In April,  the developers of Long Point presented a revised proposal to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes which still incorporates publicly-owned property around City Hall as part of the project. Aside from any questions of propriety this may raise, which are beyond the competence of Audubon to answer, there is one issue of continuing concern--habitat loss. RPV City Hall has been the site of a successful nesting populations of California Gnatcatchers and Cactus Wrens for many years, but it seems unlikely that these could survive the intensive development planned for the area, however carefully it might be done.

Ever since the literally fly-by-night operation which ended Marineland's thirty year run at Long Point back in 1987, there have been many proposals for reuse of the site. In 1990, a resort design actually was approved by the City Council, which included a 400-room hotel,  related buildings and an executive 9-hole golf course. Also part of the approved project, and a result of hard work by local environmental groups, were a 1.5-acre park adjacent to the Pt. Vicente Fishing Access and $500,000 for youth hostel improvements. Those approval conditions still govern, and the current owners of the property must abide by their terms. Otherwise a complete redesign would result, initiating a new round of public review and approvals from the City, the Coastal Commission and other agencies.

However, the main concern of Audubon here goes straight to the heart of its mission--the preservation and understanding of our natural heritage. For the last two years, proposals for Long Point's development have included some configuration of golf course placed on publicly owned open space, much of which was designated for and is used by native species, many of which are both rare and protected by law. The first such proposals imperiled tens of acres of open space on the Subregion One bluffs north of the Point Vicente Interpretive Center. This open space was intended for habitat and had been set aside through agreements hammered out by local environmental groups, including Audubon, working together as the Coastal Conservation Coalition.

Because of intense opposition, those development proposals have been scaled back. The bluffs are no longer being eyed for golf tees and greens. However, critical open space is still threatened. One-time federal land, which became the site of RPV City Hall, is being looked to for off-site acreage for the nine-hole golf course originally confined to Long Point. As readers of Hummin' will know, this land also happens to be a critical piece in the puzzle which will eventually become the NCCP (Natural Communities Conservation Plan) preserve on the south side of the PV Peninsula.

When it comes to highest and best use of this public property, habitat is the clear choice. Please help Audubon make sure that that choice is made by making your voice heard on this issue.

You don't have to be an expert to take part in the 20th annual Palos Verdes butterfly count! Held Saturday, July 22nd., the count surveys the summer butterflies found within a 15-mile diameter circle centered at the PV reservoir. Meet in the parking lot at the Rolling Hills Estates City Hall (north corner of Crenshaw and PV Drive North) at 8:30 a.m. for group assignments.

This event is sponsored by the North American Butterfly Association, which is dedicated to increasing knowledge of butterflies throughout the country. The PV count has led us to a greatly increased understanding of our own butterfly populations and their distribution, and has introduced many to the wonders of butterflies.

A donation of $5 per person is asked to support Audubon and NABA in collecting and publishing the data. The fee will be waived for those joining Audubon on count day!

Call 722-7777  or e-mail jmorton@igc.org to take part.

Audubon hereby commits to a great quest!

A quest that will make Audubon a familiar and welcomed name in every community in the South Bay. One in which Audubon will become synonymous with our natural heritage and its protection. Birds? Of course! But Audubon will also stand for community service; for green spaces; for constructive activism--and a nationally-renowned Audubon Center at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park.

I envision a time, in this decade, when Audubon has become an energetic part of every South Bay community. The hub of this energy will be a Harbor Park natural heritage center developed in partnership with the City of Los Angeles. It will be a cornerstone in a system of Audubon Centers in Los Angeles and across the country. This center will teach thousands of children each year about their cultural and natural heritage, and it will provide a headquarters for Audubon activities.

From here, we will manage "Audubon in the Park," a program taking nature education into scores of neighborhood parks throughout the South Bay. It synthesizes the successes of Audubon YES!, our youth environmental service program, and Sharing Nature With Children, our children's education program at Wilderness Park. Audubon in the Park teachers, now being trained by our Education Director, will inspire new generations to be environmentally responsible. The teachers themselves will be young people, who mesh their activities through a high school YES! Council, which is beginning to take shape as I write.

In my vision, Audubon will track and address conservation issues everywhere in the South Bay. As they arise! Not when it is so late that issues have withered to "us versus them" problems. We will accomplish this through a Communities Council, with roots in every city we serve, from Compton to San Pedro, from Hawthorne to Rancho PV. This council, which we will begin building this year, will help Audubon reach a vast, untapped part of our population. This new constituency will bring fresh ideas, new vitality and yet stronger programs to Audubon--together with a membership of thousands of active, involved citizens!

What an exciting future we have to work forward to! In the next issues of Hummin', I'll detail how we can achieve this vision. In the meantime, to play a part making this a reality, call Audubon at 722-7777. I see YOU in Audubon's future!

As I and the new slate of chapter officers and board members take on the operational tasks of running Audubon, I offer my sincere thanks to all who have helped keep things moving forward in the past few years. Special thanks go to those who have not only played a key role for many years, but will continue to do so: Ellen Brubaker, our chapter's dedicated Secretary; Martin Byhower, coach, guide and role model for young activists; Bob Carr, who always seems to find just the right program for our meetings; Ollie Coker, field trip leader and effervescent cheerleader; Allen Franz, always seeking new open spaces to work for and preserve; Tina Lestelle, ever there with a helping hand; Lillian Light, our ever-enthusiastic Conservation chair and the flame that keeps nature education going at wilderness Park; Neil Multack, who keeps looking for more ways to work with birds; and Bart Tendick, our versatile immediate past president. Many thanks also to those who, though newer additions to our activist corps, will become increasingly the heart of the chapter: Debbie Baker, a fount of educational wisdom and ideas; Annette Currence, who brings such vital energy to what she does; Bob Shanman, ever ready to get what is needed done; and Fran Spivy-Weber, the most savvy of us all.

There are so many others who have contributed to whom we owe much. The hundreds of organizers, leaders, helpers, writers, donors and counters who make the Awards Banquet, Butterfly Count, Christmas Bird Count, Hummin', monthly walks, Sharing Nature With Children, Sky Party and chapter meetings run. Then there are all our younger leaders, whose bubbling enthusiasm and boundless good will carry us older folks along on a rising tide of purpose, and the knowledge that the future is in very capable hands.

Reservations are now being taken for the summer education program at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park, in Wilmington. These two week long morning sessions will introduce children to the plants and animals of the park, its ecosystems, and how to restore them.

Capitalizing on the success of last year's program and a substantial grant, Audubon's Education Director Debbie Baker and Lead Teacher Holly Gray have been able to greatly expand the breadth of the curriculum for this summer. Children will learn first-hand how they interact with the lake, its birds and surrounding habitats. They will also get hands-on experience growing native plants and doing restoration. In addition to the program's teachers, students will also have the benefit of talks and walks given by experts in a variety of subjects.

The program is intended for children from 8 to 14 years of age, especially those living in neighborhoods close to the park. Classes are held weekdays, from 9 to Noon, with sessions dates: June 19-30, July 10-21, July 24-August 4, and August 14-25.

For enrollment, please call Debbie at 722-7777.

With 20 in attendance, our chapter was far and away the best represented at Audubon's National Convention in April. Held on the Monterey peninsula in a campus-like atmosphere, the biennial meeting allowed Audubon leaders to come together in a beautiful setting to discuss issues and policies that will affect all of us for years to come. During the five days there, Auduboners went to meetings and workshops, enjoyed field trips, met old friends and made new ones. Highlights included the gala welcome reception, held at the Monterey Aquarium and hosted by Aquarium founder and director, Julie Packard.

The convention was an eye-opener, too, for the students who represented our YES! program--and for many adults, who little realize how dedicated young people are to bettering our environment. Addressing the entire convention on opening night, chapter Vice-president Rahil Patronas, Board Member Ernesto Bernal and incoming Board Member Manoah Koletty spoke about the relationship of students to Audubon. These youngsters were the talk of the convention, and the Saturday morning workshop the YES! group put on was well attended and highly polished.

Thanks go to Bob Carr, Ollie Coker, Lillian Light, Jess and Donna Morton, Bart and Kathy Tendick, Fran Spivy-Weber and Michael Weber, who made up the senior contingent, and put in a great deal of effort toward making the convention a success. In addition to these senior chapter members, Audubon YES! was represented by 11 young people from five high schools and two colleges. Besides Rahil (El Camino) and Ernesto and Manoah (San Pedro HS), the group included Leann Ortmann (Marymount), Joephet Morales and Johanna Umiten (Carson HS), Alison Rice (Mira Costa), Julie Chao and Vijay Yanamadala (Peninsula HS), and Debra Billings and Debbie Ovadia (West HS). Thanks are also due to the YES! Program's and chapter's many financial supporters, who made van transportation and six scholarships possible.

The chapter has selected Debbie Baker to be Education Director, the chapter's first permanent paid staff position. Over coming years, Debbie will develop environmental education initiatives throughout the area PV/SB Audubon serves. This year, a primary task will be oversight and development of the Summer Education Program at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park. She will also assist with two new chapter programs: the establishment of an Audubon YES! Council in local high schools, and the development of a community-based "Audubon in the Park" environmental education program for children. She will also be our point person for Audubon Adventures, a long-established classroom education program for grades 3 to 5.

Debbie Baker, her daughter Holly Gray and husband Tony Baker were the joint recipients of this year's Conservation Education Award at our May Awards Banquet (see p. 7). In addition to her invaluable education work for the chapter in the past, Debbie taught in the LA schools system for many years. One of her posts, Hawaiian Avenue School, in Wilmington, will no doubt be a rich source of students for the Harbor Park Summer Education program.

We look forward to a long, rewarding association with this fine environmental educator.

We have about 2/3 of our normal precipitation for the season, so things should breed early, and maybe only once, since seed crops will be depressed. I hope you're keeping track of 'FOS' (First of Spring) dates, as I always suggest. For any given year the date may not seem to be of great significance, however one only needs to look at, for example, Elegant Tern arrival dates, which 20 years ago were in July, and are now in March, to see how these tidbits of data become valuable.

Other dates matter, too. What day do your nesters like Hooded Oriole or Cliff Swallow return? When do they leave after they are finished nesting? Keeping track of these data year after year can tells us when a bird is more likely to be a resident or a migrant. When do your White-crowned Sparrows depart? You should note the first, last, and peak number dates of each species for each season. We know lots about where and when to see rarities, but the idiosyncrasies of many common species remain unknown! Now, how 'bout some bird word......

North of us, at Pt. Mugu 3/26-4/2, but worth noting since it probably flew past the peninsula during one of spring's great northbound loon flights, Dave Pereksta and Steve Tucker found a Yellow-billed Loon. Nobody here saw it go by! I hate when that happens.

Our local 'albatross queen', Ann Lynch received another (!) Laysan Albatross, picked up on the street at the 110 Fwy. exit on Gaffey, in San Pedro, on either 4/30 or 5/1. It was fine and was released at sea, though it was probably becalmed by a two-day high pressure regime and unable to get airborne. I suspect it was a ship assisted bird, in that it probably arrived in the harbor on a ship. This is Ann's fourth albatross in eight years. Another four or so are known from the harbor area in the prior decade. For a species that is considered accidental this side of the continental shelf and south of Pt. Conception, the concentration of records in the LA Harbor MUST be viewed with the utmost suspicion.

On 4/27 Bernardo Alps (BA) was just a couple of miles offshore, over the San Pedro Escarpment (SPE), and saw 500 Sooty, 6 Pink-footed, and 12 Black-vented Shearwaters. David Moody (DM) saw a Cattle Egret at Madrona Marsh (MM) in March, one of few seen locally in the last year.

Here at Torrance and Western, under the greatest unknown migratory path in LA County, the 'Peninsula Cutoff,' I saw 7 Black Brant fly over my hovel on April 1. No foolin'! BA and I saw a Mallard X Pintail hybrid in the Wilmington Drain (WD) on 5/5. DM saw an imm. male Hooded Merganser in the sump at MM on 3/31, for a very rare (and new marsh) local record. Though the third since fall, we've only had 6 or 7 total records ever.

Kevin Larson (KL) and Carol Selvey (CS) saw a migrant flock of 5 Turkey Vultures at the Forrestal Quarry in April, an uncommon sight locally. BA and I saw a White-tailed Kite in the field just south of the sewage plant by the 110 Fwy., on 5/5, which may have been the one flying north past my place on 5/7. They used to nest at Harbor Park (HP)--last in 1985. A couple of first year Red-shouldered Hawks were at Banning Park (BP) 4/29. BA saw a pair of Peregrines in display flight around the Vincent Thomas Bridge in April. Those towers look like arctic cliffs to me! Hope it does to them, too! Will we need to station a guard or sensors here as on Morro Rock?

A couple of Whimbrel flew over my peninsula cutoff on 4/28, as did a flock of 150-200 Dunlin on 5/4! KL saw Long-billed Dowitchers at HP 5/5. BA saw a Parasitic Jaeger over the SPE on 4/27. KL and CS saw a Franklin's Gull fly north past Pt. Vicente (PtV) on 4/15, and another at Ballona Wetlands on 4/30. Fellow lariphile ('gull-freak') Don Desjardin, from Ventura, saw a juv. Glaucous Gull in Long Beach. on 3/12. BA saw a four murrelets over the SPE 4/27, which were probably Xantus's, and a Cassin's Auklet.

A Barn Owl called to get my attention (so I would see it as it flew over?) at 8 p.m. on 3/28. I think Bob Beckler saw the first local spring Vaux's Swifts, at HP on 4/16, and a pair went over here the next day. Interesting was watching a dozen White-throated Swifts feeding around a large (500' tall) dust devil here, and I couldn't help but wonder whether these don't bring tons of food up to these aerial planktivores. Swifts must seek them out whenever they see them. A Black-chinned Hummingbird was back at the north-end willows at HP, where they nest, on 4/19. Right on schedule.

Belted Kingfisher were at HP 4/29 (MH) and 5/5 (KL). Downy Woodpecker recolonization is apparently so successful they have occupied all available riparian habitat and one pair is now nesting in a residential area in Manhattan Beach (fide Bob Shanman), where there are no willows!! Adapt, evolve or die, right?

I saw a Hammond's Flycatcher at BP on 5/3. BA saw a Purple Martin on Terminal Island 4/27, and he and I saw one at WD on 5/5. The few Barn Swallows that nest in my flood control channel here returned, with two males first present on 3/17. Return dates for the last 4 years: Y2K on 3/17, in '99 on 3/22, in '98 on 3/8, in '97 on 3/19. See, isn't that fun? Martin Byhower's Red-breasted Nuthatch up in Chadwick Cyn., the only one reported last winter, was last seen on or about 3/20. KL and CS saw 2 Rock Wrens in the Forrestal Quarry 4/16, where they are still hanging on. KL heard a singing House Wren at HP 5/5. Migrant or nester? My FOS Swainson's Thrush was at BP singing on 5/3. Vincent Neuman (VN) reported a Phainopepla at MM on 4/16, an unusual bird there.

The rare eastern vagrant warblers generally occur from mid-May to mid June, once the big waves of western migrants have passed through. You must go out in late April or early May to see the biggest fallouts of the regular species. No accident that our Bird-a-thons are held then! On a good day when the weather conditions bring a fallout, such as on 4/28 this year, after covering a few parks locally, you may easily tally up 50-100 Wilson's or Yellow Warblers (or Western Tanagers). If you go outside and have a couple of warblers and tanagers at your house, go to a few local migrant traps--these days any remaining greenspot--and you'll probably see bunches of 'em. Most of the wintering warblers, except Black-throated Gray, which departs in March, stay to the first week of April. Late May individuals are usually migrants going to more northerly parts of their range, or immatures. My Salvia patch again pulled in migratory MacGillivray's and Yellowthroat. Yellow-breasted Chat was seen at MM on 4/23 (VN), and KL had one at HP on 5/5, where a pair resided briefly last summer. A wintering HP Yellow Warbler was still present 4/9 in the Cypresses.

On KL's fifth winter-check trip to El Nido Park, he found a Summer Tanager which had slipped by him before. As elusive as the Peck Park TRIO this winter. But add the returnee at Paseo del Campo, and we had a record total of FIVE wintering Summer Tanagers this year!!! There weren't ten Western Tanagers wintering this year. WOW! The last White-crowned Sparrow at my place left the night of 4/18. A migrant White-throated Sparrows passed through Neil Multack's yard on 4/22, and another was in Torrance, at Jim and Judy Scott's yard, from about the same day through 4/26, illustrating well their spring passage dates. A great surprise for KL was a male Baltimore Oriole in the sage scrub above the PtV fishing access parking lot (the seawatch spot) on 4/16, when and where he also had a Blue Grosbeak. My FOS Bullock's Oriole was in my Bottlebrush, out front, on 3/17. On 4/25 KL had a Yellow-headed Blackbird in Manhattan Beach., and, on 4/30, over a hundred at Ballona Wetlands--a very large number for southern coastal LA County. The introduced Bishops and Mannakins were back at HP by early May, after departing last fall. There must be huge winter flocks of these somewhere, but no one knows where.

Be sure to grab a piece of the passing bird world this spring, before the 'summer doldrums' set in! Remember the first two weeks of June are as good as the last two weeks of May for those prized eastern vagrants, so don't give up too soon. Banning, Harbor, Peck, Wilderness and Sand Dune Parks are the best bets. Seabirding from the points (Fermin, Vicente, Palos Verdes and Flatrock) should be good in June and July. A trip up to the local mountains, say the San Gabes, is also rewarding. Actually, it IS OK to leave the count circle to bird. But only briefly--and then, only when it's slow! And, just because the official breeding bird atlasing is over, don't stop looking for nesting records of interest. By July the first southbound fall migrant shorebirds will be returning, and the LA River will again be the 'hot spot'. I'd like to thank everyone who sent me reports for the column. You make it what it is...or isn't. E- me your local sightings at: birdfish@earthlink.net and remember to think global, bird local.

ERRATUM: The hybrid American X Eurasian Wigeon at the LA River last column was 2/29, not 1/29.

The May 5, 2000, PV/South Bay Audubon Conservation Awards Banquet was another success. Thirteen YES! students were given awards for their 50 hours of service to the environment. They not only received an Audubon certificate, but also awards from Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal and his wife Debbie, who were present, and State Senator Debra Bowen. Frank O'Brien spoke on Los Angeles Parks and the need for many roles--science, advocate, YES! students, land conservancy, bureaucrat--in protecting open space. Deanne Dedmon, the new Senior Recreation Specialist in charge of Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park, was also present.

The Conservation Award was presented to Jon Earl, Ellen Petty, and their organization Rhapsody in Green, which brings out hundreds of adults for "hands on" experience with nature. Their focus in the South Bay is pulling ice plant and restoring Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly habitat. Jon was born in the Santa Monica Mountains, on the edge of the wilds, while Ellen, part Cherokee, grew up in Downey. Today, they live in the Santa Monica Mountains and work together teaching youth, organizing hands-on conservation outings for adults, and developing new ideas to help the environment. Ten years ago, they launched Rhapsody in Green, which offers adults a variety of environmental projects each month.

Dave Bradley, Ross Landry, and Mitch Heindel received the Conservation Biology Award in recognition of their 20-year collaboration on the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Dave Bradley obtained a Ph.D in Biometry from USC and has published an  assortment of articles applying statistics in various areas, including Ornithology. His first Christmas Bird Count was also the very first Palos Verdes Peninsula Christmas Bird Count, in 1966. He's only missed one since, and that was because he was snowbound and couldn't get here. Ross Landry is a biologist whose graduate work at CSU Long Beach focused on the growth and development of the western burrowing owl at Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station. Highlights of his environmental career include breeding bird studies and winter bird surveys for the Bureau of Land Management's California Desert Plan, bird traffic around an SCE geo-thermal power plant at the Salton Sea, and bird migration studies throughout the Coachella, Morongo, and San Jacinto Valleys. Mitch Heindel, well known to all readers of Hummin', is a birder by birth, having been born in San Pedro to birding parents. Currently, Mitch is documenting the status of birds and their distribution in the Palos Verdes/South Bay, particularly at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park, where he has seen 300 of the 400 species known from the entire region.

Debbie and Tony Baker and Holly Gray received the Conservation Education Award. They are an amazing family. Debbie and Tony each grew up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and for most of their lifetime have been interested and active in helping to preserve the natural landscape. Tony has worked closely with the Land Conservancy propagating over 17,000 native plants, leading walks, and helping train docents. Debbie, a teacher of at-risk youth in L.A. Unified for ten years, has focused many of her volunteer hours on the Audubon chapter's education programs. Holly, now 23 and a graduate of UC Santa Cruz, is just back from Nepal to be lead teacher, with Debbie, for the summer program at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park.

Max Schmid received the Student Conservation Award. Max Schmid has attended Chadwick since kindergarten. He joined the ecology club in the seventh grade, and is now an officer. In the eighth grade, he began serving as a student representative to the Board of Directors of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy. In the ninth grade, Max received the Audubon YES! Award. Now in the tenth grade, he continues his interest in the environment, amidst a long list of other activities. He plays the clarinet, is a member of the Chadwick water polo and swimming teams, belongs to Amnesty International, Chadwick Socialist Club, and the Model United Nations.

Audubon YES! Awards were presented to Debra Billings (West HS), Julie Chao and Louise Chow (Peninsula HS), Husam Ghanim (San Pedro HS), James Honan-Hallock and Skyler Hirata (Chadwick), Maryann Kimoto (San Pedro), Sang Lee (Chadwick),  Judy Oh (South HS), Alison Rice (Mira Costa), Chaz Stucken (Chadwick), Wenling Wu and Vijay Yanamadala (Peninsula). Each of these students has put in at least 50 hours of public service on environmental projects ranging from teaching children about nature to habitat restoration.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Patrons--Kurt Hallock and Maryanne Honan, Goldie Otters, Bart and Kathy Tendick, Bob Shanman and Wild Birds Unlimited, Frances Spivy-Weber, and Michael Weber--to Sponsors--Shirley Turner and Drs. Yanamadala--to YES! sponsors--Ann and Eric Brooks, Patricia Weimer, and Dr. and Mrs. Stucken--and to the Banquet Committee--Bob Carr, Ollie Coker, Jess Morton, Bob Shanman, Bart Tendick, and Frances Spivy-Weber.

The rains are long past; nothing but a gray green memory locked in the still wands of  goldenbush, needlegrass and sagebrush under the noon sun. No wind stirs. The birds that sang to each other of a new day as dawn brightened to morning, wait. The only sounds that reach our noise-raveled ears as we move is that of boots on hard ground, the rustle of leafy stems brushed aside, the rattle of lizard flight into litter under a bush.

But stop. Pretend that you have nowhere to go. No need to move. Become nothing more than another fragment of the coastal sage scrub inhabiting this particular place at this one moment.

Now! Listen to the sounds of summer; the hum of an alien world. The air buzzes, murmurs, whirrs. It is alive with small life.

Listen! There is the drone of a mining bee, in passage toward her neatly drilled burrow with another load of pollen for the new larval chamber being stocked for an offspring she will never see. She goes to earth on a bare patch nearby, and we realize that the hole she enters is but one of dozens there.

Now that we can hear them, wings seem to be moving all around us. Flies, bees, wasps cover the rounded surface of an ashy-leafed buckwheat, moving constantly on the flowerheads, then flying off to add their wingbeats to the thrumming around us. Blue mud wasps land; explore crevices; their constantly flicking wings iridesce deep blue, green when the sun catches them. A sand wasp digs in, and a stream of loose dirt seems to erupt from under it. A male bee fly hovers, settles onto a pebble, awaiting the next passage of a possible mate.

Then we move and the spell is broken. Earth crunches under foot. Car doors slam; a motor starts; a radio spills its jabber through open windows, then is gone. Silence returns to the scrub land. Well, almost!

The word "trophic" has reference  to nutrition, and in ecology the term "trophic structure" refers to the series of trophic levels that start at the bottom level which is the basic food producer and then rises through levels of food consumers each of which feeds upon organisms in one or more trophic levels below its level.

When there is a lowering of the population in a mid to high trophic level, the frequent result is the increase in population of a lower trophic level because the feeding on that lower trophic level's population decreases. In Isle Royale National Park, three successively higher trophic levels have respectively contained fir trees, moose, and wolves. During a time in recent decades there was a big increase in snow there, and wolves seemed to need more food to survive so they increased the size of their hunting packs and therefore killed and ate more of the moose, killing about three times as many per day for quite a while, thus significantly lowering the moose population. Because moose fed upon fir trees, the fir tree population rose substantially.

In southern California, the large increase in human population during the twentieth century has sharply lowered the habitat areas for coyotes.  Because no other creature (except perhaps bacteria and viruses) prey upon coyotes, they are in a top trophic level, and a coyote is hence known as an apex predator. The prefix "meso" means "middle" or "intermediate", so a mesopredator is one at a trophic level below the top one, and here in southern California mesopredators include grey foxes, raccoons, opossums (omnivorous), striped skunks, and domestic cats. Because of the human population increase and reduction of coyote population, there has been an increase in domestic cats which can be prey of coyotes, and because of the coyote decrease there has also been an increase in those other mesopredators which sequentially have had less fear of coyotes and less lifetime competition with coyotes. Of course, in some areas the human population increase has also decreased the mesopredator population. A result in the places of increase, though, has been decrease of quantity and diversity of scrub-breeding birds which are naturally in a lower trophic level. Among such birds are cactus wren, California quail, spotted towhee, California gnatcatcher, Bewick's wren, and others. For example, in one area near San Diego well over 30 percent of the human population owns one or more cats, with an average of about 1.7 cats per household. Over 75 percent of the cat owners have allowed their cats to spend a lot of time out of the house, so most of those cats have brought killed prey back to the house. Among the prey organisms are birds, rodents, and lizards, with the estimated annual quantity killed by the cats being about 525 birds, 840 rodents, and 595 lizards.

So, as discussed herein, predators indeed are affected by conditions and predators do affect ecological conditions, as suggested by this article's title.

I'll now tell you that a bird at my bird seed feeders succeeds when I see it suck seeds.

Before I went to Sequoia National Park I imagined it was a place where only rich, wealthy or important people can go. Also I thought it would look a little like a city park. When I thought about the park, I imagined it to be small where trees were planted and showed in display, perhaps just a couple of different trees. I though there were probably only a couple of hiking trails that would probably look like a paved road. The thing that I imagined the most was everything around and in the park would be MANMADE.

When I went to Sequoia everything was different. I learned from books and experience how great and completely different the park was. I saw how beautiful the trees actually were, and how everywhere around you there were trees, plants and gorgeous animals. I realized how the park was actually very big. Also everyone, not just the rich, can go to the park and enjoy its natural status. As I learned about the park it made me care and love it. I learned that some people tried so hard and fought to keep the park so I can enjoy it now. That is why I am grateful to all those who worked so hard to keep the Giant Sequoia Trees and all the beautiful things the park has to offer this world.

Being able to contribute in helping Sequoia made me feel great. My class and I picked up acorns and planted 1500 in the park's nursery. Going to Sequoia made me care and love our environment, the native plants, and the wild animals which I had never done before. After going to the park, my concern for our environment here in Los Angeles has grown. Now I realize that our environments are connected in many ways, so if we take care of the Los Angeles pollution problem there are less possibilities in harming and polluting Sequoia. I now have deep and wonderful feelings for "OUR" park. I want to do all I can to protect it.

Ed.--Roxana is an 8th grade student at Thomas A. Edison Middle School in South Central Los Angeles who, with her fellow students, has been lobbying effectively for the preservation of our Sequoia heritage. This article was recently publish by the National Park Service because it so perfectly captures the richness of our National Parks and the rewards of bringing all parts of our population into our parks. Many thanks to Roxana, her fellow students and especially Dr. Ellen Sachtjen, their teacher and mentor, who brought Roxana to our April meeting to read this article.

Communities Council: Community activists are wanted for this group which will keep Audubon abreast of what is going on around the South Bay. If you keep tabs on your city council, planning commission, or parks department we need you! As a member of the Communities Council, you will be able to bring the weight of Audubon's prestige and experience to bear on your environmental concerns. Help us by letting Audubon know about issues before they become problems. Together, we can help local governments and agencies make informed, environmentally friendly decisions.

Sharing Nature With Children:  If you can spend a morning one Saturday a month, lend a hand with Sharing Nature With Children,our children's educational program at Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach. This monthly program introduces youngsters to the variety of the natural world around them in a setting which includes meadow, woodland, streamside and marsh habitats. As a docent, you will help lead the children in various games, walks and crafts designed to show off the park and the plants and animals in it.

If you like working with children, this is an excellent way to become involved with chapter activities. High school and other students who volunteer receive Audubon YES! Award credits.

Join this exciting program by calling Lillian Light at 545-1384.

YES! COUNCIL

Student leaders are wanted for the Audubon YES! Council. If you want to help coordinate environmental activities between schools in the South Bay, including Audubon in the Park, join the council via e-mail. Send your name, address, phone number, school, grade and any club affiliation to <jmorton@igc.org>.

See article on page 1 for full details. Call Jess Morton at 832-5601 to register and for additional information.

The trend in recent years to price publicly-owned parks out of the range of most people's budgets appears to be turning. The National Park Service is seriously reexamining the outrageous users fees imposed a few years ago in many areas, including the Angeles National Forest. In California, Governor Gray Davis is proposing to cut state park fees in half. The cuts will allow more lower-income people to enjoy parks, picnic areas, campgrounds and beaches. "We created the park system for all Californians and now I want to make sure our parks are accessible to all Californians," explains Davis. The action is a reversal of fee hikes for California's 265 state parks, beaches, and museums made in the recession budgets of the early 1990's.

In May, the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of CARA. Officially known as the Conservation and Reinvestment Act, CARA is the most important piece of pro-environmental legislation in years. It funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act (UPARR), the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Fund, and the Historic Preservation Fund. It also provides critically needed money for a wide range of land preservation needs, including restoration, the purchase of conservation easements and habitat-preserving tax credits.

Despite some vocal opposition from radical elements in Congress, CARA was passed on a bipartisan basis led by House Committee on Resources Chairman Don Young (R-AK) and Ranking Member George Miller (D-CA). Thanks to strong grassroots actions, they fended off amendments to gut core programs in the bill. A round of applause is due all of our local House Members: Horn, Kuykendall, Millender-McDonald and Waters, each of whom voted for CARA's passage.

Three cheers for all those who participated in the chapter's annual Bird-A-Thon, which this year raised about $5000 in support of Audubon activities. Three teams took to the field on April 29th and 30th, scouring the skies, seas and foliage for birds. Martin Byhower and team member Steve Dexter, who birded Orange County came in with 120 species, tops for the day. Bob Shanman's team (Connie Day, Dave Moody and Jess Morton) stayed within our Christmas Count circle, finding 103 species. Ollie Coker's "Wild Bunch," including Dick Barth, Al and Kitty Hill, Margaret Hoggan, Lillian Light, Johanna Lytle, Bea Rasof, John Small, Sal Trupiano and Dennis Weyrauch, ranged throughout the South Bay to hit exactly 100 species.

Of course, the majority of those who participated didn't do so as counters.  Instead they counted by donating to make the day a success. The teams raised  $1300, $2500 and $1200 respectively. Among the dozens of donors to be thanked are the customers at Bob Shanman's Wild Birds Unlimited, many Chadwick families and students, notably Andrea Davidowitz, and many perennial friends of Audubon, including Barbara and Bill Ailor, Sheri and Casey Dodge, Frank Flores, Dwayne Knopke, Dave Moody, Jess and Donna Morton, Goldie Otters, Fran Spivy-Weber and Michael Weber, and Wild Birds Unlimited.

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