Current Projects and Goals is regularly published about once a quarter. Its purpose is to communicate to our membership about important issues that the board of directors and committee members are involved with.
Projects and Goals March 2023
From the desk of Katherine Emery, Executive Director
Through our Education Committee and our Conservation/Science Committee, Santa Barbara Audubon Society (SBAS) is actively working on many projects. This update provides an overview of selected current projects, goals, and opportunities for member engagement (project list is not all-inclusive).
SBAS protects area birdlife and habitat and connects people with birds through education, conservation and science. SBAS’s Eyes in the Sky (EITS) program, the key wildlife education program of SBAS since 2000 and the only federally licensed raptor education program in the county, connects people to birds and nature through presentations at schools, afterschool programs, and the Audubon Aviary at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The new American Kestrel, “Mouse,” is now meeting the public, and we are welcoming a new Peregrine Falcon (stay tuned for name). SBAS is providing Meet Your Wild Neighbor school lessons to 14 classrooms in 2022-23. We continue to schedule offsite educational programs and raptor visits at camps, classrooms, retirement homes, and other venues. (For details, contact Hannah Atkinson: email hidden; JavaScript is required)
In other news and appreciation:
Congratulations to Michael Love and Sage Hill Films for having their short film “Why are Birds Important?” selected for the prestigious Bird and Nature Festival in Abbeville, France. (View the film at santabarbaraaudubon.org/learning-resources)
We thank Don Schroeder and Steve Senesac for their diligent leadership running the Nest Box Project at Lake Los Carneros and for their gifts of time, skills, knowledge and passion. Watch for an exciting report on data and research findings to be posted on SBAS’s website in the near future.
Kudos to the Christmas Bird Count leaders and Winter Bird Count for Kids volunteers for organizing these important endeavors, building awareness about bird conservation, and counting 196 and 54 species, respectively, at the fun community events. Thank you to Hugh Ranson for continuing to share Santa Barbara birding stories, including CBC news, in his monthly column in the Santa Barbara Independent. (independent.com/2023/01/15/santa-barbara-birding-a-tale-of-two-counts)
SBAS is delighted to partner for the second year with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden for May Bird Month. Watch for details this spring.
Projects and Goals December 2022
From the desk of Katherine Emery, Executive Director
Through our Education Committee and our Conservation/Science Committee, SBAS is actively working on many projects. This update provides an overview of selected current projects, goals, and opportunities for member engagement (project list is not all-inclusive).
Through education, conservation, and science work, and sharing the joy and beauty of birds, SBAS sparks a passion for nature and inspires the community to protect birds and our natural environment. Eyes in the Sky (EITS), the key wildlife education program of SBAS since 2000 and the only federally licensed raptor education program in the county, connects members of the public with birds and nature through presentations at schools, afterschool programs, and the Audubon Aviary at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH) (every day except Tuesdays). SBAS also gives EITS educational live bird presentations at preschools, retirement communities, and other locations. SBAS’s signature Meet Your Wild Neighbor school program (MYWN), which provides interactive curriculum for children in lower elementary classrooms to learn about birds and the environment, will be taught in 14 Santa Barbara and Goleta classrooms throughout the 2022/2023 academic year. This year, SBAS will continue to incorporate more bird sounds, music, and a “bird sit”, and investigate adding Spanish vocabulary. Please contact Hannah Atkinson for information about pricing and scheduling and to be added to the MYWN waitlist (https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/eyes-in-the-sky/eits-programs/).
SBAS continues to provide engaging monthly Evening Programs and bolster innovative partnerships with UCSB Arts & Lectures and the SBMNH to host local and national renowned speakers (https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/programs/). SBAS’s educational and fun bird walks and field trips remain in high demand. >35 bird walks/field trips are calendared for 2022/2023. SBAS members, nature enthusiasts, and new birders are welcome to join any and all SBAS activities (https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/activities/).
SBAS prepares for the annual Winter Bird Count for Kids (WBC4K) (January 21st, 9 AM – 12 PM). SBAS is deeply grateful for the eight years of dedicated volunteer service and leadership by event Co-chairs, Judy Blue and Joan Cotich. There is an immediate need for new WBC4K Co-chairs. If you are interested and/or know someone who is organized, passionate about birds, children, and educational outreach, and willing to focus on leading this important event annually starting in 2024, please contact Janice Levasheff right away. Shadowing the 2023 WBC4K would be an excellent start.
Projects and Goals September 2022
Through our Education Committee and our Conservation/Science Committee, SBAS is actively working on many projects related to our three main focus areas. This column will be updated regularly with an overview of selected current projects and goals (project list is not all-inclusive). The goals summarize what each SBAS committee is working toward with occasional opportunities for member involvement.
From the desk of Katherine Emery, Executive Director
Current Projects
Goals
Education
- Continuing to welcome the public to visit the Audubon Aviary and view the SBAS Eyes in the Sky (EITS) birds of prey every day (except Tuesday) at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Thank you, EITS leaders and volunteers!
- Continuing to provide our EITS educational live bird presentations at preschools, retirement communities, and other locations. (Contact Hannah Atkinson)
- Sharing stunning new SBAS outreach film by Michael Love, “Birds of Lake Los Carneros.” Film is free to watch and available to classrooms, community centers and others from SBAS website: https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/learning-resources/
- Schedule next set of Meet Your Wild Neighbor (MYWN) classroom presentations in at least 12 Santa Barbara and Goleta lower elementary classrooms beginning this autumn.
- Organize 8 inspirational Evening Programs this year with new Board member, Roman Baratiak.
- Provide 32 morning bird walks/field trips this year. For updates, see https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/activities/
- Communicate informative fun bird-related stories to new and experienced naturalists through SBAS Hugh Ranson’s Santa Barbara Birding column in the Santa Barbara Independent (monthly). Thank you, Hugh!
Conservation/Science
- Meeting with agency decision-makers, providing public comments, and/or authoring conservation letters to promote birds, habitat, and biodiversity protections for Santa Barbara area projects. Thank you, Conservation/Science Committee leaders and members!
- Finishing collection of 7th year of Breeding Bird Study records. Total of 189 species of birds contributed by the public over time. Thank you, BBS contributors and Mark Holmgren and Adrian O’Loghlen!
- Summarizing results from 13th year of SBAS Nest Box monitoring at Lake Los Carneros (LLC). 11 volunteers made observations at boxes and banded birds. 87 Tree Swallows (TRES) and 22 Western Bluebirds (WEBL) fledged, the second highest ever for TRES and the highest ever for WEBL at LLC. Thank you, Don Schroeder, Steve Senesac, Conor McMahon, and volunteers!
- Strengthen conservation efforts to protect local open spaces, wetlands, bird habitats, and ecosystems.
- Use scientific data to continue outreach to the City of Goleta, City of Santa Barbara, and SB County to advocate for bird and habitat protections.
- Support UCSB Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration students researching SBAS aquatic invertebrate data for Coal Oil Point Reserve and NCOS to understand and evaluate ecosystem health important to birdlife. Thank you, Ann Steinmetz and Steve Senesac!
Projects and Goals June 2022
SBAS is actively working on many projects related to our three main focus areas: conservation and science, recently combined into a single committee, and education. This column will be updated regularly with an overview of selected current projects and goals (project list is not all-inclusive). The goals summarize what each SBAS committee is working toward with occasional opportunities for member involvement.
From the desk of Katherine Emery, Executive Director
Current Projects
Goals
Education
- Celebrating new SBAS-Santa Barbara Botanic Garden “Bird Month” collaboration at the Garden in May.
- Outreaching at the new Audubon Overlook at UCSB North Campus Open Space (NCOS) in May.
- Piloting new Meet Your Wild Neighbor “bird sit” and Science Technology Engineering Art and Math “How talons work” curriculum at local schools.
- Completing providing MYWN program in 11 classrooms for 2021-2022 school year.
- Sharing recorded Evening Programs: https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/additional-resources/videos/
- Finish and share the new Lake Los Carneros (LLC) SBAS outreach film to increase awareness about the importance of birds at LLC and the critical need to protect this open space for birds and other wildlife.
- Continue to bring Eyes in the Sky raptor ambassadors to local schools. (Contact Hannah Atkinson)
- Schedule MYWN classrooms for fall 2022.
- Schedule outreach at retirement communities for fall 2022.
- Plan birding events and monthly Evening Programs for the coming year.
Conservation/Science
- Meeting with agency decision-makers, providing public comments, and/or authoring conservation letters to promote birds, habitat, and biodiversity protections associated with two projects: Heritage Ridge development in Goleta and El Capitán Entrance Improvements Project.
- Increasing Breeding Bird Study records for 7th
- Providing comments about the offshore wind power plan off the Santa Barbara County coastline with respect to impact on birds.
- Assisting UCSB Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration as it processes SBAS aquatic invertebrate data for Coal Oil Point Reserve and NCOS to understand and evaluate ecosystem health important to birdlife.
- Working on 13th year of Nest Box monitoring at LLC. 11 volunteers are making observations at boxes and banding birds.
- Strengthen advocacy efforts to protect local open spaces, wetlands, bird habitats, and ecosystems.
- Outreach to key departments within the City of Goleta, City of Santa Barbara, and SB County to advocate for bird and bird habitat protections.
- Use science to advocate for bird and habitat protections for Goleta creeks and watersheds and proposed wind turbine energy projects offshore of the Central Coast.
- Monitor breeding Tree Swallows and Western Bluebirds at LLC. 22 boxes are currently being used.
