Connecting People with Birds

Our mission is to share the fun of birding, promote conservation and scientific understanding of wild birds and their habitats, and offer engaging, science-based education emphasizing the communities of Napa and Solano counties.
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Welcome to Napa Solano Audubon Society!

Bird of the Week – Northern Waterthrush
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Job Announcement – Napa Solano Audubon is Looking for an Education Coordinator

Do you like watching birds? Would you like to inspire the next generation of birders and conservationists? Are you interested in part-time work with a flexible schedule? If so, apply to be the Education Coordinator for Napa Solano Audubon Society. The Education Coordinator conducts classes in elementary schools in Napa and Solano Counties, leads beginning bird walks, organizes and leads the Christmas Bird Count for Kids, and provides support for other NSAS Events, Citizen Science activities, and similar NSAS tasks.  Training will be provided, as needed. The position runs from September to June 2025-26, with potential to become an ongoing position.  Applications are due by August 28. 

For more information about this job and its qualifications, please contact Mark at or Regina at .

NSAS Presents: The Biggest Week in American Birding with Mark Stephenson
September 11th at 7:00 p.m. at the Napa Valley Lutheran Church

About the Program: The Biggest Week is one of the largest birding festivals in the U.S. Held in early May just East of Toledo on the shores of Lake Erie, the Biggest Week draws upwards of 10,000 birders from around the world. Northern Ohio is considered by some to be the “warbler capital of the world” as thousands of migrating warblers land on the shores of Lake Erie to refuel, before crossing this great expanse of water and continuing on their journey North. The heart of the festival happens at Black Swamp Bird Observatory’s Magee Marsh Board Walk, a 2.5 mile path through the shoreline marsh. Magee is unique in that the high water table keeps most trees at shortened heights, providing more exceptional views of our spring migrants. This, coupled with the fact that early May is when most trees are just beginning to bud, before leaves make viewing more challenging, is why the Biggest Week is so exciting. During this year’s 9-day festival at the Boardwalk, along with a number of local area hotspots, helped birders to observe 243 species including 36 North American Warblers.

Fall Field Trips Are Starting Up September 6th – All Members, Family & Friends of NSAS are Welcome to Join!

Field Trip Announcements: Beware our Field Trip eBlasts may end up in your Spam Folder!

Weekly Field Trips to Napa & Solano County Hotspots with Andrew Ford

Andrew’s first walk of the Fall 2025 will be this Saturday, September 6th at Kennedy Park, starting at 8:00 a.m.
NSAS offers Weekly Bird Walks on Saturday mornings with Andrew Ford to birding hotspots in Napa or Solano County, beginning at 8 a.m. and ending around noon. Come join in all the fun and have a great morning learning about birds. To look at some of our favorite weekly walk outings see Saturday Walks! A typical trip attracts approximately 15-20 birders. Through the seasons we try to catch the local “spectacles” of birding: Spring shorebirds at American Canyon, Winter raptors and Mountain Plovers in the Solano Prairies, or Fall warblers at Putah Creek. Locations are subject to change due to the changing of bird population and influx of migrants, so be on the Lookout for Andrew’s Weekly Field Trip eBlasts.

Beginner Field Trips to American Canyon Wetlands with Carol Boykin and Tom Slyker

So, if you are dipping a toe into birding, or dusting off a pair of binoculars for the first time in a while and you want some company as you learn about birding, we’d be delighted to have you join us for our Beginners Bird Walks.  We hold Beginner’s Walks at  the American Canyon Wetlands Edge Park on two Sundays each month beginning at 9:00 a.m.  No reservations are necessary, just plan to show up and enjoy being outdoors for a little while. Sign up for Field Trip Notices by clicking on the Activity Sign-up Button at the top of our Home Page or Check our Calendar for the next Beginner’s Bird Walk. These walks are open to birders of all levels and ages. It’s free, it’s fun, and loaner binoculars are on hand if you need them.  Napa Solano Audubon membership is not required.  Karina Garcia, Carol Boykin, and Tom Slyker lead these walks.  They are citizen science volunteers and participate in the Napa Solano Audubon’s CA Birdseasons project at this wetlands park location.  NSAS has been monitoring birds at this site every Monday morning since 2016.  This monitoring has provided the participants with a wealth of knowledge about the birds you might see at this location. They have been observing numerous species of waterfowl, a variety of shorebirds including American Avocets and Black Necked Stilts, as well as a variety of raptors, while looking and occasionally spotting the secretive Sora and Virginia Rails.

September Field Trip to Rio Lindo Adventist Academy
Vaux’s Swifts Migration with Mark Stephenson & Bruce Thomsen
Sunday, September – 21st, 2025 at 6:15 P.M.

Date: Sunday, September 21, 2025 
Time: Begins 6:15 P.M.  
Meet: Rio Lindo Adventist Academy, 3200 Rio Lindo Ave. Healdsburg, CA
Leaders: Mark Stephenson & Bruce Thomsen 

History: Vaux’s Swifts have been roosting in the Rio Lindo Adventist Academy chimney since 1989, the first year the school’s boiler wasn’t producing steam year-round. The chimney is still used in the winter when the boiler generates heat for the school campus, but that’s after the fall migration has finished. The first small groups of migrating birds usually appear in mid-August. Vaux’s Swifts use the chimney on the campus as a roosting site on their stop-over during fall migration.  Numbers vary daily into the thousands, but begin to peak around September 20. In an average year, the count peaks between 5,000 and 10,000 birds for a few evenings. The highest numbers that have been observed were in 2015 when a couple of evenings the estimate was between 35,000 and 40,000 swifts. The Swifts enter the chimney at dusk in a Whirlwind-like Vortex. It has been described as one of the 7 Wonders of the Birding World! For more information visit: Vaux’s Swift Migration – RioLindoAdventistAcademy.

Please Register for the NSAS Vaux’s Swift Field Trip by Clicking Here:

October Field Trip to Monterey and Big Sur Friday, October 3rd – Sunday, October 5th

Trip Details: This trip has been scheduled to align with the peak of Fall Migration in the Monterey area. Friday we will venture to Big Sur and specifically to Andrew Molera State Park. Andrew Molera is a haven for migratory birds along the Big Sur River and shorebirds along the beach. Time permitting, we will may also visit Grimes Point for condors, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park along the Big Sur River and Garrapata State Park.

Saturday we will visit several areas around the Monterey Peninsula: Laguna Grande Regional Park, Jacks Peak Park (woodland), Carmel River Beach (riparian along the Carmel River, sandy beach), Asilomar (sandy beach, sand dunes, rocky shoreline), Pt. Pinos (rocky shoreline, oceanic). Sunday on the way home we will stop at Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge, Moonglow Dairy, and North Jetty Rd, Moss Landing.

This trip has a limit of 15 Members, so be one of the first to register to assure a place on the trip. More trip details will be coming in our eBlasts.

Registration Link: Click here to Register

NSAS Spring 2025 College Scholarship Awards Program:

This Spring, NSAS will continue providing a one year, $2,000 Scholarship for two High School Seniors from Napa & Solano Counties who will be enrolled in the Fall of 2025 at a Community or 4-year College pursuing a course of study in ornithology, wildlife, conservation, environmental studies or related fields. If you know of any seniors living in either Napa or Solano counties who are continuing their education in one of these fields of study please let them know they can apply for one of our scholarships. To be considered, applications must be submitted by April 30, 2024. Click here for more information and eligibility requirements.

Searching for Volunteers

We are looking for volunteers to help support our beginning bird walks that take place in our local parks. Please consider helping out with this rewarding activity. We are also looking for supporters to assist us with Education Programs in our Schools, Tabling for Community Events such as Earth Day and in a number of Citizen Science activities from Monitoring Bluebird Boxes to Christmas Bird Counts. If you are interested in serving in any of these areas in any capacity, please click on the volunteer opportunities link below or contact Mark Stephenson at  for more details.