As some of you know, my wife and I are doing a fundraiser tomorrow for our local Audubon Society, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society.
This is our last chance to get more donors before the event.
Our donors have already come up with about $1,100, but let's increase that amount today!
If everybody who reads this donates a mere $10 or $20, we can easily get the total up above $1,500. Let's set that goal today, OK?
Details below the orange bird-nest....
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!
Where We Will Be Tomorow
Our team, The Eagle Eyes, led by former SCVAS director Bob Power, is going to do a "Big Sit."
For four hours tomorrow 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.
We hope to see more than 60 species.
I went out to the lake back in March and took some photos, including these birds we might see:
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Acorn Woodpecker Who Can't Tell the Difference Between a Sign and an Oak Tree
Northern Flicker
9:27 AM PT: By the way, this fundraiser does have the lineatus seal of approval! If it's good enough for her, it's good enough for you!