Remembering Brian Bell

Remembering Brian Bell

Written by Michael Hobbs

Brian Bell, popular field trip leader, teacher about birds, and dedicated member of Eastside Audubon, Birds Connect Seattle (formerly Seattle Audubon), and the Washington Ornithological Society.

Brian Bell was a popular field trip leader, teacher about birds, and dedicated member of Eastside Audubon, Birds Connect Seattle (formerly Seattle Audubon), and the Washington Ornithological Society. He passed away unexpectedly on August 6, 2023. The following memorial was written by Michael Hobbs and originally published on Tweeters, the University of Washington list-serve for the birding community where Brian posted reports from his many field trips. (Ed.) 

To Tweeters,

 It is with a very heavy heart that I relate that Brian Bell passed away last weekend.

Brian arrived in the PNW in 1995, already a very serious birder. He came to us from the Sacramento area, where he had been president of Sacramento Audubon, led and arranged field trips, helped manage the 400+ acre Bobelaine Audubon Sanctuary along the Feather River, and was a co-author of Areas of Critical Concern, a book which identifies valuable natural areas in the greater Sacramento area.

Once arriving here, he continued his strong interest in promoting birding and teaching others, becoming a board member for Eastside Audubon and the Washington Ornithological Society (WOS), serving as Field Trip Chair for Seattle Audubon, and leading field trips for Eastside Audubon, Seattle Audubon, WOS, the Othello Sandhill Crane Festival, and the Gray's Harbor Shorebird Festival.

That's not just a few field trips.  He led probably at least 100 trips to Whidbey Island alone.  Brian led more field trips than any other birder I know, a huge commitment towards teaching people about birds and birding.  Always, he not only led a field trip, but turned it into a learning experience for the participants.

In addition to leading field trips, Brian also taught many classes for Seattle Audubon Society, Eastside Audubon Society, Shoreline Community College, and North Seattle Community College. The courses included: Beginning Birding, Birds of Puget Sound, Water Birds, Woodpeckers, Birding by Habitat, and Summer Birds of the Mountains. He was one of the early Seattle Audubon Master Birders.

He ran his own guiding business under the business name of Peregrine Northwest, helping out-of-town birders find our local specialties. He authored Birds of Washington State (2006, Lone Pine Publishing).

At the WOS conference in Moses Lake in 2019, I was honored to present the Zella M. Schulz Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of Brian’s long-term commitment to sharing his knowledge of birds with others. 

 In addition to all of that, Brian was effectively the co-founder of the Marymoor Survey.  When we first met, on the boardwalk at Marymoor Park in 1995, it wasn’t even a survey yet; just me, a beginning birder, walking around and keeping a list once each week.  

Brian started coming out with me almost every week and taught me everything he could. Suddenly, “I” was finding more birds.  He taught me the concept of birding by ear, and then tirelessly worked to actually teach me the bird songs and calls.  

And this continued for over 1000 surveys from 1995 through our survey last week!  He also covered for me on 125 surveys when I was sick, injured, or out-of-town. 

The common theme throughout this list of contributions is that Brian made a tremendous commitment to teaching others, an amazing gift that a huge number of people have benefited from. I am sure that Brian will be greatly missed by the PNW birding community. And, I can’t even fathom the reality that he will no longer be birding at my elbow every Thursday morning.

Save Coal Creek Update

Save Coal Creek Update

Wilson’s Warbler in Coal Creek Natural Area by Andy McCormick

Eastside Audubon and Save Coal Creek supporters are thrilled to report that King County will award a $9.2 million 2024 Conservation Futures grant to the City of Bellevue for the purchase of several properties near Lakemont Boulevard in south Bellevue, including the Milt Swanson property. This purchase is the long-desired goal of Save Coal Creek. The generous grant requires a 25 percent funding match by the city of Bellevue.  

Eastside Audubon was the first organization, after Issaquah Alps Trails Club started the Save Coal Creek initiative in 2019, to advocate for preserving the Milt Swanson property because of the value of its wildlife corridor. The property is wedged between King County’s largest park, Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, and Bellevue’s largest park, the Coal Creek Natural Area. A developer, Isola, has proposed a 35-home development for the privately-owned parcel, making acquisition urgent.

In summer 2020, Eastside Audubon’s Andy McCormick, Peter Marshall and others wrote a detailed comment letter about expected environmental impacts of the proposal for 35 homes, and requested that the City of Bellevue require an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement). Andy McCormick of Eastside Audubon also used birding records to document the presence of 38 species of birds in the Swanson property area in 2022 and submitted this information to both the King County Council and the Bellevue City Council. Numerous other letters were sent to the city from the general public and other organizations, including the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust. 

American Dipper in Coal Creek Natural Area by Hilary Barnes

Save Coal Creek steering committee chair Sally Lawrence reports, “As of this writing [August 17], we have not yet heard a legal decision on our SEPA [State Environmental Policy Act] appeal of the city’s January 2023 determination that a full EIS would not be required for the Isola proposal. However, even without a SEPA decision, this huge County grant provides a compelling path forward. Bellevue has enough parks levy money to make the match. 

“Please thank our King County councilmembers Claudia Balducci and Reagan Dunn for their amazing support for the County grant,” Lawrence said. “And please, write to City Council counciloffice@bellevuewa.gov to stress the importance of providing matching funds for this important conservation effort. This purchase is a no-brainer - a win for Coal Creek, its salmon and other wildlife, the hiking public, for local coal mining history, AND for the developer.”

Bellevue City Council 2023 Candidates Climate Forum

Bellevue City Council 2023 Candidates Climate Forum

If you live in the Bellevue area, there is an important election coming up that needs your support!

60% of the Bellevue City Council will be elected in November, and there is a Forum being held on September 19th at East Shore Unitarian Church to get to know the candidates and their priorities for the future related to Climate Change and our Environment before voting begins. Unless we act quickly and decisively today to curb Greenhouse Gas emissions, climate impacts will get much worse. The well-being of the climate and future generations is in our hands.

Attendees of the event will have a chance to enter in a drawing at the Door for some fun prizes, including:

• Two $500 coupons toward purchase of heat pump water heaters

• One $100 and four $50 vegetarian restaurant coupons

• A month subscription to Ridwell

We need a real live audience for this event. If you plan to attend, register HERE.

WHAT - Get to know the candidates for Bellevue City Council and their priorities for our future!

WHEN - September 19th, 2023 from 7-8:30pm

WHERE - East Shore Unitarian Church, 12700 SE 32nd St, Bellevue, WA (Sanctuary Bldg.)

WHY - This is a very important election as 60% of the Bellevue City Council will be elected in November and we need as much support to help address Climate & Environmental issues in Bellevue.

Become a Bellevue Climate Change Leader

Want to be a Climate Leader in Your Community?

If you’ve been concerned about the climate disasters happening around the globe this summer but not sure how to take action, the City of Bellevue is launching a new program for you. They are recruiting for their first ever cohort of Climate Challenge Team Leaders. Community members in the program will become climate leaders by guiding a team of their choice through the Bellevue Climate Challenge. Team Leaders will meet with city staff monthly throughout the program for training, resources, and support. The first cohort will begin in October 2023, and run through June of 2024.

To become a Team Leader, complete our enrollment form by September 30.

If you have questions about the Team Leader program, please reach out to Sofia Fall, Sustainability Coordinator at sfall@bellevuewa.gov.

Book Club Seeking New Members

Book Club Seeking New Members

The Eastside Audubon Book Club is a small group of folks who combine their love of the natural world with their enjoyment of reading.  We are happy to announce we are looking for new members.

The group meets monthly on the third Tuesday from 7-9pm to discuss the book of the month.  Our discussion is facilitated by the member who originally suggested that month's title.  We currently use a combination of meeting venues:  outdoors in the summer, library meeting rooms late spring and early fall, and via Zoom the rest of the year.  The club is now in its seventh year.  During all that time, we have never missed holding our monthly meeting!

Book selection occurs three times a year.  During the selection process, members rotate proposing up to three titles each for the next round of reading.  We then vote on the slate of books for the next four months.  One title is chosen from each presenting member's list of proposals.

What do we read?  As long as nature is a prominent theme, any book of any genre is eligible.   The result is incredibly eclectic.  Titles have included fiction, nonfiction, essay, mystery, autobiography/memoir, science, natural history, poetry.  As one might expect from a group with "Audubon" in its name, about 25% of our books involve birds.  However, the entire biotic community is open to our literary adventures.

Over the years, we have read books on animals and plants and those that are neither.  Fin, fur and feathers, vertebrates and invertebrates, living things great, small and microscopic,  mobile and immobile: all have been included.  Being very much a part of nature, humans have not been left out of the mix.  As well, our literary journeys have not been limited to the organic world.  Our books have also explored the inorganic realm.  The four classical elements - earth, air, fire, water - serve as a useful metaphor for those explorations.  Through more than six years of titles, we have traversed the intersections of nature with racism, sexism, politics, social justice, psychology, spirituality, economics, medicine. 

Take a look at our upcoming titles for the next four months.  They are typical of the variety in the books our club reads.

September

October

November

December

If you enjoy nature and books, come join us!  For more information, contact: office@eastsideaudubon.org.

Lead Youth Bird Walks with YEC

Lead Youth Bird Walks with YEC

Do you enjoy working with young people? Do you have information about birds that you would like to share? If you answered "yes", then you could lead bird walks for the Youth Education Committee either during the week or on weekends!

Teaching youth about birding is a great way to get them involved in wildlife and conservation efforts from an early age. Serve at your convenience. We will do the paperwork for you—all you have to do is show up and lead an enthusiastic group of children. If you are interested, please contact Mary Britton-Simmons at 425-894-0100. Thank you for considering this great opportunity to share birding with youth!

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About the Youth Education Committee

The Youth Education Committee is a diverse group of volunteers. What unites us is a strong belief that children who connect to nature at an early age become lifelong stewards of the environment. Through our volunteer work, we hope to inspire youth to make this connection, to become lifelong learners of nature and to live lives dedicated to making the world a better place for all of us.

Read more about the work we do at this link.

Bird Photography Flies to New Heights with the Next-Generation of Noise Reduction Software

Bird Photography Flies to New Heights with the Next-Generation of Noise Reduction Software

Written by John Spilker, Eastside Audubon Vice President and Photography Group Leader

Without fail, at almost every one of our monthly Eastside Audubon Photography Group meetings, someone proclaims, "Topaz saved me". The proclamation usually comes right after they present a near-perfect bird photo.

The delighted photographer is usually referring to either Topaz Photo AI or Topaz Denoise, the popular noise reduction programs that routinely salvage dark, noisy photos.   

Noise has always existed in digital photos, but it is something that became more apparent in recent years as newer cameras can shoot photos in extremely dark conditions. To compensate for the lack of light, the cameras increase the ISO setting, which increases the sensitivity to light. 

A modern camera can shoot photos at an ISO (International Standards Organization) setting of 56,000 or higher. Earlier digital cameras were usually limited to 1,600 ISO. By comparison, a photo taken in sunny conditions is often shot at a mere 100 ISO, the lowest setting for most cameras.

But the increased ISO sensitivity comes at a cost. The absence of light results in noise; that is thousands of unwanted digital specks, sometimes black and white (luminance noise) and other times unpleasant red, green, and blue specs (chroma noise). Either way, the image appears muddy and not as sharp as it should be. 

To the bird photographer, a noisy photo is better than no photo, but still far from perfect. As any Audubon member knows, birds rarely stand still in bright sunlight to get their picture taken. The bird photographer often must opt for a high ISO setting and hopefully find a way to deal with the noise in the editing process.  

Example of an untouched noisy photo. The insert shows extensive chroma noise of red, green, and blue pixels. Most of the detail is lost to the noise.

Enter Noise Reduction Software 

Noise reduction software is used during the editing process when photos are typically cropped and adjusted for color, contrast, and brightness. The software has been around for some 20 years. The early versions worked well with some images but struggled with complex noise patterns that newer cameras produced. To complicate matters, the older noise programs required the user to fine-tune complex settings to achieve good results.

Topaz Labs solved much of this problem when it released Topaz DeNoise AI about five years ago.

The program utilized newly developed Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms that had analyzed millions of clean and noisy images to better understand the problem and possible solutions. The in-depth training helped DeNoise achieve impressive results, but many photographers still found the software complicated to use. 

Topaz upped its game last year when it introduced Topaz Photo AI, a revolutionary product that reduced noise and sharpened images with less intervention by the editor.

More recently, Adobe Inc. introduced the easy-to-use Denoise AI as part of its widely used Lightroom photo editing software program. The Adobe offering, at the very least, closed the gap with Topaz and, in the opinion of some, is even better. Other software developers have released comparable offerings.

But There are Downsides

Noise reduction software has some downsides. If overused, it can eliminate detail in an image and leave the photo with a dull, bland, or milky appearance. It also increases the editing time. An older, less powerful computer can take several minutes to process an image. It is not a bad idea to try the free trials to see if your computer is up to the task.

Noise Reduction Software in Use

For many members of the Eastside Audubon Photography Group, the new generation of software changes how they work. 

Don and Margaret Larkin are longtime users of Topaz products and are especially impressed with Topaz Photo AI. The couple are frequent winners of the Eastside Audubon Society Photo of the Month contest. 

"It is an amazing product. Not only does it remove noise after we take a photo, but it has changed how we take photos out in the field," Don says.

"In the past, we always set the ISO as low as possible to keep the noise to a minimum," says the national award-winning photographer.  “This resulted in longer exposure times, which made it difficult to freeze the action of flying birds." 

Margaret Larkin, also a national award-winning photographer, points out that noise reduction software allows her to focus more on the photograph and less on adjusting the camera settings.  

"We have switched to using Auto ISO on our cameras, even for landscapes,” she says. “We can set the shutter speed and aperture based on what is best for the subject and conditions and let the camera adjust the ISO automatically as needed. This allows us to capture spontaneous moments that we wouldn't have otherwise."

Gary Luhm, a longtime member of the photography and winner of several Photo of the Month awards, is particularly impressed with Adobe Lightroom Denoise. 

"AI photo software is moving fast. I tried Topaz almost two years ago and decided at the time the improvements weren't worth the cost and addition to my workflow," he says.

"I tried the new Lightroom Denoise and was astonished at how well and easily it worked,” Gary says. “A Denoise setting of 30% cleaned up the noisy black feathers of an old pileated woodpecker file without yielding that smeary look."

The digital specks of noise are highly visible in the insert of this untouched image that Gary shot at ISO 3200.

Lightroom Denoise removed the digital specks of noise while retaining image detail.

More Information

• Adobe: Denoise Demystified (Free trial)

• ON1 Photo RAW Noise Reduction Software (Free trial)

• Topaz Photo AI (Free trial)

A good source of information on Adobe and Topaz products is the YouTube Channel of Anthony Morganti. He gives a good overview of Lightroom Denoise in this video. 

He also has a comparison of On1 NoNoise AI, Topaz Denoise AI, and Lightroom Denoise AI. 

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About the Eastside Audubon Photography Group

The group members meet monthly to show their latest photos and videos and share their knowledge of photography and wildlife. To attend the meeting, please join the group's announcement list. 

For more information, contact John Spilker, photo group leader. 

Bird Spa @ Eastside Audubon

Bird Spa @ Eastside Audubon

Written by Shruti Mehta

Members of the Youth Education Committee met on a Tuesday last month to give our bird mounts a 'Spa day'. It was a rainy day, so a perfect one to spend indoors with the birds and some bird lovers. We had a great time grooming these bird mounts while exchanging stories of birds and bears. Sharing some highlights here with all of you.
We have a collection of over 25+ bird mounts ranging from small birds like Black-capped Chickadee, Gold-finch and Dark-eyed Junco and the more majestic ones like Osprey, Great Horned Owl and Red tailed hawk. Feathers are dead protein, very much like our hair - they too need regular maintenance. Over the past couple of months, Jill had frozen these mounts and then treated them with pest medicine to kill mites & their eggs. In this 'preening' session, we started with blow drying the feathers to remove any dust, sprayed a diluted alcohol mixture on the feathers, smoothed the feathers with a brush and then cleaned the eyes and feet with cotton. Thanks to Amanda Leon (Executive Director of EAS) for the detailed instructions and Jill Keeney for being a wonderful host to us and the birds.

I have seen these mounts several times before, but had not had the luxury of observing these mounts closely and noticing the details. We marveled at the Barn owl feathers, which at the leading edge of the wing have a comb-like structures termed serrations. This structure is known to play a role in noise reduction during flight which helps in the Barn Owl's almost silent flight. I was able to see the clear difference in the size of Cooper's Hawks and Sharp Shinned Hawks; two species which I have been struggling to ID in the field. I have yet to see a Northern Pygmy Owl so it was interesting to see the bird mount, I was fascinated that it is even smaller than a Northern Saw-whet Owl! I have seen Ospreys several times around Marymoor but had not noticed the intricate pattern on their wings. It was also a real treat to discover tiny serrations on the bill of a Hooded Merganser; which helps it to keep hold of slippery fish. 

The Audubon Name

The Audubon Name

If you have been following the news you will have undoubtably heard about the controversy surrounding the Audubon name. Our Audubon Chapter has been following these developments closely the last few years.

John James Audubon (1785-1851) was not a member of the National Audubon Society, which was founded in 1905. The organization was named in his honor. He is considered to be an important figure in Ornithology, as he documented and painted most of the bird species found in North America. His Birds of America collection was one of the earliest efforts to paint birds for field identification.

This famous Ornithologist also had a very dark side. He was a white supremacist who enslaved and bought and sold black people. To prove that white people were superior to any other race, he robbed the graves of Native Americans and Mexicans for skulls to gather “evidence” for his eugenicist beliefs. He killed and ate the birds he illustrated. He committed both academic fraud and plagiarism. He was an ardent supporter of slavery and wrote critically about emancipation.

For the last 2 years, the National Audubon Society grappled with the decision of a possible name change due to this man’s complicated history. Earlier this year, after deliberation, guidance, and feedback, the National Audubon Society’s Board voted to retain the Audubon name. Many Audubon Chapters have announced their intention to change their name, with some chapters recently announcing their new names.

Eastside Audubon Society’s Board has had some discussions on the subject and decided it best to wait on any potential chapter changes until National Audubon announced to the world its decision. Now that this has happened, we want to communicate to all of our members and supporters that Eastside Audubon is looking into this and considering all possibilities.

This may be a controversial issue for many of us. We are discussing all possible scenarios and outcomes for either retaining the name “Audubon” or dropping it. No matter where we land on this issue it is clear from our conversations that Eastside Audubon is more than just an organization. We are a community of friends that are bound together for a love of birding, conservation, the environment, and being outdoors. I know many of you have made some lifelong friends through this amazing birding community. I know I have.

There are plenty of reasons why it might make sense to change our name, based on what I briefly wrote above. I would also encourage each of you to read this article, which does a better job of describing John James Audubon than I could ever do here. The big question is, does the name “Audubon” transcend the man to mean something more? As language evolves, as it has since its invention, should we strive to change the meaning of this word, or is its roots too dark that they must be left behind?

We are discussing the legalities and expenses of a name change. Our Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, business accounts, bank accounts, various licenses, and contracts with our partners would need to be updated. This work would take effort and people dedicated to doing it, which could take away from time spent on organizing our programs. This isn’t to say that the above should be a reason not to consider a name change, but these are important considerations.

On the other hand, retaining “Audubon” in our name means that we will work harder as an organization that represents much more than the work of one person. We will continue to focus our work on assuring that equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging are at the core of our conservation and birding outreach.

We are looking forward to hearing from our community throughout this journey. Our Board is actively discussing our options and we know this is going to take time. We are committed to communicating when we have made our decision. We acknowledge that the National Audubon Society has been a champion in bird conservation and has cleared the way for all chapters to be successful. We are looking forward to our continued partnership.

Thank you all for your support. Our work is not possible without you!

Jeremy Lucas
President
Eastside Audubon
president@eastsideaudubon.org