Monthly Program - November 2023
2023-11-06 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, 439 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo, CA, 93012
NOVEMBER MONTHLY PROGRAM
Climate Change
Presented by Don Price
Don Price is a professional engineer now retired from the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District. A graduate of Purdue University, he has over 30 years of experience in the control of air pollution. He has been involved in global climate change education since 2007 and has spoken to almost 10,000 people on the subject. He will discuss climate-related issues that are occurring now, climate science that indicates human involvement and how climate change will impact California. He’ll also talk about existing and future technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as actions that everyone can take to slow global climate change.
Questions are encouraged.
In Person
The in person group will be limited to a maximum of forty people, so please RSVP to the Programs Coordinator to reserve a seat.
Via Zoom
To attend this meeting, use this link (https://zoom.us/j/6155249106) at the meeting time.

Beginner Bird Walk - Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa
2023-11-08 08:00 - 09:30, 2023-12-13 08:00 - 09:30, 2024-01-10 08:00 - 09:30, 2024-02-14 08:00 - 09:30, 2024-03-13 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.
Contact walk leader Richard Armerding at (310) 701-3878 (texting is OK).

?Mt. Pinos
2023-11-12 08:00 - 17:00 | Mt. Pinos, Cuddy Valley Rd., Frazier Park, CA, 93225, United States
Join us as we go into the mountains to find some alpine birds! We will carpool from the Janss Park & Ride at 7 am. Janss Park & Ride is located on the east side of the 23 freeway at the Janss Road Exit by the soccer fields. Alternately, meet at 9:00am at the Mt. Pinos Nordic Base parking lot at the end of Mount Pinos Road (GPS: Cuddy Valley Rd, Forest Rte 9N24, Frazier Park, CA 93225 – or – coordinates 34.8134, -119.1263). Please note that each vehicle that parks at the Mt. Pinos Nordic Base parking lot will need to display a valid adventure pass. Bundle warm! Target species include – Clark’s Nutcracker, Mountain Chickadee, Red Crossbill, Williamson’s Sapsucker, and Evening Grosbeak. Trip leader – Richard Aremerding (310)-701-3878.

?️ Arroyo Vista Community Park
2023-11-18 08:00 - 11:00 | Arroyo Vista Community Park, 4550 Tierra Rejada Rd., Moorpark, CA, 93021, United States
Bordering the Arroyo Simi in Moorpark, this park provides a good mix of open space and shrubs for a variety of bird habitat. Meet at the end of the parking lot by the footbridge over the arroyo at 8 a.m. Target species include – Lark Sparrows, Red-breasted Nuthatch, wintering warblers and waterfowl. Afterwards, we will meet at the Country Harvest Cafe for brunch around 11:30 a.m. Trip leader – Sammy Cowell (818) 470-7098.

?Birds and Brunch
2023-11-18 11:30 - 13:00 | Country Harvest Restaurant, 252 Los Angeles Ave, Moorpark, CA, 93021, United States
Join us for brunch at Country Harvest Restaurant in Moorpark following the trip to Arroyo Vista Community Park!

?Sapwi Trails Community Park
2023-11-25 08:00 - 11:00 | Sapwi Trails Community Park, 2225 Westlake Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA, 91362, United States
Sapwi trails provides excellent habitat for overwintering sparrows and raptors. Meet at the Westlake Rd. parking lot at 8 a.m. Just be mindful of the flying discs! Target species include Golden-crowned Sparrows, sapsuckers, and raptor species. Trip leader – Steve and Karen Rusch (805) 208-1851

? Saticoy Settling Ponds
2023-12-02 07:00 - 09:00 | Saticoy Ponds, 3127 Los Angeles Ave, Oxnard, CA, 93036
We will be looking for waterfowl at the spreading ponds from 7 AM to 9 AM. All participants must have read the rules for United Water, signed the waiver, and emailed to birding@unitedwater.org. Please email field trips@conejovalleyaudubon.org by November 30th for waiver and rules. Trip leader: Sammy Cowell (818) 470-7098

Monthly Program - December 2023
2023-12-04 19:00 - 20:30 | Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, 439 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo, CA, 93012
DECEMBER MONTHLY PROGRAM
3D Birds Project
Presented by Russell Campbell
The oBird project is an effort by the Moore Lab of Zoology to digitize bird specimens and the morphological data they possess. Using a technique called photogrammetry, hundreds of photos of a specimen are combined to create a 3D digital model. These models improve public access to museum specimens and can be used by scientists for research purposes anywhere in the world. Currently there are two main objectives, to model a wide array of genera across all bird life and to model a selection of bird species in ultraviolet (UV) light to study the occurrence of UV reflectance in birds.
Russell Campbell is a recent graduate of Oregon State University and current research technician at the Moore Lab of Zoology in Occidental College. He’s passionate about wildlife in all forms and loves to share his interests with burgeoning biologists who want a career in the coolest field in the world!
In Person
The in person group will be limited to a maximum of forty people, so please RSVP to the Programs Coordinator to reserve a seat.
Via Zoom
To attend this meeting, use this link (https://zoom.us/j/6155249106) at the meeting time.

? Arroyo Simi
2023-12-09 08:00 - 11:00 | Arroyo Simi (Madera), 20 E Easy St, Simi Valley, CA, 93065, United States
Arroyo Simi has a great assortment of shorebirds, ducks, herons and gulls. It is easily accessed via a level bike path that runs from Madera Street to First Street and on through most of Simi Valley. We will walk slowly along the mostly natural bottomed channel scanning for birds like Green Heron, Black-necked Stilt, Belted Kingfisher, and White-faced Ibis. Other possible birds include Hooded Merganser and Blue-winged Teal. Meet at the entrance to the bike path at Easy Street in Simi Valley, just east of Madera Road. *Update* new trip leader – Pete Robertshaw (909) 771-9720.

?CVAS Christmas Bird Count
2023-12-17
Join us on Sunday, December 17th for this year’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC)!
Each year, around Christmas, we participate in the annual count. The CBC is always held between Dec. 14th & Jan. 5th. This annual bird count encompasses the United States and Canada, as well as Central and South America, the Pacific Islands, West Indies, and Bermuda. The data collected helps scientists learn more about the status and distribution of our birds.
Everyone is welcome to participate, from beginners to experienced birders. Those of you who are less experienced will be teamed up with others who can help you identify the birds. Count teams are assigned areas around the Conejo Valley, Oxnard Plain, Camarillo, Santa Monica Mountains and other areas within our count circle. Most teams begin in the early morning and end as the sun sets. After the count, we may gather virtually on Zoom and do a general tally of the count.
Contact Dave Pereksta (pereksta@pacbell.net)if you’re interested in helping out this year! The more the merrier!

? Conejo Creek North Park/Thousand Oaks Library
2023-12-23 08:00 - 11:00 | Conejo Creek North Park/Thousand Oaks Library, 1379 E Janss Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA, 91362, United States
For those sticking around for the holidays, join us as we casually bird at Conejo Creek North Park by the Thousand Oaks library. The ponds host a variety of waterfowl species, sometimes mountain bluebirds show up in the grass fields, and there may be a rare sapsucker or two around in the pepper trees! Park on the west side by the freeway and meet at the main pond at 8 AM. Trip leader: Bonnie Clarfield-Bylin (805) 405-5632

?Ventura Audubon CBC
2023-12-30
Didn’t get enough bird counting in the CVAS Christmas Bird Count? Then join our sister chapter, Ventura Audubon, for its CBC! https://www.venturaaudubon.org/cbc
Contact Frank DeMartino (frank@colynx.com) if you’re interested in helping out for Ventura Audubon’s CBC!

❄️2024 Ventura County New Year's Count
2024-01-06
Join us for a county-wide count of wintering birds in Ventura County, from the east to the west, the mountains to the seas! Please note this count is different from the CBC’s in that:
1) it covers the entire county, not just the CBC circle. This allows us to cover some areas in Oak Park, Moorpark, Simi Valley, the mountains, etc. that aren’t covered in the CBC counts. And,
2) this isn’t a nationally organized event, but rather something for our curiosity and desire to understand more about the species that overwinter in our county. While we don’t have any direct plans for how this data can be used, we plan on keeping annual records for future use on local conservation planning, habitat management, etc!

If interested in helping out, please contact Lukas Le Grice (lukaslegrice@gmail.com) or Sammy Cowell (samueldavidcowell@gmail.com)

Monthly Program - January 2024
2024-01-08 19:00 - 20:30 | CVAS Monthly Program Zoom Meeting
JANUARY MONTHLY PROGRAM
Owl: A Year In The Lives of North American Owls

Presented by Paul Bannick

Join Paul Bannick for a program featuring video, sound, stories from the field and several dozen new images from his award-winning and best-selling bird book: Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls. Paul uses intimate yet dramatic images to follow owls through the course of one year and in their distinct habitats.
Audiences will witness the four seasons on territory, as each stage in an owl’s life is chronicled through rare images: courtship, mating, and nesting in spring; fledging and feeding of young in summer; dispersal and gaining independence in fall; and, finally, winter’s migrations and competitions for food. His program shows how owls use the unique resources available to them in each habitat to face those challenges. All 19 species found in Canada and the United States are featured in photos, video and narrative throughout the book, with a special focus on the Northern Pygmy-Owl, Great Gray Owl, Burrowing Owl, and Snowy Owl.
A female Long-eared Owl waves its wings and screams to attract the attention of potential predators and lead them away from the nest or young.
Owl is a stunning follow-up to Bannick’s bestselling title, The Owl and the Woodpecker, giving bird lovers yet another gorgeous photographic tribute, engaging natural history, and a compelling call to preserve the habitats that sustain these most iconic of birds. Nearly ten years of working in some of the most remote parts of the continent, at the darkest hours of the day, tracking owls as they move through their lives has rewarded Paul with striking images that he uses in his book and presentations. His program can broadly focus on North America or they can be customized for states, geographic regions or habitats such as the Arctic Tundra, Boreal Forests, Western Mountains Dry Forests, Temperate Forests, Mountain Meadows, Oak Habitats, Deserts, Shrub-steppe, Grasslands, and Eastern Forests.
This presentation will be available ONLY by Zoom.
To attend this meeting, use this link (https://zoom.us/j/6155249106) at the meeting time.

?Salton Sea
2024-01-13 - 2024-01-14
This oasis in the desert beckons! For this overnight trip, we will start early Saturday afternoon, near the north end of the Salton Sea, and then probably bird down the west side of the lake to Unit 1. We’ll spend the night in Brawley, bird a little around the town early on Sunday. We will continue to work our way north on the east side of the lake, stopping at several hotspots before heading home Sunday afternoon. Please note that the trip will require limited driving on unpaved roads.

Please contact Peter Robertshaw (peterrobertshaw@verizon.net) for the details and to arrange for carpooling and lodging recommendations.

Target birds: thousands of Snow and Ross’s Geese, Sandhill Cranes, lots of ducks and waders, rails, raptors, Burrowing Owls, Mountain Bluebirds and Plovers, and desert species like Gambel’s Quail, Abert’s Towhee, doves, Gila and Ladder-Backed Woodpeckers, and Vermilion Flycatcher.

✈️ Pt. Mugu Naval Base
2024-01-19 08:00 - 13:00 | Pt. Mugu Naval Base, 10A Naval Air Rd., Port Hueneme, CA, 93041, United States
For those who weren’t able to attend the November field trip (or who want to visit the base again), here’s another opportunity! Please note, that this trip is open to current CVAS members only! The Navy must background check each attendee before attendance, so members will need to email fieldtrips@conejovalleyaudubon.org to complete and return the form before December 29th! Also, this trip lasts longer than our normal field trips (8 a.m. – 1 p.m.), and you are not allowed to be on the base without our trip leaders. So, if you cannot make it the whole time, please come another time. Target species include Brant, Black Skimmer, shorebird species, Vermillion Flycatcher, and more! Trip Leaders – Martin Ruane and David Pereksta.

?Mt. Clef Open Space/CLU
2024-02-03 08:00 - 10:00 | Briar Bluff (CLU), 200 Bainbridge Ct, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360, Thousand Oaks, CA, 91360, United States
Poke through the prickly pear patches (but try not to get poked!) as we look for roadrunners, Cactus Wren, and the endangered California Gnatcatcher! If time permits, we may go down to CLU and explore different habitats on campus. Meet at the end of Bainbridge Ct. at 8 am. Trip leader: Sammy Cowell (818) 470-7098.

Monthly Program - Bird Diversity Through Time
2024-02-05 19:00 - 20:30
NOTE: This program will be presented via Zoom ONLY. The Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology will NOT be open. Join the Zoom meeting at the start time.
Jessica A. Oswald Terrill, PhD: Bird diversity through time, and the role of humans in shaping the diversity and distributions of living species
Modern bird diversity and distributions have been shaped by climate and human impacts across the past few thousand years. Understanding the role of climate vs human driven change requires data from paleontological (pre-human), archaeological (human occupation), and modern contexts. I will present fossil data and genomic data from living and extinct bird species to answer questions centered on evaluating diversity change in tropical birds.
Jessica earned her PhD from the University of Florida, was a postdoc at Louisiana State University, and was research assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is currently a forensic ornithologist at The National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon.
Jessica A. Oswald Terrill, PhD

? Oak Canyon Community Park
2024-02-24 08:00 - 10:00 | Oak Canyon Community Park, 5600 Hollytree Dr., Oak Park, CA, 91377, United States
Tucked into the Simi Hills, this little gem of a park has a nice diversity of oak woodland, riparian, and chapparal habitat; perfect for birds! Target species include birds like Lewis’s Woodpecker, Fox Sparrow, and Golden-crowned Sparrow. Trip leader: Dan Cooper (323) 397-3562

Monthly Program - March 2024
2024-03-04 19:00 - 20:30 | Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, 439 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo, CA, 93012
JANUARY MONTHLY PROGRAM
BIRDING IN TAIWAN, COSTA RICA, AND NICARAGUA
Presented by Taylor Driggs
Taylor will compare and contrast his birding and nature travel experiences in Taiwan, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. In this presentation he’ll share his birding adventures, show his best sightings, and give a little of his general travel advice for both regions. He’ll offer travel tips and considerations for each country, such as which birding guides he used, and what’s compelling about each of these fabulous locations.
Taylor Driggs is a 25 year resident of the Conejo Valley in Oak Park, an avid birder, hiker and natural history travel enthusiast. He works professionally in the Financial Technology industry.
To attend this meeting, use this link (https://zoom.us/j/6155249106) at the meeting time.

?Lake Casitas *Date Change to 3/9*
2024-03-09 08:00 - 12:00 | Lake Casitas, 11311 Santa Ana Rd, Ventura, CA, 93001, United States
Join us as we explore the largest freshwater body in Ventura County! We will look for waterfowl, swallows, and, of course, the nesting Bald Eagles! We will park outside the lake entrance and carpool in. Cost is $20 per car on the weekend.
We will bird on foot for about an hour and a half, and then we will go boating for the last hour and half! We are working with the Rotary Club to use their boat to get out on the open water! We need at least 15 people to secure the boat, so if you are interested in going on the boat, please let us know at fieldtrips@conejovalleyaudubon.org! If you want to simply come for the first portion, that’s fine too!
Trip leaders: Sammy Cowell (818 470 7098) and Jerry Maryniuk (805 794 2791).

Annual Dinner and Auction
2024-03-09 17:30 - 21:30 | Palm Garden Hotel, 495 Ventu Park Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA, 91320, United States
2024 Annual Dinner and Auction
Our annual dinner and auction fundraiser will be held on Saturday, March 9th, 2024. We will have a live auction with the suave Don Klabunde, a silent auction and an exciting raffle with the charming Thelma Williams whipping us up into a frenzy for those priceless white elephants.
Of course Palm Garden Hotel always serves up a delicious buffet dinner, CVAS is providing wine and the hotel has a full bar where serious adult beverages can be had for a price.
For those who haven’t experienced this event before, it’s not only a chance to get to know some of your fellow CVAS members, but also who knows what wonders you might be able to buy for a song – wonders from original works of art to one-of-a-kind adventures.
More details, and purchase tickets.

?‍⬛Lake Piru
2024-03-16 08:00 - 11:00 | Lake Piru, 4780 Piru Canyon Rd, Piru, CA, 93040
Join us as we look for the largest bird in North America, the California Condor! We will look for other large raptors, waterfowl, and early spring migrants! Meet at 8:00 am at the store/Condor Point, beyond the entrance. The entrance fee is $5 per car, (Normally it is $10, however, the fee was reduced for this field trip, so be sure to tell them you are part of the CVAS birding group).
Trip leaders: Peter Robertshaw (909 771 9720).

?️Island Scrub-jay Pelagic (via Island Packers - not an CVAS organized event)
2024-03-23
If you are interested in going out to see the endemic Island Scrub-jay, then hitch a ride on the Island Scrub-jay Pelagic through Island Packers (click here for tickets). Cost is $130 for adults (13-54) and $116 for senior citizens (55+) and military. Note: this is NOT a CVAS-organized event(*), however, many participants from Ventura Audubon and other experienced birders will be going, so there will be plenty of friends! Spots are limited, so act fast!
(*) since this event is not put on by the Conejo Valley Audubon Society, any accidents that occur during the trip are not covered by CVAS field trip insurance.

? Canada Larga Rd.
2024-03-23 08:00 - 11:00 | Canada Larga Road, 180 Canada Larga Rd, Ventura, CA, 93001
Join us as we look for our chapter’s iconic logo as well as raptors, flycatchers, open grassland sparrows, and early spring migrants! Meet at the start of Cañada Larga Road at 8 am.
Trip leader: Marc Better (510 919 5283).

?Malibu Creek State Park
2024-03-30 07:30 - 11:00 | Malibu Creek State Park, 1925 Las Virgenes Rd, Calabasas, CA, 91301, United States
Join us as we explore the oak and sycamore woodlands of Malibu Creek State Park! In addition to common resident species, we will be looking for early spring migrants like grosbeaks and Lazuli Buntings! Entrance is $12 per car, so we will meet at Kanan Road Park and Ride at 7:45 a.m. to carpool in. If you wish to meet at the park, the parking lot is off Las Virgenes Rd.
Trip leader – Bill and Carol Langford (360 742 6059)
