The city of Petaluma has been wrestling with the design of a new wastewater facility for several years. A design for a conventional initial treatment plant has been completed. Now the city has two options for the final treatment, or polishing, of the plant effluent for the removal of algae: either a mechanical DAF (Diffused Air Filtration) system or a system of ponds and created marshes. Although both are effective in the removal of algae, a necessary step before water recycling, the marsh system also effectively removes heavy metals-an important plus.

The site proposed for the pond/ marsh system is now owned by Petaluma Poultry Processors. The land is contiguous with Shollenberger Park and the existing Petaluma wastewater treatment plant. Part of this land was diked baylands on the Petaluma River. The levy was breached by the high waters of El Niño, and is now being reclaimed by nature as a tidal wetland. Janice Cader-Thompson, Petaluma City Councilwoman and stalwart supporter of the pond and marsh option, hopes that Petaluma Poultry Processors would donate the land needed for the ponds, possibly in exchange for an adjustment in the urban growth boundary. That would allow them to expand operations onto a few acres of the property.

Internationally renowned architect Patricia Johanson has been hired as a consultant to design the freshwater pond/marsh treatment. She has designed stunningly beautiful and educational public works projects in Asia, South America, and the United States. In our area, she created a remarkable project for the wastewater storage and pumping facility at Candlestick Point, south of San Francisco. Standing on this nearly half-mile sculpture of a San Francisco garter snake, one would never guess that it has a functional purpose. The sculpture passes alongside tide pools to the earthen head of the snake, which is a successfully designed habitat for a rare and endangered butterfly.

This pond/marsh system deserves the support of Audubon, because of its Petaluma Marsh location and its proximity to Shollenberger Park, which would be linked by a trail to the wetlands, thus enlarging a very popular, year-round birding spot. The area is a part of the San Francisco Baylands, and Audubon is promoting restoration of wetlands around the bay with its San Francisco Bay Restoration project.

The city of Petaluma has a great opportunity. A pond/marsh system will be more effective in removing heavy metals than the conventional, mechanical method. The ponds will attract waterfowl and shorebirds, and the marsh/pond system will be an educational attraction. The city of Arcata has a marsh treatment system that is world famous, attracts many visitors, and is an excellent place for birders. Petaluma could have that and more, because Patricia Johanson will incorporate art into the project. Madrone members should contact Petaluma council members, and urge them to support the pond/marsh option.

(Sylvan Eidelman is Madrone Audubon's representative to the San Francisco Bay Restoration project.
Bob Dyer is a Madrone member and a docent at Shollenberger Park.)

Copies of the Initial Study and Water Recycling Facility Project Report are available for review at the Petaluma City Hall, Department of Water Resources, or the Reference Desk at the Public Library.
¨ The project team is looking for ideas or comments from the public before they start the Environmental Impact Study, expected to be completed by early next year. Contact Michael Ban, Dept. of Water Resources and Conservation, 11 English Street, Petaluma, CA 94952, or call him at 778-4487. His e-mail is mban@ci.petaluma.ca.us.
Many of Patricia Johanson's works are described and pictured at her web page.

In May of this year the State Board of Audubon-California approved a five-year strategic plan to guide the work of the organization statewide. We undertook a rigorous review of our organizational strengths and weaknesses, and looked at both the opportunities we face as Audubon conservationists and the sizeable threats that the environment confronts in our state.

The plan firmly establishes Audubon as a conservation organization that engages people, and emphasizes the power and importance of education in accomplishing our environmental goals. We will remain firmly rooted in birds and the educational opportunities they afford, and will pursue the conservation goals they desperately need in a state of 34 million people. We will take the long view-focusing less on the conservation needs twenty days from now and more on the conservation needs of California twenty years from now. We want to build an Audubon that becomes more intentional and proactive in its work. The work that we do must truly "add up to something," and the something we envision is profound. We see an Audubon-California that in five years will:

¨ Establish a place-based nature education program leading to the siting and development of up to 20 Audubon Centers in strategic locations around California;

¨ Lead key regional and statewide efforts to conserve and restore 500,000 acres of habitat in California, focused on important bird habitats;

¨ Reach through a combination of communications strategies one-third of California's population on a regular basis with a science-based message that advances our conservation goals and overall environmental literacy;

¨ Triple our statewide membership to at least 180,000 members that more accurately represents California's diverse population; and,

¨ Work in collaboration with our chapters in order to align state and local programs, build local effectiveness and contribute to the strategic goals of Audubon in the state

Many Audubon chapters in the state participated in the plan's formulation through attending workshops, commenting on drafts, and evaluating what Audubon does well today. We look forward to working with all our Audubon partners towards a better Audubon and a better California.

At the August Planning Meeting of Madrone's Board we discussed where we have common goals with the statewide strategic plan. We want to build on our PeeWee program, which reaches children, younger adults and grandparents. We want advice from a broader ethnic base on how to involve more people. Bodega Bay is an Important Bird Area that we can use to communicate with a larger audience. We hope to work with County Parks, the Mayacamas Sanctuary and other places now being designated as IBAs to educate a broad public spectrum about habitat and environmental choices. Locally we invite you to assist us in our vision.

The 2001 Western Sonoma County Christmas Bird Count will be held on Sunday, December 30.

We think we're smart. Nice clothes, fast cars, solid houses. But some of our fellow Sonomans are laughing at us.

The ravens. The crows. The magpies. And the jays. They're all corvids, the smartest of birds. Like people, they live around the world, with wide vocabularies and local languages. They're cosmopolitain! They also collect bright objects and can learn to speak English.

Wood's 1886 Natural History notes that corvids have a "preternatural air of sagacity with which they set about any self-imposed task, especially if that task be a mischievous one." They live in large social groups. Those groups are said to be the most complex animal social arrangement, apart from people's. A colony of crows is also called a rookery, after the European crow… the rook. But don't forget the fifteenth century reference… a murder of crows.

The other only pure black, big bird of North America is the raven. Larger than crows, with pointed tails, ravens are forest birds, and so have suffered from loss of habitat…. While the crows, the field and woodland lovers, have flourished. An unkindness of ravens gets up to about twenty. A murder of crows can grow to half a million.

Big birds, those ravens, ranging from Mexico to Alaska, and speaking in dialects. Their fondness for carrion (they peck out the eyes first, says Wood's History) and their blackness and smarts, makes them the portent for doom in Western minds. But in the Native American vision, the raven is a trickster, a provider, and brings the bounty of animals to the land.

Jays and magpies are so smart people think they're rude. They snap up snacks, they bully the songbirds, they steal the farmers' fruit. A party of jays will squawk and caw. Mark Twain wrote that their language would make a miner blush. Their sharp insults and bad attitude don't match their beautiful colors... but look carefully. Does the Stellar's Jay sport a mohawk? Is the Scrub Jay a skinhead?

Jays are with us everywhere, waiting for our backs to turn, just out of reach of the cats, telling them off.

Jays and magpies are hoarders. Sometimes food, like acorns. Sometimes just stuff, if it's pretty. With shiny objects in its nest, mud walls and thorns for protection, the magpie is a proper householder. It is chatty and social in groups. Listen for a tree alive, with a tiding of magpies.

Corvids, to me, are beautiful and smart… The Yellow-billed Magpie, wings ending in fingery fronds, wheeling turns in the tight branches of a tree. The soaring of the raven…The deliberate action of the crow…The human-animal stare-down with jays. We celebrate these birds in our landscape and our language. We chat like magpies. We strut like jays. We crow over victories. We go to the Raven, and drink Ravenswood wines. We measure distance as the crow flies… and then get there, fast, by jaywalking.

Maybe, by imitating the birds, we can be more like them. Clever. Directed. Preternaturally wise.

I consider a good day in the woods one when I hear the wind in the wings of the ravens overhead. We talk, and share a laugh. I try to speak their language, try to say, "Hi, good to see you." They call back and say, "what was that?"

They must think I'm mad… but not ravin'.

(Fred Euphrat is a consulting forester in Healdsburg. He writes essays entitled, "Native Sonoma", that are broadcast on KRCB radio. A collection of his essays, "Sonoma Mandala", is available at local bookstores.)

We are pleased to welcome retired State Parks' superintendent and worldwide birder Bud Getty to talk about the birds of a faraway place, the southern Africa countries of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and the Republic of South Africa. He will show slides of the birds he has seen in the desert and marsh delta areas of these countries.

Bud Getty recently retired from 42 years of work with the California State Parks. His latest position was as Silverado District Superintendent, which gave him responsibility for 12 state parks in Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.

The meeting will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 1551 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa. As always, the public is invited to these programs.

The October Pee Wee program will be a wetland walk and tree planting at Chanslor Ranch on Sunday, October 14, from 1-3 PM. You are welcome to come at 12:30 if you would like to picnic at the ranch beforehand. We will meet at the picnic tables by the bed and breakfast facility at the ranch. The first part of the outing will be a walk to view the wetlands and look for birds, western pond turtles, animal tracks and anything else we can find. The second part will involve planting willows and alders as part of a restoration project.

To reach the ranch, take Highway One north from the town of Bodega Bay about one mile. Just past the Nicholas Green memorial make a right turn into the ranch, which has a large sign outside. Leaders are Claire Shurvinton and Abigail Myers, the Chanslor Ranch naturalist. Be sure to call Claire at 527-6118 to reserve a spot (there will be a space constraint).

If you are unable to commit a lot of time, or could only help out on an occasional basis-such as one particular month or program-I have things for you to do. I would like ideas for additional activities, web sites, book titles, etc., based on our monthly programs that can be posted on our Pee Wee web page, and I would also like volunteers to design fliers for future programs -this could be done by a child, for example. Please help me to make our Pee Wee program an even bigger success than it has been in the past.
Thank you,
Claire

For the flora and fauna of our three Preserves, October is a time to prepare for winter rains and cooler temperatures. Blue and Black Oaks at Bouverie Preserve are dropping their leaves, newts (Red-bellied, California, and Rough-Skinned) are ready to forsake estivation for a good wet stroll in a blustery rain, Sonoma and Townsend Chipmunks are stuffing their cheeks with seeds, fawns are losing their spotted coats, and the lessening daylight is sending migratory birds off on their never-ending search for more abundant food.

For our dedicated volunteers, October brings a frenzy of workdays, classroom visits, trail hikes with over 2000 school children, planning sessions, fall shorebird censuses, and training sessions (Bouverie has just started its bi-annual training class for 36 new docents).

If you'd like to sign up for a Volunteer Work Day (10/6), Resource Management Day (10/29, 11/12) or a Guided Public Walk (10/13,11/3,12/1) at Bouverie, please call 938-4554. If you are an experienced shorebird or waterbird observer and would like to help with a fall or winter census, please call our Cypress Grove Research Center at (415) 663-8203. And if you'd like to learn more about the natural history of our Bolinas Lagoon Preserve and pass along your love of nature to others on weekends during our 2002 public season, please call (415) 868-9244 now to join our merry band of Ranch Guides for a training class on Saturdays from February 2 through March 9.

Shorter days, cooler temperatures, vivid colors in the vineyards and woodlands of Sonoma County-these are signs of autumn. At the same time populations of birds are changing, some leaving for the winter, while others are just arriving.

Bodega Bay and Bodega Harbor offer extraordinary resources as safe wintering grounds for many birds that breed in the Arctic. Already flocks of new arrivals are coming to our coastal wetlands and estuaries as part of the annual migration that takes advantage of the moderate climate, rich food supplies and shelter that this officially designated Important Bird Area offers. We are lucky to have easy viewing access to this spectacle from the roads circling the harbor and leading up to the vantage point on Bodega Head.

These coastal wetlands and estuaries are the preferred habitats for arriving loons, most waterfowl, Snowy Plovers, Long-billed Dowitchers, Dunlin, and most grebes. Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks will increase in numbers as will most other raptors and falcons. The hawk migration flyway includes the Willow Creek Drainage near the mouth of the Russian River and, in Marin County, Hawk Hill on the Marin Headlands.

Some fall arrivals will have chosen the wrong path by migrating west rather than south. These will be mostly land birds, called "accidentals" by virtue of their rarity. Finding an eastern warbler, flycatcher, or other eastern native in the Owl Canyon at Bodega Bay is one of the greatest thrills that a birder can have in Sonoma County. The outer Point Reyes Peninsula is the Marin County location for such rarities.

Inland, swifts and swallows are gone by October, as are Allen's Hummingbirds, Swainson's Thrushes, orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks, Lazuli Buntings, warblers, most flycatchers, and Chipping Sparrows. These birds are predominantly dependent on small invertebrates and insects, which disappear as winter approaches.

Meanwhile, new inland arrivals planning to stay all winter will be Say's Phoebes, Varied and Hermit Thrushes, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Water Pipits, White- and Golden-crowned Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and, maybe, Red-breasted Nuthatches.

Madrone Audubon Society charter member ROY SNELSON died on July 18, 2001. His wife, Audrey Lewis Snelson, pre-deceased him in the late 1990s. At the time of this interview on Feb. 14, 1994, Audrey and Roy were living near Windsor. The following are excerpts of our conversation:

Audrey: "My first husband, Mason Lewis, and I read about the new Audubon Society being formed by Les and Evalyn Bowen in Gaye LeBaron's column in the Press Democrat in 1967. We decided that it would be a good family activity for us. Our daughter, Laura, was 10, and we never had a babysitter for her. We always tried to do family activities together, especially trips to the beach to see the shorebirds even when she was just two or three years old.
We went to the first meeting and have been members ever since. We really enjoyed the field trips and the meetings. We remember the Bowens, Jack and Deyea Harper, Faye Beeman, Martha Bentley, Ernie Smith and lots of other old timers."

Roy: "Les and I were the ultimate handymen. Every time Les had a project he'd call me, and we'd set about getting it done. One time we worked for nearly two days to install a bubbler to provide water for quail and other birds at Madrone's Rabbit Hill Nature Sanctuary in Middletown. I was Sanctuary Chairman for several years. I remember bringing four or five one hundred-pound bags of birdseed up there every three or four weeks. Skee and Huck Hamann, who lived there, kept it in big garbage cans so the squirrels and other rodents wouldn't get into it."

Audrey: "After the death of my husband, Mason, I married Roy, who was also widowed. He and his wife Elizabeth had been close friends of ours in Audubon. We still harbor warm memories of the many good friends and good times our families had together during the early days of Madrone Audubon".

Bodega Bay, Wednesday, September 5
On a breezy and sunny summer day with the feel of fall in the air, 26 birders joined Lew Edmondson at Bodega Bay for the first of our birding trips since June, finding 59 species. To almost everyone's surprise, a Virginia Rail was seen in the Rail Pond. Three whale sightings at Bodega Head, especially the whale that breached so close to the shoreline rocks that its coating of barnacles was clearly discernable, delighted all present. Identity of a female Western Tanager behind the Rail Pond generated considerable debate, ending in general agreement that it was indeed a tanager. Highlights included the resident Great Horned Owl and a Wilson's Warbler at Owl Canyon, a Western Wood-Pewee, a Willow Flycatcher and Red Knots.

Duncans Mills, Thursday, September 13
The day started foggy, but cleared early for leader Dennis Beall and sixteen birders, who started the Duncans Mills' season with sixty-two species. It was a wonderful raptor day. Highlights included a Golden Eagle, a Western Tanager (female), a Willow Flycatcher, and an early Yellow-rumped Warbler. All these, together with a nice study of a Hairy Woodpecker, made it a great day.

Habitat Network of Sonoma County has graduated 27 stewards who are now trained and available to develop wildlife habitats in backyards, farms and ranches, parks and schools. The program, sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, requires that stewards assist homeowners, city departments and schools in the development of wildlife habitat corridors and gardens. These habitats will become certified by the National Wildlife Federation.

Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, Wild Birds Unlimited and local nurseries are supporting this effort with the donation of plant material and other supplies.

If you, or someone you know, would like a certified habitat in your backyard, school or business, please contact Becky Montgomery at 573-0103 or Anne Hudgins at 538-8871. There is no charge for this project, but a great reward for providing food and shelter for our wild species that are being eradicated due to encroachment of industry and development.

Five environmental education resource kits are available free of charge from Madrone Audubon for teachers, youth leaders and others interested in birds, habitats and the natural world. Each of the kits is suitable for grades K-12 and includes a teacher's guide, reference materials, student books, a video, posters, and other teaching aids specific to each subject. For example, the Bird Kits include bird study skins and field guides; the Owl Kit has owl pellets; and the Bat Kit has audio tapes and a bat model. Here is the list of topics:

Birdhouses and Nest Box Kit
Birds and Habitats Study Kit
Bat Study Kit
Owl Kit
Butterfly Kit

For information about obtaining these kits, contact Judy Hartwig at 823-1821.

Naturalist-led hikes at the Fairfield Osborn Preserve. Every Saturday at 10:00 AM through December 8 (no hike on November 24). Two- to three- hour hikes, appropriate for families, no reservations required. Meet at the Preserve parking lot. For directions, consult www.sonoma.edu/org/preserve, or call 795-5069.

Native Plant Sale. Saturday, October 13, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building across from the County Fairgrounds. This is a once-a-year sale with a focus this year on native bulbs. For information, contact Liz Parsons at 833-2063 or Mary Aldrich at 539-9005.

"Nature's Music: The Science of Bird Song", a symposium dedicated to the memory of Luis Baptista. All day Saturday, November 3, at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. Presentations by eight distinguished international speakers. For information, call (415) 750-7378, or see the website at www.calacademy.org.

Fifth Annual Central Valley Birding Symposium. Thursday through Sunday, November 15-18, in Stockton, with registration and meetings at the Stockton Radisson Hotel. Speakers, workshops and field trips. For registration and information, call (209) 369-2010, or consult the website at www.cvbs.org.

Fall Trips with John Klobas

Santa Rosa Junior College Community Education. Call 527-4371 for information and registration.

Hawk Watch Workshop. Saturday, October 20, 10 AM to 5 PM.
Fee: $40.
Observing the beauty, exquisite adaptations, and power of raptors are our goals for this one-day workshop at the Marin Headlands. For the novice through intermediate birder interested in learning to distinguish and identify western hawks.

Wild Wings: Birds of the Great Valley Refuges. Saturday, November 17, 9 AM to 5 PM. Fee: $60.
The wildlife refuges of the northern Sacramento Valley offer outstanding fall birding as waterfowl by the thousands find their way to their winter homes. We will visit Llano Seco, Sacramento National, and Colusa refuges.

A Madrone member is needed to participate in the Audubon Canyon Ranch (ACR) board and committee structure. ACR is a nonprofit that has preserves in Marin County (Bolinas Lagoon and Cypress Grove Preserves) and Sonoma County (Bouverie Preserve).

Bolinas and Bouverie have strong education programs, and research studies occur on all three preserves. Meetings are usually once a month and often in Marin County. Madrone is one of the sponsoring Audubon chapters and has two representatives on the ACR board. If you would consider getting involved, please call Bryant Hichwa, 579-1182.

Healdsburg: Ann V. Boone Santa Rosa: Ruth Ayres, Julie Bright, Leslie W. Goodrich, Liz Lesperance, Paulina Matson, Robert Molsberry, C.R. Moore, Hannah Moreo, Linda Pheasant, Patricia M. Tighe Sebastopol: Patricia Duclos, Lloyd E. Pierce, Barbara Wetteland Sonoma: Donna Bailey, Agnes Pensar, Bruce Yost.

Madrone Audubon's Conservation Committee is currently studying the groundwater situation in Sonoma County. Their preliminary findings have led to a strong advisory against the use of gasoline that contains MTBE, since the contamination level of this substance in our county's groundwater is one of the highest in the state.
There are gas stations locally whose products do not contain MTBE-check out the labeling on the pumps where you buy your gas. Watch for an article on groundwater in a future issue of Madrone Leaves.

Brant (9) 9/12 Bodega Harbor DH,BDP,DN
Black Rail (heard) 9/10 Doran Marsh BDP
Pacific Golden Plover 8/19 Shollenberger Park DN
Spotted Sandpiper 8/19 Porto Bodega DN, JB,CB
Lesser Yellowlegs (12) 8/19 Lakeville treatment ponds DN
Common Greenshank (juv) 9/2 Mad River, McKinleyville (1st Calif.) M.Ob. Ruff (juv) 9/3 Mad River, Humboldt County M.Ob.
Ruff (juv) 9/8-12 Doran Park DN
Wilson's Phalarope (8) 8/19 Lakeville treatment ponds DN
Red Knot (12) 9/8 Doran Park DN
Baird's Sandpiper (2) 8/20-21 Shollenberger Park DN
Baird's Sandpiper (2) 9/8 Doran Park DN
Baird's Sandpiper (2) 9/14 Salmon Creek sand/mudflat TE, DN
Pectoral Sandpiper (1) 8/19 Carmody Road. pond DN
Pectoral Sandpiper (2) 9/13 Doran Park DN
Long-tailed Jaeger (55) 9/11 Offshore Sonoma County (new high #) DN Arctic Tern (9) 9/11 50 mi. off Sonoma County DN
Sooty Tern (1 ad) 8/26 Off Marin County RS,BDP et. al.
Common Tern (1) 9/8-14 Bodega Harbor M.Ob.
Black Skimmer 8/26 White Slough, Vallejo AW
Merlin (1) 9/14 Bodega Head DN,DH
Peregrine Falcon (1) 8/19 Lakeville treatment ponds DN
Common Nighthawk 8/25 4 mi. up Ida Clayton Road DS
Vaux' Swift (8-10) 9/13 Bodega Head DN,BDP,TE
Black-chinned Hummingbird 9/12 Campbell Cove DN,DH,BDP
Western Wood-Pewee(12) 9/14 Owl Canyon to Marine Lab entrance DH, DN
Purple Martin (3) 9/13 Bodega Head BDP,DN,TE
Cedar Waxwing (flock) 9/13 Petaluma, Post Street DN
Tennessee Warbler 9/9-10 Owl Canyon DN,RM,JB,KG
Blackburnian Warbler (ad. male) 9/9 Campbell Cove DN,JB,KG,RM Chestnut-sided Warbler 9/13 Bodega Bay Marine Lab entrance DN,BDP,TE Chestnut-sided Warbler (2) 9/14 Marine Lab ent., Owl Canyon ent. DN,DH,BDP
Hermit Warbler (2-3) 9/13 Bodega Bay Marine Lab entrance DN,BDP,TE Hermit Warbler (6-7) 9/14 Marine Lab ent., Owl Canyon ent. DN,DH Townsend's Warbler 9/3 Tubbs Island (freshly deceased) DS
Blackpoll Warbler 9/13 Marine Lab residence trees DN,BDP,TE
Northern Waterthrush 9/12-14 Rail Ponds DN,DH,BDP
American Redstart 9/11 Campbell Cove DH,BDP
American Redstart 9/13-14 Marine Lab entrance DN,BDP,TE
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (imm m) 9/14 Petaluma, yard feeder CC
Lincoln's Sparrow (1st arrival) 9/13 Bodega Head, Marine Lab entrance DN,BDP
Bobolink (circled, briefly landed) 9/10 Bodega Head, flew E over Doran Pk. DN
Bullock's Oriole (imm fem) 9/10 Doran Park DN,BDP,TE
Red Crossbill (fem) 8/19 Ida Clayton Road DS

CONTRIBUTORS: Jim and Chris Blackburn, Julie Blumenthal, Christine Cohen, Ted Eliot, Kevin Guse, David Hofmann, Many observers, Roger Marlowe, Dan Nelson, Benjamin D. Parmeter, Doug Shaw, Rich Stallcup and Alan Wight.

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