Winter Raptor Surveys

Jim Harrison

Most people have some kind of activities that they look forward to each winter. My wife, Bea, and I have enjoyed doing winter raptor surveys for several years. The Winter Raptor Survey Project, sponsored by the East Cascades Audubon Society based in Bend, Oregon has 450 volunteers doing driving surveys, counting hawks, eagles, falcons, and owls. This project has been going on for over 18 years. The two surveys Bea and I currently do are west of Spokane in the Davenport, Reardan area. Each survey is about 75 miles long. Doing these surveys is a great excuse to make long drives in the country and chase away the winter blues. The rolling hills of farmland and grasslands are beautiful in the winter. Besides the various bird species we encounter, we often see deer, coyotes and last year we were astonished to encounter a herd of 80 elk!

We have magnetic “Bird Survey” signs on our vehicle, so locals know we are not casing their property to rob them as we park on the side of the road with binoculars or a camera hanging out the window. Sometimes a friendly local will stop and tell us where we can find birds. The project has established survey routes throughout all of Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and parts of northern California, northern Utah, and southwest Montana.   Several Spokane Audubon members have routes of their own.

Everyone tries to cover their route once a month in the winter. If you are interested in learning more about this project or possibly volunteering yourself, go to the East Cascades Audubon website at:

https://www.ecaudubon.org/winter-raptor-survey/

Yesterday we did one of our surveys and we really enjoyed it. We saw about 30 hawks, a few American Kestrels, several bald eagles and two Prairie Falcons. We stopped and watched a herd of mule deer in a field and a huge flock of turkeys feeding. Tomorrow, we plan to do our second survey for the month. It is always an adventure because we never know what we will see.

Red tailed hawk near Davenport

Mature bald eagle

Bird-Friendly Maple Products are Sweet!

By Shenandoah Marr

Once I made sure my pantry would always be stocked with bird-friendly coffee I turned my attention to other bird-friendly food products.  Along with wildlife, food and cooking are favorite interests of mine so why not continue my obsession with bringing bird friendly products into my kitchen?  Turn to bird-friendly maple syrup and other maple products.  Having spent my whole life on the West coast I’d never given much thought to where maple syrup comes from other than observing that the Canadian flag has a maple leaf on it. 

As it turns out, Audubon Vermont has a Bird-Friendly Maple Project.  I was intrigued.  Like Smithsonian Certified Bird-Friendly coffee, biologists work with sugar maple farmers to best manage their forests to maximize habitat for birds and other wildlife.  Bird-Friendly Maple farms, or “sugarbushes,” are managed to promote tree species diversity, multiple layers of vegetation, standing dead trees and snags with cavities, and logs and branches left to decompose on the forest floor.  In other words, exactly the type of ecosystem I wanted to support.

Thankfully, the holiday season was fast approaching so I had the perfect excuse to purchase some maple products.  After browsing through many of the 40 or so small, family-owned sugar maple farms in Vermont who sell Bird-Friendly Maple products I decided to buy some items from Couching Lion Maple Sugar Farm.  They offered a unique product in a maple sugar/smoked paprika rub I really wanted to try.  Then I had to decide between the tantalizing names of “amber rich” or “dark robust” syrup (who knew?).  After mulling it over I finally decided on the amber rich because it sounded more like what I was used to and I didn’t want to get too exotic.

This is like no other maple syrup I have tried.  It has a complexity and richness that I have never tasted in the mass-produced maple syrups.  A little goes a long way and I have eaten it over pancakes, yoghurt, and roasted vegetables.  It adds a touch of sweetness to a refreshing summer cocktail.  The smoked paprika maple sugar rub?  Fantastic on roasted or sauteed vegetables and white fish.  These Bird-Friendly maple goods are a decadent treat for sure, but one I enjoy both for taste and for the birds.  With the holidays once again quickly approaching I may need to expand my horizon into the dark robust syrup.

For more information on Vermont Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Maple Project, visit this link.

This Coffee is For the Birds

By Shenandoah Marr

It started with my morning coffee. Following a recent discussion with a friend about how we would never let our money support deforestation, I started thinking more about what products actually do come from the rainforest. Growing up in California in the late 80’s I spent my adolescent years hearing about the destruction of the Amazon, begging my mom to buy Ben and Jerry’s Rainforest Crunch ice cream, and wishing I lived closer to a trendy new Rainforest Café. I thought I was an expert on rainforest preservation matters. I never purchased products sourced from endangered species, and quit eating McDonalds in high school after learning they were cutting down the rainforest to raise cattle. Surely not a cent of my money ever supported the destruction of the Amazon or any other rainforest. Or did it?

I first learned about “shade-grown” coffee as an undergrad at hippie, environmentally conscious Humboldt State University. Any Humboldt State student worth their Birkenstocks would only drink coffee (from reusable cup) that had been grown in shaded conditions because that coffee would protect the rainforest. The rainforest that supports much of the wildlife many HSU students, including me, wanted to spend their careers protecting. Feeling pretty smug after the aforementioned conversation about deforestation and certain that, by purchasing only shade grown coffee for 20 years made me a rainforest hero, I started looking at how much forest I’d helped save simply by buying coffee. What I found shocked me to my environmentalist core. Not only is some coffee labeled shade grown farmed under a spindly canopy, some coffee producers will clear cut an area, replant it with some banana trees or other monoculture and slap a shade grown label on it. Since the shade grown label is unregulated, the producer isn’t doing anything illegal. After going through a period of intense anger and disappointment, both at myself and the companies who had deceived me, I channeled this anger into action. This led me to Smithsonian Certified Bird Friendly coffee. Unlike confusing labels about shade-grown, ethical, natural, or other meaningless adjectives, coffee carrying this label is strictly regulated. It has been certified by a third-party using criteria established by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Their criteria is based on years of research and has been scientifically proven to provide bird habitat second only to that of completely undisturbed forest. Thankfully, it is fairly easy to purchase Smithsonian Bird Friendly coffee directly from the mostly small, family-owned companies who sell it through their websites. After several enjoyable months of trying a variety of coffees of different origins, roasts, and companies, I have found a couple of clear favorites. Now I enjoy my daily cup of coffee knowing that at least my coffee purchases are not contributing to deforestation, and are helping to preserve the habitat the birds and other wildlife so desperately need.

What started from a conversation about personal choices and deforestation led to not only buying different coffee beans, but to a deeper appreciation for birds. Prior to this Smithsonian Bird Friendly coffee journey, my excitement for wildlife centered on reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. Sure, I liked birds but I couldn’t be bothered to learn much about them or give them any more than a casual observation. However, the coffee grown far away from my home in Spokane taught me about the miracle of long-distance migration and to better appreciate these amazing creatures that I saw every day. Wanting to learn more about our local birds, I joined the 2021 Christmas Bird Count on a freezing morning in January. Little did I know that coffee and a citizen science project was just the beginning of my journey into making lifestyle choices for the birds.

If you are interested in learning more about Smithsonian Certified Bird Friendly coffee, click here, or to order some at a discounted price, please contact me at spokaneaudubon@gmail.com with the subject “Coffee”.

How to Catch a Red-Tailed Hawk

By Bea Harrison

As members of the new Save-A-Bird team at Spokane Audubon, we knew just what to do when we got an urgent message from Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.  There is an injured hawk in someone’s backyard in Spokane Valley.  Can someone help?

Armed with a large fishing net and an old blanket, a cardboard box and leather gloves, Jim and I sprang into action.

We arrived at the location, in a regular urban neighborhood.  The homeowner greeted us and said that unfortunately the hawk he had reported to WDFW had disappeared.  It had been hopping around his yard for several days with a drooping wing and now it was nowhere to be found.

We followed him into the backyard and began to search.  We peered into the thick hedges around the fence line.  We looked around the brush pile.  We searched behind the backyard shed.  We looked in low branches, the neighbors’ backyards, and under the porch.  Everywhere.  No hawk.

The homeowner began to apologize for our long drive, and we thought about leaving, but decided to wait a few minutes and see if it reappeared.  We got some lawn chairs and got comfortable.  Nothing. 

One more search and we decided to leave.  Then, I happened to face the house and caught a glimpse of a huge, beautiful red-tailed hawk.  It was standing on the back porch by the sliding door in front of a big box fan.  I think it was hoping for a cool breeze!  The three of us looked at each other and said, “How did we miss it”?

Henrietta hoping for a cooldown.

We cautiously approached the bird, which was so large that we decided it was a female, as female red-tails are significantly larger than males. The bird turned its head and gave us the evil eye but did not move.  Jim lay the lightweight blanket over the bird’s head and gently picked her up, making sure to keep the talons facing away from him.  We placed it into a cardboard pet carrier and closed the top.  Whew!

The homeowner said the bird had been in his yard for several days and he had set out some drinking water for it.  He and his wife were worried about her when they noticed that she seemed to be able to raise only one of her wings. They started calling her Henrietta Hawk and watched her through the window.

A call to Hunter Veterinary Clinic and we were on our way for much needed expert help.   We handed Henrietta off to Dr. Mark Schrag, newly licensed to rehabilitate raptors and the only one in Spokane County. This was the first time Save-A-Bird has been able to use his services. Many times we drive birds all the way to the WSU Veterinary College’s Wildlife and Exotics Ward in Pullman. Hunter Vet Clinic is in central Spokane, which is much closer and more convenient. Dr Schrag will be able to assess Henrietta’s injuries and has the facilities to nurse her back to health if she is not too severely injured.

We wished Henrietta and Dr. Schrag goodbye and drove away with hope in our hearts, ready to answer another call for birds in crisis.

To contact Save-A-Bird, go to https://www.audubonspokane.org/contact-us.

Read about Red-tailed hawks here: https://www.audubon.org/news/10-fun-facts-about-red-tailed-hawk

Injured Henrietta could not fly.