2018 California Fall Challenge a Big Success!

By Outreach and Communications Director Kristin Butler

2018 Click Off People's Choice Award winner "Cormorant and Needlefish" by Cookie Segelstein.

​Thanks to the hard work of our staff and volunteers, our 2018 California Fall Challenge was a huge success and we surpassed our goal to raise $30,000 for our avian science and outreach programs! Congratulations to Cookie Segelstein for winning the People’s Choice Award in our Click Off bird photo contest with her photo “Cormorant and ...

Needle Fish,” which was the category winner in our Bird Behavior category. Congratulations also to Birds and Humans category winner Judy Duffy and her “Mountain Chickadee;” World Birds category winner Don Dvoarak and his “Gentoos Playing in the Surf;” and Birds and Their Habitats category winner Bibek Ghosh and his “Horned Owl Camouflage." 
 
Congratulations to Mike Mammoser, Mike Rogers, Francis Toldi, and Nateri Madavan and their team The Refugees team for winning our Mewaldt Cup bird-a-thon by counting 162 species during their Oct. 13 Big Day!
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​We also congratulate our Kids Bird Art Contest Best in Show category winners Nikita Mylavarapu (ages 3-7) for her drawing “My Little Duck;” Lucya Koftinoff (ages 8-11) for her drawing “Nuttall’s Woodpecker;” and Rachel Tse (ages 12-17) for her drawing “Yellow Warbler.”
 
Our contest winners were awarded at our Annual Membership Meeting at Jasper Ride Ecological Preserve on Oct. 20th. At the meeting we also said thank you to outgoing Board Member Anne Hepburn, who retired from the Board after serving for two three-year terms as our treasurer. We also thanksed outgoing Board members Denise Mohsenin and Gina Barton for their service and welcomed new Board members Marty Michael, Christine Slocomb Zack, and  Larry Spivak. 

​At the meeting we also heard a great presentation from Allen Fish about his Golden Gate Raptor Observatory; thanked the following 10 volunteers for raising $10,000 through peer-to-peer fundraising: Gina Barton, Chuck Coston, Karen De Mello, Jan Hintermeister, Mike Mammoser, Lisa Myers, Mike Rogers, Emilie Strauss, Anna Zivian, and Jing Zhu; and thanked the following volunteers who lead CFC guided trips, designed our t-shirt, and organized our Kids Bird Art contest, Click Off bird photo contest, and online silent auction: Gabbie Burns, Elaine Lea-Chou, Karen DeMello, Julie Ho, Chris Johnson, Lisa Myers, Kay Partelow, Mike Rogers, Christine Slocomb-Zack.
 
Lastly, we want to thank all of our silent auction and prize donors: Wildside Nature Tours; Camel's Garden Hotel; Los Gatos Birdwatcher; Rosemont Embroidery; Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris; Sorensen’s Resort; Mystery Series; American Adorn; Better Every Ride;  CuriOdessey; California Academy of Sciences; Oakland Zoo; Touchstone Studio Climbing and Fitness; Vortex Optics; Columbia Sportswear; Patagonia; NUMU (New Museum of Los Gatos); Pacific Locomotive Association; Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Santa Cruz Piano; Family Giving Tree; Zanker Recycling; Martha Castillo; Jacqueline Deely; Anne Hepburn; Elaine Lea-Chou; Steve Madel; Christine Slocomb Zack; Tom Stewart; and Jing Zhu.