EVENT CALENDAR - Fresno Audubon Society
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Introduction to Birding Saturday Dec. 21, 2024 9:00 am
Introduction to Birding Saturday Dec. 21, 2024 @ River Center
Dec 21 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Introduction to Birding Saturday Dec. 21, 2024 @ River Center
Introduction to Birding at the River Center 11605 Old Friant Rd Fresno, CA 93730     Registration link  All registrants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. Use the QR code below or the form can also be found here Description...
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FAS Board Meeting 11:00 am
FAS Board Meeting @ Zoom meeting
Dec 29 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Contact admin@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials
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Feb
8
Tue
2022
General Meeting – Sleuthing into the secret lives of wood ducks by Dr. John Eadie @ Zoom
Feb 8 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Sleuthing into the secret lives of wood ducks ⏤ Virtual General Meeting

Dr. John Eadie

Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting January 11th 7:00pm
This meeting will be broadcast online via Zoom
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New to Zoom? Check out all you need to know here before the meeting.

Biologists have studied the charismatic wood duck for well over a century. What more could we possibly learn? As it turns out, quite a bit. New technology is revealing a rich and complex social underworld that is proving to be quite astonishing. We are employing automatic logging devices (passive integrated transponders, or PIT tags) that record every nest site a female visits, and population-wide genetic analyses of all breeding females and their offspring to follow the breeding behavior and entire life histories of wood ducks on several sites in California. We are focusing on a particularly curious nesting behavior whereby females lay eggs in the nests of other females in the same population (termed conspecific brood parasitism or CBP). Females in a wide variety of bird species lay their eggs in the nests of other conspecifics but despite its widespread occurrence the factors that promote parasitic nesting behavior remain poorly understood, in part because the sneaky parasitic females are rarely identified, but also because the information needed to assess the possible benefits of this behavior are often lacking. Are these females friends or foe? Does this behavior add or detract from the survival of females and their young, or the sustainability of the population? Our studies are providing some new insights and, in some cases, surprising us with the wide range of behavioral interactions among females in this enigmatic species of cavity-nesting duck.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. John Eadie is a Professor and the Dennis G. Raveling Waterfowl Chair in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California Davis. He joined the faculty at UC Davis in 1995 from Zoology University of British Columbia, where he completed by PhD degree. His research interests include the ecology, conservation and management of waterfowl and wetlands. His current work focuses on the management and conservation of wetland habitats, breeding waterfowl (mallards and wood ducks) in California, and linking ecological theory to wildlife management and conservation. He uses a combination of experimental and observational field studies, molecular genetic techniques in the lab, and population modeling approaches in his research.



Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.
Feb
18
Fri
2022
Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)
Feb 18 – Feb 21 all-day

For anyone curious about the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), it is a four day event held every February in which birders everywhere of all skill levels are encouraged to spend at least 15 minutes counting birds and submit an eBird list. The 2022 GBBC will run from February 18-21. More information can be found at this link: https://www.birdcount.org/participate/

 

If you have any questions, please reach out to trip leader Rachel Clark at tanagergirl@gmail.com or 515-357-0122.

Feb
27
Sun
2022
FAS Board Meeting @ Zoom meeting
Feb 27 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Contact rsnow@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials

Mar
8
Tue
2022
General Meeting – Homer Hansen “Early Spring Sparrows” @ Zoom
Mar 8 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

 Virtual General Meeting

Homer Hansen

“Early Spring Sparrows”

Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting March 8th, 7:00pm
This meeting will be broadcast online via Zoom
 Register to receive login information.

New to Zoom? Check out all you need to know here before the meeting.

 

As spring approaches, our wintering sparrows prepare to leave and breeding species start to arrive, making it an ideal time to see a wide diversity of species.  Part of the challenge of identifying sparrows is recognizing their generic and species specific traits, including behavior and physical characteristics.  This presentation will give an overview of a handful of similar species that share common habitat but have differences of natural history, behavior, and field marks that help tell them apart.  Some of the similar species that will be discussed include Chipping and Brewer’s; White-crowned, White-throated, and Golden-crowned; Savannah and Vesper, and Sagebrush and Bell’s Sparrows.  

 

Speaker Bio:

Homer Hansen grew up in Willcox, Arizona surrounded by Sandhill Cranes in winter and Cassin’s Sparrows in summer.  Homer has a passion for sharing bird watching with others and is a regular field trip leader for several festivals and has served as chairman of the Wings Over Willcox Birding & Nature Festival for nearly 20 years.  Homer loves working with youths and co-founded the Sulphur Springs Valley Young Birders Club and the associated Arizona Young Birder’s Camp, non-profits dedicated to educating youths about birds (if not for COVID, 2021 would have been the 6th annual camp).  He also instructs workshops on sparrows, raptors, flycatchers, warblers, birding by ear, and bird ecology, including: the Lifelong Learning courses for the Tucson Audubon Society, the Southwestern Sparrows IFO for the American Birding Association, and educational workshops for the Western Field Ornithologists (WFO) conferences.  Homer is a life member of the WFO, Cooper Ornithological Society (COS), and Wilson Ornithological Society (WOS), and just completed two terms with the WFO board as chairman of the Student Programs Committee.



Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.
Mar
27
Sun
2022
FAS Board Meeting @ Zoom meeting
Mar 27 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Contact rsnow@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials

Apr
12
Tue
2022
General Meeting – Pamela Flick “Wolves in California” @ Zoom
Apr 12 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

 Virtual General Meeting

Pamela Flick

“Wolves in California”

Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting April 12th, 7:00pm
This meeting will be broadcast online via Zoom
 Register to receive login information.

New to Zoom? Check out all you need to know here before the meeting.

The Return of Gray Wolves to California

Once common throughout much of North America, the gray wolf (Canis lupus) was driven to localized extinction in most areas of the contiguous United States by the mid-1930s through bounties and wildly successful predator control efforts. The last wild gray wolf in California was shot in Lassen County in 1924. 

Flash forward to late December 2011, when a young male wolf known as OR-7 entered our state from Oregon, making him the first known wild wolf in the Golden State in nearly 90 years. In Summer 2015, news spread that California’s first resident wolf family, dubbed the Shasta Pack for the massive dormant volcano near where they were discovered, had settled into eastern Siskiyou County. The following summer, we learned about the Lassen Pack, which straddles the Lassen/Plumas county line and has produced pups every year since 2017. Yet another pair of wolves, known as the Whaleback Pack in Siskiyou County, produced seven pups in 2021. Wolves are no longer merely passing through; they’re settling in and making themselves at home here in our state.

This presentation will provide an overview of gray wolf natural history, ecological role and current distribution and population in North America and here in California. The historic reintroduction efforts in the northern Rockies to bring wolves back from the brink of extinction will be discussed, as will implications for wolf recovery in the western states with an emphasis on the importance of coexistence and moving beyond myths.

Speaker Bio:

Pamela Flick is the California Program Director for Defenders of Wildlife based in Sacramento, where she engages on a variety of issues statewide including gray wolf recovery, responsible renewable energy planning and development, forest resilience and fire restoration, and advancing conservation of imperiled species and natural communities.

Pam is a founding member of the Pacific Wolf Coalition and has served as an advisor to the Department of Fish and Wildlife in development of the Conservation Plan for Gray Wolves in California and the Department’s wolf conflict compensation pilot program. She currently serves on Sierra Forest Legacy’s advisory board, the Southern Sierra Prescribed Fire Council advisory committee, and the Southern Sierra Nevada Fisher Working Group.

Prior to joining Defenders in 2005, Pam worked to permanently protect public lands and rivers throughout the Golden State in various roles within the California Wild Heritage Campaign, Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign and at Friends of the River.

Pam graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Sacramento with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in Biological Sciences. She also holds associate degrees in Biology and Liberal Studies from Sierra College and is a Certified California Naturalist through the University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. She is a third-generation Californian and hails from Mariposa.



Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.
Apr
16
Sat
2022
Introduction to birding at the River Center @ River Center
Apr 16 @ 9:00 am – 11:00 am

Join the River Parkway Trust and Fresno Audubon for an Introduction to Birding Class at the Coke Hallowell Center for River Studies.

Class participants will learn how to use binoculars, why birding is a fun and valuable hobby, and about the resources available to help identify birds. After the initial class work, participants will accompany Fresno Audubon experts on a bird walk around the River Center property including the Hidden Homes Trail. This class will begin at the Wisteria Shade Arbor just north of the Ranch House.

Participants should bring binoculars, snacks, water, and sun protection. Fresno Audubon will have binoculars to loan for anyone who doesn’t have their own pair.

There is no cost to attend. Children are welcome.

Please register for the event here.

Apr
23
Sat
2022
Introductory Bird Walk at the River Center @ River Center
Apr 23 @ 8:00 am – 12:00 pm

Join Fresno Audubon Society experts for an entry-level bird walk at the River Center. This is a follow-on birding trip for our Introduction to Birding class, but all (including children) are welcome. Bring your own binoculars or borrow a pair from Fresno Audubon. Also bring sun protection such as a hat and sunscreen, plus water and snacks.

Please register for the event here.

Apr
24
Sun
2022
FAS Board Meeting @ Zoom meeting
Apr 24 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Contact rsnow@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials

May
10
Tue
2022
General Meeting – “Dan Airola – Yellow-billed Magpies” @ Zoom
May 10 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

 Virtual General Meeting

Dan Airola

Yellow-Billed Magpie Population Status in Urban Sacramento

Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting May 10th, 7:00pm
This meeting will be broadcast online via Zoom
 Register to receive login information.

New to Zoom? Check out all you need to know here before the meeting.

Program Description

Dan’s talk covers his studies of the Yellow-billed Magpie population that occupies parks and other open space areas within the urban Sacramento area. Dan documents the previously unstudied ecology of Central Valley magpie populations. He also describes new information that explains the occurrence and abundance of magpies in this area. He also solves the mystery of how magpies appear to have maintained stable and healthy populations in this urban area, while populations in more rural areas have been decimated by West Nile virus.

Speaker Bio:

Dan Airola is a Wildlife Biologist and Ornithologist,  who has lived in the Central Valley since 1985. Dan conducts research and conservation efforts for birds of concern in northern California, often with a community science component. He began studies of Yellow-billed Magpies during 2020 after discovering that almost no ecological study of the species had occurred in the Central Valley. His other research and conservation program species include the Tricolored Blackbird, Purple Martin, Swainson’s Hawk, Osprey, and migratory and wintering songbirds. He is a Board member and Conservation Chair of the Central Valley Bird Club, and Editor of the journal Central Valley Birds. His recent book on 30 years of Purple Martin research and management is available at cvbirds.org.



Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.