Sacramento Audubon publishes bird guide

Bird enthusiasts who live in the Sacramento area really have it good. Not only does their area feature one of the state's most spectacular array of birds and wildlife, but they also have a great local Audubon chapter. Sacramento Audubon Society recently made things even better by publishing a new, greatly expanded edition of "Birding in the Sacramento Region," a must-have guide for bird enthuasiasts.

The guide covers 77 sites, nearly twice as many as the previous edition, all described by experienced birders familiar with the birding spots. New Google maps allow more precise pinpointing of site locations, and the seperate section on where to find different species is much more detailed.

The nearly 200-page guide also includes information on where to find checklists and guides for other areas of Northern California, how to contact Audubon chapters and other conservation organizations in this part of the state, with addresses and websites, and a rundown on special events throughout the year.

It's ring-bound to withstand heavy use, with a sturdy plastic cover featuring portraits by Dan Brown of Nuttall's Woodpecker, California Thrasher, and Yellow-billed Magpie, all unique to this area.

The book can be purchased for $10 from Sacramento Audubon Society and at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center, and with a slight mark-up from Wild Birds & Gardens at Madison and Fair Oaks, Wildli Birds Unlimited at Loehman's Plaza, and The Naturalist in Davis.

2009 Collaborative Funding grants announced

9 Chapters in California will receive collaborative funding grants totalling over $26,000 from Audubon California for outreach, education, advocacy and habitat restoration projects. The grant recipients and their projects are:

• Altacal Audubon - Bird Banding and Conservation program for children
  
• Central Sierra - trail development and wildlife inventory on Groveland Community Services District
• La Purisima - PRIDE (proud residents investing in a diverse estuary) at the estuary of the Santa Ynez River
• Palos Verdes/South Bay - Volunteer Coordinator for AUDUBON YES! (Youth Environmental Service program)
• Peregrine - transportation for youth to Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Program
• Redbud - developing a Redbud Audubon membership brochure
• Sacramento - Audubon at Home Big Five workshops
• Sea & Sage - 4th Tuesday Conservation Lecture Series
• Yolo - 2008 Green Summit

Congratulations!

AUDUBON AT HOME falls forward at chapters

Fall is the best time to plant native plants so that the rains (hopefully) can help them get established. Chapters throughout the state are hosting workshops and giving advice to kill lawns and convert useless dead zones to living, thriving habitat revegetations. "The health of an ecosystem is measured by it's biodiversity."-E.O Wilson.

San Diego Audubon former President Mel Hinton, who created a brochure and power point that chapters in SoCAL can use (click here), did a 1/2 hour internet radio interview on birds and gardening for wildlife on July 10, 2008. It's available on line at http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/. Click on Archives, then Dr Charlotte Thompson and it is listed as "Gardening for Birds and Butterflies."

Sacramento Audubon and the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the Native Plant Society are partnered with UC Davis Arboretum to make the San Diego Audubon's version of Audubon at Home Birds and Butterflies power point presentation compatible with Valley habitat and critters ,of course, we added a section on native bees and other insects as well. Presentations in August and September in various locations. Details here

Los Angeles Audubon is planing to release a comic book to promote Audubon at Home called KILL YOUR LAWN.