Falcon Flyer - Peregrine Audubon Society
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Falcon Flyer
Promoting the preservation of birds, wildlife, and their natural habitats.
Peregrine Audubon Society provides informative and educational public programs
and participates actively as an advocate for environmental conservation.
September 2021
CALENDAR
Important Information
Subscribe to our e-mail list to make sure you receive
Meetings and Field Trips - Our monthly programs are an invitation to each Zoom presentation.
now being held via Zoom and are listed in the calendar. https://peregrineaudubon.org/
We look forward to resuming in person field trips later this
winter as covid restrictions permit. Meeting- Tuesday, September 21, 2021- Zoom meet-
ing 7 PM. Join us this evening as we visit Guatemala
Field Trip Guidelines: When in-person field trips resume,
with our tour guide, the incomparable Matthew Mat-
these guidelines apply. Please take a moment to read them if
you are new or use them to refresh your memory if you have thiessen. From the lowland rainforests of the north to
birded with us before. the mountains of the south, the country of Guatemala
is strategically situated to maximize avian diversity. The
*****The times listed are the departure times, not the mind-boggling array of birds the country boasts includes
assembly times. Please arrive early!***** Many of these the endemics of the Yucatan, the iconic specialties of
trips are out of the area and require an hour or more of southern Mexico, and many of the dazzling megas of
driving, so promptness is necessary. Due to insurance Central America. During the evening we will explore
requirements, Peregrine Audubon leaders are not allowed to the jungles surrounding the Mayan Pyramids of Tikal,
organize carpools. Participants are, however, encouraged to
ascend to the high elevation pine-oak forests, and scale
voluntarily share rides. Any carpool arrangements are private
the cloud-laden Toliman volcano hoping for glimpses
arrangements between the driver and the passengers. Drivers
must carry adequate insurance coverage. Please be courte- of such treasures as Ocellated Turkey, Orange-breasted
ous and share gas expenses with the driver. Most trips are Falcon, Pink-headed Warbler, Resplendent Quetzal, and
all day affairs but at times various people need to get back Horned Guan. If we’re lucky we may come across a
sooner. By arriving 10 minutes early, such necessary travel few reptiles, butterflies, and dragonflies as well. Mat-
arrangements can be made. thew is an experienced birder, an engaging speaker, and
a World-class photographer. This will be a fascinat-
To Bring: You will probably want to take a pack with lunch, ing presentation and we hope you can join us for the
water, hat and appropriate clothing - coats, rain gear, etc. - evening discovering the unparalleled beauty of the Birds
binoculars*, camera perhaps, notepad and field guides.
of Guatemala.
* Binoculars are important but loaner pairs may be available
for newcomers. If you have one to loan, bring it along. Meeting- Tuesday, October 19, 2021- Zoom Meeting
7 PM. May the Oaks be with You -- Have you ever
wondered which oak species carpet California’s hills and
fill its fertile valleys, providing the West’s most wildlife-
rich terrestrial habitats? If so, help is at hand. In a talk
filled with striking images, humor, and useful memory
aids, author and naturalist Kate Marianchild will help
us identify common California oaks by their acorns,
Calendar, continued on page 2
Falcon Flyer - September 2021 Page1
Calendar, continued from page 1
leaves, and even galls. With acorns in hand, you will learn over 100 patients from MendocinoCounty? With
to distinguish a valley oak from an Oregon oak from a blue an increase in the number of birds needing care this year, the
oak, and a canyon live oak from a coast live oak. Kate will Salmonella Outbreak bringing in the new year was just the
also teach us some tantalizing tidbits about co-evolutionary beginning of a uniquely challenging year for the birds. Join
relationships between oaks and several other species. The one- in to learn about The Bird Rescue Center and hear behind-
hour talk will be followed with Q & A. the-scenes stories of bird rescue, particularly of Mendocino
County patients, and unique avian observations from the last
Kate asks that you bring acorns with caps to this Zoom few years with Ashton Kluttz, Executive Director of the Bird
presentation, along with a few pieces of paper and a pen or Rescue Center in Santa Rosa. Ashton Kluttz completed her
pencil. BA in Environmental Studies at Washington College (Mary-
land). She began her tenure with The Bird Rescue Center in
Kate Marianchild is the author of Secrets of the Oak Wood- 2010 and her career as a wildlife rehabilitator in 2009 with
lands: Plants and Animals among California’s Oaks (Heyday, The Marine Mammal Center where she served in the Strand-
2014) and Identifying the Common Oaks of Northern and ing Department. Striving to provide the best care for our lo-
Central California, a full-color oak identification guide sheet. cal wildlife, she obtained her Registered Veterinary Technician
Both are available for purchase on her website. Kate gives certification in 2018, has co-authored a chapter on towhee
talks, leads walks, and advocates for oak woodland conserva- care currently included in a wildlife care book for facilities
tion. around the world, and serves on the board for the California
Council for Wildlife Rehabilitators that provides community,
protocols, and information to all California wildlife facilities.
Under her direction, Bird Rescue has forged stronger relation-
ships with other wildlife and education facilities and within
the community. She has come to appreciate each individual
species’ behaviors and could discuss their quirks at length.
In her spare time, she catches up with her family on the East
Coast and enjoys taking photos of food on her dog’s nose.
Meeting- Tuesday, November 16, 2021- Zoom meeting
7 PM. This evening Ashton Kluttz, Executive Director of
The Bird Rescue Center will be our speaker. Did you know
The Bird Rescue Center, located in Sonoma County, sees
Peregrine Audubon and Covid
Like so many others the Peregrine Board was looking forward year. The Board strongly encourages everyone who is eligible
to seeing you in the fall. However, careful consideration of to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible. We cannot con-
the mounting Covid 19 Delta surge in Mendocino County tinue our educational and environmental work while we are
has compelled us to forgo that pleasure and continue with endangering each other by acting as reservoirs for this deadly
our Zoom programs until January. We regret that we will not virus.
be organizing group field trips during this time as well. We
sincerely hope that we will be able to get together in the new
Falcon Flyer - September 2021 Page2
Willits Little Lake Valley Bypass Mitigation Lands Breeding Bird Survey 2021
by Marisela de Santa Anna One of the highlights of the count was a day when a
Bald Eagle flew by, and a White-faced Ibis soared high
This year in May the sixth annual breeding bird point above us. Lazuli buntings, Bullocks Orioles, Yellow
count for the Willits Little Lake Valley Bypass Mitiga- Breasted Chats, and Grasshopper sparrows are some
tion project was once again a wonderful and informa- of the commonly seen or heard birds. The Tree, Violet
tive time. With the help of seven volunteers, mostly green, Barn, Cliff, and Rough-winged swallows, Red-
from the Peregrine Chapter of the Audubon Society, winged blackbirds, and Common yellowthroats are
the long days of counting each bird at fifty-six different constantly singing and flying above our heads. We had
point areas went by without a glitch. A point count is White-throated swifts and Purple Martins nesting in
a particular type of bird survey and this one was created the viaduct for the second year in a row. One of the
for the project by Point Blue Conservation in Petaluma. adventures we all had was walking into a hatching tick
The points were randomly chosen and evenly distributed area where we all had so many ticks on us it took quite
in the three main habitats or ecosystems in the Little a while to get them all off! The good news about the
Lake Valley: Grassland or grazing pastures, Wetland, and ticks in the valley is that they are large, slow, and don’t
Riparian corridors. The purpose is to document the dif- seem to bite. They are just annoying and a force to be
ferences in biodiversity and number of bird species that reckoned with. Even with the lack of rainfall and heat
are breeding in those habitats, and to gage the impact of we managed to see and count a lot of birds. When the
the grazing management, the mitigation and revegeta- winter months bring the much-needed rain the RCD
tion of riparian and wetland areas, and the construction will be able to take the time to tally all the data sheets
of the bypass itself. It is very important to pay attention into the excel spread sheet document and then compare
at the level of a point count to be able to compare the to the last five years. This will be a long but interesting
numbers at the same locations year after year. The effects task for sure!
of weather conditions, a wet year versus a drought year
such as this one is impactful also and this is recorded
as well. There have been years where some of the point
spots were not possible to get to because they were
under water, which I now remember with great long-
ing, whereas this year it was dry enough to do them all.
To do the count, we need a recorder, to write down the
birds that get called out, a time person who keeps the
3-minute timer, a photographer is always important and
then all of us use our ears and eyes to see as many birds
in a 3-minute period as we can. Keith Leland came just
about every day and his brother Kent came two days.
They are fantastic photographers and took some won-
derful photos. Helen Menasian was a patient and neat
recorder, and Mike Curry, Dave Bengtson, Lee Farese,
and Chuck Vaughn all signed up to help listen and look
for birds. We are so grateful to these and all the volun-
teers who have helped over the years, without their help
it is a much longer and less fun process.
This year we expanded the breeding bird count to
include our upland parcel located on the East Side Road
on the southeast side of Willits. This has two woodlands,
two grasslands, and three created wetland areas. We now
have four new points and with the removal of some of
the redundant points in some of the other areas we have
56 total points to focus on.
Falcon Flyer - September 2021 Page3
Mendocino County Cannabis Ordinance
The establishment and enforcement of cannabis cultivation regulations in Mendocino has proven to be complex and challeng-
ing. At its June 22 meeting the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors passed a new cannabis cultivation ordinance, called
“Chapter 22.18.” These new regulations establish a discretionary use permit process for new applicants as opposed to the ministerial use
permit process established by the county a few years ago. Supervisors hope that the new ordinance will streamline the permit process while
protecting the environment.
The new ordinance has been the source of a heated debate and has been challenged by a group seeking to overturn the ordinance by sub-
mitting a referendum called “Save our Water Wildlife and Way of Life” that has over 6,000 signatures. The controversy revolves around a
number of issues. One issue is a provision known as the 10 percent clause that allows certain zones to apply to grow cannabis on up to 10
percent of a parcel. Other significant issues include lack of an EIR before the formulation and passage of Chapter 22.18, allowing cultiva-
tion in the Rangeland Zone, the potential for over allocation of our county water resources, and inadequate enforcement.
While acknowledging the many hours the BOS has spent to improve cannabis regulation in Mendocino County, Peregrine Audubon So-
ciety has joined the Sanhedrin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society in submitting our concerns and recommendations. To bring
our membership up to date, we have included our latest correspondence in this newsletter on the following page.
............................
New Functionality in Cornell’s Mobile Apps
Merlin Bird ID from The Cornell Lab now supports “Sound ID.” With this feature, a user can have a sound recording analyzed and
the app will suggest a list of potential species. Similar to the “Photo ID” feature, Sound ID isn’t perfect but gives a reasonable localized
list of choices in most cases.
Another App from The Cornell Lab, eBird Mobile, now has a new tab titled “Explore.” This feature loosely replicates a similar page on
the eBird website. Users can view local hotspots with recent submissions and also recent observations of species seen locally. This is
particularly helpful when choosing a birding spot or familiarizing oneself with expected species in an unfamiliar territory.
............................
A Preview of September 21 Presentation
Photos by Matthew Matthiessen
Falcon Flyer - September 2021 Page4
PEREGRINE AUDUBON SOCIETY
PO Box 311
Ukiah, CA 95482
July 19, 2021
Board of Supervisors, County of Mendocino
501 Low Gap Road, Room 1010
Ukiah, CA 95482
RE: Commercial Cannabis Activity Land Use Ordinance
Dear Members of the Board and Chair Gjerde,
As a local Chapter of the National Audubon Society, our mission is to promote the conservation of birds, wildlife,
and their natural habitats. The preservation of intact oak woodland ecosystems is vital to that effort. We are
concerned with the rushed and piecemeal way that the new cannabis ordinance is being adopted in an effort to
avoid an EIR. We strongly endorse the following fundamental policies proposed to you by the Sanhedrin Chapter
of the California Native Plant Society and encourage you to work together with these in mind.
● Enforcement mechanisms need to be clear and scaled up significantly. The lack of enforcement by the county to
date has led to the proliferation of cultivation sites in highly inappropriate places with catastrophic cumulative effects,
and any ordinance without enforcement will be woefully ineffective. Enforcement should not be complaint driven or
based on volunteer efforts.
● The county needs adequate staffing levels and skill sets in cannabis administration and enforcement in order for any
ordinance to succeed.
● All rangelands should be excluded from cultivation. Rangelands incorporate oak woodlands, as well as sensitive
natural habitats, streams that harbor the remaining populations of over-summering steelhead and Coho juveniles, and
more. Rangeland areas are also dry and particularly susceptible to wildfire, and increasing industrial activity in these
areas will lead to more wildfires. The new ordinance can accommodate appropriate rangeland cultivation through the
opportunity to rezone.
● Mendocino County must develop short and long term water resiliency strategies prior to any expansion of
cultivation. Water resources are extremely limited, and water conditions in Mendocino County as a whole are the
worst they have been since 1977. Watershed impacts must be addressed before cultivation is permitted.
● The 10% expansion rule is not acceptable. This proposed level of expansion could lead to tens of thousands of
additional acres of cannabis cultivation which would in turn have massive deleterious environmental impacts.
Cultivation areas should be limited as appropriate to each location after completion of a county wide Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) and site specific CEQA analyses.
● Cumulative impacts must be addressed on a landscape level. Individual cultivation sites may have small impacts,
but cumulatively across the landscape we have seen loss of year round water supplies for fish and other wildlife, forest
and oak woodland conversion, radically increased sediment in our streams from rural roads, chemical pollutants in our
waterways, increased carbon emissions, and more.
● Despite hundreds of letters submitted to the BOS, the above issues were not addressed in the most recent ordinance.
In order to ameliorate the concerns of many of your constituents, we request that the county conduct an EIR
regardless of which ordinance is in place. The EIR should address all cumulative impacts of cultivation, regardless
of size, and address remediation measures and policy to limit and mitigate the effects.
Thank you for continuing to work toward responsible cannabis regulation and enforcement policies that insure
protection of the precious natural resources of Mendocino County.
Falcon Flyer - September 2021 Page5Peregrine Audubon Society
Non Profit
P.O. Box 311 Organization
Ukiah, CA 95482 U.S. Postage
Paid
Ukiah, CA
Falcon
Permit #26
Flyer OR CURRENT RESIDENT
Peregrine Audubon Society
www.peregrineaudubon.org Local Membership Only
Chapter Officers -
President Marisela de Santa Anna mdsa1955@gmail.com 707.459.2681
Yes, I’d like to join the Peregrine Audubon Society - $20
Vice-President Helen Menasian hmenasian@pacific.net 707.489.9932
Treasurer Renee Comte roadapple37@gmail.com 707.485.8550
Secretary Lorna Maslenikov lmaslenikov@wildblue.net 707.489.4331 Please send $20 for membership payable to:
At-large Cheryl Watson cwatson@pacific.net 707.462.4289
Board George Gibbs ggibbs@pacific.net 707.468.8022
Members Pardee Bardwell vwbuzz1972@gmail.com 707.462.6299 Peregrine Audubon Society
Roger Foote rogeletf@gmail.com 707.972.6988 P.O. Box 311
Ukiah, CA 95482
Membership Chuck Vaughn cevaughn@pacific.net 707.462.8137
Conservation Ryan Keiffer ryan.keiffer@gmail.com 707.671.5834
NAME_________________________________________________
Education Dave Bengston davebengston@icloud.com, 707.513.8249
ADDRESS______________________________________________
Other Chapter Contacts -
Bird Observations Bob Keiffer rjkeiffer@att.net 707.744.1160 CITY________________________STATE______ZIP___________
Newsletter Nancy Steiner rhuswood@pacific.net 707.462.5110
Webmaster Cheryl Watson cwatson@pacific.net 707.462.4289 Email:__________________________________________________
(We will not share your email with anyone)
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