You are cordially invited to join your fellow members of the Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society on Saturday afternoon, April 23, at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro for the 2005 Audubon Conservation Awards ceremony and reception. This year we will honor Noel Park, Alison Diaz, Swati Yanamadala and Audubon YES! awardees for their hard work and outstanding environmental leadership.

The 2005 Audubon Conservation Award will be presented to Noel Park of the San Pedro and Peninsula Homeowners Coalition for his advocacy on behalf of the environment and community. Over the last ten years, Noel has played a central role for regional environmental protection and enhancement. His biggest commitment has been to making the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach a responsible part of the community, particularly with respect to their effects on pollution and aesthetics. Although such an undertaking is necessarily a community-wide effort, Noel's steadfastness of purpose, reasonable arguments and willingness to talk to anyone any time about solutions to problems has made his voice the voice of San Pedro.

The 2005 Audubon Education Award will go to Alison Diaz, founder of the new Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale, which will graduate its first four-year class this year. Alison created the school as an alternative to the huge public schools in our community where students can just get lost in the crowd. The mission of the school is to "provide our diverse student body with a student-centered academic program that extends learning beyond the classroom walls and into the local environment. All ECHS students will graduate with the knowledge, skills and values to become lifelong learners and stewards of their community - a community where magic happens."

The 2005 Youth Conservation Award will be presented to Swati Yanamadala, whose dedication places her side by side with her older brother Vijay as a creative conservationist. Swati, though only a freshman at Chadwick School, already has a broad background in environmental matters through working with the Chadwick Eco Club, Audubon YES! and the Environmental Priorities Network. Swati's particular interest (aside from tennis) is environmentally sound water management. See the article in the last Hummin' for what she would like to develop locally for a groundwater program.

In addition to the above awards, young people from Palos Verdes and South Bay schools will receive YES! Awards for providing at least fifty hours of service to the community's environment.

The program will be the culmination of Earth Day activities at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, which start at 8:00am with a beach clean up and continue from 10:00 am to 3:00pm with a variety of family oriented activities, including food, games, information tables and auditorium presentations.

The Conservation Awards celebration begins at 4:30 apm, in the John Olguin Auditorium. Hors d'oevres will be served at 4:00pm.

There is no charge for the event, but contributions are welcome.

Michael, my husband and the editor of Hummin', are spending as much spare time as we can in our Southern California deserts enjoying the fruit of this year's historic rains. Our first outing was to Death Valley in February. While we were a good month before the peak, we were thrilled to wade through knee-high fields of Desert Sunflowers that stretched into the foothills of the Valley. The aroma of the Desert Verbena was over-powering. Underneath this sea of yellow, we found most of the familiar desert species open or nearly open. My friend Janet and I tried our best to coax a Desert Five-Spot into showing us its spots. Our lack of success made returning in March a necessity.

On this February trip, we found a completely different garden of wildflowers near the southern entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. There the mix of every color we could imagine was dominant, causing us to exclaim with joy over and over and over again. Biblical words like Paradise and Eden came to mind.

At home in Redondo Beach, on our morning walks along the beach, Michael and I are watching native wildflowers take hold on the dunes as part of a City of Redondo Beach restoration project. Ice plant is being replaced with Lupin and Poppies and Dune Daisies. We are seeing birds other than pigeons and gulls enjoying the change as well.

Happily, we don't have to wait for a hundred year rain or an isolated restoration project to enjoy the beauty of native wildflowers, bushes, and trees. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (www.mwdh2o.com) and its member water agencies are encouraging cities and home-owners, businesses and schools to put in new heritage gardens.

What is a Heritage Garden? A Southern California heritage landscape features native and California Friendly landscaping, state-of-the-art irrigation and controllers, sustainable landscaping techniques, community involvement, and a maintenance plan. The result is a garden that appeals to people and wildlife. It is a garden that saves water without sacrificing beauty.

If you want to know more, you can check out MWD's website (above) or you can contact the conservation programs of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (1-213-367-0925) and West Basin Municipal Water Agency (310-660-6209) for information about programs that are currently available locally and ones that are on the drawing boards.

As you are reading this, I hope you are remembering your first hand experiences with desert wildflowers after a rain, and in a few years, I hope it is the rule rather than the exception that year-round we and our birds are enjoying heritage gardens in all our neighborhoods.

People become involved with Audubon for many reasons. They are birders or want to become birders. They want to conserve important bird areas. They want to improve habitat for birds and other animals. They want to make a difference in their community. They want to ensure the safety of the environment around them for future generations.

In Audubon, we know that many of these reasons take funding. Usually we think about the year to year or project based appeals, which we all get from many worthwhile organizations. Have you ever thought, however, that the reason you joined Audubon was to invest in the future. Have you considered a gift to Audubon through your estate plan or your retirement program? An estate gift can reduce taxes. It can make you feel good today and your family proud. It is simple.

For information on how to make an investment in the future of the South Bay/Palos Verdes Audubon Society, contact Jess Morton (jmorton@igc.org or 310-832-5601). For general questions relating to estate plans, please contact Dave Bonfilio, Planned Giving Officer, National Audubon, at dbonfilio@audubon.org.

Thank you for your support and interest in Audubon.

(adapted from the Endangered Habitats League newsletter)

What are those things, I asked myself?

In the small pool at my feet, a half dozen inch-long creatures were swimming with an odd, rather wavy motion, unlike anything I had seen before.

These weren't fish. Despite the fin-like and sinuous wriggling of the upper body, the tail was pointed and finless.

Nor were these tadpoles.Not with upper bodies flailing about like this.

Gills? Salamander? I didn't think so. Not here on the coastal plain under this glorious late-January sky.

Frankly, I was puzzled. One thing was sure, though. These critters were tied to water.

The rains, this year, have been quite extraordinary: both early and abundant. Everywhere the vegetation was showing signs of an early spring. On the upland portions of the marsh around me, the lupines were leafing out thickly. Bladderpod was beginning to flower. And there was more water here than I had ever seen before. Vernal pools everywhere. One or two covered several acres, but the one I was looking into was tiny. A few feet on a side. Not much more than a scrape in the ground. Shallow, with clear water.

And these things.

I stepped into the mud around the pool to get close enough to see clearly. My eyes aren't what they used to be—nor are my binoculars the sort for close-up work. So, muddy shoes it was.

And fairy shrimp! Of course, I had read of these animals before, but it had not occurred to me that I could see them here, at Madrona Marsh. Yet, there was no doubt. They were swimming on their backs, with their many pairs of legs weaving back and forth to create the waviness that had seemed so strange. They appeared translucent, and though a reddish tinge pervaded them, the only definite points of color lay in the black dots of their tiny eyes.

Fairy shrimp filter detritus or scrape algae from objects in their pools to get food, as do many other aquatic creatures. What sets them apart is their amazing adaptations to the ephemeral habitats they live in—vernal pools; some species even adapted to places that may not see rain for years on end.

The eggs laid by fairy shrimp are hardy. Depending on the species, eggs may survive years before hatching. Eggs may be blown on the wind. Even passed through digestive systems. Yet some species brood the eggs, and it is the larvae that must survive harsh conditions, becoming encysted so that they can speed to maturity when the rains come again.

It is the specialization of fairy shrimp that makes them so vulnerable to human activities. As we fill in vernal pools and wetlands for our own housing and commerce, their necessary habitats disappear. Thus it is up to us to see that we make provision for these creatures while we make use of what once was theirs.

Fortunately, Madrona Marsh will remain a sanctuary in perpetuity. Home to the occasional naturalist finding something new and amazing. Home to the fairy shrimp, doing what they have always done.

The Pomona Valley Audubon Society reports a marked decrease in the number of crows in their area. Compared to a 32-year average of 880 crows, and more than 1,400 in 2003, only 334 crows were observed in 2004. The likely cause of the decline is West Nile Virus.

Trends in other species were mixed. The number of Cooper's Hawks fell, and many were found dead or sick. California quail numbers were down from 78 last year to 15 in 2004. Scrub jays were less than half their usual number.

Invariably, there is too little time to find all of the unusual wintering birds by the time of the Christmas Bird Counts; several will undoubtedly remain undiscovered by winter's end. The first three to four months of the year give us time to discover a greater variety of notable wintering birds in infrequently, or sometimes even frequently, birded locations. This winter was no exception—surprises were afield for those making the effort.

Rain in large amounts continued to be the dominant weather story. The fifteen-day period ending on 10 January, during which 15.55 inches fell in downtown L. A., was the wettest since records began in 1921. There were many more rainy days from late January through late February. Rain recorded on seven consecutive days 17-23 February added much to this season's total. With months left to go in the rainfall season, the 33.87 inches of rain recorded at Downtown L. A. by the end of February had already eclipsed any entire season in the last century. One has to look back to 1889 and 1883 to find higher seasonal totals.

The Greater White-fronted Goose found at Del Rey Lagoon on 8 Nov was still present on 1 Mar (Daniel S. Cooper-DSC). An apparent "Aleutian" Cackling Goose (B. h. leucopareia) continued at Earvin Magic Johnson Recreation Area (EMJRA) in Willowbrook 4 Dec-24 Feb (Kevin Larson-KL); all of several characters reportedly favorable in the identification of this subspecies were evident. Sightings of single Brant at Ballona Lagoon 6-10 Feb (David Bell) and flying north off Pt. Vicente (PtV) on 13 Feb (KL), were the earliest of these migrants noted in the area this year. A young male Long-tailed Duck was found at the Marina del Rey Harbor mouth 20 Jan-26 Feb (Richard Barth-RB); the female present there 12 Nov-16 Dec had moved, likely being the individual found by RB in the Santa Monica surf on 18 Jan. A female Hooded Merganser found at Madrona Marsh (MM) on 17 Dec was still present on 19 Feb (David Moody-DM).

Brown Pelican (Gary Stolz, USFWS).

A Manx Shearwater was photographed a few miles offshore in the Redondo Canyon area on a pelagic trip organized for a Cal State University Northridge avian ecology class on 26 Feb (Walter Wehtje). Unrecorded here prior to 2001, this species has now been sighted in the vicinity of the Palos Verdes Peninsula in five consecutive years; all sightings fall within a seven-week period from 31 Jan to 17 Mar. Single American White Pelicans were at Alondra Park (AP) 9-10 Jan (DM), and at EMJRA on 12 Feb (KL). Single Brown Pelicans over MM on 5 Jan (DM) and south Torrance on 9 Jan (Bob Shanman) were inland, where rare. The American Bittern found at MM on 29 Dec was present through at least 8 Jan (DM). The number of wintering Cattle Egrets at EMJRA increased to five 8 Jan-24 Feb; two were present since 13 Dec (RB). Single Turkey Vultures over Chadwick School on 19 Jan (Martin Byhower-MB) and over Torrance on 24 Jan (DM) were the first of these early migrants to be reported. The Ferruginous Hawk found by RB in the Ballona area on 8 Dec was last seen on 11 Jan; heavy rainfall just prior to the latter date flooded most of the fields in which it was hunting.

Rare locally away from the L. A. River, two American Avocets were at MM 22-23 Jan (DM). Two Red Knots seen on the salt pan in the Ballona Wetland area 7 Nov-9 Jan were wintering locally (KL). An adult Little Gull seen flying inland along the channel near the mouth of Marina del Rey Harbor on 29 Jan was exceptional (Thomas E. Wurster). This sighting conformed to the precedent that most of the few Little Gull sightings along the coast here are ephemeral or occur during or after storms. For the third consecutive winter, an entirely white-plumaged (leucistic) California Gull was seen at AP; DM spotted the bird on 13 Feb. The adult Thayer's Gull found at the Anaheim St. crossing of the L. A. River on 26 Dec was seen again on 22 Jan (KL). One Ancient Murrelet flew south past PtV on 29 Jan (KL), and two were recorded there on 10 Feb (Mike San Miguel-MSM). It was a good winter for Rhinoceros Auklets off our coast; 159 southbound birds counted in two hours from PtV on 5 Feb was a high total (KL).

Barn Owl (Dave Menke, USFWS).

A pair of Barn Owls was seen in the Portuguese Bend area on 3 Feb (MB). A Burrowing Owl found by Tracy Drake at Cal State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) in Carson 14-15 Jan was exciting news. This owl was found about forty yards from where the last individual of the resident population was seen on 27 Dec 1997. (Eleven individuals were counted on the college property in 1993.) This bird may be a survivor of the nearly complete habitat destruction in this area over the past ten years; it should be looked for this summer in order to eliminate the possibility that it is only a wintering bird. Winter Vaux's Swift sightings at EMJRA included five on 4 Dec, twenty on 8 Jan, two on 12 Feb, and one on 19 Feb (KL, MB). Red-naped Sapsucker sightings at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) 22-29 Jan involved either one or two individuals (DSC). A Nuttall's Woodpecker, always a notable find in our area, was in Playa del Rey on 12 Feb (Lisa Fimiani).

Surprising was the discovery of two species of Empidonax flycatchers wintering in the area. Most unusual was a Dusky Flycatcher found in Rolling Hills on 23 Jan (KL); slightly less so was a Western Flycatcher at the South Coast Botanic Garden (SCBG) on 30 Jan (KL). Wintering Vermilion Flycatchers continued at Columbia Park in Torrance 14 Oct-16 Feb (DM) and at EMJRA 13 Dec-24 Feb (RB). Very rare in winter anywhere in the United States, a Bell's Vireo at Deforest Park (DP) in Long Beach 3 Nov-5 Feb is our fourth area winter record in twelve years (RB). Wintering Plumbeous Vireos included one at the El Segundo Library on 21 Jan-8 Feb (RB), and one at DP 24 Oct-5 Feb (KL). A wintering Cassin's Vireo at AP on 13 Feb may have been the same individual seen there on 8 Oct (DM). Two Hutton's Vireos in Rolling Hills on 23 Jan (KL) were near where I saw one in upper George F Canyon on 10 Jan 2004.

Barn Swallow (Dave Menke, USFWS).

A small swallow flock—two Tree Swallows, two Northern Rough-winged Swallows, six to nine Cliff Swallows, and one Barn Swallow—present one day only at MM on 12 Jan was a very unusual occurrence (DM et al). Since the first migrants of these species do not normally arrive until weeks later, it is safest to regard these individuals as regional, if not local, winterers. For the record, however, 12 Jan was the first clear calm day after a nearly stationary low pressure system had finally moved eastward. Though this was unlikely a concerted migration to breed, this weather condition could perhaps trigger an incremental northward movement of these swallow species. Single Northern Rough-winged Swallows at MM on 24 Jan and at AP on 28 Jan were probably exceptionally early migrants (DM). A Barn Swallow at LMU on 9 Jan was another winter record (KL).

The White-breasted Nuthatch found by MB at Chadwick School on 16 Oct was still present on 16 Jan. The small flock of Pygmy Nuthatches found in the Highridge Park area in early November was present through at least 6 Jan. The Winter Wren found at St. Peter's by the Sea Church in Rancho Palos Verdes on 7 Dec was seen again by the finding observer on 20 Feb (MSM). Golden-crowned Kinglets were discovered in Torrance and Redondo Beach in late December (DM); six more were found in Rolling Hills on 23 Jan (KL).

Three Western Bluebirds were seen at Ridgecrest Intermediate School in RPV on 15 Jan (Sam Bloom); five were present on 22 Jan (MB). Bluebirds bred here in the past two years and have generally been present at this location or at Highridge Park across the street in RHE, but they eluded us in late December during the Christmas Bird Count period. Four Western Bluebirds at the Palos Verdes Golf Club on 1 Jan (KL) may have been the wandering Ridgecrest individuals.

Few rare wintering warblers were discovered in our area. The generally eastern-migrating species were poorly represented. A few western warblers that are very rare in winter (i. e., a Lucy's and a MacGillivray's) were found in February. A Lucy's Warbler at the old PV Landfill site on 13 Feb was noteworthy (KL). The wintering Hermit Warbler found at Wilderness Park on 3 Nov was still present on 27 Feb (DM). A Palm Warbler found by Jonathan Coffin along Ballona Creek near the 90 freeway crossing on 9 Dec was seen again 12-20 Feb. The wintering Black-and-white Warbler continued at El Segundo Library, 7 Dec-8 Feb (RB). A MacGillivray's Warbler on a trail above the end of Via Tejon in Palos Verdes Estates on 27 Feb was a very rare winter record (KL).

A remarkable number of Lark Sparrows was recorded at several locations in the area during November and December. The only ones reported in January were at MM. The flock at MM—numbering as many as twenty-four in December—had dwindled to seven birds on 22 Jan, and two on 29 Jan, after which none were seen (DM). The "Large-billed" Savannah Sparrow found on the jetties at the mouth of Marina del Rey Harbor on 21 Nov (Jon Feenstra) was last reported on 20 Jan. An immature male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at Russell Stone's feeder in Westchester on 30 Jan was a rare winter visitor.

Two immature Baltimore Orioles—a male and a female—graced the campus trees at CSUDH in Carson on 30 Jan (KL); the male was seen again on 13 Feb. A Bullock's Oriole at SCBG on 19 Feb was the fourth found on the Palos Verdes Peninsula this winter. A small number of Purple Finches was found at several locations in the Palos Verdes/South Bay area 26 Dec-23 Jan; it appeared that most or all of these birds were on the move, only briefly stopping in our area. A Lawrence's Goldfinch was at the Forrestal Nature Preserve in RPV on 15 Jan (KL).

Thanks to all who reported sightings during the period. Please send your sightings to me at cbirdr@comcast.net for the Palos Verdes/South Bay and vicinity, including areas east to the L.A. River, north to about the 105 freeway, and along the coast up to Marina del Rey.

Booming global trade may be good for the economy and may produce inexpensive consumer goods, but human health costs are enormous. The growth of Asian imports has made the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors the largest port complex in the United States, and the third largest in the world after Hong Kong and Singapore. However, this expansion has caused them to be the "largest single source of air pollution in the Los Angeles Air Basin," according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

After an exhaustive study of cities across the country, the American Lung Association concluded that the LA- Long Beach metropolitan area has the highest levels of air pollution in the nation. This area was also found to be from three to eleven times worse than federal clean air standards for cancer risk. The highest neighborhood value, eleven, was found in the Point Fermin/ Cabrillo Beach area of San Pedro. The highest value, twenty, is in the port itself.

Diesel exhaust from unregulated foreign-flagged ships, trucks transporting goods in freight containers, equipment used at the ports, and railroad engines, includes particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, ozone, sulfur oxides, and volatile organic compounds. Hundreds of enormous oceangoing ships and tugboats burn the dirtiest grade of diesel fuel available. Cargo is moved around by fleets of highly polluting heavy-duty equipment, and is taken away by trucks and locomotives, many of which were built well before diesel emission standards were devised.

Ollie and I attended a town meeting on the impacts of international trade on Southern California, and listened while doctors and research biologists discussed the many health effects arising from the pollutants in diesel emissions. Each year in California, diesel particulate matter contributes to an estimated 2,900 premature deaths, 3,600 hospital stays, 240,000 asthma attacks, and 600,000 lost workdays.

More than 30 human epidemiological studies have found that diesel exhaust increases cancer risk. In fact, workers exposed to diesel exhaust over the long term face an increase in lung cancer risks of between 50% and 300%. Studies have also reported links between diesel exposure and other cancers of the bladder, kidney, stomach, blood, and larynx.

The widely publicized USC Children's Health Study shows that children living in the more polluted LA communities have reduced lung capacity, prematurely aged lungs, and an increased risk of bronchitis and asthma. Not only can particulate matter trigger asthma attacks in those who already have the disease, but it can also cause asthma in previously healthy children. This chronic health condition is the leading reason for absenteeism from school.

An examination of data from Detroit, Los Angeles, and Toronto showed that when particulate matter pollution rises, hospitalizations for heart failure, chronic obstructive lung disease, emphysema, and pneumonia in the elderly also rise. Particulate matter has also been associated with adverse birth outcomes. Epidemiological studies are finding links between ambient air pollution and birth defects, preterm birth, low birth weight, and prenatal mortality. Other studies have shown that air pollution increases the risk of mortality from stroke and cardiovascular disease.

All this evidence convinced State Senator Alan Lowenthal that we must reduce port-related diesel emissions to avoid these long-term effects on the health of our children, our seniors, and the general population. In 2004, the state legislature passed Senator Lowenthal's bill that would require the LA and Long Beach ports to adhere to a policy of "no net increase in air pollution" when planning for development and expansion. The bill was vetoed by Governor Schwartzenegger, leaving the ports free to double or even triple the amount of cargo imported into the US.

On February 22nd, a news release announced that Senator Lowenthal has introduced five bills to reduce diesel emissions, and to combat the problems of traffic congestion and port security in surrounding port communities.

SB 764 reintroduces the " no-net increase bill", and the four other bills aim to improve many facets of the goods movement chain. SB 760 would impose a fee on containers transported through the ports which would be used to fund improvements to move more cargo by rail and to improve port security. Other bills require the ports to give priority berthing to ships using low-sulfur fuel, limit truck idling time, and keep the dirtiest trucks away from access to the ports. If you value the well-being of our community, please take the time to write to the governor. With national forecasts predicting a tripling of port operations by 2025, tell him that this growth would be catastrophic if pollution continues to grow unchecked. Please urge him to adopt a "no net increase" of pollution from port operations, and to support legislation that will protect our population from respiratory illnesses and cancer. Write to:

• Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
• State Capitol Bldg
• Sacramento, CA 95814
• E mail:governor@governor.ca.gov

The unusually heavy rains that Southern California has experienced in recent months underscore the obvious fact that weather patterns can change. This intense precipitation sometimes is a predictable consequence of a recurring pattern of wet and dry years—the so-called El Nino Southern Oscillation (or ENSO)—that has produced cyclical extremes of wet and dry weather for centuries. ENSO is, in turn, linked to cyclical variations in the temperature and direction of flow of tropical currents in the Pacific Ocean. (The causes for this season's record rainfall in southern California, however, have eluded meteorologists.)

A second meteorological pattern that has drawn increasing attention in recent years is the phenomenon of global climate change, often referred to as "the green house effect" or "global warming". While there is no direct connection between ENSO and global climate change_one is a long-recognized, repeating cycle of wet and dry years in the eastern Pacific region, while the other is a "one-way" change, intensifying in recent decades, that has gradually altered the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere in ways that have increased retention of thermal radiation in the planet's atmosphere. Just as El Nino-linked floods have taken a toll in human lives and forced changes in living patterns for many southern Californians_as the former residents of mudslide-stricken communities like La Conchita can attest_so too it is anticipated that the long-term intensification of global climate changes will necessitate fundamental changes in human adaptations, around the globe.

Indeed, it is the contention of prominent archaeologist Brian Fagan that climate changes have played a fundamental role in key transformations of human culture and civilization for thousands of years. Most recently, Fagan has laid out his thinking in The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilization (Perseus Books, 2004). Drawing from his decades of experience in field research, teaching and writing, he presents the evidence for climate as a major influence on the course of human cultural patterns.

Sandhill Crane (Tom Kelley, USFWS)

The Long Summer takes a broad perspective, addressing human cultural adaptations and innovations over the last 18,000 years_from the first settlement of the Americas to the innovation of grain cultivation, the ebb and flow of pastoral societies, the decline and fall of the Roman Empire—paying particular attention to the impact of long-term shifts in climate patterns_particularly precipitation and temperature patterns. In making his case, Fagan concentrates on one particular region and one particular complex of innovations in each chapter_ranging from the peopling of the Americas, to intensive cultivation in Mesopotamia, shifting pastoralists in the Sahara, and so on. Each chapter also discusses parallels and contrasts in the adaptive responses of different regions and cultures.

Fagan acknowledges early on that environmental or geographic determinism is unsupportable if taken as the single cause of all variations in human culture and behavior. There is, though, a significant difference between old-style environmental determinist positions—such as the self-serving belief found in many cultures that their particular climate and landscape obviously produces the most intelligent, resourceful, enterprising, artistic and attractive people—and Fagan's argument, which focuses on evidence in the archaeological record pointing to ways in which climate changes have necessitated adaptive cultural responses, as old life ways become less tenable. We have today, for the first time, technologies that enable us to analyze and date the occurrence of both archaeological and climatological events, and Fagan has written extensively, in The Long Summer and elsewhere, on the insights into human history provided by these chronological correlations.

Fagan, an emeritus professor at UC Santa Barbara, is the author or editor of over 20 books, from text books in archaeology and prehistory to popular syntheses such as Before California (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003), his overview of California prehistory.

"Not your ordinary bird festival"

Birds, Science, Art, Music, Field Trips in the Chautauqua tradition

Online Registration Begins April 15, 2005

Full Program and Schedule Update Online
www.birdchautauqua.org

Field & Workshop Leaders include:

• Jon Dunn
• Sacha Heath
• Ann Howald
• David Lukas
• Simone Whitecloud
• David Wimpfheimer
• David Winkler…and more

You are invited to join any or all of the teams as a birder, to make a financial pledge yourself, and to gather pledges from family, friends, and your workplace for each species seen during a 24-hour period.

Here is how it works. A birding team goes out for one day to identify as many birds as possible. If you pledge $1.00 per species, and the team see 100 species of birds, you will be sent a list of the birds that were seen and asked to send in a check for $100.00. You may also just make a contribution of a fixed amount. All donations are tax-deductible.

All proceeds from the Birdathon are used for Audubon programs—Harbor Park restoration, protection and restoration of important bird habitats in the region, and youth and public education.

I. Sunday, April 24, contact Martin Byhower (avitropic@sbcglobal.net) for more information.

II. Saturday, April 30, contact Bob Shanman (audubonbob@cs.com) or Jess Morton (jmorton@igc.org) for more information.

III. Saturday, May 7, contact Lillian or Ollie (lklight@verizon.net) for more information.

Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Birdathon Pledge Form

Mail fixed amount check or pledge to PV/SB Audubon, P.O. Box 2582, Palos Verdes, CA 90274, Attn: Birdathon.

I Pledge to support the PV/South Bay Audubon Birdathon.

Pledge a fixed amount $____________________________ or

Pledge per species seen $___________________________

Please circle the group to get credit for your pledge:    I    II    III

NAME: _____________________________________

Address: ____________________________________

____________________________________________

Phone: ____________________

Email: ___________________

Last month, the Bush Administration released its response to a comprehensive report on the Nation's oceans prepared by a Congressionally-established group of American citizens selected by the President. The release of the Administration's action plan has inspired little enthusiasm, except perhaps among those who want nothing much to change.

The lack of enthusiasm is partly due to the lack of specific action in the plan and partly due to the historic opportunity the country may be missing.

Thirty-five years ago, another august group of American citizens released a very similar report, which the Nixon Administration used in making dramatic changes in the way the United States uses, manages, and protects its ocean ecosystems and wildlife.

That report, and the Nixon Administration's support, led to landmark legislation, including the Ocean Dumping Act, which began reducing the use of the oceans as the preferred area for disposal, the Coastal Zone Management Act, and the Fishery Conservation and Management Act. None of these laws were flawless, but our coasts and ocean waters would be far worse off without them.

Lingcod

Instead of such dramatic action, the Bush Administration's plan relies heavily on more study of problems, such as coastal pollution, that have been studied ad nauseam. According to The Ocean Conservancy, of the 263 specific recommendations made by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, which was chaired by Retired Admiral James Watkins, the Bush Administration's plan includes 10 percent.

This underwhelming response stands in stark contrast to that of Governor Schwarzenegger, whose Ocean Action Plan includes more study certainly, but also specific actions and funding.

The Bush Administration's response on the oceans also stands in even starker contrast to its response to the 9/11 Commission's report. As observed by former Congressman Leon Panetta, who chaired a separate private review of ocean policy: "If you're going to wait for a September 11 to happen with regards to our oceans, the fact is it is happening."

Perhaps Congress will exercise the leadership that seems to be missing in the White House. But they won't if they don't hear from you.

—Mike Weber

Audubon YES!: Contacts with South Bay schools and teen youth groups are wanted. If you are a teacher looking for extra-credit opportunities for your students, or if you are an adult advisor to a teen group looking for volunteer activities, become an active part of Audubon YES!, our Youth Enviornmental Service program. Audubon wants to work with you and your kids! For more information, call Jess Morton at 310 832-5601 or visit us online at www.Audubon YES.org

The Chapter also would welcome a volunteer to assist in talking with participants in our various outings regarding membership in the local Audubon Chapter. If this opportunity seems attractive to you, please see page 10 for details.

Pick up postage-paid envelopes at Wild Birds Unlimited at PCH and Crenshaw to recycle your HP or Lexmark Inkjet cartridges. For each cartridge sent in these envelopes, $2.50 is donated to our Chapter or to South Bay Wildlife Rehab. This is a great way to reduce waste and to support your favorite organizations.

Because taking action to limit global warming is becoming more urgent every day, the Environmental Priorities Network is sponsoring a public forum on the subject on Friday, May 13th, at the Pacific Unitarian Church, 5621 Montemalaga Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes. Snacks and drinks will be available at 6:00PM, and the program will start at 7:30 PM.

The speaker will be Professor Alex Hall,of the UCLA Department of Atmospheric Sciences, who has done extensive research on and has taught courses about the earth's climate system.

The Unitarian Social Justice Committee has agreed to cosponsor this important event. Environmental organizations are invited to set up tables to give out information. 

For more information contact Lillian Light, 310 - 545 1384 or at lklight@verizon.net.

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