Preserve, Wildlife, & BD Party - 5-18-11

Preserve Litter & Cleanup?  Tuesday morning we were asked to check on a campsite that had been in the Illahee Preserve for about a week.  On the way in we were disappointed to see a stack of phone books and "Little Nickel" newspapers along one of the trails (see attached photo).  When we came back later in the morning to clean up the campsite, the litter had been removed.  We know of several people who regularly walk the trails who pick up the litter of others and we want to thank them for their efforts to keep the Preserve clean.  

Illegal Campsite.  We did find the campsite (see photo) and came back later with garbage bags to clean it up.  The good news is that it was reported to the sheriff's department and a deputy visited the site and left a note that they had to leave.  We found part of the note that had been burned.  Others also reported the site and we thank all of you for notifying officials and us.  After we cleaned up the site, the Park's department was notified that we had left the bags by the mutt mit station, and they came by later to pick up the trash.  

Deer & Cat.  We get a number of emails and photos and try to remember to send them on.  This one came to us on Mother's day along with the photo.

I always enjoy my newsletter and Mother's Day morning, I had an interesting event in my backyard when the domestic and the wild came face to face.  As one of my cats was in the back yard, she had a visitor.  They were very curious about each other and watched each other for quite some time.  I did run the visitor off when my raspberry bushes became a morning snack.  What a great gift on this special day.

Amazing Colorful Bird.  We have had some interesting birds in Illahee.  Today an osprey flew over the area.  But the bird in this story is amazingly beautiful.  The response email is from Vic Ulsh along with the attached pictures of the Lazuli Bunting.

I live on a street just up the hill from the entrance to Illahee St Park and have a bird feeder and suet feeder on my deck.  I enjoy watching all the different birds that come to the feeders so I look out my windows quite often.  On Friday, May 13, I looked out and saw a bird on my deck railing that I have never seen before.  It was about the size of a finch and had a orange-beige chest, a blue head and back, and dark wings with two white wing bands.   It was just beautiful.  My daughter looked it up in her bird book and we determined that it is a Lazuli Bunting.  According to the information in the book, it’s not common to this area.  I’m wondering if anyone in the area has seen this bird and if so have I identified it correctly. 

Jim Aho forwarded your inquiry to me.  I work with him at Illahee Preserve.  Lazuli Bunting do occur in this area, but not common.  It is a treasure to see one.  I saw my first Lazuli Bunting within the Eastpark development area near YMCA last Memorial Day weekend.  The day had awful, bright glare lighting with brisk winds, but I "chased" the little rascal around for some photos.  The wind fluffed out his chest feathers in the first photo.  See attached. 

 

Here is another quick reference web site I like to use. 

 

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/204/overview/Lazuli_Bunting.aspx

 

You seem to have described a Lazuli.  Does this look like your bird?  Lazuli bunting is a beautiful, sweet little bird.  Count yourself to be very fortunate. 

Thank you for your email and for sending your photos.  Yes, that is the bird I saw.  He actually came to my deck twice that day.  I can’t say if there was a female with him because I was so focused on the beautiful little male I was seeing and there were quite a few other birds at the feeder at the time.  I’m hoping he will come back, but it sounds like it may be a one time sighting.  I count my self lucky for seeing him and wish I would have had my camera handy.

Audrey Boyer Turns 93 Next Month.  Audrey Boyer is one of the persons who was instrumental in the county obtaining the Illahee Preserve.  We found out she will have a birthday soon and her children are having a party next month for her.  See the following notice:

Audrey Boyer, Illahee Community Leader and Activist, Celebrating 93rd Birthday  Audrey Boyer's family is planning a community gathering to celebrate Audrey's 93rd birthday.  The gathering will be at Audrey's home in Illahee, on June 19, 2011.  If you have worked with, known, or know of Audrey and her many accomplishments, as a teacher, Democratic Precinct Committee Officer, campaigner, Community Club leader, environmental activist, leader in establishing the Illahee Forest Preserve, Amnesty International member, and friend to many students and neighbors, she and her family hope you will be able to stop by to say hello.  Also, if you know someone whom you think would like to hear about the celebration, please pass this invitation along to them:   

Audrey Boyer's 93rd Birthday Celebration

5625 Ocean View Blvd

Bremerton, WA 98311

Sunday, June 19, 2011, 3-6 PM

Open House style, come when you can, cake-cutting at 5 PM

Your present is your presence.   

Please walk or carpool if you can, as parking will be limited. 

RSVP to Helen Boyer, helenaboyer@comcast.net

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous - 2-21/11

Illahee Preserve Downed Trees.  Recent winds have caused a number of trees to come down in the Illahee Preserve, with some of them blocking trails.  Several Illahee Preserve volunteers have gone through the county's chain saw training class and have been doing an amazing job of keeping the trails open.  While walking the trails on Saturday afternoon, after the Saturday morning wind storm, we encountered Jon and Vic (two East Bremerton Rotary volunteers who went through the training) who had just taken care of 14 blocking trees and were starting to work on #15.  These are the type of amazing people we are fortunate to have working in the Preserve, and reinforces again and again that volunteers, and volunteer organizations like the Rotary, can keep a major Kitsap County Heritage Park's trails open and the Preserve well maintained.  
(For those wondering about the trash bags by the Mutt Mit Station (see attached photo), they were left by the County's Alternative to Detention crew several weeks ago, and they must have forgotten to call someone to pick them up.)

Power Outage On Saturday.  We received the following photo taken near Illahee State Park showing at least one set of downed power lines that probably caused some of the outage on Saturday morning.

Wednesday's Library Meeting Sponsor.  Some have wondered about who is sponsoring the "annexation" meeting at the Library on Wednesday at 6:15 pm.  They saw the signs that went up on Saturday and wanted more information.  We received a copy of an email that had a brief explanation of the Illahee Community Club (ICC) that may be helpful:

Illahee Community Club Information:

The Illahee Community Club (ICC) has been in existence since the founding of Illahee, but was reorganized in 2008/2009 to expand its boundary (essentially that of the Port of Illahee) and purposes (to support restoration and preservation).  The Club is now a 501(c)3 non-profit public charity with contributions tax deductible, as allowed by law.  Yearly dues for voting members are $10 per family.  Lifetime memberships are granted for those who support the ICC with gifts over $100.  There are currently ~175 voting members. 

The purposes of the Illahee Community Club are:

·         To restore, preserve, and maintain the Illahee community as an historic, scenic, and culturally significant area.

·         To combat community deterioration through remedial actions such as elimination of fecal coliform and storm water pollution.

·         To restore and preserve the Illahee area of Puget Sound, including freshwater, wetlands, floodplains, estuary, nearshore, marine, and upland habitats for the benefit and education of the general public.

·         To restore and preserve the following items adversely impacting the Illahee Creek Watershed as delineated in the Department of Ecology / Port of Illahee funded Parametrix Report, “Illahee Creek Watershed Surface Water Management Plan,” which are:

Surface Water Runoff, Landslides, Reduced Aquifer Recharge, Water Quality, Functionality of Illahee Creek Culvert, Degraded Salmonid Habitat.

·         To restore and preserve the natural features of the Illahee area including the Illahee Preserve (a Kitsap County Heritage Park), Illahee State Park, and area wildlife and habitat for the benefit and education of the general public.

·         To advocate for accomplishment of the goals and objectives in the Illahee Community Plan that support the restoration and preservation of the local Puget Sound area for the benefit and education of the general public.

·         To solicit and obtain financial support for the education, restoration, and preservation of the aforementioned items and other impacts adversely affecting the Illahee area of Puget Sound.

·         To work with private landowners, public water groups, schools, land trusts, government agencies, public and private associations, businesses, service groups, foundations, Indian tribes, and others to accomplish the above purposes.

Pheasant.  We have been trying to get a picture of a roster pheasant in the area that is pretty skittish.  This is the best we can do at this time and appreciate photographers who can capture good poses of these birds.

Gray Squirrels.  Gray squirrels have been steadily moving north through Illahee.  This one showed up this fall and pretty much ate all the chestnuts from our American chestnut tree.  They often displace the native Douglas squirrels and chipmunks, probably by out-competing them for food.  We also saw our first gray squirrel in the Illahee Preserve this winter.  Some think they are coming from the more urbanized areas of Bremerton.


Black Turnstone.  These are small shore birds we noticed just south of the Illahee Community Dock.  We included a picture with a pigeon in it to give you an idea just how small these birds are.

Spring Flowers.  We took the pictures of flowers on Friday and have noticed more flowers blooming each day, including a bunch of daffodils today (Monday).  We didn't have our camera today, so those pictures will come later.  We also noticed the Canada Geese have paired up, another sign that Spring is nearly here.

Jim Aho

Wildlife Report - 2-4-1

5 Orcas Sighted in Illahee.  The orcas were sighted this afternoon (2/4/11) traveling north through Illahee at 4:20 pm.  There were 5 of them this time with one being much smaller, so it probably was a young one.  We received the call when they were right out in front, but didn't answer the phone since we were on another call, so we missed getting any videos.  The next time our neighbors call we will be sure to answer right away.

Sapsuckers.  We have an apple tree with what looks like a series of 1/4 inch diameter holes methodically drilled into the trunk.  We thought it was a bug or beetle infestation at first and then found out is was caused by a woodpecker called a sapsucker.  We never did see the sapsucker in action on our apple tree so when we got the next report it helped us see the connection.

Illahee Preserve Sapsucker.  We received the attached photo that was taken last Sunday by Vic Ulsh in the Illahee Preserve of a Red Breasted Sapsucker.  Vic gave a report on the Preserve that included the following:

I noted a red breasted sapsucker on a tree near the Almira parking lot.  See attached photo.  From recent observations it appears we have a pair of hairy woodpeckers and at least one red breasted sapsucker living near the Almira parking lot.  Check out the telltale sapsucker holes in the bark. 

Blog and Facebook Reminder.  All updates are now posted on our blog within 24 hours of being e-mailed.  If you have comments, please visit the blog and leave your comments at the end of the post.  It's a great way to generate a public discussion. You can post anonymously if you choose.  Also, please visit and "Like" our Facebook page, and be sure to suggest it to your Facebook friends.  We are actively trying to increase our exposure in the community through social media and we need your help!

The link for the Facebook page is:  http://www.facebook.com/Illahee

The link for the blog is:  http://illaheecommunity.blogspot.com/

Blog Site Comments.  There haven't been many comments on the blog site, but if they are like me this is something I am not very comfortable with yet.  I did respond to a comment recently and have attached the three comments that were at the bottom of the blog, which I have copied below:

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Annexation to Bremerton is NOT what I want, or to Silverdale or any other city. I thought the reason for creating a Community Plan was to preclude that possibility. THE POSSIBILITY OF THE ANNEXATION OF ILLAHEE IS NOT GOOD NEWS! Glad someone from Illahee is concerned, and yes, talk about this at the community meeting.

February 1, 2011 11:07 AM

Jim Aho said...

In response to Anonymous, I never thought we had to worry about annexation once we had our subarea plan, i.e., the Illahee Community Plan, but after hearing the the GMA required annexation by 2025 or 2030 for anyone within an Urban Growth Area, I am now concerned and think we need to further protect ourselves. It seems to me that much has changed in Illahee since 1998 when Illahee was first designated to be in the Urban Growth Area, and now we have a small window of opportunity open whereby we might be able to convince the county, and the Growth Management Hearings Board, that Illahee is indeed mostly rural with unique features that inhibit or prevent urban buildout and urban densities. If there ever was a time to try and get out from under the urban designation label, now seems to be it. I also would like to see this discussed at the Illahee Community meeting and voted upon, so we can get things moving and possibly approved by the end of this year. Jim Aho

February 1, 2011 6:51 PM

Anonymous said...

Does anyone else ever comment on these blogs other than me, Mr. Anonymous, and Mr. Aho?

Illahee Community Meeting 2/23/11.  There will be an Illahee Community meeting on February 23rd at the Library on Sylvan Way at either 6 pm or 6:30 pm.  We heard they were trying to find a speaker to talk about the Growth Management Act, Urban Growth Areas, and annexation.  We will let you know when we find out what the agenda will be.

Jim Aho

Owl, Film, Sign, Clean-Up - 1-20-11

Owl Report.  The following owl report came in a couple of weeks ago.  These owls are so small you can hold them in the palm of your hand and we wish we had such a photo.  The attached link below shows just how cute they are.  We also had a report of a Coopers Hawk on Classic Ave last week.

The northern saw-whet owl is back!  This little owl spent several months last year looking for a mate in the ravine behind Roosevelt Street.  His call can be mistaken for an alarm clock or the beeping of a truck backing up - it's high pitched and very regular.  He is back in the preserve although he seems to have moved up the ravine to a place west of the vacated portion of Rest Place.  According to Vic Ulsh, "They are cute little rascals.  The big bully 'barred owls' who roam Illahee Forest can be predatory on the little saw-whet owls so I worry about them."  Although their mating call can be annoying at 5:00 in your backyard, we are all hoping that he succeeds in finding a mate this year!

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/9/overview/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl.aspx

Seattle Film Showing.  We are late in posting this notice as this film showing is tomorrow evening in Seattle.  Note that Shelly Solomon is the filmmaker who is working on a film on Illahee.  She has done some amazing films, as you can see below, and we are fortunate to have her helping us get the message about what is happening in Illahee and to our watershed.

Public Environmental Film Event: sponsored by Feathered Friends and Sustainable Seattle
Friday Jan 21st, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Location
Feathered Friends
119 Yale Ave. North (just down the street from REI)
Seattle, WA
http://www.featheredfriends.com/retail_store/Events/leapingfrog/leapingfrog.html
Filmmaker Shelly Solomon
Throughout Ms. Solomon’s career as a biologist, she has been struck by the fact that so much of the positive work being done in the environmental field, has gone unnoticed. It seemed only natural to Shelly that a better-informed public would lead to a more engaged public. Ms. Solomon started Leaping Frog Films to “Get the Word Out” about these positive stories. Solomon recently received Sustainable Seattle’s 2010 “Leadership in Sustainability in the Natural World” award for her film work.

Find below 2 films that will be showing, plus 2 pages of film reviews

Buried in Sawdust for 50 Years” and the Unintended Consequences
This is a fascinating film about how a Washington estuary was filled with milling waste to a depth of 60’, where it remained for 50 years and how a local nonprofit secured over one million dollars to restore the estuary back to its original tidal elevation. Highlights of the film include an examination of the chemical contamination resulting from 50 years of accumulated wood waste, interviews with an original mill worker and his memories of the operation, discovery of the original estuary elevations with plants and tidal channels still in-tact, and finally, the returning of tidal waters to the estuary for the first time in 50 years. Project partially funded by Salmon Recovery Board. Created by Leaping Frog Films.

Almost Lost but not Forgotten - Pinto Abalone Recovery in Washington State
Puget Sound is full of many treasures, and the native abalone is among the greatest.  At a NOAA's Mukilteo lab and a small abalone nursery in Port Gamble pinto abalone are being grown for re-introduction into the wild. In the summer of 2009, over 1,200 animals reared in this facility were outplanted into Puget Sound, representing the most substantial abalone recovery effort to date in Washington. Pinto abalone - the only abalone species found in Washington - may be at risk of becoming locally extinct.  The natural population has plummeted over the last several decades and there are too few abalone in the wild to successfully reproduce.  The goal of this multi-faceted abalone recovery program is to increase densities in the wild and build sustainable populations of this important species for the future.  This film showcases different aspects of recovering abalone populations in Washington State from spawning adult brood animals, to tending juveniles during months of grow-out, to careful reintroduction into the wild. It's a big undertaking involving conservation genetics, state-of-the-art hatchery rearing techniques and lots of collaboration between scientists, NOAA, WDFW, tribes and community groups. Created by Leaping Frog Films.

Preserve Brush Picking Signs.  Soon there will signs posted to tell people more explicitly that brush picking in the Illahee Preserve is illegal.  The Park's Department had the attached sign made up for Banner Forest and we asked for some for Illahee.  The signs are in English, Spanish and French in case so there should be no problems understanding for those who don't speak English.  

Preserve Clean-Up.  There are a number of people who help keep the Illahee Preserve clean of trash, along with the Chalice Heart group the routinely picks up trash along Thompson Lane, which is especially important now that the gate was damaged and considered too expensive to fix.  We took a picture of Jay and Rob last Saturday as they were helping with the clean-up on Thompson Lane.  Also included is a picture of a TV set that was dumped along the road.  These are the disappointing events that are offset by those who volunteer to help clean up.  Thanks to all those who keep the Preserve and Thompson Lane picked up!

Illahee Community Clean-Up.  We know of at least 4 people who have been regulars at picking up the roadways and ditches in the Illahee community.  They are Rob, Carol and Carole, and Dennis.  You see them carrying bags for the garbage they pick up as they get they do their regular walks.  They have told us that the bending over to pick up things and then carrying the bags greatly increases their cardio-vascular workout over just walking.  We have heard there are also others who are regularly picking up trash and we would be happy to recognize them for their efforts.  Please let up know who they are.

Jim Aho

Work Party, Levee, Wildlife - ‏ 1/3/11

Rotary Work Party.  Some major work was done at the Thompson Lane parking lot on Sunday (1-2-11) by the Rotary Club of East Bremerton (see attached photos).  It was quite amazing to watch the front end loader on the John Deere tractor fill 3 or 4 large wheel barrows to overflowing at one time.  They didn't want a big group helping them because of the tractor, so we didn't advertise this work party to others.  They moved tons of wood chips, and we thank them again for adopting the Illahee Preserve and keeping it in tip top shape.  The following is their writeup of their efforts:

Illahee Forest Preserve

The East Bremerton Rotary completed another productive work party at Illahee Forest Preserve on Sunday morning, January 2nd, 2011.  The focus was to clean-up the perimeter of the Thompson Lane parking lot along Riddell Road.  Roughly 15 loads of wood chips had already been delivered to the parking lot.  Dave White's John Deere tractor made easy work of the task as chips were dumped over the guard rail and into waiting wheelbarrows.  Thereafter the chips were quickly spread atop the area surrounding the parking lot.  The Thompson Lane parking lot looks much improved for the effort. 

The second photo shows the parking lot after a thorough cleanup by Bill Wright and his mega-blower. 

Varied Thrush Gives Its Approval.  After the work party completed Vic Ulsh photographed the varied thrush that appears to give its approval of the Rotary's efforts, see his (Vic's) email comments:

The last photo is a varied thrush who stopped by to help clean-up after we were finished.  Varied thrush is a very cool bird who comes down from the high country to spend winters in the forests of Puget Sound basin.   There seemed to be about 5 or 6 varied thrush hanging around the brush in the perimeter of the parking lot.  I'm guessing they will be staying not far from the Thompson Lane parking lot for the next few months. 

Levee Questions From Previous Update.  We have been asked to explain more about what a levee is and why it was requested, as some in the community do not understand the issue.  First, the Wikipedia dictionary definition of a levee is:  "A levee, levée, dike (or dyke), embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial slope or wall to regulate water levels. It is usually earthen and often parallel to the course of a river or the coast."   There must have been a concern that a levee was needed to prevent Illahee Creek from overflowing its banks, or that the levee installed after the Dec 2007 storm was in danger of failing.

Levee Comments.  We did get a few phone calls and several emails regarding the levee issue.  The first one we have attached being a comment that went to Kitsap County, followed by their response, and then a response back to the County.

First Comment & Responses:  The community should question why a levee would be constructed (at taxpayer expense) for the protection of private property that was developed contrary to the advice of the county (representing the taxpayer).  It seems that the developer knowingly (admittedly) assumed the risk of building in the streams migration zone/flood plain.  Why should the taxpayer essentially bail out the developer for their bad decision? 

Fiction can be very entertaining but Kitsap County did not build any levee or other flood control feature on the Mossano property.  The Road Division crew simply performed routine maintenance on the Illahee Creek culvert by excavating sediment from the culvert outlet.  All of the material was trucked from the site and this activity was permitted by WDFW.  There were no additional measures taken by Public Works.  Thank you for your comments and, in the future, please contact Kitsap One at 360-337-5777 for information on Public Works activities in your neighborhood.

Thanks Jon for your prompt response.  Is it fiction that a levee was either authorized or authorized and permitted under an emergency HPA?

Second Comment:  On the levee question.  The property in question never should have been built on.  It is a flood plain and the owner knew this when he coerced the county into giving him a permit.  The owner should live with the consequences of choosing to live in a flood plain.  No public monies should be spent to protect a house that the county did not want there in the first place.

One Legal Question Response.  We did receive a phone call from a former environmental officer who stated that the stream natural processes take precedence over protecting property, though we have not verified it or heard from any legal experts yet.

Owl & Preserve Photos.  There are a number of people who regularly use the Preserve and also take photos.  George is one who has taken photos and posted them on the following website, which contains various photos of a barred owl and other Preserve features:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/85934826@N00/sets/72157625562766240/

Jim Aho

Wildlife Update - 12/19/10

Illahee Orca Video Makes KIRO TV News.  We were surprised to get a phone call Friday evening from Issaquah that they saw the Illahee orca video on the Channel 7 News (they called for permission but we didn't think they would use the video), and calls from others who saw it on the Kitsap Sun website.  If a little video gets that much exposure, we are optimistic the professionally made video of Illahee's watershed issues (currently being filmed) will get even more.

Lost Cat.  While cats aren't really wildlife, they do get lost and we have always tried to pass on quickly notices such as these.  We only attached one of the photos.

A stray cat showed up at our house on Rue Villa yesterday (Saturday, 12/18).  She is a large female cat, gray with black strips, 4 white paws and a white bib.  She has no collar.  She was very hungry, but appears to be healthy.  She is friendly and used to humans and other cats.  I have attached 2 pictures.  Would you send them out to see if anyone has lost her?  They can contact me at JoannaBaas@gmail.com

Seals Vacated Float.  Since the seal eating orcas came through here we haven't seen any seals on the float north of the Illahee community dock.  We attached some photos to show what it looked like nearly every morning this fall, that is until this week.

Cormorants.  When the seals would leave the cormorants would normally take their place as you can see from this photo.

Deer Pictures.  We received some remarkable photos of deer and a couple of pileated woodpeckers.  At one time we were going to have a place for photos such as these on the Illahee Community Website.  This is something we hope to check on, as we can only include a few of the pictures sent.

Humming Birds.  We have seen lots of humming birds around this winter because people are feeding them.  The attached photo shows 2 males that are in a territorial standoff on a weather vane.

Thank You For Sharing Your Photos.  We want to thank you for sharing your wildlife photos.  We have been told by a number of you that is what you like best about the Illahee Updates.  We are still learning how to present photos and we have yet to learn how to title individual photos, so please bare with us.  We are still trying to come up with photo file sizes that are big enough for people to see the subjects, but not too big so they won't exceed the size of their email systems.  We hope these all come through.

Jim Aho

Wildlife & Miscellaneous - 8/21/10

Salmon Jumping.  It is that time of year when we should be salmon jumping as they pass through Illahee waters, and we have a report that at least one was seen jumping north of the Illahee community dock.

Shoreline Presentation on Monday.  Don't forget to attend the Illahee community meeting on Monday at the Sylvan Way library at 6:15 pm where there will be two county persons giving a presentation on the ongoing Shoreline Master Program (SMP) update.  We have over 3 miles of shoreline and many have views of the water, or appreciate the shoreline areas, and they all should have a say as to what they want in a shoreline program. This is the best time to have your voices heard, while the county and Task Force are taking input.

Public Access at Community Dock.  We had several responses about the public access steps at the Illahee Community Dock.  Some were unaware that there were steps to get down to the beach, and others were unaware that the steps belong to the Port of Illahee and that the Port of Illahee had the steps put in a number of years ago.  Public Access will also be one of the items discussed at the SMP briefing on Monday.

Sharpe-shinned Hawk.  We received a picture of a sharp-shinned hawk the other day, which is attached.  This one is at the waterfront, which seemed rather unusual.

Coyote Reports.  We have had several reports about coyotes, and in some areas residents are warned to keep their cats inside.  The following report shows that they may be expanding their territory.

Tues. night at dusk in the vincinity of the Rue Villa mailboxes an animal made a quick crossing of the Illahee road from the water side to the uphill side. It was smaller than a young deer but larger than most dogs in the area, light in color and fast. My initial impression was that of a coyote. There have been some mauling and killing of racoons in the area recently. I have never seen a coyote in the Illahee area. 

Dead Deer.  We have been asked not to show pictures of dead deer on these Updates, but we need to report that at least one doe and one fawn have been hit by cars and killed in the area.  Some were wondering if the two twin fawns they saw without their mother, could have been the offspring of the doe that got hit.  Two neighbors buried it.  

The other report of the dead fawn is a sad one as the mother stayed in the brush near the fawn until it was picked up by the county road crew, and then the mother was seen going up and down the area, seemingly looking for it.  We need to let residents know that the county will pick up dead deer along the road if you call them.  Please let us know also so we can try to keep track of what is happening.

Illahee Preserve Work Party Report.  There was another massive work party at the Illahee Preserve this past Wednesday.  Our estimate was about 50, though not all signed in, so we don't have a totally accurate count.  We have found out one of the secrets to the Rotary's work party successes, which is also having water and food.  There were at least 5 Illahee residents who showed up.  And it was notable that there were 20 wheel borrows in use to move the wood chips.  We will try to attach two photos, one showing a log being moved to line the path of the rain garden, and the other being a group photo, but after a number had already left.  Below is the East Bremerton Rotary report of the work party:

The East Bremerton Rotary conducted another very productive work party at Illahee Forest Preserve on Wednesday, August 18th.  The focus was beautification of the Almira parking lot, as well as adding wood chips to the trail system.  36 people helped out including Marines from Bangor, members of Washington Youth Academy, and 13 East Bremerton Rotarians.  Thanks to grillmaster Andy Graham of McClouds Restaurant for bringing & tending the BBQ and thanks to Costco (JeanMarie Harmon) for providing the food.  Attached is a photo excluding the Washington Youth Academy who needed to leave before the photo was taken.  Andy Graham is the one in the back doing a Y-M-C-A spell out.

Jim Aho  

Responses - 3/25/10

Wildlife Update Responses.  According to your comments our Updates are appreciated, but even more so when they contain wildlife information and pictures.  We had some good responses regarding what has happened to the quail and pheasants.  See the following responses that have come in so far (in the order they were received):

Response #1.  The demise of quail and pheasant have been substantially hastened by irresponsible people who think it is their right to let domestic cats wander freely outside.  The (young) quail and pheasants are quickly killed as amusement and sport by outdoor cats.  Even the Humane Society adamantly states that domestic cats should be in-door critters.  If you want quail and pheasant to thrive, then people need to find enlightenment and deal responsibly with their cats as in-doors pets.  But cat owners don't want to hear this because their precious little Muffin should have their freedom to wander to their heart's delight (regardless of cost to wildlife) because it just wouldn't be fair to little Muffin.  It's an old and tired attitude.  The National Audubon reports domestic cats are the number one predator of native song birds, and number two is not even close. 

 

Of course coyote, fox, raccoon, etc will also kill birds, particularly the most vulnerable ground feeders such as quail and pheasant, but the losses are minimal compared to the carnage done by domestic cats. 

Response #2.  Where have all the quail gone ???  ..Eagle food and racoon dinners. 

We lost 3 quineas last week one with an eagle,  two with racoons.

Response #3.  I don't have a picture but have spotted the quail a number of times on
Illahee road southbound just past the creek. We seem to have an over
abundance of deer this year, one with a totally white leg, so our albino
deer must still be somewhere in the area.

Response #4.  Great pheasant photos!

Response #5.  Beautiful photos!!!!

Response #6.  What beautiful pictures, wow. It's such a treat to see some of our local wildlife. I had a hen and a rooster here several years ago that I enjoyed watching, but with all the dogs and cats around they moved. Thankyou for adding these along with the updates on our area and the Timbers Edge news. I appreciate all that you do.

Response #7.  perhaps in your next update you could include this link:

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/9/overview/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl.aspx

This is the owl that has been serenading all of us who live close to the Illahee Creek ravine for the past week or so.  He/she has been hooting continuously from dusk to dawn.  Yesterday I pushed my snooze button twice around 5:00 am until I realized it wasn't my alarm - it was the bird!!  I recorded the sound and sent it to Vic Ulsh who identified it and sent me the link.  He also said this about it:  Your serenading little friend is a northern saw-whet owl.   I am glad to have them in Illahee Forest.  They are cute little rascals.  The big bully "barred owls" who roam Illahee Forest can be predatory on the little saw-whet owls so I worry about them.  Sorry for the annoying and monotonous serenade. 

Response #8.  I think the pheasant and quail populations have decreased due to a combination of more pets (dogs and cats) roaming around in the daylight hours, and more wild animals (possums and raccoons) scouring their roosting areas at night.  Throw in a few fox and coyotes along with a few hawks and falcons and the poor birds don't have a chance.  Its a wonder we have as many as we do.

Thank You for Responding.  Thank you to all who let us know you like to receive these Updates, and thank you for those who responded to this last one.  We appreciate you comments and input!  Also, let us know your owl stories, like the one in Response #7.

Jim Aho