Hi there supporters, “Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.” -Langston Hughes Even though the rain has been altering our scheduled activities this winter, I am glad for the water. All of the rainfall will help with water levels in the wildlife refuges in the Central Valley. Long-standing water will infiltrate and replenish aquifers. But there have been many people negatively impacted by these storms. If you have supplies or funds to donate to the many organizations helping the Pajaro Community in Watsonville, please send help their way. If the recent (and ongoing) weather events have left you stressed out, my recommendation is to look outside or head outside and find some birds to watch. Be they pigeons or puffins, they should stir up the endorphins for some temporary relief. Thanks for all of the support and I hope to see you at an event this spring! Amanda Preece Environmental Advocate, MAS |
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Upcoming Monterey Audubon events |
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Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 7:30 PM - Updates from the Condor Team with Ventana Wildlife Society staff Monterey Audubon's monthly presentations occur at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History on Forest Avenue in Pacific Grove and occur on the second Tuesday of every month. Doors open for refreshments and socializing at 7:00 PM. The program begins at 7:30 PM. Free and open to the public. ADA accessible venue. |
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Ventana Wildlife Society field biologists are the frontline workers of condor care. From late nights in tents braving the cold of Big Sur, to early morning surveys peering through the dusky marine layer, the condor crew are the humans on the ground braving the elements to ensure a lasting, protected future for our feathered friends. |
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New map shows where dogs are allowed or not allowed during the nesting season |
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MAS and CA State Parks work together to educate the public about nesting Snowy Plovers on our local sandy beaches. Dogs are fuzzy companions to us but scary beasts to a little plover family. Please share the map from our MAS website with friends who have dogs. Following park rules will help the Snowy Plovers be successful! |
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Pacific Grove Skate Park - Compromise for the Kids For members who live in Pacific Grove, the topic of the proposed skate park in Pacific Grove might be on your radar. It's been a very dynamic process and the location of the park is still up in the air. At the next city council meeting, MAS will be recommending that the city choose to build the skate park at a site that is already ecologically degraded versus sites that are less degraded and provide habitat for the local wildlife. Out of the three sites that have been proposed, the most ecologically degraded site is the Forest Lodge site near the Pacific Grove High School. It is an old parking lot, providing no benefit to birds. The other two sites are more ecologically beneficial habitat. George Washington Park is the most environmentally sensitive of the three locations, with the baseball fields at Monterey Bay Charter School on David Ave being less environmentally sensitive than GWP but certainly more so than the Forest Lodge parking lot. We hope you'll look at the situation from the perspective of the birds and also the kids - yes to a skate park and yes to preserving environmentally sensitive habitat. Please call or write to City Council with your opinions and support. |
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Bird Calls (aka Recent Rarities): King Eider and Long-tailed Duck (both continuing birds), and Common Merganser at Asilomar State Beach, Tropical Kingbird and Lawrence's Goldfinch at Laguna Grande Park, Bald Eagle at Elkhorn Slough, Harlequin Duck and Common Merganser in Pebble Beach. For more details on these rare birds and where to locate them, view the complete list on the Monterey County Rare Bird Alert page on eBird. Rare bird caught on camera trap A picture of a Siberian Rubythroat, a Eurasian bird that has never been seen in the contiguous US, was captured on camera trap in November and posted on iNaturalist in March. The researchers only check the cameras every 6-8 weeks, and the camera is located on the basically inaccessible Google campus in Mountain View, CA. Essentially, this is an unchaseable, unseeable rarity. Very rare and wonderful indeed! What are the odds? The trail camera picture of this very lost Rubythroat is posted above. |
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Other Upcoming In-person Events: Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Science on Tap - Thurs, March 30, 5:30 - 7:30pm Conservation From Above with Dr. Stu Weiss and Dr. Mara S. Orescanin plus Dust Bowl Brew Co. beer and non-alcoholic options Central Coast Birding Collective Birds & Blooms - Sun, April 2, 9:15 - 11:30 AM Elkhorn Slough Reserve birding and wildflower field trip. Snacks provided! Sustainable Pacific Grove Lover's Point Trash Pick-Up Day - Sat, April 8, 9 - 11:00 AM In partnership with the City of Pacific Grove. Meet at Lover's Point near the children's swimming pool entrance. Tools will be provided. |
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Virtual Events Tues, March 28, 5:00 PM - Understanding Bird Behavior with Dr. Dr. Wenfei Tong, Zumbro Valley Audubon Society Wed, March 29, 12:30 PM - Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors with Rue Mapp, Los Padres Forest Watch Wed, March 29, 4:50 PM - Virtual Crane Tour with Tenijah Hamilton at the Crane Trust Nature Center in Nebraska via Facebook Thurs, March 30, 4:00 PM - The Condor Chat, Ventana Wildlife Society Fri, March 31, 1:00 PM - Blue Jays and Oaks: A Seed Dispersal Mutualism Shaping Eastern Hardwood Forests, Association of Field Ornithologists Sat, April 1, 2:00 PM - All About Nesting, Ventura Wild Birds Unlimited Tues, April 4, 6:00 PM - Stop the Thunk - Preventing Bird Window Collisions with Golden Eagle Audubon Tues, April 4, 6:30 PM - Birding the San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory Thu, April 6, 7:00 PM - Ornitherapy: Watching birds: not only fun, it’s good for you! with Holly Merker, Mt, Diablo Audubon Thu, April 6, 3:30 PM PDT - Tech Tools for Birders: Merlin App with Bird Diva Bridget Butler, Green Mountain Audubon |
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BirdCast is Live! Migration is underway! View real-time maps of intensities of nocturnal bird migration, as detected by the US weather surveillance radar network between local sunset to sunrise on the BirdCast website. Search for your hometown and get an update on how many birds flew overhead last night, what speed and direction they were flying, and which species most likely were present. Displayed above is the average nightly movement for Monterey, CA. |
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Anna's Hummingbirds are already nesting. Watch for sneaky female birds flying to their well-hidden nests! |
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Monterey Audubon SocietyMonterey Audubon is an environmental non-profit dedicated to exploring, conserving and celebrating the birds and wildlife of the greater Monterey Bay region. Visit our website to sign up for field trips and learn about our efforts to protect local birds. |
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Visit our website to sign up for field trips and learn about our efforts to protect local birds. |
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