A Win for the Home Team!
In the birding world, the look-alike Empidonax flycatchers—affectionately or dejectedly referred to as “empids”—create two non-overlapping groups: those who eagerly rise to the ID challenge (not me) and those who despairingly mutter “empid” and move on (me). But one empid occupies a rarefied spot in San Diego County: the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. The Willow…
Read MoreENDANGERED SPECIES DAY OPEN HOUSE
Come celebrate Endangered Species Day at the Buena Vista Audubon Society Nature Center Saturday, May 12, from 10 AM-2 PM. This free event has many activities for all ages! There will be all kinds of animal ambassadors: hawks and falcons from the Raptor Institute, Jeff Nordland’s snakes and lizards, Dovie’s tortoise family, and butterflies from…
Read MoreSouth County Golden Eagles need your help!!!
URGENT!!! GOLDEN EAGLES NEED YOU! Please comment on Village 14 DEIR by MONDAY, April 16th. A proposed development project in South San Diego County called Village 14 would likely extirpate (make impossible for their return) one or more nesting areas for the Golden Eagle. The project, ‘Village 14’, will place 1,119 homes and destroy or…
Read MoreVote YES on Proposition 68, which will fund numerous local and statewide conservation priorities
Vote YES on Proposition 68 in June! This is a $4 billion bond measure that will fund a number of important priorities for Californians, including local, regional and state parks, clean drinking water projects, flood protection, and habitat projects that are vital to the state’s diverse wildlife. https://yes68ca.com/ Buena Vista Audubon is joining Audubon…
Read MoreSupport the “Safeguard Our San Diego Countryside Initiative”
Tired of sprawl? Frustrated about Lilac Hills, Warner Ranch, Newland Sierra, and Safari Highlands (all proposed mega-developments in rural North County)? For these large housing projects to proceed, the San Diego County General Plan has to be amended to allow housing densities to increase. The good news is that there is an initiative circulating that…
Read MoreA Little Respect
San Diego County’s majestic natives aren’t feeling the love. Golden eagles require large territories and more than a little privacy to thrive. When not nesting on a preferred cliff, they are usually resting high on treetops or hunting in chaparral, grassland, and safe scrub communities — land increasingly taken over by development. Unfortunately, this native…
Read MoreHooded Orioles – Coming Home to Roost
Commotion at a hummingbird feeder drew my eye. A Bullock’s Oriole—all 9” of him—was trying to maneuver around the various ports to get a drink. No luck. The fellow reminded me of a 6th grader trying to ride a tricycle—nothing fit and nothing worked. Later that day, a Hooded Oriole (a bit smaller at 8”)…
Read MorePAS FOURTH ANNUAL BIRD CLASS
Palomar Audubon Society is again offering bird classes on consecutive Tuesday evenings beginning Tuesday April 24th. The first three classes will be for beginners and the last three (starting Tuesday May 15th) will be for intermediate birders. The classes will be integrated for beginners taking both classes. There will be three Saturday field trips, May…
Read MoreMigratory Bird Treaty Act Threatened
This year, our nation celebrates the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), one of our nation’s oldest and most important wildlife conservation laws. Audubon led the charge to help pass the law in 1918, and it has since saved millions of birds as well as prevented the extinction of…
Read MoreHawk Watch: Spring Brings More Than Flowers to Anza-Borrego
My first (and, so far, only) hawkwatch—a play in one act [curtain rises: a ridge in Morrison, Colorado] Hawk Enumerator 1: I’ve got a bird—over the microwave tower, moving north. Me: *searches for the microwave tower, wonders which way is north* HE2: Got ‘im! Looks like an American Kestrel, male. Me: *might have…
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