Please help us honor several outstanding South Bay conservation leaders at the annual Conservation Awards Banquet on the evening of May 4th. This year's honorees are Doug Stern, Dennis Weyrauch, and Guyton Durnin. The awards will be presented at Ports O'Call Restaurant, Berth 76, in San Pedro.

This year's PV/SB Audubon Conservationist of the Year award recipient is the Honorable Doug Stern, currently serving on the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council. As a member of the council, Stern has consistently supported preservation of remaining open space within the city. He also maintains a listserv newsletter to keep constituents and interested parties apprised of relevant developments in and around RPV.

Before his election to the City Council, Stern served as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy. Stern provided invaluable support and legal counsel in many of the Land Conservancy's projects, perhaps most critically in the establishment of the 28-acre Chandler Preserve in Rolling Hills Estates. Doug Stern is a partner in the Los Angeles office of the law firm of Fulbright and Jaworski.

Dennis Weyrauch is this year's recipient of the Conservation Education Award. No one has done more for our children's education about nature than Dennis. A teacher at San Pedro High School for many years, Dennis is the innovator who got the high school's Marine Magnet Program going. Dennis teaches biology and environmental science to student who almost miraculously find themselves out doing volunteer work on Audubon YES! Projects. Aside from his teaching, Dennis is a world-class pigeon expert, acting as a judge at international events.

This year, the Chapter is awarding its Student Conservation Award to Guyton Durnin. Now a junior at Chadwick School, Guyton has proved himself instrumental in the restoration of Chadwick Canyon, assisting Martin Byhower in coordinating the restoration work. Besides serving as an officer in the Chadwick School Ecology Club, Guyton has encouraged the involvement of the school's Key Club in the restoration of Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park.

The 7:00 p.m. Conservation Awards Banquet will be preceded by a reception for the award recipients at 6:00 p.m. The banquet room overlooks the San Pedro Ship Channel, affording a magnificent view of the harbor. Please see page 10 for banquet reservation information.

While celebrating the achievements of our awardees at the Conservation Awards Banquet, you may want to place a bid on an item or two in our Silent Auction. Bidding will begin at 6:00 p.m. and will end at 9:00 p.m. Winners can claim their items with a personal check.

• --Two Southwest Airlines Award Tickets
• --A nature walk at your favorite place by Martin Byhower
• --An outing and poetry with Jess Morton
• --Several items from the Shirley Wells' estate
• --The new Sibley and Kaufmann birding guides
• --Bird prints.

If the environmental news from Washington grows more and more gloomy, we are blessed locally with bright spots that are very encouraging. Foremost among these are all the signs of a new vitality centered around Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park. If I were to select the principle reasons for this, they would include the zealous, young LA City staff members who have dedicated themselves to this park, and the growing Audubon presence there.

In this article, I will concentrate on our chapter's activities at the park. First, however, many thanks are due Park Director Deanne Dedmon and Activities Coordinator John Popoch, two big levers that are getting the City bureaucratic juggernaut moving forward. Not only are they bringing new programs to the park, such as for Earth Day, they are making Audubon's job a whole lot easier.

This summer, Debbie Baker and Holly Gray will be on hand to run our summer education program for the third year. This year, with a most welcome assist from grants by Equilon and Tosco, we will train a whole new crop of children from surrounding neighborhoods about the natural values of Harbor Park-their back yard. We will be experimenting with a junior ranger program to let the older youngsters do much of the teaching of their younger brothers and sisters. Not only will this let us train kids in leadership skills and nature, but it will permit us to reach far more children than ever before.

Speaking of lots of kids, Debbie Baker, our Education Director, has begun a successful program bringing busloads of school children to local parks, including Harbor Park. At the park, students and teachers visit three stations, where they learn about park birds, animals and plants. Family members Tony Baker and Holly Gray assist Debbie with the teaching.

As funding for Audubon projects in the park grows, we will be able to run both of the above programs virtually year round. The grade schools around Harbor Park have part of their students off track at any given time, so we will always have a ready and willing audience for our programs. At present, we have a number of grant applications pending, but contributions from chapter supporters are most welcome.

Another way Audubon is making its presence felt at Harbor Park is through birds. Last summer, Mitch Heindel did a fantastic job surveying the nesting birds around the lake. The data will be of great value as more and more habitat improvement projects are undertaken. They have already served their primary purpose: to advise on tule maintenance cutting patterns. This summer, Mitch will be carrying out a complementary survey, one which will deepen our knowledge about all of the birds breeding at Harbor Park.

A second aspect of Audubon's bird work is the designation of Harbor Park as an Important Bird Area (IBA). At the moment, Dan Cooper, a super birder and Audubon-California's IBA Director, has the necessary paper work in hand. The purpose of an IBA designation is to advise governmental agencies and other interested groups of the wildlife value of a particular place. At Harbor Park, the IBA imprimis will help us establish an education center and attract funding for it.

...AND ON THE HILL

After years of frustrating battles, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes seems to have made an about- face on the environmental front. Recent actions by the City Council and Planning Commission suggest that there is a substantial chance that critical wildlife habitat will not be developed as golf courses, streets and housing. The NCCP is again moving forward, even if rather timidly, and opposition to the conversion of publicly-owned, highly-productive habitat has become formidable. Signs now point to the probability that all attempts to build in environmentally sensitive areas—virtually everything left—will have to meet highly rigorous tests.

If one can ascribe this change of heart to any single event, it would have to be the election of Doug Stern to the RPV City Council last year. A long-time activist with the PVP Land Conservancy, Doug has created an atmosphere at Council meetings where it is now possible for the Council to say no to developers who propose environmentally damaging projects. To those of us, who over the years have consistently seen Council votes go 5-0 against the environment, this is most heartening.

In the next few months, several developments will be considered by RPV which have potentially devastating environmental impacts. I sincerely hope that the City Council will respond as it should. Just say no. The future will look brighter for it.

As usual after the Christmas bird count (CBC) reports fall off to near-none quickly. This year certainly all the rain kept us indoors more than usual though. As of early March, we're about 50% above normal rainfall for the season, and have averaged 5+ degrees cooler than normal as well. It should make for a spectacular spring bloom, of which our local coastal sage scrub is far under-rated for its beauty at the peak of flowering. A hike on the hill will soon be a dazzling array of sights and smells! A good bloom usually means good insect and seed crops, which turn into successful breeding seasons for birds. How `bout some current local bird word, eh?

The usual 20,000 Black-vented Shearwaters were wintering offshore along the San Pedro Escarpment (SPE) to the Redondo Canyon (RC), with the usual 5 or so partial-to-mostly albino birds amongst them. One in particular seemed to me to be one I photographed in 1992 and have seen since then. Fulmars were the next most common tubenose, present in good numbers this year, with twenty or more easily findable along SPE to RC. Eric & Ann Brooks (E&AB) saw one at Cabrillo Bch. (CB) 2/24.

A Snow and A Ross' Geese arrived at Harbor Pk. (HP) in Dec. AND stayed to near the end of Feb.— a real treat. Three wild Canada Geese also spent the period there, besides the (uncountable) two long-time feral resident individuals. A female Wood Duck was seen at the park a few times from late Dec. to mid Jan. Blue-winged Teal were also there sporadically and a pair or two was at Madrona Marsh (MM) as well (David Moody- DM & Vincent Neuman). The Alondra Pk. (Al.P) Canvasback flock got up to 38 birds 2/18, along with 15 Ring-necked Ducks. The female Hooded Merganser Don Sterba found on the CBC (12/23) in the Wilmington Drain stayed about 10 days, with a Mallard flock. While Surf Scoters seem to be down locally, the mother lode is off Dockweiler Bch., in El Segundo, where Kevin Larson (KL) counted over 3000 in Feb. Among them were occasional Black & White-winged Scoters, and Oldsquaw (now officially Long-tailed Duck _ only males for a brief period have long tails- surprise - another very poor name choice).

On 2/5 while on the phone with KL, an Osprey flew over my hovel here in Torrance. A couple OF Merlins and Peregrines were around as usual. The `black' Merlin (suckleyi) returned to the Torr. area, for another winter. I heard no further report of the Prairie Falcon at the Portuguese Bend area after the CBC, but did anyone look?

One of the color banded Snowy Plovers at the small CB flock was banded in Monterey! Always look for, record and report color bands !!! Black Oystercatchers were regular on the LA Harbor jetty (and at Royal Palms/Pt.Fermin, especially when high surf drove them off the breakwater) and at least once, "the" hybrid American X Black (or progeny) was seen again. Is it me or do Tattlers seem less numerous than before? By late Feb. migrant Long-billed Dowitchers are moving at freshwater sites like HP.

As usual, a few Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers wintered offshore, mostly mugging Black-vented Shearwaters (Poms) and Bonaparte's Gulls (Pars) for a living. Bob Beckler reported a Glaucous Gull at the LA River (LAR) on 1/18. We had the best Black-legged Kittiwake year in many, with a couple dozen offshore along the SPE & RC, e.g. 2/17 on the LAAS pelagic trip. E&AB had one at CB 2/24. The first of spring Elegant Terns (4) were passing Pt.Vicente (Pt.V) going north on 3/3, earlier every year it seems. Some 20-30 Black Skimmers were sometimes roosting at CB. Common Murres were more regular than usual this winter, like the Fulmars and Kittiwakes: if we get one of this triad, the other two are usually up in numbers too. Rhinoceros Auklets were in average numbers, with about 40 on 2/17 along the SPE to RC.

Lori Conrad had a Band-tailed Pigeon at her Hermosa Bch. place on 1/7, a rare sight along the coast here. The bird news of the decade practically was the addition of an Owl species to the peninsula list. Care to guess which one?

While scouting for the count, Charlie Walker and Joe Meltzer found some wings under an apparent raptor eating site. On the count they showed them to Dr. Charlie Collins from CSULB, who recovered a couple for identification. One of the wings belonged to a Saw-Whet Owl! The nearest populations are on S.Catalina and S.Cruz Islands, and in the San Gabriel Mtns. This bird, though, was likely one of the long distance migrants from the far north that show up in Dec. as far south as TX and SC. So we now have 4 `sightings' of small Owls in the circle: one each of Pygmy, Flammulated, Western Screech-, and now Saw-Whet!

E&AB found a Gray Flycatcher on the CBC at the old PV Landfill site. A few Cassin's Kingbirds wintered in the area again, a couple at HP. KL found a Cassin's Vireo at Gardena Willows (GW) on the CBC, and I had one at HP, plus a third was seen, count week only, near Lunada Bay by "PVNancy" (De Long?), apparently its third winter in `the hood'.

Up to 4 Barn Swallows were at HP in Jan. (Martin Byhower-MB). I saw 3 the day after the count 12/24 _ but they evaded detection on count day. A Mountain Chickadee was reported at a suet feeder near Banning Park (BP) 2/8 (Valerie Vargas-fide Bob Shanman). A Brown Creeper was at Chadwick 2/12 (MB), a rare find on the hill. Few waxings were around; the only large flock I saw was at Carson/Normandie on 2/19—over 150 in a single flock (10's and 20's were the norm).

About 14 species of warblers wintered in the CBC circle for a good total, but not all were seen on the count. A returnee Nashville at BP was present Nov-Feb+ but avoided detection count week. A Lucy's at MM WAS present since Sept. It also evaded count week detection but was seen at the turn of the year (DM). David Bradley, Rusty Scalf and Ross Landry had a male Hermit Warbler in Rolling Hills on the CBC. Two more were found after the count for a total of 3 wintering. Lori Conrad found a Palm at Ocean Trails for count week. KL found a Black & White at GW & Jim Pike saw one in PVE. A male American Redstart which was likely a returnee was on the east side of HP. Early Dec., I found a MacGillivray's at Peck Pk., which Jerry Johnson heard on count day. Wilson's were everywhere; 7 WERE found on the count! Three Summer Tanagers were found on the CBC—2 in PVE, and the one at BP— which went from pure mustard greenish-yellow in Nov. to over 50% pinkish-red by mid Feb.

Three Chipping Sparrows were on the golf course at HP on the CBC. A White-throated Sparrow was again in the flock of White-crowns between old Marineland and the Pt.V fishing access (our seawatch) parking lot. KL found another in Sand Dune Park, which wintered (out of the circle). Many Slate-colored Juncos were around, with a pair at Al.P in Feb., a pair at BP all winter, 3 at HP, and others elsewhere. One Pink-sided was at BP, and a Gray-headed was in PVE up via Colonita (Ron Melin & Jeff Jones). A Rose-breasted Grosbeak was at the So.Co.Bot.Gdns on the count (Ann Brooks).

I saw a female Hooded Oriole in Leland Pk. (unchecked on the count) during count week, quite rare here in winter. Two Baltimore Orioles were seen on the count: one behind Ernie Howlet (John Ivanov), and another on the Navy Fuel Depot by Dr. Barney Schlinger and I. Half-a-dozen Bullock's wintered around bloomin' Eucs.

The count ended up with about 167 species, plus thirteen for 180 during count week.. Pretty darn good if you ask me folks! Especially if you consider how spotty coverage is. We really need a hundred people to do it justice. For the second year in a row, a new state record was reported to hotlines the day before the count. Do they think that is funny to a compiler on count day?

I'd like to again thank all the participants on the CBC for their time, help, and efforts. The CBC is what it is because of you! You are heroes to me! This 35-year database is a priceless, irreplaceable work, that in future years will only become more valuable.

So, with spring arriving, it's time to enjoy the great passage of birds moving north. The points are great for seabirds. The sage scrub for the blooms, scents, and sparrows especially. Treed areas like Banning and Harbor Pks. will be good to excellent for landbirds in general. The peak of spring migrant landbird diversity is usually the last week of April and first half of May. The rare vagrants follow from mid-May to mid-June.

A local or site year-list is a productive way to list….if you must. In Y2K, I saw 265 species in the count circle, exactly [on my normal] MY average, and 152 species at HP alone. The MM list put together from reports from everyone last year was about 151.

Send your reports to : birdfish@eathlink.net and remember to

Think global, bird local!

Correction: In last month's column, the editor misidentified Bob Schallman as Bob Shanman in the report on the sighting of the Black X American Oystercatcher. The editor apologizes for the error.

You can now search Mitch's columns on line for references to any species or group of birds seen during the last several years. By going to Audubon'sweb site <http://www.LMconsult.com/pvaudubon>, you can use Webmaster Lewis Morton's unique BirdSearch engine to hunt up every reference to the bird you select. Check out the rest of the web site while you're there—you'll be amazed at how much Audubon actually does. And how many ways you can help out.

It's Too Hot, Cold, Wet, or Dark to Go Outside...

Here are some places I `hang out' when cyber- birding is all I can do. My favorite fifteen...

http://www.birdingonthe.net

http://www.badbirdz.com

http://www.surfbirds.com

http://www.birdzilla.com

http://www.fatbirder.com

http://www.camacdonald.com/birding/DesJardin/index.htm

http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/index/htm

http://www.zestforbirds.co.za/

http://birdtop50.com

http://www.montereybay.com/creagrus/

http://worldtwitch.virtualave.net

http://virtualbirder.com

http://naturesongs.com

http://birdingtheamericas.com

http://ibirding.com

And of course there's...my site:

http://www.angelfire.com/ca5/pelagics

There are hundreds, make that thousands of good links via these listed sites......

If every household in California replaced four 100-watt incandescent light bulbs with Four (equivalent 27 watt) compact fluorescent light bulbs, burning on average 5 hours per day, we would save 22 gigawatt hours per day- or as much electricity as is produced by 17 power plants.

• Up to 16% of the energy used in California is for pumping water.

• Municipalities pay 50% of their energy costs to move water.

• It takes 3,000 to 3,300 kilowatt hours of energy to move an acre foot of water from northern California to southern California.

• One gigawatt (GW) is equal to one thousand megawatts (1,000 MW) or one million kilowatts (1,000,000 kW) or one billion watts (1,000,000,000 watts) of electricity.

• One gigawatt is enough to supply the electric demand of about one million average homes.

• One acre foot of water will meet the annual water demand of two average homes in California.

• By installing low-flow toilets and shower heads, residents in Los Angeles have helped keep the area's water demand at the same level it was 30 years ago, although one million more people live here. And more can be done!

Celebrate the Earth in 2001!

On April 22nd,1970, the first Earth Day rallied over 20 million Americans to build community awareness of the need to protect and care for our natural environment. Since then this Earth birthday has been celebrated in more than 150 countries around the world. Today, when our environment is under siege by our corporations, our courts, our legislators, and our administration, it is more important than ever to help to bring environmental issues into the mainstream of American politics by participating in one of the following Earth Day events. There, we can explore how each of us can make a difference, and how we can protect our fragile planet and preserve it for future generations.

On April 21st VOICE (Volunteers and Organizations Improving the Community's Environment) will hold its 11th annual Earth Day Concert and Celebration. This much- anticipated event will take place at Polliwog Park, 1600 Manhattan Beach Blvd., in Manhattan Beach from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The VOICE celebration will feature the FAB FOUR National Beatles Band. Booths sponsored by conservation groups, "green" businesses, as well as government and community organizations, will display, demonstrate, and distribute conservation information and materials. Vendors will be offering food and drink, and a variety of environmental items and books for sale. Interactive eco-games and interesting activities will entertain and inform children of all ages. Everyone is invited to enjoy the VOICE festival featuring fun family activities, great music, and delicious food while learning how to help heal our planet. If you would like to volunteer to help, or if you wish further information, please call Patrick Tanaka at 310-374-2369. To arrange a booth for your organization call Judy Scott at 310-376-2854.

Those of you who live on the Palos Verdes Peninsula can show your concern for the fate of the Earth by taking part in the Earth Day celebration at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. This event will take place on Saturday,April 21st, at 3720 Stephen White Drive in San Pedro from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Activities will start with a beach cleanup from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Everyone is then invited to the courtyard at the Aquarium to pick up ecology-oriented information and materials distributed by local environmental groups and government agencies. Children are invited to take part in environmental activities, and to create projects that they can take home. An additional treat will be the chance to explore this fascinating aquarium. Vendors will also be selling food and beverages. To participate in this program or for further information, please call Linda Chilton or Steve Vogel at 310-548 7562.

Friends of Madrona Marsh are observing Earth Day by inviting members of the community to take part in a Rubble Removal Relay any time between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on April 21st. To beautify this most delightful marsh, which is now overflowing with water from the recent rains, a large number of oil field rocks must be removed. On Sunday, April 22nd three guided walks are being offered at 10:00 a.m.,1:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. It is a lovely place to visit on Earth Day! For more information, call Denora Lee at 310-534-4731 or Shirley Turner at 310-326-3840.

In honor of Earth Day, Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park will be hosting Discovery Day on April 22 from 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The celebration will include a Save the Lake Relay, nature walks, hands-on activities for children, a display of photos form the 1900's to the present, nature and wildlife displays, and a wetlands poster and mural contest.

Artists from kindergarden to college can participate in a poster contest. The drawing that best represents the beauty and meaning of the lake and park will be painted on the boathouse or concession stand this summer. There will be first, second, and third place prizes in each of five age categories. Entries must be drawn on paper no bigger than 18" x 24" and must be submitted by noon on Discovery Day. Each entry must have the name, address, telephone number, age, grade, and name of school written on the back of the poster. Winners will be declared at 3:00 p.m.

The Bush administration released its preliminary budget blueprint on February 27, in time for the President's speech to a joint session of Congress_and a nationwide television audience—to promote his fiscal agenda. While the president sought to focus on the positives during his speech, as always the devil is in the details. For example, the president proudly touted the $4.9 billion dollars that his budget proposal allocates for America's national parks; what he failed to mention was that the lion's share of the funding is dedicated for road construction and other infrastructure development, not for protecting natural treasures; and that the bulk of the funding was actually mandated by Congress several years ago, during the Clinton administraton. While the main priorities outlined in the speech and the blueprint will provide significant benefits for some, there are also plenty of losers in the re-ranking of budgetary priorities. One clear loser is independent scientific research (outside of medicine, which stands to receive a sizable boost), and that is an ill omen for the environment. Fortunately there is still a chance to modify the final budget, in the course of congressional debate and hearings; but it won't happen unless we, the citizenry, make our priorities clear to our Representatives, Senators, and the White House.

In order to pay for a 10% increase in defense spending and $1.6trillion in tax cuts_ disproportionately benefitting those who need it least—the President's budget plan calls for substantial cuts in funding for the Department of Agriculture, which among other things oversees national forests; the Department of the Interior, which includes the National Park system, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other critical operations; the Environmental Protection Agency, which monitors diverse aspects of environmental quality and health; the Department of Commerce, overseer of goods—and evils—entering the country; The Department of Labor, including the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, which monitors environmental health risks in working environments, from farms to factories to highways; and the list goes on. The budget for the National Science Foundation, which is particularly critical in funding independent scientific research, remains frozen under the Bush budget blueprint.

So what, you may ask? Well, at a time when scientific and public consensus on protecting the environment is growing wider and stronger than ever before, we have a critical need for accurate information about the world around us. Is global warming a legitimate issue, or hype and hysteria? Is the potential loss of endangered species a real problem, or just knee-jerk sentimentalism? Do air and water quality make any real difference in our lives_and if so, what are the most significant risks? These_and numerous others_are questions we can better answer if we can get accurate and unbiased information.

There is an extensive amount of scientific research being done today, but an increasing share of it is being funded by private special interests. Many of these private special interests do excellent research and share their data with the public_but there are enough exceptions to demonstrate convincingly that, to make wise decisions, we need to ensure more balanced, less self-serving sources of information. The tobacco industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on research_but have they shared their data and used it to benefit the public? Chemical manufacturers have invested billions of dollars to develop and test pesticides, food additives, and other products; but do they provide meaningful scientific or public access to their data? Without belaboring the point, there are many examples of privatization of information, suppression of information directly relevant to public concerns, and intimidation and retaliation against whistle-blowers.

If information is privatized and only available to special interests, then public debate on critical issues ceases to be well-informed, and becomes merely rhetoric. If public dialogue lacks relevant, reliable information, it degenerates into a purely political contest; debate becomes trivialized and irrelevant_as some special interests would prefer it. What are the long-term costs and benefits of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Sanctuary? What are the health impacts of diesel exhaust? How can we best preserve and build fertile soils? Do genetically altered crops pose a risk to humans or to the environment? Do we have effective defenses against mad cow disease, foot-and-mouth disease, and other threats to the food supply? Is urban sprawl a threat to biological diversity? What are the environmental impacts of groundwater mining?

Debating these and many other current public concerns without an open and balanced flow of information is all but pointless. Yet, that is the direction in which the new budget proposal moves us.

Congress has the authority to alter the president's budget proposal, but they won't do so without information_information about how their constituents feel about budget priorities. If we want them to protect the environment and promote independent research and the free flow of information, we have to let them know_and soon!

Please contact your elected representatives and local newspapers to let them know your priorities—politely but firmly. Below is contact information for some key officials.

- Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Dianne Feinstein,
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

- Representative Jane Harmon, or Maxine Waters, or Juanita Millender-MacDonald, or Steve Horn
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

- President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20503

Join landscape designers Ric Dykzeul and Tony Baker for a tour of local gardens that make use of California native plants and drought-tolerant plants. The South Coast Chapter of The California Native Plant Society is sponsoring a 2-1/2 hour tour at 10:00 a.m. and at 2:00 p.m. on April 28. The number of participants is limited. Tickets are $10 for members of the Society, and $12 for non-members. Call Barbara Sattler at 310-831-0032 for tickets or information.

Restoration of South Bay Habitats: We can use your energy and some more equipment! If you are prepared to dig and pull and plant, join PV/SB Audubon's restoration of PV Blue Habitat (every first or second Sunday, 9-noon, at the Defense fuel Support Point, 3171 N. Gaffey, San Pedro) and Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park (third Saturday of every month, 9-noon). See Calendar for details. We also need shovels, rakes, hand trowels, and clippers. For more information, call Debbie, 722-7777.

Sharing Nature with Children: Spend one Saturday a month, 8:30-12:30, as a dcoent at Wilderness Park, 1102 Camino Real (near Prospect) in Redondo Beach. Docents help an expert on nature introduce youngsters, ages 6-12, to the park's meadow, woodland, streamside, and marsh habitats and to wildlife and habitats throughout the region Docents help lead the children in games, walks, and crafts designed around each month's special theme. The theme of April 28th's class, led by Lou Palermo, is Art in Nature. For more information, call Lillian Light at 545-1384.

Audubon YES!: If you are already active with a school or youth group in the area, consider becoming a chapter liaison with Audubon Yes! Audubon Yes! students are the backbone of local restoration projects, and assist with Sharing Nature with Children. They attend Audubon field trips and walks. Students with 50 hours of service receive an Audubon Yes! award. Volunteers encourage participation in Audubon's youth-oriented programs.

Chapter Board: Chapter elections for Board members and officers are held in May. The time commitment is a few days a month, and it is a lot of fun! If you would like to become more active in the chapter, please let Jess Morton know at 832-5601.

Friday, April 20 Saturday, April 28 Sunday, April 29

Help make the Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Three Birdathon Teams into fund-raising superstars. They already are bird-watching stars! You are invited to join one of the teams as a birder and/or make a financial pledge to any or all of the three. You can contribute yourself and gather pledges from family, friends, and at workplace for each species seen within 24-hours.

Here is how it works. A birding team goes out during a 24-hour period and identifies as many species as possible. If you pledge $1.00 per species, and the team sees 100 species, you will be sent a list of the birds that were seen in exchange for your check for $100.00. All Birdathon contributions are used for Audubon education programs.

Besides supporting the Chapter's education programs, you can show your support for one or all of our teams. Here's the line-up:

Friday, April 20, join the Palos Verdes/South Bay Wirdbotchers, led by Bob Shanman and Jess Morton. They will meet at 5:30 a.m. at Wild Birds Unlimited, 2575 PCH, Torrance. They expect to see 100 species and to raise $3000 for the chapter's Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park summer program. Call 310-326-BIRD (2473) if you have questions. Bob and his Wild Birds Unlimited staff will take pledges over the phone, too.

Saturday, April 28, the PV/South Bay BUSH Whackers, led by Martin Byhower, expects to see 90 species. To make your pledge, contact Martin at MBinRBC@aol.com or 310-374-7473.

Sunday, April 29, join the Palos Verdes/South Bay Wild Bunch, led by Lillian Light, Ollie Coker, and Bart Tendick. They will meet at 6:30 a.m. at Fantastic Café, Western & 25th, San Pedro. They expect to see 80 species. For questions, contact them at lklight@aol.com or 310-545-1384.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Birdathon Pledge Form

Mail pledges or fixed amount checks to PV/SB Audubon, P.O. Box 2582, Palos Verdes, CA 90274.

I pledge to support the PV/South Bay Audubon Birdathon.______

Pledge or send a fixed amount $ ______________ or pledge per species seen $ ______________

Check which group should get credit for your pledge:

PV/SB BUSH Whacker Team (90 species) ________

PV/SB Wirdbotchers (100 species) _________

PV/SB Wild Bunch (80 species) __________

Your name: _____________________________________________ Phone: ____________________

Address: _______________________________________________ Email: ____________________

________________________________________________________

Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society

Conservation Awards Banquet Honoring

Doug Stern, Conservation Award

Dennis Weyrauch, Conservation Education Award

Guyton Durnin, Youth Conservation Award

Ports O'Call Restaurant, Berth 76, San Pedro 6:00 pm Reception/7:00 p.m. Dinner

Patron: $100.00 per person ($80.00 tax deductible). Patrons receive special recognition in the souvenir program and in Hummin'.

Sponsor: $50.00 per person ($30.00 tax deductible). Sponsors receive special recognition in the souvenir program and in Hummin'.

Supporter: $25.00 per person ($5.00 tax deductible)

Student (under 19): $15.00

Sponsor of YES! Student: $20.00 per student ($20.00 tax deductible). Student sponsors receive special recognition in the souvenir program and in Hummin'

Please make reservations in advance of the banquet by mailing your completed registration form with your check, made out to PV/SB Audubon, to the address below. All proceeds from the event benefit chapter activities.

Mail check and registration form to:PV/SB Audubon, c/o Bob Shanman, P.O. Box 2582, Palos Verdes, CA 90274.

Sender's Name ___________________________________ Telephone ________________________

Address ________________________________________ Email ____________________________

City/State _______________________________________ Zipcode __________________________

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