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May 2014
www.valleysentinel.com
SPOTLIGHT
Left to right: Christina Liu (Gr. 10, age 16, Secretary), Meera Menon (Gr. 10,age 15, President), Ayushi Gupta (Gr. 11, age 17, Vice President), and Jasmine Daragahi ( Gr. 10, age 16, Treasurer)
Student founders of Project SmARTS make a difference By Jared Wong, Valley Sentinel intern
Teenagers have notoriously busy lives. But, the leaders of Project SmARTS have
ECRWSS
PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID DANVILLE, CA PERMIT NO. 70
See SMARTS page 11
Diablo Vista Middle School state champions will advance to Destination Imagination’s Global Finals. Left to right the students are: Shania Sandher, Ethan Peng, Jack Stallard, Ian Walsh, Kyle Wooten, and Michael Rhee. See story on page 10.
Gone for 100 years, Red Shouldered Hawk on rebound First Contra Costa sighting in 1979
Postmaster: Dated Material
by James Hale
Sentinel Newspapers, Inc. 390 Diablo Road, Ste. 145 Danville, CA 94526 925-820-6047
One of our most beautiful resident birds of prey is the RedShouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus). In the past three decades, their population in Contra Costa County and other, mostly coastal, regions of California have recovered dramatically. The first known nesting in the county since 1915 wasn’t until 1979, when a pair with a fledgling was noted near Clayton along Morgan Territory Road. Red-Shouldered Hawks have become a common roadside sight, rebounding from extreme rarity. The clearing of mature forests, principally the wet hardwood f o re s t s t h ey p re f e r, c a u s e d population densities to decrease drastically. The change in habitat favored their cousin, the Red-Tailed
Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), which experienced a general population increase. Unchecked hunting of raptors, with the greater availability of firearms in the early 1900’s, further contributed to their demise. The pesticide DDT caused egg shell thinning in many birds, including Red-Shouldered Hawks, and the breakable shells reduced their ability to reproduce. Local forest regrowth and the ban of hunting and DDT allowed Red-Shouldered Hawk populations to become more stable. However, human activity, including logging, habitat loss, poisoning from other pesticides and industrial pollutants, continue to threaten t h i s s p e c i e s . Ac c i d e n t a l
collisions with power lines, automobiles, and at wind farms kills many birds annually. The coloration of RedShouldered Hawk plumage is quite striking. Adults have finely barred, intensely reddish heads and underparts. The back and wings are boldly dark and
light checkered. The multibanded tail is distinguishable. The red “shoulders” are visible in perching birds. Smaller than Red-tailed Hawks, the RedShouldered Hawk, may weigh 1.5 pounds, with a length of two See HAWKS page 5
This month’s Special Sections:
Home & Garden pages 8-9
Kids Camps pages 10-11