STANISLAUS AUDUBON SOCIETY

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. For more information please visit the Chapter Information Page.
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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.

NEW STANISLAUS COUNTY BIRD SPECIES SIGHTING

During a non-public access survey on April 17, 2022, Harold Reeve spotted an immature male BLACK SCOTER among American Coots at the Modesto Wastewater Treatment Facility. Sharon Reeve and Kathy Rasmussen were also present to record this rarity. Black Scoter is now Stanislaus County bird species #327.

UPCOMING EVENTS

NATURE WALK:

SAN JOAQUIN RIVER NATL. WILDLIFE REFUGE: BECKWITH VIEWING AREA Leader: Eric Hopson SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2022 8:00-10:00 a.m. During this family-friendly “walk with binoculars” we’ll be looking and listening for resident and early fall migrating songbirds and waterbirds. Meet at the San Joaquin River NWR’s Beckwith Road Wildlife Viewing Platform (10990 Beckwith Road). Participants of all skill levels are welcome. No pubic restrooms are available during this tour. Participants should bring their own binoculars, water, snacks and insect repellent. For more information, please call Eric Hopson at 209-587-5532.



AUDUBON ZOOM PROGRAM (more than just for the birds)



A 27-YEAR WILDFLOWER JOURNEY: THE MAKING OF BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: CALIFORNIA WILDFLOWERS AND CLIMATE CHANGE

ROB BADGER AND NITA WINTER

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2022 – 7:00 p.m.

Rob Badger and Nita Winter will take you behind the scenes on their 27-year journey photographing wildflowers throughout California and the West. It began in 1992, when they fell in love with California's spectacular wildflower blooms in the Mojave Desert's Antelope Valley California Poppy Preserve. Photographing these beautiful landscapes and individual flowers evolved into their documentary art project, Beauty and the Beast: Wildflowers and Climate Change (wildflowerbooks.com). Their new, multiple award-winning coffee table book, co-published with C.N.P.S., focuses on California’s amazing plant diversity. Rob and Nita create every one of the photographs in the field, lugging 80 pounds of cameras and their “natural light” equipment from below sea level in Death Valley National Park to 13,000-foot-high mountain passes.

Rob Badger and Nina Winter, internationally acclaimed conservation photographers, have been life partners and creative collaborators for more than three decades. Their work has been featured in Mother Jones and Sierra magazines, New York Times, Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle. Rob and Nina were the recipients of the Sierra Club’s 2020 Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography. Rob’s environmental images have won multiple awards, including Best in Photojournalism, in international competition. He was one of three American photographers chosen to document Russian nature preserves in Siberia. Nita began her photographic career documenting her work fighting wildfires in northern California and later as a National Park Ranger on Alcatraz. In 1986, Nita’s major exhibit, “The Children of the Tenderloin,” was the documentary project that launched her career and directed her focus toward creating healthy communities. Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82662017986?pwd=UFFVcWFTQzh2NXBad05YeHlxc0kvZz09


AUDUBON CALIFORNIA SUCCESS

Audubon California is thrilled to report that in 2021, 100% of the thirteen Tricolored Blackbird colonies located on agricultural fields across the San Joaquin Valley in California were protected! Colonies ranged in size from an estimated 1,200 to over 30,000 birds. During the last year, the nesting season began and ended earlier than past years, likely an effect of statewide drought conditions. In years of drought, a successful program is even more crucial to the conservation of the state listed Tricolored Blackbird. Working closely with partners, Audubon California protected more than 170,000 birds on these colonies. Each spring and summer, Audubon California works with landowners and community partners to protect this species across the state. We are grateful to our agricultural partners Western United Dairies, Farm Bureau, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and our Audubon community. Together, since 2015, we have been able to protect over 800,000 nesting Tricolored Blackbirds. Thank you for all your continued membership commitment, support, and engagement!

BIRD PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Tricolored Blackbird at the Merced NWR by Jim Gain

MODESTO WATER TREATMENT FACILITY ACCESS

The Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant of the City of Modesto is once again open for bird watching by appointment only. They are making the plant accessible to the public on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, as well as the second Saturday of each month. Please see the details on the Modesto Wastewater Treatment Facility page.

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.

OUR HISTORY

The first official charter of the National Audubon Society in the San Joaquin Valley, the San Joaquin Audubon Society, included Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties. In 1973, Audubon members living in Merced and Stanislaus Counties decided to pursue the formation of their own unique chapter. On August 1, 1976, National Audubon awarded Stanislaus Audubon Society a full charter, which to this day includes hundreds of members in Stanislaus and Merced Counties.

The first governing board consisted of:

  • President: John Geisler

  • Jim Foster

  • Berna Philbin

  • Paul Philbin

  • Ken Smith