San Mateo County, California
— The October to December 2021 Newsletter is now available online —
Note: links to external sites open in a new tab or window.
Upcoming Meeting
November 11, 2021 at 7 pm
Program:
Bay Area Ridge Trail:
400 Miles of Nature Nearby
Simone Nageon de LeStang, Trail Planner
Sequoia Audubon
Field trips have restarted!
Note: Registration is required for every field trip. There are also new protocols that must be followed. A brief description is on the field trip page.
We also encourage participation in the iNaturalist project "Meet your nature neighbors"
Find a Bird in Distress?
There's a current Salmonella outbreak among Pine Siskins, you can find more information here.
If at all possible please leave a baby bird where it is because the adults will usually continue to feed and care for it.
To report a bird in distress please contact the Peninsula Humane Society Wildlife Rescue,
first call 650-340-7022, if directed take it to their center at 1450 Rollins Rd, Burlingame
Is a Drone disturbing Wildlife?
What you can do if you see a drone disturbing wildlife:
- Contact your local police non-emergency number.
- Contact Department of Fish and Game by using the CalTIP program
- Get the license plate number of the drone operator's vehicle.
- Obtain a photo or video of the operator using the drone in a manner, which is disturbing the birds. However, do not put yourself in danger while doing this.
Sequoia Audubon has registered in the
Amazon Smile Program.
Amazon Smile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Sequoia Audubon every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you'll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization.
Tens of millions of products on AmazonSmile are eligible for donations. You will see eligible products marked "Eligible for AmazonSmile donation" on their product detail pages.
You use the same account on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile. Your shopping cart, Wish List, wedding or baby registry, and other account settings are also the same.
Learn Bird Sounds and Benefit
Sequoia Audubon Society!
Ever wish you knew how to identify birds by ear? It's one of the most essential birding skills, but one of the hardest to learn. Some folks from Seattle's Audubon chapter set out to make learning bird sounds truly accessible to everyone.
The result is Larkwire: a game-based learning system that uses cognitive techniques to make it easier to learn and remember bird sounds. Combining quiz games, an extensive sound library, and tips from renowned birdsong expert Michael O'Brien, Larkwire makes the learning process not only much easier but fun. Customizable levels from beginner to advanced invite both the backyard birder and the serious student to play and learn.
The company behind Larkwire is a social venture whose mission is not only to teach birdsong; a minimum of ten percent of all proceeds go to support conservation.
Sequoia Audubon Society has joined their affiliate program; enter our code when you purchase and we'll receive 20% of the purchase price! Our code: SEQAUD
Larkwire is now available as a native app
in the Apple App Store.
It's a great tool and your purchase supports Sequoia Audubon Society!
Have you tried our Birding Guide?
August 2021 San Mateo County COVID Update.
Gull Hybrids and Subspecies in San Mateo County
Iceland Gull (Kumlien's, Larus glaucoides kumlieni), first-year bird
Pilarcitos Creek Mouth, January 2019 (Alvaro Jaramillo)
The San Mateo County Birding Guide is proud and delighted to announce this new addition - from one of the best gull-watchers in the Americas!
Alvaro Jaramillo distilled his wisdom about four hybrids and two subspecies among our local overwintering gulls in this article, "Gull Hybrids and Subspecies in San Mateo County." With pictures from Alvaro and two other leading birders of our community - Donna Pomeroy and Malia DeFelice - this article will help to fill in some of those tricky in-between specimens we all find when searching through a large flock.
Here is a direct link to the new article.
The article can be found from the Birding Guide's home page . On the home page, there is a button near the top right that says "Look Here" - when clicked and held, this gives you a drop-down menu. Go to the subhead "Supplemental Guide Pages" and scroll to the Gull article. Please note other rich resources here and in the other subheads; for instance, Francis Toldi's excellent article on the habitats of the county (under Additional Resources) and Donna Pomeroy's Photographic Guide to the county's birds, as well as rough-and-ready checklists of other taxa. If you have a good idea for another article we need - float it! Improvements in the Guide are steady and ongoing, especially during the past year. New sites are being developed to add, and rarities over the years have been documented for each existing site in the guide.
Seward Gull, Gazos Creek Beach Access, Nov 2019 (Malia DeFelice)
The San Mateo County Birding Guide is your resource for discovery, for archiving our birding history, and for studying questions of status and distribution at a local level! Suggestions, complaints and compliments are welcome! Write to us at smcbgeditor at earthlink.net
Beverly Cronin is leading a Cavity Nesters Recovery Program for Sequoia Audubon. Visit the new page to read all about it. She is looking for Western Bluebird, American Kestrel and Barn Owl Nest Box Monitors, too.
New Photo Resource
Donna Pomeroy has assembled a remarkable resource for birders - a photographic guide to the 240 most common bird species in San Mateo County! Here's the link (it's on iNaturalist).
Volunteers Wanted!
If you are interested in helping to shape the future of Sequoia Audubon Society please consider joining the Board. While all members' ideas are welcome and encouraged, participating as a Board or Committee Member increases the opportunity to get involved in the "nuts & bolts" of the chapter.
We have several open positions at this time, as shown below. Please have a look and let us know if you (or anyone you know!) are interested by contacting Sequoia Audubon at: (650) 529-1454 or office@sequoia-audubon.org
Open positions include:
- Program Committee: Help arrange speakers for the monthly meetings.
- See the Volunteer Page for other opportunities to help Sequoia Audubon Society
Sequoia Audubon Society protects native birds and other wildlife and their ecosystems in San Mateo County by engaging people of all ages in conservation, education, advocacy and enjoyment.
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The Sequoia Audubon Society is committed to equal opportunity and abides by all relevant laws and regulations. All Sequoia Audubon programs and volunteer opportunities are administered without regard to race, gender, creed, national origin, age, political affiliation, marital status, sexual orientation, physical, mental or sensory handicap, or any other basis prohibited by law. However, Sequoia Audubon reserves the right to exclude volunteers who do not support its goals.
Entire Web Site, all content and photos © 1997 - 2021 S.A.S.