In the second quarter of this year, the Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society will hold its monthly meetings in San Pedro, beginning a circuit of the many communities the chapter serves. Meetings will be held in the Peck Park Recreation Center, located on Crestwood Street, just east of Western Avenue, behind the Park Plaza Shopping Center. As always, meetings will begin at 7:30 P.M. and are free to the public--and refreshments will be served.

Over the next year, meetings will be held in new venues throughout the South Bay. This will give us a chance to welcome new faces at chapter meetings, and a chance to explore parts of the region we serve that we have not been able to visit before. Of course, the programs we present will still exhibit the wonders of the natural world and our place in it, but we can also address some of the local issues that we have not addressed at past meetings--especially in many of the communities new to our chapter, such as the beach cities, Carson, Compton, and Gardena.

To make this roving-Audubon program a success, we need your participation. We want you to suggest places for us to meet, and help us bring your fellow Auduboners and other community residents out to our meetings. To lend a hand, please call Membership Chair Annette Currence at 539-2864. We'd love to hear from you!

The last few remnants of California's wetlands are again under attack. San Diego Assembly person, Denise Ducheny, siding with developers and the building industry, has introduced a bill, AB 2310, that would unravel the state's landmark 1972 Coastal Act, and redefine wetlands so that many, especially in Southern California, would no longer be protected. Since the Coastal Act was passed, wetlands in coastal zones have had greater protection than those governed by the U S Army Corps of Engineers. Even under these existing rules, an estimated  94% of our local wetlands have been filled, paved over, and destroyed forever.

Not only would AB 2310 overturn the few protections that California wetlands have had under the Coastal Act, it would also add four more justifications for wetland destruction to the eight that are already approved. These are:

1. Recreation (golf courses),

2. Residential construction,

3. Commercial construction and

4. Roads.

The latter will expedite approval of the planned Foothill South toll road in Orange County. Ducheny's bill would also allow developers to move habitat to more convenient locations, in spite of the fact that this so-called mitigation has not worked for coastal wetlands because of the complexity of restoring the fresh water-salt water balance.

This legislation is strongly supported by The California Building Industry Association because of the financial benefits builders would gain through such development. But the destruction of our wetlands will have very long-term impacts for all of us. These areas where land and water meet have remarkable biological productivity so that they are hot spots for biological diversity. About one third of the nation's endangered species either are found in wetlands or are dependent on them for their survival. Because of their importance to wildlife, wetlands provide opportunities for birding, fishing, family outings, and recreation-based tourism.

Wetlands act as natural filters that purify the waters that flow through them. When wetlands are converted to other uses, the result is that a pollution trap is converted into a pollution source. The cost of achieving pollution control functions equivalent to those provided by lost wetlands can be enormous. Not only do wetlands absorb the impacts of storm surges, they also help to stabilize coastlines during major storm events. These critical ecosystems are also important for flood control, for replenishing groundwater, and as nursery and spawning grounds for fish and shellfish. In order to build a sustainable future, we must safeguard these precious resources.

Coastal Commission Chairperson, Sara Wan said that her agency will strongly oppose AB 2310. "This could, in effect, undo the Coastal Act", she said. "This is very serious." She pointed out that many wetlands in Southern California are dry part of the year and therefore would no longer be protected. We, too, must vigorously oppose this attack on our coast! We must tell our state legislators that any changes to be made should place more restrictions on development, not less. It is most important to first call or write to your assembly person and urge him or her to oppose AB 2310. Then a phone call or letter to your state Senator would also help. Even Senator Debra Bowen is considering some support to this bill after making some changes. The survival of California's critical wetlands and their wild inhabitants is hanging in the balance.

Below is a listing of your state legislators:

        Community                                                          State Senator               Assemblyperson

Beach Cities, Torrance, Lomita,  Playa del Rey         Debra Bowen              George Nakano

Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach                        Betty Karnette            Alan Lowenthal

Carson, Wilmington, Compton, Harbor City             Debra Bowen              Richard Floyd

Gardena, Willowbrook, Lynwood, Paramount           Teresa Hughes            Carl Washington

In recognition of National Volunteer Week, Audubon YES! and the Volunteer Center invite you to participate in local volunteer opportunities that work to better our environment. Whether a monthly, quarterly or annual event, each contributes its part, and so can you! Students earn two YES! credits for each hour worked. Everyone earns satisfaction from having made a difference

April 1 - Saturday, a cleanup at White Point Park, sponsored by the Palisades Homeowners Assoc.

April 2 - Sunday, Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly habitat restoration, sponsored by Rhapsody in Green and Audubon YES! (And the blues will be flying!)

April 8 - Saturday, habitat restoration at Madrona Marsh, in Torrance, sponsored by Rhapsody in Green and the Friends of Madrona Marsh.

April 15 - Saturday, Earth Day cleanup at Cabrillo Beach, sponsored by the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

April 16 - Sunday, Chandler Trust work day, sponsored by the PV Land Conservancy.

For more information and additional events, subscribe to the Audubon YES! Activities Calendar by e-mailing <jmorton@igc.org>, or call Ginny Ryback at the Volunteer Center (310) 519-0052.

 Earth Day 2000 will be celebrated at Polliwog Park, in Manhattan Beach, on April 22 from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. with music entertainment, booths, children's games and lots more. Sponsored by VOICE, this event offers Audubon YES! students and other volunteers plenty of ways to help out. For more information, call Lillian Light at 310-545 1384.

Bob Shanman and Wild Birds Unlimited are running a Feeder Cleaning Day, on Saturday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Volunteers will clean up your bird feeders for a mere $2 apiece, with all proceeds going to support Ann Lynch's fine organization, South Bay Wildlife Rehab. WBU is  in Rolling Hills Plaza at 25416 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance.

You can help out, too. A few strong arms are needed during the day. To volunteer, call Bob at 326-2473.

For those of you who are birders and either knew or knew of Arnold Small, I'm passing on the sad news that Arnold passed away recently from leukemia. Arnold was a giant in the birding world (even tho' he was only 5'4"). With a life list approaching 7000 species, he had been all over the world and seen it all. More importantly, he taught biology at Harbor College, where he was named instructor of the year on multiple occasions. He taught classes on birds and birding for over 30 years at the UCLA Extension and his passion for birds affected 1000's, including my wife and me. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

Thank you to all who made a special year-end gift to PV/SB Audubon. We raised $7720, which goes a long way toward making the Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park program a strong, summer-long program. Special thanks goes to those who gave $100 or more: Judge Musgrave and the Frances VR Seebee Trust, The Brannon Family Foundation, Corie and Jorge Wong, Frances Spivy- and Michael Weber, Arland Bragg, James Gardner, Tina Gentile, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred T. Hill, Henry Jurgens, Gary Marlotte, and Carol Jean Selvey.

It seemed everyone was too busy in January to bird, with very few reports in after the CBC. In February the rains finally came, with 1/3 of our average annual total in a few weeks. The instant greening-up of the hill sure is fantastic isn't it? We should have a great sage-scrub bloom in March and April as a result. I can't wait to see and smell that! Seabirds seemed to draw lots of the winter focus, and so they should, as many, like alcids, aren't as easily found the remainder of the year. They put on a great show for us this year.

I counted over 1000 Aechmorphus Grebes in the flock stretching from Malaga Cove to Bluff Cove on 2/26, of which just over 100 were Clark's, the remainder Western. This is the largest number of Clark's I've ever counted in a single congregation locally. In decades I've never seen a Red-necked in this flock!

Bernardo Alps (BA) saw a Pink-footed Shearwater 3 mi. offshore on 1/15. On the annual Los Angeles Audubon Society (LAAS) 8-hour Palos Verdes trip, 2/19, thousands of Black-vented Shearwaters were just a couple miles off Pt. Fermin and Royal Palms. Among them we found one each of Sooty and Short-tailed Shearwater. A few miles off the LA Harbor were a couple thousand more Black-venteds, out over huge anchovy schools.

Kevin Larson (KL) saw 12 Brant off Pt. Vicente (Pt.V.) on 2/13, early spring migrants. He also saw a hybrid Eurasian x American Wigeon at the LA River (LAR) on 1/29, which could be the bird I saw there in November. Another hybrid of these two species was at Harbor Park (HP) in Dec., through early Jan. I forgot to add it to the count week total for the Christmas Bird Count (CBC)! Since we have no CBC record (or HP record) of Eurasian Wigeon, half of one would have been a significant increase--though still not the whole number, as we prefer! Completely out of place was a flock of 12 Cinnamon Teal 5 miles off  Pt.V., AT sea, ON the water with not a reed in sight, which we inadvertently flushed on the LAAS trip 2/19. Daffy ducks! Perhaps the HP modern record of 69 Lesser Scaup, spotted 2/13, was grounded by the storms. With them were two Greater Scaup as well (KL). Over 20 Ring-necked Ducks were there 2/15 (MH). Someone at HP turns a duck vacuum on in late Feb. But they'll disappear, seemingly overnight, by March when very few  remain, except for migrants in passage.

An Osprey was at the LAR 1/29 (KL). A late CBC report included a Northern Harrier at Portuguese Bend. The dark suckleyi  'Black' Merlin that has wintered here in Torrance the last few winters was back this year, with near-daily terrorizing of my neighborhood pigeons and starlings--bless his heart.

An incredible report came from a visitor from out of state of a Bar-tailed Godwit at Cabrillo Beach. Unfortunately, the person this was reported to didn't get the word out for 6 days, by which time a couple storms had passed. Needless to say, the bird wasn't there when everyone (all of 5 minutes away) finally got word and went down to look. Hopefully, some documentation will be submitted......because it could have been if others had seen the bird!

As alluded to earlier, Alcids were absolutely astounding--a great showing this winter and the best of the decade. Perhaps Alcid Alley would be a good name for Redondo Canyon (RC) because it seems obvious to me now, after lengthy observations in the area, how seabirds are over it with uncanny consistency. Common Murres were sprinkled about offshore, though none was seen on the 2/19 trip. A couple of Murrelets, probably Xantu's, were seen on 2/15 (BA), and on the LAAS trip 2/19, we saw at least 8 of them along RC. Also on 2/19, KL spotted, and I identified, an Ancient Murrelet, which flew off before everyone could get on it, about three miles off Pt. Fermin. We saw about 3 Cassin's Auklets that day, too. The amazing story was the numbers of Rhinoceros Auklets in the RC area. On 2/15 (BA), and on the LAAS trip 2/19, there were an estimated 150-200 of them. More were scattered throughout the San Pedro channel, and one stayed off Pt.V, just like last winter. Consider that in Richard Bradley's treatise on PV Birds  (Western Birds Vol.11, No.1, 1980), this species was only on the hypothetical list, with a specimen, 'off San Pedro' 8/29/33, the only one known! This decade, it has been the most common alcid by far. And who could forget KL's Marbled Murrelet at Dockweiler in El Segundo Dec.17, either. The local area had a 6-species slam-bang alcid showing this year!

A White-winged Dove flew over my place in Torr 1/23. A Burrowing Owl was near the Torrance Airport on 2/22 (KL), where they once occurred. Migrant or recolonizer? White-throated Swifts compete with Swallows to be the first migrants back through. By early February, one is assured to note migrant flocks, as I did over my house on 2/5. KL found a Nuttall's Woodpecker at Alondra Pk. (Al.P) on 1/19. Consider how long and hard he has birded in the CBC circle, and that this is the first one he's seen here. A rarity indeed!

Most Gray Flycatchers recorded here after mid-October have wintered. So it should not be surprising that the one at Madrona Marsh then, and in November, was still there in January, when David Moody (DM) saw it, even though it evaded us for the CBC. Surprising, though, was a Pacific-slope (Western) Flycatcher found there in February (fide DM). Since local migrants do not show up until March, it probably wintered in the area. I bet those Torrance sumps hide a lot of birds! Cassin's Kingbirds spent the season at both Al.P, and HP.

Jess Morton had a record sized flock of Violet-green Swallows at HP on the second Sunday walk 2/13. Besides the few Tree and Rough-winged and one Cliff were a couple of dozen Violet-greens! We usually get only 2, 3 or 5 at a time mixed in with large spring swallow flocks, while most going through un-noticed, since it is an early migrant. I didn't see a Cliff there until 2/27, when there were also 3 Tree, 2 Barn, and many Rough-winged.

Martin Byhower reported the only Red-breasted Nuthatch I've heard of all winter, at Chadwick Canyon., in Jan. and early Feb. In Dec. I saw a Winter Wren in Peck Park, and another was in George F Canyon. The Western Bluebird flock on Paseo del Mar, at Cloyden, near PV Intermediate School was still present 2/26 (MH).

Carol Reynolds found a Palm Warbler at Ocean Trails on 2/26, which could well be a migrant. At this time of year, one at this latitude on the Gulf or Atlantic Coast would probably be considered a migrant. Furthermore, after banner years in the mid-nineties, the last two winters, we've had NONE. A Red Fox Sparrow, apparently of the zaboria race, was at HP 2/15 (MH). Another was at El Dorado Nature Center in December. There are about 5 PV reports of 'Red' Fox Sparrows, which one day may be split from other types into a separate species.

 Nearby El Dorado also has a green Painted Bunting to go with it's Blue Mockingbird! Glad it's not us wrestling with the provenance question on these two! Santa Monica has a wintering Laughing Gull, which had to fly by Cabrillo Beach, Pt.V, King Harbor, etc., on its way there! Northern California has a Smew to ponder as well, though it seems scared to death at the sight of man--probably a good gene for longevity.

Errata: In the last column, the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper at Bolsa Chica was present for much of November and into early December, but is not known to have wintered. A Pacific Golden-Plover flew over my house 12/19, not 12/29. The CBC total seems to be 162, plus the 3 P's (Peafowl, Mitred and Yellow-chevroned Parakeets) and 7 additional count week species.

ERRRRata: The Common Grackle I mentioned here in Torrance--and in a couple previous errata, when I tried to straighten out something I said in error in the original article--was the fourth wintering record for California, not the third. The El Dorado group of them this winter, the second LA County record, numbered up to 5 birds, a state record flock!

This month's column is dedicated to the memory of Arnold Small, a birding giant. Longtime professor at Harbor College, and one of the top birders in the world, Arnold Small passed away February 7. He was a mentor to me, and played an important role in my early years while I developed as a student of birds and bird photography. He loved telling me how he knew me before I could walk, and we always had good laughs about it. He was a family friend from day one, as far as I knew. This last decade, we co-led many pelagic trips for LAAS, when I loved reminding him he was the leader on my own first pelagic, back on 10/27/68.

He pushed, pulled, and led birding to new heights. He had seen over 6000 species of birds! He played key roles in making both Los Angeles Audubon and the American Birding Association what they are today. He also played a key role in the lives of many he came in contact with, always taking time to share his knowledge. He loved to teach. His two books on the Birds of California are tremendous references, besides being alive with his legendary photography. He influenced a legion of people.

He and I called HP 'the lake' when we talked about in the old days. He contributed many new LA County records, some firsts from there, including Little Blue Heron and Ruff. We once independently identified an eclipse Garganey there. He said he'd seen thousands in India, but who here would believe even him? He always knew how it really was, too. One night about 30 years ago, when I was 15, we were at the Salton Sea, between north and south end CBC's, and talked for hours about fish! I was a young aquarist, and his PH. D. was in ichthyology; killifish were his thing. WOW it was great! And so was Arnold.

The world will miss a great friend, and a good man. I sure will. Now he's birding with Shirley Wells, Shum Suffell, and Jim Lane, where every day there's another fallout. Passenger Pigeons, Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, Bachman's Warblers, Eskimo Curlews, Carolina Parakeets, and Great Auks.

Cabrillo Beach, a book of poems by Jess Morton, is  the perfect gift to fill little holes in your shopping list. Bound in yellow leather-finish stock, and printed on marbleized paper, this 24-page book makes a handsome gift for those who enjoy poetry and/or the natural world. Many of these poems  have appeared in Hummin' over the last few years. The cost is $6 each, ($7, including tax and mailing), and all proceeds go to support Audubon YES!

AUDUBON IN THE PARK T-SHIRTS are now available from Wild Birds Unlimited in Rolling Hills Plaza. Holly Gray's drawing of a white egret flying over marshlands is set against a green background,  making an attractive symbol for our educational efforts at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park. Each shirt is $12 ($15 for XXL), and all proceeds will go to support next year's outdoor summer classroom in the park.

BEQUESTS & CHARITABLE GIVING

Have you considered putting the Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society into your annual gift-giving program or your will? The money you give goes to sponsor the many educational and community-based programs this chapter runs. As a 501(c)(3) organization, gifts to Audubon are deductible to the full extent of the law. Thus Audubon is perfect for the Charitable Remainder Trust or other tax-planned gift-giving program you may be considering. For more information, call Fran Spivy-Weber at 310 316-0041.

If a girl plays with a fish model, she'll notice the doll fins, and this article is about dolphins.

Members of various taxonomic categories produce visible light called bioluminescence. Included in those taxa are, for example, fireflies, certain fish, and plankton including some dinoflagellates. In Latin, flagellum means "whip", and the dinoflagellate, one of the single-celled protozoa, has two whip-like body components used primarily for movement because a flagellum is a tail with whip features. When a dolphin swims through a group of bioluminescent plankton, the resulting water movement causes the plankton to emit light. It has been found that the bioluminescence of the plankton caused by dolphins, e.g., is actually an alarm due to fear of predation, and the light is presumably created to alert higher predators to attack the swimmer that's causing the water flow. In fact, towards the end of World War I, the last U-boat to be sunk was located by its creation of a trail of light caused by its going through water that contained a large amount of bioluminescent plankton.

The largest currently known dolphin, a small cetacean relative to its whale relatives, isn't tiny because it's about 12 feet long with a weight of about 1,500 pounds. Unlike sharks, dolphins have shown friendship to swimming people, so people do indeed want to protect dolphins, such as by preventing them from being killed during commercial tuna capturing.

Dolphins and porpoises are not quite the same. A dolphin's head is larger and its snout is longer than the head and snout of a porpoise. The teeth of most porpoises are flat at the top and thinner as they go to the gums; but the teeth of a dolphin are sharp at the top and generally cone-shaped, getting larger as they go to the gums. The sharp dolphin teeth are most effective in catching a fish which is then swallowed unchewed. Porpoises are strictly saltwater mammals, whereas 5 types of dolphin swim in rivers such as the Amazon and the Ganges, etc. People live at the equator and in the high Arctic, and even are on Antarctica now. Dolphins, another group of widespread mammals, have been seen in polar waters as well as near the equator and in most other latitudinal ocean waters of the world.

The shape of a dolphin and its smooth skin reduce its friction when swimming, making it easier for the flapping tail to move it forward and for its flippers to steer it. An interesting aspect of its flippers is that each flipper contains five finger-like bones, with a slight similarity to a human hand. But, the human hand isn't covered the way the flipper is, so the flipper is more effective in swimming than the hand is. Another swimming advantage that dolphins have over people is the fact that covering the eyeballs of a dolphin is a gelatinous substance which protects the eyes from saltwater irritation.

Dolphins have at least three characteristics similar to those of bats: both are mammals; a bat's wings also have inner bones somewhat similar to those of a human hand; and both a bat and a dolphin emit vibrations and use the echo to locate something. The dolphin's vibratory emission, created internally, comes through its head and when the vibration in the water returns as a form of echo to the ear within the dolphin's head the dolphin can know that a fish prey, for example, is near and can identify the fish's location. Dolphins are friendly and interesting and presumably intelligent mammals, so it's fun to see them and to watch them.

In memory of my time spent in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, I thought today that if a fellow in one of those countries used his computer peripheral to copy a picture of a bird, that Scandinavian scanned an avian.

"EEUUUUU," squealed one of the girls, as she sprang up from the ground where she had been working, pulling ice plant after a long morning of planting native grasses. Similar cries, leaps and squirming had been a regular occurrence this morning, sun-bright and cloudless over the broad hillside. Not too surprising either, for working here to restore habitat for an endangered butterfly and other coastal sage scrub species, were city-bred boys and girls. High school age, to be sure, but young people for whom nature seems confined to text books and television.

Today, though, nature was real enough. There had been troves of darkling ground beetles, stoic in their flightless advance, along with a few of their smaller, fuzzy brown cousins. A millipede had drawn concern lest it bite. There had been a black widow to consider, first in fear, then in surprise at her docility. And yet more beetles, bugs, spiders. Perhaps the loudest cry had been one of utter disgust--a Jerusalem cricket, massive, grotesque--dug from its underground wanderings.

But this, "EEUUUUU," was special. Something slithered quickly along the spine, and was gone. It was worthy of Arachnophobia. The Thing.

We looked where she pointed, her finger as far from her body as possible without being utterly detached. There was no mistaking those brown shiny-scaled bands alternating with thin yellow ones. A kingsnake, sliding silently back under the mat of grass where it had first been discovered. Not rare. But certainly scarce enough in these days of diminishing native habitat, and the high point of the morning for all present, despite that one shocked wail of horror.

Kingsnakes are noted for their skill in hunting other snakes. Immune to a rattlesnake's poison, kingsnakes are a deadly enemy. However, it's been many years since a rattler has been seen where our restoration is being done, and it is unlikely that any push for habitat authenticity will extend to their eventual reintroduction. Here, the kingsnakes are most likely feeding on lizards, small mammals and gopher snakes. No doubt there are many. All morning long our digging to make holes in which to plant clumps of needlegrass had been breaking into the gopher runs crisscrossing this patch of ground.

Next month, we'll all be back. Pulling weeds. Planting habitat. The butterflies will be on the wing, too--the males, electric blue in the sun. But if we should chance on another kingsnake, the vote for sighting-of-the-day will be mighty close.

The annual Conservation Awards Banquet, honoring people who have made substantial contributions to conservation in the South Bay, will be held at Ports O'Call Restaurant, in San Pedro, on Friday evening, May 5th. Awards in recognition of outstanding achievements in environmental activism and education will be presented to some of the unsung heroes of our community. Also recognized, will be the young people in local high schools who have earned the Audubon YES! Award through their continuing efforts on behalf of a better environment. There will be a reception, starting at 6 P.M., followed by dinner at 7. For tickets, see page 7, or call Fran Spivy-Weber at 316-0041.

"It is important to promote the awareness of nature in urban neighborhoods if we are going to promote conservation globally," says Steven Kutcher, the man who brought you the bug feasts of Arachnophobia and other Hollywood spectaculars, and who is tentatively scheduled as speaker for our April 25th meeting. In his more serious professional role as an entomologist and biology instructor, Mr. Kutcher will present a slide show on the disappearance of wildlife and open space in the urban environment. The caring and planning for, impact on, and evaluation of these spaces will be considered in their relation to the loss of wildlife. Recounting childhood experiences and other anecdotes, he will show why even habitats found on vacant lots are worth saving.

In April, a strong contingent from our chapter will attend the Audubon National Convention, at Asilomar on the Monterey Peninsula. The senior members, led by President Bart Tendick, will be working to set policies and programs for Audubon in the coming years. Meanwhile Audubon YES! students, led by chapter Vice-president Rahil Patronas, will serve as exemplars, showing how the needs and energy of the younger set mesh well with the experienced competence of an aging organization. For information about attending the convention, call Jennifer Jacobs at Audubon-California, (916) 481-5332.

This page is part of the Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society website.