September 2001
The Goldfinch
The newsletter for the Daviess County Audubon Society
Meetings Sept. - June each second Monday at 7 PM
at First Christian Church
7th Street & J. R. Miller Boulevard
Copperbellies Research Update
Our own Veep and Program Chair, Rob Rold, will present our first program of the new year September 10 at 7 PM. Rob will explain what caused a little water snake to merit such monitoring as is going on less than 20 miles away "as the crow flies". You'll learn what man'kind? has done to decimate this non-venomous critter's population numbers and what caused the fragmentation of their natural slithering grounds.
Rob will explain the value of a habitat conservation agreement. You will be fascinated to learn about the transmitters being used to track and study the habits of these snakes. Our chapter is very fortunate to have access to the inside scoop on this important research project.
Don't miss this meeting!
Homeless! Us? It seems that we are having to find a new location for our monthly meetings due to meeting room charges at the Technical College that are beyond our budget.
We have been invited to meet next year at First Christian Church at 7th Street and J. R. Miller Boulevard. Our new meeting location will have more convenient parking, a covered portico, and fewer distractions from outside noise.
September Field Trip
On Saturday, September 15, we are traveling to the Falls of the Ohio
Interpretive Center 
located
just across the river from Louisville. We will study the fossil beds and
look for shore birds. Admission to the Center is $4. We will depart
from Hwy 231 at the north end of the Ohio River Bridge at 8 AM where we can work
out carpooling and caravan directions. Time of return to Owensboro will be
up to each car's driver.
What's in a Name?
Bet you didn't know that from time to time someone asks us for a copy of our membership list. You can call us paranoid, distrusting, stingy and other terms that aren't good mental health labels, but, to date, we've declined. We don't want people who join Audubon to be sitting ducks for solicitations and possible unwanted contacts.
The Power of the Pen
There is fear that plans are again being made to poison 2 million Red-winged Blackbirds next spring. The reason? Sunflower seed growers (we buy a significant portion of their crop) are losing between 1 and 2% to the birds. If you think this loss is part of the impact of nature, and if you object to poisoning numbers of the 68 other species that inhabit the farm fields, write to Ann Veneman, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250.
President Mike Henshaw urges us to get behind the Conservation and Reinvesting Act (CARA) which has just passed the House but has a real fight in the Senate. As you might remember, this is a nation-wide effort to have a very small percentage of money generated from off-shore oil and gas drilling diverted to the states. Kentucky would be able to receive as much as $21 million each for recreation and conservation. To call and write Senators:
Mitch McConnell 202-224-2541
361A Russell Senate Office Building Zip is 20510-0001
Jim Bunning 202-224-4343
316 Hart Senate Office Building Zip is 20510-0001
Chlorine Facts (Reprinted from the Greater Mohican Audubon News)
Dioxin, a chemical byproduct of the manufacturing of chlorine-bleached paper, is believed to be the single most carcinogenic chemical known to science.
When you open the door of your dishwasher after washing, toxic volatized chlorine from detergent and tap water is released into the air.
Dioxin has been linked to endometriosis, immune system impairment, diabetes, neuro-toxicity, birth defects, decreased fertility, and reproductive dysfunction in both women and men.
Thanks to chlorine pollution, Americans ingest a daily amount of dioxin that is already 300 to 600 times greater than the EPA's so-called "safe" dose.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found dioxin to be 300,000 times more potent as a carcinogen than DDT.
Studies show that 40-70 percent of the dioxin in bleached coffee filters can leach into your coffee; dioxin found in paper milk cartons also leaches into the milk you drink.
Cancer-causing chemicals like chlorine found in many household products such as coffee filters, disposable diapers, paper towels, and bathroom tissue are readily absorbed through the skin.
Want to read more? Go to http://www.monitor.net/rachel/rehw-home.html
Editor's suggestions:
Buy a water filter.
Read labels on dishwasher detergent & household cleaning products. Not all contain bleach.
Shop for unbleached paper products. It is unfair to blame the paper companies if the public demands white paper such as our newsletter paper.
Chicken Little is open for suggestions for non-chlorine bird feeder cleaning & swimming pool maintenance???
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling Through the Eyes of an Oil Man
This article has been removed by the webmaster upon the demand of a person purporting to be the author.
Our Next Bird Count at the Community College will be Sunday, September 16th at 2 PM. We need a volunteer(s) to lead the outing because Charles Morris will be counting shore birds along the Mississippi Flyway in far western Kentucky that day. Contact Charles at 926-8803 to take charge.
From the President's Perch
Well, I must say thank you for your vote of confidence in selecting me as your president for this year. There have been a lot of great things done by past presidents and I hop to hold up to their standards. The program and field trip committees have lined up a very good list of programs and trips for the club this coming year. I hope that you will turn out for these meetings and trips.
I would like to take this opportunity to address several issues that are ongoing in our community:
The Green River National Wildlife Refuge that is proposed for Henderson County has passed the final assessment phase and is on its way to being a reality. 12,000 acres will be the project's size if all the land identified can be purchased.
A Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) has been signed by the state and federal governments for the Upper Green River between Mammoth Cave and the Green River Lake Dam. This is a $100 million plus project to protect the upper Green River watershed by establishing riparian buffer zones, creating wetlands, planting bottomland hardwood trees, planting native warm season grasses along with other conservation practices.
Under a "Grassland for Bobwhite Quail" with the Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife and Quail Unlimited, over 250 miles of native warm season grasses and forb filter strips have been created on private lands for grassland birds' habitat, filtration zones, and water quality improvement around Owensboro.
This has been a great season for birds and bird sightings - The Bald Eagle nest at White City WMA hatched off its first chick which at last sighting was doing fine. The eagle nest at Henderson Sloughs WMA hatched off two chicks as well. Adult Mississippi Kites have been seen in Ohio County on Peabody WMA. Osprey are also now in the region and producing birds.
Looking forward to a great year and to seeing, you, Mike
Bird Blind Update
To see the blind before the straw bale walls were put in place as photographed by Wendell Thompson, go to... http://audubon.wku.edu/daviess/blind_photos.htm
My very first visit to the Bert and Millie Powell Bird Blind was Tuesday, August 14th. I was pleasantly surprised. The site committee chose an excellent location. The straw bale structure is 75% complete. I returned Saturday, August 18th; working on "stucco" application was the blind's designer, Sister Lorraine Lauter, along with Chrissi Murphy, the Girl Scout project leader.
Our chapter is now assigning members the completion of the construction such as windows, doors, entry ramp, signs and dedication ceremony planning. Sr. Lorraine will return from time to time to add her expertise and labor.
I believe when the blind is completed, our club will have a project of which we can be very proud.
Sincerely, Rosa Ann Radzelovage
Sunflower Seed Salad
(People gotta eat, too)
2 (16 oz) pkgs coleslaw or
broccoli slaw
6 green onions, chopped
1.5 cups dry roasted sunflower seeds
2 pkgs Ramen noodles broken in small pieces (reserve seasoning pkts)
1 cup slivered almonds
Dressing
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Ramen noodle seasoning packets.
Shake dressing ingredients together in a jar. Pour over salad just before serving. Toss to coat all of the salad. Serves 12.
Kentucky Audubon Council
Delegates Needed
Would you take a moment to answer the following questions?
Do you have a day each quarter that you could devote to representing our chapter at a state meeting? You'd be a voice for our 125 members.
Do you wish to know what Audubon is doing across Kentucky and want to play a role in meeting National Audubon Society's goals?
Do you have the ability to think big, to dream about what could be and to vote for moving out of a comfort zone onto a path never before trod by Audubon in Kentucky?
Do you care that over half the state's population does not have access to an Audubon chapter or an Audubon Nature Center?
Do you care if another Audubon chapter has fallen on hard times? Enough to help the K.A.C. 'think tank' for possible ways to assist?
If you answered "Yes!" to 3 or more ?'s, you'd be a good person to volunteer to be one of the 3 or 4 people we need to have ready to fill our 2 delegate seats. Tell Bill Little, K.A.C. President that you are interested.
Upcoming fundraising events:
Car Detail by appointment. Cost is $50. The Volunteer Center will staff the clean-up teams that will wash each car inside and out down the to the ashtrays and air vents, hand wax the exterior, shampoo the upholstery-carpet-floor mats, apply Rain-X to the windshield....all-in-all they'll do an all-day going over of each car. A retired business executive will supervise the detail work and the work will be covered by insurance. Only one car will be detailed per day. If you know a 'car nut' please tell them about this opportunity to have a car spiffed-up with the proceeds going to The Powell Bird Blind construction. To schedule a car for detailing phone (270) 298-4237 or fizgig@mindspring.com This project has been put on hold due to serious illness in Brenda Little's family. Stay tuned for further details.
Officers and Directors for 2000-2001 President Mike Henshaw (270) 275-4250 Vice-President & Program Chairman Rob Rold (270) 684-3209 Secretary Madeline Oetinger (270) 683-7681 Treasurer Rose Ann Radzelovage (270) 683-5972 Membership Chair Pat Connell (270) 684-5326 Education Chairs Madeline Oetinger (270) 683-7681 & Carolyn Williams 683-5863 Field Trips Chair Rob Rold (270) 684-3209 Conservation Chair Scott Holder (270) 684-1582 Newsletter Editor Brenda Little (270) 298-4237 Webmaster Eric Williams shrike@apex.net Publicity Chair Bill Little (270) 298-4237 Hospitality Chair Ova Hookey (270) 683-6364 Directors: Pat Connell, Carolyn Williams, Charles Morris, John Thacker Lifetime Honorary Directors: Elinor Wilson, Joe Ford, A.L. "Bert" Powell, and Mildred "Millie" Powell.
