ABC’ers enjoy the Great American Eclipse, 8-21-17

10:24 a.m. at Durkee, OR (DY-Q)

Personal eclipse stories are flying about like birds right now.  When Adam Trent and I returned from Oregon, there were already lots of stories and photos awaiting us!  We went to Durkee, OR, which was not as welcoming as Baker, where we stayed.  In fact they called out the National Guard to handle the unwelcome hordes!  The eclipse was fabulous from that site, though!

Durkee, OR, setup: Diane has filters on binoculars and scope, as well as eyes.

Diane is disguised by little eclipses

Heather Voboril and Melissa Sherwood both went to the Oregon mountaintops where they actually met each other for the first time.  Melissa says they had a lot of birds up there, too, which Durkee didn’t have.   Melissa’s family video is here:  https://youtu.be/WHyK_HoQtHg

Here’s Heather’s eclipse series (Click to enlarge):

Heather Voboril caught the entire sequence (click to enlarge)

Donna La Casse writes: “Enjoyed it from up high seeing Mt Hood and Adams in the Ochoco National Forest. Met these astronomy geeks with their equipment! I did not take but one picture but liked the solar flares and sunspots.  Took 1 photo from the eve with the fellows, and you see the moon shadow in the distance leaving our area.”

D La Casse’s Ochoco Natl Forest site with astronomy geeks.

Meanwhile, back in Washington, everyone who couldn’t get away still had a great time, if you can believe these photos!

Ed, Kay, Ken & Rachel hit the jackpot at Sehmel Homestead Park

Ken and Rachel receiving alien messages during eclipse

Laurel celebrates at work

Faye wears cool glasses and cool raptors at Belfair

Carol wears cool glasses and cool raptors

 

And of course you can make your own eclipse!  At Stonehenge on the way home, Adam and I celebrated with Moon Pies!

Archeological evidence from ancient observatory at Stonehenge on the Columbia

Make your own eclipse with a Moon Pie at Stonehenge-on-the Columbia

CAT WARS – ABC’ers weigh in on this war, August 14, 2017

CAT WARS, The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer, has been a science best-seller. It is by Peter P. Marra, head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and coauthor of the authoritative Birds of Two Worlds: The Ecology and Evolution of Migration, and by prolific nature writer Chris Santella, author of Fifty Places to Go Birding Before You Die, etc.

Another vision of Cat Wars

At the beginning of the discussion of CAT WARS, Kay Pullen started us out by asking how many of us had cats, and about half said yes, and all of us have had experience with cats.

Kay enthuses about our book discussion

ABC book discussion circle

Points discussed included Donna La Casse on how her cat Stoney, whom many of us know, is able to go birding with her and have a half-outdoor life with leashes, enclosures, and of course her famous backpack. Other similar ideas such as “catios” and enclosed runs were mentioned.  Videos were shown of cats trained to leash, including a how-to.  These are easily found on YouTube.

Faye introduced the topic of how our culture has changed with regards to dogs, which are now largely controlled, whereas when we were young they were running loose everywhere. Ideas about how to similarly change the culture in the same way with regard to cats were discussed. Ed Pullen discussed toxoplasmosis with his experience as a doctor, so letting the public know more about this underreported, but serious illness for both humans and animals, might help. Kay Pullen pointed out how public sentiment CAN change the culture, using MADD as an excellent example.

Diane mentioned how the cat-loving public needs to be approached as our doing something for the cats, and then Eric Dudley, our resident veterinarian, affirmed that outdoor cats live usually no more than 5 years, whereas indoor cats usually around 15 years. He said that the injuries he sees in his practice to outdoor cats do not seem to convince their owners to keep them indoors, however.  Eric also mentioned that it was true that acetaminophen (Tylenol) is a cat-killing poison that doesn’t seem to affect other animals.  It’s apparently widely used in Australia, where they are serious about getting their cat problem under control.

The cat problem is critical on islands such as Stephens Island, which is the lead story in the book, but also on the Juan Fernandez Islands off Chile which we’ll hear about next month when Prof. Peter Hodum visits us.  Several of us were recently in the island nation of Cuba, and unneutered dogs and cats all run free there, always underfoot and most seemingly unowned.  And we all know the sad story of Hawaiian endemics.  Art Wang talked about that a little with some experiences of his son Alex who is a researcher there and Alex’s cat.  Six of us wore T-shirts with the few remaining Hawaiian endemics pictured.

Hawaiian Endemics group — Birds in danger from cats

T-N-R (Trap-Neuter-Release) groups are growing in power, even since the book came out, as a number of major cities (Chicago, New York, etc.) are promoting it as a rat-control system and as a “green” method compared to poison. Some of these jurisdictions are actually moving feral cat colonies purposely into neighborhoods with rat problems. The TNR people really know how to promote their point of view, and this is very scary.

Sheri from PAWS said that the PAWS group she works with in Lynnwood (Donna volunteers there, also) does not endorse TNR and is very concerned with protecting wildlife. She said that may not be the case with all PAWS facilities.

Websites for items mentioned tonight:
Here Kitty, Kitty,” the movie made about the Wisconsin cat war several years ago is not readily available on video, but excerpts are shown during this interview with the movie maker:
http://wpt.org/Directors-Cut/Video/andy-beversdorf-here-kitty-kitty

Here, Kitty Kitty movie poster

Print the brochure from the OTHER ABC (American Bird Conservancy). It has tips on how to turn an outdoor cat into an indoor cat and why — for the cat itself, as well as for wildlife:
https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/take-action/

American Bird Conservancy also has lots of other good stuff on their site.  Check out their T-N-R (Trap-Neuter-Release) page about why it’s so bad for birds (and for those cats): https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/trap-neuter-release/

October 11 – SEATTLE’S ADAPTABLE URBAN COOPER’S HAWKS

October 11, 2017, 7:15 PM (NOTE later time) – University Place Library:  ED DEAL presents SEATTLE’S ADAPTABLE URBAN COOPER’S HAWKS.

A Coopers’ Hawk couple followed by Ed Deal

25 years ago Cooper’s Hawks began colonizing urban & suburban landscapes throughout the US, evolving a tolerance for living in proximity to humans. Ed Deal, from the Seattle Cooper’s Hawk Project, will provide insights into these common but elusive raptors, covering the breeding season with photos and videos. The study, one of several in large US cities (e.g., Tucson, Milwaukee, Albuquerque), is monitoring the Seattle population nesting density and annual productivity. In addition, a color ID banding program looks at fledgling dispersal, longevity, and adult breeding and winter site fidelity. The results include annual increases in productivity, little evidence of migration, strong site fidelity and (mostly) short natal dispersal distances.

ABOUT ED DEAL: You would think someone born in Cooper Hospital and raised in Audubon, NJ, would be a child prodigy birder. But Ed’s mid-life conversion involved taking Bud Anderson’s Hawk ID class in 1991. He went on to volunteer on Fall Migration hawk banding projects in the Goshutes Mtn, NV, Florida Keys and Cape May, NJ, in addition to Diamond Head, Chelan Ridge and Entiat Ridge in WA. He volunteered on Falcon Research Group’s 17-year study of nesting Peregrine Falcons in the San Juan Islands and just completed his 24th year monitoring nesting Peregrines in the Seattle area. For the last 6 years he has worked with a group of volunteers studying the expanding urban population of Cooper’s Hawks in Seattle. He holds a Federal Master Raptor Banding Permit. He is a graduate of the Seattle Audubon Master Birder Program and a recovering lister.

READ MORE:  Lessons about Seattle from the Cooper’s Hawk:

http://crosscut.com/2017/09/seattle-coopers-hawk-bird-study-raptor/