conservation agendas. Checkspayableto:TahomaAudubon2

917Morrison

Rd.

W.

UniversityPlace,

98466Taho

maAudubon

Society,establishedin1969,

isa501(c

)(3)nonprofit

organization.

Donationsaretaxdeductible.

Membership Fee:

___ Introductory (first year) $20

___ Joint National/Tahoma Audubon $50

___ Chapter member renewal $30

___ Other Contributions _____________

Member(s) Name: _______________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________

City______________________________ Zip__________________

Phone: home ___________________business _________________

e-mail: ________________________________________________

Member #: _______________________________ (office use only)

Membership

By Diane Yorgason-Quinn

On October 30th, I answeredmy phone to hear birdingbuddy Melissa Sherwoodask, Have you seen TheComet? Eek! I cried. Well all be killed! Actually,the conversation was a littlemore low key than that, but Iwas very excited to hear aboutComet Holmes, which Melissa hadheard about on the news. She andhusband Dennis had easily found it in

the sky after the newscast. She toldme where to look (in Perseus), but Iwas on my way out the door to birdclass. Later that night after class,Intermediate Bird Instructor Ken Brownand I looked for it where Melissa hadindicated. Wouldnt you know it, OldEagle Eyes Ken saw it first!

Turns out Comet Holmes has been aregular visitor every seven years or so,but too faint to be seen with the nakedeye. This time around, though, itexploded on October 24th (after hav-

ing invisibly returned in July) and hasbeen growing in apparent size andbrightness through the time I am writ-ing this in mid-November, though look-ing slightly different from one night toanother. A poorly understood phe-nomenon to be sure. This comet wasdiscovered in 1892 by E. Holmes inLondon when it exploded into viewvery similarly to its current apparitionand in the same part of the sky. Itsmany returns since that date havebeen invisible except to telescopes,

however, so we are indeed experienc-ing an unusual event that hasnt beenseen in over a hundred years and per-haps never before then. It is estimatedthat this invisible comet increased in

brightness by a million times over thecourse of 2-1/2 days! The closestthing to a supernova that humans canexperience without being killed!

Now about that fear of a comet hit-ting the earth and killing all life Turnsout the only really close encounter thiscomet ever makes is with the planetJupiter, which would be much morelikely to kill the comet than vice versa.Plus, comets are reputed to have

brought the building blocks of life toearth eons ago, so theyre the givers oflife, not the takers. Just tell that to thetabloids and the horror filmmakers.

Now back to the Intermediate BirdingClass. At our class on November 13th,we again had a clear night! Most ofthe class arrived early enough to walkin back of the TAS headquarters at theAdriana Hess Wetlands Park where ourclass is held, and Comet Holmes puton its show. Thanks to Rolan Nelsonbringing his binoculars, we all got good

looks and were able to find it with ourbare eyes after that.Although there are dozens of comets

that pass us in a years time, a nakedeye comet is unusual, as we all know.

Ive probably seen ten in myentire lifetime (plus others with

the telescope). This cometappears as a large diffuse snow-ball (which of course it is),blurry even when in perfectfocus, and one might think it is agalaxy or a globular cluster atfirst. There is a tail, but its not

really noticeable since the comet is

in the sky all night in opposition tothe sun, which means the tail is goingaway from us as we look head-on atthe comet. Its in a slightly differentplace every night, being a solar systemobject rather than a deep-sky object,but its near the same part of the skyin Perseus beneath the famous side-

ways W of Cassiopeia, so scan thatarea with your binoculars for the fuzz-ball as soon as it gets dark. It will gethigher and more southward as thenight wears on. For a map of whereto look, go to: http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=6183.The comet should be around for a

while yet, but no one knows if it willfade as fast as it exploded, so grab anygood night that might come along. Asfor equipment, if youre a birder, youreall set. Binoculars are best! High-powered scopes actually disappoint, asthe comets coma is so diffuse andfuzzy it just kind of becomes invisible

when made bigger, but birders spot-ting scopes on low power are good.And remember, because comets are

not important to understanding theBig Bang, astronomers dont give them

much attention. Its amateurs whodiscover new comets and new appari-tions of old comets like this one. So

you might see the next new thing upthere and have it named after you!


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Tahoma Audubon Society YO2

2917 Morrison Road West

University Place, WA 98466

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Nonprofit Org

U.S. Postage

Tacoma, WA

Permit No. 177

PAID 25 years ago page 8BirdSongs page 8

Bryan Flint column page 2

Education page 4

Environment matters page 3

Field trips page 5

New members page 9

Paul Webster page 1

TAS programs page 12

Volunteer recognition page 10

In this issue:

owhee

The December 2007/ January 2008

TAHOMA AUDUBONDecember Program

Calendar

Tue, Dec. 4, 6:30 to 9:00pm, Christmas Iris

Folding, Rosanne Becker Instructor A

Wed Dec 05, 10:30am to 12pm Budding

Scientists, Adriana Hess Audubon Center inUniversity Place.

Fri, Dec 07, 9 to 11am, Breakfast and Work

Party, Adriana Hess Audubon Center V

Sat, Dec 08, 15, and 22 TAS bookstore will

be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for

Holiday gifts

Sat, Dec 8, 10am, Bird Walks at Penrose

Point State Park

Sat, Dec 8, Nature Mapping for Educators

- Tacoma Nature Mapping

Sun, Dec 9, 6:30 a.m Kittitas County

Birding in Winter, Leader: Charlie Wright,

Co-leader: Roger Orness

Mon Dec 10, 12 to 1pm, Birdwalk, Adriana

Hess Audubon Center f

Tues., Dec. 11, 6:30 to 9:00 pm, More

Christmas Iris Folding, Rosanne Becker

Instructor a

Wed Dec 12, 3:15 to 4:45 pm, Budding

Scientists,Adriana Hess Audubon Center in

University Place.

Thu, Dec 13, 6pm, Priorities for a Healthy

WA - community forum - Tacoma Public

Library - main branch - Olympic Room C

Thu, Dec 13, 6:30pm,TAS Board Meeting -

Adriana Hess Audubon Center

Fri, Dec 14, 9 to 11am Breakfast and Work

Party, Adriana Hess Audubon Center V

Fri Dec 14, 7 to 9pm, Membership Meeting,

Nature Center, 1919 S. Tyler Street

Sat Dec 15, TAS Christmas Bird Count,

Faye McAdams Hands 253-942-9233,

[email protected], Dec. 15, and 22 TAS bookstore will be

open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for

Holiday gifts

Sat Dec 15, 10 to 11:30am, Discovery

Walk,Commencement Bay Tour

Mon Dec 17, 12 to 1pm Plant Walk,

Adriana Hess Audubon Center f

Fri, Dec 21 9 to 11am Breakfast and Work

Party,Adriana Hess Audubon V

Sat, Dec.22 TAS bookstore will be open

from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for Holiday

gifts

Sat Dec 22, 10am to 1pm Family Winter

Fest,Morse Wildlife Preserve

Sun, Dec. 30, Neighbors CBC-Vashon Sue

Trevathan, [email protected] or

206-463-1484/Rainier (Kent/Auburn) Nancy

Streiffert, [email protected] or

253-852-8394Tue, Jan 8, 2pm Conservation Committee

- Adriana Hess Wetland Park, 2917 Morrison

Road W, University Place, WA 98466

Thu, Jan 10, 6:30pm TAS Board Meeting -

Adriana Hess Audubon Center

Fri, Jan 11, 7pm Membership Meeting -

Tacoma Nature Center, 1919 S. Tyler Street

Sat, Jan 12, 9am Environmental Priorities -

Legislative Workshop - Seattle Pacific

University c

Sat, Jan.19, 8:00 am to early afternoon,

HAWKS OF KENT VALLEY with Roger

Orness f

Wed, Jan 23, 9am Environmental Lobby

Day - Capitol Campus, Olympia W C

Sat, Feb 2, 7 am to late afternoon, SKAGIT

with Bruce LaBar f

Tue, Feb 12, 2pm Conservation Committee

- Adriana Hess Wetland Park, 2917 Morrison

Road W, University Place, WA 98466

Thu, Feb 14, 6:30pm TAS Board Meeting

- Adriana Hess Audubon Center

Fri, Feb 15, Sat, 16 Sun, 17 Great Backyard

Bird Counta

Fri, Feb 22, annual TAS banquet will be

held at the Tacoma Elks contact Sue Goering

at 253-564-2205 about Silent Auction dona-

tions.

Topic: Important Birding Areas and theNext Birding Trails Map

When: December 14, 2007Where: Tacoma Nature Center, 1919 South

Tyler, TacomaWho: Christi Norman, Audubon Washington

Birding Trail Program DirectorTime: Refreshments at 7:00 P.M. Meeting

at 7:30 P.M.

Nisqually and Fort Lewis are the only desig-nated Important Bird Areas in Pierce County!Hard to believe. Come and learn about the

IBA program from Christi Norman, WashingtonsBirding Trail Program Director. Shell give usthe latest on the program and how PierceCounty can submit further IBAs with the smallamount of funds left over in this program.

As Krystal Kyer recently wrote in an e-mailIn addition to IBA nominations, these samenominations will help us create a list of poten-tial stops for the Puget Loop of the BirdingTrails Map, which is due out in 2010. Sodont miss out!

Thanks for the recommendation Krystal!Recommendations for future programs: con-tact Katrina at [email protected] or253-304-6422. Be sure to include contacts,topics, and best times to reach you for furtherinformation.

JANUARY 2008

T

Watch the mail for the end of the year

Towhee flyer for information on our January11 program and our February program that

is also our annual membership meeting

and banquet.

f Field Trip Page

v Volunteer page

m Environmental Matters Page

a Related article in The Towhee

E Education Page

Key to letter symbols For additional information on educa-tion programs contact Tahoma Audu-bon at 253-565-9278; on the web atwww.tahomaaudubon.org

Or The Tacoma Nature Center at253-591-6439 or on the web atwww.metroparkstacoma.org

DECEMBER 2007

Not applicable on the internets

12-2007 part 2 towhee newsletter tahoma audubon society

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