In the Beginning...
President Deirdre Daly called the meeting to order and thanked Randy Haney and Dave Brubaker for setup. Tara Saylor had mic duty and Bob Davis, who, with his usual sangfroid gave a beautiful and thoughtful invocation. Our greeters were Betsy Watson and Mike Malone. Don Reed held down the front desk.
Visiting Rotarians:
Steve White from Washington
Alexia Parks from Boulder, Colorado
Special Guests:
Dr. Fred Fauvre introduced Daniel Hernandez as our Student Athlete of the Month, Daniel came with his father Juan and his mother Rosa. Daniel was introduced by his sixth-grade teacher Mrs. Spiva who did a really nice job of introducing Daniel. He is a true renaissance man; good in sports, scholastics and leadership. He held himself above the fray, staying serious and not seeming the least bit nervous. I think we can expect much from him as he matures. His father, Juan, has a carpet cleaning business here in Ojai, so lets support our own.
Juan’s number is 805-844-0864
Announcements
Christine Golden announced three Food is Delicious Medicine workshops on Feb 14th-18th, 19th, through the 21st and 14th through the 21st. Each day is a unique program, so you can choose your level of participation. This is a serious event with important speakers in the areas of health, nutrition and even self-examination with special guest Byron Katie.
Leslie Bouche announced the International Committee meeting Tuesday at 7:30 at Café Emporium.
Bit O' The Blarney...
Carl Gross gave us an Irish joke with a double take on the word steaks, it was one of the more clever jokes we have heard.
Fining: Betsy Watson
Betsy Watson was our Fine Master this week. Betsy always does a great job, she makes it hurt just enough to keep it exciting and we all walk away smiling if not a little poorer.
The Program: Jesse Grantham--Becoming Familiar with Ojai Birds
Wendy Barker introduced our speaker Jesse Grantham. This will make Jesse’s third time speaking to our club. Jesse moved to Ojai in 1980 to become a field biologist with the National Audubon Society, working on the newly revised California Condor recovery program. He stayed with the National Audubon Society for 24 years before retiring and moving back to Ojai in 2003. He worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service as the Coordinator for the Condor recovery program until his final retirement in 2012.
Jesse’s talk was “Becoming Familiar with Ojai Birds”. But first he brought us up to speed on the latest rainfall statistics. We are a little above our usual average for the year, however there is a persistent high-pressure ridge just over the Great Basin that is holding the storms north of us for the next few weeks. Our El Nino fizzled out this year, but we are hoping for one next year. As it is, we are holding out for more rain in February. Keep everything you have crossed.
Jesse’s favorite weather web sites are:
Weatherwest.com
Wunderground.com
Vcwatershed.net
Stormsurrf.com
Click on any of the above to go to the site.
It was interesting having an expert in California Condors give the low down on the project and its success. In the mid-80s there were only 22 condors alive on the planet and the decision was made to bring the last in from the wild for the captive breeding program. As of today there are now 90 wild condors in California and over 900 in the world. There is still work to be done, but its an amazing success story. Condors themselves are a hardy bird. A male named AC-4 was born in 1976 and captured in 1985, he was kept in the captive breeding program for 16 years, released back into the wild, found a mate, had an unsuccessful chick in 2017 and a successful rearing in 2018. That bird is now 40 years old.
Bird watching is the second most popular hobby in the U.S. There are 45.1 million bird watchers in the US. 59.1 million people feed birds. Bird watchers spend $55.1 billion (with a B) on their activity (binoculars, cameras, bird food , clothing).
So what are Jesse’s recommendations for:
Best Field Guide National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
Best camera Cannon Power Shot
Best Binoculars Nikon between $200 and $500
He gave directions to see Condors in the Wild and spent some time talking about the five (5) species of owls we have in the Ojai Valley. It was a fascinating talk and we ran out of time for many questions. Good Job Program Committee.
