http://ebird.org/content/ca daily 1 2008-03-14T17:41:23Z http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/volunteers-count-shorebirds-in-san-francisco-bay On November 22, 2011, over 100 volunteers and scientists will count hundreds of thousands of shorebirds in the San Francisco Bay to learn more about the needs of these migratory superheroes! No publisher ajones 2011-11-22T04:57:04Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/state-of-the-birds-for-san-francisco-bay-released The first-ever State of the Birds Report for San Francisco Bay was released today by PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO) and the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture (SFBayJV). Based on decades of monitoring, 29 partners detail the actions needed to keep birds and their habitats thriving as sea levels rise and extreme storm events increase due to global climate change. No publisher ajones 2011-10-19T18:17:04Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/yellow-billed-magpie-survey-report Yellow-billed Magpies were observed in 24 of California’s 58 counties during a recent volunteer survey sponsored by Audubon California to help support the conservation of this dynamic species. The survey – held June 3-6, 2011 – was the third annual effort to rally birders all around the state to venture outside in search of the Yellow-billed Magpie. Click here for the full report. For a map in eBird of all birds recorded in June, click here. No publisher ajones 2011-08-26T23:11:30Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/audubon-california-releases-new-iba-map Audubon California has just launched a new interactive map of California's 145 Important Bird Areas. There’s a lot of information here, so we encourage you to dig around and explore. You can zoom into any IBA, get information on protected lands, habitat types, detailed site description, and a checklist from eBird of all the birds spotted within the boundaries of any IBA! Find our new map here! No publisher ajones 2011-06-17T19:14:10Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/new-data-entry-released After months of design, countless hours of testing, and the incorporation of comments from our beta testers, we are proud to announce that eBird's new data entry is officially released! The effort to redesign our data entry pages has been geared around making eBird easier to use, making checklist entry faster, more responsive and customizable, and generally making the overall experience more fun. We encourage you to enter a few checklists, get used the the new pages, and test out all the new functionality and customization options now available to you. Although we have put in many months of testing on this new process, it is possible that a few bugs may still exist. If you find one, use the "Contact" link at the top of the checklist entry pages to let us know about it, or just email ebird@cornell.edu. No publisher ajones 2011-06-17T19:02:42Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/volunteers-needed-for-the-third-annual-coastal-cactus-wren This is a unique opportunity for naturalists and birders, beginning through advanced, to learn survey methods from Cactus Wren scientists and to perform urgently needed surveys and nest monitoring at Audubon’s Starr Ranch Sanctuary, Caspers Wilderness Park, and possibly O’Neill Regional Park. Training, data collection materials, field assistance, and plenty of encouragement will be provided. Surveys take place March - June, 2011. No publisher ajones 2011-01-28T00:44:07Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/arctic-bird-finds-its-way-to-pismo-beach-ca On November 4th, Mike Stensvold from LA county reported to friends a bird that he photographed on Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo County. By November 5th, word quickly spread across state and county birding listservs that indeed, what Mike had captured on film was an adult Ivory Gull. Only a second state record and one of only a handful of records along the pacific coast, the Ivory Gull breeds in the high arctic, has a circumpolar distribution and usually only migrates short distances with most birds wintering along the edges of the icepack. Photos and updates and video by Brian Sullivan are available online. The bird was last seen November 7th. No publisher ajones 2010-11-10T00:11:43Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/2010-yellow-billed-magpie-survey-results From June 4-7 Audubon California sponsored a volunteer Yellow-billed Magpie survey to help support the conservation of this dynamic species. A total of 3,607 birds were counted in 22 counties by over 230 observers; the most birds were counted in Sacramento, Yolo, and San Luis Obispo counties. In this second annual eBird survey, we doubled the number of participants and the number of birds counted! For a full report, go to Audubon’s website. You can also view an interactive map and data in eBird here. No publisher ajones 2010-08-02T19:26:36Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/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! No publisher ajones 2010-01-21T22:47:15Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/results-coming-in-from-christmas-bird-counts The 110th 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. No publisher ajones 2010-01-11T19:15:27Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/sequoia-audubon-pelagic-tour-spots-white-chinned-petrel-off-half-moon-bay Sequoia Audubon Society ran their first ever pelagic out of Half Moon Bay, San Mateo on Sunday, Oct. 18th and spotted a White-chinned Petrel, which if accepted is a new record for California! Everyone on the boat had looks and were able to study the features of the species. The bulky structure, short tail, large body, big belly of the bird were noticeably different from a Flesh-footed Shearwater (which was also seen). The previous week, in a pelagic trip run by the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, three species of albatross were seen (Black-footed, Laysan, and Short-tailed.) Additional photos can be found on Alvaro Jaramarillo's website. No publisher ajones 2009-10-19T21:03:40Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/changes-in-california2019s-bird-communities-due-to-climate-change As much as half of California could be occupied by new bird communities by 2070 according to a new study by PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO) and partners. The publication entitled “Reshuffling of species with climate disruption: A no-analog future for California birds?” is to be released in the September 2 online issue of PLoS ONE. No publisher ajones 2009-09-17T19:13:51Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/explore-californias-important-bird-areas Audubon California recently completed a two-year project to map and document the conservation issues at California's 145 Important Bird Areas. On the IBA website, you can now find updated site descriptions, individual and regional maps, a report on our mapping methodology, downloadable GIS layers, and summary statistics arranged by site. These new maps are now being distributed to local, state, and federal agencies – as well as non-governmental organizations – to inform land use planning and conservation. This information is freely available to work with Audubon chapters and others to conserve and protect these vital habitat areas. No publisher ajones 2009-03-26T00:20:10Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/audubon-california-releases-report-on-climate-change-and-future-bird-loss National Audubon and Audubon California recently released reports documenting the effects of climate change on bird populations throughout the United States. Nearly 60% of the 305 species found in North America in winter are on the move, shifting their ranges northward by an average of 35 miles. Up to 110 of 310 California native bird species will experience significant reductions in their geographic range in the next several decades due to climate change, according to new research from Audubon California. These reductions will be part of massive range shifts to all of the state’s bird species caused wholly or in part by the effects of climate change. No publisher ajones 2009-02-16T20:52:39Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/ca/news/are-you-really-making-casual-observations We've noticed at eBird that many observers are choosing the "Casual Observation" methodology when in fact they are actually conducting more rigorous types of surveys while birding. Casual Observations are of limited value because there is little effort information required, which allows them to be used in fewer analyses because we know less about how you went birding. It's important to let us know what kind of effort you put into making your observations. Please read on for a better understanding of the eBird methodology choices, and to learn how to make your data most valuable. No publisher Chris Wood 2009-01-28T20:51:16Z Feature