EVENT CALENDAR - Fresno Audubon Society

Virtual General Meeting

Lily Douglas

The Central Valley Joint Venture

-creating habitat for migrating birds

Virtual General Meeting

Jack Jefferys

Hakalau Forest NWR and the Birds of Hawaii.

Virtual General Meeting

Matt Allshouse

The Audubon Conservation Ranching Program

Grant Grove Bird Walk

September 10, 2022

Virtual General Meeting

John Sterling

Birding Adventures in Morocco

Virtual General Meeting

Lily Douglas

The Central Valley Joint Venture

-creating habitat for migrating birds

Virtual General Meeting

Jack Jefferys

Hakalau Forest NWR and the Birds of Hawaii.

Virtual General Meeting

Matt Allshouse

The Audubon Conservation Ranching Program

Grant Grove Bird Walk

September 10, 2022

Virtual General Meeting

John Sterling

Birding Adventures in Morocco

Title: Audubon Conservation Ranching: Incentivizing Regenerative Grassland Management by Connecting Certified Ranches to Consumer Markets

Title: John Sterling: Birding Adventures in Morocco

Title: Audubon Conservation Ranching: Incentivizing Regenerative Grassland Management by Connecting Certified Ranches to Consumer Markets

Title: John Sterling: Birding Adventures in Morocco

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Swanson Meadow/McKinley Grove/Courtright Reservoir @ Swanson Meadow/McKinley Grove/Courtright Reservoir

Jun 11 @ 6:00 am – 3:00 pm

Western Tanager by Clayton Dahlen

Swanson Meadow/McKinley Grove/Courtright Reservoir

Join Fresno Audubon on Saturday, June 11 as we journey up Dinkey Creek Road and McKinley Grove Road to visit various birding hotspots. We will meet at 6:00 AM in the Wal Mart parking Lot at Ashlan and Blackstone (36.793565, -119.789792, near El Pollo Loco) to arrange carpooling. The group will depart by 6:15 AM. Our first stop will be the Edison Rest Area (located just outside the town of Shaver Lake at 37.104806, -119.309209). We will bird around the rest area for approximately 30 minutes. Goal birds at this location include Fox Sparrow, Mountain Chickadee, MacGillivray’s Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Western Tanager. From there, we will head to Swanson Meadow (37.095708, -119.291487), where we will bird for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. Goal birds at Swanson Meadow include Green-tailed Towhee, Lazuli Bunting, Cassin’s Vireo, Chipping Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and many more!

Our next stop will be McKinley Grove (37.022900, -119.108313), where we will bird for approximately 1.5 hours. Goal birds at McKinley Grove include Hermit Warbler, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Pacific Wren, Purple Finch, and White-headed Woodpecker.

Our next stop will be Courtright Reservoir (37.076151, -118.974566), where we will sit down for a picnic lunch and spend approximately 2 hours birding. Goal birds at Courtright Reservoir include Hermit Thrush, Mountain White-crowned Sparrow, Violet-green Swalllow, Clark’s Nutcracker, Cassin’s Finch, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Williamson’s Sapsucker, and Black-backed Woodpecker. The plan is to depart the Courtright area around 3:30 or 4:00 PM.

Participants can certainly leave earlier if they’d prefer. Participants should bring snacks, lunch, water, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, and binoculars, and should dress in layers.

Registration is required and there is a limit of 25 participants.

Please reach out to trip leader Rachel Clark at 515-357-0122 or tanagergirl@gmail.com with any questions.

Meeting Place Map

Please register for the event here.

Categories: Birding Classes

Let’s Go Birding Together @ Dinkey Creek Road and McKinley Grove Road

Tickets

Jun 12 @ 7:00 am – 3:00 pm

Green-tailed Towhee by Gary Woods

Register Here

Let’s Go Birding Together!

Fresno Audubon Society (FAS) President Rachel Clark will be leading a beginning birding trip exploring various locations along Dinkey Creek and McKinley Grove Roads in the Sierra National Forest, near Shaver Lake. This event is co-sponsored with LGBT Fresno. Stop by our booth at Fresno Pride on June 4th!

FAS invites the Fresno LGBTQIA++ community to join us in celebrating not just the diversity of the birds in area, but also our people. Let’s Go Birding Together! is a birding walk intentionally welcoming of the LGBTQIA++ community and is designed to be a space where people can be themselves without fear of judgment. Let’s Go Birding Together! bird walks are held nationwide during June to build community and create diversity, reflecting the biodiversity in our ecosystems.

Our FAS leaders will point out birds, enthusiastically identify them and share their knowledge about the birds. All ages, allies, and families are welcome, but youth under 18 years should be accompanied by a parent/guardian. Loaner binoculars will be available.

Even if you have never been birding before, you are specifically welcome to join!

We will be meeting at 7:00 AM in the Walmart parking lot at Blackstone and Ashlan, near the El Pollo Loco, to arrange carpooling (36.793721, -119.789637). The plan will be to depart Fresno by 7:15 AM. We will wrap the birding festivities up around 2:30 PM and head back down to Fresno.

Participants should bring plenty of water, snacks, a lunch, sunscreen, a hat, binoculars (if you have them), and should dress in layers. We will have some loaner binoculars available for participants’ use. Registration is required for this event, and is limited to 30 people, so sign up as soon as you can!

Please reach out to trip leader Rachel Clark at 515-357-0122 or tanagergirl@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns.

Meeting Place Map

For more perspective on this topic, feel free to check out the following article:

“For the LGBTQ Community, Birding Can Be a Relief—and a Source of Anxiety”

Register Here

Categories: Birding Classes

General Meeting – Lily Douglas- The Central Valley Joint Venture – creating habitat for migrating birds @ Zoom

Tickets

Jun 14 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting June 14th, 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.

Lily Douglas with Tricolored Blackbird

Program Description:

The Central Valley is a critically important part of the Pacific Flyway, which extends from the Arctic to South America, and is used by over 100 million birds of 400 species every year. Approximately 95% of natural habitat in the Central Valley has been transformed for human uses, and unpredictable water supplies and other climate change impacts threaten the future of farms, wetlands, and other bird habitats.

The Central Valley Joint Venture (CVJV) partners with private landowners, local governments, non-profit organizations, and others to conserve Central Valley birds and their habitats for current and future generations. In 2021, the CVJV released its updated Implementation Plan, laying out objectives to support healthy bird populations and benefit people and communities in the Central Valley. Lily Douglas, the CVJV’s Assistant Coordinator, will discuss the formation of the migratory bird joint ventures, the history and structure of the CVJV, the updated Implementation Plan, and how you can help.

Speaker Bio:

Lily Douglas is the Assistant Coordinator of the Central Valley Joint Venture for migratory bird habitat conservation. She has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for nine years, previously in roles implementing the Endangered Species Act for species in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. Prior to that she worked with Greater Sage-Grouse for the Bureau of Land Management and as a GIS Analyst with an environmental consulting firm. Lily also sits on the Board of Directors for the Central Valley Bird Club and co-authored the book Sacramento County Breeding Birds: A Tale of Two Atlases and Three Decades of Change, released last year.

Register here!

Fresno Audubon Society

PO Box 3315

Pinedale, CA 93650-3315

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

Categories: General Meeting

Stevens Ranch/Elkhorn Slough, 22 June 2022 @ Stephens Ranch

Tickets

Jun 22 @ 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit and Willet by Peter Nagayama

Register here

Join us for an exciting field trip to the Stevens Ranch in Moss Landing. This unique property was originally purchased by David Packard to stop the development of the northern side of Elkhorn Slough. His son-in-law Robert Stevens continues to run the ranch as a haven for birdlife. Expect to see numerous species of upland birds as well as shorebirds in the multi-thousands.

This is an out of town trip starting at 8:00 am, so you can either stay the night before nearby (Watsonville is the most economical) or leave Fresno at 5:30 am to arrive by 8:00. After birding the ranch we will eat lunch and then bird the Elkhart Slough mouth at Moss Landing before returning home. Expect the day to end around 4:00 pm.

Register here

Checklist: binoculars, bird guide, water, sun protection and lunch.

Leader: Robert Snow, (650)483-2347, rsnow@fresnoaudubon.org.

Directions to the Stephens Ranch. The coordinates are Struve Rd, Moss Landing, CA 95039, 36.831258, -121.758357. From Highway 1, turn east on Struve road. Turn right in 0.15 miles and proceed another 0.15 miles. Park near the ranch house.

Categories: Field Trips

General Meeting July 2022- Jack Jefferys- Hakalau Forest NWR and the birds of Hawaii @ Zoom

Tickets

Jul 12 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting July 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.

Program Description:

The Hawaiian Archipelago is the most isolated chain of islands in the world, over twenty-five hundred miles from the nearest continent. Very few plants and animals have ever reached these remote islands on their own, but those that did, evolved over time and became unique to the Islands. About five and a half million years ago, a small flock of finch like birds from Asia, likely blown off course, arrived in the Hawaiian islands. Unrestricted food supplies and adaptations through competition for these food resources created evolutionary opportunities for speciation through specialization of bill forms and body size. From this one colonization the Hawaiian Honeycreepers evolved into over fifty different bird species found nowhere else on earth. Some Honeycreepers, like the scarlet I’iwi, evolved long curved bills to feed on nectar in the curved flowers of native plants, like those of the Bell flower family or Lobelias and provide for their pollination. Other bird species adapted to feed on insects in different ways. For example, the tiny Hawaii Akepa, with its short straight bill, crossed at the tip, gleans micro insects from leaf buds. The Akialoa’s long thin bill, almost as long as its body, was used to poke deep into tree crevices to find insects that no other bird could reach. The Akiapola’au has one of the most unusual bills in the bird world. Its upper bill is long, thin and down curved, and lower bill short straight and stout feeds like a woodpecker, but with its mouth open. It pecks into the tree wood with its lower short-stout bill, then uses the upper long curved bill to reach into the hole to wrench out wood-boring beetle larvae. Today, only 17 Hawaiian Honeycreepers species remain in the Islands, but with continued habitat protection and restoration as is happening at Hakalau Forest NWR on Hawaii Island and other areas in the State, as well as captive breeding and release, and active research on control of mosquitoes and avian diseases, the remaining Hawaiian Honeycreepers will hopefully survive far into the future.

Speaker Bio:

Jack Jeffrey, a longtime resident of Hawaii Island, is a professional wildlife and nature photographer, birding guide, and wildlife biologist. He is intimately familiar with Hawaii’s remote rainforests, hidden valleys, and rare endemic birds. He brings to his images the knowledge from over 50 years of observation and study of Hawaii’s native forest birds, as well as those in other places from his travels around the world. He combines a naturalist’s curiosity with a photographer’s patience and technical skill to produce beautiful images.

Jack is recipient of the prestigious “Ansel Adams Award for Nature Photography”, and is a USFWS “Endangered Species Recovery Champion”. He has also received the coveted Nature Conservancy of Hawaii Kako’o Aina Award, Hawaii Sierra Club Conservationist of the Year Award, and the Hawaii Audubon Society Conservationist of the Year Award. Now retired from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, he is enjoying more time traveling with his wife Gretchen, leading tours and photographing wildlife and nature around the world.

Register here!

Fresno Audubon Society

PO Box 3315

Pinedale, CA 93650-3315

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

Categories: General Meeting

General Meeting – Matt Allshouse- Audubon Conservation Ranching Program. @ Zoom

Tickets

Aug 9 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting August 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.

Program Description:

California has roughly 40 million acres of rangelands that provide food production, carbon sequestration, water infiltration, and habitat for a wide range of species. However, this historic land use is under threat with an average of 20,000 acres a year being lost to development or crop conversion. Climate change, invasive species, aquifer depletion, and outdated grazing practices also degrade large portions of grasslands, increasing economic and ecological vulnerability. This in turn has contributed to steep declines in grassland bird species across California and the United States.

Audubon launched its Conservation Ranching program (ACR) here in California in 2019. This program is designed to stem the conversion of grassland ecosystems and improve the ecological functions of rangelands by partnering with ranchers to transition to more regenerative grazing approaches via a ranch certification program. This presentation will highlight the ACR program components which includes the development of ranch-specific Habitat Management Plans and a third-party certified set of regenerative grazing practices to increase climate-driven drought resiliency, rebuild soil organic matter, enhance plant diversity and cover, increase water infiltration and carbon sequestration, and increase overall biodiversity. This ecological resilience can translate to economic resilience, as participating producers are able to use the Audubon certification logo on their product – providing a market incentive to landowners to enroll in this program through increased sales or revenue. This presentation will highlight program practices, early results and opportunities for enrollment.

Here are some links to program specifics:

https://ca.audubon.org/conservation/conservation-ranching

https://www.audubon.org/news/what-world-conservation-ranching

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/spring-2017/how-cattle-ranchers-are-helping-save-western

Speaker Bio:

Matt Allshouse came to Audubon California from Wyoming and has been the Conservation Ranching Program Manager for the state since September 2019. As a rangeland ecologist, he has 15 years of experience associated with land policy, management, and science. Previously, Matt served as Ranch Manager for Antelope Springs Land and Cattle in Wyoming, as a Biologist for the Peregrine Fund in Belize and Guatemala directing conservation field research, and as Ecologist with the consulting firm Trihydro Corporation focusing on restoration ecology. Matt holds a dual Bachelor’s degree in Environment and Natural Resources, and Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management from University of Wyoming.

Pelayo Alvarez works as the Director of the Conservation Ranching Program in California. Before joining Audubon Pelayo worked for the Carbon Cycle Institute where he helped establish carbon farming programs across California. Pelayo has experience working with the ranching community, government agencies, academia and other stakeholders on rangeland conservation initiatives including the development of programs to incentivize good stewardship practices on rangelands. Pelayo also worked for Defenders of Wildlife as the Conservation Program Director for the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition where he coordinated research and outreach activities. Pelayo also teaches Rangeland Ecology and Management at American River College in Sacramento. His previous work experience includes positions at UC Davis, The World Bank and The Nature Conservancy. He has a bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine from Universidad de Leon (Spain), a MS degree in Animal Science from Oklahoma State University and a PhD in Ecology from UC Davis.

Register here!

Fresno Audubon Society

PO Box 3315

Pinedale, CA 93650-3315

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

Categories: General Meeting

FAS Board Meeting @ Zoom meeting

Tickets

Aug 28 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Contact rsnow@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials

Categories: Board Meetings

Field Trip to Woodward Park (Rare Bird) @ Woodward Park

Tickets

Sep 9 @ 7:00 am – 7:00 am

Rare Bird Sighting

Woodward Park, Friday, September 9, 2022

Please register here.

As you might have heard, a very rare Prothonotary Warbler has been spotted at Woodward Park this week. This may be only the second Valley record of all time. These birds typically favor swamps in the southeast, like Louisiana. FAS invites you to join us on Friday morning at 7am, with leader FAS President Rachel Clark, to try for a chance to spot this rare bird, assuming it cooperates and stays in the vicinity.

Note: There is a $5 fee to enter the park.

Where: Woodward Park, Lake View Picnic Shelter

When: Friday, Sept 9, 7am

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

Please register here.

Categories: Field Trips

Grant Grove, Sept. 10, 2022 @ Grant Grove

Tickets

Sep 10 @ 6:00 am – 3:00 pm

Register here

Join Fresno Audubon on Saturday, September 10, as we journey up Highway 180 to the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park and beyond. Registration for this trip is required. Register here

We will meet at 6:00 AM in the parking lot between Javier’s Mexican Restaurant (5680 E. Kings Canyon Rd.) and the Educational Employees Credit Union to arrange carpooling. See Map Below.

The group will depart by 6:15 AM. Our first stop will be Grant Grove Village, where we will bird around the meadow. We will then drive about 6.5 miles farther on Highway 180 to the Indian Basin Grove Interpretive Trail/Princess Campground. Depending on time, we may also stop at the Big Stump Grove on the way back. We will head back down by about 3pm. Participants can certainly leave earlier if they’d prefer.

Participants should bring snacks, lunch, water, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, and binoculars. Registration is required and there is a limit of 25 participants.

Please reach out to trip leader Kevin Enns-Rempel (559-313-4546 or kevin.enns.rempel@gmail.com) with any questions.

Register here

Categories: Field Trips

General Meeting – John Sterling: Birding Adventures in Morocco @ Zoom

Tickets

Sep 13 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting September 13th, 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:

John will share highlights from his tours’ adventures in Morocco. With its high mountains, high desert, low Sahara desert, agricultural plains, coastal lagoons, cork oak woodland, and coniferous forest, Morocco has much to offer to birds and birders. Home to several endemic bird species as well as North Africa species not readily seen elsewhere, it is also along the major migratory pathway for European migrants including shorebirds, raptors, songbirds and others. Join us for a virtual tour of the country’s birds, landscapes and culture.

John Sterling has been a hard core birder in California since he was shown a Pileated Woodpecker in 5th grade camp in 1971. He is a professional ornithologist and has worked for the Smithsonian Institution, US Forest Service research stations, HT Harvey & Associates, Arizona and Oregon state universities among other organizations since 1981. John has traveled extensively throughout California learning about local bird distribution and is an authority on that state’s avifauna. In 2015 he set the California’s new big year record with 501 species and has many big day records as well. He has traveled internationally as a guide and ornithologist for many institutions including projects as a Smithsonian ornithologist to Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, The Philippines, Sumatra, Canada and Russia. John currently has his own company, Sterling Wildlife Biology (www.sterlingbirds.com), specializing in tours, birding classes, research and environmental consulting for The Nature Conservancy, the Kern Water Bank, the California Rice Commission, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, National Audubon’s International Alliance Program, CA Dept. of Water Resources among other organizations.

Register here!

Fresno Audubon Society

PO Box 3315

Pinedale, CA 93650-3315

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

Categories: General Meeting

11

Swanson Meadow/McKinley Grove/Courtright Reservoir 6:00 am

Swanson Meadow/McKinley Grove/Courtright Reservoir @ Swanson Meadow/McKinley Grove/Courtright Reservoir
Jun 11 @ 6:00 am – 3:00 pm

Tickets

Register Here Swanson Meadow/McKinley Grove/Courtright Reservoir Join Fresno Audubon on Saturday, June 11 as we journey up Dinkey Creek Road and McKinley Grove Road to visit various birding hotspots. We will meet at 6:00 AM in the Wal Mart parking Lot at Ashlan and Blackstone...

12

Let’s Go Birding Together 7:00 am

Let’s Go Birding Together @ Dinkey Creek Road and McKinley Grove Road
Jun 12 @ 7:00 am – 3:00 pm

Tickets

Register Here Let’s Go Birding Together! Fresno Audubon Society (FAS) President Rachel Clark will be leading a beginning birding trip exploring various locations along Dinkey Creek and McKinley Grove Roads in the Sierra National Forest, near Shaver Lake. This event is co-sponsored with LGBT Fresno. Stop...

14

General Meeting – Lily Douglas- The Central Valley Joint Venture – creating habitat for migrating birds 7:00 pm

General Meeting – Lily Douglas- The Central Valley Joint Venture – creating habitat for migrating birds @ Zoom
Jun 14 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Tickets

Virtual General Meeting Lily Douglas The Central Valley Joint Venture -creating habitat for migrating birds Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting June 14th, 7:00pm This meeting will be broadcast online via Zoom Register to receive login information. New to Zoom? Check out all you...

22

Stevens Ranch/Elkhorn Slough, 22 June 2022 8:00 am

Stevens Ranch/Elkhorn Slough, 22 June 2022 @ Stephens Ranch
Jun 22 @ 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Tickets

Register here Join us for an exciting field trip to the Stevens Ranch in Moss Landing. This unique property was originally purchased by David Packard to stop the development of the northern side of Elkhorn Slough. His son-in-law Robert Stevens continues to run the...