Reading the Fresno-Madera Birds column of The Yellowbill might give you the impression that rarities are the only birds worthy of our attention.  Pursuing rarities is exciting because it offers the opportunity to discover new occurrences, develop and demonstrate birding skills, build lists, and grow friendships with other advanced birders.  However, even common birds can inspire curiosity.

Jeff Davis has compiled, reviewed, and summarized records of Fresno and Madera county birds for the Fresno Audubon Society for more than 15 years.  He has served as an editor for eBird and North American Birds for nearly as long.  Those activities focus on documenting the occurrence and distribution of rare birds.  In this talk, however, he will discuss the natural history of our area’s more common birds, addressing aspects of their plumage, behavior, changing distributions, migratory patterns, and populations.

You can see an example of what you will experience below, where Rachel will give you tips on identifying Least Sandpiper.

Join Fresno bird photographer Gary Woods for our December program featuring bird photos and videos from the past 12 months. Gary retired last year after walking Ag fields for 43 years. This summer he was able to tick 2 items from his retirement bucket list, including a week in southeastern Arizona in May and a 12-day trip to North Dakota in June. He will present his best pictures from these trips plus various California rarities on December 8th at 7pm.

To receive the Zoom link for the meeting, please register here.

Ken Sobon is an avid birder, field trip leader, Vice President of Altacal Audubon Society, and is now the Northern California representative on Audubon California board of directors. For the past five seasons he has been the Director of the Northern Saw-whet Owl fall migration monitoring project. In addition, Ken has been a science teacher to middle school students in Oroville since 1995. He has shared his love of science and birding with his students both in the classroom and in field.

Northern Saw-whet Owl by Ken Sobon