Stanislaus Audubon Society

Vineyards can provide habitat for a variety of avian species that help control agricultural pests. Researchers at Cal Poly Humboldt and UC Davis are studying how Barn Owls, Western Bluebirds, and Tree Swallows use nest boxes on vineyard landscapes, and how these birds may contribute to natural pest management.

Using tools such as GPS tracking, nest cameras, and field monitoring over several years, this research has examined components of owl and songbird movement, breeding behavior, diet, habitat use, and pest removal on agricultural landscapes. This talk will highlight what researchers have learned about these beneficial birds and how nest box programs can support avian conservation, ecologically based pest management, and win-win solutions between local wildlife and farmers.

Lauren is currently a Research Associate in Dr. Matthew Johnson’s Habitat Ecology Lab at Cal Poly Humboldt, where she continues working with Barn Owls in California’s agricultural landscapes.

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.

Register in advance for this meeting:

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This park is set along the Tuolumne River, with a riparian habitat of oak, cottonwood, and sycamore trees. There is also a small pond 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 are often found there.

We will meet at the main parking lot and drive or walk down on the gravel road that ends at the boat dock. Bring water and snacks.

Larry Schwitters has been totally engrossed with the migration and roosting of Vaux’s Swift for their last 38 migrations, documenting over 33 million roosting events. He will share with you information and images found nowhere else. This will be his 115th PowerPoint presentation, with audiences ranging from elementary schools to National and International Swift Conferences.

Larry Schwitters earned his Master of Science from East Texas University. He taught middle school science and served as a coach for thirty years in the Renton Public Schools. After retiring in 1991, he participated in a Black Swift field research project for the American Bird Conservancy. His experiences in this endeavor were the subject of the cover story for the American Birding Association Winging It magazine.

He has focused on Vaux’s Swifts since 2008. Birders World magazine covered his work in an article “46 Minutes of WOW”. He recruits volunteers to help collect data on over 200 migration roosts, from the Yukon to Guatemala. Schwitters wrote the most recent update on Vaux’s Swift in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World. He is the recipient of the 2023 National Volunteer of the Year Award.

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.

Register in advance for this meeting:

Click here to register in advance for this Zoom meeting 

Dos Rios State Park (3559 Shiloh Road) is a new state park, having opened officially on June 12, 2024. As of this writing, there is no entrance fee during its initial opening phase.

We will meet at the entrance parking lot and bird the Oxbow Pond and a portion of the park’s extensive trail system. We should have good opportunities to see herons, egrets, cormorants and other water birds, as well as birds of riparian habitats.

There is a restroom and picnic area.

For questions, contact John Harris at jhh.birder@gmail.com.

Meet at the Fruit Yard Restaurant. 6:00 a.m. for breaktbast, 6:30 a.m. for assignment.

Meet at 6:00 a.m. at Denny’s Restaurant, 1491 Hwy. 152/Hwy 33, also known as Pacheco Blvd., on the southeast corner of Badger Flat Road, near Target and WalMart. Denny’s is on the south side of Pacheco Blvd. on the west side of Los Banos.

Meet at 6:00 a.m. at Denny’s Restaurant, 2052 W. Orangeburg Ave., at 6:00 a.m. for breaktbast, 6:30 a.m. for assignment.