june 2013 valley habitat
DESCRIPTION
June 2013 joint publication of the Stanislaus Audubon Society and the Yokuts Sierra ClubTRANSCRIPT
Valley Habitat 1
The Valley Habitat June 2013
A Joint Publ icat ion of the Stan islaus Audubon Soc iety
and the Yokuts Group of the S ierra Club
Fracking - View from Chair by Anita
Young, Chair, Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club
Recently I spoke to the Democratic Women's
Club about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the proce-
dure used to extract oil or natural gas from underground
deposits of oil shale or oil sand. I was asked to speak
because I had written a rebuttal to Assemblywoman
Kristin Olsen's op-ed piece in the Modesto Bee in late
March.
Olsen extolled the economic virtues of fracking from
the Monterey Shale deposits that run from Southern
California north to the west section of Stanislaus Coun-
ty. She said "it could be the best news for the valley's
economy in a long time." According to a report by the
USC Schools of Engineering and Public Policy,
"Powering California: The Monterey Shale and Califor-
nia's Economic Future," (http://is.gd/u1sbdn), paid for
in part by the Western States Petroleum Association,
"the jobs and economic opportunities that would come
with development of the valley's oil resources could be
an incredible turning point for our region... could add
from 512,000 jobs in 2015 to 2.8 million new jobs by
2020. Nowhere else are we going to see this level of job
creation."
Sound too good to be true? We have a few questions for
the honorable Assemblywoman, and for Michael Ru-
bio, former California State Senator elected in 2010
who abruptly quit in February to go to work for Chev-
ron, and for the big players in the petroleum industry.
They are currently engaged in a full-on media blitz to
get us to believe that fracking is the answer to our
dreams of economic recovery in the Valley.
Aside from the fact that fracking continues our depend-
ence on carbon-based fuels that lead to greenhouse gas
emissions, fracking is wrong in so many ways. You will
recall scenes in the film, An Inconvenient Truth, that
show decommissioned oil fields in several locations
throughout the world. These fields have become utter
wastelands, the land and groundwater polluted beyond
recovery, the jobs in that sort of boom-and-bust indus-
try a distant memory. We can look at California's histo-
ry showing the degradation of land and rivers caused
by the gold rush in the 1800s. And just five years ago
one of the major Valley "industries," residential con-
struction, went belly up, demonstrating the fallacy of
depending on construction for long-term economic sta-
bility.
Spend an hour searching the Internet and you can find
images of similar devastation from the fracking that has
been quietly going on for 20 or more years. More recent
evidence shows environmental destruction on several
fronts:
Hydraulic fracturing injects, under great pressure, mix-
tures of water, sand and chemicals that break up shale
oil deposits, which are then refined to produce natural
gas and other petroleum products. That water and
chemical mixture remains underground, leading to
permanent contamination of the aquifer and the per-
manent removal from the water cycle of vast amounts
of water needed for agricultural and domestic use.
``````````````````````````````````````(Continued on page 6)
Yokuts Annual Potluck Picnic June 7th, 2013
This year’s Yokuts Potluck will be on Friday, June 7th, starting at 6:00 p.m. at Anita’s, 1003 Coldwell Avenue, Mod-
esto, CA., 529-2300. All friends of the Sierra Club and Stanislaus Audubon are invited. Bring a favorite dish to share, a bever-
age or two, your own table settings, and a lawn chair. Enjoy the start of summer with friends, great food, and a fun evening .
Valley Habitat 2
Stan islaus Audubon Soc iety
RECENT SIGHTINGS OF RARE OR UNCOMMON BIRDS
MERCED COUNTY: On April 22, David Suddjian saw a BREWER’S SPARROW at the Willow Point parking lot
of O’Neill Forebay. Kent van Vuren had an uncommonly large flock of at least 182 WHIMBRELS migrating through
on Henry Miller Road. Richard Ranc saw two ARCTIC TERNS at the Los Baños Creek Reservoir on April 28. Kent
van Vuren had a DUSKY FLYCATCHER at Dinosaur Point Road on May 5, and a CASSIN’S KINGBIRD at the San
Luis Reservoir on May 8.
STANISLAUS COUNTY: Kathryn Parker had a NASHVILLE WARBLER at Orange Blossom Recreation Area on
April 19. Nine participants of an Audubon field trip to the San Joaquin River N.W.R. saw two MARBLED GOD-
WITS foraging with Avocets on April 20. A male LARK BUNTING was seen during a Mt. Diablo Audubon field trip
in Del Puerto Canyon on April 24. Judith Aukeman reported seeing a male RED CROSSBILL prying open pine cones
in a conifer at Beyer Park on April 30. If accepted by the S.B.R.C., this sighting would be the first spring record of this
irruptive species in Stanislaus County. Ralph Baker saw a MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER on Adair Road on May 5.
An OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was seen by John Harris near his home, four miles east of Oakdale, on May 8 and
10. In uncanny timing, the last Olive-sided Flycatcher John had at his yard was on May 9, 2012. Jim Gain saw two
VAUX’S SWIFTS flying over 10th Street in downtown Modesto on May 11. Kathryn Parker had three SANDERLINGS
at the Modesto Water Quality Control Facility on May 11 also, which is the second-Saturday access date set aside for
birders.
ONLINE NEWSLETTER REQUEST PERSISTS
Stanislaus Audubon Society continues to collect email addresses from those who would prefer to receive
Valley Habitat in color online. If any Audubon members wish to receive this newsletter online,
email [email protected] with “Online Newsletter” as the subject. Put your membership name in the
body of the text WITH YOUR POSTAL ZIP CODE.
Olive-sided Flycatcher
© John Harris
Red Crossbill
© Tom Grey
Stan islaus Audubon Soc iety
Valley Habitat 3
FLIGHT
Flight is the supreme
achievement of birds, and humans
have envied such freedom for as long
as they have been able to dream.
Myths relating man’s attempts to
course through the air range from
Africa to China, but the best-known
to us is that of Daedalus and Icarus.
To escape from the Labyrinth that
Daedalus had made and was impris-
oned in, he created wings of wil-
lows, eagles’ wings, and bees-
wax. His son Icarus, heedless as
boys can be, flew too close to the
sun and perished in the sea when
the wax melted.
The actual history of
human-powered flight is littered
with fatalities, due to a misap-
prehension of the crucial differ-
ences between birds and men.
Even though Otto Lilienthal, the
“Glider King,” managed to defy
gravity for more than 2,000
flights, he too succumbed to the fate
of Icarus in 1896. If anatomy is des-
tiny, then birds are exquisitely de-
signed for flying, and humans for
creating machines that can only mim-
ic that organic phenomenon. The
modern sky is filled with numerous
aircraft, but none is as agile as a
hummingbird, as graceful as an alba-
tross, or as maneuverable as all the
other birds between them.
For thoroughness, I should
acknowledge that some forty species
of birds do not fly. Penguins adapted
to the sea, so their wings have be-
come flippers. Ostriches and their
kin are too heavy for lift-off—up to
320 pounds—so they have developed
strong legs for running up to 43 miles
per hour. Kiwis of New Zealand
filled an ecological niche that had no
predators until the 13th century, when
humans, and the mammals that fol-
low them, arrived on the island.
Flight is so generic to birds, however,
that even present-day flightless birds
evolved from ancestors that could
fly.
How do birds manage the
lift, weight, thrust and drag forces
needed for flight? The structures of
birds aid immeasurably. Birds pos-
sess a high metabolism and their food
is rapidly digested, so they burn energy
more quickly for the sustained effort
needed to remain aloft. Also, birds
have fewer bones than terrestrial ver-
tebrates, and those bones are filled
with air instead of marrow. As a re-
sult, birds are true lightweights—a
dove four ounces, a chickadee just
four-tenths of an ounce.
Furthermore, birds possess a
keel-shaped sternum attached to
strong muscles that are needed to flap
their wings. They have no teeth,
jaws, or noses, further reducing
weight and air friction. Their internal
organs form a compact center of
gravity, made more possible by short
wing and tail bones. Their lungs sit
close to air sacs that deliver fresh air
with a high oxygen content in a uni-
directional flow, keeping the volume
of air constant.
We now come to the feathers
that ultimately achieve the deed. All
of the thousands of contour feathers,
in addition to serving other functions,
lie down in a smooth, intricate fash-
ion. Their precisely arranged feather
tracts combine to give a bird’s body
the sleek, aerodynamic shape it needs
to cut through air.
Flight is a specialized activi-
ty that can be accomplished on-
ly by special flight feathers,
which number just a few dozen
on a bird. A bird’s wing has a
curved top, a thick leading edge,
and a long tapering tail to it. The
nine to eleven primary flight
feathers on each wing are asym-
metrical, with their rachis offset
forward and their widest points
forward towards the tip. These
feathers, attached to the “hand,”
have an outer web that is built to
be stiff and strong for slicing the
air. The secondary feathers are
broad, long and more symmetrical,
helping to give the bird uplift in
flight.
When the air contacts the
front of a bird’s wing, the dynamics
change as it goes above or below the
wing. The speed of the wind and its
angle determine how much air gets
deflected downward. Lift is created
when there is increased air pressure
below the wing. At the same time,
the airflow hugs that curved upper
surface and goes behind the wing in a
downwash, reducing air pressure and
providing additional buoyancy. Wing
feathers act both individually and
together, to give a bird control over
the subtleties of flight.
BIRDS ARE OF FEATHERS – PART FOUR by Salvatore Salerno
Stanislaus Audubon Society
Board of Directors: Bill Amundsen, Ralph
Baker, Eric Caine, Lori Franzman, Jody Hall-
strom, David Froba, Jim Gain, Daniel Gilman,
John Harris, Harold Reeve, Salvatore Salerno.
Officers & Committee Chairs
President: Sal Salerno 985-1232
Vice President: Eric Caine 968-1302
Treasurer: David Froba 521-7265
Secretary: John Harris 848-1518
Membership: Revolving
San Joaquin River Refuge Field Trips:
Bill Amundsen 521-8256
Other Field Trips: David Froba 521-7265
Christmas Bird Counts Coordinator; Secre-
tary, Stanislaus Birds Records Committee:
Harold Reeve 538-0885
How to Join Audubon
To become a member of the National
Audubon Society, which entitles you
to receive Valley Habitat and Audubon
Magazine, send your check for $20.00 to:
National Audubon Society
Membership Data Center
P.O. Box 422250
Palm Coast, FL 32142
Visit our web site: www.stanislausbirds.org
Valley Habitat 4
Stan islaus Audubon Soc iety
AUDUBON FIELD TRIPS
June 2, Pinecrest Lake/Kennedy Meadows. We will visit these areas in
search of such montane species as Sooty Grouse, Mountain Quail, William-
son's Sapsucker, Pileated Woodpecker, Clark’s Nutcracker, Mountain Chick-
adee and Cassin’s Finch. We will picnic under the pines. Trip leader Ralph
Baker, [email protected]. Meet in front of the
closed garden center of the Riverbank Target (2425 Claribel Rd) at 7:15am.
We’ll be back mid-to-late afternoon.
June 15, July 21, August 17, September 15 (two Sundays and two Satur-
days) San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge is huge and offers the most
diverse habitats in the area, including mixed species transitional savannahs,
riparian forest, oak woodlands, grassland, and seasonal wetlands. Trip lead-
er, Bill Amundsen ( 521-8256, [email protected] ), chooses the particu-
lar habitats to visit each month based on conditions and season. Meet at the Stan-
islaus Library parking lot at 1500 I Street. at 7:00 a.m. We'll be back early afternoon.
June 9. Dry Creek, Modesto. The resident birds have now been joined by
those who have migrated in for the summer, all frenetically engaged in activ-
ities of nesting and raising young. While the time for unusual sightings has
waned, the opportunity for a lot of action views has increased. But while the
birds will be extra active, we will have an easy and pleasant day inModesto's
parks. Trip leader, Dave Froba, [email protected], 521-7265. Meet at the
Stanislaus Library parking lot at 1500 I Street. at 7:00 a.m. We'll be back
about noon.
July 14, Calaveras Big Trees State Park. We’ll walk the North Grove
Trail, visit Dardanelles Overlook and picnic on the river, where we might be
lucky enough to see an American Dipper. Trip leader Ralph
Baker, [email protected]. Meet in front of the closed gar-
den center of the Riverbank Target (2425 Claribel Rd) at 7:15am. We’ll be
back mid-to-late afternoon.
September 7, Oakdale Recreation Area. We'll be looking particularly for
fall migrants. Trip leader to be announced. Contact Dave Froba for more in-
formation, [email protected], 521-7265. Meet at the Stanislaus Library
parking lot at 1500 I Street. at 7:00 a.m. We'll be back early afternoon.
September 14, Caswell State Park. This park on the Stanislaus River near
Ripon has one of the largest original riparian forests in the Central Valley.
These ancient oaks and other trees attract birds in migration.Trip leader to be
announced. Contact Dave Froba for more information, [email protected],
521-7265. Meet at the Stanislaus Library parking lot at 1500 I Street at 7:00
a.m. We'll be back early afternoon.
Audubon Field Trip Email List
If you would like to be on a group
email to advise you of all
Audubon field trips, please email:
Dave Froba at [email protected].
Valley Habitat 5
Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club & Stan islaus Audubon Society
Wednesday, July 3rd
Dayhike (2D)
Yosemite Valley floor to Glacier
Point by way of “4 mile trail”.
This well maintained and graded
trail is actually four and a half
miles each way and gains 3,200
feet from the floor to Glacier
Point. The hike up includes spec-
tacular views of the valley along
the way. Refreshments, including
snack foods, are available at the
top. For further information, in-
cluding the meet-up time and
place, please contact Yokuts trip
leader Randall Brown at 209 632-
5994.
Friday July 26-Sunday July 28 Car Camp/Day Hikes (1A)
Lake McSwain (Yokuts)
Enjoy the summer under the shade
of the oaks at Lake McSwain, lo-
cated off hiway J-59. (Left on
Merced Falls Rd, east of Snelling,
pass Hornitos Rd entrance to
McSwain Lake on McClure Rd.)
Amenities include a marina store,
hot showers, 2 children play-
grounds, swimming beach, hiking,
fishing, patio and kayak rentals,
fuel and propane, restroom facili-
ties and fish cleaning stations.
Campsites in D-Loop are available to
reserve by calling (855) 800-2267. To
make a boat reservations at marina
call (209) 378-2534. Contact
outings leader Alan at
209.768.5881 for meeting times
and more info.
July 30th – Aug 4th Backpack (2B) Yokuts Annual Summer Backpack 19th Annual Yokuts backpack: Ta-
blelands Ramble. This summer’s
trip will start in the Sequoia Na-
tional Forest near Big Meadows,
pass through the Jennie Lakes
Wilderness, and enter Kings Can-
yon National Park on the first day.
After stopping at various scenic
lakes along the way, we will reach
the unique, high plateau area
known as the Tablelands on day 3,
and camp there for two nights.
Days 3-5 will entail mostly off-
trail hiking. Day 4 will offer an
option for a side trip to one of
many lakes in the tablelands area,
or possibly a hike to Coppermine
Pass with majestic views in sever-
al directions. On days 5 and 6
we’ll venture down the upper wa-
tershed of the Marble Fork of the
Kaweah, via Pear Lake and Emer-
ald Lakes, then out by trail to the
Wolverton trail head. The trip
will involve a car shuttle of ap-
proximately 1 hour at each end.
For further details, please contact
Yokuts leaders Jerry Jackman
(209.577.5616) or Randall Brown
(209.632.5994). A $50 reserva-
tion fee is required to hold a
spot. Limited to 10 experienced
backpackers.
These are the participants of a Stanislaus
Audubon field trip to Monterey County on
May 4-5. Photos of some of the birds
found there can be viewed on the chapter's
S.A.S. Facebook page.
Online Valley Habitat for Yokuts
Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club members who
want to receive the color version of the Valley
Habitat online can sent an email to this address
to opt-in:
Type “SUBSCRIBE MOTHERLODE-
YOKUTS-NEWS first name last name “ in the
body of the message.
Valley Habitat 6
Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club & Stan islaus Audubon Society
(Fracking Continued from page 1)
Toxic chemicals, as well as erosion and runoff from
drilling operations, have fouled fishing streams and
aquatic habitat. Leaks and spills of hazardous materi-
als have polluted bodies of water, forests, farms, and
backyards. Farmers and ranchers report serious health
symptoms in livestock near natural gas operations.
(Natural Resources Defense Council)
Airborne emissions could affect regional air quality.
Fracking may also lead to higher greenhouse gas
emissions than conventional oil operations. There are
tremendous air quality issues associated with fracking
- can we endure any more air pollution is a region that
has some of the highest rates of asthma and other res-
piratory disease in the nation?
The cold, hard truth about fracking is there is NO EN-
VIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY WAY TO DO IT.
Kathryn Philips, Director of the California Sierra Club,
says the Sierra Club wants assurances and the
"certainty that Big Oil's practices won't leave us with a
dirtier world."
Since 2005 we have seen large-scale fracking projects
in Pennsylvania, Texas and North Dakota. There have
been numerous grassroots protests about the long-term
damage caused by hydraulic fracturing: "Fracking, and
the entire process of shale gas extraction, is not the so-
lution to our energy challenges, as the oil and gas in-
dustry portrays it to us; instead, it is scraping the bot-
tom of the geological barrel, bringing unacceptable
health, climate, and environmental consequences
while delaying and distracting us from developing
energy policies to ensure our children's future," ac-
cording to John Detwiler, a private citizen from a grass-
roots group of 500 people in western Pennsylvania, one
of dozens of such groups across the United States.
A growing number of citizens feel that continuing to
invest in petroleum-based power will distract investors
from developing renewable energy sources at a time
when we need to significantly reduce our dependence
on carbon-based energy in order to stop global warm-
ing. The Sierra Club is just one of many citizen-based
conservation groups that oppose forms of energy devel-
opment that trade short-term economic gain for such a
long-term negative impact on our environment.
California's real gold lies in our rich farmland - some of
the highest quality soils found anywhere in the world.
Reports from other states show fracking is hightly dam-
aging to farming. Can we afford to sacrifice this long-
term resource and pillar of our state economy for the
short-term gain from developing another carbon-based
fuel?
California's other gold is in the sunshine we enjoy for
more hours a year than nearly anywhere else on earth.
Solar, properly sited and appropriately sized, along
with the development of other renewable sources of
energy, will lead to a healthy economy, a green econo-
my, one that will avoid the boom and bust of oil and
natural gas. The mantra will no longer about reducing
our dependence on foreign oil - it will be about reduc-
ing our dependence on carbon-based fuels. California
can and should be the leader in renewable energy and
green technology.
BIRDS ARE OF FEATHERS –
PART FOUR (Continued from page 3)
As amazing as wings are,
they cannot fully function without
tail feathers, or retrices. A bird that
has lost its tail cannot forage well,
migrate or remain with its flock,
and we know how such tales can
end. Virtually all birds have twelve
retrices that open fan-like and are
extremely flexible for steering, bal-
ancing, banking, and braking.
Watch towhees spread their tails
wide to slow down their entries into
brush. Observe how hawks turn
down one wing and a few retrices
to tilt to one side. Note how fal-
cons will fold up their tails and
wings for a stooping dive. All flight
feathers are continually acting apart
or in concert, making the minute
variations that enable birds to
finesse what they do best.
There is a force of genius
that runs through all of nature, and
with reverent attention, we can wit-
ness exquisite expressions of that
force in feathers, and in the birds
that flourish because of them.
Valley Habitat 7
Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club
Yokuts Group of the Sierra Club
Management Committee
Chair Anita Young 529-2300
Treasurer Steve Tomlinson
(Steve.tomlinson97@gmail,com)
Secretary Maryann Hight 417-9114
Programs Pending
Conservation Brad Barker 526-5281
Membership Anita Young 529-2300
Hospitality Candy Klaschus 632-5473
Publicity Dorothy Griggs 549-9155
Outings Randall Brown 632-5994
Newsletter Nancy Jewett 664-9422
Mailing Kathy Weise 545-5948
Population Milt Trieweiler 535-1274
Fundraising Leonard Choate 524-3659
Website Jason Tyree
Check out our Website:
http://motherlode.sierraclub.org/yokuts
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Link to
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Web-
Yokuts Sierra Club Joins Meetup
The Yokuts Sierra Club group, along with the Delta
Sierra and Tuolumne groups have formed a Stockton-
Modesto-Sonora Meetup group that includes Sierra Club
outings and events. It’s easy and free to join this Meetup,
just go to the link below and sign up. It’s not necessary
to be a Sierra Club member to join. Once you sign up,
you will automatically be sent announcements of new and
upcoming Meetup events. Join the fun and get active in
the Sierra Club. http://www.meetup.com/Stockton-
Modesto-Sonora-Sierra-Club/
The Valley Habitat June 2013
http://motherlode.sierraclub.org/yokuts
Yokuts Group
Mother Lode Chapter
Sierra Club
P.O. Box 855
Modesto, CA 95353
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Modesto, CA
Permit No. 139
CURRENT RESIDENT OR
http://stanislausbirds.org
The newsletter crew has just finished putting 1,140 labels on
this issue of the Valley Habitat that you hold in your hands. They
will be taking a well-earned break until September.
Yokuts Group
Fall Garage Sale
A little reminder regarding the garage sale
next fall. As members are enjoying the
summer months we can be starting to
gather things this summer to donate to the
garage sale…..treasures to pass on to
someone else. The time and place for the
Fall Garage Sale will be announced in the
September issue of Habitat.