Text Box: CHIRP-N-CHATTER CALENDAR OF EVENTS

 

 

                                                                                              

                                                                    

              

President:  Bill Oliver                              Editor:  Jim Hutton

                                                                                                         

Meetings

 

TUE  JAN 3RD @ 7:00 PM—BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

 

TUE  JAN 10TH @ 7:00 PM—GENERAL  MEETING

 

TUE  FEB 7TH  @ 7:00 PM— BOARD  OF DIRECTORS MEETING

 

TUE  FEB 14TH @ 7:00 PM—GENERAL MEETING

 

Special Event: REDDING CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT!

 

MON  JAN 2ND @ 7:00 AM

 

Field Trips

 

SAT JAN 14TH @ 8:00 AM—2ND SATURDAY BIRD WALK

 

SAT JAN 21ST @ 7:30 AM—BATTLE CREEK STATE WILDLIFE AREA OUTING, BALD EAGLE SPECIAL

 

SAT FEB 4TH @ 8:00 AM—LEMA RANCH OUTING

 

SAT FEB 11TH @ 8:00 AM—SECOND SATURDAY BIRD WALK

 

SAT FEB 25TH @ 7:30 AM—SACRAMENTO RIVER NWR OUTING

 

 

 

JANUARY ACTIVITIES

 

Redding Christmas Bird Count—Monday, January 2, @ 7:00 A.M.

 

We will rendezvous at 7:00A.M. in front of the main entrance to the Redding Convention Center for assignments. Dinner and compilation will be in Redding at the Sundial Grill (formerly, Sue’s Country Kitchen) on Park Marina Drive, adjacent to the River Inn at about 5:00 P. M. Birders of all abilities are welcome. Beginning birders can drive or record and it’s a great way to learn the bird species in Shasta County. For details, contact Bill Oliver.

 

Board of Directors Meeting—Tuesday, January 3 @ 7:00 P.M.

 

Meet at the Classroom at the Turtle Bay Visitor Center.  All members are welcome.  Old and new business will be discussed.

 

General Meeting—Tuesday, January 10 @ 7:00 P.M.

 

Our beloved club members Linda and Phil Aldrich will present “Inviting Wild Birds to Our Home” for our January program.  Linda and Phil will discuss various methods on how to attract wild birds to our own yards! We all can provide for our visiting birds, especially during the winter months. Topics discussed will be feeing birds, landscaping and birdhouse construction.  The program will be at the Turtle Bay Visitor Center Auditorium.

 

 

 

***A note on our walks, outings, and field trips:  Wintu Audubon Society assumes no responsibility for injuries, personal or otherwise, incurred while attending society-sponsored activities and will not be held liable for accidents.  You attend at your own risk.  A responsible adult must accompany minors on all outings.  Rain cancels all activities. ***

 

 

 

 

Battle Creek State Wildlife Area and Bald Eagles—Saturday, January 21 @ 7:30 A.M.

 

The Battle Creek State Wildlife Area is one of the best places to view Bald Eagles--a species on the Endangered Species List. The population of this magnificent bird has rebounded over the last decade and represents a spectacular success for the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Now Rep. Richard Pombo from Tracy is proposing legislation to gut the ESA. We will discuss this new threat to the ESA while (we hope) viewing a major achievement of the Act—Bald Eagles. We will rendezvous at the Redding Convention Center at 7:30 am. Bring sturdy walking shoes for walking on a dirt (muddy?) path. We should return by early afternoon. Bruce Deuel from the California Dept. of Fish and Game and an expert on the Bald Eagles will be the leader. 

 

 

FEBRUARY ACTIVITIES

 

Lema Ranch Outing—Saturday, February 4 @ 8:00 A.M.

 

Lema Ranch, an oasis of open space in Redding, is an excellent place for a mid-winter birding walk.  The ponds, orchards, and fields of the McConnell Foundation Headquarters provide an abundance of birds.  We will look for American Bittern, American Kestrel, Lewis’s Woodpecker, American Pipit, and a variety of ducks.  Three years ago we found a Harris’s Sparrow, providing spirited club discussions in the field!  This will be a 2-3 hour walk.  We will meet at the North Parking Lot, off of Hemingway Street.  Hemingway Street is across from Mountain View School on Shasta View Drive.  Jim Hutton will be your leader.  Lema Ranch has recently added fine public restrooms, and their paved trails make this a very pleasant and rewarding winter bird walk.

 

Board of Directors Meeting—Tuesday, February 7 @ 7:00 P.M.

 

Meet at the Classroom at the Turtle Bay Visitor Center.  All members are welcome.  Activities for March and April will be discussed, as will old and new business.

 

Second Saturday Bird Walk—February 11 @ 8:00 A.M.

 

We will assemble again the Modular Building Parking Lot at Turtle Bay at 8:00 am. The walk will visit the same areas visited in January, but the variety of birds is constantly changing. We will see what birds are heading north!  John Coon will again be your leader.

 

General Meeting—Tuesday, Februray 14 @ 7:00 P.M.

 

Jay and Terry Theskin, members of the Shasta Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), will present “Birds and Native Plants”.  The program will highlight the society’s activities in the North State, including local field trips, programs, plant sales, grants and scholarships.  Jay and Terry will also share a few natural history slides from their recent trip to Costa Rica! Plan to attend this program—“birds and native plants” go together!  The program is at the Turtle Bay Visitor Center Auditorium.

 

Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge—Saturday, February 25 @ 7:30 A.M.

We will visit our newest National Wildlife Refuge in the local area. The Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge completed its management plan and opened some of the area to public use in Sept. 2005. The most accessible area is the Rio Vista Unit directly opposite the entrance to Woodson Bridge State Park on South Ave. SE of Corning. We will view an area of restored riparian vegetation, a stretch of the Sacramento River, and an area of mature riparian forest. We may visit Woodson Bridge S.P. as well. It has a large area of mature riparian forest on the west side of the Sacramento River along Kopta Slough. A very birdy trail runs along the slough. Bring a lunch and sturdy walking shoes for walking on a gravel road and a dirt (muddy?) path. We should return by early afternoon. We will rendezvous at the Redding Convention Center at 8:00 am. Bill Oliver will be your leader.

 

 Great Backyard Bird Count—February 17-20

 

Wintu Audubon invites you to participate in the eight annual Great Backyard Bird Count. Join backyard birders from Nome to Key West to assist scientists in determining the status of winter birds in North America. Details of the upcoming event, and results from past years can be found on www.birdsource.org. To participate: 1)count all birds in your backyard, local park, or other natural area; 2) watch for at least 15 minutes, ½ hour or more recommended; 3) for each species, count the highest number seen at any one time, without adding together counts for different days; 4) reports can be submitted for each of the four days. The results are submitted via the internet at www.birdsource.org. If you do not have internet access, you can phone in results to Bea Currie or Bill Oliver. Redding always makes a good showing, so please join in!

 

 

Trip Reports

 

Turtle Bay East Outing:  On December 3, eight Wintu Birders explored the rich bird habitats “across the river” in the Turtle Bay east areas.  They were rewarded with 67 species!  Highlights included a Red-breasted Merganser, two Bald Eagles, and three Glacous-winged Gulls.  They also saw an abundance of ducks, including Canvasbacks and Barrow’s Goldeneyes. 

 

Redding Wastewater Treatment Ponds:  On October 29, eleven Wintu Birders set out in foggy weather to bird the sewage ponds.  The fog provided quite a challenge, and birding by silhouette was the order of the day.  Some sunlight was found, and 44 species of birds were identified, including a hundred or so Wood Ducks, a Bald Eagle, American Pipit, American Kestrel, and six species of sparrows (Song, Savannah, White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Lincoln’s, and Fox)!

 

 


 

 “Birds and Their Habitat” class will be offered at Shasta College this spring.  The course, offered for two credit hours, will feature identification of local birds and natural history.  The course combines field trips and classroom.  It will be taught by yours truly, and meets Thursday afternoons March 9 through May 11, with three Saturday morning field trips.  Call me, or Shasta College at 225-4660 or log on to www.shastacollege.edu for more information. 

 

 

     Wintu Officers and Board of Directors

 

President

Bill Oliver

Vice-president

Connie Word

Treasurer

Nola Wade

Recording

Jennifer Ballard

Corresponding

Brenda Blinn

Conservation

Rebeca Franco

Education

DonGoodykoontz

Newsletter

Jim Hutton

Webmaster

Phil Aldrich

Programs

Rob Santry

Membership

George Horn

Hospitality

Jan Coon

 

Directors:  Linda Aldrich, Phil Aldrich, John Coon, Cathy Croce, Harriet Goodykoontz

 

Comings and Goings:  Where to watch birds in January and February (by Bob Yutzy).  While a few groups of birds are still passing through our region, most notably geese and ducks, generally our winter birds are either fully in or will be arriving any day now.  The best areas to bird are the Fall River/MacArthur area (especially Fall River Lake, Rat Farm Road and the Island Road bridge area), Kutras Lake and east Turtle Basy, Lema Ranch, Battle Creek Wildlife area, Reading Island and the Lone Tree Pond area of Anderson.  And don’t forget to check your feeders for new and different birds!…Loons should be looked for at any large, deep, body of water, especially Whiskeytown, Shasta, and Kutras Lakes.  Fall River Lake and Eastman lake (by Island Road bridge), each had a Common Loon on the recent Fall River Christmas Count and a Red-necked Grebe was found in the Island Road bridge area.  While at Kutras and any of these lakes, be sure to search through the Lesser Scaups for the more coastal Greater Scaup, as they are regular in the county in small numbers.  Gulls should be checked out for the regular one or two Thayer’s and Glacous-winged Gulls with the usual Ring-billed and California Gulls.  Also look around for a visiting Mew Bull and see if you can find the coast-loving Western Gull as one adult has already been seen around the Diestelhorst Bridge area... Fall River already has White-fronted Geese, Snow Geese, as well as Tundra Swans flying around.  By the way, have you heard the “swan song”?  Tundra Swan calls are one of the true calls of the wild in winter, along with that of Sandhill Cranes!… A small number of Rough-legged and a few Ferruginous Hawks are in the Glenburn area, and they should also be looked for on the Millville Plains, where one or two Ferruginous Hawks winter most years, as does a Prairie Falcon.  A Peregrine Falcon should have already put in its appearance around Kutras Lake and along the Sacramento River but we have had no reports, so keep an eye out.  Look for Peregines, Merlins, and Prairie Falcons in the Glenburn area… Lema Ranch is always worth a visit or two in the winter.  Check out the newly refurbished Battle Creek Wildlife area near Coleman Fish Hatchery.  But to really do justice to the wonderland of winter waterfowl that our north state has to offer, make sure to visit either the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge or possibly Gray Lodge Refuge.  They are at their best between November and February.  More’s the better if you can be there near dusk or dawn for a sensational sight and sound experience with thousands of honking geese and bugling swans.  You won’t be disappointed!

 

Conservation Corner:  Help Protect the Endangered Species Act.  Congress is currently considering a bill (HR 3824) that will completely undermine the Endangered Species Act by ignoring habitat critical for the recovery and survival of endangered and threatened wildlife.  The bill would further exempt all pesticide decisions from compliance with the ESA for at least five years.  The bill has been called the “Extinction Bill”.  How can you help?  Educate yourself about this important issue by viewing California Audubon’s Website at:  www.audubon-ca.org/action.htm.  Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.  Participate in our Jan. 21 field trip to Battle Creek, where we will be highlighting the ESA, along with remarkable bird viewing.  The bill has passed the House and is now in the Senate.  Contact Senator Diane Feinstein at 1 Post St. / Suite 2450 / San Francisco, CA  94105, or 415-393-0707 (or fax 415-393-0710).  Let her know the Endangered Species Act has successfully protected species like the bald eagle for more than 30 years and only 9 of 1800 species have gone extinct.  Its integrity must not be compromised!