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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (April 20, 2018)
April 20, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A In puffin country, Cannon Beach may honor red-winged blackbird Official bird could help mark Earth Day By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette As a part of the 12 Days of Earth Day celebration, Cannon Beach will be asked to consider designating an official city bird. But don’t get too excited, tuft- ed puffins. A different bird could be brought into the spotlight: the red- winged blackbird. The medium-sized, black-and- red songbird loves marshes, brushy swamps and chirping on city power lines. They relish pecking out the seeds of invasive plants and fierce- ly protecting habitat — whether the trespasser be a fellow bird or an elk. But most importantly, the species is an abundant and longtime inhabitant of the beach town. “Red-winged blackbirds have been in that habitat forever. It seemed to fit the character of Cannon Beach,” said Neal Maine, a wildlife photogra- pher who serves on the 12 Days of Earth Day committee. “They are a part of the downtown, which is kind of rare to have a bird colony right in the central part of the community.” The committee, which organizes a variety of environmental activities throughout April in honor of Earth Day, decided they wanted to propose the idea to the city as a formal way to honor the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a land- mark federal law that protects dozens of species of birds. Adopting the bird LEFT The red-winged blackbird is being proposed as Cannon Beach’s official bird. | NEAL MAINE UPPER RIGHT A tufted puffin nests on Haystack Rock. | HAYSTACK ROCK AWARENESS PROGRAM LOWER RIGHT A red-winged blackbird protects its terriority from an elk in Clatsop County wet- lands. | NEAL MAINE officially would take a vote from the City Council. Dozens of cities have adopted similar designations around the country. While negotiating which bird should be proposed for the title, the tufted puffin was considered. Cannon Beach is the home of the largest tufted puffin colony on the Oregon Coast, with several festivals and fundraisers held in their honor. Between that and the wide array of puffin parapherna- lia available downtown, the black, white and orange bird has become the town’s unofficial icon. But there are many reasons the red-winged blackbird has an edge. Puffins are seasonal, nesting at Hay- stack Rock for only a few months of the year, and are not very accessible unless “you are strategic about see- ing them,” Maine said. Red-winged blackbirds are what people in the community see ev- eryday, and serve as a better rep- resentative of the area’s ecology, Maine said. Designating these birds would also be historically signif- icant, as many of them live on the Little Pompey Wetland — a marsh named after the son of Sacagawea from the Lewis and Clark Expedi- tion by Cannon Beach Elementary Help clean up trails near elementary school United Way of Clatsop County invites community members to the 2018 Day of Caring event on April 21. The Day of Caring is a countywide opportunity for community members to give something back to their community by volunteering time and talent. For this year’s projects, Unit- ed Way of Clatsop County has partnered with local schools and parks. In Seaside, Seaside Heights Elementary needs help with bridge and trail maintenance to keep the outdoor learning opportunities safe and acces- sible. The Seaside community gardens need help prepping for the upcoming planting season. In Astoria, Tapiola Park and Evergreen Fields need a hand sprucing up the ball fields for the softball and baseball season. New bark chips for the playground, tree wells for over 100 trees and painting of the dugouts and picnic shel- ters. In Warrenton, trail main- tenance on the waterfront trail between the Lewis and Clark Bridge and the Young’s Bay Bridge. Camp Kiwan- ilong needs help prepping the grounds for upcoming sum- mer youth programs. All volunteers are invited to attend a thank-you bar- becue at Camp Kiwanilong at 3:30 p.m. for community building, entertainment and s’mores around the campfire; visit www.clatsopunitedway. org or call United Way at 503- 325-1961. PUBLIC MEETINGS THURSDAY, April 26 THURSDAY, May 10 WEDNESDAY, May 16 WEDNESDAY, May 23 Cannon Beach Planning Commis- sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Academy, 5:30 p.m. 3718 S. Hemlock St. Cannon Beach Budget Committee, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Budget Committee, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. WEDNESDAY, May 2 MONDAY, May 14 THURSDAY, May 17 THURSDAY, May 24 Cannon Beach Budget Committee, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protec- tion District, 6 p.m., 188 Sunset, Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach Parks and Commu- nity Services Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Planning Commis- sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. TUESDAY, May 15 Cannon Beach Design Review Board Meeting, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. TUESDAY, May 8 Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., city council meeting and work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. WEDNESDAY, May 9 Cannon Beach Budget Committee, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Public Works Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Seaside School District Board of Directors, 6 p.m., 1801 S. Franklin, Seaside. Surfrider seeks volunteers for Earth Day Action Day The Daily Astorian Bring some work clothes, some friends and a surfboard to participate in the Oswald West Beach Cleanup event from 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday. The Surfrider Foundation, along with the Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve and Oregon State Parks, is Dining on the North Coast NORMA’S SEAFOOD & STEAK Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. 20 N. Columbia, Seaside 503-738-4331 MONDAY, May 21 MONDAY, June 11 Ecola Creek Watershed Council Meeting, 4:30 p.m. City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protec- tion District, 6 p.m., 188 Sunset, Cannon Beach. Since 1976 discriminating diners have sought out this Seaside landmark. There’s a chalkboard fresh catchlist, exclusively natural Angus beef and a great regional wine list as well as local microbrews. From Steak & Lobster to Fish & Chips (and Chowder to die for) - this is worth the drive! 11am-10pm daily. 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Assisted Living Apartments NOW AVAILABLE! Come and see why we say your life is our commitment. “Best Wine Shop” - 2016 & 2018 Reader’s Choice Award 124 N. Hemlock, Cannon Beach - 503.436.1100 - www.thewineshack.wine looking for volunteers to help clean the beach and partici- pate in minor restoration proj- ects as a part of their Earth Day Action Day activities. Volunteers will be treated to a bonfire and barbecue on the beach, as well as time to surf. For more information, contact the Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve at capefalconmr@gmail.com. TUESDAY, June 5 Patient-Centered Primary Care 239 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach • 503.436.0208 School fifth-graders more than 20 years ago. “It’s the idea that every bird counts, even common ones like red- winged blackbirds,” Maine said. “We have a tendency to go for the rare and unusual. This is more about celebrat- ing the ‘common.’” Haystack Rock Awareness Pro- gram Director Melissa Keyser also serves on the committee and said while her program is naturally partial to tufted puffins, she embraces the red-winged blackbird as an official bird. “It’s the perfect bird to highlight because it is often overshadowed by the puffin,” Keyser said. “While the puffins are incredibly special and im- portant, we also want to give credit to another species. When you are really immersed in the environment here the bird that you see is the red- winged blackbird. We could have gone with the puffin, but the black- bird was a little more indicative to this place.” Puffin or otherwise, the larger message is to bring to light the im- portance of protecting bird habitat. Posters of the bird with the caption, “They are all canaries,” are being cir- culated around town to raise aware- ness. The phrase plays off the old adage “a canary in a coal mine,” ref- erencing a time when canaries were used as early detectors for carbon monoxide in mining tunnels. “They are our measuring stick to the quality of our environment,” Maine said. “When the birds start dying, that’s when you know you’ve got a problem.” 101 Forest Drive, Seaside, Oregon Call Heather to schedule a tour today! 503-738-0307 www.suzanneelise.com April 21st & 22nd Saturday: 9 am- 5 pm Ԃ Sunday: 10 am- 3 pm Clatsop County Fairgrounds You Never Know What You’ll Find At A Collectors West Gun & Knife Show! 92937 Walluski Loop collectorswest.com $ 7