Birding News and Features

Owens Lake Big Day III May 1st!

Join Eastern Sierra Audubon and Audubon California for the third annual Owens Lake SPRING Big Day on Saturday, May 1st. This survey should take roughly half a day.  At Owens Lake Important Bird Area, one of the Eastern Sierra's greatest treasures, participants will see thousands of shorebirds and waterfowl that stop over at the lake during spring migration.  Last year's count had 62,000 birds in one day! All will get together in the afternoon for food, story telling and a tally. Contact Mike Prather,  mprather@lonepinetv.com and click above for more details.

Spring birding festivals in California

Now is a great time of year to sign up for some of the many birding festivals throughout California this spring!  These festivals are a great way to go birding in a new location, visit local Important Bird Areas, and learn about bird conservation throughout the state.  In addition, you can tell us what birds you saw at a festival by recording your results on eBird!  The first annual Point Reyes Bird and Nature Festival will be held in Point Reyes Station on April 23-26, 2010.  Registration is now open so sign up here for the many fabulous trips in this California bird hot spot!  Another popular festival is the Kern River Valley Spring Nature Festival, April 29th - May 4th.   For a list of other festivals held this spring and beyond, visit this website.

Orange County Cactus Wren Survey March 2010

New Desert Bird Conservation Plan now available online!

The Desert Bird Conservation Plan (BCP), a collaborative work of PRBO Conservation Science and California Partners in Flight, summarizes the latest research findings for a suite of focal bird species associated with Colorado and Mojave desert habitats.  These findings are translated into a list of specific conservation and outreach recommendations, which if implemented, should benefit many desert birds.  You can download the plan from PRBO's website to learn more about the status, conservation threats, and recommended actions of desert birds. And, your help is needed -  continue contributing your observations of desert birds to California eBird, helping us increase our knowledge of California’s desert birds! 

Results Coming in from Christmas Bird Counts!

The 110^th season for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count has come to an end.  In California, thousands of birders joined in an effort to survey birds at 130 Christmas Bird Count circles across the state. The one-day bird counts provide valuable data about the number of bird species occurring within a set geographic area.  Counts range from small groups in hard-to-get to places like Tejon Ranch and Santa Cruz Island, to urban landscapes such as Los Angeles, to large, high organized counts such as Santa Barbara, with over 100 participants.