MCAS Field Trip - OCT 29th - Laguna Lake

 

Mark Mushkat in Flight (photo by Bob Revel)

Morro Coast Audubon Society Presents

FIELD TRIP:       Laguna Lake

DATE:                  Saturday, October 29, 2022

TIME:                   8AM-11AM

LEADER:            Mark Mushkat

Trip is limited to 12 participants-Signups will be taken for 24 hours. 12 participants will be randomly selected. The remainder will be put on standby status in case of cancellations.

We’ll bird the park’s trees and meadows looking for migrating songbirds, flycatchers, waterfowl, and raptors. The open space and power poles are good for raptors. Marshy areas can be productive for warblers, wrens, munias and the lake offers the usual suspects and perhaps a surprise. The trail is flat and we will walk approximately 1.0-1.5 miles.

Bring binoculars and field guide. Hats and sunscreen are suggested along with dressing for cool and windy conditions. Restrooms are available. Rain cancels.

Experience Level: Beginner to Intermediate

RSVP and Proof of Full COVID Vaccination Required!

Registration will open on the morning of OCT 14th. On that date, the LINK to the Field Trip’s Registration Form will ONLY be sent out via MCAS ALERT and SLOCOBIRDING. If you are not already a member of these email lists, you can join MCAS ALERT via JOIN MCAS ALERT EMAIL LIST in the Footer of the MCAS website and/or SLOCOBIRDING via Groups.io.

Contact: Freddy Howell, freddy@morrocoastaudubon.org

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MCAS Field Trip Report - Birds of Land and Sea at Morro Rock - SEPT 17th

 

Canyon Wren

[All photos taken by Jaime Lee.]

Birds of Land and Sea at Morro Rock, Sept. 17 led by Robbie and Bob Revel

Royal Terns

There is always something interesting happening at the Rock no matter what time of year you visit. September was a transitional month, with shorebirds returning, and cormorants, Brown Pelicans and Heermann’s Gulls covering the rocks in large numbers. Peregrine Falcons were enjoying their empty nests and the resident Canyon Wrens’ descending liquid notes echoed across the Rock face. Black Oystercatcher pairs were prying mussels from the rocks and Royal Terns were feeding their juveniles. Join the Revel team in November for a return to Morro Rock to add sea ducks, grebes and loons to your list of sightings.

Wandering Tattler

Brown Pelican - adults with white neck and head

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PACIFIC FLYWAY NEWSLETTER - October 2022

OCTOBER 2022

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EUREKA! THE BIRDS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY - August 2022

AUGUST 2022

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MCAS Field Trip - OCT 23rd - Leaning Pine Arboretum

Leaning Pine Arboretum - Photo by Mike Bush

Morro Coast Audubon Society Presents

FIELD TRIP:       Leaning Pine Arboretum

DATE:                  Sunday, October 23, 2022

TIME:                   7:30am - 9:30am

LEADER:            Mike Bush

Trip is limited to 12 participants - Signups will be taken for 24 hours. 12 participants will be randomly selected. The remainder will be put on standby status in case of cancellations.

Description:

Mike Bush, Arboretum and Botanical Gardens expert, will lead a guided walk of this outdoor living laboratory with its unique plants from the world’s five Mediterranean climate regions – California, Chile, southern and southwestern Australia, South Africa and the Mediterranean basin. This diversity of plants provides attractive habitats for numerous birds and other wildlife. This is an ADA accessible walk.

The Arboretum is closed to the public on Sundays so we will have exclusive access. If you have never visited the Arboretum, you are in for an amazing morning of birding at this eBird HotSpot.

Bring a hat, water, snacks, sunscreen, binoculars and field guides (if you have them) and dress in layers to accommodate wind and changing weather. Sturdy shoes are recommended.  Restrooms are not available. Rain cancels.

Experience Level: All Levels Welcome

RSVP and Proof of Full COVID Vaccination Required!

Registration will open on the morning of OCT 8th. On that date, the LINK to the Field Trip’s Registration Form will ONLY be sent out via MCAS ALERT and SLOCOBIRDING. If you are not already a member of these email lists, you can join MCAS ALERT via JOIN MCAS ALERT EMAIL LIST in the Footer of the MCAS websiteand/or SLOCOBIRDING via Groups.io.

Questions? Email Robbie Revel Robbie@morrocoastaudubon.org

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MCAS Field Trip Report - Montaña de Oro Bluff Trail – SEPT 14th

Pelagic Cormorant (L), Brandt's Cormorant (R) -- Photo by Ann Collins

Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Photo by Steve Acheff

On September 14, twelve participants joined Mike Bush and Bob Revel for a two-hour walk on the Montana de Oro Bluff Trail. The morning was spectacularly clear and warm with no wind. We tallied 27 species with excellent looks at many of our local residents of the coastal sage scrub along the bluff. A Chestnut-backed Chickadee and three California Thrasher paused long enough for good photos.

Even though shorebirds have returned to the central coast in large numbers, very few shorebirds were present except for a Spotted Sandpiper (in winter plumage without the spots). We had excellent views of a pair of Black Oystercatchers and a great chance to compare two of the three Cormorant species that are typically seen along the SLO coast. The photo of a Brandt’s Cormorant (on right) next to a Pelagic Cormorant (on left) shows the Pelagic’s small thin bill, glossy iridescence, longer tail, and smaller size as compared to the Brandt’s.

Black Oystercatcher
Photo by Steve Acheff

We would like to thank the photographers, that are often on our Field Trips, for documenting the birds that we see.

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MCAS Virtual Community Program – OCT 17th – Planting Native Plants to Attract and Support Birds

 

Photos courtesy of Peggy Burden

Title:               Planting Native Plants to Attract and Support Birds

Date:              October 17, 2022

Time:              7:00-8:30 pm

Presenter:    Peggy Burhenn, Master Gardener

Zoom info below.  No signup/registration required to attend.

Description:

Would you like to learn how to attract birds to your yard using native plants? Is there a specific bird you would like to attract? Discover the connection between birds and native plants and which native plants would be best for your yard to attract birds. Learn what birds need from our landscapes and how we can best provide those needs. Peggy will also describe the best time to plant native plants for the greatest success and how to maintain these plants to support birds in your area.

Peggy Burhenn is a Master Gardener and a certified California Naturalist. As a Master Gardener, she oversees the native plant garden in the Garden of the Seven Sisters in SLO and works on the Arroyo Grande Master Gardener Helpline. She is a member of the California Native Plant Society and the Audubon Society. Her interests in gardening are to grow food plants for people and to support nature. To these ends, she focuses on growing vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, and native plants. Her home includes houses for bats, birds, owls, and mason bees. She volunteers regularly at Cal Poly’s Robert F. Hoover Herbarium, and as a docent for California State Parks, focusing her time at the Pismo Monarch Butterfly Grove and leading native plant walks. She is also a regular volunteer at the Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival. As a citizen scientist she has banded birds, collected spiders, counted butterflies and birds, and regularly posts her finds on iNaturalist and eBird.

All MCAS Community Programs are free and open to the public. All ages are welcome.

Join Zoom Meeting - easiest way is to click the link below:

https://zoom.us/j/2272485901?pwd=MzlSaVlpdDQ2bTJkcUFTSkFEdGQ5UT09

In case you are asked for this:

Meeting ID: 227 248 5901; Passcode: morrocoast

Or, if you don’t have a camera or microphone on your device, use your phone to dial in:

            +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

 

Contact: Wendy McKeown email: wendy@morrocoastaudubon.org 

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VIDEO of SEPT 19th Community Program - The Bats of San Luis Obispo County

 

Photo courtesy of Bill Haas

Just in case you missed the program on Monday night, Sept. 19th, you can view it at your leisure on the MCAS YouTube Channel.

ENJOY!

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