EVENT CALENDAR - Fresno Audubon Society
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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Lost Lake Christmas Bird Count 2024
Lost Lake Christmas Bird Count 2024
Dec 14 all-day
Lost Lake Christmas Bird Count 2024
Lost Lake Christmas Bird Count Details Subject to Change.   On Saturday, December 14, 2024, Fresno Audubon will be hosting the annual Lost Lake Christmas Bird Count, which covers sections of both Fresno and Madera Counties. Participants will be assigned to particular sections, and will...
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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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Apr
22
Sat
2023
Earth Day Fresno Celebration @ Fresno City College
Apr 22 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Earth Day Fresno is putting on a celebration on the Fresno City College campus from 10 AM to 4 PM.

 

This is a free, family-friendly outdoor festival that will feature various educational exhibits and activities.

 

Fresno Audubon will be running one of the educational booths. Be sure to stop by and say “Hello”!

 

For more information please see https://earthdayfresno.org/.

May
9
Tue
2023
General Meeting – May 2023 Tom Hahn, University of California, Davis: Natural History of Western Finches @ Zoom
May 9 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

 Virtual General Meeting

Tom Hahn, University of California, Davis

Natural History of Western Finches

Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting May 9th, 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.

Tom Hahn, University of California, Davis: Natural History of Western Finches

 

Description: 

Finches are, in many respects, the archetype of what people think of when they hear the word “bird.”  Yet concealed in that “typical bird” form lies amazing variation.  Among our numerous western finches – goldfinches, siskins, crossbills, grosbeaks, and so forth – we have: birds that are about as likely to breed in January when the snow lies deep on the ground as they are in July, birds that perfectly match the calls of their mates, birds that pack their songs with precise imitations of the sounds of other species, birds that seldom breed in the same place two years running, birds that we can only tell apart reliably by their flight calls, birds that can breed “in the streaked plumage of youth,” birds who can nest far from their food sources because they possess hefty food-transport pouches, and birds whose mandible tips don’t even line up.  This presentation will be a tour of the striking natural history, behavior, morphology, and physiology of our western finches, and highlight ways that field ornithologists and bird watchers can add to our growing knowledge about these fascinating birds.

Bio: 

Tom Hahn is a professor of biology at the University of California, Davis.  He has been studying western Cardueline finches since the late 1980s, when he began working on reproductive schedules of red crossbills for his doctoral research.  Since then, he and his students have spent many hours in the field studying the reproductive schedules, migratory habits, vocal behavior, habitat associations and other aspects of the natural history of red crossbills, white-winged crossbills, evening grosbeaks, pine siskins, house finches, Cassin’s finches, purple finches, American goldfinches, lesser goldfinches, pine grosbeaks, common redpolls and gray-crowned rosy-finches.


Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.
May
20
Sat
2023
Introduction to Birding May 20, 2023 @ Sumner Peck Ranch
May 20 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Introduction to Birding at the Sumner Peck Ranch

14439 N Friant Rd
Friant, CA 93626

Please register for the May 20 event here.

 

The Parkway Trust and Fresno Audubon Society have joined forces to offer a birding class that combines instruction, exploration, and fun! Beginning birders will see and learn about local and migratory birds that might be visiting the Sumner Peck Ranch. New birders will discover easy ways to identify migrating and year-round, local birds. The class will include a walk looking for birds in the various habitats found at the Sumner Peck Ranch. We will meet at the new picnic shelter on the north side of the center. After entering the grounds, proceed straight ahead towards the river. There is a parking area and a picnic area at the river. After learning about using binoculars and various aids in bird identification like guide books and phone apps, we will bird around the property. Bring binoculars, lunch, water and sun protection.  Fresno Audubon will have binoculars to loan if you do not have your own. Children are welcome! Rain cancels this event.
Class is held from 9 AM -12 PM on the third Saturday of each month from October through May.

 

Please register for the May 20 event here.

Jun
3
Sat
2023
Fresno Rainbow Pride Celebration @ Fresno City College
Jun 3 @ 11:00 am – 3:00 pm

Fresno Audubon will have a booth at the Fresno Rainbow Pride celebration on the Fresno City College campus from 11 AM to 3 PM.

 

We will be distributing native plant seeds you can plant to attract birds to your yard.

 

Be sure to stop by and say “Hello”!

 

 

 

For more information please see https://fresnorainbowpride.com.

Jun
13
Tue
2023
No General Meeting – June 2023 Meetings resume in September @ Zoom
Jun 13 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

No Virtual General Meeting

Meetings resume in September


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

 

Description: 



Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.
Jul
11
Tue
2023
No General Meeting – July 2023 Meetings resume in September @ Zoom
Jul 11 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

No Virtual General Meeting

Meetings resume in September


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

 

Description: 



Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.
Aug
8
Tue
2023
No General Meeting – August 2023 Meetings resume in September @ Zoom
Aug 8 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

No Virtual General Meeting

Meetings resume in September


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

 

Description: 



Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.
Sep
12
Tue
2023
September 2023 General Meeting @ Zoom
Sep 12 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

September 2023 General Meeting

This meeting will be broadcast online via Zoom
Register to receive login information.

Register here for Fresno Audubon General Meeting.

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

Sept 12, 2023

Speaker: Rob Furrow
Title: Flight Calls to Monitor Nocturnal Migration in the Central Valley

Robert Furrow2


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

Robert Furrow1

Description: 

Most songbird migration happens while we’re sleeping, with warblers, sparrows, and other birds passing overhead during their nocturnal flights. These migrating birds are not entirely silent during the night; many species repeatedly make short calls as they fly, referred to as nocturnal flight calls. In this presentation Rob will outline the basics of how bird migration can be monitored using audio recordings of nocturnal flight calls. Then he will describe initial results from a pilot study of nocturnal flight calls in the Central Valley, conducted with UC Davis undergraduate Cameron Tescher, as well as more recent work recording sight-verified flight calls of western migrants at ridge migration sites. Throughout, the audience will learn about when and where they might be able to hear these flight calls, and how to identify a few of the most common calls.

 

 

Speaker Bio: 

Rob Furrow is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology at UC Davis. He has been birding since his youth and revels in early mornings with migrating songbirds. Nocturnal flight calls have long been an interest of his, so he was thrilled to take on these projects working alongside curious and dedicated UC Davis undergraduates.



Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.
Oct
10
Tue
2023
CANCELED General Meeting – Oct. 2023 Bruce Lyon, The Breeding Biology of Coots @ Zoom
Oct 10 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

 Virtual General Meeting

Bruce Lyon

The Breeding Biology of Coots:

The meeting for tonight is canceled.

Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting Oct. 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.

Bruce Lyon, The Breeding Biology of Coots

Description:

Reconsider the coot: the crazy reproductive antics of a common marsh denizen.

Coots are often overlooked by birders because they are so common. I have been studying the reproductive antics of American coots for the past two decades and have discovered that there is far more to this bird than meets the eye. In the talk I highlight some of our discoveries about the parental and reproductive strategies of coots, from both a natural history and scientific perspective. We all are familiar with the story of the cuckoo female that lays eggs in the nests of other species rather than raising chicks herself.  Some coot females do this sort of thing, but they lay their eggs in the nests of other coot females. Why would they do this — why lay eggs elsewhere when you have your own nest? What do the birds that receive these unwanted foster eggs do? Coots are just as bizarre when it comes to raising their own kids, and there are many puzzling features of coot parental care behavior. For example, why do coots lay far more eggs than they can normally raise and why do they beat up their kids so much? And, finally, why are baby coots born with such a ridiculously fluorescent orange plumage? I will answer these questions in my talk. In addition, because our coot research was done in a wild part of central British Columbia, I will also briefly highlight a few of the special birds we encounter at our study site. Finally, the research program is expanding to ask similar questions in a mysterious coot in the High Andes of Argentina.

Bio: 

 

Bruce Lyon is a professor of Evolutionary Ecology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His research focuses on the evolution of reproductive strategies and mating behavior of birds. His long-term research on the adaptive basis of brood parasitism in American coots has sought to understand why parasitism within species evolves and how the behavior influences other aspects of social behavior. Dr. Lyon has also investigated the evolution of ornamental plumage signals in a variety of species, including lark buntings, lazuli buntings and the evolution of ornamental offspring plumage in the newly hatched chicks of American coots. Most recently, he has conducted a decade-long investigation into the winter social lives of migrant golden-crowned sparrows that spent their winters on the Arboretum of the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has also begun work on the horned coot, a rare and giant South American coot species with boring drab chicks.



Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.
Oct
21
Sat
2023
Introduction to Birding October 21, 2023 @ River Center
Oct 21 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Introduction to Birding at the River Center

11605 Old Friant Rd
Fresno, CA 93730

Please register for the October 21 event here.

 

The Parkway Trust and Fresno Audubon Society have joined forces to offer a birding class that combines instruction, exploration, and fun! Beginning birders will see and learn about local and migratory birds that might be visiting the River Center. New birders will discover easy ways to identify migrating and year-round, local birds. The class will include a walk looking for birds in the various habitats found at the River Center. We will meet at the new picnic shelter on the north side of the center. After learning about using binoculars and various aids in bird identification like guide books and phone apps, we will bird around the property. Bring binoculars, lunch, water and sun protection.  Fresno Audubon will have binoculars to loan if you do not have your own. Children are welcome!
Rain cancels this event.
Class is held from 9 AM -12 PM on the third Saturday of each month from October through May.

Please register for the October 21 event here.