http://www.sfvaudubon.org/">San Fernando Valley Audubon Society

Walter Sakai is a Master Bird Bander who has been banding birds in Zuma Canyon since 1995. Bird banding allows us to learn about migration patterns, population changes, mortality, longevity, feeding behaviors and territoriality of birds. Walt’s emphasis is on teaching students how to band birds. Thus, most of his help comes from Santa Monica College where he teaches biology, but he has other volunteers as well.

Because Walt’s emphasis is on teaching, his banding covers a wide variety of habitats. Walt and his students generally band 60-80 species each year, including 1000-1500 individual birds. You can find some very interesting information on his homepage.

Walt was recently awarded $1000 from Los Angeles Audubon Society and $500 from Santa Monica Bay Audubon to start and operate a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survival) bird banding station in Solstice Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Come to the monthly membership meeting on Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 7:00 PM. Click here for details.

With several occurrences of such phenomena hitting the national media last week, some of you may be interested to know more information about such seemingly bizarre behavior. Well, someone has compiled a great deal of info on the “Birds Fall from the Sky” website to sate the desires of those seeking more on the subject. Thanks to Serena Castleton for calling this site to our attention.

Reporter Bob Strauss and photographer David Crane, both of the LA Daily News, captured the essentials of the annual Christmas Bird Count by following the team of counters at LA Pierce College on Sunday, December 26, 2010. Click here for the full story.

SFVAS Conservation Chair, Kris Ohlenkamp sent a letter to Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and to Congresspersons Howard Berman, Brad Sherman and Henry Waxman, urging them to support this measure.

“The CDPA of 2010 is landmark legislation that would protect wildlife habitat, preserve open space, and enhance recreational opportunities while supporting responsible renewable energy development and the ability of the military to protect the United States of America,” Ohlenkamp writes. The act would provide additional protections to Big Morongo Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park, among other proposals.

You can find the complete text of the letter here.