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The Ron Van Nurden ‘24 - ‘25 Scholarship Recipients
The Central Basin Audubon Society is pleased to announce the Ron Van Nurden Memorial Scholarship recipients for the coming 2024-25 year.The following three high school seniors were selected to each receive a $1,000 scholarship toward their first year of college:
Levi William Kukes, Quincy High School – Levi graduated from Quincy High School on June 8, and has also received college credits from Wenatchee Valley College. Levi has chosen Rangeland Management as his field of study and plans to attend the University of Idaho.
Ellinor Elaine Sonnichsen, Ephrata High School – Ellinor graduated from Ephrata High School on May 31. Ellinor has chosen Environmental Engineering as her field of study and plans to attend Washington State University.
Walker Craig Fulk, Ephrata High School – Walker graduated from Ephrata High School on May 31. Walker has chosen Natural Resources as his field of study and plans to attend the University of Idaho.
The following two college students were selected to receive continuing scholarships of $4,000 each:
McKinley Iris Fulk graduated from Ephrata High School in 2021 – McKinley is pursuing her Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering. She will be a Senior at the University of Idaho. McKinley has a summer Civil Engineering internship with Gray and Osborne, Inc. at their corporate office in Wenatchee. She hopes to learn more about how to help the environment as an Engineer.
Jared Wayne Goetz graduated from Almira-Coulee-Hartline (ACH) High School in 2019 – Jared is enrolled in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. He is pursuing his DVM with a focus on large animals. Jared has been involved with the WSU Bear Center, which is the only grizzly bear research center of its kind in the United States.
The scholarship awards were presented at the Annual Membership Meeting of the Central Basin Audubon Society on June 14, 2024, at the lovely home of long-time Board Member, Margaret Schiffner.
From the Desk of the President
When you receive this issue of Red Tails, much of the flurry of CBAS activities will have passed. We did have most of our ARK program and a couple of Bird Walks completed before the deadline to publish this July/August newsletter. But we had not held our Annual Members’ Meeting in June, with honoring Ron Van Nurden Scholarship recipients, and election of officers yet.
As you know by now, we have been partnering with the KTEC high school graphic design class and teacher, for the past year and a half, to produce our beautiful Red Tails newsletters. The school is totally closed this summer for maintenance, but also the whole program of students partnering with real clients has come to an end. It is a sad time for all of us. We are looking for another affordable opportunity to have Red Tails designed and printed for a low price, since we are a non-profit organization. If you know of a high school that might do this, please do let us know!
We did have a very successful ARK program this year and we are truly thankful to everyone who participated in or donated to our outreach to young students. Our chapter is blessed with the allotment of land that we cover; which includes the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge and Potholes. This is why the ARK Program is our signature focus!
Through the rest of the summer, stay informed about our chapter through our very active Facebook page (Central Basin Audubon Society), our wonderful website (centralbasinaudubonsociety.org), and join us on fun Bird Walks! (See Margaret Heming’s report in this issue.) We will be posting photos in the Sept/Oct Red Tails issue of our Annual Members’ Meeting and Ron Van Nurden Scholarship recipients. And since Christmas in July is a real thing, why not give a membership to someone you know? See our website for the membership form. Thanks, birding friends!
Thank You So Much!
We wish to thank Joan Bergmann of Goose Creek, SC and Robert E. and Karen Martin Luetje of Novi, MI for their generous donations to our Ron Van Nurden Memorial Scholarship program.
2024 Bird Walk News
by Margaret Heming, Field Trip Chair
April 27, 2024 Bird Walk at Audubon Trail, off Dodson Road
We had a lovely morning for our first monthly bird walk of 2024. Gayle Talbot, Jackie Chase, Lindsay Nason, and Margaret Heming experienced about 20 bird species. Highlights included a pair of Canvasback Ducks, hearing a Pied-billed Grebe, a Ring-necked Pheasant, several Marsh Wrens and a Side-blotched Lizard. Luckily we had Lindsay with us. Her biologist credentials came in handy for identifying the lizard! We found one of the Great Horned Owl nests from a year ago, but it was empty. Good weather, great company, and lots of fresh air made for a great birding adventure.
May 18, 2024 Bird Walk at Gloyd Seeps Wildlife Area, off Stratford Road Paula Zanter-Stout, Gayle Talbot, Shiraz Vira, Jackie Chase, Jess and Terry Kassahn, and Margaret Heming encountered about 34 bird species on our monthly bird walk. Highlights included a nesting pair of Black-necked Stilts, about 14 White Pelicans, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, several Western Wood Pewees, many Wilson Snipes vocalizing, lots of noisy Marsh Wrens, and a male Northern Harrier scolding us for apparently being too close to his young! We were also privileged to see Mule Deer and Viceroy Butterflies! Again, the weather pleasantly cooperated.
The Gloyd Seeps Wildlife Area is a scenic place to walk and enjoy nature. It is only seven miles north of the Moses Lake Walmart, just off Stratford Road. We highly recommend that you take advantage of this trail and enjoy some bird watching.
Consider joining us on one or more of our upcoming monthly walks. The walks will be from 8:00 – 10:00 AM. A Discover Pass is required. Further details and updates will be posted on our Central Basin Audubon Society Facebook page and on our website: centralbasinaudubonsociety. org. If you have questions, Margaret Heming is happy to be of service. 509-475-3143
June 29…Northrup Canyon / 8 - 12:00
July 27…Lind Coulee/Chestnut Orchard / 8 - 10:00
August 24 …Potholes State Park / 8 - 10:00
September 21… Sun Lakes State Park/Dry Falls / 8 - 12:00
Indoor ARK Tour Report
by Margaret Schiffner
The 2024 ARK Program by Margaret Schiffner, ARK Chairman & Margaret Heming, Field Trip Chairman
Hello, dear members! By the time you read this, the 2024 Audubon Refuge Keepers (ARK) program will have been completed. This year, five schools participated in the month of May. They were: Connell Elementary School in Connell; Hiawatha Elementary School in Othello; Longview Elementary School, Lakeview Terrace Elementary School, and Sage Point Elementary School, all three in Moses Lake. A conservative estimate of 375 students, teachers, and parent volunteers, and nine CBAS volunteers were involved this year!
Classroom Presentation Report by Margaret Schiffner
Over the years, our chapter volunteers have worked closely with the staff of the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge (CNWR) near Othello, and the staff from our voluntary schools who sign up for the ARK program. This year, our classroom presentation volunteers were: Gayle Talbot, Jackie Chase, Twila Herrin, Louis Logan and Margaret Schiffner. Our message to the young students is all about the importance of the National U.S. Fish & Wildlife Refuge system in protecting our nation’s wildlife and habitats.
Margaret Schiffner begins the large group classroom presentation with a picturesque and educational power-point show of the refuge, including a question and answer time. She encourages students to begin thinking about their future careers and the possibility of working with wildlife conservation or environmental studies and adds that CBAS has the Ron Van Nurden Scholarship for high school graduates in the Central Basin area.
Next, the large group is divided into three smaller groups of Ducks, Ravens, and Hawks to rotate through three display tables, which are each manned with an ARK volunteer. The three double-long tables are: Bird Display, containing nine mounted birds, including a Cinnamon Teal; Nest Display, containing ten nests/eggs including a mounted CA Quail and eggs; and Touch Table, containing at least a couple dozen various items from wildlife found on the refuge, such as a skull, leg and wing from both a Great Horned Owl and a Great Blue Heron, three Painted Turtle shells, Mule Deer antlers, and wood samples chewed by Beaver.
After the classroom program at each school, the students eagerly look forward to the tour of the CNWR! Many thanks to you all, who have helped make this another successful year for our chapter’s beloved 30 year old ARK program!
Outdoor ARK Tour Report
by Margaret Heming
The tour portion of our ARK program is always highly anticipated by the students, teachers, parents, and CBAS volunteers alike. We give the participating schools a behind-the-scenes bus tour of the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge and several hands-on nature experiences. This year, our tour volunteers were Gary Ham, Louis Logan, Jackie Chase, Steve Stiger, Jane Stiger, and Margaret Heming. The overall goal is to instill and grow a love of Nature, and an appreciation for habitat protection.
Some of us meet the school bus at the Potholes Reservoir boat launch area, then ride on the bus with the students. Along the way we talk to them about many pertinent topics, including some history and geology of the area, the effects of fire, the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, and the purpose of Wildlife Refuges. We point out native and invasive plants, birds and wildlife seen along the way, and answer any questions they may have. This is a very special tour, as we are allowed to drive slowly through Marsh Unit One, which is usually closed to cars.
The excitement on the bus is palpable! The students are thrilled with every creature we see. This season we have spotted Mule Deer, Coyotes, a Beaver (River Otter?), and lots of Yellow-bellied Marmots. Some of the kids know the Marmots by the name Rock Chuck. Special bird sightings include Northern Harriers, Cinnamon Teals, Mergansers, Cliff Swallows, Hawks, White-faced Ibis, Long-billed Dowitchers, and lots of Great Egrets and Red-winged Blackbirds. Additionally, we briefly discuss the Leopard Frog project as we drive by.
Once the bus arrives at Soda Lake, the students rotate between three or four stations. Steve and Gary man the microscope station, where the students look at lake water under the microscope and see Daphne (Water Fleas), Water Mites, Mosquito Larva, and an occasional Tardigrade (Water Bear)! Jane and Jackie teach the students the proper use of binoculars. CBAS has a nice collection of good binoculars for the students to practice with. Usually, they get to spot a Marmot sunning, up on a rock across the river. Jane brings food to entice the gulls to fly close and land near the binocular station. The students love this!
Louis leads his group on a plant walk, focusing on the concept of native vs invasive plants. “Good” plants include Sagebrush, Rabbitbrush, Phlox and Lichen. “Bad” plants include Cheat Grass, Tumbleweed, and Skeleton Weed. He has them applaud the native plants and boo the invasive ones! Margaret Heming fills in where needed and has done all three stations. Large classroom groups are divided into four groups, so in that case, Jackie takes a group on a geology walk, and teaches them about the basalt formations, etc.
The classroom groups usually end their tours by heading to Potholes State Park to eat their lunches, before heading back to their schools. We volunteers pack up the equipment and head home, proud of the experiences we have just provided for these future stewards of the Earth.
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