Conejo Valley Audubon Society

Las Llajas Canyon Field Trip
2022-05-15 08:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Las Llajas Canyon, 5715 Evening Sky Drive, Simi Valley, CA, 93063, United States
North on Yosemite Ave, right on Evening Star Dr, Simi ValleyMeet at the trailhead at 8 am. Hilly terrain, bring water.We’ll look for Lazuli Buntings, grosbeaks and flycatchers.Leader is Don Klabunde (805) 522–8023

Mission Oaks Park Field Trip
2022-05-28 08:00 - 11:00 | Mission Oaks Park, 5501 Mission Oaks Blvd, Camarillo, CA, 93012, United States
Mission Oaks Blvd and Oak Canyon Rd, Camarillo.Meet in the parking lot at 8 am.We’ll look for spring Migrants.Leader is Thelma Williams (805) 551–8663

CVAS Annual Picnic
2022-06-04 08:00 - 14:00 | Los Robles Trail, 375 Greenmeadow Ave, Thousand Oaks, CA, 91361
Meet at 8:00 am for the morning bird walk, then at 10:30 for thepotluck lunch.Were it not for the pandemic, this would have been the twenty–first year in a row that our CVAS Annual Picnic was held at theLos Robles Trail area adjacent to the original Janss House inThousand Oaks, and there have been some changes since wewere last there. We can no longer drive right down to “our” oaktree, the lawn is gone and a few new picnic tables have beenadded, but “our” tree is still there as shady as ever.At the south end of Moorpark Rd turn right onto GreenmeadowAve and proceed approximately one mile to the parking area.Carpooling is encouraged as parking is limited. Please bringyour own table service, drinks and chairs.Unless you have a special “signature dish”, please bring food items according toyour last name as follows:A to I bring a DessertJ to Q bring a SaladR to Z bring a Main Dish.

Warbler Bingo!
2022-09-01 - 2022-11-30
Townsend’s Warbler
Test your skills at spotting and identifying elusive Fall Warblers. Our contest runs from September 1st through November 30th. You may request a free Bingo Card starting on August 15th. See the Warbler Bingo page for all the details and to sign up.
As of September 20, 2022, we have a winner! Marc Better filled in a row of his Bingo card with the following warblers: Orange crowned, Townsend’s, Free Space, Northern Waterthrush and Black and White. Congratulations, Marc!
But you can keep playing and report your own Bingos. You just won’t win a prize other than the satisfaction of spying a few rarities.

Santa Clara River Estuary
2022-09-03 08:00 - 11:00 | Surfer’s Knoll, 1600 Spinnaker Dr, Ventura, CA, 93001
The Santa Clara River Estuary produces some of the most diverse observations of ducks, sandpipers, terns, gulls, plovers and other shorebirds in the county. We’ll meet at Surfer’s Knoll at 9 am and walk down to the estuary after peeking over the fence into the Ventura Settling Ponds. The estuary should be a great place to see Elegant, Forster’s and Caspian Terns, Brown Pelicans, Western, California, and Ring-billed Gulls, Ruddy Ducks, Whimbrels, Long-billed Curlews, American Avocets, and Western & Least Sandpipers. We may even spot a Peregrine Falcon.

Directions: from the 101 freeway, exit Seaward Ave. and proceed south to Harbor Blvd. Turn left and continue to Spinnaker Dr., turning right to enter the harbor area. Drive past the Surfer’s Knoll parking area on the left and make a U-turn to double back and enter the parking lot.
Walk leader: Dee Lyon (805-427-0987)
Please bring water, a snack, bug repellant and a jacket. YOU MUST WEAR A MASK! RAIN CANCELS
Everyone is welcome to attend any Conejo Valley Audubon field trip, but Conejo Valley Audubon assumes no responsibility for injuries, personal or otherwise, incurred while attending a CVAS sponsored activity and in order to attend, all attendees agree that CVAS is not liable for such accidents. Everyone attends at their own risk.

Laguna Tams
2022-09-11 08:00 - 10:00 | Laguna Road Tamarisk Trees, 3690 Laguna Rd., Oxnard, CA, 93033, United States
We will visit the renowned tamarisk trees along Laguna Road in the Oxnard Plain. Previous September visits have yielded views of Black-and-White, Tenessee, Orange-crowned, Lucy’s, Nashville, MacGillivray’s, Magnolia, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll, Palm, Yellow-rumped, Prairie, Black-throated Gray, Townsend’s, Hermit, and Wilson’s Warblers. We might also encounter Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and White-breasted Nuthatch. Meet on Laguna Road, about a quarter mile east of Pleasant Valley Road.
Trip Leader: Frank DeMartino (856-906-8733)
Please bring water, a snack, bug repellant and a jacket. YOU MUST WEAR A MASK! RAIN CANCELS
Everyone is welcome to attend any Conejo Valley Audubon field trip, but Conejo Valley Audubon assumes no responsibility for injuries, personal or otherwise, incurred while attending a CVAS sponsored activity and in order to attend, all attendees agree that CVAS is not liable for such accidents. Everyone attends at their own risk.

Monthly Program - September 2022
2022-09-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, 439 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo, CA, 93012
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW TIME FOR THIS PROGRAM – 7:00pm
Each September, our first meeting of the season is dedicated to the birding trips and adventures of our members, so you are invited to submit your recent, or not-so-recent photos. Those of you who wish to share your photos, please contact Don Klabunde for instructions and the link where you can upload your files.
This program will be in a hybrid format: in-person at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, and also online via Zoom.
In Person
Masks will be required, and the in person group will be limited to a maximum of thirty to allow for social distancing purposes, so please RSVP to the Programs Coordinator to reserve a seat.
Via Zoom
If you are sharing photos, you will be able to narrate your show during the Zoom meeting. To attend this meeting, use this link (https://zoom.us/j/6155249106) at the meeting time.

Beginner Bird Walk - Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa
2022-09-14 08:00 - 09:30, 2022-10-12 08:00 - 09:30, 2022-11-09 08:00 - 09:30, 2022-12-14 08:00 - 09:30 | Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa, 4803 Lynn Rd, Newbury Park, CA, 91320
Conejo Valley Audubon invites birders of all experience levels to attend our monthly Beginner Bird Walks at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa. These walks are held on the second Wednesday of each month. We will meet at 8:00 am at the main parking lot, which is accessible off Lynn Road at Via Goleta in Newbury Park.
Rancho Sierra Vista is an excellent place to see many of the oak woodlands birds that are common in the Conejo Valley area. We will take time to introduce beginning birders to these species and will teach the best techniques for locating and identifying them. Wear comfortable walking shoes.
Please register in advance by contacting walk leader Richard Armerding at (310) 701-3878 (texting is OK).

Mugu Lagoon and Sycamore Canyon
2022-09-17 08:00 - 11:00 | Mugu Lagoon Turnout, 5735 CA-1, Oxnard, California, 93033
Meet at the big lagoon turnout on PCH. There should be water birds, ducks and raptors. Then to lower Sycamore Canyon, famous for vagrants, warblers and raptors.
Photo by Don Klabunde

California Thrasher
Trip Leader: Matthew Page (805-990-6534)
Please bring water, a snack, bug repellant and a jacket. YOU MUST WEAR A MASK! RAIN CANCELS
Everyone is welcome to attend any Conejo Valley Audubon field trip, but Conejo Valley Audubon assumes no responsibility for injuries, personal or otherwise, incurred while attending a CVAS sponsored activity and in order to attend, all attendees agree that CVAS is not liable for such accidents. Everyone attends at their own risk.

Matilija Dam Field Trip
2022-09-25 08:00 - 11:00 | Matilija Dam Parking, 450 Matilija Canyon Rd., Ojai, CA, 93023
This is a great spot to find fall migrants. A large variety of warblers and vireos have been observed in this area. You may even see a peacock! Please note that there are few, if any, established trails in this area, so some bushwhacking may be involved.
Parking is also very limited, so carpool if you can. From Ventura, take CA-33 north to Matilija Canyon Rd. Turn left and proceed about 0.8 miles to the parking area.
Trip leader is TBA – Contact Dee Lyon (805-427-0987) for info.

Malibu Lagoon Field Trip - Cancelled
2022-10-01 08:00 - 11:00 | Malibu Lagoon, Malibu Lagoon Car Park, Malibu, CA, 90265
CANCELLED

Native Plantpalooza
2022-10-01 09:00 - 14:00
This is not an official CVAS event, but we encourage you to participate. We can also bird the park and ponds. CVAS will have a booth. Come visit us.

Monthly Program - October 2022
2022-10-03 19:00 - 20:30 | Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, 439 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo, CA, 93012
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW TIME FOR THIS PROGRAM – 7:00pm
EVOLUTION OF VISUAL SYSTEM AND COLOR DIVERSITY IN BIRDS

Birds can see an astonishing diversity of colors that span not only the human visible spectrum but into the ultraviolet as well. They can also display these colors in their plumage. This array of hues is produced by various mechanisms and is perceived by birds differently de-pending on the sensitivity of each bird’s visual system. Despite our wealth of knowledge on bird coloration and vision, few large-scale comparative studies have linked the evolution of the avian visual system and the colors birds produce. Using genomic data, 3D models of museum specimens, and the genetic relationships of all bird species, Whitney examines how the visual system evolves across the bird tree of life. Understanding the link between avian color perception and the plumage hues birds produce, we can gain a better understanding of how birds evolved such an incredible rainbow of colors.
Whitney Tsai Nakashima is a PhD Candidate in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Research Associate at the Moore Laboratory of Zoology at Occidental College. Her work focuses on using historical museum collections and modern genomic and analytical techniques to better under-stand the evolutionary processes that generate and maintain avian diversity. In addition to research, she is involved in museum and STEM-based outreach programs to support young women and underrepresented youth in STEM fields.
This program will be in a hybrid format: in-person at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, and also online via Zoom.
In Person
Masks will be required, and the in person group will be limited to a maximum of thirty to allow for social distancing purposes, so please RSVP to the Programs Coordinator to reserve a seat.
Via Zoom
If you are sharing photos, you will be able to narrate your show during the Zoom meeting. To attend this meeting, use this link (https://zoom.us/j/6155249106) at the meeting time.

Canada Larga Road Field Trip
2022-10-09 08:00 - 11:00 | Canada Larga Road, 180 Canada Larga Rd, Ventura, CA, 93001
Meet at the start of Cañada Larga Road at 8 am.
We will look for sparrows, sapsuckers, raptors and other various field birds. This is car birding with several stops. Bring masks and water.
Leader is TBA. Check with Dee Lyon – (805) 427-0987

Hill Canyon
2022-10-15 08:00 - 11:00 | Hill Canyon, Hill Canyon Rd, Camarillo, CA, 93012
Meet at Hill Canyon Park at 8 am.
We will look for White-throated Swifts, sparrows and oak woodland birds. Bring masks and water.
Leader is Bonnie Clarfield-Bylin (805) 405-5632

Bob Kildee Community Park Tams
2022-10-22 08:00 - 10:00 | Bob Kildee Community Park – Tamarisk Trees, 1051 Eston St., Camarillo, CA, 93010, United States
We will visit the renowned tamarisk trees along the east edge of Bob Kildee Community Park. Previous October visits have yielded views of Black-and-White, Tenessee, Orange-crowned, Lucy’s, Nashville, MacGillivray’s, Magnolia, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll, Palm, Yellow-rumped, Prairie, Black-throated Gray, Townsend’s, Hermit, and Wilson’s Warblers. We might also encounter Downy Woodpecker,
Western Wood-Pewee, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglet, Red- and White-breasted Nuthatch, Cedar Waxwing, and Western Meadowlark. Meet at the southeast corner of the tennis courts (along Eston Street).
Bring a mask and water.
Trip leader: TBA

Ventura Settling Ponds
2022-10-29 08:00 - 11:00 | Ventura Settling Ponds, 1400 Angler Ct., Ventura, CA, 93001, United States
Meet at the gate at 8 am.
We will look for water birds and warblers. Bring masks and water.
Leader is Frank de Martino (856) 906-8733

Lower Sycamore Canyon
2022-11-06 08:00 - 11:00 | Sycamore Canyon, 9000 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, California, 90265
Meet at 8 am at the parking lot off Hwy 1. We’ll look for riparian birds and rarities.
California Thrasher
Common Yellowthroat
Trip leader is Linda Easter – (818) 519-2833
Please bring water, a snack, bug repellant and a jacket. RAIN CANCELS
Everyone is welcome to attend any Conejo Valley Audubon field trip, but Conejo Valley Audubon assumes no responsibility for injuries, personal or otherwise, incurred while attending a CVAS sponsored activity and in order to attend, all attendees agree that CVAS is not liable for such accidents. Everyone attends at their own risk.

Monthly Program - November 2022
2022-11-07 19:00 - 20:30 | Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, 439 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo, CA, 93012
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW TIME FOR THIS PROGRAM – 7:00pm
A 27 YEAR WILDFLOWER JOURNEY:
the making of
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: CALIFORNIA WILDFLOWERS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Rob Badger and Nita Winter take you behind the scenes on their 27-year journey photo-graphing wildflowers throughout California and the West. It began in the year 1992 when they discovered and fell in love with California’s spectacular wildflower blooms in the Mojave Desert’s Antelope Valley California Poppy Preserve. Photographing these beautiful landscapes and individual flowers evolved into their documentary art project, “Beauty and the Beast: Wildflowers and Climate Change.” This beautiful, multiple award-winning coffee table book, co-published with the California Native Plant Society, focuses on California’s amazing plant diversity. It is a companion to their traveling educational exhibit.
Gorgeous superbloom scenery isn’t the only thing that makes this series so special. The photographers show how they create wildflower portraits in the field, lugging 80 pounds of cameras and their “natural light” studio equipment from below sea level in Death Valley National Park to 13,000-foot-high mountain passes. Rob also shares two innovative field techniques he developed to capture unique floral portraits that go beyond that of traditional wildflower photography.
Because most land based birds directly, or indirectly, rely on the existence of wildflowers and other native plants for their survival, creating native plant gardens is an important way to support local wildlife. Nita and Rob will take you into their evolving native plant garden and share the joy and rewards it brings them.
Purchase books and learn more at wildflowerbooks.com.
Identify flowers with:
Calflora.org
PlantID.net
Calscape.org (by CNPS)

This program will be in a hybrid format: in-person at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, and also online via Zoom.
In Person
Masks will be required, and the in person group will be limited to a maximum of thirty to allow for social distancing purposes, so please RSVP to the Programs Coordinator to reserve a seat.
Via Zoom
To attend this meeting, use this link (https://zoom.us/j/6155249106) at the meeting time.

Conejo Valley Botanic Gardens
2022-11-19 08:00 - 11:00 | Conejo Valley Botanic Garden, 400 W. Gainsborough Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA, 91360
We will see lots of passerines and chaparral birds.
California Quail
This 41-acre property, adjacent to Conejo Community Park, was first acquired in 1973. In 1976, the first areas of the Botanic Garden began to emerge. Since then, dedicated community volunteers, donors, and sponsors have continued to nurture this growing garden oasis, adding a popular children’s garden in March of 2003.
Enter on Jeaunine Dr, off of Gainsborough Rd and park near the Kids Adventure Garden.
Trip Leader: David Person 805-469-6806

Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa
2022-11-26 08:00 - 09:30 | Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa, 4803 Lynn Rd, Newbury Park, CA, 91320
Photo by Richard Armerding
Rancho Sierra Vista is an excellent place to see many of the oak woodlands birds that are common in the Conejo Valley area.

Trip leader is Richard Armerding (310) 701-3878 (texting is OK).

Monthly Program - December 2022
2022-12-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, 439 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo, CA, 93012
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW TIME FOR THIS PROGRAM – 7:00pm
SPECTACULAR JAPAN
Varied Tit
There is no doubt that Japan is one of the great civilizations of our planet, yet there is another side that one usually doesn’t contemplate, and this is the natural world of Japan. If one word had to sum it up, it would be spectacle—a nature spectacle! Picture thousands upon thousands of Hooded and White-naped Cranes, rivaling what one might see at Bosque del Apache or the Platte River. But in Japan there are more than two species of cranes. To the north one can see the rare and beautiful Red-crowned Cranes dancing on the ice—truly
spectacular! Also imagine the spectacle of the largest fish eagle in the world, the Steller’s Sea Eagle—and in numbers! Seabirds and waterfowl abound including some of the most iconic “rarities” for us Californians, Baikal Teal, Falcated Duck and yes even the Mandarin Duck—but wild! This is but a small taste of what Japan has to offer the birder. The spring migration is also spectacular with not only locally endemic breeders showing up, but also some of the Siberian goodies that people hope for when they go to vagrant hotspots in Alaska. All of this, and we have not yet mentioned the amazing food. Japan is awesome, and whatever your preconceptions are about the country, it is going to surprise you and endear itself to you.
Alvaro Jaramillo, who is owner of the birding tour company Alvaro’s Adventures, was born in Chile but began birding in Toronto, where he lived as a youth. He was trained in ecology and evolution with a particular interest in bird behavior. Early research forays and backpacking trips introduced him to the riches of the Neotropics, where he has traveled extensively. He is the author of the Birds of Chile, an authoritative yet portable field guide to Chile’s birds. He also writes the “Identify Yourself” column in Bird Watcher’s Digest magazine, and recently wrote part of the sparrow chapter for the Handbook of Birds of the World, and the new ABA Field Guide Birds of California. He was recently granted the Eisenmann Medal by the Linnaean Society of New York, it is awarded occasionally for excellence in ornithology and encouragement of the amateur. He organizes and leads international birding tours, as well as a full schedule of pelagic trips in central California. Alvaro lives with his family in Half Moon Bay, California.

This program will be in a hybrid format: in-person at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, and also online via Zoom.
In Person
Masks will be required, and the in person group will be limited to a maximum of thirty to allow for social distancing purposes, so please RSVP to the Programs Coordinator to reserve a seat.
Via Zoom
To attend this meeting, use this link (https://zoom.us/j/6155249106) at the meeting time.

Paramount Ranch
2022-12-10 08:00 - 11:00 | Paramount Ranch, 2903 Cornell Rd., Agoura Hills, CA, 91301
Meet at 8:00 am, in the parking lot. Great birds in the oak trees and grasslands.
Leader is Ava Molnar – birdgirl.lookup@gmail.com

Christmas Bird Count 2021
2022-12-18
Please join us for the National Audubon Society’s 121st annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on Sunday December 18, 2022, and help cover the Conejo Valley Audubon Society’s “Thousand Oaks” CBC circle.
See this page for more details

Chesebro Canyon
2022-12-26 08:00 - 11:00 | Chesebro Canyon, 5792 Chesebro Rd, Agoura Hills, CA, 91301
Meet at 8:00 am in the parking lot. We’ll look for chaparral and grassland birds. Always great for woodpeckers.
Leader is Dee Lyon, (805) 427-0987.

Monthly Program - January 2023
2023-01-02 19:00 - 20:30 | Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, 439 Calle San Pablo, Camarillo, CA, 93012
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW TIME FOR THIS PROGRAM – 7:00pm
A BIRDING SAFARI IN KENYA

To travel the world looking for small birds is to see everything, for how can you miss an elephant, leopard, historic monument or larger bird? In March and April 2022, Lifetime Naturalist and Conservationist, retired U.S. National Park Ranger, World Traveler and CVAS Board Member Bonnie Clarfield-Bylin and her husband, Stephen, traveled to Kenya for five weeks. For twenty-seven days they adventured on a guided Birding Safari. This program will provide a snapshot of the birds, wildlife and scenery of Kenya.

This program will be in a hybrid format: in-person at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, and also online via Zoom.
In Person
Masks will be required, and the in person group will be limited to a maximum of thirty to allow for social distancing purposes, so please RSVP to the Programs Coordinator to reserve a seat.
Via Zoom
To attend this meeting, use this link (https://zoom.us/j/6155249106) at the meeting time.

Salton Sea Field Trip
2023-01-07 - 2023-01-08 | Salton Sea Meeting Point, 90480 66th Ave, Mecca, 92254
Meeting Point
We will meet at the huge Arco gas station on 66th Avenue in Mecca just before 1 pm on Saturday. This should give everyone plenty of time to drive down from Ventura County on Saturday morning. Take I-10 east to Route 86 south signposted for Brawley/El Centro; go 12.1 miles on 86S and then turn left on 66th Avenue. You can see the Arco station from the traffic lights at the intersection of Route 86 and 66th Avenue.

Please be ready to depart from the meeting point at 1 pm. We will not be stopping to eat lunch. Make sure that you have plenty of fuel.

Trip leader Peter Robertshaw will be driving his old white Toyota 4Runner – 5HWB615. His cell phone is 909-771-9720.

If you are travelling down to the Salton Sea a day earlier, there is no need to drive all the way back to Mecca to meet the group. Email the trip leader – PeterRobertshaw@verizon.net – and he will suggest an alternative meeting point and time closer to the south end of the Sea.

Make your own hotel reservation in Brawley for Saturday night.

We will drive on one or two unpaved roads, but 4×4 or high clearance vehicles are not needed.

What to Bring

Your own binoculars, scope (highly recommended if you have one), and camera.
Warm clothes.
Plenty of drinking water, snacks, and food for lunch on Sunday. We will not be stopping at any cafés or gas stations, etc. to buy or eat lunch.

Target birds: thousands of Snow and Ross’s Geese, Sandhill Cranes, lots of ducks and waders, rails, raptors, Burrowing Owls, and desert species like Gambel’s Quail, Abert’s Towhee, doves, Gila and Ladder-Backed Woodpeckers, and Vermilion Flycatcher.
