This is a joint field trip for the general membership of RROS and our youth group, YAMS. We old fogies are looking forward to having young, sharp, eyes and ears helping us. We will be led by Gene Hunn. Late winter is prime time to visit some of the most productive waterfowl concentrations in the Central Valley. Our prime targets for this trip are Staten Island and the nearby Cosumnes River Preserve (www.cosumnes.org). En route we will survey farm fields off Hwy 12 between Fairfield and Rio Vista on the Flannery-Robinson Rd. loop for wintering raptors (possible Burrowing Owl, Ferruginous Hawk, Prairie Falcon) and possible Mountain Plovers. Staten Island hosts large numbers of Sandhill Cranes, Tundra Swans, Snow Geese, and most of the world’s Aleutian Cackling Geese. Cosumnes has a nice variety of ducks, plus Greater White-fronted and other geese. Meet at 7:30 AM for carpooling at the Red Top Road Park & Ride (38.2050573, -122.1549166), where Highway 12 and I-80 Meet. Bring a lunch.

Presented by Jessica Griffith

You may have heard the old saying that birds of a feather flock together. But have you ever stopped to wonder why? Join Jessica Griffiths for a fascinating look at bird flocks and flocking behavior. Why do some species of birds form flocks, while others do not?  Why do geese and ducks fly in a “V” formation?  How do birds flying in large flocks synchronize their movements? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this presentation, which touches on bird biology and behavior, and highlights some remarkable scientific discoveries.

Biography: Jessica Griffiths has worked as a wildlife biologist in California for 20 years, focusing on songbirds and monarch butterflies.  She loves birding, and enjoys sharing her passion for birds and conservation via bird walks and public talks.  She currently works as a wildlife biologist for Colorado State University's Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML) at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

This meeting is ZOOM only. We will not be meeting physically.

To join the meeting use this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88041712339?pwd=uhADIdr3CRyz3dc34qXXJJxSJCmwlg.1
Meeting ID: 880 4171 2339
Passcode: 484948

FULL! Contact Garrett Pierce to be put on the waiting list.

For our second winter season, we have the rare opportunity to access the private lands of the Viansa Wetlands in search of waterfowl and much more. For those familiar with the Highway 121 corridor, the flooded fields of this area can bring an eye-popping amount of ducks to Sonoma. Liz Lewis has participated in many CBC counts on the property, so we will be in great hands!  We are limiting this field trip to 12 people. Plan to enjoy a glass of wine afterward, if you’re interested. Meet at the lower parking lot (38.209716, -122.453731). For more information or to RSVP, contact Garrett Pierce – garrettallenpierce@gmail.com or (415) 260-7406.

Hudeman Slough, south of the town of Sonoma, near Skaggs Island, is a rich birding area hosting many water fowl when the fields are flooded. Join us for a survey of the area led by Malcolm Blanchard. Owls, shrikes, and raptors are expected. We’ll meet at the parking area (38.2211039, -122.3953507) off Ramal Road at 8:00AM. No bathrooms. Bring a lunch. For more information or to RSVP, contact Garrett Pierce garrettallenpierce@gmail.com or (415) 260-7406.

Presented by Bob Lewis

Hummingbirds have a complex evolutionary history, arriving in South America about 20 million years ago after splitting from Swifts in Europe.  We'll look at examples of the 9 tribes of hummingbirds which live mostly in Central and South America, but we'll also cover the few species in North America.  Hummers have several amazing physiological characteristics which bear discussion, a bit about iridescence and a look at a variety of nest designs will finish up.  Many pretty pictures of beautiful birds!

Bob trained as a chemist and worked in the energy field for 33 years.  He’s taught birding classes in the Bay Area for over 25 years and served as the chair of Golden Gate Audubon’s Adult Education Committee.  Recently he’s been giving classes and talks via Zoom.  Bob was honored with American Birding Association’s Chandler Robbins Award for Education and Conservation in 2016, and Golden Gate Audubon’s Paul Covel Education Award in 2010 and 2017.  He loves to travel and photograph birds and has chased birds in over 60 countries.  His life list is over 5400 species.  Bob has photographed over 200 of the world's 366 hummingbird species.

Where: The Fellowship Room of the First United Methodist Church, 1551 Montgomery, Santa Rosa. The Fellowship Room is located at the west (left when facing the church) end of the church.

Consider meeting-up ahead of time at Mary's Pizza on Summerfield Road at 5:30 pm for a casual, informal get-together before heading over to the 7 pm meeting in the First United Methodist Church.

Contact Suzie Silverman at ssbirdygirl@gmail.com for details and to join.

Our territory includes the Laguna Water Treatment Plant on Llano Road.  This is a rural territory west of Santa Rosa and mostly south of Sebastopol.  All present and former YAMS are welcome to participate in the YAMS Santa Rosa CBC. This is a “YAMS reunion event” (see write-up on YAMs page).  We will meet at the Valero gas station on Highway 116 between Sebastopol and Cotati early in the morning. This is definitely an all-day event with optional CBC dinner in the evening.

Contact Liz Lewis at elewis227@gmail.com for details and to join.

December’s program will be the annual “fan favorite”, an RROS Member Sharing event. Please consider actively participating with a sample of your photos, bird recordings, bird artwork, stories, sketches, or any other bird-inspired offerings. Please e-mail Bob at bobhasenick@att.net by December 6 with your presentation ideas so he can arrange the program’s flow. This meeting will be in-person only. If you are bringing material to share on the computer, please bring your content on a USB stick or SD card. (Handy formats are PDF, DOC, PPTX, JPG). Plan on average share time of 4 minutes per presenter.

Where: The Fellowship Room of the First United Methodist Church, 1551 Montgomery, Santa Rosa. The Fellowship Room is located at the west (left when facing the church) end of the church.

Consider meeting-up ahead of time at Mary's Pizza on Summerfield Road at 5:30 pm for a casual, informal get-together before heading over to the 7 pm meeting in the First United Methodist Church.

Meet at the Jenner Headlands Preserve parking lot at 8:30am for a half-day, 2 mile hike around the Preserve.  This coastal grassland habitat is especially good for viewing over-wintering raptors.  The day ends at 12:30pm but be sure to bring lunch.  https://wildlandsconservancy.org/preserves/jennerheadlands

Presenter: Gene and Nancy Hunn

Cuba is a short hop south from the Florida Keys but oceans away due to our pained conflicted history. We joined a WFO sponsored nine-day tour in January 2023, sanctioned as a humanitarian/scientific exchange. We successfully targeted some two-dozen Cuban endemic bird species. We explored three ecologically diverse regions guided by a leading Cuban herpetologist and a sympathetic and knowledgeable cultural guide. Our accommodations were in comfortable private home B&Bs. More than a bird tour, it was a fascinating cultural exchange.

Where: The Fellowship Room of the First United Methodist Church, 1551 Montgomery, Santa Rosa. The Fellowship Room is located at the west (left when facing the church) end of the church.

Consider meeting-up ahead of time at Mary's Pizza on Summerfield Road at 5:30 pm for a casual, informal get-together before heading over to the 7 pm meeting in the First United Methodist Church.

We’ll spend the morning with Craig Roth exploring the trails around Sonoma County’s largest regional park. Notable sightings may include Loggerhead Shrike, Prairie Falcon and many other Raptors. Meet at the Tolay Regional Park parking lot (38.2050058, -122.5210195) ($7 fee, or County pass). For more information or to RSVP, contact Garrett Pierce garrettallenpierce@gmail.com  or (415) 260-7406.

Meet in the Ellis Creek Parking Lot at 8:30am for an easy walk around the ponds.  If there is time and interest, we may also visit Shollenberger Park.  Half-day field trip ending at 12:30pm.  Be sure to bring lunch. https://cityofpetaluma.org/elliscreek/

Early morning owling along the entrance road to Sugarloaf. Probable Northern Pygmy-Owl, Western Screech-Owl, and Great Horned Owl.  Possible Spotted Owl, and Saw-whet Owl.  Ruthie Rudesill will lead us. She has some of the best “bird ears” in the County and great knowledge of owl calls. We’ll meet at the parking lot of Golden Bear Station restaurant (8445 Sonoma Hwy, Kenwood, CA 95452) at 5:00AM. Owling is about hearing the birds, so please wear quiet clothing—nothing that makes noise when you move. Carpooling is encouraged.  After sunrise, we may do some further birding inside the State Park. $10 entrance fee ($8 senior) without a pass. For more information or to RSVP, contact Garrett Pierce (415) 260-7406.

As Fall migration winds down, Ruthie Rudesill will lead us around the ever-popular Spring Lake. Expect a diverse array of species from the different habitats that surround the lake. Meet at the Oak Knoll Picnic area (38.448940, -122.650155) – access via Newanga Ave. $10 entrance fee without a pass. For more information or to RSVP, contact Garrett Pierce (415) 260-7406.

Hallberg Butterfly Garden’s fall plant sale and fundraiser is happening two weekends in October, the 4th, 5th & 11th, 12th, from 9 am-4 pm—all by appointment due to parking restrictions. Appointment signup and a complete list of plants for sale can be found on their website at https://hallbergbutterflygardens.org/our-nursery.

They focus on CA native plants suited to support our local pollinators, especially butterflies. A few examples of plants we they are Ca false indigo, seaside daisy, foothill penstemon, dutchman’s pipevine, showy milkweed, silver lupine, purple sage, Ca fuchsia, and much more. 

Plant lists organized by bloom time and by butterfly/moth host plants will be provided at the sale. Knowledgeable staff can help you with your garden questions.  After finishing your appointment at the nursery, feel free to take a self-guided tour of the garden.

Hallberg Butterfly Garden’s fall plant sale and fundraiser is happening two weekends in October, the 4th, 5th & 11th, 12th, from 9 am-4 pm—all by appointment due to parking restrictions. Appointment signup and a complete list of plants for sale can be found on their website at https://hallbergbutterflygardens.org/our-nursery.

They focus on CA native plants suited to support our local pollinators, especially butterflies. A few examples of plants they sell are Ca false indigo, seaside daisy, foothill penstemon, dutchman’s pipevine, showy milkweed, silver lupine, purple sage, Ca fuchsia, and much more. 

Plant lists organized by bloom time and by butterfly/moth host plants will be provided at the sale. Knowledgeable staff can help you with your garden questions.  After finishing your appointment at the nursery, feel free to take a self-guided tour of the garden.

Would you like to be more efficient logging your checklists while birding? Do you struggle with determining your location? Do the ID suggestions from Merlin sometimes baffle you? Would you like to upload more of your photos and recordings? Are you using Telegram for recent findings? We'll cooperate in small teams to walk through a typical field session from beginning to end using your smart device and apps. This meeting will be in-person only, and will be recorded for later viewing on YouTube. Bring your fully-charged smart phone loaded with latest version of these apps:

1)      Mapping – used to find GPS coordinates & locations

2)      Merlin – load pack for “US: West Coast” or “US and Canada: Continental” (over 1GB so plan ahead)

3)      eBird – load pack for “California, US”

4)      Telegram – have an account set up and ask one of the administrators to invite you to “Sonoma County Birds”

(Note: The WiFi in the meeting room is not sufficient for downloading any of these so PLEASE load in advance)

Where: The Fellowship Room of the First United Methodist Church, 1551 Montgomery, Santa Rosa. The Fellowship Room is located at the west (left when facing the church) end of the church

Bob will host a Zoom session to assist you with loading & verifying the apps and packs:

                Thursday, Oct 3, 2024, 7pm

Zoom Meeting # 857 9623 2260, passcode 561338

Continuing our quest for Fall migrants and more, we will scour the environs of Bodega Bay (e.g. Doran Spit, Rail Ponds and north shore, west shore, Owl Canyon, Campbell Cove, Hole-in-the-Head). Peter Colasanti will lead us. Meet at Porto Bodega (38.3333037, -123.0512802) at 8:00AM. Bring lunch. Carpooling is strongly encouraged. For more information or to RSVP, contact Garrett Pierce (415) 260-7406

Hallberg Butterfly Garden’s fall plant sale and fundraiser is happening two weekends in October, the 4th, 5th & 11th, 12th, from 9 am-4 pm—all by appointment due to parking restrictions. Appointment signup and a complete list of plants for sale can be found on their website at https://hallbergbutterflygardens.org/our-nursery.

They focus on CA native plants suited to support our local pollinators, especially butterflies. A few examples of plants they sell are Ca false indigo, seaside daisy, foothill penstemon, dutchman’s pipevine, showy milkweed, silver lupine, purple sage, Ca fuchsia, and much more. 

Plant lists organized by bloom time and by butterfly/moth host plants will be provided at the sale. Knowledgeable staff can help you with your garden questions.  After finishing your appointment at the nursery, feel free to take a self-guided tour of the garden.

Meet at the Sebastopol Community Center at 6:45am. This is a very long day with lots of driving. We bird from pre-dawn to dusk and then have a pizza gathering at Mountain Mike’s Pizza in Petaluma where we total our species counts and reminisce about the day. It is a fundraiser for Point Blue Conservation Science https://www.pointblue.org/engage-with-us/events/

Hallberg Butterfly Garden’s fall plant sale and fundraiser is happening two weekends in October, the 4th, 5th & 11th, 12th, from 9 am-4 pm—all by appointment due to parking restrictions. Appointment signup and a complete list of plants for sale can be found on their website at https://hallbergbutterflygardens.org/our-nursery.

They focus on CA native plants suited to support our local pollinators, especially butterflies. A few examples of plants they sell are Ca false indigo, seaside daisy, foothill penstemon, dutchman’s pipevine, showy milkweed, silver lupine, purple sage, Ca fuchsia, and much more. 

Plant lists organized by bloom time and by butterfly/moth host plants will be provided at the sale. Knowledgeable staff can help you with your garden questions.  After finishing your appointment at the nursery, feel free to take a self-guided tour of the garden.

Bob Hasenick will host a Zoom session to assist you with loading & verifying the apps and packs:      

Zoom Meeting # 857 9623 2260, passcode 561338

We charter the New Sea Angler with Captain Rick Powers out of Porto Bodega, leaving at 7 AM and returning ca. 5 PM. It’s a long day but allows us to survey the continental shelf waters between Cordell Banks and the Bodega Canyon, some 30 miles offshore. Fall migration brings together seabirds from all corners of the Pacific Ocean, including albatrosses, various shearwaters, fulmars, storm-petrels, all three jaegers and the skua, alcids such as Cassin’s and Rhinoceros Auklets and Tufted Puffins, Sabine’s Gulls, Common and Arctic Terns, phalaropes, and sometimes boobies or gadfly petrels, of the elusive genus Pterodroma. We also routinely encounter Humpback, Blue, and Fin whales and a variety of dolphins.

The cost is $180 per person; $120 for students. Contact Gene Hunn (enhunn323@comcast.net or 707-981-7301) to reserve a spot, then send him (at 1504 Smokey Mtn. Dr, Petaluma, 94954) a post-dated check payable to Redwood Region Ornithological Society.

Join us for the inauguration of the 2024-2025 birding season with a trip to Jenner in search of Fall migrants, exciting vagrants and other lovely locals. Garrett Pierce will lead us around several coastal hotspots. Meet at the Russian Gulch State Beach parking lot in Jenner (38.4699051325383, -123.15492209221817) at 8:00AM. Bring lunch. Carpooling is strongly encouraged.  Note that there is very little cell service in Jenner.  For more information or to RSVP, email Garrett Pierce – garrettallenpierce@gmail.com or text (415) 260-7406

Meet at the Petaluma Park and Ride at the corner of Hwy 101 and Hwy 116 at 7:45am. This is a long day with lots of driving. We will return to the Park and Ride between 3 and 4pm.

Meet at Sugarloaf at the picnic tables, just past the entrance kiosk, on the right and across from the first (main) parking lot. Come early for late afternoon birding and/or stay after dinner for a late evening bird walk out towards the observatory.

Outdoor dining at the picnic tables starting around 5:30-6. POTLUCK — BYO - everything. If desired, bring your own camp chair and/or blanket. Where: Sugarloaf Ridge State Park.

Directions: From Hwy 12 East, about 6 miles beyond Calistoga Road, take a left onto Adobe Rd. Follow Adobe Rd to its end in the park. Main parking lot is on the left, past the entrance kiosk. What to know: State Park entrance fee is $10 per car / $8 for senior or student. Covered with California State Parks pass.

Meet at the Lakeville Park and Ride at the west side of Rte. 101 at Rte. 116 at 7:30am. We will travel together to our Breeding Bird Atlas Block and collect real data for the project! Don’t forget your data sheets! Bring binoculars, field guide and/or app, lunch, water, snacks and of course layered clothing.

RROS is partnering with our friends at the Sonoma County Feminist Bird Club for a co-led walk at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park with the focus on Birding By Ear. Whether you have advanced skills with bird songs & calls, or you’re a beginner to the auditory side of birding, this trip should be a fun learning experience for all. If you’re not familiar with the FBC, please visit their website (feministbirdclub.org) to get acquainted with their inclusive and affirming bird-related activities, or follow them on Instagram - @fbc.sonoma

As always, this event is free, but we may send an RSVP link because spots are limited. There is an entrance fee of $10 ($8 for seniors). CA State Park or Sugarloaf/Jack London Passes are accepted for free entrance. Contact Garrett Pierce with any questions – garrettallenpierce@gmail.com

Meet in the parking lot at Riverfront Regional Park. We will hike around the two lakes and enjoy the spring migrants that this rich forest habitat provides. Bring binoculars, field guide and/or app, lunch, water, snacks and of course layered clothing.