Monthly Archives: August 2015

September 21 – Eider program!

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Join the ABC Club on September 21, 2015, at the University Place Library at 6:45 PM.

Researcher, Tasha Di Marzio, who will present her talk, “Steller’s Eiders: The Road to Recovery.” She will discuss the Steller’s Eiders’ natural history and the coordinated teamwork of researchers from government agencies and the Alaska SeaLife Center over the last 13 years. She oversees the Eider Husbandry Program and manages an Alcid collection that is on public display. For the past eight summers her passion has been spending time collecting nesting and habitat data on the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. She has traveled to many remote Alaskan field sites from Barrow to Kodiak and the Aleutian Islands to study Steller’s Eiders. She will discuss past and present research and future efforts of the Eider Recovery Team to bring this threatened species back to stable numbers in the wild.

Tasha DiMarzio is currently the Avian Curator for the Alaska SeaLife Center based in Seward, Alaska. She is also employed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Tasha DiMarzio grew up in Lake Tapps, WA, and went to college at Minot State University in North Dakota where she got her degree in Fish and Wildlife Management. She has worked with many different species of birds from Eastern Bluebirds to Bald Eagles. She is an avid birder and is hoping to reach her goal of 600 U.S. birds with only 12 to go.

Click below to enlarge.

JBLM Training Area Access Passes

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These instructions are from Nathanael Swecker for access to his “patch” at JBLM and will work for other range areas as well:

Directions for getting Training Area Access pass for JBLM:

1) I went to the Main Gate of JBLM off of I-5 (exit 120).

2) I stopped and parked at the Visitor’s Center right before the gate itself and entered the office.

3) I pulled a numbered tab and sat in the waiting area for a clerk to call my number (just like in a DMV or DOL center).

4) My number was called and I approached the clerk’s window. I presented my Driver’s License, Proof of Insurance, Vehicle Registration. I stated that I would like to document bird populations on the Training Areas and that I needed access to the “Range Control” office.

5) The clerk didn’t ask me any probing questions or why I wanted to bird the areas. He simply made sure all my documents were valid and then told me to wait while he processed my request.

6) I sat back down in the waiting area and waited for him to call my name. This only took 5 min. He gave me a ONE DAY pass that I may only use to pass thru the gates and proceed to the Range Control office.

7) I left the Visitor’s Center and went south on I-5 to the next exit (exit 119) and went thru the Dupont Gate.

8) At the Dupont gate I used the far right lane to approach the guard station and presented my ONE DAY pass and my license. I stated that I was proceeding to the Range Control office. The guard waved me thru with no questions and I proceeded on Clark Road.

9) I went forward from the guard station thru the first intersection of Clark and West and proceeded to the next intersection and took a right on Kaufman Ave.

10) I passed the first building on the right and went on to the second building (bld 4074). I parked here and entered the building.

11) I approached the front desk and said that I would like to obtain a Range Pass for the purpose of “Wildlife Observation”. I presented only my Driver’s License and the quickly processed a pass for me on the spot.

12) They handed me my Vehicle pass that I must display on my dash and my wallet-pass that I must keep on my person at all times while on the Training areas. They gave me a pamphlet explaining the rules and regulations and sent me on my way! I was ready to explore the vast reaches of the JBLM Training Areas!

THINGS TO NOTE:

A. This pass will not get you thru any of the gated areas of JBLM. It only allows you access to the sanctioned Training areas that are ungated

B. You must only be on the Training Areas that are currently open. The website, http://www.lewis-mcchord.army.mil/DPTMS/training/range/docs/allocations.pdf , tells you which areas are open and closed.

C. You must call ahead and leave your info at (253) 967-6277. (this is just a recording number. You can’t actually talk to anyone, you just leave your permit number, time in, time out and activity to be performed)

D. Troops may be conducting activities on the open training areas. DO NOT BE ALARMED this is normal. The troops will not bother you and you do not need to ask them permission to be there. If an officer approaches you just explain what you are doing and they will let you know if you need to move or simply be aware of their presence. I run into troops all the time and they almost always ignore me.

E. Range Operations often drive the training areas in large pickup trucks with yellow license plates. They will stop you and engage you to make sure you are a permit holder. Their job is to make sure that the civilians are safe. Feel free to talk with them. They are not soldiers, they are contractors who monitor the training areas.

F. Military Police monitor the main paved roads. If they see you near any of the main paved roads they will stop and ask you for proper documents. I find it best to avoid them. Park in non visible places from the road.

G. Other civilians may be on the ranges as well. Sometimes I find groups of people horse back riding or walking their dogs. Sometimes I will travel all day for miles and not encounter a single person. There are sometimes biologists doing survey work as well.

H. There are wild animals on the training areas. There are bear, deer, elk, coyotes and more. Please be respectful around the wildlife.

This may appear to be a lot of info to gain access to the area, but if you do these things you will find it is really not that complicated.

Further notes from JBLM biologist, Denis DeSilvis:

Area access passes are only issued by Range Control personnel Monday through Friday up to 5 PM.

Item 4. You only need to mention that you need a vehicle pass in order to go to the Range Control office to get an area access pass. (The folks that issue the vehicle pass are checking to see if you are on any list of wanted criminals, terrorists, etc.) All passengers need to have a valid government-issued ID card to hand in at the same time as the driver/vehicle owner. Everyone will be listed on the pass.

Item 7. This is absolutely the best way to get to Range Control once you have the vehicle pass. All passengers need to hand over ID cards to the guard at the same time as the driver. (Driver should collect everyone’s cards beforehand and hand them over together with the vehicle pass.)

Item C. When you call into Range Control, you must include what training areas you’re going to visit, as well as the info Nathanael indicates.

Item F. Military Police (MP) drive both marked and unmarked vehicles. And they also check unpaved roads as well as paved ones. In some areas, civilian DOD police will be monitoring traffic.

When Training Areas are closed, don’t go there. Right now, because of budget constraints, all training areas are closed for recreation on Sundays and holidays.

If you see anything suspicious while out in the training areas, be sure to call the number that Range Control has on one of the handouts you’ll receive. This could be something like someone dumping trash, walking in an impact area, etc.

JBLM has some unique habitat in western Washington, with some unique birds for this side of the mountains.

And let me know if you find a White-breasted Nuthatch – I’ve been looking for one at JBLM for over 35 years.

May all your birds be identified,

Denis DeSilvis

REPORT on Paulson event Aug 6, 2015

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BIRDS OF THE WIND – ABC welcomed Dennis Paulson, one of the world’s experts on the fascinating and confusing shorebirds, who gave us a great overview as well as little known factoids in his illustrated presentation. Thanks to the University of Puget Sound for hosting this event and to Peter Wimberger, the director of the Slater Museum at UPS. Dennis is the past director of the museum.

We went with Dennis in photos to Cambridge Bay where he spent a season literally on the ground with nesting shorebirds, many of which went through Washington on their way north to nest. We looked at the nests, the eggs, the food, the predators, the camouflage of nest and bird, as well as the incubating parents, often the father, in a dozen different species in the up-close-and-personal photographs he took. This area at that time was blessed with a dearth of Arctic Foxes, so most eggs hatched, although of course there were a number of predators on the precocial chicks who did their own foraging as soon as they hatched, returning to their parent only for warmth and protection for a short time.

Dennis gave a number of time-lines on our Washington coastal birds, showing when the adults and then the young birds come through here, dramatically illustrating the long migration season in the fall as opposed to the short season in the spring. Maps were shown illustrating migratory routes of adults versus immatures, highlighting how different they can be. Dennis said it takes a year for the programming to kick in. No one knows how THAT works, but since they leave after their parents, it’s obviously not taught.

Many more factoids amazed some of us. Vera Cragin said on the way home that she had never seen or heard of the fact that shorebirds regurgitate pellets. Many of us were amazed at the photo of the Dowitcher, I think, with its upper mandible bent upwards when needed by the bird. Most amazing was Dennis’ uncanny vocal imitations of several really weird “songs” of shorebirds, rarely heard on these wintering grounds.

The group had many questions, many centering around changes in population, human-caused habitat loss and even humans’ contribution to the currently growing El Nino. However, Dennis says there is no evidence that these birds have changed their timetables in response to any of this, being extremely hard-wired in that regard.

Click on photo to enlarge.

Part of the appreciative crowd, some wearing UPS Slater Museum t-shirts! Center: Kay Pullen, MC for the ABC Club; Dennis Paulson; Ken Brown, founder of ABC; and Peter Wimberger, host and director of the Slater Museum at UPS. Bottom: Dennis with groupies, some of the Willettes wearing shorebird shorts: Carol Smith, Diane Y-Q, and Laurel Parshall.

2015 Peninsula Osprey Survey

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August 1, 2015: A dismal report:

Maybe it was the early and continuing hot weather, maybe it was global warming, maybe it was El Nino, maybe it was just the odds, but the usual happy reports from Osprey nests on the peninsula are sad this year.

The very reliable Purdy spit nest on the power tower there seems to have failed after what looked like a successful effort to rebuild that nest after winter depridations. At this writing, an Osprey or two are often seen perching on the towers, using them to eat their prey and look down into the water for interesting prey fish swimming by, but no sign of chicks at the nest. Both Laurel Parshall and I watched this nest on an almost daily basis at different times of the day, and we have both done so for years, so we know the signs. This nest has been used (often having to be rebuilt) for at least 25 years, probably longer. Now more bad news: The power company has designs on tearing down those towers, as they did with the towers in the same line at Allyn. At least 15 years ago they put up a nest platform on the Purdy side which continues to be spurned by the birds. We’ll have to see what happens.

Speaking of Allyn, this is the second nesting season since the power towers were torn down. Those towers rising up out of North Bay held usually 2 Osprey nests as well as a very funky Heronry where the herons had 6 to 12 nests built on the lower rungs of the towers, probably finding some protection from the Ospreys from those nasty eagles. No idea where the Herons went, but a single mitigation platform was erected on the Victor side of the water which was immediately used by one of the pairs last year. This year they used it again, and it’s successful! At least 2 young. It’s hard to see while driving, but if you pull into the WDFW “park” on the west side of the road where the power lines come across from Allyn (a single pointy tower in the water now), there are 2 toilets (Discover Pass required), you can look up to the east and see this very tall nest platform.

Moving east from Purdy, you can find the cell tower at 156th St NW & Peacock Hill Road. John Riegsecker lives on this road and sees it daily. Although a pair of Osprey have been hanging around, there has been no evidence of young. They do bring in fish and use the tower as a dining table. Last year, John reported the same result. The birds that “own” this tower have been successful at fending off Bald Eagles who nested there previously, but there are still a few things they need to figure out on making a successful nest. Last year, John ran across the term “frustration eyrie,” which is still the descriptive terminology this year.

No nest at the Little League park this year, which is a good thing since the last time they nested there on a light standard, it shorted out, burned down, and the young were all killed.

Moving down the peninsula, the nest on the cell tower behind JMS Wood Sculptors and Budget Truck Rental, clearly visible on the east side of Highway 16, was removed and not rebuilt this year. Another cell tower nest, this one in Port Orchard rising east of Bethel Road in a subdivision just off Silvis Lane, was also removed and not rebuilt this year.

Meanwhile, the cell tower on Wollochet Bay with the WDFW camera trained on it seems to have produced just one chick this year according to the camera, one which was been wildly successful in the past usually with 3 chicks. Unfortunately about the 3rd week in July this chick appeared dead on camera, almost full grown, and the camera was turned off, just keeping the last image on there. Both adults were in the area, one perched on the camera riser and one flying overhead. They were talking back and forth, and it didn’t sound like happy talk.

The Inn at Gig Harbor seemed to have a successful nest for most of the summer, but several visits in July did not reveal the usual cacophony of young, and the adults were visiting infrequently. It sounds like another frustration eyrie.

This is the worst report I can remember in 26 years on the peninsula.

Pictured below is the nest platform at Victor, about the only young Osprey I was able to observe this year. Photo was taken July 23, 2015. Click to enlarge.