Conejo Valley Audubon

Matilija Dam Field Trip
2022-09-25 08:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Matilija Dam Parking, 450 Matilija Canyon Rd., Ojai, CA, 93023
This is a great spot to find fall migrants. A large variety of warblers and vireos have been observed in this area. You may even see a peacock! Please note that there are few, if any, established trails in this area, so some bushwhacking may be involved.
Parking is also very limited, so carpool if you can. From Ventura, take CA-33 north to Matilija Canyon Rd. Turn left and proceed about 0.8 miles to the parking area.
Trip leader is TBA – Contact Dee Lyon (805-427-0987) for info.

Mugu Lagoon and Sycamore Canyon
2022-09-17 08:00 - 11:00 | Mugu Lagoon Turnout, 5735 CA-1, Oxnard, California, 93033
Meet at the big lagoon turnout on PCH. There should be water birds, ducks and raptors. Then to lower Sycamore Canyon, famous for vagrants, warblers and raptors.
Photo by Don Klabunde

California Thrasher
Trip Leader: Matthew Page (805-990-6534)
Please bring water, a snack, bug repellant and a jacket. YOU MUST WEAR A MASK! RAIN CANCELS
Everyone is welcome to attend any Conejo Valley Audubon field trip, but Conejo Valley Audubon assumes no responsibility for injuries, personal or otherwise, incurred while attending a CVAS sponsored activity and in order to attend, all attendees agree that CVAS is not liable for such accidents. Everyone attends at their own risk.

Beginner Bird Walk - Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa
2022-09-14 08:00 - 09:30, 2022-05-11 08:00 - 09:30 | Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa, 4803 Lynn Rd, Newbury Park, CA, 91320
Conejo Valley Audubon invites birders of all experience levels to attend our monthly Beginner Bird Walks at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa. These walks are held on the second Wednesday of each month. We will meet at 8:00 am at the main parking lot, which is accessible off Lynn Road at Via Goleta in Newbury Park.
Rancho Sierra Vista is an excellent place to see many of the oak woodlands birds that are common in the Conejo Valley area. We will take time to introduce beginning birders to these species and will teach the best techniques for locating and identifying them. Wear comfortable walking shoes.
Please register in advance by contacting walk leader Richard Armerding at (310) 701-3878 (texting is OK).

Monthly Program - September 2022
2022-09-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, 439 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo, CA, 93012
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW TIME FOR THIS PROGRAM – 7:00pm
Each September, our first meeting of the season is dedicated to the birding trips and adventures of our members, so you are invited to submit your recent, or not-so-recent photos. Those of you who wish to share your photos, please contact Don Klabunde for instructions and the link where you can upload your files.
This program will be in a hybrid format: in-person at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, and also online via Zoom.
In Person
Masks will be required, and the in person group will be limited to a maximum of thirty to allow for social distancing purposes, so please RSVP to the Programs Coordinator to reserve a seat.
Via Zoom
If you are sharing photos, you will be able to narrate your show during the Zoom meeting. To attend this meeting, use this link (https://zoom.us/j/6155249106) at the meeting time.

Laguna Tams
2022-09-11 08:00 - 10:00 | Laguna Road Tamarisk Trees, 3690 Laguna Rd., Oxnard, CA, 93033, United States
We will visit the renowned tamarisk trees along Laguna Road in the Oxnard Plain. Previous September visits have yielded views of Black-and-White, Tenessee, Orange-crowned, Lucy’s, Nashville, MacGillivray’s, Magnolia, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll, Palm, Yellow-rumped, Prairie, Black-throated Gray, Townsend’s, Hermit, and Wilson’s Warblers. We might also encounter Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and White-breasted Nuthatch. Meet on Laguna Road, about a quarter mile east of Pleasant Valley Road.
Trip Leader: Frank DeMartino (856-906-8733)
Please bring water, a snack, bug repellant and a jacket. YOU MUST WEAR A MASK! RAIN CANCELS
Everyone is welcome to attend any Conejo Valley Audubon field trip, but Conejo Valley Audubon assumes no responsibility for injuries, personal or otherwise, incurred while attending a CVAS sponsored activity and in order to attend, all attendees agree that CVAS is not liable for such accidents. Everyone attends at their own risk.

Santa Clara River Estuary
2022-09-03 08:00 - 11:00 | Surfer’s Knoll, 1600 Spinnaker Dr, Ventura, CA, 93001
The Santa Clara River Estuary produces some of the most diverse observations of ducks, sandpipers, terns, gulls, plovers and other shorebirds in the county. We’ll meet at Surfer’s Knoll at 9 am and walk down to the estuary after peeking over the fence into the Ventura Settling Ponds. The estuary should be a great place to see Elegant, Forster’s and Caspian Terns, Brown Pelicans, Western, California, and Ring-billed Gulls, Ruddy Ducks, Whimbrels, Long-billed Curlews, American Avocets, and Western & Least Sandpipers. We may even spot a Peregrine Falcon.

Directions: from the 101 freeway, exit Seaward Ave. and proceed south to Harbor Blvd. Turn left and continue to Spinnaker Dr., turning right to enter the harbor area. Drive past the Surfer’s Knoll parking area on the left and make a U-turn to double back and enter the parking lot.
Walk leader: Dee Lyon (805-427-0987)
Please bring water, a snack, bug repellant and a jacket. YOU MUST WEAR A MASK! RAIN CANCELS
Everyone is welcome to attend any Conejo Valley Audubon field trip, but Conejo Valley Audubon assumes no responsibility for injuries, personal or otherwise, incurred while attending a CVAS sponsored activity and in order to attend, all attendees agree that CVAS is not liable for such accidents. Everyone attends at their own risk.

Warbler Bingo!
2022-09-01 - 2022-11-30 | California
Townsend’s Warbler
Test your skills at spotting and identifying elusive Fall Warblers. Our contest runs from September 1st through November 30th. You may request a free Bingo Card starting on August 15th. See the Warbler Bingo page for all the details and to sign up.
As of September 20, 2022, we have a winner! Marc Better filled in a row of his Bingo card with the following warblers: Orange crowned, Townsend’s, Free Space, Northern Waterthrush and Black and White. Congratulations, Marc!
But you can keep playing and report your own Bingos. You just won’t win a prize other than the satisfaction of spying a few rarities.

CVAS Annual Picnic
2022-06-04 08:00 - 14:00 | Los Robles Trail, 375 Greenmeadow Ave, Thousand Oaks, CA, 91361
Meet at 8:00 am for the morning bird walk, then at 10:30 for thepotluck lunch.Were it not for the pandemic, this would have been the twenty–first year in a row that our CVAS Annual Picnic was held at theLos Robles Trail area adjacent to the original Janss House inThousand Oaks, and there have been some changes since wewere last there. We can no longer drive right down to “our” oaktree, the lawn is gone and a few new picnic tables have beenadded, but “our” tree is still there as shady as ever.At the south end of Moorpark Rd turn right onto GreenmeadowAve and proceed approximately one mile to the parking area.Carpooling is encouraged as parking is limited. Please bringyour own table service, drinks and chairs.Unless you have a special “signature dish”, please bring food items according toyour last name as follows:A to I bring a DessertJ to Q bring a SaladR to Z bring a Main Dish.

Mission Oaks Park Field Trip
2022-05-28 08:00 - 11:00 | Mission Oaks Park, 5501 Mission Oaks Blvd, Camarillo, CA, 93012, United States
Mission Oaks Blvd and Oak Canyon Rd, Camarillo.Meet in the parking lot at 8 am.We’ll look for spring Migrants.Leader is Thelma Williams (805) 551–8663

Las Llajas Canyon Field Trip
2022-05-15 08:00 - 11:00 | Las Llajas Canyon, 5715 Evening Sky Drive, Simi Valley, CA, 93063, United States
North on Yosemite Ave, right on Evening Star Dr, Simi ValleyMeet at the trailhead at 8 am. Hilly terrain, bring water.We’ll look for Lazuli Buntings, grosbeaks and flycatchers.Leader is Don Klabunde (805) 522–8023

California Lutheran University Field Trip
2022-05-07 08:00 - 11:00 | Briar Bluff (CLU), 200 Bainbridge Ct, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360, Thousand Oaks, CA, 91360, United States
Meet at north end of Mountclef Blvd at 8 am.We’ll look for Cactus Wrens and California Gnatcatchers.Leader is Dennis Allen dkallen47@gmail.com

Monthly Program - May 2022
2022-05-02 19:30 - 21:00 | CVAS Monthly Program Zoom Meeting
Sandor “Alex” Havasi and his wife, Marilyn Fordney, will take us to visit a variety of wet-land locations in our area with stories about their experiences while taking photos of thebirds they found in each place. They’ll also report how these areas have been affectedby encroachment and the effect of weed killers. Each photo will have the names of thebirds, the time of year and the location.Alex and Marilyn created the Havasi Wilderness Foundation in 2004, and they have pre-viously entertained us with their birding adventures in Africa, Costa Rica, Madagascar,and Around the World. Their foundation’s media specialist, Isaac Yelchin, will be joiningthem to lend his expertise. During the pandemic, they spent their time doing photoshoots and have published an educational book entitled My Adventure in the Wetlands.
To attend this meeting, use this link: https://zoom.us/j/6155249106

Wheeler Gorge Field Trip
2022-04-30 09:00 - 12:00 | Wheeler Gorge, 17020 Maricopa Hwy, Ojai, CA, 93023
Meet across the street from the park at 9 am. We’ll look for higher elevation species.
Leader is Matthew Page – (805) 990-6534

Bird Friendly-Garden Tour
2022-04-24 09:00 - 14:00 | California
See what folks have done with California natives in their gardens.
RSVP by April 15th!
More information.

King Gillette Ranch Field Trip
2022-04-23 08:00 - 11:00 | King Gillette Ranch, 26800 Mullholland Hwy, Calabasas, CA, 91302
Meet at the parking area at 8 am. This park offers a wide variety of birds.
Leader TBA – check with Dee Lyon (805) 427-0987

Rancho Sierra Vista Field Trip
2022-04-16 08:00 - 11:00 | Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa, 4803 Lynn Rd, Newbury Park, CA, 91320
Meet at the parking area at 8 am. We’ll look for grassland birds.
Leader TBA – check with Dee Lyon (805) 427-0987

Sisar Canyon Field Trip
2022-04-09 08:00 - 11:00 | Sisar Canyon, 12799 Sisar Canyon Rd, Ojai, CA, 93023
Meet at the two water towers at 8 am. We’ll walk up to the creek, looking for migrating warblers.
Leader is Sammy Cowell (818) 470-7098

Monthly Program - April 2022
2022-04-04 19:30 - 21:00 | CVAS Monthly Program Zoom Meeting
BIRD MIGRATION IN THE SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS
With Dr. Ryan Terrill
Dr. Ryan Terrill
Bear Divide is a narrow pass in the San Gabriel Mountains, just outside of Los Angeles, that is home to spectacular dawn flights of migrating birds in the spring. With thousands of migrants funneling through such a narrow corridor, this is a unique biological phenomenon. In 2021, the Moore Lab of Zoology at Occidental College began a regular count to quantify the numbers and identities of birds migrating through Bear Divide. Join Dr. Ryan Terrill to learn about the status of spring migration across the Divide, and how you can help.
Currently working at the Moore Lab of Zoology at Occidental College, Dr. Terrill received his B.S. from UC Santa Cruz and his PhD from Louisiana State University. He has studied the evolution of bird molt, an incredible adaptation that allows birds to drop and regrow worn feathers each year, and as the lead on the Mexican Bird Resurvey Project, he used big biodiversity data and genomic tools to understand how a century of human-caused change has impacted bird communities. Dr. Terrill is one of the top experts on local birds and serves on the California Bird Records Committee, the group which compiles the state bird list and rules on new records.
To attend this meeting, use this link: https://zoom.us/j/6155249106

Soule Park Field Trip
2022-04-02 08:00 - 11:00 | Soule Park, Soule Park Dr., Ojai, CA, 93023
Meet in the parking lot at 8 am. We’ll look for woodpeckers, riparian birds, and raptors.
Leader TBA – check with Dee Lyon – (805) 427-0987

Wind Wolves Preserve Field Trip
2022-03-27 09:00 - 12:00 | Wind Wolves Preserve, 16019 CA-166, Bakersfield, CA, 93311
Wind Wolves Preserve
Meet at 9:00 am at the parking lot. It’s a 2 hour drive to get there in the south end of the San Joaquin Valley. We will walk in this beautiful preserve looking for elk, wood-land birds and spring migrants.
Leader is Dee Lyon (805) 427-0987.

Lake Piru Field Trip
2022-03-19 08:00 - 11:00 | Lake Piru, 4780 Piru Canyon Rd, Piru, CA, 93040
At the entrance to Lake Piru, tell the attendant that you are with the Conejo Valley Audubon Society group, and you will receive a discounted admission rate of $5 per vehicle. After entering the park, take the first road on the right that leads down to the docks and then head up the hill on the left towards the store at Condor Point to meet the leader at 8:00 am.
Bring water, snacks, binoculars, and a scope if you have one. There are restrooms in the park. The last time this trip was offered we saw 70+ species, including California Condors and Bald Eagles, as well as orioles and other spring arrivals.
Leader is Pete Robertshaw (909) 771-9720.

Rustic Canyon/Happy Camp Field Trip
2022-03-13 08:00 - 11:00 | Rustic Canyon, Campus Park Rd., Moorpark, CA, 93021
Meet at 8:00 am at the parking area under the Eucalyptus trees east of the golf course parking lot. Bring water! We will look for migrants, sparrows, hawks and field birds.
Leader is Don Klabunde (805) 522-8023

Monthly Program - March 2022
2022-03-07 19:30 - 21:00 | CVAS Monthly Program Zoom Meeting
CREATING AN EVOLVING BACKYARD HABITAT
With Don and Chrystal Klabunde
Over the past 35 years, the Klabunde’s have worked to create a comfortably natural environment in their half acre of rocky clay hillside in Simi Valley. Many bird, mammal and reptile species, visit them regularly to shelter, nest, and feed. To enhance the productivity of this backyard habitat, they’ve gravitated toward more and more native plants from Douglas Irises to a magnificent Valley Oak. On March 7th, they’ll talk about what has grown successfully and what hasn’t, and they’ll share pictures of the birds that inhabit their yard now, including the ones that have come to nest there.
Don and Chrystal Klabunde are retired physicist and animator respectively. They are long-time active members of CVAS, both serving on the board.
To attend this meeting, use this link: https://zoom.us/j/6155249106

Arroyo Verde Park Field Trip
2022-03-05 08:30 - 11:00 | Arroyo Verde Park, Arroyo Verde Park Rd., Ventura, CA, 93003
Meet at 8:30 am at the back parking lot by the baseball fields. Bring water. We will look for woodpeckers, early migrants and woodland birds.
Leader is Linda Easter (818) 519-2833 .

Lake Sherwood Field Trip
2022-02-26 08:30 - 11:00 | Lake Sherwood, 2201 Stafford Rd., Westlake Village, CA, 91361
Meet at 8:30 am. Enter on Stafford Rd. off of Potrero Rd. We will see lots of great water birds and oak woodland denizens.
Leader is Mary Hansen. Call her at (805) 390-4586 to get your name onto the list to get in through the gate.

Monthly Program - February 2022
2022-02-07 19:30 - 21:00 | CVAS Monthly Program Zoom Meeting
NESTING IN THE CITY
With Daniel S. Cooper PhD
Dan Cooper
Bird populations, particularly in urban areas, are in constant flux, with some species adapting and thriving, and others declining. Daniel S. Cooper Ph.D. will describe two studies he recently conducted as part of his dissertation for his Ph.D. from UCLA (Biology, 2020). First, he examined patterns of urban tolerance in nesting raptors of the upper Malibu Creek watershed along the Ventura-Los Angeles county border between Thousand Oaks and Calabasas. Here he found major changes in the distribution of nesting raptors since earlier surveys were conducted in the 1970s and 80s, with certain species becoming very urban-tolerant, and others not. He also investigated the role of ecological and behavioral traits that maybe accounting for distributional shifts in more than 50 species of nesting birds in the Los Angeles area, using two datasets separated by over 20 years. He will discuss trends in species distribution and abundance, explore traits that appear to confer success in urban areas, and offer predictions as to which species – or types of species – will continue to thrive in urban and urbanizing Southern California. He will also discuss species that declined during this time period, and offer suggestions for their conservation.
Daniel S. Cooper is a lifelong resident of Southern California, and is regarded as an expert on the birds of the region. Through research and independent consulting, he has spent more than 20 years conducting surveys and analyzing bird populations from the deserts to the coast, including rare and protected species such as the California Gnatcatcher and the coastal Cactus Wren. Dan has served on many environmental advisory boards and committees, including most recently on the Oak Park – Park and Recreation Planning Committee. Since 2012, he and his family have made their home in Oak Park, where he enjoys the natural beauty and outdoor recreation opportunities, even if his two kids don’t.
To attend this meeting, use this link: https://zoom.us/j/6155249106

Briar’s Bluff Field Trip - CANCELED
2022-01-29 08:00 - 11:00 | Briar Bluff (CLU), 200 Bainbridge Ct, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360, Thousand Oaks, CA, 91360, United States
**** CANCELED – Due to COVID/Omicron Surge ****
Briar’s Bluff behind California Lutheran University (a change from initial schedule).
Meet at 8 am at the north end of Mountclef Blvd. We will look for the CA Gnatcatchers, Cactus Wrens, sparrows and other grassland birds.
Leader is Dennis Allen.

Point Mugu Navy Base Field Trip - CANCELED
2022-01-21 08:00 - 11:00 | California
*** Unfortunately, we have had to cancel this field trip. We will try to reschedule it later in the year. ***
This field trip is open only to current members of Conejo Valley Audubon Society. The Navy says they will be ready for us this time.
Text Dee Lyon at (805)427-0987 for the forms which must be in by three weeks prior to the trip. That’s January 1st!
We saw close to 70 species in November.

California State University Channel Islands Field Trip - CANCELED
2022-01-16 08:00 - 11:00 | CSUCI, 1 University Dr., Camarillo, CA, 93012, United States
**** CANCELED – Due to COVID/Omicron Surge ****
We will look for flycatchers, grassland birds and any unusual birds found on the Christmas Bird Count.
Contact leader, Bonnie Clarfield-Bylin (805-405-5632), for time and information on parking.
