FIELD TRIP: Las Cruzitas Ranch, 3/15

FIELD TRIP: Las Cruzitas Ranch
Sunday, March 15th

RSVP required.

This ranch is located 75 miles south of Morro Bay. Travel is by personal vehicle to Las Cruzitas, a private 1,500-acre cattle ranch that encompasses oak grassland and sage-covered canyons. We will be met by Cruz Phillips, the ranch owner, who will lead the trip.

Species seen may include Yellow-billed Magpie, Vesper and Lark Sparrow, Band-tailed Pigeon, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Golden Eagle, Tricolored Blackbird, Prairie Falcon, Phainopepla, Red-naped Sapsucker and Lewis' Woodpecker.

Two dozen or more species alone are usually seen from the ranch-house bird-feeders, so folks who cannot walk far can sit in the yard and have a great time birding.

Bring a sack lunch.

This field trip is limited to 20 participants and we are expected at the ranch at 9AM.

Participants must RSVP with Jan Surbey, MCAS field trip chair, at jan@morrocoastaudubon.org. Jan will send meeting time and directions for Los Olivos meeting location to the first 20 that RSVP.

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Audubon Walk at the SLO Botanical Garden, 3/7

Audubon Walk at the SLO Botanical Garden

Saturday, March 7th, 9:00-11:00am

 An engaging walk through the SLO Botanical Garden will get you acquainted with the wide variety of feathered friends found in SLO County.

WITH MORRO COAST AUDUBON MEMBERS JESSICA GRIFFITHS AND MARLIN HARMS

San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden is pleased to welcome Jessica Griffiths and Marlin Harms of the Morro Coast Audubon Society on Saturday, March 7th from 9 AM to 11 AM for a birding walk for all skill levels. This engaging walk through the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden and the surrounding environs will get you acquainted with the wide variety of feathered friends found in SLO County. We will look for spring birds, with likely sightings of: White-tailed Kite, Red-shouldered Hawk, California Quail, and California Scrub-jay.

The walk will begin near the purple entrance to the SLO Botanical Garden. If you have binoculars please bring them; if not, loaners will be available.

Walk is $5 for Garden and Audubon members / $10 non-members. Kids are FREE. Registration is preferred. To RSVP contact education@slobg.org.

Jessica Griffiths has been working as a wildlife biologist for nearly 20 years. She currently works as a biologist for Althouse and Meade, Inc. in Paso Robles. Prior to moving to the SLO area, Jessica worked in Big Sur for the Ventana Wildlife Society, overseeing all of their songbird research projects and running the Big Sur Ornithology Lab for several years. She is actively involved with Morro Coast Audubon and leads year-round bird walks for birders of all ages.

Marlin Harms became interested in nature--especially birds, wildflowers and intertidal life--and found that a camera was a great way to explore and learn, primarily with macro or telephoto lens. He started in photography many years ago and had his own black-and-white darkroom. Marlin is a member of the Morro Coast Audubon Society, California Native Plant Society, and other nature-based organizations.


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2019 Morro Bay CBC Final Results are in




To VIEW, PRINT, or DOWNLOAD Results PDF click READ MORE. Then move cursor over the Results PDF displayed below and click the "Pop-out" icon in the top-right corner.

From the now newly opened window, you can read the Results PDF, OR use the icons in the top-right corner to PRINT or DOWNLOAD.

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EUREKA! BIRDS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY - Nov.-Dec- 2019

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To VIEW, PRINT, or DOWNLOAD Eureka! click READ MORE. Then move cursor over the Eureka! displayed below and click the "Pop-out" icon in the top-right corner.

From the now newly opened window, you can read Eureka! OR use the icons in the top-right corner to PRINT or DOWNLOAD Eureka!.
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MCAS sends letter to State Parks re: Oso Flaco

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Click Read More... then click LETTER.

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Workshop: Focus on Gulls of SLO County

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Focus on Gulls in SLO County

Join Kaaren Perry in this informative and fun workshop on Gulls... those elusive creatures that we all struggle to ID. Well, struggle no more! Take this class and upgrade your skills in Gull ID.

You can read and download the course description & registration PDF.
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Scholarship Awards Announced

MCAS president, Judy Neuhauser,
with Sinead Carney and Amada Hensley
at the December MCAS Community Program 
The Libbie Agran Scholarship (formerly known as the Nancy Vaughn Scholarship) was awarded to 2 worthy Cuesta College students at the Christmas Bird Count potluck dinner. Amanda Hensley and Sinead Carney were selected to receive $500 each to help with their continuing studies.

Amanda is a returning student, having taken time to attend to family needs. Her passion for environmental sciences was stoked upon taking a field project course in Marine Biology and Microbiology, with a focus on the science of eelgrass recovery in the Morro Bay Estuary. She has continued to volunteer her time to work with this project and hopes to eventually find a position working with a wildlife agency or with the State Parks.

Sinead comes from a family that has been tending a 600 acre wildlife preserve in upstate New York. She started her studies in plant sciences and was instrumental in helping to finish the Cuesta Tree Labeling project. Her studies with plants led her to Chemistry and she is pursuing more in-depth studies of water chemistry and pollution, with an eye to working on critical water issues as the climate changes in the coming decades.

MCAS is proud to support these students in their education and look forward to their future accomplishments and contributions in their communities.
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MCAS COMMUNITY PROGRAM: Reuniting & Renesting



Monday, February 17th at 7 pm
at SLO Botanical Garden Oak Glen Pavilion in El Chorro Regional Park

Presented by Robert Peak, volunteer with Pacific Wildlife Care

FLYER

 Robert Peak will share his fascinating stories of reuniting and remedying birds of prey as a volunteer with Pacific Wildlife Care. He also has specialized experience in the difficult captures such as those of larger mammals and birds.

Robert has lived in Grover Beach for over forty years and has been volunteering at Pacific Wildlife Care after he retired in 2009. He is also an actively involved as a member of Osage and Cherokee tribes.

All MCAS Community Programs are free and open to the public. As always, all ages are welcome.
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