www.jayhawkaudubon.

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Volume 31, Issue 3 NOVEMBER, 2006

Monday, November 27
STAN HERD
AN ARTIST’S JOURNEY
Join JAS the Monday after Thanksgiving and shake off your football/turkey-induced
lethargy. Lawrence artist Stan Herd, famous around the globe for his crop art, will speak
on the evolution of his earthworks, his work in New York and Havana, Cuba & what he has
learned along the way about the dangers and rewards of using art in international politics.
He will also discuss “the possibilities of a ‘new’ emerging art scene in Kansas around the
synergies between film, music and the arts.”

Stan Herd’s work includes portraits, still lives,

pictorial landscapes and more permanent rock
mosaics and large sculptures. He feels that over
time it has become “more relevant as a platform
for discussing mankind and agriculture’s evolving
dangerous relationship to the earth.” His book
Crop Art and Other Earth Works covers the work
from 1976 to 1993. For commentary and pictures
of past projects visit www.stanherdart.com.

Teller’s is the place and 6:00 p.m. is the time Prairiehenge. Red Buffalo Ranch, Sedan. © Stan
for your chance to join Stan Herd for BYO dinner. His talk will be at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity
Lutheran Church, 1245 New Hampshire in Lawrence. (One block east of Mass on 13th St.)
Parking east of the church. This program is not to be missed! Refreshments will be served.

THE EAGLES DAY COMMITTEE

meets next on Wednesday evening, November
8th. Contact Ed or Cynthia Shaw, 842-0475 or
eishaw@ku.edu for time, directions and info
on the December committee meeting. There’s
great food (Bunnie balls anyone?) and you’ll
help produce JAS’ biggest gift to the Lawrence
community. Help is needed & all are welcome.
 2 JAYHAWK AUDUBON SOCIETY

2006 LAWRENCE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

by Galen L. Pittman, Lawrence CBC compiler

This year's Lawrence CBC is scheduled for Saturday, December 16th. Plan now to participate. This
will be the 63rd Audubon Christmas Bird Count held in Lawrence and my 25th consecutive year as the Law-
rence CBC compiler! It will be very hard to top 1999's record setting species total of 104. However, we
have topped the 90 species threshold the last three years ( including our third best of 97 species last year)
and also six out of the last eight years. Regardless of the weather (within reason ) a day in the field doing the
CBC is a highly anticipated event that has become a holiday season tradition for many local birders. See for
yourself why so many Lawrence birders are “hooked” on doing the Christmas Bird Count year after year.

The Lawrence CBC is an official National Audubon Society (NAS) Christmas Bird Count. To cover
the costs of editing and publishing the CBC results in North American Birds, a fee of $5.00 is charged by
NAS to all field participants over the age of 18. The JAS board has again agreed to pay the participation fee
for all those taking part in the Lawrence count! Of course anyone able to make a tax-deductible contribution
to JAS to help defray costs and support programs, such as the Lawrence CBC fee, is encouraged to do so.

Count participants are organized into a dozen or more parties, each with it’s own party leader and
pre-assigned part of the 15 mile diameter count circle. The Lawrence count circle covers most of Clinton
Lake, all of the city of Lawrence including Baker Wetlands, the Fitch Natural History Reservation, the towns
of Perry and Lecompton, and the Kansas River valley from just west of Lecompton to just east of Lawrence.
These parties fan out and cover the circle during the day of the count. At the end of the day party leaders
and any other interested participants (all are invited!), meet at a pre-arranged location to enjoy a chili supper
and compilation of the day's results. This year’s compilation dinner will be at Prairie Nature Center.

All birders from experts to total beginners are welcome, and are assigned to one of the parties before
the actual date of the count. Therefore, it is important to contact the compiler (Galen Pittman) before the
count so that all participants can be accommodated into a party and the count circle gets the best possible
coverage. Feeder watchers are also needed. If you have a bird feeder (within the count circle) that you can
watch for some part of the day on 16 December, then you can also participate and have your birds included
in the grand total. All that is needed is a tally of individual bird species totals and the number of man-hours
that the feeders were watched. Feeder watchers should also contact the compiler sometime before count day.

To be part of this great tradition contact me at 843-8573 (work), 842-7105 (home), or PREFERA-
BLY via e-mail: gpittman@ku.edu. Also, come to the JAS Nov.27 meeting to learn more about the count.
And if one day counting birds isn’t enough, a complete list of ALL of the Kansas counts (not all are official
NAS counts) including several other local counts can be found at: http://ksbirds.org/2006CBC.htm

SOME GOOD NEWS:

This bird is rushing to the Lawrence
CBC. Come and count it with us!
Kirsten Munson. American Coot taking off
200 local 4th graders went to Mike & Cheryl
Flory’s farm this month to learn about soils,
soil conservation, & effects of pollution on
watersheds & wildlife. This was the 6th Fall
Soil & Water Conservation field day held by
the Douglas Cty Conservation Board.
Kudos to the Board for fostering stewardship
of the earth in the next generation.
 3 JAYHAWK AUDUBON SOCIETY

NOVEMBER<<CALENDAR>>DECEMBER

Nov. 10, Friday: Tracking the Wild. School’s Out Field Day at Prairie Park Nature Center.
Ages 9-13. 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. $20.00. Call 832-7980 to register.

Nov. 11, Saturday: Sierra Club. Help maintain trails at Perry Lake. steve.hassler@kansas.sierraclub.org.
913-707-3296.

Nov.14, Tuesday: Topeka Audubon meeting. Trinidad & Tobago. Matt Gearhart. 7 p.m. Topeka & Shawnee
County Library.

Nov. 18, Saturday: Grassland Heritage Groundhogs. Cutting red cedars. For directions and what to bring
contact Frank Norman at frank.norman@appiedeco.com or 785-877-6775.

Nov. 18, Saturday: Bird Squaw Creek NWR. Topeka Audubon. Dan Gish: gishbear@cox.net or 785-232-3731.

Nov. 26, Sunday: Bird Wyandotte Cty. Lake. Burroughs Audubon . Elizabeth & Mike Stoakes, trip leaders.
contact them at lizkvet@yahoo.com. or 816-554-1956.

NOV. 27, MONDAY: JAS MEETING, 7:30 p.m. Stan Herd on “An Artist’s Journey”: the
story of how his earthworks have evolved and led to his involvement in international politics and a realization
of the danger to the earth from modern agricultural practices. Meeting is in the Fellowship Hall of the
Trinity Lutheran Church, 1245 New Hampshire, Lawrence. BYO Dinner with Stan at Teller’s, 6 p.m.

Dec. 2, Saturday: Bird John Redmond & Melvern Reservoirs. Topeka Audubon. Dan Gish, contact info above.

DEC 9, SATURDAY: JAS BIRDSEED, BOOK & FEEDER SALE:

We’re back at the Lawrence Senior Center, 745 Vermont for this sale. Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Preorder using the form in this newsletter to guarantee availability. There will also be some
walk-in seed. Many wonderful books and feeders for holiday giving. SUPPORT JAS
EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION PROGRAMS WITH YOUR PURCHASES.
CONSIDER A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO JAS.

DEC 16, SATURDAY: THE 63RD LAWRENCE CHRISTMAS

BIRD COUNT: For details on how the count works and how to participate, see Galen
Pittman’s article on Page 2. Contact him at gpittman@ku.edu or 785-843-8573.

Last year only one Double-crested Cormorant was seen on the

Count. Join in & you might be the person to find one this year!
Double-crested Cormorant. Daniel Kilby
 JAYHAWK AUDUBON SOCIETY 4

The Conservation Column

By Michael Fraley
How to save gas, money and the environment.
Even though fuel prices are reasonably low now, one can be certain that prices will rise as soon as elections are over. But no mat-
ter what the price of gasoline, it is always a good time to think about ways to conserve fuel. Not only will you save money, but
most importantly, you will reduce the harmful effects on our environment that go hand in hand with the use of fossil fuels.

Aggressive driving: Let me start with the great news. You can, without spending a dime, immediately save up to 37% in fuel
expenses . Aggressive driving such as Jackrabbit starts, unnecessary acceleration, and the resultant hard braking waste more fuel
than anything else you can do. Of course, if you are already an intelligent driver, you are saving money in this way right now.

Lowering your cruising speed: This can save you, on average, 12% of your fuel. Even just doing the actual speed limit versus
the “standard” 5-miles-over rule will save you a substantial amount of gasoline.

Use your cruise control: If your vehicle has cruise control, then you should use it any time you can. Maintaining a steady speed
versus slowing down and then accelerating back up to the speed limit will save you, on average, another 7% in fuel consumption.

Avoid excessive idling: Excessive idling should be avoided especially if you drive a larger vehicle. As a rule of thumb, if you
have to stop for more than 1 minute, you should turn your engine off. Of course this is not always practical. I know I have waited
more than 1 minute for traffic lights to turn green. It is not advisable to turn your car off at a traffic light. However, if you come to
a railroad crossing and have to wait for a train, turn your vehicle off. In addition, if you frequent drive-through windows you
could save much fuel by parking your car and walking in the restaurant to order, especially if there are multiple cars in front of
you. It is also best to limit your idling warm-up time on cold days. Today’s cars do not need to be warmed up before you drive.
You will not damage a cold engine by starting it up and driving off as long as you do not perform a jackrabbit start.

Remove excess weight: This is especially true for smaller cars. Hauling an extra 100 lbs (two 50 lb bags of birdseed from the
Jayhawk birdseed sale!?) in the trunk of your car will lower your fuel economy. Also, try to avoid carrying things on your roof
rack. If you can, you should remove your roof rack when not in use because a roof rack or any cargo on your car’s roof will
increase the wind resistance of your vehicle in turn increasing your fuel consumption.

Following these suggestions will give you the most significant savings. Here are some other suggestions that I would like to
mention, even though there were some conflicting viewpoints online regarding this information.

Tire pressure: Half the sites online recommended checking tire pressure frequently to save gas, while the other half were of the
opinion that tire pressure only has a negligible effect on fuel consumption. Nevertheless, you should still check them at least once
a month. A correctly inflated tire is safer to drive on and the treads will last much longer. Tires are not very environmentally
friendly to make and worse in the landfill, so if you can avoid having to buy new tires you will help our environment.

A/C versus windows open: To my surprise, most sites actually recommend using your A/C on hot days versus opening the car
windows, especially if you are driving 40 mph or faster. The reasoning is that a car with its windows open (especially if it also has
an open sunroof) has a much higher wind resistance, or “drag coefficient.” Higher wind resistance results in higher fuel use.

I hope you will be able to use some or all of the information I have provided, and as Click and Clack say on NPR:
DON’T DRIVE LIKE MY WIFE! (Just kidding, she is the one that keeps me in line).

As always, if you have any questions or comments you can contact me at michael.fraley@gmail.com
Information for this article was obtained from my past experience as a trained and certified auto
mechanic and from the following internet sites:

www.fueleconomy.gov
www.epa.gov/OMS/consumer/17-tips.pdf
http://www.nh.gov/oep/programs/energy/conservation_gas.htm
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/106842/article.html
 JAYHAWK AUDUBON SOCIETY

CALLING ALL CHOCOLATE EATERS!

Did you eat Halloween chocolate? Did you know eating chocolate can help birds? Here’s why:

>>> MIGRATORY BIRDS are birds that spend winter in one place and summer somewhere else.
Often those places are hundreds or even thousands of miles apart. Many birds make nests and raise
babies in Kansas in the summer. Some stay here all winter too. But migratory birds leave Kansas
in autumn and fly south to Mexico, the Caribbean Islands or even South America. The long journey
is worth it because they can find the insects or fruits they need for food in tropical forests.

>>> MIGRATION is the name for this kind of seasonal traveling. Migration is
dangerous for birds because it is hard for them to find food and safe places to
sleep along the way. They can’t just go to a motel or a friend’s house to stay if
there is a storm or they are tired.. There are no restaurants that serve worms or
beetles for birds! Did you ride in a car or airplane on your last family trip? Just
imagine if you were a baby bird who was born in June and you had to fly a
thousand miles south by yourself in September…bird migration is amazing!!

NOW what’s the chocolate connection??? Is Willy Wonka really a migratory bird?? Susan Hickman
No, that’s silly! The fact is chocolate grows on trees! It is made from seeds of the cacao
tree. Farmers in the tropics plant cacao trees in big gardens inside the rain forest. There
are lots of insects for birds to eat in these gardens. Cacao gardens make good winter homes for birds. The
farmer needs chocolate eaters to buy the chocolate made from his cacao seeds so that he can keep his garden
just like farmers here need people to buy their corn. That is why it can be good for migratory birds if you eat
the farmer’s chocolate.

SOME FUN THINGS TO DO:

>Color the picture on the back of this page of a farmer and his child in their cacao garden in Costa Rica. The
seed pods are really big aren’t they. There are 30-40 seeds in a pod.

>The bird in the picture is an American Redstart. Check your family’s bird book
for a picture. Or find a bird book at the public library…or go to the National
USA Zoo/Smithsonian website www.nationalzoo.si.edu. Click on kids and then
migratory birds coloring pages. You can find a photo of a beautiful Redstart.
Mexico
>At the National Zoo website, play the Migration Game.

<<This is a map of North America, Central America and South America.

South America The lines stand for migration routes that millions of bird use. Find the USA on
the map. Find Kansas. (Hint: Kansas is on the Central Flyway.) Can you
find Costa Rica? You may need an Atlas, which is a book of maps.

>Start a list of the birds you are seeing in your yard or neighborhood now. If
you don’t know their names, find their pictures in a bird book. In the spring you
United States Fish and Wildlife service
can add the birds that come back to Kansas from their winter homes to your list.
 JAYHAWK AUDUBON SOCIETY
BIRDERS
& BIBLIOPHILES:
A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
Richard Rucker, known to most local birders as Mobe, was
one of Kansas’ best birders--and the gatherer of an amazing
collection of books about birds. His wife, Roseanne Smith, has
indicated that she will donate a portion of his book collection to
Jayhawk Audubon Society to be sold as a fund raiser. We expect
to have the books in time for our December 9th seed sale -- an
excellent reason to come by early and browse through the books
and feeders.
You’ll also be able to check out Pete Dunne’s new book The
Art of Pishing: How to Attract Birds by Mimicking Their Calls.
The title alone makes one eager to peruse the text and listen to
the accompanying CD. According to the online promotion : “In
this unique book and CD package, renowned birder Pete Dunne
presents an illustrated workshop on how to attract birds by
making precise and well-practiced hisses, whistles, chirps and
squeals (along with some kisses and thumps) that almost guaran-
tee spectacular success in the field.” Book/CD retail for $17.95.
For the younger set, we’ve ordered
books about birds, bumblebees, butter-
flies, caterpillars, plants and a returning
favorite “Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet”.
It’s never too early to set little feet on
the path to understanding and valuing
the natural world.
We’ll also have a great variety of
birder-tested, high quality feeders (most
with lifetime guarantees) on display at
the seed sale, so stop by to pick one out
to surprise your favorite bird watcher at
the holidays. We can also advise you on
the best combination of seed and feeders
if you want to attract particular birds.
- Joyce Wolf
Steven D’Amato
5
Sora. Daniel Kilby
Last year marked the first time ever
that a Sora was found on the Lawrence
CBC. Come on the Count on Dec. 16
and you might be the birder to add a
new bird to the Count list. See page 2.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
PESTICIDE FREE PARKS
PROJECT takes the winter months
off starting 11/1/06. Coordinator Kelly
Barth reminds us that the work is not first
about aesthetics but keeping poisons from
the earth. She writes:“The amphibians,
insects, birds, and mammals thank you.
The river thanks you. The pets thank you.
The air thanks you. The soil thanks you”...
“babies picking up things off the ground
and putting them in their mouths thank
you.”
And a big thank you to JAS for being
part of the PFPP. More weeders will be
needed next year, so put the PFPP on your
“To Do” list for spring, 2007. The weeds,
or if you prefer “plants out of place”, will
most definitely be there; the PFPP hopes
you will be too. Contact Kelly at 843-8578
or ludditekel@earthlink.net.
Rosemary Gilbert Bell
 Jayhawk Audubon Society Nonprofit Organization
P.O. Box 3741 U.S. Postage
PAID
Lawrence, KS 66046 Lawrence, KS
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Application for New Membership in both: National Audubon Society and Jayhawk Chapter
___$15 Student; ___$20 Introductory for NEW members; ____$15 Senior Citizen.
(Make check payable to National Audubon Society.)

Application for Chapter-only Membership (Jayhawk Audubon Society). No Audubon magazine.

___$7.50 Chapter-only (Make check payable to Jayhawk Audubon Society.) Those with National Audubon
memberships are encouraged to support the chapter by voluntarily paying these dues. Chapter membership
expires annually in July.

National Audubon Society members receive four issues per year of the Audubon magazine and are also
members of the Jayhawk Chapter. All members also receive 10 issues of this newsletter per year and are
entitled to discounts on books and feeders that are sold to raise funds to support education and conservation
projects. Please send this completed form and check to Membership Chairs at the following address:
Ruth & Chuck Herman; 20761 Loring Road, Linwood, KS 66052; e-mail contact:
hermansnuthouse@earthlink.net . {National Members Renewing: please use the billing form received
from National and send it with payment to National Audubon Society in Boulder, CO}.

Name __________________________; Address ___________________________________________;

City ___________________________; State ______; ZIP Code (9) digit _______________;

Telephone (with Area Code) ___________________

J02: 7XCH