American White Pelicans
Every year, when it's time for the annual Birdathon sponsored by Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, we get up early, join the car-caravan, and drive all over this county to see how many species we can find.
It's fun. We see a lot of birds. We see a lot of territory.
It's a lot of work!
During this year's Birdathon, on April 19, my wife and I will join a team that will have a slightly less frenetic way to count.
We're going to let the birds come to us.
The Eagle Eyes, led by former SCVAS director Bob Power, are going to do a "Big Sit."
For four hours that morning, we will park our butts within a 30-foot circle and count every feathered creature we see flying, walking, or swimming. (Bob has an excellent ear for birds, as well, so I suspect some of our count will be heard-birds.)
We'll be on top of a dam at Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park. The lake is one of the reservoirs in this area. That should be an excellent location, because we should be able to see ducks and waterbirds on the lake, raptors over the nearby mountains, and grassland and woodland birds very nearby.
Coyote Lake from the Dam
No, we won't get the 100+ species that we've had in previous 4-hour cross-county dashes. We'll be hoping to get more than 40 species.
I'm looking forward to this year's Birdathon, and in trying something new.
We went out to the dam a couple of weeks ago to get a feel for the area, and to get some photos for this diary. We had a decent few hours of birding, with highlights of Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Northern Flicker, Common Merganser, and American White Pelican.
A few pics from the day:
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Acorn Woodpecker Who Can't Tell the Difference Between a Sign and an Oak Tree
Northern Flicker
There's a Bird in This Picture!
Please Support Our Birdathon!
The Birdathon is a fundraiser for SCVAS, and we need your help. Kossacks, and the readers of Dawn Chorus in particular, have been most generous in the past by offering sponsorship donations to the cause.
Won't you please help out again? SCVAS needs our help, and my wife and I need your help.
As one of the leading environmental organizations in the San Francisco Bay area, SCVAS will put your donations to very good use.
But I especially like that one of the biggest uses of the funds goes to bring kids to birds.
The Wetlands Discovery Program involves a bit of docent-led classroom training, followed up by a school field trip to learn about birds in nearby wetlands along the shores of the South Bay.
For many of these kids, especially the underprivileged ones, this field trip is often their first exposure to birds in their natural habitat, that is, other than the pigeons, house sparrows, and starlings that they might see in their neighborhoods.
I believe that if you start people loving nature at an early age, that can carry through their entire life, and SCVAS is helping do that with their Wetlands Discovery Program. And money raised today will go directly to this great program.
See this link for other wildlife education efforts by SCVAS.
SCVAS is also a leader in habitat and wildlife protection. The group is leading a desperate fight locally to protect burrowing owls as the birds' habitat is continually being eroded by property developers. They are fighting a proposed development in nearby Redwood City that would be very destructive to wetlands. And they are working with wind-power proponents to help ensure that power-generating windmills are safe for birds and other wildlife.
How to Donate
Donating is very simple. If you want to send in a check, please use Kosmail and drop me a note. I'll get back to you with information about that.
Otherwise, please go to this Sponsor a Team Member page. After the page opens up, use the pulldown above the "Donate Now" button to select my wife's name, Carolyn Straub. After her name is in the box, click the Donate button and you'll be taken to another page where you can fill in credit card or PayPal information.
You can be assured that all money raised goes directly to SCVAS, and your donation is fully tax-deductible.
You can see what great things SCVAS does with the money raised in the Birdathon. They really need our help to fund these various programs. So, please be as generous as you can, and every amount helps!
Thank you very much for whatever you do; we couldn't do it without you!