may 2010 western grebe, redbud audubon society

8/8/2019 May 2010 Western Grebe, Redbud Audubon Society

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The Western GrebeRedbud Audubon Society, Inc.,

www.redbudaudubon.orgVolume 35Issue No. 9May 2010

Annual PotluckPicnic on May 20Redbuds final chapter meeting of

the September-May program year isa potluck picnic on Thursday, May20 at 5:30 pm at Clear Lake StatePark. The location will be the picnicarea where the Heron Festivalbooths were situated, across fromthe Visitor Center.

Redbud will supply barbequed hotdogs and drinks. Members andguests are asked to bring a side dish,salad, or dessert to share.

Entrance to the park is free, thanksto our joint Audubon/CLSPIAmembers.

Please join us for this informaltime of visiting and getting betteracquainted with chapter members.All are welcome.

2010 Heron FestivalSets New Records

The annual two-day Heron Festival on April 24-25 at Clear Lake State Park had the greatest atten-dance and participation in its 16-year history!

1,891 people attended the two-day event.

558 attendees took a pontoon boat tour toview tree-top heron and cormorant nests,osprey nests, and other wonders of nature onClear Lake.

336 people attended the delightful Wild-flower Brunch on Saturday, held by our co-sponsor Clear Lake State Park InterpretiveAssociation.

218 Audubon volunteers conducted the vari-ous festival activities that achieved this greatsuccess! (CLSPIA has a separate listing ofthe volunteers who made their wonderfulbrunch.)

Over 500 people enjoyed the pontoon boat rides

on Clear Lake at the recent Heron Festival and

Wildflower Brunch.


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Presidents Message By Marilyn WaitsMajor Kudos to Heron Festival Planning Team

Primary credit for this years highly successful

Heron Festival goes to the seven Redbud memberswho worked with me to take on the tasks of organiz-ing the festivals key events. They deserve thanksfrom all of us for the many months of emails, phonecalls, memos, and problem-solving that led to asmooth-running, fun event for everyone.

Treasurer Tina Wasson managed all aspects of thefestival budget and finances. This included workingwith all the many suppliers of goods and servicesneeded for the festival. She provided cash draws forthe four Audubon activity areas, and she tracked, rec-onciled, and recorded all festival revenues and ex-

penses. She also worked with Barbara Buckley onthe many advance activities required for the snacksbooth.

Tom and Vivian McFarling handled all aspects ofthe volunteer boats that provide the popular pontoonboat tours. They contacted past boat-owners, soughtout new boat-owners, organized the complicatedschedule of 65 boat trips over two days, supervisedthe check-in process and boat-boarding, and kepttrack of ticket finances. This year a total of 10 boatsand 22 captains/drivers/crew members provided the65 boat trips.

Darlene Hecomovich handled the equally complexprocess of obtaining and scheduling an Audubon

birding guide to accompany each boat tour. The bird-ing guides help Redbud achieve our fundamental na-ture education goal of the festival. They help guestsidentify the birds they see, and learn about the habi-tats, foods, and interactions with other creatures thatmake up Clear Lakes web of life. Darlene workedwith 27 bird guides to fill the total of 65 boat trips.

Robin Chapman handled two critical activities:Arranging for the 30 educational exhibitors and craftvendors and also obtaining the many volunteersneeded to staff all the festival activities, except forCLSPIAs brunch. The number of exhibitors has

grown from 12 in 2004 to last years 39 exhibitors.This years 30 exhibitors included 11 educationalgroups and 19 crafter/artists. As the festival activitieshave expanded, we now have over 200 volunteers,including 14 Student Community Service Volunteersfrom local high schools.

Education Chair Joyce Anderson again organizedand managed the Childrens Activities Area. Eachyear Joyce has expanded the delightful mix of hands-on crafts that teach children about nature and birds.

The dedication and hard work put in by these mem-bers was extraordinary, and each deserves our thanks.

Redbud wins Incentive Program for

Parks Petition SignaturesAudubon California gave a $1,000 reward to each

of three chapters for gathering the most petition sig-natures for the California State Parks Initiative. Thirtychapters chose to participate in this Incentive Pro-gram.

In the Small Chapters category based on member-ship size, Redbud won the award for collecting 300

petition signatures. For Large Chapters, Los AngelesAudubon won with 583 signatures. Santa BarbaraAudubon won among the Medium Chapters for its749 signatures.

The total statewide campaign for the initiative de-livered 760,000 signatures, more than enough needed.State law requires 433,931 valid signatures of regis-tered California voters to certify the measure for theNovember 2, 2010 ballot.

ObservationsBy Jerry White (JRW)A Red-Breasted Merganser was found on Clear

Lake by Floyd Hayes on January 12th. A Chukar (thiswould be considered an escaped bird) was seen onMarch 30th near Adam Springs by Darlene Heco-movich. The bird was first discovered by Paul andSue Bluess. An adult male Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckerwas found and photographed at Clear Lake State Parkby Brad Barnwell on March 3rd and was seen the fol-lowing day by Susanne Scholz. This is the 4th County

record. Meanwhile the female Yellow-Bellied Sap-sucker continued at Lakeside County Park until atleast February 23rd (JRW). Two Great-Tailed Grack-les were at the Rodman Slough Bridge on March 3rd(JRW). Dave Woodward saw a Great-Tailed Gracklein the Reclamation area on March 19th. Brad Barn-well found Tri-Colored Blackbirds at 3 locations onApril 9th. A Hooded Oriole was at a residence in Kel-seyville on March 22nd (Greg Giusti).


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Robin Chapman holds the framed Certificate of Ap-

preciation she was awarded, while she and Tina

Wasson and Marilyn Waits show the new 2010 Heron

Festival tee-shirt design created by Gaye Allen.

Robin Chapman receives

Certificate of AppreciationRedbud Board member and former Board Officer

Robin Chapman was presented with a Certificate ofAppreciation from the Board of Directors at the Aprilchapter meeting.

The certificate recognized Robins extraordinarydedication and volunteer assistance serving the chap-ter in a variety of ways during the past four years.

Robin moved to Lake County in late 2005 from

New Jersey, where she was a member of BergenCounty Audubon chapter. With National Audubonsautomatic transfer of chapter membership whensomeone moves, Robin began receiving RedbudsWestern Grebe newsletter. She started attendingmeetings and field trips and quickly accepted respon-sibilities when asked to be a volunteer.

She served as Secretary of the Board of Directorsfor the 2007-08 and 2008-09 program years. She be-came part of the senior management team organizingthe annual Heron Festival. Robin assisted with obtain-ing volunteers and exhibit booths at the 2007 festival,

and then managed both of these functions for the2008-2010 festivals.In late April, Robin moved back to New Jersey to

be closer to family. She leaves a legacy of strong vol-unteer leadership in our chapter, and she will begreatly missed by the many close friends she madeduring her residence in Lake County.Thanks again, Robin, for all you have contributed toRedbud Audubon!

Redbud Audubon receives State

Parks Grassroots Champion AwardRedbud Audubons participation in the 2009

Save Our State Parks (SOS) campaign was rec-ognized at the March 8 Park Advocacy Day inSacramento. The California State Parks Founda-

tion bestowed this new award to 120 organiza-tions for their exemplary work in protecting andadvocating for state parks.

Redbud Audubon was one of five Lake Countycommunity groups receiving this award. Theothers were Anderson Marsh Interpretive Asso-ciation, Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce,Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association,and Lake County Republican Women.

Together, these groups and others in LakeCounty collected over 7,000 signatures urgingthe Governor to keep the state parks system open.

The letter with the award certificate specificallyrecognized Board member Leona Butts for herleadership in the 2009 parks campaign.

Mt. Diablo Audubon features

article on Anderson MarshNewsletter editor Ellis Myers and his wife

from Mt. Diablo Audubon attended the HeronFestival last month and also visited the walkingtrails at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park.You can read his article about Anderson Marshafter it is posted about May 21 on the chapter

website at www.diabloaudubon.com/index.php.Webcam at a baby eagles nest

Member Barbara Buckley shared a webcam shefound that is a live-time video inside a nest wheretwo parent eagles are feeding their month-oldbaby eagle. The nest is at the top of a tree onHornby Island in the Gulf Islands off VancouverB.C. in Canada. To watch the webcam, go towww.hornbyeagles.com.

Save the Date for special field tripTo begin Redbuds new program year next fall,

the first field trip, set on Saturday, September 18,will be a bird walk/hike to the summit of Mt. Ko-nocti. This special field trip will celebrate thesuccessful public acquisition of this spectacularmountaintop by the County of Lake. KimClymire, Director of the Countys Public Ser-vices Department, has been invited to lead thisspecial event for Redbud members. Mark thedate on your calendar now!
http://www.diabloaudubon.com/index.phphttp://www.diabloaudubon.com/index.phphttp://www.hornbyeagles.com/http://www.hornbyeagles.com/http://www.hornbyeagles.com/http://www.diabloaudubon.com/index.php


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REDBUD AUDUBON

BOARDOF DIRECTORSPresident

Marilyn Waits

Vice-President and Treasurer

Tina Wasson

SecretaryKathy Barnwell

STANDING COMMITTEESBird Observations - Jerry White

Christmas Bird CountDarlene HecomovichConservation - Roberta LyonsEducation - Joyce Anderson

Field Trips - Jeannette KnightHospitality - Pat Harmon

and Mary TurnerMembership Manager - Susanne Scholz

Membership Outreach - Pat Berry

Newsletter Editor - Roberta LyonsNewsletter Production - Jim ScholzNewsletter Email Distribution - Janet Swedberg

Publicity - Roberta LyonsWebmasterNancy Hodges

To contact a board member:

Phone 707/ 263-8030

Email: [email protected]

Leaving a Legacy to Redbud AudubonYou can contribute to Redbud Audubon Soci-

etys work to bring nature education programs toadults and children in Lake County and to protectour important bird habitats. Please consider a giftto our chapter when planning your estate. To con-fidentially discuss how you can name RedbudAudubon Society, Inc. in your will or estate plan,please call President Marilyn Waits at 279-1242.

Thanks to 2010 HeronFestival volunteers!

This years Heron Festival on April 24-25 was themost successful ever! This 16th annual Festival wasentirely created and run by volunteers. RedbudAudubon Society could not offer the public this majoreducational event without the dedication and commit-ment of a huge group of volunteers.

These are the 220 people and businesses that de-serve the credit for this years Heron Festival:

Boat Owners/Drivers: Craig Anderson, Al Bachur& Jacob Ellis, Jim Baur, Hank Everett & Patsy Thor-burn, Bonny Goselin & Clyde Sampson, Dennis &Carol Mancini, Mike Mayer, Dan & Dana Ober-meyer, Bob & Carol Prather, Joe Roe, Bob Rumfelt,Jim Scholz, Jack & Joan Wadhams, and Gary & JeriWilliamson.

Boat Tour Birding Guides: Brad Barnwell, Bar-bara Bridges, Billy Gear, Charlotte Griswold, BradHanson, Pat Harmon, Floyd Hayes, Darlene Heco-movich, Denise Ishihara, Susie Kaplar, KatherineLindsley, Harry Lyons, Roberta Lyons, RickMcCann, Pete McGee, Sandy Moura, Tom Nixon,Michele Quere, Mishika Rosendin, Denise Rushing,Susanne Scholz, Ligia Sequeira, Anne Snow, JoanSturges, Janet Swedberg, Marge Van Lente, andMarilyn Waits.

Boat Tour Check-in: Teddy Duke, Vivian & TomMcFarling, Connie Miller, Dave and Joni Stoneberg,Georgeann Tintorri.

One of the highlights of the Heron Festival was a ven-

ture down Shirley Slough where a Great Blue Heron

Rookery was viewed.

Continued on page 6
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Welcome new membersLinda S. Baker, Clearlake; Wendell W. Gibbs,

Clearlake; Barbara Luce, Clearlake; Donna L. Perry,Clearlake; Robin Rogers, Clearlake; Mark Siegel,Clearlake; Mike Porovich, Clearlake Oaks; BillStone, Clearlake Oaks; Barbara Plunkett, Hidden Val-ley Lake; Judy Miller, Hidden Valley Lake; ErnestineDemonbreum, Kelseyville; Patrick Goudie, Kelsey-ville; Harold Harby, Kelseyville; Juliana Vidich, Kel-seyville; Muriel Bramlett, Lakeport;

Mark and Linda Brown, Lakeport; Tom Codding-ton, Lakeport; Marret Dammuller, Lakeport; JudithFletcher, Lakeport; Joseph Hunt, Lakeport; Ann Ma-son, Lakeport; Priscilla J. Montano, Lakeport; ArthurCarson, Lower Lake; Harold Okun, Lower Lake;

April Allen, Lucerne, Fred Phillips, Lucerne;Colette Fletcher, Nice; Roberta Wright, Lakeport;Larry and Kathy Jansen, Lakeport; Joyce Decker,Clearlake; Camille Levasseur, Cobb; Ruth Corbett,Clearlake; Lynn Small, Santa Rosa; Andres Mercado,

Lucerne; Jennifer Pittam, Lucerne; Trudy Armer,Stewarts Pt., Sonya Vanpatten, Port Austin, MI;

Phyllis Murphey, Lower Lake; Annette Hopkins,Lakeport; Elaine Ho, Pope Valley; Loretta Birckhead,Lucerne; Jeannie Vierra, Clearlake Oaks; DoloresMarconi, Clearlake Oaks; Elizabeth S. Roeper, PopeValley; Ben and Julie Lawson, Clearlake Oaks; andRon Green, Lower Lake.

Booths Set-Up & Take-Down: Barbara Buckley &Larry Davis, Jeanette & Carol Knight, Steve McDon-nell, Tom & Vivian McFarling, Ken Roberts, MarilynWaits, Tina & Tom Wasson, Karen Weston-Gilliam& Tom Gilliam.

Booths Staffing: Gaye Allen, Kathy Barnwell, PatBerry & Peter Holland, Gladdy Bransford, TammyBransford, Barbara Buckley & Larry Davis, LisaCossey, Shannan & Ken Eppelheimer, Darlene Heco-movich, Nancy Hodges, Elva Hohn, Alaina Howser,Joyce Jones, Jeannette Knight, Sandy Leggitt, SusanMesick, Chris Mitchell, Catherine Quistgard,Lorraine Repalya, Wilda Shock, Maggie Stivers,Janet Swedberg, Mary Turner, Tina Wasson, KarenWeston-Gilliam.

Childrens Activities: Joyce Anderson, DawnFleming, Marion Smith, and Student Community Ser-

vice Volunteers (see list below). For the ChildrensHeron Art Show, Denise Ishiharas 3rd grade class atKelseyville Elementary, Deanna Madesons 5th gradeclass at Riviera Elementary, and Kathy Scavones 4thgrade class at Coyote Valley Elementary.

Clear Lake State Park Staff: The entire visitor ser-vices staff, rangers, office staff, and maintenancestaff.

Credit Card Processing: Catherine QuistgardMarketing: Kelly Cox, Jennifer Hammond, Laura

Lamar at Max Design Studio, Bill & Linda Jensenand Direct Image Printing, Roberta Lyons, Susan

Mesick, Debra Sommerfield, Marge Telluz and Per-fect Printers, Tina & Tom Wasson and the crew atToms Aircraft Enterprises.

Name Badges: Kathy Barnwell. Nature Fair Artists/Crafters Booths: Artwork by

LP Hilt, Bachelor ValleyGourds, Barbara PhelpsArtworks/Steel Medal-lions, Creations by Paul,Dons Custom Wood-working, Imagecatchers,Leah Adamss Gourd

Art, Linda Fielding Art-work, Madeson Photog-raphy, N&N JewelryDesign, Paula Fong Il-lustrations, Peru Crafts,R-Gem Designs, Reyes

It was so much

fun to watch

people see

things they

never saw be-fore, a real light

bulb went off

for some. It was

great.

CHARLOTTE GRISWOLD,

BIRD GUIDE

Heron Festival VolunteersContinued from page 5

Heron nests at the top of this tree on Shirley Slough.

Continued on page 7


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Paintings, Rosett Fine Art, Sandy's Rock Shop,Shields Stained Glass, Tweet Hollow, Yankee RoseWool Works.

Nature Fair Educational Booths: County of LakePublic Services Department, County of Lake PublicWorks Department Water Resources Division, LakeCounty Community Food Coop, Lake CountyHistorical Society, Lake County Land Trust, RedbudAudubon Nature Education, Sierra Club Lake Group,Tuleyome, U.C. Cooperative Extension- MasterGardeners, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, U.S. ForestService Upper Lake Ranger District with Smokey theBear.

Nature Walks: Brad Barnwell, Susie Kaplar, Val &Tom Nixon.

Photographer: Barbara Bridges.Planning Team: Joyce Anderson, Barbara Buckley,

Robin Chapman, Darlene Hecomovich, Tom &Vivian McFarling, Marilyn Waits, Tina Wasson,Karen Weston-Gilliam.

Raffle and Silent Auction Contributions: BarbaraBridges Photography, Barefoot Books, Creations byPaul, Dons Custom Woodworking, English LakeportInn, Gail Cox, Karen Weston-Gilliam, KennieWinter, Linda Pyers, Lyle & Deanna MadesonPhotograpy, Marilyn Crayton, Out of this World,Paula Fong Illustrations, Peru Crafts, Rancho de laFuente, Sandys Rock Shop, Tommy Gilliam Photog-raphy, Tracy Taylor Photography, Tweet Hollow.

Speakers: Keynote Speaker Philip L. Greene, ClearLake State ParkD o cen t L eo n aButts, Ranger TiaGlagalev from SanFrancisco Bay Na-tional Wildlife Ref-uge Complex, Bi-ologist Dr. HarryLyons, CuratorJennie Papka andJanice Greenberg

from Native BirdConnections.

Sponsors: Audu-bon California,Brunos ShopSmart Foods, LakeCounty MarketingProgram, Lake

Heron Festival Volunteers

I know man is the

most dangerous

animal in the for-

est, and if the

Heron Festival can

painlessly educate

and enlighten and

bring appreciation

for the animalworld, especially

the birds, then I

want to be part of it

again.

DAWN FLEMING,

ASSISTANT, CHILDRENS

ACTIVITIES AREA

County Winegrape Commission, Pacific Gas & Elec-tric, Rays Food Place, Riviera Foods, Safeway Clear-lake, Safeway Lakeport, Sentry Market and Deli, TirePros Clearlake, Toms Aircraft Enterprises, andUMPQUA Bank.

Student Community Service Volunteers: HannahBrady, Shane Christiansen, Craig Clark, ShawnaCossey, Tristin Cossey, Derek Edwards, Levi Esca-lona, Christopher Grantham, Patience Gross, ChrisGutierrez, Natalie Higley, Saul Mendezo, JamesNoel, Rachel Perkins, Stormie Shores,Jonathon Smith, The students energy and willingnessto assist anywhere needed was endless! Supervisorsfor the students were Marion Smith and MaggieStivers.

Tee-shirt Design for 2010 Heron Festival: GayeAllen.

Wildflower Brunch: Madelene Lyon, President ofClear Lake State Park Interpretive Association andcaterer extraordinaire, and all the many volunteersfrom that organization.

Thank you to each of these wonderful individualsand companies for your invaluable contributions tothe Heron Festivals success!

Marilyn Waits, President

Continued from page 6

Jeannette Knight and Janet Swedberg staffed the

Redbud Audubon booth at the Heron Festival.

Photo of Humming-

bird chicks taken by

Ron LeValley on

Isla San Jose in

Baja California

Sur, Mexico.


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Redbud Audubon

PO Box 5780

Clearlake, CA 95422

Change Service Requested

Non-ProfitOrganization

US Postage PaidClearlake, CAPermit No. 29

Name ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Street Address __________________________________City_____________________ State______ Zip ___________

Phone_______________________________ Email______________________________________

Redbud Audubon SocietyMEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONNational Audubon Membership Rates:Student/Senior $15; Introductory 1 year $20; 2 years $30; Renewal $35

YES Enroll me in both the National Audubon Societyand local chapter Redbud Audubon, start my subscrip-tion to Audubon Magazine, and The Western Grebe,and send me my membership card.

I would like to subscribe to The Western Grebe, only, for$10.

From time to time, National may share this mailing list withother environmental organizations. If you do not wish to becontacted, please check this box.

In addition to my membership, I would like to make acontribution to the local work of Redbud Audubon Society:

$25 $50 $75 $100 Other:_______

Save paper! Send my newsletter by email only.

Notify me by email about upcoming events.

Contact me when volunteers are needed.

Please make check payable to Redbud Audubon Society.Mail your application and check to POB 5780, Clearlake, CA 95422

Thank you for supporting Redbud Audubon SocietyConnecting People with Nature Printed on Recycled Paper

may 2010 western grebe, redbud audubon society

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