From: Mid-Willamette Bird Alliance <chateditors@219045914.mailchimpapp.com>
Subject: Update: Coffin Butte & Woodpecker Presentation
Date: April 1, 2025 at 5:00:33 AM PDT
To: <jabirusue@comcast.net>
Reply-To: <chateditors@gmail.com>

 	
	
						February 2025, Vol 54 #6	

	

	

	

												

	
General Meeting	

	

	

	

Lessons from the Pumice Plateau: 
The importance of mature green lodgepole pine for post-fire specialists
Presented by
Mark Kerstens	
	
April 17, 2025	

						

												

												

	
Woodpeckers are often described as double keystone species because they increase food availability and create cavities other species use. The Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) has been described as a post-high severity fire obligate species. Recently burned forests create ephemeral resource pulses for cavity nesters and other fire-associated bird species. However, burned areas can become unsuitable for breeding over relatively short timescales post-fire as succession progresses, and key habitat features (like standing dead trees) are lost. Recent studies have found breeding pairs of Black-backed Woodpeckers in unburned green forests in the western portion of its range. Additionally, our previous research found that reproductive output and juvenile survival were similar in green and burned forests, but breeding sites in green forests were almost exclusively restricted to stands dominated by mature and old-growth lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta). In the current study, we investigated the factors influencing habitat selection within green forests of south-central Oregon to understand how woodpeckers select habitat at landscape scales during breeding. Because green forests comprise the majority of the forested landscape in the western United States, our results will provide information managers need to maximize the conservation value of green forests within pyro-diverse landscapes containing burned and green forests.	

    Mark earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His honors thesis studied how overwintering birds in mixed-species flocks respond to pishing vs. chickadee mobbing calls. He has since spent several years on avian point count and nest monitoring projects in Oregon punctuated by teaching outdoor education in southern California. His main research interests are how to manage forests both before and after wildfires to provide habitat for cavity-nesting bird, and to use these species as indicators for ecosystem health. For his M.S. he studied Black-backed Woodpecker vital rates in fire-prone landscapes, and he is expanding work on that species for his Ph.D. When not chasing birds, Mark likes to spend his time backcountry skiing, climbing, or sewing outdoor gear.	
	
This month, join us in the Alder Room of the Corvallis Community Center at 2601 NW Tyler Ave. in Corvallis. Doors open at 6:30 PM followed by a business meeting at 7:00 PM. The program begins at 7:30 PM and lasts about an hour.
    The 2024-2025 Monthly Meetings will be held in person and on Zoom. Mid-Willamette Bird Alliance members who provided their email address with their membership dues will receive an invitation and instructions the week of the presentation. Programs are posted on the MWBA website after the meeting. Meetings are open to the public.
     Thanks to Eric Preston for guiding our Zoom meetings and Program Committee Chairperson Mai Kiigemagi for booking guest speakers. We need another volunteer or two to help with our program committee! Please contact us at the website noted above to help Mai and Eric!
 	
	
								Table of Contents

	•	Conservation News
	•	Education News
	•	Field Trips
	•	Community Notes
	•	Board Meeting
	•	Membership

 	

	

	

	

	

	

	

	

Recruiting for Instagram Coordinator	

Link to our Instagram page:  https://www.instagram.com/midwillamettebirdalliance
    Now recruiting for the volunteer position of Instagram Coordinator!  Instagram is an important communication tool for our organization to engage our online audience of over 700 followers.   Our audience is mostly from Corvallis, Albany, Eugene, and Portland and most are between the ages of 25 and 44.  It is critically important for our organization to have a presence on social media to recruit new volunteers and members to keep our organization strong for many years to come.  
 
What’s involved with this position?  
The Mid-Willamette Bird Alliance board meets once per month in Corvallis.  At meetings, our leaders share upcoming events, news, volunteer opportunities, and other information that the Instagram Coordinator transforms into Instagram posts.  You might share bird facts, post engaging photos of birds, and use your creativity to create reels and videos.  Because Instagram requires a photo with each post, this position would be well-suited for a bird photographer.  Our current Instagram Coordinator will be happy to help get you trained.
 
If interested in this position, contact us through direct message on Instagram, or reach out to our leaders at one of our monthly meetings.	

	

	

	

Conservation News	
	
Comments on the Coffin Butte Landfill Expansion – Please help represent our Bird Alliance!	
	
Birding and visiting the E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area has been a favorite pastime for our members for a half-century and more, offering miles of closed roads suitable for hiking, biking, and walking dogs, as well as fishing and hunting opportunities. Nature buffs can also enjoy searching for several snake species, tracks, and signs of many animals. Oregon has made substantial efforts to assist the natural recovery of an abandoned military facility to wetlands, upland prairies, shrubland and oak woodlands, freshwater and riparian communities. Check out the current management plans here: https://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/management_plans/wildlife_areas/docs/ee_wilson.pdf
     Just to the west, across Hwy 99W and uphill, another military remnant is going in an opposite and conflicting direction—the Coffin Butte landfill. It’s true that the rapidly growing mountain of refuse has attracted a large assortment of bald eagles, numerous and sometimes unusual species of gulls, hundreds of corvids like ravens, and thousands of passerines, most notably Eurasian starlings. We can be awed at so many birds doing opportunistic scavenging, but what do such concentrations mean?
     Songbird nests offer a welcome change in diet for aerial predators, and nesting grassland species like streaked horned lark and Oregon vesper sparrow are losing out now, and are recognized as imperiled by Benton County and the state respectively. Western bluebirds and purple martins, also Wildlife Area goal species, lose nesting cavities to starlings looking for local lodging. 
     We can only speculate about what passes through these dump-feeding birds, which are distributing their excrement away from the landfill. Fertilizer yes indeed, but certainly not certified organic! 
     Great blue herons too are losing out from eagle nest predation, and actual heronry (a rookery of only herons) abandonment. Years ago, herons nested in the conifers farther west, but relocated to a planned leachate remediation hybrid poplar stand until the early 2020s. This year the herons have relocated their nesting immediately across 99W onto E.E. Wilson property and the nearest forest of dense but shorter ash trees.  They accept predictable noises, such as regular traffic, but with a lack of any nearby fledgling roost trees, we can predict a much higher rate of fledgling road mortality than the former poplar stand had experienced. Heron nesting habitat, up to three years past abandonment, is even recognized for protection under the Forest Practices Act, if only considered before any commercial forest operation can begin.  The landfill has proven itself to be an unwelcome neighbor to herons, and I expect this nesting colony will ultimately fail with any continued growth of this industrial complex.
     Elk are also more common here now, crossing Hwy. 99W moving between the Soap Creek watershed, and the grasslands and wetlands and forest cover of E.E. Wilson. Traffic collisions with elk are more commonly concentrated north of Coffin Butte, but movement south of Coffin Butte will be further constricted as industrial expansion of the landfill area forces elk to travel between it and the expanding city of  Adair Village, likely to increase both wildlife collisions and reduce elk use. 
     Still, other concerns beyond direct wildlife impacts should concern us—in solid, liquid, and gaseous forms.
     The E.E. Wilson Management Plan notes that vandalism and littering require significant staff and volunteer time. It also notes that increased landfill fees encourage illegal roadside dumping. At the same time, increasing landfill-bound traffic from the east passes through this Wildlife Area on a daily basis, which negligently adds to roadside litter that is not restricted just to 99W traffic.
     The surface and groundwater coming from this heap are contaminated, by well-documented leachate that has already rendered well water unfit to consume, to surface rains and road washing off of traffic from the open dumping area, where incinerator ash and particulate contaminants leave this industrial site. Contaminants include heavy metals and organics that can bio-accumulate through the food chain into shorebirds, waders, waterfowl, raptors, raccoons, coyotes, and bobcats—all common at E.E. Wilson.
     However, methane releases may be the biggest challenge facing wildlife and humans alike around the globe. Resolution may come in the form of refurbishing the currently inadequate methane-fired electric generating facility or converting it to a recovered natural gas (RNG) production. Either could capture and convert more of the landfill-produced methane to energy and carbon dioxide, which is a much less destructive greenhouse gas.  Either could mean a far larger industrial site, including both the landfill and a landfill-to-RNG manufacturing facility. However, the political racetrack to a less sustainable future should not be lined solely with cheering onlookers looking for a quick win, but a thoughtful and deliberative process that includes all county residents, including those who can’t speak for themselves. 
     Those who plan to live and thrive nearest Coffin Butte deserve the larger voice, and for those who cannot speak for themselves, I ask especially that you speak up for them. Our alliance with our birds and wildlife is for them.
     For these reasons, Mid-Willamette Bird Alliance opposes any further expansion of the Coffin Butte Landfill and asserts that Application LU-24-027 does not conform to Benton County Comprehensive Plan policies 5.1.2, 5.2.1, 5.7.4, and 5.9.4 and directly violates Benton County Code 53.215(1) and 53.215(2)
     To submit your written testimony to the Benton County Planning Commission, please visit https://cd.bentoncountyor.gov/landfill-expansion-written-testimony/ which provides this guidance, and a deadline of April 22nd.
     Benton County invites you to submit written testimony related to the Coffin Butte landfill expansion application, LU-24-027, using the form below.
     Please note: To include written comments in the staff report, they must be submitted via this form by the end of business April 21st, 2025. 
     We also urge your in-person attendance at upcoming Planning Commission meetings, whether you plan to speak or not. The next meetings are scheduled for 6 – 9 PM on March 29th,May 1st, and May 6th, at the Kalapuya Building, 4500 SW Research Way in Corvallis.
Jim Fairchild	
	
Support for Birders & Naturalists: Workshop on Writing - “What Can I Do to Stop the Landfill Expansion?"	
	
Stopping the expansion of the Coffin Butte Landfill is one of the most important issues that our community faces. 
   We have scheduled an upcoming Writing Workshop for Birders that will offer support in writing letters or testimony. The workshop will take place on April 15, from 4-6 PM at the Corvallis Community Center in the Oak Room. The workshop will offer support to birders in crafting effective written testimony to submit to the Benton County Planning Commission.
    In conversations throughout our community, members have talked about their opposition to the proposed expansion of the Coffin Butte Landfill. Many have also expressed the question - “What can I do?” The workshops offer an opportunity to learn how to make our voices heard.
    If you plan to attend, please bring a notebook and pen or pencil. Please bring your laptop or notepad, if you have them. We'll discuss strategies for writing impactful testimony and how to submit it properly.  Friends and neighbors are welcome to join us.
    Please join us in opposing this expansion which will cause further destruction to the habitat in northern Benton County. The landfill encourages large flocks of predatory species which drive out smaller song birds in the area.  A Great Blue Heron rookery located across from the landfill entrance has been abandoned likely due to landfill operations. E.E. Wilson Wildlife Preserve, located across Hwy 99 from the landfill may be affected by the further expansion as well.
    If you have any questions, please contact MargePopp at audubon.corvallis@gmail.com
Marge Popp	
	
Education News	
	
March has been a busy month! With the launch of Winter Wildlife Field Days, March is the start of our busy season. We participated in four Winter Wildlife Field Days Field Stations; on March 3, we were at MLK Park, on March 7 we were at Lily Park, on March 8 at Starker Arts Park, and finally on March 15, we were at  Riverview Park in Independence, a new park for us. We had two activities for the kids: Nature Walk Bingo and a Bird ID game. Also, on March 13 we participated in STEAM Night at Kathryn Jones Harrison Elementary. We made suet pine cones with the children and had a matching game using our bird specimens. It was a great turnout at the STEAM night with over 200 people attending. Also, on March 13, we had volunteers at a table at the Sustainability Fair. With all the outreach events this month, we reached over 500 people, many of them children.
In April, come see us at Planet Palooza from 2-4 PM at the Corvallis Community Center (CCC).  At this family-friendly event, we will have sunflower seeds for the kids to plant in pots to take home as well as suet pine cone bird feeders. We will be back at the CCC on the evening of May 2 from 5-7 PM for Family Fun Night. Also, in early May we will have an Open House at our Hesthavn Nature Center from 12-2 PM, May 5-9. This is a wonderful time of year to see our nature center as many of the migrant songbirds will have returned and native flowers will be blooming. Come join us! Lastly, I would like to thank all of the volunteers who helped with our outreach this month: Tricia Bowlby, Phyllis Bailey, Suzanne Ortiz, Mai Kiigemagi, Karl Hartzel, Jayshaun Talbert, Liz Hogan, Ann Brodie, and Sally Shaw.
Dodie Wilson	
	
Field Trips	
	
Second Saturday Field Trip
April 12th(8 AM ‑ Noon)
 
We will meet at the shelter in Willamette Park (east end of SE Goodnight Ave.) and tour the park. This is a free four-hour excursion for people interested in learning more about birds found in the Corvallis area. All levels of expertise are welcome. Please register for this free event. Sign up at: CorvallisAudubonSecondSaturday@gmail.com. Duncan Evered and Caryn Stoess lead the excursions.  The weather may alter plans. Wear comfortable shoes appropriate for walking paved and unpaved trails. Bring hats and rain gear, as well as water and snacks!
Duncan Evered and Caryn Stoess
 	
	
2025 Multi-Day Field Trips	
	
The three-day field trip to the Rogue Valley will run from Friday, April 25 to Sunday, April 27. We will hike Upper Table Rock where we hope to spot Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, California Towhee, Oak Titmouse, Lazuli Bunting, Ash-throated Flycatcher and Lark Sparrow. The trip costs include van rentals and tickets to a performance of “The Importance of Being Ernest” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. We will be staying in an Ashland motel and dinners will be in local restaurants. 16 participants, max. Fred Ramsey will provide his birding expertise. The trip organizer is Suzanne Ortiz.
 
Upcoming trips:
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: May 17-20
Summer Lake: June13-15.
Wallowas: July 17-21.
Steens Mountain: August 14-17.
South Coast: mid-September.
 
All trips usually have a wide range of expert observers and we look for birds, butterflies,dragonflies, mammals, reptiles, flowers and geological features.
Signup sheets for all trips will be available at ASC general meetings, and by email to flramsey5@comcast.net. Signing up should be accompanied by a $25 deposit for each trip - due one month before departure; payable to MVBA and sent to PO Box 148 in Corvallis, 97339. You may also volunteer as a driver (slots available on the signup sheets), and drivers will not be charged for the regular transportation costs.If the signups are not sufficient to run any trip, it will be cancelled and any deposits will be refunded.
Suzanne Ortiz and Fred Ramsey
 	
	
Community Notes	
	
Chintimini Wildlife Center
Saturday, April 26 from 1 – 4 PM. Wildlife Baby Shower. Enjoy games and presentations and see wildlife. To gain entry, bring at least one item from the CWC Wishlist for the baby animals in their Wildlife Hospital. To view the Chimtimini Wishlist, click here
 
Corvallis Benton County Public Library
Saturday, April 5 from 9:30 – 12 PM. Public Seed Library – Cool Season Crop Clinic. Free. Co-sponsored by CBCPL, Corvallis Sustainability Coalition with educational support from Benton Co. Master Gardeners and OSU Extension Service - Benton Co. Belluschi Wing, CBCPL, 645 NW Monroe Ave, Corvallis.
 
Wednesday, April 9 from 12 – 1 PM. Random Review. Katherine Scollan, DVM will review Karen Fine’s book “The Other Family Doctor: A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life & Mortality”. Free. Main Reading Room, CBCPL, 645 NW Monroe Ave, Corvallis.
 
Saturday, April 26 from 9:30 – 12 PM. Public Seed Library – Warm Season Crop Clinic. Free. Co-sponsored by CBCPL, Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, Benton Co. Master Gardeners and OSU Extension Service - Benton Co. Belluschi Wing, CBCPL, 645 NW Monroe Ave, Corvallis.
 
Corvallis Parks & Recreation
Saturday, April 19 from 2 - 4:30 PM. “Planet Palooza” Celebrate Earth Day with hands-on activities, live music and an all-ages parade around Chintimini Park. Free for all ages. Sponsored by Corvallis Parks & Recreation, Ashbrook Independent School, Corvallis Environmental Center, and Corvallis Sustainability Coalition.Corvallis Community Center (C3); 2601 NW Tyler Ave, Corvallis. Click here for more info
 
Corvallis Sustainability Coalition
Thursday, August 24 from 5 - 6:30 PM. “Cooks and Books.” Chefs Elena Chavarria and Carlos Valdes Chavarria of El Comal y La Olla in SE Corvallis will discuss the power of corn through dishes that center on this food. Co-sponsored by Corvallis Community Center (C3), CBCPL and CSC. C3 is located at 2601 NW Tyler Ave, Corvallis.
 
Marys Peak Chapter of the Sierra Club
Wednesday, April 23 from 7 - 8:30 PM. 2025 Liz and Bob Frenkel Hiking and Environmental Series. “The Marys River Parks.” Virtual presentation by Dave Eckert, Water Action Team Leader for the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition. Co-sponsored by MPCSC, CBCPL, and the CSC. Meeting Link
 
Native Plant Society of Oregon, Corvallis Chapter
Saturday, April 5 from 10 AM – 12 PM. Native Plant Appreciation Month wildflower walk along the Bob Frankel Boardwalk at Jackson-Frazier Wetlands. Led by Dan Luoma and Joyce Eberhart. Meet at the north end of Lancaster St in Corvallis.
luomad@oregonstate.edu
 
Sunday,  April 13 from 1 – 3 PM. Native Plant Appreciation Month wildflower walk on the Baker Creek trail at Sulphur Springs. Led by Judi Sanders. Meet at the Baker Creek Bridge trail parking area on Sulphur Springs Rd.
judi.sanders@gmail.com
 
Monday, April 14 from 7:30 - 8:30 PM. “Update on Oregon Flora.” Presentation by Linda Hardison, Oregon Flora Director. Free. Zoom option. Cordley Hall, Room 2602, OSU campus, 2701 SW Campus Way, Corvallis. Click here to register 
Saturday, April 19 from 10 – 12 PM. Native Plant Appreciation Month wildflower walk at Mary’s River Natural Area. Led by Esther McEvoy. Meet at the parking lot kiosk off Brookline Dr,  Corvallis (44.54245°, -123.28224°).
estherco@peak.org
 
Oregon State University
 
April 9 from 3:30 - 5 PM. Daniel Bowker. “Collective Action and Resilience: Learning from Northern Colorado’s Fireshed Collaboration.” Sponsored by the Starker Family, the Oregon Forest Resources Institute and the OSU College of Forestry. In-person and Zoom. Starker Forests PFSC Room 117. To register for the webinar, click here 
https://oregonstate.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TYkJBhjlTr-qVgf46b_kKg#/registration
 
The Arts Center
 
Through May 3. “Habitat.” Artist Ann Chadwick Reid’s cut-paper artwork focuses on a single ecosystem, the Garry Oak (Quercus garryana) habitat. Main Gallery, The Arts Center, 700 SW Madison Avenue, Corvallis
 
Willamette Grange
 
Saturday, April 26 from 9 AM – 4 PM. Earth Day Rummage and Re-use Sale. Willamette Grange at 27555 Greenberry Rd, Corvallis.
 

 
Suzanne Ortiz
 	
	
 	

	

Board Meeting	
	
February 13, 2025	
	
Present: Karan Fairchild, Annie Lamas, Dave Mellinger, Dodie Wilson, Mai Kiigemagi, Suzanne Ortiz, Raymond Drapek, Phyllis Bailey, Bill Gellatly, Mark Baldwin
 
Meeting called to order: 7:03 PM, January board minutes – approved 
 
President
-           Annual report due March 7th
-           Please send updates to Karan ASAP
-           Wants to include impact stories, what would we like to share?
-           Suzanne will send Karan stories about Natural Areas Celebration
o  If she can get numbers about what we’ve done, it’s helpful to know in addition to scrapbook
-           Ray will send volunteer hours about Hesthavn
-           We can do up to three impact stories
-           Dodie will send something from education
-           Frontiers in Ornithology – could we send students from OSU to participate in activities?
o  Maybe around $100?
o  Dave wants to earmark for attendees or registration costs
o  Maybe we can contact Doug Robinson to see if he knows someone who wants to go?
o  Not until October, so we have some time
o  Sponsorship deadline is in a month (unsure for certain)
-           We all need new name tags
o  Dodie had some made for education
o  Nice and clean design – only $7
 
ACTION ITEMS: Please send Karanany updates to the annual report. Suzanne will send something about the Natural Areas Celebration; Ray will send volunteer hours from Hesthavn; Dodie will send something about education programs. Deadline is ASAP.
 
Program committee
-           Joel Geier talking about Vesper Sparrows (February)
-           Roy Lowe talking about birds of Columbia (March)
-           Lots of people already reaching out about speaking next year!
 
Education
-           Recently participated in WVBS
-           Dodie redid the trifold, updated name and field trips, added Winter Wildlife Field Day, included speakers through May
-           Insights into Gardening (February 8th)
o  Lots of handouts on gardening for birds, attracting hummingbirds vs others – well received 
-           Groups that have paid for Willamette Valley pamphlets before are not interested in providing them again, so once they are gone, we won’t get anymore
o  Usage of pamphlets dropped regarding where we could advertise
-           Made a couple of connections with Insights into Gardening
o  Bee atlas event coming up, they would like us to participate
-           Albany Parks and Rec would like us to give a bird talk at their upcoming function
-           Upcoming:
o  Winter wildlife field day – four different parks: March 1st (MLK), March 7th (Lily Park), March 8th (Starker Arts), March 15th (Riverbend Park)
§ Nature bingo game
§ Bird ID game
o  Invited to STEAM night at Katherine Jones elementary on March 13th (same night as two other events)
o  Suzanne can send emails to see if she can get volunteers for those events
o  April, nothing scheduled yet
o  Dates aren’t set yet for 4th grade class, likely in May though
 
ACTION ITEMS: Suzanne will send an email out to inquire about volunteers for upcoming education events.
 
Hesthavn
-           Contacted by guy who runs GI300 class (used to be major source of volunteer help)
o  Only one student showed up to help!
-           Gutters: been in contact with Ken about in stalling gutter protection
o  Anyone who does work out there needs to fill out W9 form
o  Leaf Filter Gutter Protection (visited site with Ray)
§ Price was over $4500!
o  Let Ray know if you know of any good gutter companies
-           Accessible trail
o  Three main questions:
§ Who could do it and how much would they charge?
§ What’s the surface we want? Concrete, blacktop, etc.?
§ How do we get community buy-in to this project?
o  It would be nice to also have a ramp or pad in the parking lot
o  It might be necessary to have regular places for people to rest if the trail is accessible
-           Mindful birding workshop
o  It would be nice to have a place at Hesthavn for folks to sit and listen/look at birds
-           Going to do some research locally about contractors who can do the work, will bring to a meeting in April
o  April 2nd at 7 PM at Ray’s house or Hesthavn (very negotiable)
o  Would like to have some answers to above questions and try to drum up some help
o  We could come up with goals and rank them
 
ACTION ITEMS: Let Ray know of any local, reliable gutter companies.
 
Field Trips
-           Cooperative half day field trip with GLT
o  Would be a place where visitors don’t often have access to
o  Not sure what time of year yet, but would be great to get the word out once we have more details
-           Trips tend to run $150-200
o  Rogue Valley tends to be a little more expensive
-           Jamie Simmons was asked if he was interested in driving on one of the multi-day field trips and said he would think about it.
 
Sustainability
-           First deadline is pictures of 2024
o  Scrapbook at town hall is about accomplishments for last year
o  Dodie with education how many students participated (esp. pictures with kids)
o  Mai can include how many people attended general meetings
o  Deadline is 2/20
o  Pictures from work parties are good too
-           Thursday, March 13th is town hall and sustainability fair
-           May will be Natural Areas Celebration
 
ACTION ITEMS: Send photos for the scrapbook from 2024, highlighting events from education and number of speakers during general meetings. Deadline is Thursday, February 20th.
 
Membership
-           A new form has been generated that can be sent to donors that includes language that no services have been performed or delivered. That clarifies that the donation is made in compliance with the 501c3 rules.
 
Scholarship Committee (in progress)
-           Doug Robinson mentioned at WVBS that there is a fund set up for scholarships
-           We could make a donation rather than set up our own scholarship
-           JayShaun was going to be on the committee
-           Could be a good way to get students established with us
o  Students can give a small presentation during regular meetings in the break before the speaker so they have a chance to share their research projects?
-           Mark will talk to Doug about what happened with money last year
o  Also ask about process for donating
o  He might be able to weigh in on if we need another grant in tandem with OSU FLOCK program
 
ACTION ITEMS: Mark will reach out to Doug Robinson about how we contributed money last year and what it was used for.
 
Liability Waiver
-           Carolyn got info from Dodie and Ray, emailed it to her son about the type of waiver we need
 
New business
-           What are we doing about bird feeders regarding bird flu?
o  Wiping down surfaces
o  Mostly affecting waterfowl 
o  Cleaning feeders every other week
 
Next board meeting
-           Many things going on Thursday, March 13th
-           Proposing Wednesday, March 12th instead
o  7 PM @ Dodie’s house
 
Meeting adjourned: 8:15 PM
 	
	
Membership	
	
Open Board Meetings
MWBA Board of Directors meetings are open to all MWBA members; the Board encourages you to come and see what we do. Our monthly Board meeting is on Thursday, one week before the General Meeting. See the board meeting minutes or the MWBA website for the location and time.
 
Membership Corner
General Membership Renewal Information
For online membership renewal go to the MWBA website https://auduboncorvallis.org/membership/ and renew via PayPal. To renew by USPS, mail a check to MWBA, PO Box 148, Corvallis, OR 97339.
 
Email Notifications/Meeting Cancellations
We encourage members to join the MWBA listserv to receive emergency email notifications about meeting cancellations related to weather conditions, updated information about MWBA events, field trip locations, volunteer work parties, as well as ZOOM links.
 
Have You Changed Your Contact Info?
If you have moved recently or changed your email/mail addresses, please update your information by emailing it to bgellatly@msn.com.
 
Thank you for your generosity and support!
Bill Gellatly
 
Chat Articles
The Chat Editors welcome articles from all members of the Mid-Willamette Bird Alliance. Please submit articles to the Chat Editor by the fourth Monday of the month, unless another date is indicated in the Chat calendar. Submit text and photos to: chateditors@gmail.com.
 	
	
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