Check out the Audubon Society’s Bird Migration Explorer. It is a super cool tool to let you the migration patterns of birds by species, location and lots more!
The video below tells you all about it.
And don’t forget write to your representatives to defend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act! Click here for a great article explaining the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Landscaping with native plants is a great alternative to lawns. They are low water tolerant and have the added benefit of enhancing your area for our native Southern California birds.
There are some great resources to help people get started.
National Audubon Society has launched a database of plants that are great for birds. You can search by your zip code to explore the best plants for birds in your area.
https://www.audubon.org/native-plants
The California Native Plant Society has many resources to learn and explore. Check out a chapter in your local area for outdoor hikes and walks, programs, and much more.
And look for plants using the Calscape database.
The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants provides many materials and educational resources.
The Metropolitan Water District also has resources on native plants along with various water saving incentive programs.
https://www.bewaterwise.com/california-native-plants.html
You will love learning about plants that support our local native birds!
A couple of helpful articles from National Audubon. Check these out so you are prepared.
Whittier Area Audubon Society is encouraging all our members to participate in an important research project by counting and reporting the number of birds seen or heard, by species, for 10 minutes each week in a location convenient to them. Eventually this information will support our efforts to maintain or improve the abundance of birds in our area by clarifying the impacts of wildfires due to anthropogenic Climate Change.
Project Phoenix is a community science project supported by the UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC). The goal is to engage communities in monitoring birds in their neighborhoods during Summer and Fall to learn more about how wildfire smoke and urban air pollution impact bird behavior and species distributions. This research will help identify the places and resources birds use when it is smoky to inform local conservation strategies and protect birds in the age of megafires. The program is open to birders of all ages and backgrounds including families and beginner birders. There is no cost to participate, and online training is available for folks new to birding. Volunteers sign up to conduct weekly, 10-minute, stationary point counts of birds at a monitoring site of their choosing – their backyard, favorite park, etc. They may contribute additional observations (e.g., from additional surveys or opportunistically) if they choose. Last year’s Project focused on monitoring birds in California for 3 months - August through October. In 2024, it is expanding to include communities in Washington and Oregon and collecting data for 5 months - July through November. Identification of species by sound may be determined using “TheCornellLab Merlin” app on your smartphone. Reporting of the data is via eBird.
Project Phoenix research goals:
Collect data on the presence and abundance of birds during the fire season.
Evaluate the impact of urban air pollution and wildfire smoke on bird distributions, and consider if these responses vary across habitats.
Propose local intervention strategies to help birds during acute smoke events
To participate, go to https://www.project-phoenix-investigating-bird-responses-to-smoke.org/
One great resource for getting help when you find an sick or injured bird is the Rescue Directory found on the On the Feeder website. It is a nation-wide listing that includes many resources in our area. You can find it here: Wildlife Rescue Directory.
It was great fun to see three Great-horned Owls released back into the wild at the Whittier Narrows Nature Center on October 8, 2022. It was a family event and about 50 people attended.
The owls had been transported from Wild Wings, where they had been rehabilitated, to the Nature Center in boxes. They were released one at a time. Below is a slide show and three slow-motion videos below will give you an idea of how beautiful and powerful they are.
Although the owl below flew from the box in a few seconds, in the slow motion video below you can see how it grabbed the side of the box and then turned its head forward before taking off.
From our September Speaker Amanda Penn regarding the Poo-Poo Project led by the Teton Raptor Center to protect cavity nesters from becoming trapped in outhouses in our state and national parks.
Thank you so much for having me as a speaker last night! I wanted to follow up about local areas that may be in need of Poo-Poo Screens. I have attached a list of areas that have partnered with us. Please take a look at the areas listed under California. If you have local areas that aren't listed or just notice any unscreened vault toilets, please let me know. Feel free to share my email with the group. Also, here is some information on the
Sponsor- A -Screen program: https://tetonraptorcenter.org/sponsor-a-screen . I would be happy to send a pack of Poo-Poo stickers to you.
Action item: if you are in any of the following areas in the San Gabriel Mountains, please check for vault toilets with unscreened vents.
Mt Wilson
Chantry Flats (Off Santa Anita)
West Fork (Off Hwy 39 Azusa Canyon)
Chilao
Grassy Hollow
Bighorn Mine Trail
Icehouse Saddle
Devil's Punchbowl / Devil's Chair
Fish Canyon Falls
Lewis Falls
Cooper Canyon Falls
Telegraph Peak / Manker Flat
Stoddard Peak
One of the most enjoyable activities that comes with bird watching is learning to identify birds by song. There are more and more resources to help identify birds by song and to learn the songs. Here’s a great article to get you started!
And check out this creative Bird Song Project celebrating the beauty of bird songs and supporting birds.
A fascinating tool that tracking migratory wildlife uses antennas with radio signals and receivers. Check out the Motus system launched in 2015 to gather data on bird migration.
Our hearts go out to long-time Board Member Letty Brooks on the passing of her husband Robert "Bob" Brooks, September 5th, 2020. After his retirement from the aerospace industry he spent many hours supporting various environmental groups, especially Whittier Area Audubon Society. He was president of the Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee, a docent at Cabrillo Marine Museum, and a member of the LA Mushroom Society. We will miss his big laugh and sense of fun. Rest in peace.
Donations in his Bob’s name can be made to the environmental organization of your choice. If you wish to donate to the Whittier Area Audubon Society, you may do so here.
We’ve been enjoying getting to know the birds whose territories we live in. The mockingbird owns our entire property from front to back. The parrots drop by every morning and evening. And the bushtits pass through mid-morning.
Longtime Whittier Area Audubon member,Yosh Nakamura, was the Grand Marshal of the Whittier Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 8, 2018 representing Whittier Area Audubon, among other organizations. Daughter, Linda Oberholtzer, 2nd Vice President of Whittier Area Audubon, and son, Joel Nakamura, road in the Jeep with him in the parade.
Grace Nakamura, beloved Audubon member, passed away on May 30, 2017 from complications of pneumonia.
She and her husband Yosh received Whittier Area Audubon’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. She was instrumental in getting a viewing platform installed at the Whittier Narrows Nature Center and started a native plant greenhouse project at La Serna High School through an Audubon YES! grant.
Grace is survived by her husband, Yosh Nakamura; daughter, Linda Nakamura Oberholtzer; son, Daniel Nakamura and daughter-in-law, Paula Stinson; son, Joel Nakamura and daughter-in-law, Kathleen Nakamura; and grandchildren, Paloma and Kai Nakamura.
Please see the Whittier Daily News obituary to learn more about Grace’s fascinating life.
A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held at 2:00 pm on Sunday, July 16, 2017 at the Hillcrest Congregational Church, 2000 West Road, La Habra Heights, CA.
Please join us in remembering Thomas Drouet (July 16, 1931 – April 8, 2017)
A message from the family:
Thomas L. Drouet (July 16, 1931 – April 8, 2017) was a kind-hearted, life-long teacher, and volunteer who helped many people reach for their dreams. He loved teaching and always did so with witty humor and humble pride, whether he was: instructing as a math professor; discussing the stars and universe as an amateur astronomer; sharing his love for concert band music as a devout musician; pointing out birds as an avid nature lover; or chatting about the games of baseball, football, and basketball as a sports enthusiast.
Tom was a life-long Southern Californian. His stories of the orange groves of yesteryears and his love for his own orange and fig trees could make anyone wish for days gone by. His excitement and aggravation for the Clippers and Lakers as well as the Angels and Dodgers could make anyone a fan: he always said, “You only really have to watch the last two minutes or innings, but hey why not watch the whole game.”
Above all else, he completely adored UCLA football – well, anything UCLA.
Tom loved performing as a clarinetist with the Los Angeles Police Band (now COPS), Covina Band, and UCLA Alumni Band (30+ year member.) He was a committed supporter of Los Angeles Astronomical Society, Orange County Astronomers, and Griffith Observatory and often brought his telescopes for the public’s use in viewing the stars above. He also participated in astronomy outreach programs at our local schools, enthusiastically sharing the wonders of our sky with the scientists of tomorrow.
We love you so very much Dad and will miss you every day. We are thankful for you and we know you are now a star shining down on the City of Angeles that you loved so very much. Thank you for everything you did for all of us and for showing us how to live life to its fullest.
Tom is survived by his sister Pauline Ide and his two daughters, Marie and Louisa Drouet. He passed away peacefully in his hometown of Whittier, California at the age of 85. Celebrations of his life will be held privately.
