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September 2009: Wingbeat
Monthly enewsletter of the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
California Fall Challenge is Here!
The 13th annual California Fall Challenge fundraising event is officially underway with Guided Trips beginning this weekend. Support the Bird Observatory by joining a Guided Trip, submitting your photos to the First Annual Click Off photo contest, or competing for the Mewaldt Cup! The California Fall Challenge continues through October 11th, with fundraising prizes awarded at the Annual Meeting on Sunday, October 25th. Click here to see what you can do to support conservation science!
Guided Trips
Check out the incredible line-up of California Fall Challenge trips and events that we have arranged just for you. Trips are filling up quickly. Sign up now!
Photo-a-thon: Waterbirds - Led by Pati Rouzer - Sept. 12
Casa Dos Rios – Led by Jean Myers - Sept. 13
Photo-a-thon: Woodland Birds - Led by Pati Rouzer - Sept. 19
The Gallinago Go Go’s - Led by Lisa Myers - Sept. 19
Kayacking Kingfishers - Led by Jill Demers and Kathi Kendrick- Sept. 20
The Varied Twitchers - Led by Mike Rogers - Sept. 26
Intrepid A to Zers - Led by Karen DeMello & Kay Partelow - Sept.30
Team Deducktions - Led by Matthew Dodder - Oct. 3
Bats at CCFS – Led by Dave Johnston - Oct 3 (Sept. 30 lecture)
The Regal Eagles - Led by Ryan Phillips - Oct. 4
Avosets - Led by Bob Power - Oct. 4
Warbling Winos - Led by Troy Rahmig - Oct. 4
Big Sit - Pati Rouzer & Jill Demers - Oct. 10
Pelagic Pirates - Led by Al Jaramillo & Scott Terrill - Oct. 11 (Only 3 spaces left!)
Submit Photos to the Click Off!
The Click Off is a photo contest highlighting the bird and habitat diversity found in the Bay Area and beyond. The Click Off is a great way for you to share your best photos and win valuable prizes – including incredible photo workshops and display space at the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge Environmental Education Center – all while supporting the Bird Observatory. Winning Click Off pictures will be displayed at the Annual Meeting on Sunday, October 25th.
Submit your photos today! Submission must be received before October 9th, 2009.
Win Prizes: Be a Fundraiser!
The Bird Observatory depends on our fundraisers to make the California Fall Challenge a success! It is easy to fundraise, just ask your friends and family to help you support the Bird Observatory by giving them a call, sending out fundraising letters, or inviting them to attend a Guided Trip. Or raise money through Facebook! Join our cause and set a fundraising goal.
Fundraisers are eligible for great prizes! Here are some fundraising tips to get you on your way.
Save the Date: Annual Meeting
Please plan to come to the Bird Observatory’s Annual Meeting. A highlight will be the Click Off, the Bird Observatory’s first annual photo contest. Category winners will be announced, and their prints will be on display for members in attendance to vote for the People’s Choice Award. Other events include a general meeting and a presentation by Executive Director Jill Demers, a Silent Auction, the presentation of the California Fall Challenge fundraising prize winners, and the Mewaldt Cup winners, as well as a delicious picnic lunch with local wine. Parking is limited, please carpool when possible. Donate an item to the Silent Auction here! Please RSVP by October 19th. Please join us - RSVP here.
The Bird Observatory in Your Neck of the Woods...
In the coming months, Bird Observatory staff will be providing presentations to other local conservation organizations about avian biology, current SFBBO research projects and more. If you are in the area please stop by and say hello. Click on the highlighted links below or contact outreach@sfbbo.org for more details.
Request for Volunteers
Snowy Plover Habitat Enhancement - Shell Spreading Party!
The Bird Observatory needs your help making the salt ponds a better place for plovers!
Western Snowy Plovers nest on the dry former salt evaporation ponds in the South Bay, and many nests are lost each year to predators. In 2008, Bird Observatory biologists designed an experimental study to determine if plover nest success could be increased by adding oyster shells to the pond bottom. This addition of white objects (the shells) to the salt ponds helps to camouflage the plover nests, and provide cover for chicks to hide. This study yielded impressive results in the 2009 breeding season, increasing plover nest density and nesting success. This fall we are spreading more oyster shells, and we need your help to spread them on dry ponds!
On October 17th at 9:00am, we will have an oyster shell spreading party at Eden Landing Ecological Reserve. This volunteer opportunity involves carrying buckets of shells on the ponds in order to reach the area to spread the shells. Please keep in mind this “party” will involve lots of lifting and walking in muddy areas. If lifting heavy objects is hard for you, please volunteer with one of SFBBO’s other projects.
Email Caitlin at crobinson@sfbbo.org. Please wear rubber boots and bring gloves and a bucket or two if you have them!
Explore Bay Nature
Bay Nature magazine is offering a subscriber special to supporters of SFBBO! Sign up for one year of Bay Nature magazine for $20 (regular price $21.95). Just go to http://baynature.org/store and enter promo code SDJESB at checkout, or call 888-BAYNAT and mention promo code.
Every quarter we bring you the natural history of the Bay Area, including where to find interesting wildlife and places to hike. Visit http://www.baynature.org to learn more.
A New Way to Experience Wetland Habitats in the South Bay
The San Francisco Bay Joint Venture has recently posted new South Bay audio tours on their website – www.yourwetlands.org. Home to the largest tidal wetland restoration project on the West Coast of North America, and the largest urban refuge in the United States, the South Bay is in the midst of being restored back to a mixture of wetland habitats after a 100 year history of salt production. Current stop, listen and learn locations include the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Newark, the Environmental Education Center in Alviso, and the staging area at Eden Landing. A Hayward tour will be posted later this year. Listen to these audio tours on location, with any web access cell phone (and a good set of headphones) or by downloading them off the website and onto a CD, iPod or MP3 player.
Also check out the Joint Venture’s bimonthly podcast program, which includes wealth of information about wetland restoration and other related issues including stories by and about the people working to protect them. Subscribe and stay informed.
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