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.
Learn more about us

Welcome to Napa Solano Audubon Society!

Bird of the Week – Hermit Warbler

NSAS Monthly Speaker Series Presents: Bringing Birds to the Garden with Benny Jacobs-Schwartz
May 7, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. at the Napa Valley Lutheran Church

Please Note: Our May Meeting is the 1st Thursday of the Month, May 7th
at the Napa Valley Lutheran Church Starting at 7:00 p.m.

About the Program: Discover how California’s 5,000+ native plants and 700 bird species connect and how backyard gardeners can support declining habitats. Learn practical steps to create bird-friendly native plant gardens and meet the species that visit them.

About the Presenter: Benny Isaac Jacobs-Schwartz owns and operates a bird-guiding business and lifestyle brand called BIRDS by BIJS (pronounced Bee-jus). Working professionally for over 15 years as a naturalist guide, expedition trip leader, and international bird guide, Benny has worked in a variety of locations coast to coast, including exotic places such as Alaska, Central America, the Colombian Andes, and the Ecuadorian Amazon. Benny is a passionate educator and photographer, specializing in birds! Benny uses his ample collection of nature-based content to leverage an active social media presence. BIJS uses his passion for the natural world to inspire others to put down their phone and pick up their binos.

Click Here to Join Our Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 880 6172 7224
Passcode: 967980

NSAS will be Participating in the CA Breeding Bird Atlas Project

We are searching for Volunteers to help us cover our Survey Areas in both Napa & Solano Counties. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Mark Stephenson at . What is a Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA)? And why is it so important? A Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA) is a large-scale, multi-year project that documents the breeding distribution and activity of bird species within a specific geographic area, such as a state or county. It provides crucial data for understanding changes in bird populations and their habitats, informing conservation and management efforts. This current State-wide project, being coordinated by the California Bird Atlas organization, with well- known birder, Van Pierszalowski serving as the Executive Director, is especially important, as California is one of only 6 states that has never engaged in a state-wide atlas. In fact, only 16 of our 58 counties have ever published a BBA. We are proud of the work by our many volunteers who completed 2 of the 16 state-wide atlases in both Napa and Solano Counties in years past. However, it has been 32 years since NSAS completed the field work for the first Napa Breeding Bird Atlas in 1993. The information was published 10 years later in 2003. The field work for the first Solano County BBA was held from 2005-2010 more than 15 years ago and was published in 2014. Many changes have occurred in our area during the past 15–30 year span as a result of housing and urban development that are sure to have impacted birds and their habitats since our last BBAs were completed. A new BBA would be of huge value to document the changes to birds, our landscape, and consequential conservation needs and priorities.

See our Spring Newsletter for more details on using eBird to post Breeding Bird observations!

In order to support this endeavor, we are attempting to raise $10,000 to contribute to the success of this project. We are hoping that our members will value this project as much as our Board of Directors and support us during the coming months both as volunteer birders, and in or efforts to raise these funds. We would like to thank our members in advance for their incredible support over the years. We are hopeful this BBA Project will continue our important work of supporting birds and protecting critical habitats throughout our region and across our state. To help us with the costs of this project, please select the Donate Button at the top of this page. To read more about the BBA CLICK HERE!

NSAS Monthly Field Trip to Mono Lake and the Eastern Sierra
Thursday, June 4th – Sunday, June 7th with Mark Stephenson & Bruce Thomsen

Sagebrush Sparrow

Trip Overview: This trip will be centered around Mono Lake and Lee Vining and will explore the incredible desert and mountain ecological zones of the Mono Basin and Eastern Sierra. Our trip will take place two weeks before the Chautauqua Birding Festival and cover some of their most popular birding locations. Participants will need to drive down on Wednesday in order to begin Thursday morning. We will meet at 7:45 at the Mono Lake Scenic Area Visitor Center. Our Trip will explore the 6 ecological zones with unique habitats that are located in this area including: Zone 1: Mono Lake and other Saline Desert Lakes; Zone 2: Desert Sagebrush and and higher Desert Chaparral; Zone 3: Riparian Aspen and Willow Groves; Zone 4: Pinyon Pine & Juniper (East) or Open Ponderosa Pine Forests (West); Zone 5: Lodgepole Pine and Fir Forests with high elevation lakes and meadows. Zone 6: High Alpine Sierras (at or above the tree level). We will be scouting this area a few days before the trip to fine-tune the best birding areas to visit during the trip. We will also take into account our group’s target species interests.

Likely Itinerary: Day 1: North Mono Lake and Pole Line Road exploring Desert Sage and Chaparral and then heading to South Mono Lake and Mono Mills; Day 2: Lundy and Lee Vining Canyons; Day 3: June Lake Loop with time for Target Birds not seen on other days. Day 4: Heading Home with Virginia Lakes and Bridgeport Reservoir along the way.

Target birds: Saline Lakes – Redhead, Am. White Pelicans, Willet, Black-necked Stilts Am. Avocets, Caspian Tern, Western & Eared Grebes; Desert Sagebrush & Chaparral – Greater Sage Grouse, Sage Thrashers, Vesper, Sagebrush and Brewer’s Sparrows; Riparian Streams – Bullock’s Orioles & Black-headed Grosbeaks, Warbling Vireos, Yellow Warblers, Red-breasted Sapsuckers, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers; Pinyon & Ponderosa Pine Forests – Pinyon Jays, Green-tailed Towhees, Thick-billed Fox and Gray Flycatchers; Lodgepole Pine and Fir Forests: Wood-Pewees, Hammonds and Dusky Flycatchers, Black-backed Woodpeckers, Red-breasted Nuthatch and Mountain Chickadees; High Alpine at or above the treeline – Townsend’s Solitaire, Red Crossbill, Pine Grosbeak, and Gray-crowned Rosy Finch.

Stay tuned for upcoming eBlasts with more information. 

Weekly Field Trips to Napa & Solano County Hotspots with Andrew Ford are in Full Swing!
Everyone is Welcome to Join In! Sign up for Field Trips and you will receive Weekly eBlast with details.

Beginner Field Trips to American Canyon Wetlands
with Carol Boykin and Mark Stephenson Alternating Sundays, During the April 

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.  Our Spring Schedule are the following Sundays at 9:00 a.m.: April 12th & April 26th. 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.  Carol Boykin, and Mark Stephenson will lead these walks during April.  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. Be on the lookout for our upcoming eBlast on trip details and registration timelines.

To Sign Up to Receive Field Trip Announcements
Select the Activity Sign-up Button at the Top of our Home Page.
Beware our Field Trip eBlasts may end up in your Spam Folder!

Job Announcement – Napa Solano Audubon is Looking for Classroom Instructors

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 a Classroom Instructor for Napa Solano Audubon Society. Our classroom instructors conduct classes in elementary schools in Napa and/or Solano Counties. They may also assist with Beginning Bird Walks, the Christmas Bird Count for Kids, and may provide support for other NSAS Events, and Citizen Science activities, to fit their schedules and interests.  Training will be provided, as needed. The position runs from September to June 2025-26, with potential to become an ongoing position. For more information about this job and its qualifications, and to send a letter of interest, please click here.

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.