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Originally published in the Sept./Oct 2005 issue of the Albatross, vol 50, no. 1
The Santa Cruz Bird Club’s First Fifty Years Part 1: 1956 to 1965 By David L. Suddjian
As our Santa Cruz Bird Club (SCBC) approaches its golden anniversary in January of 2006, we take the five issues of this 50th volume of the Albatross to look back, decade by decade, over the Club’s history. My own experience with the SCBC began in 1986, when it was already 30 years old. But the life of the Club’s earlier decades is illuminated especially by two sources. First is, of course, its bulletin the “Albatross”, published over the club’s entire history. The “Alby,” (as some now affectionately refer to it) is the principal record of the SCBC’s activities, but it also details local bird observations, local birding trivia, and provides insights on its members. A second valuable resource on the history of the SCBC’s first 25 years is the booklet “Santa Cruz Bird Club (1956-1981), A Brief History,” compiled by charter member Viola Washburn and published in 1982. Copies are at the Santa Cruz Public Library and the Science Library at U.C. Santa Cruz. Washburn’s chronicle is somewhat eclectic but quite interesting, drawing much from the Alby, but also much from her personal experience with the club, including a look at the Club’s “pre-history”. Another precious and even more personal view backward is a fine essay by Randy Morgan published in the Albatross on the event of the Club’s 40th anniversary. It is on the club’s website (here). The inception of the Santa Cruz Bird Club apparently flowed organically from its predecessor the Santa Cruz Nature Club, active from the early 1930s to the early 1950s. The Nature Club disbanded because of a shortage of funds and lack of a permanent meeting room, but its “solid block of educators and citizens formed a firm foundation” for the SCBC (Washburn 1982). Several charter members of the SCBC had been members of the Nature Club. The early SCBC also clearly saw itself as standing on the shoulders of the ornithologists who had so far served to record the county’s bird life; most especially Clark P. Streator who’s 1947 “Birds of Santa Cruz County” was the most recent compilation of the county’s bird records. Indeed, founding SCBC member Elaine Reinelt happily served for a number of years as a driver for Mr. Streator and his colleague Mr. D. Danby as they traveled the county seeking birds. Streator died in 1952, a few years before the SCBC was formed, but he had been a member of the Nature Club. On the initiative of Elaine Reinelt, a “small but dynamic” group of 12 people met at her Capitola home on December 5, 1955 and “agreement was quickly reached on the desirability of forming a bird club” (Albatross 1:1 p. 1). In his article recounting “How It All Began” (see “From the Archives” in this issue), the club’s historian Emory Bacon noted December 5 was “really the birthday of the club.” Bacon reports that the well-attended inaugural public meeting was held on January 9, 1956 at the Santa Cruz Public Library, but Washburn gives it as January 13. Whichever date, the club was off and running with over 80 members joining at the first meeting. Washburn (1982) recalled, “Eighty-four people came to the small room already overcrowded with high book-shelves. Your writer, leaning against the shelves stood on tiptoe to observe an overwhelmed – (because of attendance) – Harry Smith at the podium leading the assemblage and Elaine Reinelt acting as temporary secretary.” Another wonderful reflection on the Club’s beginnings is provided by its founder in a letter written to the Club in 1973 (here). The Black-footed Albatross was chosen to be the bird emblem for the SCBC for its prominent seasonal presence off the Santa Cruz Coast and its magnificence in flight. Charter member Leavitt McQuestin stated well the two-fold purpose of the SCBC (3:10 p. 2): “A primary purpose of our bird club is to study and conserve wild birds…The secondary purpose of our club is to promote good fellowship and social activity for bird lovers.” From its beginnings the SCBC has been an independent organization, never a chapter of the National Audubon Society. Although the Club’s purpose dove-tailed nicely with that of the Audubon Society, Washburn reported that the Society’s “more formal regulations of style and membership were not conducive to the spirit of the Santa Cruz Bird Club.” Nonetheless, in 1959 the Albatross published “A Statement of Audubon Philosophy” and recorded proposed changes in the Club’s constitution and bylaws that were to bring it “into step with the National Audubon Society, of which it is an Affiliate.” But by 1964 the status of Audubon Affiliate was let to lapse due to increased fees and the Club’s then uncertain financial position. While the Club has since had no formal connection with the Audubon Society, many of its members have belonged to both organizations. From the outset field trips were at the heart of the Club’s activities. During the first decade there were 212 advertised trips, visiting over 55 general destinations, just over half in Santa Cruz County, and a majority of the remainder in Monterey County. One of the Club’s signature trips was its annual June “Albatross trip,” organized (and often led) by Leavitt McQuestin. “Mac” McQuestin, a retired professor of Pomology, was a mainstay of the club and well-respected for his knowledge of waterbirds. The not-for-profit Albatross Trips – tickets cost only $1.50 – were made possible by the kindness of Malio Stagnaro and the Stagnaro’s commercial fishing operation, and sold out with capacity loads of about 60 birders. Leaving the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, the boats headed southwest for about 12 miles to the rock cod fishing grounds, where Black-footed Albatross would usually be found attending the fishing lines. Other frequent field destinations were the Mt Hermon area for birds of the pines (the most frequent destination in this decade), Moss Landing, Point Lobos and the Monterey Peninsula, Los Banos, Big Sur, Carmel Valley and San Clemente Dam, the Rio Del Mar area, Rancho Del Oso, the beaches and lagoons of the city of Santa Cruz, Natural Bridges, Henry Cowell, Sunset Beach, and Pinnacles. Many trips were very well attended (e.g., 75 people came to the club’s first Rancho Del Oso trip in 1960). Trips were often planned in coordination with the Monterey Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley Audubon Societies, and indeed one third of all the trips in this decade were joint trips with MPAS. In addition to Mac McQuestin, frequent leaders in this decade included Elaine Reinelt, Harry Smith, Charles and Viola Anderson, Viola Washburn, Franz Erkelens, Florence Haas, Jessie Hooper, Eleanor Pugh, and Vern Yadon. Trip lists were generally a good deal shorter than those we muster today, but they managed to find some interesting birds. And sometimes they enjoyed what we cannot now, such as trips to Mt Hermon to see the nesting Purple Martins and Western Bluebirds (both now extirpated there). By the close of the decade trips were planned specifically to focus on identification of certain groups, such as gulls and marsh birds. On the whole, the trips seemed to seek those species expected to be found (e.g., to Big Basin “to hear the Hermit Thrush”), and the idea of seeking the unexpected or rare were still some years into the future for the Club. Monthly programs, usually held at the multi-purpose room of Branciforte Junior High School, were another anchor for the SCBC. The Albatross records details of 69 of the programs in this decade. They ranged from talks, to presentations of slides or photographs, to movies (in Technicolor). Some movies were rented, but many programs were given by members or invited presenters. Topics were varied, and often ranged far from birds; wildflowers were a non-avian favorite. A sample taken from across the decade might include: photos of a recent trip to Spain, Disney’s “Nature’s Half Acre”, the film “Beaver Valley”, African natives and wildlife, the film “Chata” about a little girl with a turned up nose, a film about the new park planned for Pt Reyes, birds and wildflowers of the Southwest, a talk on the identification of Starlings (they were newcomers here then), the “Gooney Birds”, the Sea of Cortez, and the “Magnificent Canada Goose.” A handful of programs were about local research (e.g., L. R. Mewaldt on his studies of White-crowned Sparrows, and J. W. Tilden on insect and bird relationships). A very few, in addition to the one about Starlings, were about identification of local birds, such as Mac McQuestin’s talk about gull ID in 1960. The SCBC did not have an office of Hospitality Director during this initial decade, but the Club was not lacking in this area. A warm welcome was clearly offered on all field trips and at all meetings, and the club’s fellowship had a key role in making the Santa Cruz area feel like home for a number of transplanted Easterners. Name badges were provided to all members. There were annual Christmas parties (with singing), and two or three summer potluck picnics (usually at Harvey West Park). The Albatross kept readers up to date about members who had injuries or sickness, and member’s travels. Many field trips included time spent birding on a member’s property, with lunch later at their home. Hulda McLean invited the club to her home at Rancho Del Oso several times, and the Albatross noted in 1960 that she provided “a warm welcome, hot coffee, a cheerful fire, and a complete set of Dawson [Birds of California] in a cottage on the ranch.” After a trial effort, in 1957 the SCBC officially began what would become the Santa Cruz County Christmas Bird Count, a long term effort than has spanned nearly all of the Club’s 50 years. Beginning in 1959 the Club tried to conduct two CBCs, a western one centered at Santa Cruz and Felton and an eastern one from Aptos to Corralitos. The eastern CBC was dropped a few years later, and it seemed to take several years before the area covered for the western count would settle into a consistent “count circle,” as we use today. A history of the CBC and results from these early years can be found here: The Albatross records many other interesting aspects of the Club’s life in this decade. Member’s local observations were regularly reported, with Jessie Hooper, Viola Washburn, Florence Hass and Dorothy Hunt being some of the more frequent contributors. Many reports were of the usual suspects returning for the season or brightening backyards, but some rarities were enjoyed, just as a Gray Catbird, Harris’s Sparrows, American Redstart, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Some reports are viewed as doubtful now (e.g., several reports of flocks of Bohemian Waxwings, and reports of Pine Grosbeak), and others are simply puzzling (e.g., a report of three Rock Wrens “combing elm trees…very much as a nuthatch feeds”). Many focused on interesting behavior. For example, in a 1958 issue Florence Haas reported, “Recently I watched several California Jays busily harvesting acorns from the live oak trees and planting them all over our yard. A Red-shafted Flicker stood by each Jay and ate the acorns as fast as the Jays could plant them.” Bird banding was a popular (even consuming) pastime among a very active subset of the membership. Beginning with Henry Smith (former president of the Illinois Audubon Soc.), others such as Florence Haas, Elaine Reinelt, Viola Washburn, Dorothy Hunt, and Claude and Jessie Hooper earned their qualifications to capture and band birds. Most banding was apparently done at backyard stations. Harry Smith reported 680 birds were banded in 1959, of which 262 were Golden-crowned Sparrows. Smith and others were on hand with bands during one of the county’s most remarkable bird events, “The Day the Shearwater’s Landed” on August 18, 1961. An account of that famous anomaly is reprinted elsewhere in this issue in the “From the Archive” section. The Albatross documents a difficult period for the Club toward the close of its first decade. A major shake up in its officers in 1964 coincided with a shortfall of money when overdue dues were not being paid. The April – May issue told members that “the nominating committee finds that none of our present officers is able and willing to serve another term, so we have 10 openings for you to choose from.” The next issue of the bulletin, a one-pager in June simply titled “Santa Cruz Bird Club Newsletter”, began by reporting, “The Albatross has fallen by the wayside...but at least we bring you this newsletter to report on other changes all members and friends should know about.” Prior president Doris Kelly stepped into the breach and held down several jobs, “keeping the club together until help could be mustered.” Fortunately, the wide open slate of offices was filled by a mix of “new blood” and former officers taking on new posts, and a generous contribution by May and Joe Mullins solved the club’s financial crisis. By late fall 1964 new president Lester Cox was able to report that “The Albatross may be grounded, but the club is up and flying!” Active publicity efforts by Judith Myers and Viola Anderson brought large numbers of people to meetings (90 were in attendance at the September 1964 meeting) and field trips, and brought in many new or returning members. Lester Cox concluded 1965 noting, “Truly we are enjoying being club members more and more.”
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