Just one day in advance of International Migratory Bird Day May 11, a Who’s Who of Bay-area conservation leaders gathered at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary to celebrate the recent designation of San Francisco Bay as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. Above, representatives from 21 conservation organizations around the [...]

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Cornell’s Birds of North America remarks of the Black-chinned Hummingbird that no superlatives apply. It is not the biggest, the smallest, the most colorful, etc. Nonetheless, we simply like ‘em. This great little bird spends its winters down along the western coast of Mexico (as we all wish we did). And explodes upward starting in [...]

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Participants in the sixth annual Owens Lake Spring Big Day on April 23 witnessed a stunning number of birds. In all, 114,999 birds were counted across the lake. Not only is that a new high, but that blows away the old high, recorded last April, of approximately 75,000 birds. It was the shorebirds total that [...]

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Like its near-relative Rock Pigeon, the Band-tailed Pigeon is a hardy, adaptable creature. It’s able to live in towns around people, but also quite able to survive in the forests for which it is naturally built. Unlike the Rock Pigeon, the Band-tailed Pigeon is a native species that naturally occurs throughout the Pacific Flyway in [...]

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Not since the Wandering Tattler, have we seen a bird moniker so well suited to a member of the Avengers as the Black-crowned Night-heron. But certainly, this heron has much more going for than its cool name. First, it is the world’s most widespread heron, occurring on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. With its [...]

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Important legislation requiring the use of non-lead ammunition for hunting today passed the Assembly by a wide margin. Assembly Bill 711, authored by Assemblymembers Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) and Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), was approved on the Assembly Floor, 44-21. The bill is expected to move next to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water. “Lead [...]

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The Grasshopper Sparrow is a small, inconspicuous bird, known for its buzzy, grasshopper-like song. It spends most of its winter in Mexico, and come up in late April and May to breed. We’re starting to see a great deal more of them right about now. The bird is most noticeable when males perch on top [...]

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In case you haven’t noticed, the migration of seabirds is often wildly different from other kinds of birds. But, like their land-based counterparts, seabird do move around quite a bit this time of year – sometimes for breeding, sometimes in search of food. A case in point is the Tufted Puffin. While a lot of [...]

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The Los Angeles Times’ Editorial Board weighs in today in support of Assembly Bill 711, which will require nonlead ammunition for all hunting in California. Audubon California is co-sponsoring this legislation with the Humane Society of the United States and Defenders of Wildlife. Here’s an excerpt: … this is not a measure aimed at curbing [...]

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The Wilson’s Phalarope is a true transequatorial migrant, wintering way down in southern South American and breeding up here in the Pacific Flyway. It can be found on our shorelines, as well as our salty interior lakes (for instance, Mono Lake). Check out the eBird map below the fold to see sightings in May (photo [...]

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Our bill to require nonlead ammunition for hunting in California goes before the State Assembly this week. Let your leaders know that you want a YES vote on Assembly Bill 711. For more information about the legislation, visit our website. Share on Facebook

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Our bill to get lead out of the environment is going before the California State Assembly this week. Help the birds get the word out by sending an email to your legislator right now. It’s easy. Share on Facebook

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The Vermillion Flycatcher is really something to see. Bright in color, it stands out among all the flycatcher, for sure. It spends it winters from Mexico down to South America, and many come up in the spring to southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Up here, it tends to like the warm, dry habitats [...]

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The Willow Flycatcher is a commonly sighted migratory bird throughout North America, enjoying wet shrubby habitat from Maine to Southern California. They winter from southern Mexico to northern South America, and tend to come north in early May. We’re starting to get reports now in California. If you want to see how they enter the [...]

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The Purple Martin is yet another great sign of spring. These have been turning up on the West Coast since March, but are just about peaking right now. They come from as far away as Brazil– more than 5,000 miles. The Purple Martin, the largest of the swallows on our continent, is one of America’s [...]

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