June 17, 2015

Chatsworth Nature Preserve Ecology Pond drying up!!

We are approaching a serious emergency with the Ecology Pond at Chatsworth Nature Preserve.  The pond is close to drying up, and DWP has thus far refused to provide any make-up water under the guise of the drought.  Please review the attached flyer being distributed by area residents.  We need to contact DWP managers and… read more
May 23, 2015

Just Sit Back and Bird! by Jeanne Kolasz

Saturday, May 9 was great weather for the “Big Sit” Birdathon event at the Sepulveda Basin. Jeanne Polak- Recht and Linda Jones were both there to lead the event. Jeanne reports sightings of 21 species. Eight people were there to sit on chairs or cushions or the ground to enjoy nature and wait for birds… read more
May 14, 2015

Exploring the wilds of Los Angeles with bird-watcher Scott Logan

Saturday, May 2nd marked Bird LA Day – a citywide celebration of all things birds, with nature walks, a bird sketching workshop and a picnic along the LA River. I met up with birding enthusiast Scott Logan at Franklin Canyon Park, located in a beautiful canyon above Beverly Hills, in the eastern part of the Santa Monica Mountains. “All… read more
May 11, 2015

Let’s Go Native!!

There will be a free garden show entitled "Let's Go Native" on May 17th from 10 to 5 at the Tarzana Community Center, 19130 Ventura Blvd (corner of Vanalden).  Alan Pollack, our Audubon-at-Home chair, will be tabling there with lots of information to hand out and giving his somewhat curtailed slide show/lecture entitled "Restoring Habitat, One Yard at a Time"… read more
May 9, 2015

Birders On The Move by Jeanne Kolasz

It was a busy day for Mark Osokow and his Birdathon group! They began at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, where the highlight was an American Pipit. From there they traveled to Sage Ranch, Chatsworth Oaks Park, Chatsworth Hills Reserve, and Brown’s Canyon. The group was able to view a colony of Great Egrets in… read more
May 8, 2015

PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE by presenter: Steven L. Hartman

SEPULVEDA BASIN WILDLIFE AREAS May 12 ·  7:30 - 9:00pm PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE The Sepulveda Basin is the home of a Wildlife Area with an 11-acre lake, the Bull Creek Ecological Restoration Area, one of only 3 soft-bottomed portions of the Los Angeles River, Encino Creek, Woodley Creek, Hayvenhurst Creek, and Lake Balboa. The Sepulveda… read more
May 1, 2015

Art Langton reports from the field.

Flying Solo Along Highway 33 Art Langton reports that he stopped at eight locations along Highway 33 from Ventura Marina to Ozena Station for his solo birdathon event on April 29. If McGrath State Park had not been closed due to flooding from the Santa Clara River estuary, it would have been nine! Among the… read more
April 30, 2015

HIGH DESERT HIGHLIGHTS BY JEANNE KOLASZ

There were 13 “early birders” with Jim Moore this year for his Birdathon event. They began at 4:30 am., and continued until 8:30 pm. Jim reports the group got good looks at Lesser Nighthawks this year, and a few birds that had not been seen before on this walk. Also there were some birds that… read more

Wind Swept Birds and Birders by Jeanne Kolasz

Very high winds occurred on Dick Barth’s field trip this year, which cut the walk short. However Dick reports they were doing very well before the winds came. The result was their final species count was down a little from the previous year. Despite windy conditions they had a final count of 52 species. Dick… read more

The Lori Willis Memorial Birdathon

by Jeanne Kolasz   A great note appears on the SFVAS Facebook page regarding the Lori Willis Memorial Birdathon event on April 18. I want to give our readers some of the highlights of that day and encourage all to look at the all inclusive note posted on Facebook, written by John Willis. John and… read more