Field Trips

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Field trips are given monthly, and sometimes more than once a month. Everyone is welcome to join in, you do not have to be a member of the Morro Coast Audubon to participate. There is no charge for the trips, except for our annual pelagic trip, and any parking or gasoline sharing fees.

NOTE: Some of our fieldtrips will be on short notice. To be aware of those types of trips, and to keep updated on planned trips, join MCAS Alert! for email updates. Join here.

MOBILITY IMPAIRED: Welcome to Linda Sewell who has graciously volunteered to assist as field trip Liaison to those with limited mobility. Linda is an MCAS member and resident of Arroyo Grande. She is filled with energy and optimism, and does not allow her disability to limit her joy of birds and nature. Please contact her with your interests, ideas, questions and concerns at LMS1@PGE.com or 801-5095. NOTE: Please pass this information on to non-MCAS members … they are welcome at all MCAS field trips! Thank you Linda!!

November 2009 Field Trips

Planta-palooza at Chimineas Ranch

Saturday and Sunday, November 7-8th

Last year, a hard working group of Audubon volunteers helped to install a barbed-wire fence to exclude cattle and promote riparian vegetation at a natural spring on Chimineas Ranch.  Other volunteer groups helped to fence off similar aquatic habitats around the ranch with the goal of re-vegetating them in 2009.  During the weekend of November 7-8th, we are going to be planting willows, cottonwoods, and other native riparian vegetation within the newly fenced off areas.  The work will consist of digging small holes and planting tree cuttings.  The work is likely to be moderately strenuous and we are going to get pretty dirty, but it’ll be fun work with great company!

Please join us at the beautiful Chimineas Ranch which is the latest addition to the Carrizo Plain National Monument and represents a great diversity of natural habitats.  The planting will begin Saturday morning, but many folks arrive on Friday to enjoy a potluck and good company.  There are beds (limited) and plenty of indoor and outdoor camping space available. Cooking facilities are available, and we will coordinate potlucks on Friday and Saturday nights.  We’ll work hard on Saturday, but you can enjoy a scenic trip back home on Sunday morning, birding or wildlife watching as you go. 

To sign up or for more information contact Jen Moonjian at:  jmoonjia@gmail.com. 

When you sign up, please be sure to include which nights you will be attending (Friday, Saturday, or both nights) and whether you would like to be placed on the list for a possible bed or if you will have your own accommodations (i.e. tent, trailer, truck bed, etc.).  Rain will cancel.

December 2009 Field Trips

December 5th: (Saturday): ANNUAL EAST-COUNTY RAPTOR TRIP: 

Meet leaders Paul Andreano and Nick Todd at 7:00 AM at the Park-and-Ride parking area just east of the Santa Margarita exit off of Rte 101. Paul and Nick are professional raptor biologists and seasoned field trip leaders. Birders at all skill levels will enjoy this trip. Bring lunch, water, a scope if you have one and a walkie-talkie radio if you have one (the latter is great for car-to-car communication about directions and birds seen en-route). Be sure to have a full tank of gas. Minimal walking involved. We will return by about mid-afternoon. (Contact Paul if you have questions at: himountainpaul@gmail.com.)

A Hearty “Thanks!” to the Youth Mentors!

The world of TV and computers has the very real potential of luring the youth of today indoors and away from the amazing world of nature. It is hard to love what you do not appreciate or understand. And it is hard to conserve what you do not love nor understand.
Who then will be the stewards of wild and natural places in the generation of today’s youth?
As a very small step toward encouraging kids to feel the beauty of nature, last year I made a challenge to MCAS members to be a birding/nature mentor to a young person. At the Morro Bay CBC dinner we had the honor of recognizing three mentors who accepted the challenge: Marie Moore who sponsored Aelen Stairs of Los Osos, Maggie Smith who sponsored Eric Brunschwiler of Cambria, and Jim Royer who sponsored Ross Schaeffer of Atascadero. Each was presented with a bird photograph as a token of thanks for their efforts. Thanks to you all!
Please take a few minutes out of your life to share your love of nature with a young person. Take them birding, have them help you with a nature project like a survey or bird banding, take them on a wildflower walk, do a tide pool thing, accompany them on an MCAS Field Trip, etc. The youth might be a child, a grandchild, a motivated student, a neighbor. Share a part of nature that you are passionate about, and they will be sparked by that passion!
ALAN SCHMIERER

Donate your wood scraps! The MCAS bird nest box program uses all re-cycled / scrap lumber to build its bird nest boxes. 100% of the revenue from this program directly benefits the MCAS general fund. The program provides much-needed nest cavities for our breeding birds and much-needed funding for our Audubon programs. We need donations of one inch boards / wood scraps, at least 5 inches wide. Scraps from fence building are a common source of these scraps. Please let me know if you can help. Email Alan at aaschmierer@yahoo.com or call at 772-2026. Thanks!

Broad-winged Hawk by Brad Schram