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always for the community VOL 26 NO 5
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July 2021
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SPOTLIGHT
Look inside for the latest Regional in Nature Activity Guide!
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Park Named After Thurgood Marshall Summer Harvest Activities Spiral Snake Craft Summer Stars in Dark Skies Hot-Weather Hiking Tips Plus many more fun activities for kids and families!
28 wounded veterans graduated from Sentinel of Freedom Bridge for Education program this semester, SoF expecting to graduate 16 more by the end of the year. Sentinel’s Bridge for Education assists wounded veterans in finding their unique path to a fulfilling post-military life, by filling the gaps that GI Bill payments do not cover. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our
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As we move through the month of July, there are certainly reasons to celebrate the gradual lessening of restrictions. However, it’s important to remember that this crisis, this Pandemic, isn’t over. The celebration of the birth of our nation and now the rebirth of our way of life must be protected by each of us remaining vigilant and doing our part to protect our nation and those we love. Make sure to get vaccinated, be vigilant when in public spaces both inside and out and continue using mitigation against this virus and its mutations.
Meet the American Dipper By James M. Hale
The American Dipper or Water Ouzel (Cinclus mexicanus) is an uncommon vagrant or visitor to East Bay streams. Fast-moving, western rocky streams, from Panama to Alaska, are the Dipper’s preferred habitat. I have observed them in rare encounters at Jewel Lake, Wildcat Creek, the Tilden Botanical Gardens near Lake Anza, Kaiser Creek, and Alameda Creek during the rainy season. The Dipper is a plump, dark gray bird with stiff, short tail feathers. The head is cloaked with hazel brown feathers. White highlights cover the eyelids, wings, and tail feathers. A dark, dagger-like beak is adapted for capturing its prey. Juvenile birds have a yellowish bill and barred, lighter underparts. The American Dipper is about six and one half inches long with a nine-inch wingspan. They average one and one half ounces in weight. The habit of bobbing up and down
on its long, pinkish` legs, during pauses while foraging, gives the American Dipper its name. Naturalist John Muir offers this account of the American Dipper: “Find a fall, or cascade, or rushing rapid … and there you will find the complementary Ouzel, flitting about in the spray, diving in the foaming eddies, whirling like a leaf among foam-bells; ever vigorous and enthusiastic, yet self-contained, and neither seeking nor shunning your company.” One of the world’s most unusual songbirds, the American Dipper is adapted to its niche with scaly nose plugs, dense plumage, strong claws, ‘eyelids’ for protection from water spray, and an oil gland for water-proofing its feathers. While foraging along fast-moving streams, the Dipper
will suddenly pause, flash its white eyelids, then plunge into the frigid waters. The bird will walk or “fly” along the rocks and gravel of the streams, in search of aquatic insects and their larvae, fish fry, or eggs for food.
This Month’s Special Section:
Senior Living page 6
Dragonfly nymphs, caddisfly larvae, small crayfish, tadpoles, and small fish are common food items. Then it will pop up where See DIPPER page 5