Main Program: Birds (and Other Wildlife) of Zambia Jerry Britten, MDAS President Zambia may not be one of the first countries in Africa one thinks of as a safari destination, but perhaps this lends to its appeal. Zambia in fact is a politically stable country about the size of Texas, with many parks and safari areas teeming with diverse wildlife in a variety of subtropical habitats, offering a true wilderness experience far from crowds. Jerry Britten, currently MDAS President and Christmas Bird…

Main Program: Twenty Seasons of Nest Box Monitoring Lee Pauser As a volunteer, Lee Pauser has been building, installing, and monitoring nest boxes (a nest box is an artificial cavity) for twenty nesting seasons. The presentation includes photos and videos of the eighteen species of cavity nesting birds that have graced his nest boxes. His effort have resulted in 16,858 birds fledging of which 6,670 are Western Bluebirds. Lee is a member of the California Bluebird Recovery Program (CBRP), Santa…

Birding Info: Cabin Lake Bird Blinds Photos Jerry Britten, MDAS President MDAS President Jerry Britten will share some photos he has taken at the Cabin Lake Bird Blinds in Central Oregon. Main Program: Owls Through the Ages Karla Bloem, Executive Director of the International Owl Center Owls are omens of death. Owls are creator beings. Owl eggs can cure serious diseases. These are all views that are currently held in different cultures on different continents. Why is it important to understand these different…

Birding Info: Pine Canyon's Peregrines Peregrine Team Members of the Peregrine Team will share a video synopsis of the Pine Canyon peregrines' historic and memorable year, taken directly from the notes and photography of the Peregrine Team. Main Program: From Mono Lake to Mar Chiquita: A Future for Phalaropes and Saline Lakes Ryan Carle, Science Manager, Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge Wilson's and red-necked Phalaropes are tiny but charismatic shorebirds that rely on saline lakes like Mono Lake and Owens Lake as…

Birding Info: Highlights Of The 2021 Christmas Bird Counts Jerry Britten Mt. Diablo Audubon Society President Jerry Britten will report highlights of the 2021 Christmas Bird Counts. Main Program: Audible Mount Diablo Joan Hamilton, founder and owner, Audio Guides to the Outdoors Joan Hamilton is a writer, editor, and multimedia producer. She is founder and owner of Audio Guides to the Outdoors, which has created multimedia guides for Save Mount Diablo, Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, Midpeninsula Open Space District, Save…

Birding Info: Mt. Diablo Audubon Society draft Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging statement Mt. Diablo Audubon board members Juan Pablo Galván Martínez, Ariana Rickard, and Krista Vossekuil will present a draft Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Statement for the chapter. Main Program: Mount Diablo—an Island in Suburbia  Michael Marchiano, Naturalist Michael will provide an overview of plant and animal life on Mount Diablo, including trees, shrubs, wildflowers, insects, spiders, reptiles, birds, and mammals. This short natural history presentation will also…

Birding Info: The Mt. Diablo Audubon board will provide an overview of the chapter's activities, projects, and programs. Main Program: SF Baykeeper and the State of the Bay Sejal Choksi-Chugh Sejal Choksi-Chugh, Executive Director of San Francisco Baykeeper, will discuss the state of the Bay and the major issues Baykeeper is tackling. San Francisco Baykeeper has defended the Bay since 1989 by patrolling on the water, investigating pollution, holding polluters accountable, and strengthening the laws that protect the Bay and…

Main Program: Cooperation and conflict in the communal world of the Acorn Woodpecker Walt Koenig Acorn Woodpecker, best known for their unique habit of storing acorns by the thousands in special structures known as “granaries”, exhibit one of the most complex social systems of any bird. Family groups of this species, sometimes numbering a dozen or more birds, contain multiple breeders of both sexes, a rare phenomenon called “polygynandry”, along with young from prior years that serve as “helpers-at-the-nest”. Based…

Main Program: Soundscapes to Landscapes Dr. Leo Salas and David Leland The earth’s biodiversity and associated ecosystem services are in a severe state of decline due to human pressure, however, our knowledge of these changes and impacts is often incomplete and limited to few and small areas. Join us to learn how Soundscapes to Landscapes is using a combination of multiple technologies and the power of citizen/community scientists to fill this data gap – starting with a focus on Sonoma…

Birding Information: Local Birds from MDAS Photo Contests Krista Vossekuil, MDAS Education Chair Krista Vossekuil will share some of the photos from the MDAS Photo Contests! Check out all the amazing entries and enjoy pictures of some of our incredible local birds. Bullock's Orioles, Morgan Territory, photo by Jerry Britten Main Program: Emperors of the Ice: Ecology and physiology of an iconic Antarctic predator, the emperor penguin Dr. Gitte McDonald Emperor penguins are the largest species of marine bird, and perhaps…

Birding Information: Eagle Scout Nest Box Projects Georgette Howington, Nest box monitor for the California Bluebird Recovery Program Georgette Howington will introduce several Eagle Scouts who completed Nest Box and other projects to help birds and wildlife in our community. Be inspired by their hard work and ingenuity! Main Program: A Gallop Through the Galapagos Wayne Narr The Galapagos Islands sit in isolation more than 1000 km west of northern South America. This small, remote archipelago has had a strong…

Birding Information: MDAS President Jerry Britten will present highlights of his summer Alaskan birding trip to the High Arctic Tundra and the Anchorage area. Main Program: Gardening for Birds with California Native Plants Eddie Bartley and Noreen Weeden You can have a beautiful native plant garden that attracts amazing birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Learn about the benefits of local, native plants and some of the wonderful birds that are drawn to this place and to these plants. We will…

Birding Information: Mt. Diablo Audubon Society is way ahead of a lot of other bird conservation groups. We help birds where they live year round, not just where we see them around Diablo. Many of California’s birds are migratory, and spend half the year south of the border. We financially support conservation groups in Latin America where birds winter, but also where the species and habitats are much more numerous and diverse than around here. Juan Pablo Galván Martínez, our Conservation…

Birding Information: The Race to Bring Northern White Rhinos Back from the Brink of Extinction Jill Hedgecock Northern white rhinos were deemed functionally extinct in March 2018 after the death of Sudan, the last male rhino. Currently, only two females remain on the planet. Jill Hedgecock will describe science’s innovative solution to hopefully save the species. Jill Hedgecock has long-standing roots with MDAS, serving as the International Conservation Coordinator in the early 1990s. She has a master’s degree in Environmental…

Birding Information: Highlights Of The 2022 Christmas Bird Counts  Jerry Britten, MDAS President Mt. Diablo Audubon Society President Jerry Britten will report highlights of the 2022 Christmas Bird Counts. Main Program: Highlights of a Career in Journalism Joan Morris Joan Morris will talk about the highs, lows, and crazy assignments she had during her 44-year career as a newspaper reporter and columnist — assignments that included a double homicide on her first day on the job, a mass shooting in Concord…

A 27 Year Wildflower Journey: The Making of Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change Rob Badger and Nita Winter Rob Badger and Nita Winter take you behind the scenes on their 27-year journey photographing wildflowers throughout California and the West. It began in 1992 when they discovered and fell in love with California's spectacular wildflower blooms in the Mojave Desert's Antelope Valley California Poppy Preserve. Photographing these beautiful landscapes and individual flowers evolved into their documentary art…