Palouse Audubon Society
The Prairie Owl
Volume 36 Issue 1
EVENT CALENDAR
AUGUST
4, 11, 18 and 25—Field Trip;
Mann Lake
7—Board Meeting, 7:30pm,
890 Stefany Ln, Moscow
SEPTEMBER
1, 8, 15, 22 and 29—Field Trip;
Mann Lake
4—Board Meeting, 7:30pm,
230 SE South, Pullman
19—Program; Antarctica
Adventure
23 and 30—Bird Watching
and Identification
Classes, 1:00pm, Eggan
Youth Center, Moscow
PALOUSE AUDUBON
President: Terry Gray, (208) 882-
1585, clgtlg@moscow.com
Vice-President: VACANT
Secretary: VACANT
Treasurer: Henry Willmes (208)
882-2649, hwillmes@verizon.net
Board Members: Laura Bloomfield,
laurabloomfield22@yahoo.com, (206)
388-7938; and Donal Wilkinson
Conservation: VACANT
Education: Donal Wilkinson, (208)
310-3010, donalwilkinson@yahoo
Field Trips: Terry Gray, (208) 882-
1585, clgtlg@moscow.com
Membership: James Storms, (509)
635-1272, nbutte@pullman.com
Newsletter/Program/Website: Tom
Weber, tweber@wsu.edu, (509) 334-
3817
Publicity: Diane Weber, (509) 334-
3817, catbirdz@adelphia.net
August-September 2007
Black-chinned Hummingbird
A hummingbird of rela- ern Mexico; and in the feathers. The female has a
tively modest appearance, Central Valley and along dull metallic bronze-green
the Black-chinned Hum- the southern coast of Cali- back and top of head, a
mingbird is common fornia. They winter in whitish chin and throat
throughout much of the Mexico's interior and the with thin dark streaks and
western United States. It is Pacific slope. spots, a
a tiny bird weighing 2-5 Individuals dull gray-
grams (0.07-0.18 ounces), 4 occur to the ish white
inches in size with roughly Gulf Coast breast and
a 4 inch wingspan. It occu- of the belly, and a
pies a range of habitats, U n i t e d greenish or
from urban areas to desert, States. blackish
and from sea level to over The male tail with
2,500 meters (8,200 ft). B l a c k - broad white
Their habitats include: ri- throated tips on the
parian corridors in arid Humming- three pairs
areas, piñon-juniper woods, bird has a of outer-
and urban areas with tall black gorget most feath-
trees and flowering orna- (throat) with the lower half ers. The female is larger
mental shrubs and vines. being iridescent purple than the male. Immatures
They feed on nectar from at (visible only in the right are similar to adult females
least 90 species of plant light). The bird has a with young males often
flowers, hummingbird nec- white collar below the dark times having a few black or
tar from feeders, and in- throat, a dull metallic purple throat feathers.
sects. bronze-green back and top The male performs dives
Black-throated hum- of head, dull grayish white of about 20 to 30 meters
mingbirds breed from underparts, sides darker (66-99 ft) in courtship and
southern British Columbia and glossed with green, aggression which produces
to southeastern Arizona, and a mostly black tail a zinging sound. The fe-
southern Texas, and north- with two green central male's nest is a neat, deep
(cont on page 3)
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED TO SERVE ON THE CHAPTER BIRDING
TRAIL COMMITTEE
DUTIES ARE TO WORK WITH AUDUBON—WASHINGTON IN THE CREA-
TION OF THE SE WASHINGTON BIRDING LOOP
SEE THE ARTICLE ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE. CONTACT TERRY
GRAY OR TOM WEBER IF INTERESTED
PAGE 2 V OLU ME 3 6 IS SUE 1

Programs
September 19—Patagonia, the Sub-
Antarctic Islands and the Antarctic
Bird Watching and Identification Class
Peninsula; Ron Force, Moscow
Ron Force will present a travelogue of Arranged through Moscow Parks and Recreation, this class will
his trip earlier this year, including pictures consist of two, 2–hour Sunday classes—the first, classroom in-
of the terrain and bird and animal life of struction by Donal Wilkinson; the second, a field trip to Phillip's
one of the Earth's largest remaining wilder- Farm with Terry Gray.
ness. Seemingly pristine, this magnificent
area has been profoundly affected by hu- $10 per person or $25 per family with a 20 person limit.
man activities, and faces an uncertain fu-
ture. Handouts and an Idaho Birding Guide will be distributed to
participants.

Classroom instruction will be held on September 23 at 1:00

p.m., in the Eggan Youth Center, 1515 E ‘D’ St, Moscow. The
field trip will be held the following Sunday, September 30 at
1:00 p.m. Class participants are to meet at the Eggan Youth
Center for carpooling to Phillips Farm. Contact Donal Wilkin-
son or Terry Gray for additional information.

Treasurer’s Report— 7/11/07

Field Trips
August 4, 11, 18 and 25—Mann
Lake; Sponsored by Palouse Audu-
bon and Canyon Birders, these trips
will focus on the fall migration of
waterfowl and shorebirds as they
pass through our region. Field trip
leaders will be there from 8:30 a.m.
to 11:30 a.m. This is a great time of
year to observe migrants at the lake.
Participants are to meet at the
Mann Lake boat ramp at 8:30am.
September 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29—
Mann Lake; Sponsored by Palouse
Audubon and Canyon Birders, these
trips will focus on the fall migration
of waterfowl and shorebirds as they
pass through our region. Field trip
leaders will be there from 8:30 a.m.
to 11:30 a.m. This is a great time of
year to observe migrants at the lake.
Participants are to meet at the
Mann Lake boat ramp at 8:30am.
To get to Mann Lake:
THE SCENIC ROUTE (Lindsay
Creek Road): From the north end of
Lewiston, follow US 12 south into
town, cross the Clearwater River on
Memorial Bridge and immediately
take the first left (east) toward East
Lewiston. Turn left (east) onto East Savings $3,295.04
Main Street and go about a half mile
Checking Balance 4/3/07 $4,916.80
to the flashing yellow lights. Turn Local Dues/Donations $25.00
right (south) onto Lapwai (a.k.a. Lind- National Audubon $55.00
say Creek) Road. When the road Printing and Mailing ($193.87)
forks stay right on Lindsay Creek Ferry Lake Loon Donation ($100.00)
Road (Nez Perce County Road 460) PO Box Rental ($72.00)
Idaho Birding Guides ($125.00)
and follow it about 5 miles to its ter-
Printing ($236.06)
minus at Grelle Avenue. Turn left
(east) onto Grelle Avenue and just Checking Balance 7/11/07 $4,463.74
past the sharp right curve, turn left Total Assets: $7,758.78
(east) onto East Powers Avenue
(a.k.a. Lapwai Road). Continue Membership Report—6/30/07
straight (east) past the grain towers National & Palouse Audubon 214
Palouse Audubon (only) 64
to the main parking lot of the lake. National Audubon (only) 28
Kiwanis Park is between Snake River Total Membership 306
Avenue and the Snake River, just PAS Membership Year—Sep 1 to Aug 31
south of the US 12 bridge between
Lewiston and Clarkston. ID DeLorme
54, A-1.
THE URBAN ROUTE (Powers
Avenue): From the north end of
Lewiston, follow US 12 south into
town, stay left at the first light and
cross the Clearwater River on Memo-
rial Bridge. The left lane directs you
up 21st Street at the next light. Fol-
low it up the hill, through the Lewis-
ton Orchards until it turns into a 2-
lane road. Turn left on Powers Ave-
nue and follow it all the way to the
grain towers and the boat launch.
PAGE 3 T HE PR A I R IE OW L V OLU ME 3 6 IS SUE 1

DO COWBIRDS RUN A PROTECTION RACKET?

Prothonotary Warblers often don't
kick cowbird eggs out of the nest even
though cowbird eggs look very differ-
ent from warbler eggs. Researchers
from the Illinois Natural History Sur-
vey and the University of Florida
found that nests with a cowbird egg
yielded, on average, three warbler
fledglings. If the researchers removed
the cowbird egg from a nest, over half
the nests were tom apart and the war-
bler eggs were often pecked open by
the cowbirds. The attacked nests
yielded only one fledgling per nest, so
it is an advantage to the warblers to
raise a cowbird along with their own
young.
About 20% of warbler nests that
did not contain cowbird eggs also were
destroyed. The authors called this
"farming," because if the warblers lose
a clutch they often rebuild the nest
and produce a second clutch. Then the
cowbird can lay an egg in the new
nest, timed so that her egg will hatch
when the warbler eggs hatch. Cow-
In an article from the local Daily Bulletin in Colfax
birds parasitized 85% of renests.
What a successful strategy! You can
read an entertaining summary of this
research in the March 16—21 issue of
The Economist, page 79. The original
article, Retaliatory mafia behavior by
a parasitic cowbird favors acceptance
of parasitic eggs, was published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences 104: 4479-83, 2007.
AUDUBON VIEW (from page 5)
Audubon Society will provide sup-
port to those efforts where possible,
while we also look forward to solu-
tions, including properly sited and
designed wind energy, to combat
global warming before it drives en-
tire bird species to the brink of ex-
tinction.
MEMBERSHIP
Palouse Audubon Society, PO Box 3606
University Station, Moscow ID 83844, is a
chapter of the National Audubon Society.
Our mission is to conserve and restore
natural ecosystems, focusing on birds,
other wildlife, and their habitats for the
benefit of humanity and the earth’s bio-
logical diversity.
General membership meetings are held at
the 1912 Building, 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 meet
at member homes at 7:30 p.m. on the first
Tuesday of each month.

(April 12), former Palouse Audubon Society member
Ruth B. Ownbey of Pullman (deceased 03/14/07) be-
queathed her interest in land east of Potlatch (south
of Hwy 95A) to the National Audubon Society
Ruth and her husband Marion were active in the for-
mation of the Palouse Audubon Society (1971). .
The Prairie Owl is published every other
month, September through May. Material
for the Owl should be sent to the editor,
Tom Weber, 230 SE South St, Pullman
WA 99163, or email tweber@wsu.edu by
the 20th of the month. Subscription prob-
lems should be addressed to the member-
ship chair, James Storms, PO Box 235,
Garfield WA 99130, (509) 635-1272 or
email nbutte@pullman.com. Visit the Pa-
louse Audubon Society website at
http://www.palouseaudubon.org/

Black-throated
(from page 2) Hummingbird (from page 1)
cup made primarily of plant down
and held together with spider webs
and cocoon fibers. Nests are nor-
mally located in trees, about 2 meters
(6.6 ft) off the ground. The female
normally lays two white eggs which
average about 13 mm (0.5 in) long
and 8 mm (0.3 in) across - about the
same size as a whole coffee bean. The
spider and insect silk holding the
nest together stretches and allows
the nest to grow along with the grow-
bottoms. In cold weather, a Black-
chinned Hummingbird may ingest
ing chicks.
three times its body weight in nec-
The male and female Black-chinned
tar in one day. Populations have
Hummingbird may use different
increased with introduction of exotic
habitats during the nesting season,
plants and feeders by humans.
with the male in somewhat drier ar-
PAS members Doyle McClure and
eas. In a study in Arizona and New
Sarah Weems witnessed the devel-
Mexico, nesting females spent most of
opment of a nest of three Black-
their time in canyon bottoms but of-
chinned Hummingbirds at their
ten relied on nectar sources on
home in Colfax earlier this summer.
nearby hillsides. Males occupied and
The photo on page 1 was taken of
defended territories on the hillsides
the last chick shortly before it
but rarely ventured into the canyon
fledged on July 4.
PAGE 4
FROM THE PREZ
Hope everyone has had a pleasant
summer. Despite the heat and the
numerous fires it has been a busy
one for me. I have been participating
in the Monitoring Avian Productivity
and Survivorship (MAPS) Program
at a MAPS Banding Station in Vas-
sar Meadows northeast of Deary,
Idaho. Every 10 days we put up nets
and capture birds from sunrise to
11:00 a.m. unless it gets too hot or it
is raining. There have been some
interesting birds captured and
banded there this year. Brewer’s
Sparrows are normally found in sage-
brush habitat and in places such as
WASHINGTON STATE BIRDING TRAIL—SE LOOP
On June 5, members of the board
met with representatives of Audu-
bon—Washington to discuss the crea-
tion of the SE Washington Birding
Trail loop.
To date, four of the seven Birding
Trail loops have been
completed: Cascades
Loop, Coulee Corridor,
SW Loop and the
Olympic Loop. A Fed-
eral grant has been
received to help pay
for the remaining
trails—two in Eastern
Washington. The goal
is to finish the loops
by the 2010 Olympics.
The goal for the
coming year is to com-
plete the SE (or Co-
lumbia River) Loop.
The Blue Mountain,
Lower Columbia Ba-
sin, Palouse, Yakima
Valley, Central Basin
and Kittitas chapters
will be involved in the
process. Don McIvor
and Mike Denny have
also been tasked with
identifying the IBA
sites in Eastern Washington.
The Birding Trail is expected to
achieve two important goals:
1. To identify and conserve wildlife
T HE PR A I R IE OW L V OLU ME 3 6 IS SUE 1
the MAPS Program see:
http://www.birdpop.org/maps.htm .
Steptoe Butte, but this year they A summary of the State of the
have been seen in unusual loca- Birds Report for Summer 2007 was
tions. It was a big surprise when published in the July-August issue of
one was captured at the Vassar Audubon magazine. It is a
Meadows MAPS Banding Station. WAKEUP CALL. Out of the top ten
No one knows for sure what is hap- species on the list “Common Birds in
pening with the Brewer’s Sparrows Decline” six species are normally
in our area this year. Many are seen here or have been seen here in
saying that habitat changes could the past. The number two bird on
be the reason. With severe drought the list is the Evening Grosbeak. I
conditions in the southwestern have only seen a few locally this
United States they may have been year. Loggerhead Shrike is the
forced further north than usual. It number eight bird; it once was seen
will be interesting to see if they are here as a common bird but I have
here in the same numbers next only seen one in the last eight years
year. For more information about of birding in the (cont on page 5)
and birding areas as economic 5. Host public meetings to discuss
assets for local communities, the Birding Trail
and 6. Visit nominated sites, select sites,
2. To contribute to a sustainable edit map and layout
economy through nature tour- 7. Identify existing tourism pro-
ism. grams and amenities that en-
hance the trail
Birding Trail
Program Direc- The first task of the committee is
tor Christi Nor- to identify the stakeholders in the
man has asked communities (communities refers to
the chapter to all the towns, cities, and counties cov-
form a Chapter ered by your chapter's territory).
Birding Trail Stakeholders are elected officials,
Committee of at business leaders, civic leaders, envi-
least three mem- ronmental agencies, and policy mak-
bers. Their du- ers who are influential in these com-
ties are to: munities.
1. Collaborate Once the list has been completed,
with Audubon the six or more "key stakeholders"
WA to draft a (those considered the most influential
trail route community leaders) should be identi-
2. Work with fied. They can be a tremendous help
Audubon WA to in rallying the rest of the community
raise funds for to the cause. The committee is asked
the map (this is to meet with them early in the proc-
done!) ess, brief them, and get their support.
3. Meet peri- Washington Audubon has developed
odically with a set of tools that can be used in brief-
other chapter ing the key stakeholders.
representatives Volunteers to serve on the com-
to review pro- mittee are greatly needed. If you
gress and discuss Birding Trail would like to be a part of this exciting
details project, contact Terry Gray or Tom
4. Brief stakeholders in the local Weber.
community
 V OLU ME 3 6 IS SUE 1
MANN LAKE IS A PLACE TO LEARN ABOUT BIRDS—Terry Gray
I have been an active birder for
seven years and I have learned more
about birds and how to identify birds
at Mann Lake than at any other loca-
tion. Mann Lake is a reservoir that is
used as irrigation water for the
Lewiston Orchards at Lewiston,
Idaho. The water covers approxi-
mately 135 acres and the shoreline is
mostly mud. At the southeast corner
of the reservoir there is a riparian
area with trees and bushes that pro-
vide nesting areas and offer food and
cover for migrating passarines. Mann
Lake is a migrant trap because it is
the largest body of standing water in
this dry agricultural region.
During the summer water is con-
tinually being drawn from the reser-
voir to irrigate lawns. The original
intent was to provide water for fruit
orchards that have been replaced by
residential developments. Drawing
down the reservoir forms new mud
each week from late summer to fall
FROM THE PREZ (from page 4)
Palouse. The Grasshopper Sparrow
is also becoming very hard to locate
in our area and was more abundant
in the past.
Common Tern and Northern Pin-
tail, occasionally seen at Mann Lake,
and Boreal Chickadee, which can be
seen in the higher country to the
north and south of us, are the other
three birds of the top ten that are
losing ground. Audubon attributes
the decline and the demise of these
species to the loss of habitat. Other
WIND POWER: Audubon’s View (John Flicker)
Is the National Audubon Society
"endorsing" wind power?
Acknowledging the important
potential of wind power (as well as
other renewable energy sources) to
combat the threat of global warming
to the survival of bird species
throughout the western hemisphere
does not mean we are providing a
blanket endorsement. Every wind
power proposal demands thorough
case-by-case analysis of both its bene-
fits and impact, and how that lines
T HE PR A I R IE OW L
for migrating shore birds. The mi-
gration actually starts around the
4th of July as Plovers, Stilts, Avo-
cets, Yellowlegs, Sandpipers,
Dowitchers, Phalaropes and many
more species stop to feed there.
For the past two years I have
been leading field trips starting on
the first Saturday on August in
2006 and the first Saturday in Sep-
tember in 2005. For both years
these trips continued through the
month of October. Last year 44
birders observed 121 species of
birds during our Saturday morning
visits. Every Saturday we have a
different list of birds and bird
watchers. Sometimes the group will
spend much time checking field
guides to identify species of birds.
We have interesting and educa-
tional discussions as we try to de-
termine what we are seeing. This
often happens when we are observ-
ing juvenile shore birds. Sometimes
factors are of concern as well; Global
Warming and West Nile Virus in
some species have caused a decline
in populations.
On a lighter note: Mann Lake
Saturday morning trips are in full
swing. Come join us any Saturday
morning at 8:30 a.m. through the
end of October. I also hope to have
at least one Sunday trip in Septem-
ber and October and one or two field
trips in November and December.
Terry Gray
up against the potential widespread
harm from global warming. Ques-
tions including project design and
site location must be carefully con-
sidered. Audubon encourages ongo-
ing research and collaboration to
best determine how to maximize the
benefits of wind power while reduc-
ing the potential for harm to birds,
wildlife and the environment. Spe-
cific projects that pose too great a
risk should be modified, moved, or,
in some cases, stopped entirely.
PAGE 5
after the discussions we send our
photos and notes to experts for confir-
mation on the identification of the
birds in question.
I have compiled a check list for
Mann Lake that has 196 species of
birds. The checklist is available at:
http://www.palouseaudubon.org/ .
Some of the rarer species we have
seen are Surf Scoter, White-winged
Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, and Red-
breasted Merganser.
People of all ages join me from all
over the country if they happen to be
visiting this part of Idaho. Partici-
pants can see from 35 to 60 or more
species during a three-hour outing. I
have enjoyed meeting new people. It
is extremely rewarding to see small
children’s faces as they look for the
first time at a new bird through a
spotting scope. It makes my day to
hear someone say “That is another
Life Bird for me, thanks.”
BIRDING NEW YORK (page 6)
flock of Little Gulls and more Ring-
billed Gulls.
People are so busy in New York;
only one person we talked to that was
a birder recalled Pale Male, the fa-
mous Red-tailed Hawk. Unfortu-
nately we were unable to locate this
bird but were told that it had rebuilt
its nest and was still in the city.
Terry Gray
Is it possible that Audubon will
join in opposition to specific pro-
jects?
Absolutely. There will undoubt-
edly be locations and other circum-
stances that will render specific wind
generation projects as unsuitable. In
most cases, local groups will play the
lead role in assessing specific propos-
als and working to secure needed im-
provements or mitigation, as appro-
priate. The National (cont page 3)
PALOUSE AUDUBON SOCIETY
Palouse Audubon Society
PO Box 3606
University Station
Moscow ID 83844-3606
The mission of the National
Audubon Society is to conserve
and restore 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 at:
palouseaudubon.org
Birding New York City—May 2006
Christine and I had the opportu-
nity to go to New York City in early
May of last year to visit our son and
attend his graduation when he re-
ceived his masters degree from New
York University. Our time was limited
but we birded some of the many green
spaces in the city.
We picked up only ten bird species
for our life lists. Our first one was a
surprise; as we walked in Washington
Square Park in Lower Manhattan we
saw our first Mockingbird. The bird
was quite nervous and did not make
any sounds. Other birds observed in
this park were Gray Catbirds. These
birds were in many of the other parks
we visited and were quite bold and not
afraid of us. An American Robin sang
full song for two hours during the
NYU graduation ceremony that took
place in the park, making it hard for
people not near the loudspeakers to
hear what was being said from the
podium.
Near the very southern tip of
Manhattan is a small park call
Bowling Green and there we saw our
first Oven Bird. This bird was not
afraid of us and we got good looks.
Central Park was beautiful in
the spring with many people enjoy-
ing the park. We saw Black-crowned
Night-Heron, Mallard, Canada
Goose, Great Egret, Common
Grackle, Swainson’s Thrush, Yellow-
rumped Warbler (both Myrtle and
Audubon), American Redstart, and
we heard Eastern Towhee and
Northern Flicker.
Bryant Park had many House
Sparrows and White-throated Spar-
rows. Several Oven Birds were also
feeding in this park. I should men-
tion that the most common city birds
are Rock Pigeons and European
Starlings and they were EVERY-
WHERE.
There were many gulls in Bat-
tery Park at the southern-most tip of
Manhattan. We saw mainly Ring-
billed and Herring Gulls. American
Black Ducks were sleeping on top of
the pilings by the waterfront.
I wish we had more time be-
cause the park that had the most
birds was Prospect Park in Brook-
lyn. In a short afternoon we did
manage to see a small part of this
park and some best birds, including
Common Yellowthroat, Cardinal,
Blue Jay, Eastern Bluebird, Balti-
more Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird,
Black and White Warbler, a brief
look at a Purple Martin, and a
White-crowned Sparrow which a
local birder said was as rare as see-
ing a White-throated Sparrow out
West. He pointed us to a Green
Heron, which had ducked into the
tall reeds so we did not see it. The
best bird for us though was a Scarlet
Tanager. The color of this bird was
just unbelievable.
We took the Staten Island ferry
late one evening and went past the
statue of Liberty
and saw a small (cont on page 5)
(cont on page 2)