May 2018 Yellowbill

02 May May 2018 Yellowbill

President’s Message

May is the final month in our fall-to-spring birding season. Our final general meeting of the season will feature Andrea Jones, Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon California. Andrea will speak on Audubon’s efforts to preserve the Salton Sea as a critical node in the migratory path of thousands of birds. Audubon is focusing on both habitat preservation (as the source of water for this terminal lake is diverted to San Diego) and the health risks to the residents of the area. The inevitable shrinking of the Salton Sea will produce  selenium-laden dust that must be mitigated. Audubon has developed plans to reduce the dust and preserve critical habitat, and will continue to fight for funds to implement these plans. I hope you will come to hear about this important project.

We have three field trips this month and a final one in early June. Two of the trips will be to local parks and two will head into the mountains. Later this summer we will be planning our walks for the next birding season so watch for an eblast announcing the planning meetings. The field trips are the most popular events we sponsor, and we are always looking for volunteers to lead the trips. Please let us know if you are interested in helping out by leading a trip, or if you have a suggestion for a field trip location. Just drop a note to admin@fresnoaudubon.org with your ideas.

Robert Snow, President

May Meeting
Tuesday 8 May 2018 at 7:00 pm
Audubon’s Salton Sea Program
Andrea Jones
Director of Bird Conservation, Audubon California

The Salton Sea, an inland saline lake covering 350 square miles in southern California, is a critically endangered “Important Bird Area” that hosts 2/3 of California’s bird species. Andrea will highlight why the Salton Sea is so important that over 400 species of birds use its habitats and will describe which species are most threatened by a changing Sea.

Andrea will discuss past efforts to “restore” the sea and describe how Audubon is currently engaging  in a new solution for the Salton Sea that will be beneficial to both birds and people.

Andrea has worked at Audubon California for the past 10 years. She leads conservation programs and works with staff and the network of Audubon chapters across the state to implement conservation projects at high priority Important Bird Areas (IBAs). She oversees Audubon’s efforts in priority bird species and serves as the spokeswoman for bird conservation across California. Prior to Audubon California, Andrea worked at Massachusetts Audubon where she served as the Director of the Coastal Waterbird Program. Andrea received her M.S. in Wildlife Conservation/Ornithology and her B.S. in Wildlife Biology and Management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is a past board member of Morro Coast Audubon and currently resides in the East Bay.

The meeting will be held at UC Center, UC Center, 550 E Shaw Ave, Fresno, CA 93710.

Field Trips

Fresno Audubon offers field trips on Wednesdays (twice per month) and Saturdays (once per month) from September through June. Our website has a great calendar that allows you to see all the details of an upcoming trip as they become finalized. Included in the details is a map showing the meeting point for the trip. The calendar is subscribable, which allows you to integrate it into whatever electronic calendar you use. Updates to events will appear as they are made. We encourage you to subscribe.

May/June Field Trips

Wednesday 9 May 2018. Roeding Park with Judy Johnson

Come join us and bird Roeding Park at 7:45 AM, May 9th. We will meet at the zoo entrance.  After entering Roeding Park through the Olive or Belmont pay stations, follow the signs to the Zoo entrance. Note that there is a $5 charge to enter the park after about 8:30 AM, but the collection booths should be unstaffed before 8:00 AM. There should be good chances to photograph Wood Ducks and nesting Egrets.  Hope to see you there.

Judy Johnson
jajohn1@comcast.net
(559) 977-2787

Map to trip location:

Saturday 19 May 2018. Swanson Meadow with Alex Single

Wednesday 23 May 2018. Lost Lake Park with Susan Estep

Come join us to bird the top eBird hotspot in the area. We will meet at 7:45 at the Target Parking lot in RiverPark to carpool, or you can meet the group at 8:15 at the southern end of the park at the Audubon Nature Trail parking lot. There is a $5 entrance fee unless you have the county park pass.

Susan Estep
estepmail@yahoo.com
(402) 212-1215‬

Checklist: binoculars, scope, field guide, snacks, lunch, water, hat.

Map to the meeting point:

Wednesday 6 June 2018. Wawona with Susan Estep

Our final field trip of the season will be to Yosemite’s Wawona meadows and forests.

We will meet at 7:45 at the Target Parking lot in RiverPark to carpool. There is a $30 entrance fee in Yosemite unless you have the federal lands pass.

Susan Estep
estepmail@yahoo.com
(402) 212-1215‬

Checklist: binoculars, scope, field guide, snacks, lunch, water, hat.

Map to the meeting point:

FRESNO-MADERA BIRDS
by Jeff Davis
photos by Gary Woods
Including reports for the period of
March 16, 2018 to April 15, 2018

About 200 Greater White-fronted Geese at Mendota Wildlife Area April

Greater White-fronted Goose

11 (ph. GF et al.) represented a large group for Fresno County; most reports of this species from our area are of single birds. Two Red-breasted Mergansers at Shaver Lake March 28 (CR) provided our first record of this

Red-breasted Merganser

species from the mountains; they were first reported during the previous period but without observer details. Madera County’s fourth Pacific Golden-Plover visited Madera Wastewater Treatment Plant April

Pacific Golden-Plover

13 (JD, LY, et al.) and April 14 (JS; PG). A total of 79 Lewis’s Woodpeckers

Lewis’s Woodpecker

at SJER April 4 (JT) was one of the highest single-locality counts from our area. A nicely photographed Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted intergrade Northern Flicker was along the Madera Canal March 23 (ph. GW).

Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted intergrade Northern Flicker

Reported less than annually in our area, a Purple Martin passed over SJER April 12 (EE). A Bank Swallow at Hensley Lake April 13 (JD, LY, et al.)

Bank Swallow

furnished a rare spring record. A Yellow Warbler at the I-5 Coalinga-

Yellow Warbler

Avenal Rest Area (DC) and a Western Tanager at McKenzie Preserve (JT,

Western Tanager

EE, WH) April 11 were about a week ahead of the long-term average. Similarly, a Black-headed Grosbeak at Eastman Lake March 28 (NP, LP)

Black-headed Grosbeak

and a Lazuli Bunting at SJER April 10 (JT) were a few days early.

Lazuli Bunting

Cited Observers: David Compton, Jon Dunn, Elias Elias, George Folsom, Peter Grunow, Wyatt Hersey, Larry Parmeter, Nathan Parmeter, Chris Rempel, Rick Saxton, Jim Tietz, Gary Woods, Lowell Young. ph. = photographed by, SJER = San Joaquin Experimental Range.