The Public Policy Institute of California has released the results of its latest survey of California attitudes on public policy and the environment. There’s a lot in there, but here are a few highlights. It is good to see that support for action on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions remains strong, although the issue [...]

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Faced with the very real prospect of 100 parks being closed due to budget cuts, the Sacramento Bee editorial board supports raising the vehicle license fee. Share on Facebook

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Channel 7 in Los Angeles is currently running a great piece on the Audubon Center at Debs Park that discusses its important role in introducing urban communities to nature. If you want to learn more about the Center, visit the website. Enjoy: Share on Facebook

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The mystery surrounding the deaths of two young Bald Eagles near Stockton near Stockton deepened this past week as researchers revealed that the birds had no obvious signs of injuries and that initial lab examinations have offered few clues. The birds had been spotted by birders in a nest near Campo Seco, and had appeared [...]

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We’ve been hearing for a while that this fire season might be one of the worst ever, but this new report seems to carry some weight. Although fire is a natural part of the life cycle for native landscapes, repeated burning poses a serious threat to habitats in that it can cause them to change [...]

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An opinion piece by Nora Shimoda in the Daily Democrat last week looks at the stunning collapse of a controversial proposal to build transmission lines through northern California. The Transmission Agency of Northern California announced the plan in May, and by mid-July the plan was toast. Conservation organizations had called for more public input into [...]

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One enthusiastic viewer of the Starr Ranch Black-chinned Humming bird webcam put together some nice clips of the third nesting cycle that just began recently. Enjoy: Share on Facebook

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It’s disheartening to hear from California game wardens that new coastal protected areas may not be enforceable due to lack of funding for wardens. Although the article focuses on marine fisheries, the Marine Life Protection Act is also very important to seabird breeding and foraging areas. Audubon California and local chapters have been very much [...]

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By a margin of 43-28 the California State Assembly just defeated the very bad idea of opening up a stretch of coastline off Santa Barbara to oil drilling. It’s a great victory for the Coast which is home to many of our state’s most sensitive bird habitats. Congratulations to our elected representatives led by Assembly [...]

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Details for the state budget are now coming out and it is clearly a mixed bag for conservation. The major environmental setback in the deal to be voted on later today is inclusion of the highly contentious oil drilling scheme aimed at Tranquillon Ridge off the Santa Barbara Coast. The deal would allow a Texas [...]

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Vance Russell recently shot some footage of Yellow-billed Magpies for our video promoting our recent survey. This video contains some of that raw footage. The survey went great, by the way, and you can see the final report here. Share on Facebook

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Although Western Grebes continue to be a common sight at Clear Lake, they still aren’t breeding successfully there. Local birders recall that as recently as five years ago, chicks were everywhere. Locals blame the loss of reliable food supplies for the sudden change. Share on Facebook

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While the apparent green-lighting of new offshore oil drilling wins takes the cake as the budget deal’s biggest insult to the environment, the reduction of $8 million from California State Parks runs a close second. Because this amount will probably “only” result in the closure of 30 State Parks, as opposed to the 220 proposed [...]

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This writer isn’t particularly thrilled when he sees those occasional reports saying how much birders contribute to the economy — and this latest report from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service called “Birding in the United States: a Demographic and Economic Analysis” is definitely one of those reports. Distilling the value of birding to simple [...]

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We had just started thinking that the Starr Ranch hummingbird webcam was out of business until next year when another bird took over the nest last week. So we’re back in business. Looks like we have at least two eggs. If all goes well, expect them to hatch early in August. Enjoy. Share on Facebook

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