Alamo • Danville • Blackhawk • Diablo • San Ramon
Valley
The
Sentinel
Inside this month:
Á la carte
A La Carte Magazine Summer/Fall 2013
always for the community VOL 18, NO 7 July 2013
Inside... Dining al Fresco Wine Tourism in Italy Summer Wines Foodie Events
Summer/Fall 2013
www.valleysentinel.com
SPOTLIGHT
Top Row: Coaches Greg Noble, Rob Rutchena, Brian Snow, Dave Geary, Craig Santa Maria. Middle Row: Jared Amigh, J.T. Noble, Nate Rutchena, Justin Geary, Anthony Santa Maria, Chipper Menard. Bottom row: Jake Snow, Kevin Harioka, Christian Luciano, Brandon Yan, Griffin Bloom, Brandon Louie, Quincy Poynter.
The San Ramon Slammers 11U baseball team took 1st place in the 680 Pony League Championship Tournament held at Twin C re e k s S p o r t s C o m p l ex i n S u n ny va l e June 1-2. The Slammers pulled out four consecutive wins over two days to take the 2013 title.
ECRWSS
PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID DANVILLE, CA PERMIT NO. 70
See SLAMMERS page 5
The Danville 4th of July parade, presented by the Kiwanis Club of the San Ramon Valley was once more a successful event. Since 1975, the club has raised funds from parade sponsorships and donated them to local community service organizations in the San Ramon Valley. Currently drawing 30-40,000 attendees, folks braved the heat wave to celebrate our independence. It is truly a hometown event.
Peregrine Falcon—Conservation and captive breeding programs have led to the Falcons’ recovery
Postmaster: Dated Material
By James Hale
Sentinel Newspapers, Inc. 390 Diablo Road, Ste. 145 Danville, CA 94526 925-820-6047
T h e Pe re g r i n e Fa l c o n (Falco peregrinus) is a large cosmopolitan falcon with superior hunting skills capable of flight exceeding 240 miles p e r h o u r. T h e s c i e n t i f i c name peregrinus is Latin for wandering, in reference to its worldwide range. The insidious effects of DDT, a chlorinated hydrocarbon, from 1940s to the 1970s had significant negative impacts on nesting falcons. Bald Eagles, Osprey, Brown Pelicans and other top predator species experienced similar effects from the substance known as DDE, a metabolite of DDT that was produced in the birds’ bodies. DDE became concentrated within food chains causing these species to lay eggs so thin shelled that they broke or
otherwise failed to hatch. By 1970, researchers knew of only two breeding pairs in California, down from several hundred pairs some 20 years before. The ban on DDT in North America in 1972, followed by intensive conservation and reintroduction efforts, hasbrought about a strong and heartening recovery for all of these species across much of their ranges. All three races of Peregrine Falcons occur in California. Peale’s Peregrine, the Tundra and Anatum races differ mainly in the degree and extent of their markings and coloration. The Anatum race is most commonly seen in California. The adult Anatum’s head is blackish, with a broad malar eye stripe over a buffy cheek.
The belly is often buffy to nearly salmon colored. Juvenile birds are lighter colored, have conspicuous streaking of the under-parts, and appear to be long tailed. They reach sexual maturity at 2-3 years of age. The sexes generally look alike, but the male is 30% smaller and less heavily marked ventrally. The different sizes between the sexes, known assexual dimorphisim, allows the pair of falcons to take a wider variety of prey. During the spring breeding season, Peregrines are quite vocal when “eechup” calls are exchanged between partners and the throaty “kak-kak-kak” notes announce the presence of a predator. The Peregrine is specialized for catching birds, more than any other raptor. It is able to
This month’s Special Section:
Senior Services pages 6 & 7
scan the sky for over a mile from a perch for prey or may use speculative flights, taking advantage of the contours of the land hoping to startle a bird into the air. The Peregrine Falcon is most noted for its attacks from a high flight or See FALCONS page 9