September-October 2006 Wrentit Newsletter ~ Pasadena Audubon Society

8/8/2019 September-October 2006 Wrentit Newsletter ~ Pasadena Audubon Society

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Volume 54 – No. 4 September-October 2006

President’s Perch

November ProgramOctober Program

General Meetings held at:Eaton Canyon Nature Center1750 N. Altadena Drive, Pasadena

7:00 pm Social7:30 pm Program

Septem ber Program

Drawing byGuy Coheleach Pasadena Audubon Society

A Chapter of National Audubon Society

To bring the excitement of birds to our community through birding, educationand the conservation of bird habitats.

WRENTITFounded 1904

THE

The image of shorebirds conjures upmany thoughts and emotions for

birders. They are beautiful and extremelyvaried. They are superb fliers and under-take long-distance migrations, thusvagrancy is common in this group. Theyrange from some of the easiest birds toidentify to some of the most difficult.Fortunately, most species aren’t hard tomaster with a little effort. Mickey and Jonwill highlight the species that regularlyoccur in our area, as well as the “expected”rarities. As usual, we’ll cover aspects of natural history and distribution, as well asidentification.

Wednesday’s presentation will befollowed by a field trip on Saturday,September 23 for some “hands on” in-fieldexperience. Details for the field trip will be

available at the meeting.

Shorebirds – ID WorkshopWednesday, September 20, 2006Mickey Long and Jon Fisher

Hooked on Galapagos BirdsWednesday October 18, 2006Tom Kaminski

Those of you who recall TomKaminski’s “Hooked on Humming-

birds” presentation will be pleased tolearn that he will join us again at ourOctober meeting, when he will presenthis newest documentary: “Hooked onGalapagos Birds.” Like its predecessor,it is both educational and entertaining.And it again uses slow motion, stopmotion, extreme close-up videographyand other techniques to help the viewersee very clearly some of the fascinatingbehaviors that they otherwise may miss.Among other things, viewers get to:

• Swim with Galapagos Penguins asthey slice through their prey...

• See a Frigate bird literally drag aBlue-footed Booby through the air...

• Join a Lava Heron – unique to the

Galapagos Islands – as it sneaks upon a Sally Lightfoot Crab...

• Observe Storm Petrels walking onwater...

• Watch a Galapagos Hawk devour itsprey, then sneeze...

• Be introduced to the FlightlessCormorant, “Darwin’s Finches,” andmany, many other bird species.Kaminski couldn’t resist throwing in

one of Ecuador’s fabulously beautifulhummers during brief footage of placesto visit in and around Quito, Ecuador’scapitol city.

Urban Tropicana: TheParrots of SouthernCaliforniaNovember 15, 2006Larry Allen

In this Issue

Conservation 2

BIRDATHON Report 3

Field Trip Reports 4

Field Trips 5Calendar/Trip Leaders 6

Magpie Group 7

Remembering Winnie 7

Membership Application 7

Kid’s Corner 8

New Members 8

W

hen you think of parrots, do youenvision steaming tropical jungles?

A pirate with a macaw on his shoulder?Well, how about Southern Californiasuburbia? In fact, the Southland is hometo more than a dozen naturalized speciesof parrots and parakeets. Larry willdiscuss origins of the local flocks, thebiological factors that help them succeedhere, and the identification of our locallybreeding species. A handout will supple-ment the lecture. There will be a Parrot-viewing Field Trip on the Saturdayfollowing this presentation.

Larry Allen is Project Coordinator forthe Los Angeles County Breeding Bird

Atlas and a member of the CaliforniaParrot Project. He conducts annual gullworkshops for the Los Angeles AudubonSociety and the Morro Bay Winter BirdFestival. His research interests includegulls, psittacids, and desert birds.

This is a beginning of an exciting newyear at Pasadena Audubon Society.

Looking back at the past year, “it was avery good year”. We put on a successfulBirdfest in November. We received alarge bequest in December to fund PASand we obtained the three grants neededto fund the Cobb Estate Trail project.

Looking forward to this year, we planto complete the Cobb Estate Trailproject. We are planning a new birdingevent (Birding: Basics and Beyond – see

enclosed flyer ).Additionally, this year we will

increase our focus on Conservationissues. I want to thank Laura Garrettfor agreeing to be our Chair forConservation.

And, a big welcome to TheWrentit’s new editor, Mark Hunter!



PAGE 2 The Wrentit

C ons erva t i on ...And Why It Matters

What happens at the Salton Sea is asimportant to birds as was the first

Audubon fight to keep them from beingslaughtered in the name of fashion. Notonly because of the sheer numbers of birds affected, (literally millions), butalso because water is rapidly becomingso scarce for wildlife. It is imperative thatwe back up the fight we started at MonoLake and continue ensuring that wildlifehas a legal right to water and thatproviding water for wildlife is considereda “beneficial use” of water.

So, why won’t the birds just gosomewhere else if the Salton Sea driesup? In the 1800’s California had 5million acres of wetlands. In the year2000 California had about 450,000 acresof wetlands left – so birds from thePacific, Central and Atlantic flyways, alluse the Salton Sea as a stopover spot.This translates into literally millions of

birds using the Sea and surroundingagricultural lands, some traveling from asfar north as Russia and as far south asPeru. The Sea hosts hundreds of thou-sands of shorebirds (44 different species)during their winter migration.

Scarcity of water is the overwhelm-ing threat to the Salton Sea ecosystemright now. California has been forced toreduce its use of Colorado river waterand an agreement, known as the QSA,was signed in September 2003 thatenables the transfer of water from theImperial Irrigation District to the SanDiego County Water Authority. This is

water that is currently used to irrigateagricultural fields and then runs off intothe Salton Sea. Thus, when the agreementis implemented, the size of the Salton Seawill be reduced by as much as half,worsening the existing salinity problem.It is foreseeable that the agreement willalso entail fallowing of agricultural lands,further reducing bird habitat in the area.An important point to remember is thatmany of the bird species need both theflooded fields and the sea to survive. Soit isn’t enough to simply save the SaltonSea – we must also save the surrounding

agricultural lands that provide habitat.Or, we may wind up winning the battle,but losing the war.

It also seems likely that there will beadditional water transfers in the future –further degrading this ecosystem andfacilitating growth in the surrounding citiesof San Diego and Riverside counties.

You can make a difference for themillions of birds depending on the SaltonSea Ecosystem. From time to time, asevents warrant, Audubon California willsend out mailings or urgent noticesconcerning actions being taken at the

Salton Sea. If you are willing to join mein ensuring the continued survival of ourmigratory birds, please send an emailwith your contact information to:[email protected]. Yourprivate information will not be sharedwith anyone. If e-mail is not available foryou, contact me at the address below.

Kathie Satterfield

Salton Sea Campaign Coordinato4830 E Crestview St, Flagstaff, AZ 86004

What’s Happening at theSalton Sea... As a legislative deadline approaches, thecontroversies over how best to reduce thesize of the Salton Sea will undoubtedlyintensify, making Audubon’s involvement

in protecting the ecosystem critical. Your voice is essential if we are to have anychance of being heard above the din of theeconomic interests. To add your voice tothe Audubon choir, see “...Why It Mat-ters” in the adjacent column.

The Quantification Settlement Agreement, (QSA), which was signed in

September 2003, requires that the StateSecretary of Resources determine apreferred alternative for the restoration of the Salton Sea ecosystem and the protec-tion of wildlife dependent on that ecosys-tem, and submit it to the California State

Legislature on or before December 31,2006.Audubon California has been partici-

pating on the Salton Sea Advisory Com-mittee and in the Habitat Working Group,which the State put together to work on therestoration planning process. We continueto push for restoration of the entireecosystem and not just at the Sea itself.We are also advocating heavily for thosehabitats that will be most difficult, if notimpossible, to recreate, as well as forprotection of wildlife during the construc-tion and transition phases of whateverproject is chosen.

Two of the most critical habitats to bepreserved are the Imperial Valley farmlandand riparian habitats, as they provide foodand shelter for several dozen bird species,many of which are listed or sensitivespecies and highly dependent on ImperialValley farmland for their survival. Protect-ing working landscapes requires a long-term commitment and presence on theground. Audubon California has launchedthe Landowner Stewardship Program inImperial Valley to provide scientific,technical and financial assistance toprotect and enhance habitat on ImperialValley farmland and to increase wildlife-friendly farming methods.

• WWW.AUDUBON-CA.ORG / SALTON_SEA_MISSION.HTML

• WWW.PACINST.ORG / REPORTS / SALTONSEA

• WWW.SCI.SDSU.EDU / SALTON / SALTONBASINHOMEPAGE.HTML

• WWW.SALTONSEA.CA.GOV

• WWW.SALTONSEA.WATER.CA.GOV

• WWW.SALTONSEA.WATER.CA.GOV / LINKS /

More Information on Salton Sea

Environmentalists’Rendezvous Potluck PicnicEaton Canyon Nature CenterSunday, September 10, 20064:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Pasadena Audubon and many otherlocal environmental organizations will

gather under the oaks at Eaton Canyonfrom 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm on Sunday,September 10th for a potluck picnic andget-together as summer ends. Bring your

your favorite entrée, salad or dessert toour reserved picnic site near the NatureCenter. Beverages, plates and utensils willbe provided. Invite your friends, espe-cially those not already connected with alocal environmental organization.

This is not only a picnic, but a chanceto hear about each other’s environmentalinterests and activities. The groups we’llhear from include the Altadena FoothillsConservancy, Eaton Canyon NatureCenter Associates, the California NativePlant Society, and the Altadena CrestTrail Restoration Working Group, and the

Sierra Club. Each group will presentinformation about their activities andevents and tell us how to get involved inacting locally.

Donations of $10 per individual,couple, or family are requested to theparticipating environmental group of yourchoice. For more information, contactcoordinator Ginny Heringer at (626) 793-4727 or [email protected].

Conservation Notes

In each Wrentit , we will be brieflyhighlighting local, national and global

conservation issues with the goal of

helping members focus their conservationefforts.

Local: Northeast Trees, a groupworking on restoring the Arroyo, iscollecting data on bird distribution in theArroyo Seco Watershed for four species:Oak Titmouse, California Quail, YellowWarbler and Spotted Towhee. If you areinterested in participating in this project,please contact Jim Garrett [email protected].

National: The National AudubonSociety has a wonderful Action Alert

(see Conservation, page 5



September-October 2006 PAGE 3

BIRDATHON: Big Days, Big Bucks

PAS members, and their friends andloved ones, enjoyed an evening of

tasty drinks, excellent Mexican food, coolraffle prizes, and mercifully shortspeeches at the PAS Annual Dinner, heldJune 25th at the Eaton Canyon Nature

Center. The officers elected at the Aprilmeeting were announced as they preparedto begin their annual terms commencing

July 1st. They are Will Fulmer (Presi-dent), Norm Arnheim (Vice-president),Jean O’Hagan (Secretary), and PeggyOgata (Treasurer).

Ron Cyger and his wife Suzie arrived alittle late, fresh from a wedding in formalwear. As it turned out that was appropri-ate, since Ron was the surprise winner of the Crow Cup for 2006. This slightlyoffbeat award, first given in 2005 to JonFeenstra for his Big Year record, honorsRon for his long, dedicated service asPresident at a time when PasadenaAudubon was on the verge of goingextinct. He helped make it the strongchapter that it is today.

Also taking home honors were the twoBirdathon teams.

This was Laura Garrett’s last duty asHospitality Chair for our chapter (she’sbecoming Conservation Chair.) She did a

great job for us. As of press time, thatposition is open, and we’re looking for avolunteer!

Our BIRDATHONfundraising drive,

conducted in late May,raised a little over threethousand dollars forPasadena Audubon. Topfinancial honors went tothe G-Spotters, John andLaura Garrett, with $1,716

in contributions and 141species. Sharpest eyes andears went to the Raven’Loonatics (Mark and JanetScheel, Jon Feenstra, andRon Cyger) with 187species and $735.70 incontributions.

On May 6th,BIRDATHON team TheRaven’ Loonatics tickedoff 187 species within a 24hour period. How did they do this? Whatmagic was involved? What route did theytake? The Wrentit asked Ron Cyger fordetails. He responded:

“While the route of a successful BigDay is extremely guarded, here’s a brief glimpse of the Raven’ Loonatic’s itiner-ary, all within Los Angeles County. Westarted in the San Gabriel Mountains andhad our first bird of the day, a WesternScreech-owl at 2:45 am. We then movedover the mountains to arrive on the northside of the San Gabriels by dawn. Aftercovering the north side of the mountains(major stop [MS] Grassy Hollow) wewent into the Antelope Valley (MSSaddleback Butte). We screamed up the

east side of the Antelope Valley becauseno Big Day would be complete withoutPiute Ponds!

After the ponds, the Loonatics speddown the 14 freeway about noon with 140species in our bag! From there we coveredthe Valley (MS Sepulveda Basin) andheaded to the Santa Monica Mountains(MS Malibu Creek SP) then over to theocean. We did some sea-watching (MS Pt.Dune) and worked our way down thecoast (MS’s Malibu Lagoon and BallonaCreek) before ending up at BallonaFreshwater Marsh. It was about 6:00pmand the Loonatics had spotted over 180species so far. But we were hungry formore! The question was where to go next?

Annual Dinner 2006

(see Birdathon, page 4)

We decided that there is no placelike home, so off to Pasadena wewent. Traveling through downtownPasadena, we spotted the PasadenaPeregrine near the SBC buildingand went over to Eaton Canyon fornumber 187, a Canyon Wrensinging by the falls.

No big day is complete without

sharp eyes, sharper ears, strongbladders, knowledge of birdhabitats and important stagingareas for migrants, and, of course,a good route.”

All photos by Mark Hunter



PAGE 4 The Wrentit

Fie ld Tr ip Repor t s

Buckhorn CampgroundSaturday, July 1, 2006

Eight birders met on a warm, sunnymorning at Buckhorn Campground in

the San Gabriel Mountains. Although thecampground was full, the birds werenumerous and active. As usual, there weremany juvenile birds and family groups.These included Western Bluebirds,White-headed Woodpeckers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Dark-eyed Juncos.In addition, we saw Brown Creepers,Western Tanagers, Green-tailed Towhees,

Mt. PinosJune 3, 2006

While Pasadena suffered through itsfirst heat wave, seven of us enjoyed

the comfortable climes of Mt. Pinos on

the June 3rd trip. As with every year, wepicked up a few vagrants and usualsuspects in Frasier Park and the pond justwest of town, including a beautifulbreeding plumage Ruddy Duck. His billpractically glowed a light blue.

At the divided road heading up to Mt.Pinos, our first bird was a female RedCrossbill. We also spotted the expectedwoodpeckers, nuthatches, swallows,bluebirds, etc.

We birded up the road hearing Olive-sided Flycatchers and Western Wood-peewees among may other species. Whilehiking around Iris Meadows we heard

a Clark’s Nutcracker before seeing it flyover. There were a couple of morecrossbills (male and female this time)foraging on the ground. We also hadCassins and Purple finches before sightinga probable Dusky Flycatcher.

After lunch we headed over to ToadSprings Campground where we had greatviews of Lawrence’s Goldfinches alongwith the tits (wren and bush). We finishedthe day with 48 species. Not bad for themountains.

Ron Cyger and Larry Johnson

Owling Adventures in theSan GabrielsJuly 2006

Ever since my brothers and I discovereda small winter colony of Short-eared

Owls near our home in Staten Island, NY,I have been fascinated and sometimesfrustrated by owls. All owls are stillamong my favorite species of birds. WhileI have seen a fair number of owls inCalifornia and our local area, I just neverseemed able to bag a Spotted or aFlammulated Owl. On many attempts, Ifelt like I usually do on chartered fishingtrips—not only do I not catch much, if anything, but I bring bad luck for every-one else!

Fortunately July 2006 would changeall that and bring success at last. On July5th, Tom Miko and I had planned anevening hike to Sturdevant Falls in SantaAnita Canyon to look for Dippers andBlack Swifts. The day before, Mike SanMiguel found a Spotted Owl perched inthe early morning about half way to thefalls. So we eagerly anticipated a possiblesighting or hearing of this elusive species.

On our way back from the falls (wherewe found neither the desired Swifts norDippers) we stopped at the spot whereMike had found the owl and listened for afew minutes. We then played the Spotted

Owl call once or twice and listened again.Within one or two minutes, the calls of both the male and female Spotted Owlrang through the nearby conifers andalders. Shortly, we saw some movementand the female landed about 30 feetdirectly above us. Using a very brightflashlight, we were able to get a nice look at the bird. Both continued calling, andthere were others hoots, moans, andwhistles, indicating possible juveniles aswell as the adult pair. This was exciting! I

Local Dippers – Really

On July 30th, Ed Stonick wrote: I hadan American Dipper in the West Fork

of the San Gabriel River about 6:00 pmthis evening. It was about a third of a milefrom the Highway 39 locked gate, at theend of a fairly long pool alongside an S

curve in the West Fork road to CogswellReservoir.

Raul Roa responds: I’ve had Ameri-can Dippers in the same general vicinitybefore. I’ve found them north of the BearCreek trail. As you walk up the paved fireroad, often patrolled by LA Co. Sheriffswhich is nice, you’ll come to a bridgewhere Bear Creek comes from thenorthwest. Keep on the paved road and just past that, in the shallows of the WestFork, you might see a few more.

Then The Wrentit pestered the G-Spotters for their secrets, and LauraGarrett responded thus:

“I’ve been asked to tell you howbirding novices like the Garretts couldhave found 141 species on only their fifthBirdathon. Our trick is that we followed aroute similar to the Raven Loonatics. Westarted at Piute Ponds at the Edwards AirForce Base at 6:00 am, (yes, I do realizethis is very late by Loonatic standards!)where the highlights were vast numbers of waterfowl, egrets, herons and warblers,

BIRDATHON(continued)

had only seen one Spotted Owl before (inArizona’s famed Scheelite Canyon) andhad never heard them. Tom had heard thecall on a few occasions but had never seenone.

Fifteen days later, we hooked up withLance Benner to hunt for FlammulatedOwls. Lance had discovered several spotsand had gotten the owls consistently,

except for the Pasadena Audubon trip inMay (which I attended). We drove up tothe forests just beyond Buckhorn, playedrecordings and listened. No luck at thefirst stop, but at the second, a Flamanswered after a few minutes. Hooray!But the adventure was not over. A fewminutes later, the owl called again. BothTom and I thought it must have been atleast 40 to 50 yards away, but Lancepointed out that Flams are good ventrilo-quists. He thought the bird was very closeHe was correct! There it was, on a branchabout 15 feet up and a mere 30 to 40 feetaway! It stayed put for nearly a fullminute, enabling us to get gorgeous viewsin the flashlight beam. Owling remainsone of my favorite things to do, but it’scertainly the most fun when you hear andsee the sought-after denizens of the night.

Ed Stonic

Fox and Chipping Sparrows, and severalMacGillivray’s Warblers as well as anumber of other resident montane species.The morning’s total was 30 species.

Ed Stonick

two Barn Owls, about 50 Black Terns and

an adult male Hooded Warbler. After aquick stop at Apollo Park in Lancaster, wemade our way to Placerita Canyon to pick up the usual jays, raptors, warblers,finches, sparrows, tanagers, flycatchers,buntings and hummingbirds. Our best findthere was a flock of Lawrence’s Gold-finch. By noon, we had seen over 100species.

From there, we went to SepulvedaBasin and Balboa Lake, where we saw agorgeous adult male Rufous Hummingbirdand a Ross’s Goose, and then we were off to Malibu Lagoon, where we saw the

usual shorebirds, including the endan-

gered Snowy Plover, Western Grebes,Pelagic Cormorants, Surf Scoters andmany Elegant and Caspian Terns. Fromthe coast, we went to the San GabrielMountains, stopping briefly at home tofeed the dog and grab some dinner. AtChilao and Charlton Flats, highlightsincluded White-headed Woodpecker,White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper,and Purple Finch. Once it got dark, weheard Common Poorwill, Northern Saw-whet Owl and Great Horned Owl. It was awonderful way to end our day.”




Eaton CanyonMonthly Walk

Sunday, September 17, 2006Sunday, October 15, 2006Sunday, November 19, 20068:00 am – noon

Pasadena Audubon and Eaton CanyonNature Center are cosponsoring monthlywalks at Eaton Canyon. The walks are ledby Hill Penfold who has been leading themat ECNC for many years. Hill is wonderfulwith birders of all levels and Eaton Canyonis one of the best locations to learn the birdsof the Pasadena area.

The walks are held on the third Sundayof each month. Meet at the flagpole: bringwater, binoculars, hats, but no dogs.

Hill Penfold

Huntington LibraryBirdwalks (PAS Members only)

Sunday, September 24, 2006 7:00 am – 11:00 amSunday, October 22, 2006Sunday, November 26, 20068:00 am – 11:00 am

A special benefit for PasadenaAudubon Society members is the chanceto bird the Huntington Library grounds.Attendance is by reservation only andlimited to 15 participants. We have

enjoyed the family of Great Horned Owlsin the non-public area we are allowed tovisit. We thank our member and Hunting-ton curator, Dan Lewis, for making thesetrips possible. As his schedule allows,Dan will join Elaine MacPherson as co-leader. If you are lucky enough to be onthose trips, you can expect to learn someinteresting Huntington lore along with thebirding and fits of floral fancy.

Contact Elaine by email (preferred)or phone, putting “Huntington” in thesubject line to avoid inadvertent deletion.

Elaine MacPherson & Dan Lewis

Hahamongna Monthly WalkSaturday, September 2, 2006Saturday, October 7, 2006Saturday, November 4, 20068:00 am – noon

This monthly bird walk is for birders

of all ages and experience. A good varietyof birds should be in residence. Bringbinoculars, birding guide, water and wearwalking shoes. No dogs.

Exit the northbound 210 Freeway atBerkshire and make a right, then a left at thelight. The park entrance is on the right at thenext stop light. Take the first left afterentering Hahamongna Watershed Park andpark by the ballfield.

Ron Cyger

Field Tr ips Galileo Hills (PAS members only!)

Saturday, September 16, 20067:00 am – 4ish

One of the top four Fall migrant trapsin the state, this spot has produced Eye-browed Thrush, Groove-billed Ani,Veery, Painted Bunting, Yellow-greenVireo, and Blue-winged, Connecticut andGolden-winged Warblers. We won’t seethese, but surprises are commonplace. Wemay even ogle some reptiles or dragonflies.

Take Hwy 14 about 4 miles pastMojave, then turn right on California CityBlvd. Drive through town about a milepast the shops, turn left on Randsburg-Mojave Rd. just past the golf course, andveer right on 20 Mule Team Rd. Turn leftat the Silver Saddle sign before the hill,take your first paved right, your first rightagain, into the Silver Saddle CountryClub, followed by two paved lefts into thelot. Park by the pond. About 2 hrs drivingtime from L.A. Bring lunch, sun block.

Reserve with Nick and Mary usingTrip Leader Infomation on page 6. Pleasedo not show up without confirmation.

Nick & Mary Freeman

Parrot-viewing Field TripSaturday, November 18, 20062:00 pm to dusk (around 5:00 pm).

We will be searching for up to tenspecies of naturalized parrots and para-keets in the San Gabriel Valley. Travel tothe 110 (Pasadena) Freeway and exit atOrange Grove Blvd. Turn south, and park on the west side of this residential street just beyond the offramp.

Larry Allen

Some Good News for theEnvironment

Ordinarily, projects involving majorhighway reconstruction and bulldoz-

ers moving 2 million cubic yards of soildo not bode well for local wildlife. Thehappy exception is Bolsa Chica Ecologi-cal Reserve. By the time you read this, anewly constructed channel beneath Pacific

Coast Highway will reconnect thesouthern end of Bolsa Chica, near theHuntington Beach bluffs, to the open sea.The daily tidal flows will rejuvenate thisessential wetland and will greatly increasebiodiversity.

Just up the coast, where OrangeCounty and Los Angeles County meet thesea along the lower reaches of the SanGabriel river, lie the Los Cerritos Wet-lands. This 400 acres, always privatelyowned, has been used for oil wells andpower plants. Some of the habitat isdegraded, but its potential is enormous.

Now the California Wildlife ConservationBoard (with help from the Trust for PublicLand) has bought 66 acres in the southernportion of the wetlands and is angling tobuy 100 more acres on the Seal Beachside. The majority of the Los Cerritoswetlands lie in the City of Long Beach.Ironically, Long Beach has been payingenvironmental mitigation fees from newharbor construction, about $50 millionworth, to the restoration of Bolsa Chica.Local environmentalists are still trying toget Long Beach to to pay more attentionto its own biological diamond in the rough.

system which lets members know whenimportant legislation is coming up for avote or when other key issues arise. Tosign up, go to WWW.AUDUBON.ORG and clickon “take action” in the upper right-handcorner. You can choose which types of issues you would like to be notified of,

and they will send you reports andsuggested actions to take. This is an easyway to let your legislators know how youfeel about various bird habitat issues.

Global: Save the rain forest one cup of coffee at a time. Buy Fair Trade productsto help both people and birds. Fair Tradecoffee and tea is organically and shadegrown so it saves rain forest habitat andkeeps those nasty fertilizers and pesticidesout of the watershed, plus it gives growersa fair wage. The icing on the cake is that ittastes delicious. The other good news isthat it keeps getting easier to find theseproducts. Peets, Trader Joe’s, Whole

Foods, even Pavilions and Von’s nowcarry Fair Trade coffee and tea. Just look for a Fair Trade label. Enjoy!

Laura Garret

Conservation (continued)

Birding Basics and BeyondSunday, October 1, 20068:00 am – noon

Members of Pasadena Audubon,including Ron Cyger and Mark and JanetScheel, will lead several walks at EatonCanyon Nature Center for people whoattended the “Birding: Basics and Be-yond” classes the previous day.

These walks are not open to thegeneral public.

Ron Cyger, Mark and Janet Scheel

Shorebirds – ID WorkshopSaturday, September 23, 20068:00 am – noon

This trip will reinforce the shorebirdID tips and techniques presented in thePAS regular evening meeting on Wednes-day, September 20th. You should attendthat meeting to get the most from this trip.The location of the trip will be decided inmid-September and will be announced at

the September 20th meeting. Mickey Long and Jon Fisher



PAGE 6 The Wrentit

Submit material for the next Wrentit by October 1st

Calendar

September 2006Date Day Time Event Location Leader *

2 Sat 8:00 am Field Trip Hahamongna Watershed Park Ron Cyger10 Sun 4:30 pm Environmentalist Picnic Eaton Canyon Nature Center

13 Wed 7:30 pm Board Meeting Pasadena Presbyterian Church 585 E. Colorado (at Madison)16 Sat 7:00 am Field Trip Galileo Hills Nick & Mary Freeman17 Sun 8:00 am Field Trip Eaton Canyon Nature Center Hill Penfold19 Tue 9:00 am Magpie Group Legg Lake Sid Heyman & Madeline West20 Wed 7:00 pm General Meeting Eaton Canyon Nature Center Program: Shorebird ID – Workshop23 Sun 8: 00 am Field Trip Shorebird Field Session Mickey Long and Jon Fisher24 Sun 7:00 am Field Trip Huntington Library Gardens Elaine MacPherson & Dan Lewis

(PAS Members Only)

30 Sun All Day Workshops Birding: Basics and Beyond Workshop Leaders

October 20061 Sun 8:00 am Workshops Workshop Bird Walks: ECNC Workshop Leaders7 Sat 8:00 am Field Trip Hahamongna Watershed Park Ron Cyger

11 Wed 7:30 pm Board Meeting Pasadena Presbyterian Church 585 E. Colorado (at Madison)15 Sun 8:00 am Field Trip Eaton Canyon Nature Center Hill Penfold17 Tue 9:00 am Magpie Group Eaton Canyon Nature Center Sid Heyman & Madeline West18 Wed 7:00 pm General Meeting Eaton Canyon Nature Center Program: Galapagos Birds22 Sun 8:00 am Field Trip Huntington Library Gardens Elaine MacPherson & Dan Lewis

(PAS Members Only)

November 20064 Sat 8:00 am Field Trip Hahamongna Watershed Park Ron Cyger8 Wed 7:30 pm Board Meeting Pasadena Presbyterian Church 585 E. Colorado (at Madison)

15 Wed 7:00 pm General Meeting Eaton Canyon Nature Center Program: Urban Parrots18 Sat 2:00 pm Field Trip Parrot Viewing: South Pasadena Larry Allen19 Sun 8:00 am Field Trip Eaton Canyon Nature Center Hill Penfold21 Tue 9:00 am Magpie Group Whittier Narrows Nature Center Sid Heyman & Madeline West26 Sun 8:00 am Field Trip Huntington Library Gardens Elaine MacPherson & Dan Lewis

(PAS Members Only)

December 20062 Sat 7:30 am Field Trip Legg Lake/Peck Pit Ed Stonick




Membership ApplicationNameAddressCityState Zip Code Phone

Donor’s address for gift membership:Name

AddressCity State Zip Code

Yearly Membership for Individudal or Family

PAS Chapter Only [ ] $20 [ ] $35* [ ] Other _________

* Plus Chapter Pin and Tee Shirt or PAS Birding Guide

[ ] $15 Senior/Full-time Student

Donation [ ] ___________________

Make checks payable and mail to:Pasadena Audubon Society, 1750 N. Altadena Drive, Pasadena, CA 91107

Email

Become a Chapter-onlyMember of PAS

Policy changes by the NationalAudubon Society have severely

reduced the share of NAS membershipdues returned to local chapters, fundswhich Pasadena Audubon has used tofinance its programs and services. To makeup for the loss of funds from NationalAudubon, Pasadena Audubon, like manyother National Audubon chapters, nowoffers Chapter only memberships.

When it’s time to renew your Na-tional Audubon membership, we inviteyou to instead become a Chapter onlyMember of the Pasadena AudubonSociety, or make a donation to ourChapter to support our programs. Chapter-only dues are $20 per year, or $15 forseniors and students, all of which remainswith our local chapter to fund our programs,including publication of The Wrentit.

We thank you all for your support!

The group meets the third Tuesdayof each month. We bird 9:00 am

to about 11:30 am, eat sack lunches

and have a short business meeting. All PAS members welcome.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006Legg Lake

Meet at North lake parking areasouth of the 60 Fwy off of

N. Santa Anita Ave.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006Eaton CanyonNature Center

Meet at the entrance

Tuesday, November 21, 2006Whittier Narrows

Meet at the Nature Center

MagpieBird Study

Group

Sid Heyman Madeline West

Hospitality Chair Needed!

You could be the new Hospitality Chairfor Pasadena Audubon — maybe you

and a friend! There’s been some jobshifting over the summer, and our previ-ous Hospitality person, Laura Garrett, isnow our Conservation Chair.We now need a person or persons to setup refreshments for our general meetings.It’s not hard, but you do need to be able toget to Eaton Canyon by about 6:30 pm onthird Wednesdays (September throughMay, except December). PAS pays forcoffee and tea, and volunteers sign up tobring cookies and such.

The Hospitality Chair also makesarrangements for our Christmas Count andEnd-of-Year Dinners.

Does this sound like a job you couldtake on? Laura will be happy to providetraining, supplies and help.

If you’re interested, please contacteither Will or Laura:

Will Fulmer at 626-798-1606 [email protected]

Laura Garrett at 626-564-1890 [email protected]

Remembering WinnieRagsdale

Amemorial service was held in theEaton Canyon Auditorium on Sunday,

July 23rd to celebrate Winnie Ragsdale’slife and her contributions to the localcommunity. Winnie died June 5th, age 9l,when her heart finally gave out after a

brief illness.Judy Bass spoke about Winnie’sdocent activities. She led school childrenon their tours of Eaton Canyon. She alsobecame the school trip coordinator,sending confirmations to teachers, andmaking sure the school groups were on thecalendar in proper form. Later she was thefirst person to head the monthly bag lunchprograms where mini in-services trainingwere given. Winnie was famous amongthe docents for her word game given inJune of each year. She also served on thedocent board, ECNCA, for several yearsuntil her hearing began to fail. Laughs

came when Judy mentioned how Winniewas the last person she ever knew to usecarbon paper, since Winnie never learnedto use a computer.

When the Office of County Parks andRecreation wanted statistics long ago toshow how many schools and childrenwere using Eaton Canyon, Mickey Longasked Winnie to prepare the report forhim. Mickey has all her records, donelong hand, in his files. Each record isdated, and signed “W. Ragsdale.”

Long active in the Pasadena AudubonSociety, Winnie was remembered by Ron

Cyger for her thoughtful contributions tothe new Audubon Board when it wasreconstituted about six years ago. Rontold how Winnie was a bylaws expert, a

senior advisor to a younger group, guidingthe new board on elections, donations, andother aspects of the Audubon board’sactivities. Ron closed by telling howWinnie always had a treat for his dog,Winston, when she came to his home forthe Audubon Board meetings. Winnieloved her animals.

From the Altadena Library, Laureen

McCoy told of Winnie’s being one of thegroup originating what is now known asthe Metropolitan Library System, the

largest of its kind in the state of Califor-nia. It’s a cooperative system here in LosAngeles County, for lending of books toother libraries. Forty libraries, includingthe Los Angeles Public Library, arepartners in this co-op. Winnie was alsocredited with starting the Literacy Programat the Bob Lucas Library in Altadena.Though a retired librarian, Winnie contin-

ued to substitute whenever she was asked.Though she’s gone, her legacy willlive on at the canyon.

Ninarose Maye



DATED MATERIALNon-profit Organization

U.S. Postage

PAID

No. 1880Pasadena, CA

PAGE 8 The Wrenti

Pasadena Audubon Society1750 N. Altadena Drive

Pasadena, CA 91107

Printed on

50% recycled paper

Kid’s CornerOcean Pollution in Southern California

You probably have been reading therecent articles in the Los Angeles

Times and other newspapers about how theocean is being damaged, and you mighthave been wondering what you can do tohelp. There are actually many different waysyou can help. The problems mostly involve

trash, especially plastic junk; algae, whichaffects the brains of Sea Lions, BrownPelicans, and other marine animals; and airpollution, which damages the ocean.

Trash: Pieces of plastic and other junk are constantly flowing into the ocean,killing and choking fish and birds such gulls

and even Laysan Albatrosses. Anything inthe street ends up in the ocean. In order tohelp, you can recycle, avoid littering, andpick up any trash you see lying on the street,especially on trash pick-up days.

Algae: Another serious threat tomarine wildlife is toxic algae, which, wheneaten, can damage the brains of manyanimals. For example, a Brown Pelican,

intoxicated by algae, recently crashed intoa moving SUV. Fortunately, this pelicansurvived. To help prevent toxic algae fromkilling marine wildlife, use organicfertilizer and pesticides, if any at all,because normal fertilizer and pesticidesencourage toxic algae bloom.

Air pollution: We need to reduce airpollution in the world for many reasons,and one is that air pollution also createstoxic algae. Just a few of the things youcan do include using fluorescent lightbulbs, walking and biking instead of driving, and carpooling. In Pasadena youcan choose Green Power for electricity.One of the most important things you can

do is spread the word, because the morepeople that are working together, thebigger the difference we can make in theworld.

John Garret

PAS is pleased to welcome the following new members. We hope you willget involved in our many activities.

New Members

ALHAMBRA: Jane Gard, Shuwen Tam,

Esperanza Velazquez, Margaret Waye;ALTADENA: Vina Avery, Robert Carr,Leslie Culhane, Janni Funderburk, DianaHargraves, Patty Klein, Denise Seymour,Henry Shatford, Calvin & Marie Tajim;ARCADIA: Lyne Allen, Sally Cole,Marion Eggers, Alice Hook, Karen Jain,Ned Joy, Alice Lewin, James Maloney,Frances Morsillo, Marvee Schulz, RonaldSmith, John Ward; AZUSA: PatriciaApodaca, David Pfersich; CHINOHILLS: Doreen Falasca; DUARTE: AliceLopez, Shirley McCulloch; LA CAÑADAFLINTRIDGE: Z.P. Berberian, Martin

Chetron, Thema Davee, Ann Herrmann,Jean Kennedy, M. Mudgett, EthelWillenberg; MONROVIA: JocelynHarley; MONTEREY PARK: ReneeDutreaux, Beverly Franco, Sophia Sak;MONTROSE: Valerie Jordan; PASA-

DENA: Hope Bacon, Laurel Beck, DavidBowman, Diane Clark, Ven AhangamaDhammarama, R.B. Egelston, JaneFeuerhelm, Mark Frankel, Gloria Freeman,G. Gillingham, Fred Gotha, LilaKommerstad, Michael Kouri, CharleneLittle, Linda Mangan, Terry Mills, RichardMittleman, C. Pegram, Minh Quach, SagarRaksit, Patricia Rankin, Kevin Sheehan,Anne Shirvanian, Rachel Soos, W.P.Stafford, Vicki Stepp, Anne Stewart, LisaVernon, Jack Washburn, Michael Zinzun;ROSEMEAD: Elaine Austria, Ikari; SANGABRIEL: Megan Augustine, Betty

Pascuayaq; SAN MARINO: Eva Casner,Joanne Pittroff, Myriam Rasulo; SIERRAMADRE: Geraldine Asher, Mr. & Mrs.Dennis Byrnes, Michael Geva, DonaldSongster, Noreen Viljoen; SOUTHPASADENA: Raynee Bangar, Nick

Bernal, Carol & Edward Corser, MaryHarker, Margaret Hicks, Susan Lompe,Robert Magilligan, Natalie Magistrale;SUNLAND: Aino Vimb; TEMPLECITY: Ted Garcia, Sid Maddocks, IsabelMecum, Mercedes Murdock, Jack &Marva Packey, Margaret Poynter, LoisWill.

Auditor Eileen Burton (626) 585-9076

Conservation Laura Garrett (626) 564-1890

Field Trips Mark Scheel (626) 355-3938

Hospitality (open)

Programs Ron Cyger (626) 449-3625

Magpie Bird Study Group Madeline West (626) 574-0429

Sid Heyman (626) 571-5991

Pasadena Audubon Society BoardPresident Will Fulmer (626) 798-1606

Vice President Norm Arnheim (626) 405-0844

Secretary Jean O’Hagan (626) 792-4406

Treasurer Peggy Ogata (626) 398-3184

Membership Lois Fulmer (626) 798-1606

Publicity (open)

Youth Education Norm Arnheim (626) 405-0844

Youth Representative John Garrett (626) 564-1890

Pasadena Audubon Society Chapter only–$20. Wrentit subscription only–1 yea$10. National Audubon Society membership fees–$35. National members receive

Audubon magazine and The Wrentit. Messages or queries for Pasadena Audubonmay be left at (626) 355-9412. For change of NAS address call: (800) 274-4201

Editor Mark Hunter (818) 957-5044

Desktop Publishing Donald G. Rogers (626) 286-2546

Printing Pasadena Print Stop (626) 577-0510

Wrentit Mailing Alex Strong (626) 799-3364

The Wrentit is published by the Pasadena Audubon Society1750 N. Altadena Dr., Pasadena, CA, 91107Board Members at Large:

Dan Lewis, Brian Tomikawa, Bev McKenzie

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September-October 2006 Wrentit Newsletter ~ Pasadena Audubon Society

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