Peregrine Audubon Society's chapter meetings and programs are generally held on the third Tuesday of each month, September through May, at 7PM. Exception is the December meeting, which is held on the second Tuesday. We'll update details of our 2022-2023 schedule as they become available.
In-person meetings are back!
Our April and May programs will be held at 7PM in the City Council Chambers of the Ukiah Civic Center at 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah. The public is always welcome.
Board meetings generally take place on the first Thursday of each month, September through May, at 7 PM. Contact a board member for details. Board meetings are open to the membership. You are always welcome and encouraged to participate.
Chapter Meetings and Programs
Birds and the Marine Food Web with Tim Bray
Tuesday, September 20, 2022 at 7PM - Zoom meeting
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Black-footed Albatross, Common Murre, and Northern Fulmar photos © 2022 Tim Bray
Wind-driven upwelling along the California coast drives an extraordinarily productive marine ecosystem, attracting many kinds of birds. Offshore marine conditions are far less productive and support a less diverse group of birds, many of which are seldom seen from shore. These two different ecologies are juxtaposed off the Mendocino coast, giving us the opportunity to see a wide variety of seabirds employing different feeding strategies. This presentation begins with a review of the mechanics and biology of the nearshore and offshore ecosystems, before looking at some of the birds that rely on different parts of the marine food webs and the remarkable adaptations they display.
Tim Bray is a retired Hydrogeologist and currently President of the Mendocino Coast Audubon Society. He co-hosts a monthly radio program (The Ecology Hour) with Dr. Robert Spies, a marine biologist. An avid birder, he goes to sea as often as possible and organizes occasional pelagic field trips.
Climate Smart Solutions for Grassland Birds: Conservation Ranching California with Matt Allshouse
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 7PM - Zoom meeting
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Bobcat Ranch photo © 2022 California Audubon
Grassland bird conservation is inextricably linked to management practices on millions of acres of rangelands, the vast majority of which are privately owned. Significant grassland habitat enhancement can only be achieved through cooperative approaches that work with ranchers that live and work on these lands. Audubon’s Conservation Ranching Program uses an innovative, market-based approach to connect conservation-conscious consumers to ranchers who employ bird-friendly management in raising their livestock. The program addresses loss in ecosystem function and health through the conservation of focal bird species and the habitat they depend upon. It incentivizes bird-friendly livestock management practices, emphasizing regenerative grazing approaches that improve soil health, diversify habitat structure, and ensure environmental sustainability that benefits pollinators and other grassland wildlife.
Matt came to Audubon California from Wyoming and has been the Conservation Ranching Program Manager for the state since September 2019. As a rangeland ecologist, he has 13 years of experience associated with land policy, management, and science.
Monitoring Avian Community Responses to an Oak Woodland Megafire with Kendall Calhoun
Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 7PM - Zoom meeting
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Kendall Calhoun photo © 2022 Kendall Calhoun, 2018 River Fire photo © 2022 Geoff Heinecken
Kendall is a PhD student in the Brashares lab at UC Berkeley. He will be discussing his studies at the Hopland Research and Extension Center assessing the impacts of the 2018 Mendocino Complex wildfire on local bird communities. Using a combination of biodiversity monitoring techniques, including remote audio recorders and cameras, Kendall monitored bird species diversity and habitat usage over time. He hoped to identify species that are vulnerable to wildfires in California with the goal of assisting in policy decisions that create more resilient habitats and ecosystems in the future. This should be an interesting evening and not one you want to miss!
Get to Know Your Local Birds!
Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 7PM - Zoom meeting
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Marsh Wren by George Gibbs, Anna's Hummingbird by Kent Leland, and Wood Duck by Bob Keiffer. All photos © 2021
This evening will be our annual Know Your Local Birds Slideshow and Christmas Bird Count Review with George Gibbs and Bob Keiffer. Bob will be presenting his excellent slideshow introduction to our local wintering birds. George will update us on signup details.
This year's Christmas Bird count in Ukiah will take place Saturday, December 17.
Rich Cimino on Birding Belize
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 7PM
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Yucatan Jay, Lesson's Motmot, and Keel-billed Toucan. All photos © 2023 eBird
Rich lives in Larkspur, Marin County. He has been birding in California for 55 years, and is a field guide for Yellowbilled Tours, which offers annual birding tours to Nome, Alaska, Belize, Guatemala, and Panama as well as throughout California, Arizona and New Mexico and some¬times Wisconsin. Belize is an amazing tropical birding trip destination. Here, you’ll find more than 580 species of birds in an area the size of Massachusetts. Rich has photographed many of those birds, among them Jabiru, Keel-billed Toucan, Lesson’s Motmot, Russet-naped Wood-Rail, Yucatan Jay, Bat Falcon, Orange-breasted Falcon and Agami Heron. Unlikely that we will see any of those around here! This should be an interesting evening of tropical birds and fine photography.
Taking a Deep Dip with Kate Marianchild: The Lives of North America's Only Aquatic Songbirds
Tuesday, February 21, 2023 at 7PM
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Kate Marianchild and American Dipper with young. Photos © 2023 Kate Marianchild
How many North American songbirds dive fearlessly into raging rapids? How many build large dome-shaped nests of moss and flash bright-white eyelids from their dark interiors? How many forage for food on the bottoms of freezing-cold streams?
Answer: Only one—the American dipper, Cinclus mexicanus (aka “water ouzel”).
Acting on a tip from a friend, Kate Marianchild spent several afternoons during the summer of 2020 searching the upper reaches of the Russian River for a dipper nest. After she finally found a large mossy dome on a boulder ledge over thundering whitewater, she began observing, photographing, and videoing the nesting behaviors of American dippers, returning several times over the season. The following two summers she documented another nest on a boulder several hundred yards downstream from the first.
During her talk about this extraordinary species, Kate will show videos and photographs of dippers feeding their babies; flashing their semaphore-like eyes; singing exuberantly; dipping (bobbing up and down), foraging, and building a nest. She will also share sightings of other species she and her friends saw along the river, including an American mink, as well as borrowed underwater images of dippers doing what they are most famous for: foraging for food on river bottoms.
Sarah Koenigsberg on the Beaver Believers
Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 7PM
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Sarah Koenigsberg and friends. Photos © 2023 Beaver Coalition
Join us for a virtual screening of the award-winning feature documentary “The Beaver Believers” hosted by filmmaker Sarah Koenigsberg! In this film we follow our Beaver Believers out into some truly spectacular landscapes of the interior West, from the east slopes of the Cascade mountains in Washington to the Rockies in Colorado, from the parched red rock deserts of southern Utah to an urban park in central California. We take you to places where beaver have already begun to transform damaged watersheds, and we learn of the many challenges that stand in the way of larger scale efforts to use beaver as a restoration tool, including trapping, which is tragically still legal in most states. Perhaps most importantly, we meet incredible people who, undaunted by climate change, are working tirelessly to protect and restore beaver out on the landscape, who embody the spirit and joy that comes from “thinking like a beaver,” who show us that collaboration and watershed restoration truly are possible. All we have to do is let the beaver come home.
Jim Xerogeanes on Cow Mountain Recreation: A Gem in Our Backyard
Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 7PM at the Ukiah City Council Chambers
Jim Xerogeanes © 2023 Jim Xerogeanes
What do you want to know about Cow Mountain? You are sure to find out at this talk by Jim Xerogeanes. Jim may know the flora of Cow Mountain better than just about anyone and is eager to share his knowledge of this area. Jim’s talk will briefly examine this special area, delving into its geology, history, and the influence of fires. He will focus on unique and beautiful plants, highlighting their interactions with other flora and fauna, and their tenacity to survive in the many different habitats of the Cow Mountain Recreation Area.
This talk is a joint program of the Peregrine Audubon Society and the Sanhedrin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS). Jim Xerogeanes serves as the current co-president of the Sanhedrin Chapter of CNPS. He made news in 2016 when he rediscovered the Mendocino Bush Mallow which was thought to be extinct. Jim recently retired from 26 years of teaching horticulture, agriculture and nursery practices at Mendocino College. Before his career there, Jim was a biologist with the Mendocino County Department of Agriculture and discovered a mite new to North America! Jim has had a lifelong love of the outdoors and Cow Mountain Is one of his favorite places to hike and explore. He has been studying Cow Mountain for 40 years and intensified his studies in the last fifteen years, especially since the 2018 fires.
Hannah Bird on HREC
Tuesday, May 16, 2023 at 7PM
Details to Follow
Field Trips
Field Trip Guidelines: Everyone is welcome! These guidelines apply to all Peregrine Field Trips. Please take a moment to read them if you are new, or use them to refresh your memory if you have birded with us before. The times listed are the departure times - not the assembly times. Please arrive early! Many of the trips are out of the area and require an hour or more of driving, so promptness is necessary.
Due to insurance requirements, Peregrine Audubon leaders are not allowed to organize carpools. Participants are, however, encouraged to voluntarily share rides. Any carpool arrangements are private arrangements between the driver and the passengers. Drivers must carry adequate insurance coverage. Please be courteous and share gas expenses with the driver
Most trips are all day affairs, but at times various people need to get back sooner. By arriving 15-20 minutes early such necessary travel arrangements can be made. You will probably want to take a pack with lunch, water, hat and appropriate clothing - coats, rain gear, etc. - , binoculars*, camera, and perhaps notepad and field guides.
*Binoculars are important, but loaner pairs may be available for newcomers. If you have some to loan, please bring them along.
Willits Mitigation Lands
Saturday, September 24, 2022
On September 24, Peregrine Audubon in conjunction with MCRCD, Mendocino County Resource Conservation District, will be doing a Bird focused field trip on the Willits Bypass Mitigation Lands along Outlet Creek. We hope to see early raptors migrating into the valley, White Tailed Kites and Early Northern Harriers, and see the tail end of the neotropical migration south along the riparian corridors. The Dogwood, poison oak, blackberry, and rose hips will be ripe and attracting may juvenile birds on their migration from north to south for the Fall and Winter. The tule Elk should have begun bugling so we should hear some of them too.
This trip will have limited space available so you must RSVP at: marisela@mcrcd.org We will meet at 8:30 and return to the Coleman Ranch house by 1:30.
Beginners' Bird Walk at Ukiah Water Treatment Plant
Saturday October 22, 2022
Beginner’s Bird Walk at the Ukiah Wwater Treatment Plant. At the Ukiah Wastewater Treatment Plant, or UWTP, you can probably see more species of birds in less time than anywhere else in the Ukiah valley. Its habitat range is outstanding: riparian areas adjacent to the Russian River, settling ponds, beautiful stands of mature valley oaks, blackberry thickets, and adjacent open grasslands. Meet at the UWTP office area at 8:30. The walk around the oxidation ponds is about one mile, all on level ground.
Covelo and Round Valley
Saturday, November 19, 2022
Join us for a fall visit to the Round Valley area, one of our favorite destinations. This beautiful valley with its open grasslands and large Valley Oaks is home to a number of winter visitors not commonly seen in the Ukiah area. In past years birds of note here have included Bald Eagles, Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawks, Peregrine and Prairie Falcons, Lewis’s Woodpeckers, and Canyon Wrens. Time and weather permitting we will continue east to the Black Butte/Eel River campground for a picnic and more birding. Meet before our 8:00 am departure from the CVS parking lot, or at 8:30 at the parking lot in front of Willits High School. We should reach Covelo and Keith’s Market around 11:00.
Ukiah Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, December 17, 2022
The CBC itself is a good opportunity for birders of all experience levels to help us identify and count birds. Participation in groups will again be limited this year due to Covid. Certain area leaders may have op¬portunities for participants and this will be covered in the slide¬show. You can assist even if you only want to count birds at your home feeders. Also, if you feel particularly confident in tallying/documenting sightings, several area leaders would welcome help covering specific patches, routes and/or areas. Contact the area leader directly to arrange either scenario. If you want to help out, but are uncertain of the area leader, or would like more informa-tion regarding our Covid protocol, attend our December 13 Zoom presentation or contact George at ggibbs@pacific.net. We will most likely cancel our compilation potluck dinner again this year. Check the website for updates.
Beginners' Walk at Willits Waste Water Treatment Plant
Saturday, January 14, 2023
January 14th will be a field trip to the Willits Water Treatment Plant and the MCRCD mitigation lands for all levels of birders. Beginners are welcome! We will meet at the County Museum at 8:30 for warm bathrooms and to see our new interpretive center office space, and from there will travel to the WWTP and work our way around the ponds looking for waterfowl, herons, egrets, and the hard to find American bittern, and then drive out to the northern end of the MCRCD mitigation lands to look for more wintering waterfowl and raptors. Bring warm boots and lunch. We will be done at 2:00pm and back at the museum. This field trip will be led by Marisela de Santa Anna, Peregrine Audubon Chapter Board Member and MCRCD Project Interpreter and Wildlife Biologist. RSVP is required for this field trip as there is limited space. Please send an email to marisela@mcrcd.org or a text at 707-841-7172
Sacramento National Wildlife Refuges
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Join us on a trip to the Sacramento Valley waterfowl refuges. These areas host tens of thousands of waterfowl during the winter, in numbers and diversity far beyond anything in Mendocino County. We can count on seeing such locally rare birds as Snow and Ross's Geese, Eurasian Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal, White-faced Ibis, Black-necked Stilt, Sandhill Crane, Loggerhead Shrike, and others. This is a long drive and we will leave from the Ukiah CVS parking lot at 7:30 AM sharp! Dress in layers and bring food and drink for our picnic lunch.
Lake Mendocino North Shore
Saturday, February 25, 2023
We will be birding the north end of Lake Mendocino this morning. We will be focusing on the stretch between the boat launch adjacent to the inlet, and along the Pomo A day-use area. There are great views of the lake from this location, so we will be searching through the water birds for wintering ducks and grebes. Loons are a possibility here as well. Other target birds will include wintering song birds and raptors along the lake shore. Bald Eagle is a good possibility. We will be leaving the CVS parking lot at 8:00 and expect to arrive at the parking area above the north boat launch at 8:30.
Willits Waste Water Treatment Plant
Friday, March 24, 2023
Ferruginous Hawk, Black Phoebe, and Bewick's Wren photos © 2022 Marisela de Santa Anna
March 24th will be a field trip to the Willits Water Treatment Plant and the MCRCD mitigation lands for all levels of birders. Beginners are welcome! We will meet at the County Museum at 8:30 for warm bathrooms and to see our new interpretive center office space, and from there will travel to the WWTP and work our way around the ponds looking for waterfowl, herons, egrets, and the hard to find American bittern, and then drive out to the northern end of the MCRCD mitigation lands to look for more wintering waterfowl and raptors. Bring warm boots and lunch. We will be done at 2:00pm and back at the museum. This field trip will be led by Marisela de Santa Anna, Peregrine Audubon Chapter Board Member and MCRCD Project Interpreter and Wildlife Biologist. RSVP is required for this field trip as there is limited space. Please send an email to marisela@mcrcd.org or a text at 707-841-7172
Beginners' Bird Walk at Riverside Park
Saturday, March 25, 2023
The park is located along the Russian River at the east end of Gobbi Street. This is the only publicly accessible stretch of the main-stem Russian River in all of Mendocino County. The City of Ukiah has been developing trails in the park, as well as managing the vegetation to widen the riparian corridor and introduce more native plant species. It is an excellent birding location. We will meet at 8:30 am. Parking will be available at the park.
Hopland Research and Extension Center
Saturday, April 29, 2023
After a long absence, we will be making a birding outing to this beautiful 5300-acre field station on a trip led by Chuck Vaughn. We will visit a variety of habitats including oak woodlands, chaparral, and riparian areas, and will see and hear the diversity of birds that live there.We hope to see residents like Bell's and Rufous-crowned Sparrows. If our timing is good we might also see Golden Eagles, Grasshopper Sparrows, and a number of neotropical migrants. This trip requires short hikes. We will leave from the Ukiah CVS parking lot at 8:00 am, or you can meet us at the Hopland Center at 8:30. Bring your lunch, water, and binoculars. We will picnic lunch on the patio of Shippey Hall. RSVP is required for this field trip as there is limited space, and reservations will be made on a first-come basis. Please send an email to Chuck Vaughn (cevaughn@pacific.net).
Potter Valley and the Eel River
Saturday, May 6, 2023
The primary birding on this trip is done along the scenic main stem of the Eel River with stops at the Pioneer Bridge, Trout Creek, and possibly Burris Lane. Both MacGillivray's and Hermit Warblers are usually seen on this trip, and they can be difficult to find elsewhere in the county. Other possible birds include Bald Eagle and American Dipper. We will leave from the Ukiah CVS parking lot at 8:00 am, or you can meet us at the old Potter Valley bridge site along the Russian River (1/4 mile north of Hwy 20 on Potter Valley Road) at 8:30. Bring your lunch, water, binoculars, and favorite field guides.
Last revised April 1, 2023.