Forward from CALbird:

>From the S.F. Examiner of Friday, Oct. 6, an article by Jane
Kay (Examiner Environmental Writer) headlined "Winter rains
mean rebirth for burn area." The article points out that
there has not been a major fire in the area since 1927, and
that many plants depend upon fires for their normal life
cycles. Dennis Odion, a forest ecologist with the Marin
Municipal Water District, is quoted as saying "There's no
reason to look at it as a devastated area. Everything on
Mount Tam burned in the last 50 years, and look at it now.
It's very lush."

The following is the section of the article that deals
specifically with birds:

"At the Palomarin Field Station of the [Point Reyes] bird
observatory--2 mile south of Bass Lake--biologist Grant
Ballard is waiting to check the well-being of songbirds
that already have flow in from Alaska to winter on the coast.
"`The ruby-crowned kinglets, golden-crowned sparrows,
Hutton's vireos and Anna's hummingbirds are all in the area
of the fire,' Ballard said.
"But he believes that the songbirds, along with osprey and
owls, flew out of the fire's way. Little birds that nest in
tree cavities like the pygmy nuthatch might be in trouble
because they tend not to venture far from home.
"Birds are more adaptable to changes in their environment
now than in the spring breeding season, Ballard said. Then,
resident song sparrows, wrentits, towhees, scrub jays,
Bewick's wrens, bushtits and orange-crowned warblers `set up
territory and are unwilling to leave,' he said. ...
"Still unknown is how the birds and wildlife will fare after
losing the oak, Bishop pine, Douglas fir and redwood on which
they depend for nesting, cover and foraging for food.
"Some of the forests may convert to coyote brush, black-
berries, huckleberry and salal when they're first regenerating.
"`Any burned areas will be watched very carefully,' [Ken]
Howard [of the California Native Plant Society] said. `Some-
times, strange and wonderful things happen after a fire--things
we haven't seen in years.'"

------End quote from Examiner article-----

You can probably find the complete text of this article on the
Cranniker-Exonicle web site at
http://www.sfgate.com

Posted by Larry Tunstall Oakland CA
beedleum at netcom.com