www.jayhawkaudubon.
org
Volume 31, Issue 10
Crested Honeycreeper.
Palmeria doleid.
Frederick Frowhawk A BIRD
nAMED
“KANSAS”
By Tom Parker
When Megan Friedrichs raised her government-
issued Leica binoculars to study a bird she’d been track-
ing on the north slope of Mauna Kea, she saw something
that set her heart racing. There, beside an adult palila fit-
ted out with a radio transmitter, was a second bird, hop-
ping and fluttering its wings. As the adult began feeding
the second bird, Friedrichs studied its
legs and plumage. “Holy cow,” she
thought. Then she fumbled for her radio.
At best guess there are approxi-
mately 3,000 palila (Loxiodes bailleui)
left in existence. Once considered nearly
extinct, the species is now restricted to
the Big Island of Hawaii, specifically to
the mamane forest on the west side of
Mauna Kea, the 13,796 foot volcano
whose summit bristles with observato-
ries. Relocation programs have focused Lake Bluff Nature
Center
on starting new colonies of the small
honeycreeper on the north slope, as well as improving
suitable habitat and eradicating non-native predators.
Friedrichs had just found a fledgling, which meant that
the population had not only increased by one, but reloca-
tion efforts were successful. (To see a palila go to www.
conservation-hawaii.org/Newsletter.htm Fall 2005 issue)
It also meant that she had naming rights to the
young bird, a tradition among the wildlife biologists in
the program. Once it was captured and banded along with
a second bird from the same breeding pair, she and her
partner were asked to name the birds. Her partner picked
“Iki,” a Hawaiian word for “small.” Friedrichs chose
“Kansas.” Which made the young bird unquestionably the
only endangered species on the Hawaiian Islands to be
named after the 34th state of the union, if not the entire
world. (Continued on Page 7)
JUNE, 2007
JUNE 25
HIDDEN GEMS :
KU FIELD STATION &
ecological reserves
Scott Campbell, Associate Director KSR, will present
The KU Field Station and Ecological Reserves
(KSR): 60 Years of Ecological Research, Education
& Environmental Stewardship. “Hidden” treasures
Scott will reveal include the nature trail at Fitch Natu-
ral History Reservation, the Rockefeller Mead’s milkweed
Prairie which harbors both endangered Asclepias meadii.
Mo Dept. Cons.
Mead’s milkweed and Western prairie
fringed orchid, and a new lab/classroom at the station
which will expand KSR’s ability to bring school
groups out for a field experience. Visit www.ksr.ku.
edu for maps and research projects or call the Nelson
area field office 843-8573 for information.
Scott earned an MA in aquatic ecology at KU and is
an expert on the effects of dredging in the Kaw. He
taught high school biology & physics but “wanting to
survive to an old age” left to create his own business,
the Aerie Nature Series, presenting lectures to over a
million people on wildlife and the environment. In
1998 he joined the KS Biological Survey to teach and
research reservoir aging, river and stream ecology and
restoration of wetlands and prairies.
BYO dinner with Scott at 6:00pm at Wheatfields
Bakery, 904 Vermont St.. Don’t miss this engaging
talk on a little known local resource:
7:30 pm at Trinity Lutheran Church,
1245 New Hampshire.
(If you are experiencing deja vu as you read
this, it’s because this talk was originally to be
given at the January meeting. It was resched-
uled because the speaker was indisposed.)
Western prairie fringed orchid. Plantanthera praeclara.
Tom Reume. Manitoba Conservation. Environment Canada
 2 JAYHAWK AUDUBON SOCIETY

Audubon of Kansas Pesticide Free Parks

SYMPHONY IN THE FLINT HILLS
PRAIRIE WALK LEADERS NEEDED:
The June 16th, 2007 Symphony in the Flint Hills
sold out the first day tickets went on sale! In order to
increase appreciation and understanding of the prairie
and its denizens among symphony attendees, AOK has
organized flora and fauna walks for that afternoon.
There will also be guided walks in Wabaunsee County
earlier in the day, one of them at the Mount Mitchell
Prairie Heritage Park now owned by AOK. Most of
the volunteer leader slots are filled, but a few people
who are enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge
and love of the prairie are still needed. It will be a
four hour time commitment.
If you can be a prairie ambassador, please get in
touch with Ron Klataske at AOK: 785-537-4385 or
aok@audubonofkansas.org. To learn more about the
Symphony in the Flint Hills and associated events
visit: http://www.symphonyintheflinthills.org/.
The website for the Wabaunsee County. events is
http://www.wabaunsee.com/events/guided-bird-wildflower-
walks. With all the rain we’ve been having the prairies
should be wonderfully lush and full of life.
Thanks for Great News
Toad. Sue Arthur
Alaska DFG
The Pesticide Free Parks Project has
logged another milestone. Parks and
Recreation has worked out staffing
to take over hand-weeding of the
beds in Watson Park that the PPFP volunteers have
maintained for the past two summers. This is
slightly bittersweet as volunteers have come to feel
an attachment to “their” beds, but it is very welcome
news that the Park District is making this degree of
commitment to be pesticide free.
JAS salutes the Pesticide Free Parks Project and
Lawrence Parks and Recreation for their contribution
to the health of the community and the world!!!
Subscribe to the new
AOK enewsletter
Send an e-mail to aok@audubonofkansas.org with
“subscribe” in the subject line. Also check out the
new AOK blog at http://audubonofkansas.blogspot.com

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Update on the Campaign to Protect
Kansas’ Largest Complex of Black-tailed
Prairie Dog Colonies
The state's largest complex of Black-tailed Prairie Dog colonies
and all of the associated wildlife that depend to varying degrees
on the habitat and/or food base they provide received a welcome Prairie dog colony.
reprieve from destruction on the morning of April 2. An attorney Colorado Dept. of Wildlife.
working for the Logan County Commission withdrew a request
for a temporary injunction designed to force five ranch landown-
ers to remove cattle so the county could enter their land (without
permission of the landowners) to distribute Rozol poison with the
intention of eradicating all of the prairie dogs. This is the site
being considered for an experimental reintroduction of the
endangered Black-footed Ferret. To read more visit: <http://
www.audubonofkansas.org/prairiedogs/Update%20on%
20Legal%20Front.php
-Ron Klataske
 3 JAYHAWK AUDUBON SOCIETY kids’ page

CATERPILLARS
Wood Nymph caterpillar Sphinx moth caterpillar

Inchworm

Spring and summer are the best times to study caterpillars because they are easy to find
on trees and plants munching, munching, munching on the fresh green leaves. Look for chewed
leaves and frass =caterpillar poop=tiny, brown pellets on other leaves. These clues tell you to in-
spect the chewed leaves & nearby leaves & stems to hit the caterpillar jackpot!

Check out the Butterfly and Moth life cycle

1. Eggs are laid on a host plant. Most caterpillars are
picky eaters so the mother hunts for just the right
kind of plant:Swallowtails like parsley, carrot & dill.
2.The caterpillar, also called a larva, hatches &
eats
& eats until its skin is so tight that it splits open LIFE CYCLE
& the caterpillar shrugs it off. There are 3 to 5 of Emperor Gum Moth
Forestry Dept. of
these molts or instars . Each can look different. Southern Australia

THINK ABOUT THIS: What happens to our skin as we grow bigger??

3. A caterpillar will increase 2000% in length before becomes a
pupa, chrysalis or cocoon .
(A human baby would be as long as a football field if it grew this
much!!) Inside the pupa the caterpillar becomes an adult butterfly
-wings and all! This amazing change is called metamorphosis. It can The caterpillar changes into
a pupa in less than a day.
take a few weeks or as long as a year depending on the butterfly. Jack Hulland Elementary. Yukon Territory,

??QUESTIONS TO INVESTIGATE??:
First, collect caterpillars into a large jar or cage with air holes. Collect stems with leaves from the plant where
you found the insects. Put the stems in water then cover the water container with foil or cotton balls so your
caterpillars don’t fall in & drown. Keep the jar out of the sun. Give them lots of leaves so they can grow.
Now try these experiments or others you think up. Just BE CAREFUL NOT TO HURT your caterpillars.
After the experiments put them back outside on their plant so they can become butterflies or moths!!
1. Will the caterpillars eat other kinds of leaves? Give them several choices. Write down what they eat.
2. How fast can they go? Make a race course between 2 yardsticks. Time your caterpillars for one minute.
Run several heats and compare the results. Are different kinds of caterpillars slower or faster?
There are 5,280 feet (or 1,609.344 meters) in a mile: how long would it take your caterpillars to go a mile?
3. Do caterpillars grow faster if it is warm or cool? Set up two cages with the same type of caterpillars. Put
one in a warm room (but not in direct sun) and one in a cool room. Give both plenty of leaves. Measure the
caterpillars every few days and record the numbers. In a few weeks, you’ll know if there is a difference.
 kids’ page JAYHAWK AUDUBON SOCIETY 4

Saddleback.
Arthur’s Clipart.

SOME GOOD BOOKS TO CHECK OUT OF THE LIBRARY:

~Butterflies and Moths. By Elaine Pascoe with photographs by Dwight Kuhn. Blackbirch Press. 1997.
~Butterfly and Moth. By Paul Whalley. Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Books. 2000.
~Caterpillarology. By Michael Elsohn Ross. Photographs by Brian Grogan. Illustrations by Darren Erickson.
Carolrhoda Books, Inc. 1997.
~Discover Butterflies. By Gary Dunn. Publications International Ltd. 1991.

There are lots of good tips about raising caterpillars at www.monarchwatch.org!! Check it out.

Factual information on these pages summarized from these books. Experiments from Butterflies and Moths by Pascoe and
Caterpillarology by Elsohn Ross. Word Search from EnchantedLearning.com with permission.
 JAYHAWK AUDUBON SOCIETY 5

Cedar Waxwings. Ken Allison

june calendar
JUNE 2: Battle of Blackjack 151st Anniversary. Prairie tours by the Kansas Native
Plant Society (KNPS) at 4:30, 5:30 & 6:45pm. www.blackjackbattlefield.org.
JUNE 5-JULY 24: Prairie Park Nature Center. Wild Adventures for Ages 2-5. Adult
must accompany. $3.00. Pre-register at 832-7980. Tuesdays 10-11am.
JUNE 9: Wildflower Tour of Neosho County. KNPS Board Member Carl Paulie will
lead the tour. Meet in
front of the courthouse on Main St. in Erie, KS at 1pm. Tour begins 1:30pm sharp. (620) 449-2028.
JUNE 9/10: First Annual Wildflower Weekend Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Chase Cty, KS.
Paper making from native plants-Jeff Hansen, dyeing with natives-Cindy Ford, Medicinals/edibles-Frank Norman, prairie
slide show-Sister Pat Stanley. Wildflower hikes. All ages. Bring the family. [www.nps.gov/tapr] (620) 273-8494.
JUNE 10: Friends of Konza Prairie Annual Wildflower Walk, 7pm. $5 for non Friends of Konza Prairie.
Reservations due by June 5, (785) 587-0441. Meet at Konza Biological Station located on McDowell
Creek Rd, west off of KS177 near Manhattan, KS. http://www.ksu.edu/konza/keep] (785) 587-0381.
JUNE 13: Calhoun Bluff Prairie Walk, 7pm. A high quality glaciated bluff prairie with uncommon plants like
prairie willow, blunt-leaf milkweed, prairie phlox. Meet at 7pm at Ree's Fruit farm parking lot at the
intersection of Hwy 24 and K-4 on the east side of Topeka. <email@KSNPS.org> (785) 478-1993.
JUNE 14-JULY 26: Prairie Park NC. Wildlife Explorers - Ages 6-12. Thursdays 1-3pm. $4 per session.
Call 832-7980 for more information and to enroll.
JUNE 16: Friends of the Kaw. Tonganoxie Parks and Rec Float-Lecompton to Lawrence. $$. To check
availability and sign up contact FOK on their website: www.kansasriver.com
JUNE 16: Konza Prairie with Topeka Audubon Society. Led by Paul Willis. Prairie plants, birds. Meet in the
Topeka Zoo parking lot for carpooling at 6am or at the Konza prairie trailhead. Walk should start
about 7:30am. 1.7 mile loop trail. Contact Paul at <wldflwrs@silliw.com> or (785) 478-4383.
JUNE 16: Audubon of Kansas guided prairie walks in conjunction with the Symphony in the Flint
Hills: http://www.wabaunsee.com/events/guided-bird-wildflower-walks or ww.audubonofkansas.org
or http://www.symphonyintheflinthills.org/. call AOK at 785-357-4385 for more details.
JUNE 17: Prairie Park NC. Amphibians and Reptiles. All ages. Sunday, 2-3 pm. $2.00. 832-7980.
JUNE 20: Fifth Annual Grant-Bradbury Prairie Jaunt! KNPS & Grassland Heritage Foundation. 80-acre tall
grass prairie has over 296 plant species. 7pm. Directions: Take Topeka Blvd south to University
Blvd. Turn right. Go west about half a mile - when the road curves south, you’ll see a small brick
building at the driveway to the park gate.. <email@KSNPS.org> (785) 864-3453.
JUNE 21: Summer Solstice! Enjoy the longest day of the year outside!
JUNE 23: Friends of the Kaw DeSoto to Kaw Point Float. $$. Click What’s Hot! at www.kansasriver.com.
JUNE 23 -24: QUIVIRA NWR AND CHEYENNE BOTTOMS. Burroughs Audubon. Contact Ed McCullough at
816-718-3861 or ejmccullough@moltensystems.comfor more information.

JUNE 25: JAYHAWK AUDUBON MEETING: Scott Campbell will speak on the KU Field
Station and Ecological Reserves. 7:30 pm at Trinity Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall. 1245 New
Hampshire, Lawrence. Refreshments. BYO dinner with Scott at Wheatfields Bakery at 6:00 pm.
JULY 7: Bird Clinton Lake. Beautiful passerines-Painted Buntings. Topeka Audubon. Dan Gish 785-232-3131
 JAYHAWK AUDUBON SOCIETY 6

JAYHAWK AUDUBON BIRDATHON LIST- MAY 5-6 2007: 160 SPECIES!

Thanks to Richard Bean, Monica Higgins, Mick McHugh, Gerry Parkinson, Galen Pittman & Joyce & Ron
Wolf for finding the birds. Please support the work of JAS by sending your Birdathon contribution to JAS at
P.O. Box 3741, Lawrence, KS 66046. Your dollars are needed to fund the Wetlands field trip buses!
Snow Goose Whip-poor-will Nashville Warbler
Canada Goose Chimney Swift Northern Parula
Wood Duck Ruby-throated Hummingbird Yellow Warbler
Mallard Belted Kingfisher Chestnut-sided Warbler
Blue-winged Teal Red-headed Woodpecker Black-throated Green Warbler
Northern Shoveler Red-bellied Woodpecker Blackburnian Warbler
Ruddy Duck Downy Woodpecker Yellow-throated Warbler
Wild Turkey Hairy Woodpecker Palm Warbler
Northern Bobwhite Northern Flicker Blackpoll Warbler
Pied-billed Grebe Pileated Woodpecker Black-and-white Warbler
American White Pelican Eastern Wood-Pewee American Redstart
Double-crested Cormorant Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Prothonotary Warbler
American Bittern Acadian Flycatcher Worm-eating Warbler
Great Blue Heron Alder Flycatcher Ovenbird
Great Egret Least Flycatcher Louisiana Waterthrush
Little Blue Heron Eastern Phoebe Kentucky Warbler
Green Heron Great Crested Flycatcher Mourning Warbler
Black-crowned Night-Heron Western Kingbird Common Yellowthroat Pectoral Sandpiper
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Eastern Kingbird Wilson’s Warbler Kirsten Munson
Turkey Vulture Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Yellow-breasted Chat
Osprey White-eyed Vireo Summer Tanager
Bald Eagle Yellow-throated Vireo Scarlet Tanager
Red-shouldered Hawk Warbling Vireo Spotted Towhee
Red-tailed Hawk Philadelphia Vireo Eastern Towhee
American Kestrel Red-eyed Vireo Chipping Sparrow
Merlin Blue Jay Clay-colored Sparrow
Sora American Crow Field Sparrow
American Coot Fish Crow Lark Sparrow
Black-bellied Plover Horned Lark Grasshopper Sparrow
Killdeer Purple Martin Song Sparrow
Greater Yellowlegs Northern Rough-winged Swallow Lincoln’s Sparrow
Lesser Yellowlegs Bank Swallow Swamp Sparrow
Willet Cliff Swallow White-throated Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper Barn Swallow Harris’s Sparrow
Semipalmated Sandpiper Black-capped Chickadee White-crowned Sparrow
Least Sandpiper Tufted Titmouse Northern Cardinal
Baird’s Sandpiper White-breasted Nuthatch Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Pectoral Sandpiper Carolina Wren Blue Grosbeak
Stilt Sandpiper House Wren Indigo Bunting
Wilson’s Snipe Ruby-crowned Kinglet Painter Bunting
Franklin’s Gull Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Dickcissel
Ring-billed Gull Eastern Bluebird Bobolink
Caspian Tern Gray-cheeked Thrush Red-winged Blackbird
Forster’s Tern Swainson’s Thrush Eastern Meadowlark
Rock Pigeon Wood Thrush Rusty Blackbird
Eurasian Collared-Dove American Robin Common Grackle
Mourning Dove Gray Catbird Brown-headed Cowbird
Black-billed Cuckoo Northern Mockingbird Orchard Oriole
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Brown Thrasher Baltimore Oriole
Barn Owl European Starling House Finch
Great Horned Owl Cedar Waxwing American Goldfinch
Barred Owl Blue-winged Warbler House Sparrow
Common Nighthawk Tennessee Warbler
Chuck-will’s-widow Orange-crowned Warbler
 JAYHAWK AUDUBON SOCIETY 7

A BIRD NAMED “KANSAS” (Continued from Page 1)

“I think it started when I was a young kid,” Friedrichs said. She was explaining how a na-
tive of Herkimer, Kan., ended up chasing rare birds on a small island halfway around the world. “I
started hunting with my dad when I was really young, and ever since then I’ve always enjoyed
being outside. I really didn’t like being indoors.”
Indoors is something Friedrichs rarely is. Her work week consists of monitoring the relo-
cated population of palila for nesting behavior, which means most days she’s outside following
birds using radio telemetry. It’s hot and windy, trudging through scrub forests sprouting in black Kauai Nukupu’u Hemignathus lacidus
sand or lava rock, which absorbs the heat. When she finds breeding behavior or evidence of nest- affinus. Frederick Frowhawk . 50 Birds.com
ing, she marks the spot using GPS units.
She also assists in capturing birds for banding. Mist nets are very fine nets that are strung in areas birds frequent;
when a bird hits the net, it becomes entangled and can’t escape. Banders remove the birds and, after measuring and
weighing them and, occasionally, taking blood samples, tiny colored bands are clipped to their legs. The bands are how
birds are differentiated in the wild. Friedrichs said her group places around ten such nets in her area. In addition to the
bands, some birds are fitted with small radio transmitters, which can then be tracked by handheld receivers. Since the
species is endangered, only senior biologists are allowed to handle them. “I get to watch them do it,” she said.
Home during the week consists of a rough base camp on the side of the mountain. They sleep in small A-frames
made out of plywood and plastic, about seven feet wide and three-and-a-half feet tall. Water is caught in a catchment,
similar to a big horse tank, but it has to be filtered due to the prevalence of leptospirosis, a bacteria borne by the urine of
rats. If the water runs low it has to be hauled up from the main village, about a three-hour drive away. Conservation is a
way of life. Showers are taken only once a week. The camp is very isolated. Amenities include running water, a propane
stone and a refrigerator. There is no Internet access.
Weekends are different. They sleep in the town of Volcano, just outside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but
they’re rarely home. “On weekends I do all my traveling,” Friedrichs said. “I try to see as much as we can while I’m
here.” Most of the time is spent on the beaches or sightseeing.
Friedrichs is herself a fledgling of sorts. She graduated from K-State in May,2006 and immediately began apply-
ing for various posts around the country. This was her first posting as a wildlife biologist, though it wasn’t the first time
she’d been out of Kansas. Part of her schooling had been in Australia. Her stint in Hawaii runs until mid-August, 2006.
Already she’s applying for new posts, hoping to stay with birds if possible and mammals if not. “I’m not interested in
wasps or insects,” she said. “At some point I’d like to become more specialized and get a masters in a specific area.”
The life of a wildlife biologist has been compared to taking a vow of poverty. Friedrichs agreed. “You’re defi-
nitely not in it for the money,” she said. “You don’t get paid very much. You do it because you love being outdoors and
working with animals and conversation.”
The palila restoration project is one part of an extensive campaign to preserve Hawaii’s endemic species. Habitat
loss and the introduction of feral cats, rats, mongooses, pigs and sheep have all taken their toll. Palila depend on the
mamane forest for the majority of its diet, as well as for nesting sites and shelter. Though animal trapping has reduced
the number of predators and the removal of sheep and pigs has stabilized the mamane forests, the palila population has
not shown an increase in numbers. When fledglings are found, it’s cause for celebration.
Friedrichs had been on the island for only around four weeks when she found the bird. She said her supervisors
were impressed, and very excited. “Anytime you find them nesting or having babies it’s a huge deal,” she said. “You
know what you’re doing is working.”
Nor were her bosses the only ones impressed. Back in Kansas, her parents, Steve and Peg Friedrichs, and her
older sister, Brooke, were equally excited. “They think it’s pretty cool,” she said.
Though Friedrichs is just starting her new career, she said she can’t imagine doing anything else. “It’s a fun job.
I’m getting to help an endangered species so it has a chance. Which a lot of Hawaiian birds don’t. I hope it works.”
Extinct Hawaiian Rail. Porzana sandwichensis As for the fledgling she found, she said the name came easily to
Frederick Frowhawk.
50 Birds.com
her. “I’m proud of being a Kansan and thought it would be cool to name a
bird Kansas,” she said. “I’m just trying to represent my state a little bit.”
Tom Parker is a free lance writer living in Blue Rapids, Kansas.
Reprinted from Washington County News, Washington, KS with permission.
Washington County News Publisher/Ed Dan Thalmann is Past President of JAS.
 Jayhawk Audubon Society Nonprofit Organization
P.O. Box 3741 U.S. Postage
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Lawrence, KS 66046 Lawrence, KS
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Application for New Membership in both: National Audubon Society and Jayhawk Chapter
___$15 Student; ___$20 Introductory for NEW members; ____$15 Senior Citizen.
(Make check payable to National Audubon Society.)

Application for Chapter-only Membership (Jayhawk Audubon Society). No Audubon magazine.

___$7.50 Chapter-only (Make check payable to Jayhawk Audubon Society.) Those with National Audubon
memberships are encouraged to support the chapter by voluntarily paying these dues. Chapter membership
expires annually in July.

National Audubon Society members receive four issues per year of the Audubon magazine and are also
members of the Jayhawk Chapter. All members also receive 10 issues of this newsletter per year and are
entitled to discounts on books and feeders that are sold to raise funds to support education and conservation
projects. Please send this completed form and check to Membership Chairs at the following address:
Ruth & Chuck Herman; 20761 Loring Road, Linwood, KS 66052; e-mail contact:
hermansnuthouse@earthlink.net . {National Members Renewing: please use the billing form received
from National and send it with payment to National Audubon Society in Boulder, CO}.

Name __________________________; Address ___________________________________________;

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J02: 7XCH