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
Get Involved
Napa-Solano Birds is predominantly a volunteer organization. To make our programs successful we need membership involvement in all of our activities. Donating even a few hours of time can help a lot. There are all sorts of fun ways to get involved – from helping out with a classroom visit, bird walk or special event, to monitoring your own area for breeding birds.
Bird Family Galleries
Welcome to Napa Solano Audubon Society!
Bird of the Week – Fox Sparrow
Vaux’s Swift
NSAS Monthly Speaker Series Presents: “The Ins and Outs of Vaux’s Swifts with Michael Heim
February 12th at 7:00 p.m. at the Benicia Public Library
About the Program: Have you ever wondered where large flocks of migratory birds find places to roost during travel? During their flight from northern breeding grounds to Central America, Vaux’s swifts convert chimneys such as the abandoned North Bay brickworks into a temporary home. Near sunset, thousands of swifts may be seen entering the chimneys for an evening’s rest after a day of flight. Guest speaker Michael Helm will share the natural history of the swift and ongoing research to monitor and document the birds. His videos will make you feel that you are watching the birds in person. Michael will give us an overview of Vaux’s Swifts including current population studies observed on breeding territory and along migration routes. He will share highlights from classes he has taught at the S.F. Academy of Science and an update on the use of audio detection and motus tracking. His presentation will include amazing video’s of swifts in flight and entering the chimney at McNear’s Brick Factory in San Rafael.
About the speaker: Michael Helm is a retired engineer/scientist and part of a volunteer research team that monitors Vaux’s swifts. One of his interests is in adopting emerging technologies to keep this work sustainable and more useful to conservation and science.
Winged Migration Expo
Saturday, January 31st to Sunday, February 1st
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Napa-Solano Audubon would like to give Special Thanks to the many volunteers who made this year’s Winged Migration Expo a Huge Success! From the exciting Field Trips to the Informative Presentations to the to Historic Ships to the Educational Tabling to the onsite Food Trucks, with many hundreds of participants, this year’s Exposition was the best ever!
Our NSAS Board has Voted to Participate in the
CA Breeding Bird Atlas Project.
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.
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!
American Bittern
NSAS Monthly Field Trip to Las Gallinas WTP Sunday, February 22nd at 8:00 a.m.
with Wendy Cole & Mark Stephenson
The Las Gallinas are the birding community nickname for the treatment ponds and surrounding agricultural fields and tidal marsh at LGVSD’s Wastewater Treatment Reclamation Project. The area includes two wastewater treatment ponds, a freshwater pond with islands for nesting habitat, and several miles of flat levee trails. It attracts thousands of birds, including waterfowl such as ducks and geese; waders such as herons and egrets; Sora, Virginia, Black & Ridgway’s Rails, and Least and American Bitterns; songbirds; as well as varied raptors. This casual walk is on two miles of flat trails.After Las Gallinas we will visit Hamilton Wetlands.
Weekly Field Trips to Napa & Solano County Hotspots
with Andrew Ford are in Full Swing!
Everyone is Welcome to Join In!
Beginner Field Trips to American Canyon Wetlands
with Carol Boykin and Tom Slyker Alternating Sundays, During the Spring
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. Be on the lookout for our upcoming eBlast on trip details and registration timelines.