Current Projects and Goals

October 28, 2026

Dear Friends,

What a productive year for Santa Barbara Audubon Society.  As I reflect on the year, I’m deeply grateful to our members, volunteers, donors, staff, and Board for your generosity, dedication, and support.  Together, we are connecting people with birds and protecting local birdlife through education, conservation, and science.

Thank you to everyone who leads bird walks and field trips, supports our committees and evening programs, advances conservation and science, and contributes to communications and daily operations.  Special appreciation to Piper and Kieran for their work at the Audubon Aviary, teachers Wendy and Hilary, and Theo for program and administrative support.  Thank you to Lynn Scarlett for writing about this year’s spectacular fall migration!

Select Highlights January – October, 2026 (list is not all-inclusive)

• Conservation Science: The Santa Barbara Independent highlighted SBAS’s efforts to reduce eagle and other bird deaths at the Strauss Wind Project, underscoring the importance of science-informed decision making and SBAS’s commitment to bird conservation.  One of many projects led by the Conservation/Science Committee.
• Evening Programs: Eight public lectures, including a program with UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures, welcoming 2,200 guests, thanks to our SB Museum of Natural History and UCSB partners.
• Bird Walks & Field Trips: More than 26 outings, including new late-afternoon walks and Birding & Brunch, reaching 540 participants.
• Eyes in the Sky: Delivering 295 days of outreach at the Museum, potentially reaching 106,000 guests, plus 65 offsite programs reaching nearly 7,200 people.
• Meet Your Wild Neighbor: Teaching 355 kindergarten – 2^nd grade students through 45 classroom visits at 15 local schools. We’re delighted to include bilingual learners.
• Winter Bird Count for Kids: Engaging 58 youth from 23 schools, their families and volunteers at the popular annual WBC4K event.  An additional 75 students participated in bird science learning culminating in a field trip to Lake Los Carneros.
• Community Outreach: Reaching thousands more community members through Earth Day (led by the Community Environmental Council), Bird Month with the SB Botanic Garden, Bird Trivia Nights, and outreach events at MOXI – The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation and the SB Zoo, among other venues.

These accomplishments reflect the collective efforts of our SBAS community.  Thank you for helping us grow our reach, inspire the next generation, and protect the birds and habitats we cherish.

May your holidays be filled with peace, birding, joy, health, and time with loved ones!

With gratitude,

Katherine Emery, PhD
Executive Director
Santa Barbara Audubon Society

April 21, 2026

Dear Birders,

This spring, I birded on Kinevan Road. We saw an American Robin. I learned why people trek to low altitude mountain areas during bird migration. I appreciated expert birders’ wealth of knowledge, humor, and company.

American Robins can be a sign of spring to come, joy, resilience, good fortune, and positive personal growth. Whether or not that’s all true, I don’t know. I do know two things: with their orange breast, plush belly, and cheery song, robins on a wire or digging for worms in dirt are delightful to watch; second, I always learn something new in the field with Audubon birders.

I learned that during migration, some birds select low peaks to fly over to save energy. For raptors, such as eagles and hawks, soaring with low-altitude ridge uplift also conserves energy. For birders, in theory, locations such as Kinevan Road are more accessible than higher mountain peaks to see unique migrating birds. The trees were full of leaves. We heard many but saw few birds. Regardless, connecting with people curious about nature was rewarding.

Today, Santa Barbara Audubon Society is working hard preparing for spring outreach at Nojoqui Falls Park (celebrating exciting SBAS Purple Martin education signs), Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Community Environmental Council Earth Day, SBAS – Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Bird Month, MOXI, and Cachuma Lake, among other places. We encourage young science students by selecting recipients for the Joy Parkinson Award at the Santa Barbara County Science Fair and supporting bird-related research by UC Santa Barbara undergraduates at North Campus Open Space. We also prepare for summer education programs.

Thank you, community partners, SBAS Board, committees, donors, members, and outstanding staff, for your commitment and support to do this vital work. Thank you also to fellow leaders and hosts, Nonprofit Resource Network, and Leading from Within, for sparking discussion about organization growth and Leading High-performing Nonprofit Teams at the Executive Director Roundtable. I am honored and grateful for the many colleagues I have met through SBAS.

Collaborating with other organizations and growing awareness about nature and birdlife fill me with optimism and hope for the future. I invite you to join me on an Audubon bird walk and take a moment to observe the robins around us. We also have fun new early/mid-career social birding opportunities and open Board leadership positions. Contact me to learn more.

Happy birding. Wishing you a wonderful summer!

Katherine Emery, PhD
Executive Director
Santa Barbara Audubon Society

Dear SBAS Friends and Members,

I write this update with gratitude. Thanks to you, members, donors, our hardworking Board, volunteers, and staff, SB Audubon Society continues to work wholeheartedly to protect area birdlife and habitat and connect people with birds through education, conservation, and science.

We thank Darlene Chirman and Julie and Marc Kummel for generously sparking a $10,000 match for SBAS’s Annual Campaign.

“I am so impressed with the work of the SB Audubon Conservation/Science Committee, protecting birds and habitats in the Santa Barbara area. I love the Eyes in the Sky Program (EITS) that gives school kids and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History visitors up close and personal connections with birds of prey. I am proud to support this organization and all the volunteers that make the magic happen!” – Darlene Chirman, President Emerita

“SBAS has done so much over the years to preserve and support the health of the unique and complex natural world around us. SBAS has long provided topnotch educational opportunities for our schools and community, and I am grateful to give my support!” – Julie Kummel, Board Emerita

SBAS is lively with evening programs, bird walks, and conservation/science work. We welcome Maeve O’Hara, Aviary Raptor Caretaker and Outreach Assistant, and Tango, a three-year-old female Red-tailed Hawk to SBAS’s
EITS program. We prepare for our winter Meet Your Wild Neighbor classrooms. Please note that we seek a Director for EITS. If you know of an experienced raptor handler with a heart for conservation outreach, please direct them our way.

With all the buzzing, I also appreciate access to our beautiful Santa Barbara open spaces. A bird walk by Campus Lagoon, a magical moment of quiet with likable people, seeing a striking Green Heron that actually looks green. What could be better?

Wishing you a healthy, peaceful holiday season

Katherine Emery, PhD
Executive Director
Santa Barbara Audubon Society