Our next meeting will be Monday, May 21 7PM at the Caspar Community Center 15051 Caspar Rd, Caspar, CA 95420.
Coffee & Wine: International Examples of How Birds and Farmers Can Mutually Help Each Other.
Matt Johnson is a wildlife biologist at Humboldt State University. He specializes in the habitat ecology of wild birds, and has worked on bird ecology in tropical coffee farms for over a decade. He has a particular interest in how birds use habitats heavily modified by human activity, and his work has led him to examine the ecosystem services provided by birds. This line of questioning has prompted him to consider the confluence of ecology, economics, and ethics in the conservation of birds. His international work on birds in coffee farms has now broadened to include projects in Jamaica and Kenya, and more recently he has started work on barn owls nesting in winegrape vineyards. His talk will feature the prospects of "win-win" conservation, whereby farms can provide habitat for birds that in turn can help farmers controls agricultural pests.
It is also our annual meeting with election of board members.
Spring Pelagic, Mendocino County
Mendocino Coast Audubon Society has scheduled an all-day pelagic seabird expedition on Sunday, May 13, aboard the Trek II out of Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg. Leaders will be Rob Fowler and Todd Easterla. We plan to assemble at 7 AM and depart soon thereafter, spend about 9 hours at sea, and return around 5 PM.
The Trek II is the largest and fastest charter boat operating from Noyo Harbor, offering good views for up to 35 participants and getting us out to sea quickly. Ocean conditions permitting, we hope to go 30 to 40 miles offshore.
On past May trips we have seen Laysan and Black-footed Albatross, Northern Fulmar, several species of Shearwater and Storm-Petrel, 3 species of Jaeger, Tufted Puffin, Black-legged Kittiwake, Sabine's Gull, and Common and Arctic Tern. In addition, May trips have also turned up such rarities as Short-tailed Albatross; Murphy's, Manx, and Hawaiian Petrels; Thick-billed Murre, Black Tern, etc.
The cost will be $150 per person and advance reservations are required. Contact Chuck Vaughn, cevaughn@pacific.net or Tim Bray, tbray@mcn.org for more information.
