Mike Sellors is the program director of Audubon's San Francisco Bay Restoration Program. His presentation will take us on a virtual tour of several key Bayland restoration projects, such as Skaggs Island, the Napa Salt Marsh restoration and Bair Island, and show us their migratory and resident bird life. Mike will also discuss progress to date, including the recent public acquisition of 16,500 acres of Bay Area salt ponds from Cargill Salt, in which he played a key role.

Mike Sellors joined Audubon's Bay Program in 2000, after serving for three years as the California coordinator for Audubon's Population and Habitat Campaign. A graduate of Georgetown University with a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, Mike worked for a Washington, D.C. law firm and the Environmental Protection Agency before coming to Audubon-California. On weekends, you are likely to find Mike and his young family visiting hot Bay Area birding spots.

Madrone Audubon member Veronica Bowers leads a double life, happily, with boundless energy and enthusiasm.

As a chocolatier, she runs a successful business, La Dolce V Chocolates in Sebastopol, while nearby at her home she has a hospital with outdoor aviaries for orphaned or injured songbirds. A current link between the two is the sale of holiday season "Songbird Bars," from which a portion of the proceeds will benefit Madrone Audubon.

Veronica can easily relate how natural inclination and early experience have brought her to both of these occupations. Growing up in Marin and southern Sonoma County, she benefited from both outdoor education with naturalist Elizabeth Terwilliger and a backyard barn in Petaluma where swallows flew back and forth, raising their summer broods. It was only some years later that the "mystery" of the seasonal disappearance and reappearance of these birds would become clear and her interests would crystallize around these and related species.

Two chance encounters, one with a "fallen House Sparrow" and another with an information booth for the Santa Rosa Bird Rescue Center, sparked an interest in bird rescue. Veronica was a volunteer at BRC for four years and remains truly grateful for everything she learned there (including the relative merits of rescuing native versus non-native species!).

Subsequently she spent two years volunteering with WildCare, officially known as Terwilliger Nature Education and Wildlife Rehabilitation. Her interest in insectivores (swallows, warblers and other passerines) led her to develop a specialty, as an affiliate of WildCare, of caring for these small birds that have special needs and do better in a calmer environment than either the BRC in Santa Rosa or the San Rafael wildlife rehabilitation facility run by WildCare can provide.

Today, such abandoned or injured birds are brought to Veronica's Sebastopol property, where she and her husband, Lance, have furnished an outbuilding as a hospital facility and set up five small aviaries in a restful setting of tall trees and native shrubs. A sturdy "swallow pavilion" is currently under construction next to the hospital, and a hummingbird aviary is set up during the breeding season.

November is "off-season" for Veronica's bird rescue facility-the sole current aviary resident being a rare over-wintering Swainson's Thrush. It is, however, high season for specialty chocolates.

Veronica pursued an early career in marketing software that left her with job burnout and the desire to find her own path. She had always loved baking, so she attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, specializing in confectionery arts. After several years as a pastry chef, Veronica started her own mail order business producing high-end chocolate confections and designing wedding cakes. Then another of those chance encounters-finding "space available" where a small tearoom had been in the Antique Society building a few miles south of Sebastopol,

For two years now this space has been the Chocolate Boutique and Café, a warm haven, particularly on a cold November day, filled with smells of chocolate and coffee and a display case of beautiful hand made chocolates. Plus a handsome binder of information on migratory songbirds, which, says Veronica firmly, must always remain in plain sight, next to or even on top of the binder of tempting chocolate delights.

Veronica is as knowledgeable about the origins and flavors of the various cacao beans she buys as she is about the care and nurturing of passerines, and can describe with equal enthusiasm the making of chocolate truffles or the process of growing fruit flies for her bird orphans so that they can practice the essential skill of snapping up food on the wing. Her chocolate kitchen and her bird hospital reflect the immaculate orderliness and attention to detail necessary to both these operations.

Veronica's dual occupations have a seasonal aspect; in May she essentially turns La Dolce V Chocolates over to her employees and devotes herself full time to bird rescue, handling up to 70 birds a month until the breeding season winds down in September. In case there is "down time" she goes birding and serves as a docent with the Laguna Foundation. On the agenda for the coming weekend? A trip to Santa Barbara, to release a Western Tanager into a habitat where other tanagers seem to be wintering, thereby giving it the most likely chance of survival. As a chocolatier or a bird rescuer, Veronica Bowers is always ready to go the extra mile. Madrone Audubon salutes her!

Songbird Bars are available for $5.75 each, including a $2 donation to Madrone Audubon when purchased by MAS members.
The bars are available at Madrone's desk at the Environmental Center, 404A Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa (call 544-7651 to verify open hours at the Center) or at the Chocolate Boutique, 2661 Gravenstein Highway South, Sebastopol. (website: www.ladolcev.com).

A newsletter from the Lake County Land Trust brings back happy memories for Madrone old-timers as another one-half acre is added to Rabbit Hill.

How many people now remember that even before the infant Madrone Audubon Society had a charter from National Audubon it had its own bird sanctuary in Lake County? In the mid-1960s, Hugo and Juanita Hamann (Huck and Skee) retired to live year-round in their very primitive camp atop Rabbit Hill- a pine-covered serpentine knob thrust up out of the flat plane on which Middletown is built. Here Huck polished stones and made lovely jewelry while Skee worked on a fine photographic study of the wildflowers of Lake County.

When the Hamanns lost their only child they searched desperately for a way to ensure that Rabbit Hill would survive as a perpetual memorial to Joan Hamann Dole. They could find no organization to assume responsibility for this land. Then came newspaper stories in 1968 of a new Audubon chapter in Santa Rosa, and-suddenly-Madrone had a sanctuary.

Huck and Skee became veritable pied pipers who attracted hundreds of children and college students to the new field of environmental education, with field trips to Rabbit Hill and into the Yolla Bollys. Meanwhile Madrone's Board learned to cope with insurance and finance, buying educational materials, and financing and constructing restrooms-the practical details of sanctuary operations.

Once Huck and Skee were gone this glorious little environmental oasis fell upon hard times. Skee's floral research went to UC Berkeley. No other caretakers wished to live under such primitive conditions. Buildings on the site were torn down to curb vandalism. How thankful we were in 1999 when we could hand Rabbit Hill over to the new Lake County Land Trust, for local management of the property. And what good news to hear from the Trust that the sanctuary continues to grow, to protect rare plants and to serve Middletown High School's science classes, as Skee and Huck would have wanted.

Howarth and Spring Lake Parks, Thursday, October 9
On a clear morning, 17 birders joined Jean Tonascia to bird at Howarth Park and Spring Lake Park. Forty species were recorded, including two Ospreys, a White-breasted Nuthatch, and a Hermit Thrush. Both Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were heard.

Bodega Bay, Saturday, October 11
Seven birders joined Jean Tonascia at Bodega Bay on a clear morning. The afternoon was windy. Seventy-five species were observed, including 10 species of ducks and many shorebirds. A birder from Menlo Park saw his first Surfbird at Bodega Head.

Bolinas Lagoon, Wednesday, October 15
On a bright clear day at Bolinas Lagoon and environs 67 species were spotted. Don McCarthy was accompanied by 15 birders, including a British couple from Cardiff, South Wales-world travelers who had made contact through the Internet. There were no unusual sightings to report, just the usual suspects.

Shollenberger Park, Thursday, October 23

Twenty-seven birders walked around Shollenberger Park with leader Bob Dyer, in weather that started chilly but grew progressively nicer. The weirs to the side channels are still open, regretfully, so there were no rail sightings (too much water!), although we did hear the Virgina Rail. We saw five species of grebe: Pied-billed, Eared, Horned, Western, and Clark's. We also saw Willet, Yellowlegs, Marbled Godwit, Curlew, Dunlin, and Least Sandpipers. Among the raptors-seen or heard-were the Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Kestrel, and White-tailed Kite. Duckwise, we saw Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Ducks, and Greater Scaup. Sixty species were observed. We expect there will be a lot of ducks at the park in winter because of the large amount of water brought into the central pond during the dredging, now completed, of the Petaluma River.

Point Reyes, Wednesday, October 29
It was a clear and sunny day as 22 birders, led by Richard Hurley, spotted a flock of Townsend's Warblers on the Earthquake Trail. At Nunez Ranch a Palm Warbler caught our eye and we called it our bird of the day. At the Fish Docks windy conditions almost but not quite deterred us from scoping out two Harlequin Ducks (befitting a Halloween outing), swimming with Surf Scoters and buffeted by the wind.

Stafford Lake and Las Gallinas Ponds, Thursday, November 6
Under threat of rain, 17 birders with leader Tom McCuller sighted 77 species of birds at Stafford Lake Park and Las Gallinas oxidation ponds. Passerines dominated our attention at Stafford Lake Park, given that most wintering grebes and ducks had not arrived. Birding was much more varied at Las Gallinas with a large variety of ducks, raptors, gulls, and shorebirds. We also found twelve Tree Swallows.

Bodega Bay, Wednesday, November 12
On a bright, windless day, 29 resolute folks joined Don McCarthy at beautiful Bodega Bay. Ninety-three species were seen. The most exciting was a Rock Sandpiper at Bodega Head.

The annual February Birdathon is Madrone Audubon's largest fundraiser. We need teams of birders and lots of wonderful sponsors to make it successful.

Birdathon revenue supports Madrone Audubon's focus on education and conservation. It supports the popular Pee Wee Audubon programs, in which 500 parents and children participated last year, provides excellent teacher resource kits on such topics as birds, butterflies, bats and more, sends Audubon Adventures newsletters into classrooms, and gives a big boost to our efforts to study environmental issues.

Game Plan
Teams of birders, or even just a motivated individual or two, race the clock on a given day to spot the most species, after having circulated pledge sheets to friends, co-workers and family members sympathetic to the cause. These sponsors pledge a wide range of per-species amounts, from pennies to dollars, or simply a flat sum for the days' birding. Here are the details:

For birders:
* Contact this year's Birdathon Coordinator Carol Orme at 546-2324, or at <cjaorme@aol.com>, and she will send you a sponsor sign-up sheet. Start signing up your sponsors.
* Pick a day in February and have a great time birding.
* Tell your sponsors how many species you saw and how much they owe you. They can send checks (made out to Madrone Audubon Society) to MAS, P.O. Box 1911, Santa Rosa, CA 95402.
* TEAMS should send their names to Leaves editor Daphne Smith in early January for publication in the February issue.
For sponsors:
Say "Yes!" to anyone who asks you to pledge. If no one asks, you can sign up to support one of the Birdathon teams at the January membership meeting.

The California Academy of Sciences and the aquarium in San Francisco will close down on December 31, after nearly 90 years in Golden Gate Park. The Academy will move to a small transitional location at 875 Howard Street in San Francisco for about four years while a new Academy is being constructed in the Park. Everyone interested in seeing the old, familiar CAS should pay a farewell visit before the end of the year.

Temporary exhibits include SKULLS, which features over 1800 vertebrate skulls, and an outstanding photo exhibit about the biodiversity of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by photographer Subhankar Banerjee. This is an exhibit that was scheduled to open at the Smithsonian in Washington last summer. Shortly before the opening, Senator Barbara Boxer announced the exhibit on the Senate floor and urged all of her colleagues to see it before they voted to drill in the Refuge. Two days later the exhibit was pulled from the Smithsonian. Banerjee also produced a wonderful book about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge which is available from bookstores or the Academy gift shop. CAS is open daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. However, on December 29, 30, and 31 it will be free, and open from 9:00 AM until 9:00 PM for final good-byes.

Put Sunday, December 28, on your holiday calendar for a very special activity--Madrone Audubon's 37th annual Christmas Bird Count. The more members we can "count" on to join us, the better this year's result will be. Last year Madrone's 144 counters located and identified 173 species in our West Sonoma County circle, giving us the 18th highest count for the second year in a row among circles north of the US-Mexican border.

Our counters cover the full spectrum of birding skills from beginner to expert, with each level of expertise filling an important niche. Depending upon your team leader, the count begins at approximately 7:30 AM (unless you wish to count owls) and continues until about 4:00 PM. If you haven't received an invitation in the mail and wish to participate, please do call either Richard Hurley at 833-4286, Joy Mander at 778-7865 or Ken Wilson at 795-7547.

You just can't count but would still like to help out? We can use some volunteers to set up the room for the potluck and give a welcome to those potentially cold and exuberantly weary birders at the end of the day. The potluck takes place at the Sebastopol Community Center. Please bring your own plates, utensils and a supper dish for six-hot food, if at all possible, is a plus. Coffee, tea, cocoa and cups will be provided. To help at the potluck please contact Peter Leveque at 542-8946

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Madrone's 37th Christmas Bird Count is Audubon's 104th. This year, Audubon scientists are highlighting the fact that many of the birds to be counted originate in the great North American boreal forest which extends from Alaska to Eastern Canada. Boreal species traditionally seen on the CBC that appear to be declining include Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, and especially Rusty Blackbird.

The data, 100% volunteer generated, have become a crucial part of the U.S. Government's natural history monitoring database. Articles published in the 103rd CBC issue of American Birds helped ornithologists better understand the effects of West Nile virus on regional bird populations. For the full story, visit www.audubon.org.

The Sonoma County Conservation Council's Connectivity Project will engage organizations and other interested parties in improved communications and electronic connectivity in our community for purposes of nurturing, protecting, defending and restoring natural resources in Sonoma County.

Any individual or member of any local environmental organization is invited to participate in the planning process or contribute resources. A local resident has offered a $500 matching grant to encourage individuals to support this effort with a tax-deductible donation.

To download a description of the project please go to www.envirocentersoco.org/scccdocs/. For more information about the matching grant or next meeting, contact the SCCC at 578-0595, or at info@envirocentersoco.org.

The rainy season has begun, bringing that all-important resource, water, back to Mayacamas Mountains Sanctuary. Little Sulphur Creek began flowing over the weekend of November 8 and 9, thanks to an extended series of showers. The precipitation was badly needed as the habitats were showing significant signs of drought stress.

Amazingly, Geysers Pipeline construction continues as of early November, though activities are minor and seem restricted to the pump station areas. Pine Flat Road is still closed to the public Monday through Saturday, but Sundays are great days to go for a drive through the Sanctuary. Pipeline-related erosion control and habitat restoration activities will continue throughout the winter and spring, but we can look forward to a much-needed end to the two-and-a-half years of construction that the Sanctuary has endured.

Mayacamas Mountains Sanctuary will begin implementing a "Volunteer Patrol" as Pine Flat Road is re-opened to the general public. We would like to put together a team of volunteers who will drive through the Sanctuary evenings and/or weekends to watch for suspicious or destructive activity. Volunteers will be asked to report such activities to the Sanctuary Manager and/or local authorities, but will be instructed to avoid confrontation of any sort. Commitments from once a month to daily patrols will be welcomed, and those who have volunteered in the past can expect a call from the Sanctuary Manager within a couple of months. If you are interested in volunteering, or just learning more about the "Volunteer Patrol" program, please call the Sanctuary office at 473-0601.

Saturday, December 13, 10:30 AM to Noon.
"The Sun Stands Still."
Explore the astronomy, folklore, myths and mythology of our Winter Solstice and celebrate the return to longer days. This varied program will have something for all ages. At the Forum Room at the main Sonoma County Library, Third and E Streets, Santa Rosa.

Friday, January 16, 6-8 PM and Saturday, January 17, 4-6 PM
"Owls of Sonoma County"
Due to great demand, our popular program at the Bird Rescue Center will be offered on two consecutive evenings. Please choose one. Leader Diane Hichwa, education specialist at BRC, will once again give her fabulous program on local owls, and some friendly, feathered residents will come by to say "hello". The main program is indoors, and so will continue rain or shine. If the weather cooperates after the program we will take a short walk to try and find the local, wild owls. Wear suitable clothes and shoes and bring a flashlight for the walk. You may want to book early for the owl programs to avoid disappointment, as they are quite popular.

Please RSVP to Pee Wee coordinator Claire Shurvinton at 527-6118, or e-mail her at <cshurvin@earthlink.net>, if you wish to attend any of these events. We usually have a space limitation, dictated either by the size of the room or the logistics of the presentation. We fill the spots on a first-come, first-served basis. If you reserve a spot and then cannot attend, please let us know-we may have a wait list and can then invite others to join us in your stead. NOTE: When leaving messages on voice mail, please state your name and phone number slowly and clearly. Thanks!

Goodbye and Thank You to Shona
The wonderful lady who has been taking the calls for Pee wee reservations for the last year is unfortunately leaving town. She has been a great help and I will miss her. I wish her, and her family all the best in their new life.

Help Wanted
If there is anyone out there who would like to volunteer to take the Pee wee reservations I would love to hear from you! All you need is a telephone with an answering machine and a notepad. Call or write Claire if you are interested in helping out.

Keep this date!
The Bat Lady will be in town on Saturday, February 28. Details in the February newsletter.

Thanks to Pee Wee Audubon we got to take a trip to the waterworks where we learned how they clean the water from the sewers and reuse it. The first thing we did was put on safety glasses and entered the laboratory where they took us to the microbe room. There we saw a movie about some of the different microorganisms that they use to clean the water and the ones they try to get rid of.

Most water treatment plants have only two stages of water treatment. The Laguna plant has three steps that it does to get the water even cleaner. The others don't do the third step because it's so expensive.

We walked over to the place where they separate the solids from the liquids. Over 90% of the stuff that comes into the plant is liquid-the rest are solids. We went to the ponds where the microorganisms eat the solids, too.

This was a great trip. I really liked it and I learned a lot!

The Festival celebrates the return of over one million shorebirds and hundreds of thousands of waterfowl which migrate through or winter in San Francisco Bay. Madrone Audubon will have a booth at the Family Wildlife Exploration and Birding Expo in Building 897, which will offer a wide variety of informational exhibits, hands-on activities and demonstrations-many specifically designed for children.

Eighteen guided walks on Mare Island feature the Island's history, wetlands and scenic vistas. This former shipyard, founded in 1854, is a National Historic Landmark. New for this year, the Flyway Festival Self-guided Refuge Walk is designed so you can experience wetlands and wildlife at your own pace.

Hikes and bird walks are scheduled in and around San Pablo Bay, led by naturalists and field trip leaders from local Audubon chapters, including Madrone. For details, see the website, www.sfbayflywayfestival.com.

Northern Fulmar (1 dark bird) 10/18 Channel between Doran jetties AW, RROS Red-necked Grebe (1) Oct.-Nov. Bodega Bay off Doran beach DN, et al.
Ring-necked Duck (flock) 11/11 Spring Lake LH
White-winged Scoter (1) 10/18 Bodega Harbor AW, RROS
Snow Goose (3) 10/18 Doran Pond DN, MF, et al.
Greater White-fronted Goose (15) 10/13 Over Abbott's Lagoon KB
Pacific Golden-Plover (2) 10/18 Doran mudflats AW, RROS
Red Phalarope (12) 10/29 Bodega Harbor LH
Red Phalarope (2) 10/ 29 Las Gallinas treatment ponds DR, DE
Elegant Tern (2) 10/18 Bodega Harbor AW, RROS
Elegant Tern (1) 11/9 Gaffney Point, Bodega Harbor RS
Wilson's Storm-Petrel (25-50+) 9/21 West of Cordell Bank RS, et al.
Merlin (1) 10/18 Bodega Bay AW, RROS
Merlin (7 in view at once) 10/29 Mt. Tamalpais summit RS
Peregrine Falcon (1) 10/18 Doran Marsh MF, AW
Mississippi Kite (1 juv.) 10/28 Hawk Hill; 2nd record for Marin County RF et al.
Swainson's Hawk (9) 10/12 Just west of Sacramento, on Highway 80 KW, BO
Ferruginous Hawk (3) 10/12 Davis Lane, Penngrove BO, KW
Short-eared Owl (1) 11/1 Hawk Hill, Marin Headlands RP
Red-breasted Sapsucker 10/9 Armstrong Woods DB
Red-breasted Sapsucker 11/13 226 Paula Lane, Petaluma DN
Red-naped Sapsucker 11/8 Mill Valley residence WL
Costa's Hummingbird (1 male) 9/22 499 Bahia Drive, Novato KB, et al.
Costa's Hummingbird (2: imm, ad.) 9/28 Stinson Beach, near library KH, C&LL
Broad-billed Hummingbird (ad. male) 10/? * Victoria Court, Sonoma KP
Eastern Phoebe 11/2 Whitehouse Pool, N. end Olema Marsh HK ,RS
"Western" Flycatcher 11/9 Bodega Bay, Marine Lab residences RS
Tropical Kingbird 10/14 Drake's Beach Monument RS
Tree Swallow (8 Northbound) 11/9 Bay Hill Road RS
Black-headed Grosbeak (late) 11/7 Bolinas sunflower fields RS
Palm Warbler (1) 10/14 Drake's Beach Monument RS
Palm Warbler (2) 10/18 Point Reyes JM
White-throated Sparrow (1) 10/18 Salmon Creek Road KW
White-throated Sparrow (1) 11/2 Bloomfield FJ
White-throated Sparrow (1) 11/7 Bolinas sunflower field RS
Rufous-crowned Sparrow (1) 10/18 Salmon Creek Road KW
Swamp Sparrow (2) 11/2 Whitehouse Pool, Marin County RS
Swamp Sparrow (1) 11/7 Bolinas sunflower field RS
Vesper Sparrow (1) 10/27 Porto Sonoma (returnee) DN

CONTRIBUTORS: Dennis Beall, Ken Burton, Daniel Edelstein, Robbie Fischer, Mary Follis, Keith Hansen, Lisa Hug, Fred Jacobs, Harrison Karr, Rick Lebadour, William Legge, Les & Cindy Lieurance, Joe Morlan, Dan Nelson, Becky Olsen, Karen Palmer, Rob Power, Redwood Region Ornithological Society, Don Reinberg, Rich Stallcup, Alan Wight, and Ken Wilson.

* Note: The local birders found out 11/14; bird has been here for "3 weeks."

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