Participants in the sixth annual Owens Lake Spring Big Day a few weeks ago witnessed a stunning number of birds on the lake. In all, 114,999 birds were counted on the lake in one day. Not only is that a new high, but that blows away the old high, recorded last April, of approximately 75,000 [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Bird Habitat'
120,000 birds on the table at Owens Lake
May 18th, 2013 · by ajones
Tags: Audubon California · Bird conservation · Bird Habitat · Birding
The ongoing plight of the California Marbled Murrelets
May 7th, 2013 · by gfrost
Audubon Magazine writes eloquently about the plight of the endangered California population of the Marbled Murrelet, and of the hazards the bird faces at its Central Coast breeding habitat. Read the story, and take a moment to send an email in support of this terrific bird. Share on Facebook
Tags: Audubon California · Bird conservation · Bird Habitat · California State Parks
First American Avocet nest in rice
May 1st, 2013 · by gfrost
OK, we can’t be certain that this is the first nest that any American Avocets have built in Central Valley rice fields this season, but we can say it’s the first that we’ve found. And it’s always an amazing sight to see these nests built in these fields. The birds themselves travel all the way [...]
Tags: Audubon California · Bird Habitat · Birding · Pacific Flyway · spring migration · Working lands conservation
Mountain Plover: The Ghost of the Plains
April 30th, 2013 · by gfrost
When we talk about bird migration, we tend to speak in terms of north and south (ie, north for the spring, south for the winter). But if you read this blog often, you’ve noticed that we enjoy talking about the outliers, the ones that don’t do what every other bird does. Into this group one [...]
Tags: Audubon California · Bird conservation · Bird Habitat · Pacific Flyway · spring migration
A splash of yellow in a patch of willow
April 29th, 2013 · by gfrost
As our friends at Cornell say, the Yellow Warbler is “a splash of yellow in a patch of willow.” This phrase makes us all the happier to share a photo by Keith Williams of a Yellow Warbler on a willow branch in the Yukon Terrifory. This little bit of sunshine spends its winters in Central [...]
Tags: Audubon California · Bird Habitat · Birding · Pacific Flyway · spring migration
Swainson’s Hawks continue to rule the Central Valley
April 29th, 2013 · by gfrost
As we mentioned a couple weeks ago, the annual migration to the Central Valley of Swainson’s Hawks from Argentina is one of the more spectacular aspects of spring migration in California. And we’re happy to report that this migration is in full swing right now. Check out the eBird map below from today, showing [...]
Tags: Audubon California · Bird Habitat · Birding · Pacific Flyway · spring migration
Care for a chat? A Yellow-breasted Chat, that is
April 27th, 2013 · by gfrost
Despite being a bright, colorful bird, the Yellow-breasted Chat is hardly seen because it’s very good at hiding in the low brushy habitat that it favors. Skulking and secretive are two words commonly used to describe it. But those who look carefully are rewarded with the sight of a spectacular olive and yellow wood warbler. [...]
Tags: Audubon California · Bird Habitat · Birding · Pacific Migration · spring migration
Farmers for birds
April 26th, 2013 · by gfrost
We love this pic of Sean Doherty showing Garth Williams and Audubon California’s Kurt Vaughn where he wants to plant native trees and shrubs along a ditch on his property in Colusa County in order to provide food and shelter for birds. Thanks to farmers like Doherty and Williams, riparian birds like warblers and chats [...]
Tags: Audubon California · Bird Habitat · Working lands conservation
Audubon California urges Caltrans to adopt measures to safely address migratory bird populations
April 26th, 2013 · by gfrost
Audubon California today issued the following statement from Policy Director Dan Taylor regarding the ongoing deaths of Cliff Swallows at the Caltrans construction site in Petaluma: “Audubon California has been greatly saddened to hear that poorly considered measures by Caltrans to keep migratory Cliff Swallows away from its construction in Petaluma has resulted in many [...]
Tags: Audubon California · Bird Habitat · spring migration
Progress following Sepulveda Basin disaster?
February 12th, 2013 · by gfrost
KCET is reporting that significant progress has been made between the Army Corps of Engineers and the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society following the Corps’ surprising destruction of natural habitat at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve. Share on Facebook
Tags: Audubon Chapters · Bird Habitat · Bird L.A.
The 49ers have their bird, too
February 2nd, 2013 · by gfrost
Because we’re interested in such things, we were watching the NFL playoffs not just for the games, but also for the birds. And we had a lot of birds on the field — Falcons, Ravens, Seahawks, etc. Now that we’re at the Superbowl, it might be easy to think that only one of the two [...]
Tags: Audubon California · Bird Habitat · Birding
San Francisco Bay recognized as ‘Wetland of International Importance’
February 1st, 2013 · by gfrost
Confirming its vital role in the natural health of the hemisphere, San Francisco Bay/Estuary has been designated a “Wetland of International Importance” under the Convention on Wetlands, also known as the Ramsar Convention. San Francisco Bay is home to more than 1,000 species of mammals, birds, invertebrates and more than 130 species of fish – [...]
Tags: Audubon California · Bird conservation · Bird Habitat · S.F. Bay
U~T San Diego publishes story on Mountain Plover survey
February 1st, 2013 · by dogden
U~T San Diego interviewed our Andrea Jones and Garry George about our recent Mountain Plover survey results: Mountain plovers — small, migratory birds that trek from the Great Plains to California each year — are showing up in greater numbers in the Imperial Valley after disappearing from parts of Central California, Audubon officials said. That [...]
Tags: Bird conservation · Bird Habitat · Working lands conservation
Ten ways you can help birds in 2013
January 30th, 2013 · by gfrost
We’re several weeks into the New Year, and by now you’ve probably got a good idea how most of your resolutions are going to fare. But before you close the book on your best intentions, let us offer a few opportunities to make a big difference in the natural world around you. The tips below [...]
Tags: Audubon Alaska · Audubon at Home · Audubon California · Bird Habitat · Bird L.A. · Pacific Flyway
Imperial Valley agricultural fields becoming increasingly important for rare Mountain Plover
January 15th, 2013 · by gfrost
A rare and secretive grassland bird that migrates between the Great Plains and California’s grassy valleys is increasingly turning up in Imperial Valley agricultural fields (south of the Salton Sea in southern California), according to a recent survey organized by Audubon California. If this trend continues, the Mountain Plover’s shifting habitat could have implications for [...]
Tags: Alternative energy · Audubon California · Bird Habitat