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THE NEWS: |
LOCAL
Saturday, September 9, 9-11am ~ Kayaking/canoeing and Birding the Little Nestucca River. Part of the Nestucca NWR, we will see waterfowl, raptors and riparian birds. You will need to provide your own gear: kayak/canoe, personal flotation device (PFD)/ life vest (mandatory), and whistle (also mandatory). Must wear a PFD at all times when you’re on the water. You should also be able to swim as you ARE responsible for your own safety. Have an invasive species permit for your vessel if it is 10 feet or longer (mandatory). Boat ramp is located on the south side of the Little Nestucca River on Meda Loop, a quarter mile off Hwy 101.
REGIONAL
The Oregon Birding Association (OBA) Annual Meeting will be held September 15-17 at Malheur Field Station (MFS) in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (Malheur NWR) in southeastern Oregon. This is its first visit to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge since 2008. Click here for more details.
Catch up what's happening at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by clicking here.
Click here to read Klamath Basin Audubon Society's newsletter, The Grebe.
Whether you are a resident state birder or a visitor, you might be interested in finding out what birds were sighted where in the state and when. Click here for up-to-date reports.
NATIONAL
Want to know the status of bird migrations. Check out BirdCast, the realtime migration forecast by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
JIGSAW PUZZLE ENTHUSIASTS
For those who enjoy playing jigsaw puzzles, tackle our August one this month. Good luck!!
Support ASLC through AmazonSmile. It is a simple and automatic way for you to support ASLC every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to the Audubon Society of Lincoln City. To go directly to ASLC's support account, go to: smile.amazon.com/ch/20-3795649
To learn more about AmazonSmile and how you can support ASLC, click here.
IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS
Injured birds, dead mammals, poaching,
call: State Police: 800-452-7888
Injured Bird and Mammal Rehab Centers:
Chintimini Wildlife Center (Corvallis) 541-745-5324
Wildlife Care Center (Portland) 503-292-0304
Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center (Salem) 503-540-8664
Wildlife Center of the North Coast (Astoria) 503-338-0331
Injured Raptors
Cascades Raptor Center (Eugene) 541-485-1320
photo © ernie rose- great horned owl
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Birding
During The Total Solar Eclipse
Article by Steve Griffiths in 2017 ASLC Summer Newsletter |
Recently I spent a weekend in Ashland at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. At breakfast one morning, the topic of the impending August eclipse came up in conversation. My bed-and-breakfast hosts, a British couple, mentioned they had experienced a total eclipse in Zimbabwe in June, 2001. They were working for the British Embassy there at the time. “We sat on a rock out in the middle of nowhere and watched the eclipse. We noticed that many birds began to settle down and roost.”
As my hosts were viewing the eclipse, 250 members of Wildlife and Environment Zimbabwe had their eyes trained on wildlife behavior at the Mana Pools National Park. As the total eclipse approached, they observed birds flying toward their roosting spots. The birds were quiet during the total phase of the eclipse, then greeted the sun with a raucous, dawn-like chorus when it re-appeared.*
Did you know that – not too long ago – we experienced a total solar eclipse on the central Oregon coast? On February 26th, 1979, at 8.12 a.m. Here’s what a careful observer noted of bird behavior at the mouth of the Yaquina Estuary: 1) Black Turnstones, cormorants, and gulls flew away from the shore, some forming “roosting rafts” in the channel; and 2) hundreds of gulls flew over the channel, many of them “giving alarm calls”** (no predators were present). The birds returned to feeding after the eclipse passed.
So, even if it’s cloudy, wet, or foggy here on August 21st, we’re still in for a treat. Have your binoculars in hand and focus on the birds.
*Todd Thompson, “Observing Wildlife Reactions During a Total Solar Eclipse”,
www.eclipse-chasers.com
**“Effects of Solar Eclipse on Waterbirds at Yaquina Estuary, Oregon” printed in 1989 Oregon Birds and found online at yaquina.Info
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Turns 109! |
On August 18, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order establishing the "Lake Malheur Reservation" in southeast Oregon. The reservation set aside more than 80,000 acres of land surrounding Mud, Harney and Malheur Lakes "as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds." It was the 19th wildlife refuge established by President Roosevelt; he would establish 51 in all during his presidency.
This was the third refuge in Oregon at the time, and one of only six refuges west of the Mississippi. In 1935 the reserve became known as Malheur Migratory Bird Refuge, and would eventually grow to encompass 187,756 acres.
With the armed hostage-taking of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in early 2016, and the current threat of a border wall that will bisect the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, our nation's refuges have been thrust into the spotlight. It's apparent that few are aware of the incredible benefits wildlife refuges provide to communities and the local economy.
For every $1 Congress appropriates to run the Refuge System, nearly $5 is returned to local economies in jobs, sales, income and tax revenue - and that's on average. In many areas, wildlife refuges provide an even greater boost to the economy. Malheur is one such economic engine, returning over $7 for every $1 appropriated by Congress. Ironically, in spite of their economic value, our refuges are tragically underfunded and understaffed because of actions by our elected representatives. Read the full story here. |
