The Prairie Owl - Palouse Audubon Society

Palouse Audubon Society
The Prairie Owl
October-November 2013
VOLUME 42 ISSUE 2
EVENT CALENDAR
October 1 Board Meeting
October 12 Field Trip
October 16 Program Meeting: Highlights of Chilean Ecological Study
November 5 Board Meeting
November 20 Program Meeting: Birding the Lower Rio
Grande Valley
December 3 Board Meeting
Pullman-Moscow CBC, TBA
Lewiston-Clarkston CBC, TBA
Kendrick-Juliaetta CBC, TBA
NO DECEMBER PROGRAM
MEETING
PALOUSE AUDUBON
President: Ron Force, ronforce@gmail.com, 208-874-3207
Vice President: Marie Dymkoski, mariedymkoski@msn.com,
(509)595-1650
Secretary: Diane Weber, 509334-3817, catbirdz@roadrunner.com
Treasurer: Lavon Frazier, 509595-1913,
lavon_frazier@roadrunner.com
Board Members:
Tim Hillebrand, 208-310-1341,
tshphd@gmail.com; Jim Storms,
509-635-1272,
nbutte@pullman.com; Marie
Dymkoski, 509-595-1650, MarieDymkoski@msn.com; Becky
Phillips, beccap22@gmail.com,
509-339-6277; Paul Schroeder,
509-334-2470, schroede2003@yahoo.com
Membership: Ron Force, 208874-3207, ronforce@gmail.com
Newsletter: Tim Hillebrand, 805518-9612, tshphd@gmail.com
Publicity: Diane Weber, 509-334
-3817, catbirdz@roadrunner.com
Conservation Committee: Mike
Costa, 509-332-1793 majcosta@live.com
Field Trips: Vacant
October 16 Program
Highlights of a 25 year ecological study in the semiarid
zone north-central Chile
Dr Peter Meserve
is Professor Emeritus in biology at
Northern Illinois
University, and an
Adjunct Professor
at the University of
Idaho. His first
position in the U.S.
was at the University of Idaho during
1975-1976; thereafter he taught at NIU
for 35 years before returning to Moscow
to retire. Since 1989, he has been involved in a long-term study of the role
of predator-prey and plant-herbivore
interactions in the northern semiarid
scrub zone of north-central Chile. Now
in its 26th year, it is one of the longest
running ecological studies in the Southern Hemisphere. Dr. Meserve will talk
about some of its important findings as
well as some of the organisms he works
with in his talk.
The meeting will be in the Fiske
Room at the 1912 Center, 3rd and Adams, Moscow at 7:30 PM.
Know Your Grebes
by Tim Hillebrand
Western Grebes Skating on Water
To know the Grebes, you must become
acquainted with Clark’s Grebe, Eared
Grebe, Horned Grebe, Last Grebe, Piedbilled Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, and
Western Grebe. All these birds share
many traits in common such as giving
their babies rides on their backs, elaborate courtship behavior, eating their own
feathers, and lobed feet instead of
webbed feet like ducks. They are magnificent divers.
It has been a debate among ornithologists whether Loons and Grebes should
be placed in the same family because of
the many traits they share such as lobed
feet placed so far back on their bodies so
they cannot walk on land very well. But
finally taxonomists have separated these
two groups and determined that the
similarities are a case of convergent evolution with similar responses to similar
T HE P R A I R I E O WL
V O LU M E 4 2 I S S U E 2
Grebes Continued
Eared Grebe
environmental pressures. As it
turns out, Grebes are very closely
related to Flamingos and share
eleven features not found in other
birds.
The Western Grebe is common
in our area. It’s also the largest
Grebe measuring about 30 inches
long, weighing 4.4 pounds with a
wing span of up to 40 inches. Red
eyes embedded in a black head and
neck are distinctive. Western
Grebes can easily be confused with
Clark’s Grebes because of similar
coloration and behavior. But Clark’s
Grebe has white around its eyes
with an up-turned bright yellow bill
whereas the Western Grebe has a
PAGE 2
straight greenish yellow bill.
Clark’s babies are white and
Western’s are gray.
Speaking of babies, be on the
lookout for the young of both species hitching a ride on their parents’ backs. Most all Grebes offer
this service to their young.
Both species put on a regal
courtship dance which can involve
rhythmically bobbing heads and
necks forming a heart shape,
sword fighting beak thrusts, and
racing on the water like motorboats with necks and heads in an
arched posture. In fact, all the
Grebes seem to display a similar
mating behavior.
From the Prez
I'm sorry to report
that over the summer, we lost our
friend and colleague,
Tom Weber. Tom
wore many hats at Palouse Audubon-- President, Webmaster, Conservation Chair, newsletter editor,
and Christmas Bird Count
organizer and compiler. He was
also a prolific woodworker, and
constructed Bluebird houses and
our Ferruginous Hawk nesting platform. We're finding that it takes
many heads to fill the hats he
left behind.
.
The Board has been working on an
overhaul and re-design of our
Website, which should be up by
the time you read this. It's fitting
that we dedicate the Website to
Tom's memory, and have included
a page "Tom's Corner" to recognize individuals and projects in
keeping with his spirit.
Horned Grebe
WIN A FREE SIBLEY GUIDEBOOK!
The time to pay dues is now. Those who have paid by October
15 will be entered in a drawing for a copy of Sibley's Guide to Birds.
The winner will be announced at the October program meeting.
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
Financially supports the programs and activities of the Palouse Audubon Society and
includes an annual subscription to THE PRAIRIE OWL newsletter.
Annual Membership
$15.00
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For questions call: (208) 874-3207
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PAGE 3
T HE P R A I R I E O WL
Grebes continued
Follow this link if you want to see a video of this mating behavior: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=AkshIwdw7DY. It is really quite remarkable, and I
think you will enjoy it if you’ve never seen it before. Be
on the lookout for mating Grebes. Here’s another video
for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O8_DMfPJus
Eared Grebes are perhaps the most abundant of all
Grebes around the world. They are easy to recognize in
breeding plumage with their red eyes from which a
plume of golden feathers fan backwards into a black
head, neck and back. This plumage disappears in the
winter. These birds hold the record for being flightless
longer than any other species. They can be land bound
for up to nine or ten months out of the year.
In mating season Horned Grebes have an interesting
feather formation extending back and up into horns from
their red eyes. Their head hack of neck and back is black
with chocolate brown front neck and belly. This all disappears and turns black and white in winter. These
Grebes lay 3-7 light green eggs in a floating nest anchored to other vegetation.
Least Grebes hang out in Texas and Mexico. This diving bird can hide under water while breathing through
its beak barely visible above the surface. But you won’t
see one in our neck of the woods.
The distinctive characteristic about the Pied-billed
Grebe is that it displays a black ring around its bill during mating season, but it goes away in winter. It’s rare
to see this bird in flight as it prefers to escape by diving.
The Red-Necked Grebe has a reddish neck during
breading season with white cheeks and black eyes. The
red neck disappears after mating season.
V O LU M E 4 2 I S S U E 2
Bird Videos
When most people want to find information online
they Google it. But more and more people are learning that they can find a video on YouTube about almost any subject you can imagine. So, next time you
want information about a bird, check for it on YouTube.
There are a couple of birding documentaries I
highly recommend for your pleasure and edification.
The Life of Birds is an excellent BBC series hosted
by David Attenborough on Netflix; it’s also available
on YouTube.
Earthflight is another BBC production you can
find on PBS and Youtube. Currently, it is airing live
on Wednesdays at 8 PM. http://video.pbs.org/
program/nature/
Another great documentary I enjoyed recently is
about Snowy Owls in the Arctic. It’s called Magic of
the Snowy Owl.
You might also enjoy Ghost Bird, which is a documentary about the obsession of birders after a kayaker reported seeing an ivory-billed woodpecker.
Check out Birders: The Central Park Effect and
Bird Park, both on Netflix.
In the mood for a birding movie? Try The Big
Year if you haven’t seen it yet. This may be a movie
only a birder could love. To others, it’s a fowl flick.
Of course there’s always the classic 2001 Winged
Migration.
You will probably enjoy Fly Away Home, which is
a dramatic tale of a father and daughter trying to
lead a flock of orphaned Canada Geese south by air.
If you have a favorite bird video, please share it
with us on our Facebook page: https://
www.facebook.com/groups/364435749380/
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Red necked Grebe
PAGE 4
THE PRAIRIE OWL
November 20 Program
Palouse Audubon Donors
2012-2013
Elise
Augenstein
The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) in Texas
has a multitude of outstanding birding opportunities. Diane Ayton
There are nine distinctly different World Birding Cen- Stephen & Anna Banks
ters, three National Wildlife Refuges, and other public Carol Bradford
Sharon Cabeen & Dave
and private locations in the area that welcome birdWherry
ers. Many birds are unique to the region, including
Jack & Mary Carloye
White-tailed Hawk, White-tipped Dove, Green Parakeet, Common Pauraque, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Abbey Carpenter
Kelly Cassidy & George
Green Kingfisher, Great Kiskadee, Green Jay, ClayBall
colored Robin, Long-billed Thrasher, Bronzed CowJerry Cebula
bird, Altamira Oriole, and others.
Jean & Roger Chapman
Bruce and Lavon Frazier spent six days in April
2010 birding the LRGV. They visited six of the World Cheryl Clancy
Don & Joye Dillman
Birding Centers, all three NWRs, and several other
Ruth Dorman
locations, including the famed South Padre Island.
Valerie Drown
They will chronicle their trip, describe the varied
Vickie Fadness
birding opportunities in the LRGV, and share their
Judy Finch
photos of the specialty birds of the area including
Gloria Fischer
those listed above.
Bruce and Lavon are active PAS members. Bruce Joan Folwell
has been interested in birds since childhood and likes Ron Force
Maynard Fosberg
to photograph them. Lavon started birding 11 years
ago and keeps a written record of what they see. They Bruce & Lavon Frazier
both enjoy traveling and adding new birds to their life Jim & Emily Fredenburg
Carol Gordon
lists.
This program will be at 7:30, November 20, in the Donna Hanson
Ray & Bettie Hoff
Fiske Room of the 1912 Center in Moscow. It is free
Wiley Hollingsworth
and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
George Hudson
For more information, contact Lavon Frazier
Roger & Janice Inghram
at Lavon_Frazier@roadrunner.com or 509-332-7346.
Harry Jageman
Lyn & Mary Keefer
Rick & Kathy Kopel
Birding the Lower Rio Grande Valley
VOLUME 42 ISSUE 2
John & Alice Kramer
Glen & Mary Lanier
Lyndsay McCall
Dick McCray
Janet & Charles Mosier
Barbara Nakata
Steve & Linda Norton
Jean Olson
Marty O'Malley
Jane Parker & Dan
McLaughlin
Bill & Donna Parks
Larry Pulley
Patricia Rathmann
Marv Reed
Donna Schanaman
Ned & Carole Schroeder
Dave Skinner & Jo Bohna
Ken & Nancy Spitzer
Jim & Mary Ann Storms
Steve & Chris Talbott
Tom & Diane Weber
Richard & Barbara Wells
Eileen Whipple
John Wolff
Carolyn Wyatt
New Palouse Audubon Website
Green Jay
Great Kiskadee
Those attending the September program meeting got a
preview of the new PAS website. The reaction was very
positive! The new site is much improved over the old
one, with information easy to find under "tabs" including About Us, Activities & Events, Birding, and Citizen
Science. It has a page devoted to links to other Resources, a page for all digital issues of the Prairie Owl
Newsletter, and a page for Photos. All the content from
the old site has been brought forward to the new site,
with quite a bit of new and helpful information added.
Thanks to board members Becky Phillips, Ron Force,
Mike Costa, Marie Dymkoski, and Lavon Frazier for
their work on this. The website is being built by Bo
Ossinger, owner of Netpalouse Web Services in Palouse.
Watch for an email announcement in the next few
weeks that it's finished and ready for you to use!
V O LU M E 4 2 I S S U E 2
T HE P R A I R I E O WL
MEET THE BOARD
Lavon Frazier
Lavon grew up in
northern Wisconsin and
fondly remembers some of
the local birds - the
"jenny" (house) wren singing outside her window in
the spring, the ovenbird's
loud call in summer,
chickadees and nuthatches calling in the
winter forest, and great
"V" flocks of Canada geese
migrating in the fall. She
converted her hobby from
wild-flowers to birding in
order to keep pace with her husband Bruce when they
went on hikes - identifying flowers is a stationary activity and Bruce was always going on ahead looking for
birds. Lavon became a serious birder about 11 years ago
on a trip to California when Bruce was following a bird
on the ground (a California Towhee) to get a photograph
and she decided to take notes. They've been birding together ever since, looking for birds wherever they go and
traveling to add more birds to their life lists.
Lavon volunteered to be Palouse Audubon's treasurer
in 2010 after long-time treasurer Henry Willmes passed
away. Besides keeping the books and paying the bills,
Lavon has led field trips, participated in Christmas Bird
Counts, and helped with the Beginning Birding classes.
She developed the Wawawai County Park checklist and
spearheaded development of the new PAS website.
Lavon has a degree in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She and Bruce moved from
Madison to Pullman in 1975 with their two daughters,
and two sons were later born in Pullman. Lavon worked
at Information Technology Services at WSU for 29 years.
Now both retired, she and Bruce enjoy traveling to see
their nine grandchildren (CA, MN, OR, TX) and to find
new birds.
Their first birding trip was
to Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge in 2003. Their most
memorable trips have been to
southeast Arizona, central Florida, the gulf coast and Rio
Grande Valley in Texas, and
Point Pelee in Ontario Canada.
They will present "Birding the
Lower Rio Grande Valley" at
the November PAS meeting.
Lavon’s Favorite Bird—GBH
PAGE 5
Win this book - pay your
dues by October 15!
Wingtips
A group of Grebes is known as a water dance of Grebes.
Beginning Birding Class
Note that there will be no beginning birding
class this fall. Look for the announcement of a
beginning birding class this coming spring.
Wingtips
Over two billion copies of Angry Birds have been
downloaded. Don’t tell me birding isn’t popular.
October 12 Field Trip
Mike Clarke will lead a trip to Steptoe Butte to
look for late fall migrants. If time allows, we
will go to Rock Lake to look for waterfowl and
late shorebirds. Meet in the northwest corner of
the Walmart parking lot in Pullman at 7AM.
Return by early afternoon.
MEMBERSHIP
Palouse Audubon Society (PAS), PO Box 3606, Moscow ID
83843-1914, is a chapter of the National Audubon Society (NAS)
with its own dues. New NAS members in our chapter area receive
one year’s free membership in PAS, along with the chapter newsletter and other benefits of membership.
PAS dues of $15 are payable in September. Members may receive the chapter newsletter, The Prairie Owl, either by mail or
by email notification of its posting on the chapter’s website. Members are encouraged to read the newsletter online to save printing
and postage expenses. PAS members who have not renewed and
NAS members who have not paid dues after one year of membership are removed from the newsletter distribution list on December 31st.
General membership meetings are held at the 1912 Building,
FISKE ROOM, 3rd and Adams St, Moscow ID, at 7:30 p.m. on the
third Wednesday of each month, September through May. The
board of directors meets at the 1912 Center at 7:30 p.m. on the
first Tuesday of each month.
The Prairie Owl is published every other month, August
through April. Material for the Owl should be sent to the editor,
Tim Hillebrand, 857 Orchard Ave., Moscow ID 83843, 805-5189612, tshphd@gmail.com by the 20th of the month. Subscription
problems should be addressed to the membership chair, Ron
Force, PO Box 3606, Moscow ID 83843-1914, 208-874-3207, ronforce@gmail.com. Visit the Palouse Audubon Society website at
http://www.palouseaudubon.org/ or find us on Facebook.
PALOUSE AUDUBON SOCIETY
Palouse Audubon
Primary
Business Address
Society
YourBox
PO
Address
3606 Line 2
Your Address
Moscow
ID 83843-1914
Line 3
Your Address Line 4
NOW IS THE TIME TO HONE YOUR
SHOREBIRD ID SKILLS
The mission of the. Palouse Audubon
Society is to promote education,
conservation, and the restoration of
natural ecosystems--focusing on
birds, other wildlife, and their
habitats--for the benefit of humanity
and the Earth's biological diversity
We’re on the Web:
www.palouseaudubon.org
and on Facebook
Farewell Tom Weber, We Will Miss You
Thomas Lee "Tom" Weber, 65, of
Pullman, passed away Sept. 2, 2013,
at his Pullman home and surrounded
by his family. Tom was born Oct. 3,
1947, in Colfax, Wash., to LeRoy and
Trudy (Druffel) Weber. He graduated
from Colton High School in 1965 and
attended Yakima Valley College,
earning an associate degree. He then
attended Washington State University,
graduating in 1973 with a B.S. in electrical engineering. He met Diane Leonore Clow in 1974.
They were married in Colton in 1976 and made Pullman
their home.
He began working for Washington State University with
the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department in
1973. During his employment, he participated in groundwater research in eastern Washington and was systems
administrator for the department's computers when he retired in 2010 because of complications from multiple myeloma.
Tom was a man of diverse interests, including trap
shooting, fly-fishing, bird watching and woodworking. He
was a member of the Colton Gun Club, and in 1982 won
the Camas Prairie Handicap. He was a member of Clearwater Flycasters and served as president. He was an ac-
tive member of Palouse Audubon Society - he served several terms as president and was the newsletter editor for
many years. Tom was also an active woodworker. After
building a butcher block table for his mother in 1979, Tom
continued to craft many items for family and friends, including signs, toys, doll houses, jewelry boxes and furniture.
Tom was described by his family as an "exceptional
organizer" and spent many years researching the history
of his immediate and extended family, including the Weber, Druffel, Reisenauer and Lightfield families and had
recently expanded his research to include the Forsmann
family. Tom organized (some say instigated) many family
reunions and, at the conclusion of each reunion, sent each
family home with a copy of his research, including updated
family trees, photos and notes. Tom was a longtime and
active member of the Knights of Columbus. He joined the
order in Colton on Dec. 30, 1965.
Tom is survived by his loving wife, Diane, at the family
home in Pullman; his mother, Trudy, and father, LeRoy;
sister, Joan (Greg) Moser; brothers, Bernie (Marie) Weber,
Jerry (Sheyanna) Weber, Marty (Judy) Weber and Pat
(Mimi) Weber; six nieces and eight nephews; and eight
great-nieces and three great-nephews.