Last spring, a huge flock of Vaux’s Swifts took up temporary residency in an old chimney in downtown Los Angeles. The spectacle of the birds going in at dusk caused quite a stir. Jeff Chapman, director of the nearby Audubon Center at Debs Park, shot some video, and is getting set for the birds’ return [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

With the recent designation that the Los Angeles River is a navigable waterway, and thus subject to the Clean Water Act, L.A. Times reporter Louis Sahagun and a group of river activists decided to kayak part of the river and take a look at what’s in there. Gabriela Castañeda, from the Audubon Center at Debs Park, [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

Senior members of President Obama’s environmental team are traveling the country to get input from the public on how to best develop a 21st Century conservation agenda that will reconnect American with our country’s great outdoors. The caravan swung into Los Angeles this week, and the folks at the Audubon Center at Debs Park could think of no [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

In a decision that could lead to major restoration of the Los Angeles River, the Environmental Protection Agency yesterday declared the waterway “traditional and navigable.” The designation means that the river qualifies for protection under the Clean Water Act, and points the way toward restoration. This opens the way to removing the concrete-lined banks and [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

In a move that reflects his life-long love of birds, director Wes Craven recently joined the Audubon California Board of Directors. The organization is the California field program of the National Audubon Society, and is devoted to the conservation of birds and habitat. “I’ve been fascinated by birds my whole life,” said Craven, who is [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

The Audubon Center at Debs Park’s Arroyo Green Team recently visited the Tejon Ranch at the invitation of the Tejon Ranch Conservancy. The group visited the General Beale Adobe and surrounding ranchlands. The Green Team had the opportunity to interact with the scientists with the Tejon Ranch Conservancy and learned about their conservation work.  The group explored two [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

A bunch of folks from the Audubon Center at Debs Park and Los Angeles Audubon were on hand to see a huge population of Vaux’s Swifts take up temporary digs in a chimney in downtown Los Angeles. We should have some video in a day or two. In the meantime, here’s the story from the [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

Hector Tobar’s latest column for the Los Angeles Times is about the beauty of native plants in Southern California, and he features some work being done with local children at the Audubon Center at Debs Park to reinvigorate a hillside overlooking the Pasadena Freeway with natives. Center Director Jeff Chapman is quoted.
Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

The Audubon Center at Debs Park is working with arborists and conservationists to investigate the impacts of a new disease affecting native walnut trees.
Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

The television show Birding Adventures recently went on a quest in California’s Central Valley in search of Yellow-billed Magpies. Along the way, the show visited the Audubon Center at Debs Park, learned about Tricolored Blackbirds and saw magpies and a lot of other great birds. YouTube has the episode in three parts. Part One is below, [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

One of the main reasons that the Audubon Center at Debs Park was built in Northeast Los Angeles was to provide an opportunity for residents of this dense urban area to become more aware of the environment around them, and more active in environmental issues that affected them. Subsequently, the Center became involved in an [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

Here’s what we’ve seen at our sites around California:

Morro Bay: The four inches of rain that Morro Bay received on Tuesday have put the estuary completely underwater as creeks rushed into the bay and there are thousands of birds visible everywhere (gulls, egrets, shorebirds) feeding off all the food that has been exposed.
Bobcat Ranch (Yolo): [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

Middle school students in northeast Los Angeles will now be able to take part in a new conservation leadership program at the Audubon Center at Debs Park, thanks to a $20,000 TogetherGreen national Innovation Grant. Previously, the Center’s Beyond Nature’s Open House program was only available to elementary school students. The $20,000 grant for the [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

Lots of interesting birds being spotted at Audubon California sites around the state

Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary (Marin): Red-necked Phalarope, Ruddy Turnstone, Black Turnstone, Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Curlew, Willow Flycatcher, Wilson’s Warbler and a first-of-the-season White-crowned Sparrow.
Audubon Center at Debs Park (Los Angeles):Vaux’s Swifts and Turkey Vultures.
Audubon Bobcat Ranch (near Winters):  About 20 Lewis’s Woodpeckers [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

The Audubon Center at Debs Park will be celebrating its fifth anniversary with a free community concert this Saturday, Sept. 12. Xavier Quijas Yxayotl will be the featured performer in a show that starts at 5 p.m. For more information, call (323) 221-2255. The Audubon Center at Debs Park is located at 4700 North Griffin Ave. in Los [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]