STANISLAUS AUDUBON SOCIETY
Serving Merced and Stanislaus Counties
OUR MISSION
The Stanislaus Audubon Society promotes the enjoyment, understanding, and protection of birds and other wildlife by engaging people of all ages in birding, education, and conservation. Expand for more details. For more information please visit the Chapter Information Page.
To accomplish this mission, we will...
Promote scientifically sound conservation strategies for the protection of native ecosystems and demonstrate the value of conservation to the community.
Educate our community about the benefits of preserving and enjoying nature, focusing on youth education programs, public outreach, and field trips.
Support research into maintaining, restoring, and understanding native ecosystems, particularly those of birds.
Collaborate with the National Audubon Society, Audubon-California, Audubon Chapters, and other organizations to accomplish our common goals.
PRETTY BIRD, CITY BIRD!
Sal Salerno
Photos © by Rich Brown
On October 10, 2023, the Modesto City Council voted unanimously to designate the Yellow-billed Magpie as the official City Bird of Modesto! I brought this proposal to the Board of Directors in the fall of 2021. A Facebook poll was conducted with four candidate species, and the Yellow-billed Magpie won with 42.5% of the votes from 233 respondents. In May 2022, I brought the results of our survey to the Culture Commission. The Commissioners reviewed this chapter’s proposal over several meetings. On September 2023, the proposal reached the Safety & Communities Committee, which recommended the motion to Modesto City Council. The Board of Directors is looking forward to a collaboration with the Culture Commission on this exciting project. This designation presents opportunities to engage the community, by creating a natural history icon, by teaching environmental studies to schoolchildren, and by enhancing ecotourism locally. Stay tuned on this website page and our Facebook page for further developments.
UPCOMING STANISLAUS AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD TRIPS AND PROGRAMS
AUDUBON CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS
The dates for the next local Christmas Bird Counts within our area are LaGrange-Waterford: Saturday, December 16, 2023. Pre-count meeting is 6:30 a.m. at the Fruit Yard Restaurant, intersection of Hwy 132 and Geer Road, east of Modesto. Contact Jim Gain at jimgain@sbcglobal.net for more information. Los Banos: Thursday, December 28, 2023. Contact John Fulton at Merced_birding@hotmail.com. Caswell-Westley: Sunday, December 31, 2023. Contact Harold Reeve.
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL INFORMATION
$20 per year - Use forms from National Audubon Society
Renew at www.audubon.org/renew
S.A.S. chapter code is C36. The expiration date of your membership is located on the mailing label of Valley Habitat. If you receive Valley Habitat online and wish to renew your subscription, please contact national Audubon Society to find out the expiration date of your membership.