Please see the Los Banos CBC Webpage for more details.

Please see the Caswell/Westley CBC Webpage for more details.

Cliff Feldheim is an award-winning, national ly recognized waterfowl scientist who has published seventeen scientific papers on California’s wintering or breeding waterfowl in the last eight years.  Cliff received his B.S. and M.S. in Wildlife Management from Humboldt State and has worked as a Fish and Wildlife Biologist in the Central Valley for over thirty years. He is currently employed by Ducks Unlimited, where he works on developing multi-benefit projects. 

Cliff’s program will highlight the results of a seven-year study using G.P.S. cell tower transmitters attached to fourteen species of waterfowl. In addition to gaining a better understanding of waterfowl movements during winter, migration, and breeding, the work provided new insights into how waterfowl use the landscape and the lengths to which they travel.

Click here to register in advance for this Zoom meeting 

Merced National Wildlife Refuge is teeming with waterfowl and other birds in winter.  Most of the birds are easily viewed, making for enjoyable and easy birding. We will meet at the kiosk and viewing platform located at the end of the entry road on the main portion of the Merced NWR. Note that this is an approximately 75-minute drive from Modesto. We will start our birding in the kiosk area and then go on the 5-mile-long auto tour loop, stopping frequently to look at birds.  We will also take a short walk (optional) at the Bittern Marsh trail. Participants of all skill levels are welcome and should bring their own binoculars, water, snacks, and insect repellant. Be sure to dress for cold weather. Heavy rain will cancel the trip. 

O’Neil Forebay is part of the San Luis State Recreation Area of the State Park System. There is a $10.00 entrance fee per vehicle. We will meet at the San Luis Reservoir Mederios Kiosk on Donohugh Rd. W. off Highway 33 at 8:30 a.m.  Those who wish to car-pool from Modesto can meet Sal Salerno at the west end of the parking lot of Sprouts Farmers Market, 1700 McHenry Avenue at 7:30 a.m.  We will bird from the Mederios east side of the forebay and then move to the San Luis Creek unit on the west side of the forebay.  This large body of water will have gulls, egrets, a few shorebirds, and grebes. Winter attracts many species of waterfowl, including Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, Northern Pintail, Common Goldeneye, and Lesser Scaup. Raptors such as Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Northern Harrier, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, and both species of eagle are possible.  The grasslands will have several species of passerines. Bring water, lunch or snacks, and binoculars. Trip leaders will have spotting scopes, but it is useful to bring your own if you have one. RSVP is not required, but recommended. Rain cancels.

Crossbills have piqued the interests of naturalists for centuries, as it also happened to me. My fascination with crossbills turned into a 40-plus year obsession because of the striking and quantifiable link between crossbills and conifers. In this presentation, I will discuss some features of this interaction, including how crossbills use their crossed mandibles to feed, as well as why there is such a great size variation among crossbills. 

Craig Benkman is an evolutionary ecologist and ornithologist, and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Wyoming. Before moving to Wyoming in 2004, Craig was on the faculty in the Department of Biology at New Mexico State University. He received a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley, a M.S. from Northern Arizona University, a Ph.D. from State University of New York at Albany; he conducted post doctoral research at Princeton University and the University of British Columbia. 

Click here to register in advance for this Zoom meeting 

This park is set along the Tuolumne River, with a riparian habitat of oak, cottonwood and sycamore trees.  There is a small pond there, and trails that were created during a recent renovation. We will be looking for resident passerines and wading birds, as well as waterfowl coming in to overwinter.  Great-tailed Grackles and Yellow-Billed Magpies may be abundant there.  We will meet at the main parking lot by the restrooms and walk down to the trails from a gravel road that ends at the boat dock.  Bring water and snacks.

Join John Fulton and John Harris as we explore the birds of Monterey Bay from the Elkhorn Slough Jetty at Moss Landing State Beach. A variety of shorebirds, waders, gulls and terns, sea ducks, cormorants, and grebes are likely. We’ll look for any rare birds reported in the area. Meet at the west end of the parking lot of Sprouts Farmers Market, 1700 McHenry Avenue at 7:30 a.m.  or at Casa de Fruta on Highway 152 at 9:00 a.m. If you want to meet at Moss Landing, meet where Jetty Road intersects Highway 1 around 10 a.m. Carpooling is encouraged. RSVP suggested to John Harris at jhh.birder@gmail.com. Bring a lunch, water, and be prepared for variable conditions including wind and fog. We’ll return to the Modesto area by early evening.