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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2012)
12 Spring 2012 Applegater BIRDMAN as northern pintail ducks and northern shoveler ducks. The birdlife around the San Diego area is always plentiful and this year was home in Oregon, making note of every no exception. Along the flood control species of birds we saw along the way. channel at Ocean Beach, we saw plenty of Our first stops were our favorite brown pelicans, willets, marbled godwits, national wildlife refuges in northern whimbrels, and even a little blue heron. By California—Sacramento and Colusa. the time we left San Diego for our cruise, Both of these areas had an unusually our bird count was already at 136. large number of waterbirds this season We had arranged via the Internet due, I think, to the unusually cold and to have a local English-speaking guide dry weather in the Northwest during at several of our ports of call beginning November, December and January when in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Local guides so many northern birds are heading south. know the best places close to the port There were exceptionally large flocks of where you can find a good variety of local snow geese and white-fronted geese, as well birdlife—the cost is just about equal to the cost of the shore excursions offered by the cruise line, and you avoid the busloads of people! Our favorite new bird in this area was the beautiful Rufous-capped warbler. Along the Pacific coast of Central America, we stopped in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. The birdlife, as you can imagine, is prolific in this part of the world. We particularly enjoyed seeing so many warblers here for the winter that make their way north to our area in the spring, including the Wilson’s, yellow, Thompson’s, black-throated gray, and Nashville. By the time we left Central Vacation for the birds BY tED A. GLoVEr I have written before about how fun it is to travel and search for new birds you have never seen before or to see birds you haven’t seen in a long time. A big advantage of being retired is being able to travel and to travel to new and exciting places. This past February, my wife and I were able to take a cruise down through Mexico, Central America and into Ecuador and Peru. The cruise began and ended in San Diego and, since we have relatives there, we decided to drive there and actually begin our “birding expedition” right from our Photo above: Rufous-capped warbler (http:// ibc.lynxeds.com). Photo at right: Humboldt penguin (http://en.wikipedia.org). America, our bird count had reached 244, including 19 birds we had never seen before. Our trip to Peru included a stopover of Ted A. Glover three days, so we arranged for a guide to take us out for two full days around the Lima area. This was the highlight of our trip since we had never been to Peru. As our ship pulled into the harbor, we were greeted by hundreds of Inca terns, a bird endemic to Peru with a sooty plumage, long dark tail, vibrant red bill and legs, and spectacular white tuffs. We saw 36 new birds while visiting the area around Lima, including the giant Peruvian pelican, the croaking ground dove, the colorful white-cheeked pintail duck and even the Humboldt penguin. By the time we left South America and headed back to San Diego, our count had reached 300. We made a few stops in Mexico on our way back picking up a few more species and bringing our total count to 317. What a great adventure! Ted A. Glover 541-846-0681 tedglover9@gmail.com Folks, this is normal! BY DELLA mErriLL Last fall, for example, a whole class of (Author’s note: This article was inspired by Joel Salatin’s new book, Folks, second graders, working together, picked This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for up all the irrigation pipes in our main Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a pasture. It took four kids to pick up one Better World. Salatin is a third-generation pipe, but they were steady and determined alternative farmer from Virginia’s and would not stop until the job was done. All the while their laughter and enthusiasm Shenandoah Valley.) There’s nothing like getting your kids was contagious. Another big job we ask of our outside in the dirt, among the flowers, nose visitors is to show to nose with farm et’s give our youth a chance to our many rescued animals, walking feel that connection, to learn and abused animals energetic dogs, sowing vegetable to value it, and hope that in the end that humans can be kind, loving and seeds, all the while they will be motivated to protect it. respectful. By and learning how to collaborate, work as a team and experience large, the animals in our care have not experienced humans in this way. So it’s the joy of meaningful work. Children today spend way too many a big responsibility of our visitors to hours in front of video games and television; participate in the healing of our animals, most studies report 25 hours a week or building our animals’ sense of trust and more. Home chores are great, but having confidence in humans. This is meaningful youth volunteer in the greater community work that benefits both the animals in our builds their self-esteem and helps them care and the humans who are given this understand the world from other points of opportunity to interact with them. Working in the garden is another view. Why not give them the opportunity to turn some of their unproductive video important and never-ending source of joy, hours into something real, where they discovery and work to be done. Gardening connect and work alongside other people teaches balance, it teaches us about where doing work that is meaningful, gratifying our food comes from and what it takes to produce it. It teaches us the importance of and truly important. Sanctuary One offers just this kind of healthy soil and what it takes to create it. It opportunity. There is much to be done on teaches us about our profound dependency the farm: working with animals, cleaning on a healthy environment. Participating in life on the farm helps the barn, helping in the garden, moving hay and a whole array of other jobs. us to understand—and more importantly Participating in life on the farm builds feel—the interconnectedness of all things. camaraderie as it creates a sense of personal Our culture increasingly divides humans and nature. The bigger the divide, the less satisfaction and accomplishment. L we care what happens outside our picture window. And yet we all know that we cannot exist long in an unhealthy world. Let’s give our youth a chance to feel that connection, to learn to value it, and hope that in the end they will be motivated to protect it. If you want a hands-on experience while touring Sanctuary One, the last Saturdays of June, July and August have been set aside for just this reason. Join us for a hands-on day at the farm. Participants seven years and older are invited; children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. The work will vary depending on what is needed. We ask that you bring with you a sense of awe, a willingness to be flexible, and a commitment to work hard. Hands-on tours are offered June 30, July 28 and August 25. Regular farm tours are offered most Wednesdays and Saturdays. For reservations, please call 541-899-8627. See you at the farm! Della Merrill General Manager Sanctuary One 541-899-8627
