MCAS Field Trip - SEP 22 - Oso Flaco in the Fall

Boardwalk at Oso Flaco Lake [photo by Joanne Aasen]  

Morro Coast Audubon Society Presents  

FIELD TRIP:       Oso Flaco in the Fall  

DATE:                  Sunday, September 22, 2024  

TIME:                   8:30am to 11:30am  

LEADER:            Jessica Griffiths  

Trip is limited to 15 participants - Signups will be taken for 24 hours. Participants will be randomly selected. The remainder will be put on standby status in case of cancellations. Only registered people may attend.

Description: Enjoy close views of waterfowl and occasional bitterns and rails from the boardwalk over Oso Flaco Lake and marsh. Bird two prime willow habitats for returning warblers and other migrants. Includes 2-3 miles of slow walking through riparian woodland, across the lake boardwalk, into the coastal sage scrub, and if time permits, we will continue to the beach in search of specialties there. Walking is on a level trail and wooden boardwalk, and possibly sand if continuing to the beach. Restrooms are available at the trailhead.

ADA Accessible: Yes, for walk-in trail and boardwalk.

Experience Level: All Levels Welcome

Registration and RSVP to confirmation Required! 

Registration will open on the morning of SEP 12^th. On that date, MCAS members will automatically receive an ALERT with the LINK to the Field Trip’s Registration Form.

Non-members can receive ALERTS from MCAS regarding Field Trips, Community Programs, and other MCAS activities. You will need to fill out the MCAS ALERT EMAIL LIST sign up form in the footer of the MCAS website. You can also join the SLOCOBIRDING email list to get ALERTs via Groups.io (Field Trip alerts only).

Please consider becoming a member of MCAS to support MCAS’s mission and activities, including Field Trips.

Questions? Email Robbie Revel robbie@morrocoastaudubon.org

Read More

PACIFIC FLYWAY NEWSLETTER - September 2024

September 2024

Click READ MORE to VIEW, PRINT, or DOWNLOAD Flyway Newsletter. Then move cursor over the Flyway Newsletter displayed below and click the "Pop-out" icon in the top-right corner.

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

Read More

MCAS Field Trip - SEP 17 - Habitat: Estero Bluffs/China Cove

View North to China Cove and Via Creek [photo by Faylla Chapman]

Morro Coast Audubon Society Presents  

FIELD TRIP:       Habitat: Estero Bluffs/China Cove  

DATE:                  Tuesday, September 17, 2024  

TIME:                   2:00pm to 4:00pm  

LEADER:            Faylla Chapman  

CO-LEADER:     Sharon Iranpour  

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

Description: The walk starts at the last (northernmost) pullout at Estero Bluffs State Park. We’ll walk across the dune scrub, look at the scrub habitat along the way and then follow the path down to China Cove beach. Habitats there include the drift, swash, the intertidal rocks and sandy beach organisms. Snowy plover habitat is next; shorebirds and gulls might be seen as well. The last habitats are the lagoon and cove at Villa Creek. 

Restrooms are not available. 

ADA Accessible: No

Experience Level: All Levels Welcome

Registration and RSVP to confirmation Required! 

Registration will open on the morning of SEP 7^th. On that date, MCAS members will automatically receive an ALERT with the LINK to the Field Trip’s Registration Form.

Non-members will receive an ALERT with the LINK ONLY if they have joined the MCAS ALERT or the SLOCOBIRDING email list. To receive ALERTS from MCAS regarding Field Trips, Community Programs, and other MCAS activities, you will need to fill out the MCAS ALERT EMAIL LIST sign up form in the footer of the MCAS website. You can also join the SLOCOBIRDING email list to get ALERTs via Groups.io.

Please consider becoming a member of MCAS to support MCAS’s mission and activities, including Field Trips.

Questions? Email Freddy Howell freddy@morrocoastaudubon.org

Read More

SLO County Public Libraries - Family Fun Day - MCAS Sweet Springs Field Trip

Read More

MCAS Field Trip - SEP 14 - Fall Shorebirds on the Strand

Morro Strand Shorebirds [photo by Bob Revel]

REGISTRATION CLOSED.

Morro Coast Audubon Society Presents  

FIELD TRIP:       Fall Shorebirds on the Strand 

DATE:                  Saturday, September 14, 2024  

TIME:                   9:00am to 11:30am  

LEADER:            The Revel Team  

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

Description:  Enjoy a leisurely stroll along Morro strand and through the coastal sage scrub to look for arriving fall migrants and shorebirds on the beach. We will investigate the pond and outflow of Alva Paul creek looking for birds that flock to this freshwater source - gulls, terns and others. The walk will be on a flat trail and beach with some areas of deep sand. Expect to walk 2 miles at a slow pace. Restrooms are available.

ADA Accessible: No

Experience Level: All Levels Welcome

Registration and RSVP to confirmation Required! 

Registration will open on the morning of SEP 4^th. On that date, MCAS members will automatically receive an ALERT with the LINK to the Field Trip’s Registration Form.

Non-members can receive ALERTS from MCAS regarding Field Trips, Community Programs, and other MCAS activities. You will need to fill out the MCAS ALERT EMAIL LIST sign up form in the footer of the MCAS website. You can also join the SLOCOBIRDING email list to get ALERTs via Groups.io. (Field Trip alerts only)

Please consider becoming a member of MCAS to support MCAS’s mission and activities, including Field Trips.

Questions? Email Robbie Revel robbie@morrocoastaudubon.org

Read More

MCAS Field Trip - SEP 10 - Sweet Springs Nature Preserve

View of Morro Rock from Sweet Springs Nature Preserve

REGISTRATION CLOSED.

Morro Coast Audubon Society Presents              **MEMBERS ONLY**

FIELD TRIP:       Sweet Springs Nature Preserve

DATE:                  Tuesday, September 10, 2024

TIME:                   9:00am to 11:00am

LEADER:            Claudia Freitas

CO-LEADER:     Revel Team

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

Description: Audubon Sweet Springs Nature Preserve with its two viewing platforms and meandering trails will allow us panoramic views of the estuary, wetlands and mudflats that attract our shorebirds. The pond lures ducks and the surrounding expansive variety of vegetation harbors many other species who breed here and those that migrate through during the fall. Dirt paths and level boardwalks make for easy walking of approximately 1 mile. Restroom (port-a-potty) is available at the East entrance.

ADA Accessible: Yes

Experience Level: All Levels Welcome

Registration and RSVP to confirmation Required! 

Registration will open on the morning of AUG 31^st. On that date, only MCAS members will automatically receive an ALERT with the LINK to the Field Trip’s Registration Form.

Our Member-Only field trips are a bonus for members. So you don’t miss out, JOIN MCAS NOW!

Questions? Email Robbie Revel  robbie@morrocoastaudubon.org

Read More

MCAS Virtual Community Program - SEP 16 - The Language of Birds

Great-tailed Grackle, Phillips County, CO [photo by Nathan Peiplow]

MCAS Virtual Community Program

When:             Monday, September 16th, 2024, 7:00 pm

Title:                The Language of Birds

Presenter:       Nathan Pieplow, author of the Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds

 

Join Zoom Meeting  Zoom Meeting ID: 994 6733 5823  Passcode: 912453

 

All MCAS Zoom Community Programs are free and open to the public. All ages are welcome. No signup/registration required to attend.

 

Description: All around us, the birds are constantly telling us who they are and what they are doing. In this talk, Nathan Pieplow unlocks the secrets of their language. You’ll listen in on the pillow talk of a pair of Red-winged Blackbirds, and learn the secret signals that Cliff Swallows use when they have found food. You’ll learn how one bird sound can have many meanings, and how one meaning can have many sounds—and how, sometimes, the meaning isn’t in the sounds at all. This talk from the author of the Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds is an accessible and entertaining introduction to a fascinating topic.

 

Bio: Nathan Pieplow is the author of the Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds, published in two volumes, one for Eastern and one for Western North America. An avid bird sound recordist and videographer, he is the author of the bird sound blog https://earbirding.com/blog/, a board member of the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, an author of the Colorado Birding Trail, and former editor of the journal Colorado Birds. He teaches writing and rhetoric at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

 

Please consider becoming a member of MCAS at https://www.morrocoastaudubon.org/p/become-mcas-member.html to support MCAS’s mission and activities, including Community Programs.

 

If you have questions, email Wendy McKeown, Community Programs Chair: wendy@morrocoastaudubon.org.

Read More

MCAS Field Trip - AUG 29 - Habitat: Marina Salt Marsh to Mud Flats

Salt Marsh and Mud Flats [photo by Faylla Chapman]  

REGISTRATION CLOSED.  

Morro Coast Audubon Society Presents  

FIELD TRIP:       Habitat: Marina Salt Marsh to Mud Flats  

DATE:                  Thursday, August 29, 2024  

TIME:                   1:00 pm-3:00 pm  

LEADER:            Faylla Chapman  

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

Description:

You may have been on the Marina Boardwalk and wondered about all the specialized plants that you see in the estuary. This is your chance to find out more about this unique environment. Join biologist Faylla Chapman to take an in-depth look at the salt marsh and mudflat habitats. You will learn how our estuary was formed, how it is constantly changing and how the native plants here are a resource for our migratory birds as well as humans and marine mammals. We will walk the salt marsh flats and boardwalk trail (flat) for about 1 mile round trip. Restrooms are available.

ADA Accessible: Boardwalk-Yes, Salt Marsh-No (but accommodations made)

Experience Level: All Levels Welcome

Registration and RSVP to confirmation Required! 

Registration will open on the morning of AUG 19^th. On that date, MCAS members will automatically receive an ALERT with the LINK to the Field Trip’s Registration Form.

Non-members will receive an ALERT with the LINK ONLY if they have joined the MCAS ALERT or the SLOCOBIRDING email list. To receive ALERTS from MCAS regarding Field Trips, Community Programs, and other MCAS activities, you will need to fill out the MCAS ALERT EMAIL LIST sign up form in the footer of the MCAS website. You can also join the SLOCOBIRDING email list to get ALERTs via Groups.io.

Please consider becoming a member of MCAS to support MCAS’s mission and activities, including Field Trips.

Questions? Email Freddy Howell freddy@morrocoastaudubon.org

Read More