Birdathon 2009
by Susan S. Walker
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Grab your binoculars and call some birding buddies! BIRDATHON 2009 is just around the corner,
beginning March 15 and ending at midnight May 15. This is a great way to spend a day birding while
competing for prizes and raising money for the Payne County Audubon Society.
Now is the time to--
- People your BIRDATHON team with avid “Thoners” and give it a prize-winning name.
- Check out the areas you will bird. Why not conduct your Birdathon at Red Slough on the spring FT?
Canada geese, screech owls, great horned owls, and wood ducks will be nesting. Anhingas and
osprey will be hanging out too.
- Enlist your sponsors—the more the better! Ask your doctors and dentist, ask your co-workers, ask
your friends and relatives, ask businesses that you frequent, ask your hairdresser. Ask your boss
if your company will match the funds you raise. And/or . . . sponsor yourself!
- Be sure to give prospective sponsors an idea of the number of species you are likely to see.
Explain that all donations are tax deductible and that sponsors may donate a flat amount or an
amount per species.
- Be sure to keep a list of sponsors’ addresses and amounts pledged and collected so that we can
send a thank-you Feathers to each sponsor.
Our primary objective is to raise money to support PCAS’s Nature Camp and Nature Day educational
programs. Funds raised are also used for PCAS scholarships, to maintain our web site, and to publish
Feathers.
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Join PCAS for March 28 & 29 Field Trip to Red Slough
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Join PCAS birders March 28 & 29 for our spring overnight field trip to Red Slough in southeast OK.
We will HQ at OSU’s Kiamichi Forestry Research Station east of Idabel, so no tents needed.
On Saturday morning we will be guided by Berlin Heck, Past Director at Little River NWR/master
naturalist and expert in SE OK region. Dave Arbour, who works part-time for the ODWC as a Biologist's
Aide at Red and Grassy Sloughs, will lead our Sunday morning birding trek.
To accommodate as many as possible, we will make two runs from Stillwater. The first run will take
place on Friday, March 27. On that day, we will carpool at 3 PM from the parking lot across from the
Municipal Building on Lewis St. We will stop for supper on the way down.
The second run, for those who cannot leave on Friday, will carpool out of the same parking lot at 7 AM
Saturday, March 28. Those making this run should still be able to get in an afternoon/evening birding on
Saturday and of course the morning birding trek led by David on Sunday.
Continental breakfasts (coffee, juice, rolls, cereal, hard boiled eggs, etc.) will be provided on
Saturday and Sunday before morning birding. Birders may also make themselves a brown bag lunch
(pb&j sandwich, chips, fruit) after breakfast or opt to pick up a sandwich for lunch. All of us will eat dinner
together at an Idabel restaurant on Saturday evening.
We will return to Stillwater after lunch on Sunday. Please RSVP to Les Imboden (lesnpat@yahoo.com)
or Susan Walker (bzzyb03@yahoo.com) so they can plan for transportation, accommodations, and food.
Red Slough has become one of the hottest recreational destinations for birders and other wildlife
enthusiasts in the U.S. To date, 293 bird species have been sighted and documented within the Red
Slough Wetland Reserve Project.
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From the President's Desk
by Susan S. Walker
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Shortly before Ed Glover died on Oct 14, 2008, he left with me a large pile of hand towels nicely
embroidered with “Birdathon 2008,” and a few eyeglass cases similarly embroidered. Ed must have
known that he would not live to distribute these to his 2008 Birdathon sponsors.
Though there were no instructions, it became clear to me that Ed wanted me to distribute these tokens
of his appreciation to his 2008 sponsors.
Thus, I invested some time and money in the project. I composed a thank-you letter on Payne County
Audubon letterhead, and used phone books and the Internet to complete the partial addresses Ed had
given me. Then I bought labels and printed mailing and return labels, bought mailing packets, and
bought stamps and envelopes so that I could include a self-addressed, stamped, envelope (SASE) with
each gift.
In each of the thank-you letters, I reached out to Ed’s fifty 2008 sponsors to ask each to please use
the SASE and again generously sponsor Ed, through me, in 2009.
Ed must have received about fifteen pledges after he had ordered the towels —designed and made by
one of his sponsors, Ruth Brown of ‘Riginals by Ruth — because I came up short. To these of Ed’s
sponsors, I sent a thank-you letter only.
Now it is my turn to say THANK-YOU to those who have responded to date, helping me raise over
$600 in Ed’s name: Baker Animal Clinic, Jim & Brenda Bose, Billie Chambers, Gayla Dollar, Leroy & Martha
Fischer, Ruth Ann Lloyd, Dulaney’s Retail Liquor, Ed & Marsha Granstaff, Martin & Janet Hagen, Jim & Ann
Halligan, Mary Kay Jennings, Max & Aiko Knotts, Cindy Marshall, Katherine McCollum, Paul & Jean
McMullen, Walter E. Price, Cynthia Shawley, and Craig Stone.
Thank you all for your generous contributions. Because of you, Ed’s Birdathon lives after him . . . at
least for 2009.
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Birdwatcher: The Life Of Roger Tory Peterson
Book Review by Susan S. Walker
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Roger Tory Peterson, author of A Field Guide to Birds first published in 1934 has been the inspiration
for many of today’s field guides and professional birders alike, but he and his field guide also inspired
thousands of backyard and hobbyist birders such as I. Thus it was with great pleasure when Elizabeth
Rosenthal, the author of Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson, asked me to review her book in
Feathers.
Rosenthal’s own words are far better than mine in providing an abstract of her book: “. . . Peterson
played a central role in the expansion of birding not only in the US, but also in Europe and East Africa. My
book details these things, and demonstrates the breadth of his involvement and leadership in nature
education and many of the most celebrated conservation causes of the 20th century. From his early 20s
onward, Peterson was teaching about all aspects of nature, sometimes informally, sometimes formally,
through his writings, lectures, books and work with various conservation organizations.
“Also, the reader learns about Peterson the Man: What motivated him, personal and professional
challenges he faced, and his personal impact on many of today's top birders and conservationists.”
Through interviews with over 100 of his friends, family, and fellow naturalists, Rosenthal paints a portrait
of a man quite obsessed with conservation and the natural world. Peterson was prolific and focused, his
lifestyle seeing him in the field or in his studio shutting out all else for days on end.
Rosenthal, however, shows us that Peterson while singular was not single-minded: He was a husband,
father, artist, photographer, writer, filmmaker, conservationist, naturalist, and scientist.
Though birds were his first love, Peterson also wrote a series of field guides on different natural history
topics from wildflowers and ferns to butterflies and animal tracks. He also wrote the wildly popular (at
least to us birders) Wild America, an account of his journey around the continent with his British
colleague and friend James Fisher.
Birdwatcher is a wonderful book. The next time you are at the Stillwater Public Library, check out their
copy, or better yet, buy yourself a copy. This is a book you will want to own.
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In My Yard
by Joyce Konigmacher
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There have been some exciting things happen since I last wrote, back in November of 2008. In early
December, a pair of Mallards arrived at the neighborhood pond, which I can see from my kitchen window.
Every day they swam around the edges of the pond, up-ending themselves to eat bottom-growing
vegetation. When they stick their heads under the water, it looks like their bodies are on pivots . . .
down goes the front half of the body, up comes the butt. It never stops looking comical, no matter how
many times I see this.
In January, our OK winter REALLY settled in. A flock of white-crowned sparrows appeared. I have
seen very few, in past years, so this was exciting to see. Also exciting was the fact that many of the
individuals in the flock were immatures. This is easy to recognize because, the youngsters sport beige
and brown ‘bicycle helmets’ while their elders wear black and white.
A large flock of Harris sparrows began to show up too. I know that they spend their nights in a pile of
brush on the other side of the pond, because I have heard their monotone songs coming from that area
when I take my dogs for a walk.
The weekend before the January ice storm, a Eurasian-collared Dove was among the usual flock of
mourning doves. That bird was a ‘lifer’ for me, so I was VERY excited to see it. It was here on Saturday
and Sunday, and I haven’t seen it since. But I got a really good look at it during those two days.
A pair of yellow-bellied sapsuckers have been feeding on the suet, and trying to peck peanut butter off
a feeder that is way too small for them to land on. More comical entertainment is provided while
watching them perform acrobatics and body contortions as they try to find a position where they can
hang onto the tree trunk, stretch their necks out, and peck at a swaying piece of peanut-butter smeared
wood.
The agile ruby-crowned kinglet has a much easier time of eating the suet, and the peanut butter. This
is the third winter that I have been a hostess for this fascinating little feathered friend. I never see two
at a time, so I don’t know if there is a pair of them, or if there is only one very active guy who can appear
at suet feeders in both the front and back yard within minutes apart. This bird shows almost no fear of
me. Perhaps he is as curious about me as I am about him.
In mid-January, I noticed that the mallard drake was the only one swimming around in the pond. Didn’t
see the female at all, and I got worried. Then another stranger began to show up . . . a male shoveler.
What a beauty he is. He and the lone male mallard have apparently become buddies, because I see
them swim together daily. They take their naps at the same time, hiding among the branches of a tree
that grows at the pond’s edge.
On Valentine’s Day, a female mallard was swimming with the dynamic duck duo. The following day, she
was not there. Perhaps neither of the guys paid any attention to her, and she decided to move on to
another pond, in search of mate.
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Bird Watching Memories
by Jerry Wilhm, III
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Recently my father, retired PCAS President Jerry Wilhm (Jr.), mentioned that the Payne County
Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count was approaching. That made me recall that this would mark 40
years since I went on my first bird watching outing. (I know the term bird watching is outdated, but that’
s what we called it then.) Forty years sounds like forever, but it sure has flown by, no pun intended. That
was the 1968 Payne County Audubon Christmas Count on December 26. I guess it used to be closer to
Christmas than it is now. I was all of 12, and was accompanied by three friends: John Grula who was a
high school Junior and an avid bird watcher, Tom Grula, John’s brother and my friend who was a year
older than me, and Mr. Dana Cole, a college student who was our coach on the Stillwater Aquatic Club
and was also a veteran bird watcher.
I can still remember assembling that morning, although I don’t remember where, and breaking into
groups to cover the county count area. Our group of four went to Boomer Lake and some place called
Airey Acres, although I don’t know where that is now. How do I know we went there? I still have my first
book, The Green Book of Birds of America, complete with my notes. This book was all of 57 pages with
nice drawings of 52 birds. A companion book was The Yellow Book of Birds, but that belonged to my
younger sister Jackie, who wouldn’t let me have it. (Although I have it now.)
I don’t remember names of others on the Christmas Count of 1968, except for the president, a woman
by the name of Zella Moorman. I guess that’s a name you don’t forget. I did catch the bird watching bug
after that, and continued through high school.
The four of us would regularly go out on weekend mornings, primarily in the winters. Locally, we went
to Lake Carl Blackwell, Boomer Lake and Cow Creek, among other places. Sometimes we would go out
to Salt Plains. I still remember seeing Bald Eagles out there. I remember that the four of us guys would
be kind of embarrassed about bird watching, and sometimes cover it up when we ran into other people.
Well, one time at Salt Plains we said we would no longer be ashamed to be bird watchers. Shortly after
our vows, we ran into a friendly older man who asked: “How are you boys doing?” To which we all loudly
replied: “WE’RE BIRD WATCHERS!” I still recall his confused look as he quickly walked off.
I occasionally attended guest speakers of the Payne County Audubon club and remember going on
other counts such as a spring hawk count. I am no longer involved in bird watching other than
observations with my wife, Cathy, at our several feeders and pond here in rural Lower Michigan. But I
have many fond memories and was happy to share some of them at this milestone.
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Cork Attends Environmental Education Expo at OKC Zoo
by Crystal Cork, PCAS Nature Programs Coordinator
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I was able to attend the Environmental Education Expo last Friday [1-30], representing PCAS, with my
Nature Camp Shirt on! I was pleased to see that we have a link on their web site.
The day was full of very useful seminars educating children about the wonders of nature. I met some
good contacts and made some new friends. I met a lady . . . I told her I wanted to be her when I grow
up! She sent me home with a very old mink that had been one of many attached to a coat. Kinda creepy
but very cool! I wore a buffalo hide for as long as I could hold it up! She gave great tips on giving a skins-
and-skulls presentation. I have a whole new appreciation for fur pieces!
We had door prizes that were art by Stillwater artist, Joe Rackley. I won a beautiful piece of glass
with raccoon prints, standing in a really interesting piece of wood. I was also the lowest bidder at the
silent auction on The Last Child in the Woods. I have read it from the library and was very excited to add
it to my own library.
After lunch we had the great opportunity to hike the Oklahoma Trail Exhibit. We were very lucky: 1)
The director in the beginning said it would probably be way too icy but later decided that maybe nature
nerds would not sue for falling down; 2) We were the only people in the whole Zoo! It was fabulous. The
zoo had been closed due to the ice storm, so the animals were out and about playing in the ice and
snow!
I’m very excited about PCAS Nature Camp!
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Birders Brave Cold Weather for Stillwater Christmas Bird Count
by Jim Ownby
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Members and friends of Payne County Audubon Society participated in the 109th National Audubon
Society Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 20, 2008.
The day was windy, with a cold front moving in that saw temperatures drop to below freezing during
the afternoon. Twenty-five birders tallied 95 species and over 27,000 birds in the count area, which is
177 square miles, centered seven miles west of Stillwater.
Highlights of the day were enormous flocks of American Robins and various blackbirds, as well as rarities
such as Mountain Bluebird, Greater Yellowlegs, and Swamp Sparrow. Species that were notably absent
were Northern Bobwhite, Loggerhead Shrike and Greater Roadrunner.
The complete unofficial tally was:
Pied-billed Grebe, 23; American White Pelican, 1; Double-crested Cormorant, 1; Great Blue Heron, 17;
Greater White-fronted Goose, 20; Canada Goose, 1908; Cackling Goose, 3; Mallard, 212; Gadwall, 73;
Green-winged Teal, 22; American Wigeon, 36; Northern Pintail, 44; Northern Shoveler, 46; Blue-winged
Teal, 24; Wood Duck, 4; Canvasback, 13; Ring-necked Duck, 81; Lesser Scaup, 16; Bufflehead, 16;
Hooded Merganser, 26; Common Merganser, 3; Bald Eagle, 3; Northern Harrier, 37; Sharp-shinned
Hawk, 2; Cooper’s Hawk, 2; Red-shouldered Hawk, 9; Red-tailed Hawk, 23; American Kestrel, 9; Merlin,
2; Wild Turkey, 48; American Coot, 9; Greater Yellowlegs, 13; Killdeer, 4; Common Snipe, 6; Ring-billed
Gull, 120; Bonaparte’s Gull, 4; Herring Gull, 1; Rock Pigeon, 2; Mourning Dove, 41; Eastern Screech-Owl,
1; Great Horned Owl, 3; Barred Owl, 5; Belted Kingfisher, 6; Red-headed Woodpecker, 5; Red-bellied
Woodpecker, 30; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 4; Downy Woodpecker, 16; Hairy Woodpecker, 2; Northern
(Yellow-shafted) Flicker, 14; Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker, 4; Eastern Phoebe, 1; Horned Lark, 15; Blue
Jay, 220; American Crow, 222; Carolina Chickadee, 40; Tufted Titmouse, 16; Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1;
White-breasted Nuthatch, 5; Brown Creeper, 4; Carolina Wren, 18; Bewick's Wren, 1; Winter Wren, 1;
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 9; Golden-crowned Kinglet, 16; Hermit Thrush, 1; Eastern Bluebird, 116; Mountain
Bluebird, 3; American Robin, 17,121; Northern Mockingbird, 37; Cedar Waxwing, 969; European Starling,
641; Yellow-rumped Warbler, 143; Orange-crowned Warbler, 1; Northern Cardinal, 123; Spotted
Towhee, 5; American Tree Sparrow, 7; Field Sparrow, 21; Savannah Sparrow, 8; LeConte's Sparrow, 6;
Fox Sparrow, 6; Song Sparrow, 17; Swamp Sparrow, 3; White-throated Sparrow, 18; White-crowned
Sparrow, 7; Harris’ Sparrow, 98; Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco, 461; Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco, 1;
Smith’s Longspur, 1; Red-winged Blackbird, 17; Brewer’s Blackbird 2,357; Brown-headed Cowbird, 3;
blackbird sp., 1,422; Eastern Meadowlark, 10; Western Meadowlark, 54; Pine Siskin, 7; American
Goldfinch, 96; Purple Finch, 4; House Finch, 14; and House Sparrow, 77.
Birders who participated in the count were Angela Allred, Jesse Burton, John Couch, James & Suzanne
Cowley, Andy Crosby, Damona Doye, Dwayne & Leslie Elmore, Andy George, Susan Hovis, Pat Jaynes,
Helen Jordan, Lynn Malley, Helen & Leslie Miller, Adrian Monroe, Tim O’Connell, Jim & Charlotte Ownby,
Zac Roehrs, Elaine Stebler, Susan Walker, and Jerry & Nona Wilhm.
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Flights of Fancy: Fabled Lands of the North
by Iris McPherson
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On September 5, 2008, my friend, Doris Mayfield, and I left Tulsa for Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. We
finally arrived there late the following day after an overnight stay in Ottawa. There, along with 103 fellow
passengers, we boarded the National Geographer Explorer, a newly renovated ice-class ship, owned by
National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions.
Overnight the ship made its way along the 100 mile long Kangerlussuaq Fjord, so we would be in
position to tour the second largest town in Greenland, Sisimuit, which was a former trading post and
whaling port. Most of the towns that we visited were very colorful. All of the buildings were painted
bright colors. I suppose this was to break the monotony of the black and gray rocks and many dark, gray
days they have. I discovered very quickly that there is fall color in the tundra. The plants had turned a
myriad of bright colors, which made delightful scenes with the bright greens of moss, the ripe berries on
some plants, the many colors of lichen, and the black and gray rocks.
Our second day was spent around Ilulissat, which is an Inuit fishing village. Hiking out from there, we
were able to see some of the Ilulissat Glacier, which is a tongue of the Greenland Ice Cap. This was
where we saw the really big icebergs. We looked at them from the land, and later we went out on local
fishing boats to experience them up close. You really feel small as you make your way through the maze
of icebergs in the small boat. For the next couple of days, while we were around Baffin Island, we
continued to see icebergs.
Whales were sighted several times during the trip. Sightings were always announced over the ship’s
intercom, but that didn’t guarantee that by the time you got on deck the whale would reappear. I did get
to see a minke whale and northern bottlenose whales. The bottle-nose whales were fun to watch. We
could see them from the big window in our cabin. They were very curious and stayed near the ship for
quite awhile.
Of course, we had all hoped to see polar bears, and we certainly got our wish. Our first sighting was
from the ship, but the crew quickly got the Zodiacs in the water and took us quite close to shore where a
bear was feeding on an almost bare whale carcass. We were fortunate enough to see several examples
of polar bear behavior. We watched female bears with cubs making a stand against male bears that got
too close. We saw two young bears chased the length of an island by a large male.
Walruses were spotted around Monument Island, so Zodiacs took us out, and we got a good look at
them. Some were sunning themselves on the rocks, but the rest were “playing” in the water. There were
a lot of them in the water, and there was a lot of splashing going on.
I was disappointed when I found that most of the birds had already left for the year. There were
large numbers of birds still there, but just not many species. There were 40 species seen on the trip, but
usually it was one sighting by one or two people, who happened to be on deck and saw the bird. I saw
only 16 species!
We anchored off of Akpatok Island where the thick-billed murres nest. They evidently nest late in the
year, because they were still there with fledglings. They nest on narrow ledges on the cliffs, and the
polar bears patrol below the cliffs eating any eggs or young that fall from the ledges. The polar bear’s
main diet, however, is ringed seals, which they can catch when there is ice. During the part of the year
when there is no ice, the bears don’t get much to eat. They try to conserve their energy, so picking up
the fledgling morsels that fall from the ledges doesn’t cost much energy.
The weather wasn’t as cold as I thought it might be, but the wind and rain we had some days made
me glad I was wearing four layers of clothes.
I’d like to repeat the trip earlier in the year when the majority of the breeding birds are still there.
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Quarterly Quiz to Make You a Wiz
by Jerry Wilhm
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BIRDS AS MASCOTS
Many university and professional teams have selected birds as their mascots. Give the name of the team
for each of the following. Several answers are possible for some; my answers are at the bottom of this
page.
_____________________ 1. Cardinals
_____________________ 2. Eagles
_____________________ 3. Golden Eagles
_____________________ 4. Falcons
_____________________ 5. Owls
_____________________ 6. Ducks
_____________________ 7. Orioles
_____________________ 8. Blue Jays
_____________________ 9. Hawks
_____________________ 10. Blackhawks
_____________________ 11. Sea Hawks
_____________________ 12. Raptors
_____________________ 13. Gamecocks
_____________________ 14. Thrashers
_____________________ 15. Ravens
_____________________ 16. Penguins
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Birding Etiquette Do's and Don'ts
by Susan S. Walker
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As our PCAS birding treks increase and the number in our birding groups grow, I thought it might be
helpful to provide some guidelines for group birding etiquette, so gathered the following from the
Internet.
What is the first rule of birding etiquette? Be quiet. Whether in a group, or alone, walk quietly and talk
as little as possible. When you must talk to share a sighting or an observation, talk in a whisper. It is
important to keep quiet as you watch. Talk will keep the birds away. It also is distracting and makes it
difficult to hear bird songs/calls or the trek leader.
The second most important rule of birding etiquette is to be still often and to look for movement. When
you stand still, you are better prepared to detect movement around you . . . and birds will be less likely
to detect you.
There are many other group birding rules of etiquette that will make a bird trek more enjoyable and
eventful for you and the others with you.
Read some of these basic birding etiquette Do’s and Don’ts in the nest below and on page 9.
Adhering to a proper etiquette benefits everyone—birds and humans alike!
BIRDING ETIQUETTE DO'S
- Promote the welfare of birds and their environment
- Wear appropriate, muted, natural-color clothing
- Use calls, whistles, and recordings selectively
- Limit talk to relevant questions/observations
- Tread lightly and respect boundaries
- Stay behind and near the leader
- Walk and talk quietly (whisper)
- Let the leader do the talking
- Pack out any trash you find
- Stay on the trail
BIRDING ETIQUETTE DON'TS
- Do not stress the birds you are attempting to view
- Stay on the trail and do not disturb trailside plants
- Do not disturb nesting birds by approaching their nests
- Limit the use of photography and playback devices
- Avoid wearing bright or reflective colors
- Do not roam about ahead of the group
- Turn your cell phone off or to "vibrate"
- Do not trespass on private property
- Do not Talk unnecessarily
- Leave your pets at home
- Do not smoke
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A Little Birdie Told Me
by Susan S. Walker
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Millions of BB
I participated in the Sooner CBC with Suzanne & Jim Cowley. The biggest thrill of the day for me was
seeing the millions (that’s not a misprint) of blackbirds—common grackles, great-tailed grackles, Brewer’s
blackbirds, red-winged blackbirds, starlings—flowing across the sky from all directions to roost on an
island in Sooner Lake. The sky was black with them for nearly an hour.
CBC Memoirs of a Fledgling Birder
Jerry Wilhm Jr. reports that his son—Jerry Wilhm III— was visiting just before the Audubon Christmas
Bird Count and related the story about his participation 40 years ago. Jerry asked his son to write up his
memories of that count. You can read this recollection on page 4.
Jerry III and his wife, Cathy, live in Michigan. Jerry got his Ph.D. at Michigan State and is research
director for a nitrogen fertilizer firm. Cathy works for Lansing Community College. I hear that both are still
interested in bird watching and contribute to PCAS, even now after dad has stepped down as president.
Huzzah! Huzzah! to Imboden & Scott
Hear that PCAS treasurer Les Imboden met with Jim Scott of Parks, Events & Recreation in early
January re proposed PER $200 per day rental fees at Sanborn. Meeting had a happy conclusion! PER
decided that PCAS Nature Day and Nature Camp are valuable community services that they can help us
provide by providing the location without a charge, except for services actually rendered such as
providing picnic tables and trash cans. Thank you PER!
OK Audubon Council Meeting
Les Imboden and I traveled to Oxley Nature Center in Tulsa, Saturday, Jan 10, to attend an OK Audubon
Council Meeting. Under OAC President John Kennington’s leadership, a good part of the meeting was
spent reviewing plans for the Council’s April lesser prairie-chicken festival in Woodward. We also heard
from Jay Pruett, OK Nature Conservancy’s Director of Conservation, about the pros and cons of wind
energy in OK, and from Eric Beck, OK IBA Coordinator, about his winning a $10,000 NAS/Toyota
TogetherGreen grant and about our state IBA program. So far the Selman Ranch has been recognized as
a global IBA. The status of other identified/nominated IBAs in Oklahoma can be found here.
Please Report Sightings of Marked Bluebirds
Some of you may have noticed that on our calendar, Jennifer Grindstaff’s program “Bluebirds of Payne
County” scheduled for March 5 is now a program about birds of Utah by Brett Cooper and Paul van Els.
Had to squeeze in Paul before his visa expired, so moved Bluebirds of Payne County to our opening
program on September 3rd. Jennifer’s only request: “Please tell everyone to be on the lookout for
marked bluebirds—those with a silver and a colored leg band—and please report the location of your
sighting and the sex of the bird to me at jen.grindstaff@okstate.edu.”
Condolences
My deepest condolences to Helen Jordan on the loss of her companion Julia McHale January 14. What a
person Julia was! Until I read her obituary, I’d no idea of Julia’s scholarly background, her OSU teaching,
her Fulbright, and her time with the armed forces at the end of WWII. Nor did I know that she was
originally a "New Yawka" like me. Helen was lucky to have Julia as a companion for so many years. I
know she will be dearly missed.
Cork takes PCAS to Earth Day
Thank you Crystal Cork for representing PCAS at Earth Day activities on the OSU Campus April 22.
Your PCAS Board in Action
This is a year of necessary fundraising efforts for PCAS. Your board has tossed around several ideas
(silent auction, calendar, grants, raffle, etc.) and is presently pursuing grants. If you have any good
fundraising ideas, by all means get in touch with us! Presently our only yearly income is from Birdathon
and new memberships. Like the rest of the nation, we are in a money crunch.
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Ownby Presents Tanzania Photo Safari Program
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On February 5, Jim Ownby gave a remarkable presentation of his April 2008 photo safari to Tanzania in
east Africa.
He stayed first at Lake Manyara and then on the 7500-foot rim of Ngorongoro Crater. Jim reported that
the crater’s 12-mile wide caldera contains nearly all of east African wildlife in microcosm.
Pampered in 5-star safari resorts and by his own personal driver/guide, Stephen Massey, Ownby
took his photos from a Toyota Land Cruiser that had been modified so that the roof could be raised.
Shaded by the roof and safe from lions, Ownby placed his telephoto lens on beanbags on the roof edge
and shot standing up from the Land Cruiser.
And what shots he got: Lesser flamingos, grey-headed kingfisher, Nubian woodpecker, Fischer’s
lovebirds, blue-naped mouse birds, a stunning paradise whydah—actually a cowbird-like nest parasite—
with immensely long rump feathers in breeding season; beautiful double-collared sunbird; a superb
starling looking like it had pulled on a pair of chestnut- colored breeches and a silky blue/green topcoat.
Jim also photographed African mammals: Giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, rhinos, warthogs, lions, a curious
looking bat-eared fox, a serval (cat), and several cheetahs, one a famous female who had raised, fed,
and defended six cubs to “teenhood.”
Attending were: Monika Burchette, Vince Cavalieri, John Couch, Jim & Suzanne Cowley, Glenda
Dennis, Lena Dennis, Sidney Ewing, Leota Fritchman, Kenneth Guest, Sarah Kimball, Josh Mathis,
Ashley Miller, Freddy Miller, Helen Miller, Glen Niebaum, Alicia Norton, Thea Pratt, Nikki Smith, Will
Soderstrom, Susan Walker, Jerry & Nona Wilhm, and several others who slipped out before signing
the attendance roster.
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January Couch Park Bird Trek
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Jim Cowley, Suzanne Cowley, Patty Imboden, Les Imboden (Trek Leader), Mai Onoue, Marla Steele,
and Susan Walker met at the Kameoka Trailhead in Couch Park January 17th for our first Bird Trek of
2009. Temps were in the mid 30s so there were lots of birds searching out food to stoke their engines:
flocks of starlings, juncos, goldfinches, house finches, yellow-rumped warblers, eastern bluebirds, and
robins, as well as “all the usual suspects”. . . mourning dove, American crow, cardinal, blue jay, red-
bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, Carolina chickadee, Carolina wren, ruby-crowned kinglet,
northern flicker, red-shouldered hawk, and mockingbird, if memory serves. We birded for about an hour
and a half. By the time we got back to the cars, temps were in the 40’s. Marla and Mai were off to Teal
Ridge for more birding, Les to the tennis courts, and the rest of us to various other Saturday pursuits.
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Send a Kid to Camp
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NO KID LEFT INDOORS
This summer the kids in our community need your help again to experience the wonders of nature and
the freedom of outdoor exploration. Help a kid unplug the computer, turn off the TV, and tune in to
nature . . .
With your help, a child can still experience the wonders of nature this June at PCAS Nature Camp I or
Nature Camp II. Yes, this year our day camp will be expanded to TWO 1-week sessions: June 1-5 and
June 8-12!
Some families, particularly those with several children, need your help to pay the camp tuition.
Please sponsor a child with a scholarship for full tuition ($65) or partial tuition ($35), but only if you were
once a kid yourself.
Send your scholarship tuition to:
PCAS Nature Camp, c/o Les Imboden, Treasurer
Payne County Audubon, P.O. Box 82,
Stillwater, OK, 74076.
Do it today so that no camper is turned away!
To enroll a camper, contact Crystal Cork: auntcrynk@hotmail.com or phone, 405-880-7117.
SEND A KID TO CAMP!
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It's the Law
by Patty Imboden
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In the early 20th century, birds were being hunted for their feathers. These feathers were used to
decorate women's hats. Some species with beautiful plumes, such as the Snowy Egret, were reduced to
very low populations.
Fortunately, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 helped save many species of birds.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is a commitment by four countries to protect birds that are regularly
found in each country. These countries are the U.S., Russia, Japan, and Mexico. This act made it illegal to
collect or posses any bird, feather, egg, or nest.
Birds—other than game birds—found in the U.S. that are not protected by any laws include the House
Sparrow, Rock Dove, and European Starling. These three species are not native to our country. They
were brought here from Europe.
So if you find a beautiful feather lying on the ground what should you do? The best thing is to pick it
up, study and enjoy it, and then put it back where you found it. The same thing goes for any abandoned
eggs or nests you find.
In order to keep any part of a bird, you need to have two special permits. One from the state where
you are collecting birds, and the other from the federal government.
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