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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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.
Welcome to Napa Solano Audubon Society!
NSAS’s November Monthly Speaker Series Presents: The Raptor Advantage with Dr. Craig Farquhar – Thursday, November 14, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. at the Napa Valley Lutheran Church
About the Presentation: Learn about ‘the raptor advantage’ with this brief overview of what a ‘raptor’ really is; focusing on the main anatomical and physiological adaptations that are featured in these birds which are products of millions of years of evolution honing virtually every body part to a lifestyle that depends on being able to capture prey that would rather not be devoured. The meeting will be available through Zoom. The meeting link, when available, will be provided here.
About the Presenter: Presenter: Dr. Craig Farquhar is a conservation biologist, raptor ecologist, and illustrator, formerly with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Austin, Texas (retired 2018), currently teaching Raptor Ecology and Ecology of Rarity at Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. He received a PhD in Raptor Ecology and Wildlife Biology at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, later a Frank M. Chapman postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History, New York studying raptors in South America. He, along with co-author, Dr. Clint Boal published Raptors of Texas, in 2022.
Field Trip Announcements: Beware our Field Trip eBlasts may end up in your Spam Folder!
Weekly Bird Walks with Andrew Ford – Saturday, November 9, to Lynch Canyon Open Space
This Saturday, November 9, 2024, we will be exploring the arroyos, hills and canyons of Lynch Canyon. This is a specialty raptor spot in the winter and winter resident birds make their homes in the brush and riparian zones.The many micro-habitats and grasslands that make up this area allow for a unique blend of bird species. Many interesting birds have been reported in the area in the past. We are likely to find Red-Tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, White-Tailed Kite, Golden Eagle, Fox Sparrow, White- and Golden-Crowned Sparrow, Chestnut-Backed Chickadee and possibly waterfowl, terns and other passerines around the cattle pond. Uncommon birds in the area include Bald Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, Rough-Legged Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Prairie Falcon, Rufous-Crowned Sparrow, Golden-Crowned Kinglet and Northern Harrier. Burrowing Owl and Rock Wren have been seen in the rip-rap piles near the pond on occasion. Lynch Canyon is a raptor hotspot visited by many birders every year.
Where: Lynch Canyon Open Space, 3100 Lynch Canyon Rd., Fairfield, CA
Date: 11/9/2024
Start Time: 800 am
Approximate End Time: 1200
Beginner’s Bird Walk – Sunday, November 10 at 9:00 a.m. – American Canyon Wetlands – with Carol Boykin, Karina Garcia and Tom Slyker
Join us for our next Beginner’s Bird walk at American Canyon Wetlands on Sunday, November 10 at 9:00 a.m.! It is migration season and anyone who has joined our walks before knows that the wetlands are a great place to be during this exciting time! 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 Walk this Sunday, November 10 at 9:00 a.m. at the American Canyon Wetlands Edge Park. No reservations are necessary, just plan to show up and enjoy being outdoors for a little while. Can’t make this trip? Not a problem as we plan on holding more Beginners Bird Walks throughout the Fall and next Spring. 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. For more information see this activity on our calendar. If you have questions about this outing, please e-mail Tom Slyker at .
Monthly Field Trips: Klamath Falls Oregon, Saturday/Sunday November 16th/17th
The Trip: We are returning to Klamath Falls, Oregon for this year’s November Field Trip. This area of Southern Oregon is known as a stopover for migrating waterfowl visiting the Upper and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges as well as locations along the Klamath River. From Mallard, Shoveler, and Pintail to Canvasback, Scaup, Redhead and even Barrow’s Goldeneye. We will also visit forested areas where we hope to see species like Mountain Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Townsend’s Solitaire and Varied Thrush, and Open Grassland and Cliff Face habitats where we may see Canyon Wrens, and a chance for a variety of raptors from Prairie and Peregrine Falcons, to Rough-legged and Ferruginous Hawks, to Bald and Golden Eagles.
Where: 7:00 AM, Saturday Nov. 16, 2024 Nibbley’s Café, 2424 Washburn Way, Klamath Falls, OR. (Our leader will make reservations for us for breakfast. We will go over the schedule for the days. If you plan to join us for breakfast, please let me know so he can make an accurate count.)
Leader: Kevin Spencer
Days Schedule: We will meet at Nibbley’s to review the places to visit. Some places we may visit are: Moore Park, Running Y Ranch, Lake Ewauna and Link River Trail, and Wood River Wetlands and Wood River Day Use Area. We will spend half of Sunday with Kevin on East Butte Valley Rd., viewing raptors.
Lodging: There are numerous places to stay in Klamath Falls. I am not recommending any place, but these three are relatively close to Nibbley’s Café and have breakfast included, if you wish to not eat at Nibbley’s on Saturday: Comfort Inn & Suites Klamath Falls, 2500 S. 6th St., Klamath Falls; Holiday Inn Express & Suites Klamath an IHG Hotel, 2430 S. 6th St., Klamath Falls; Best Western Plus Olympic Inn, 2627 S. 6th St., Klamath Falls.
Ridesharing: For those wishing to rideshare I will send out a list of participants with contact information. (Let me know if you don’t want your information to be shared.)
What to Bring: The weather may be cold (possible freezing temperatures in the morning) so please be prepared to layer as the afternoon may warm to comfortable, binoculars, spotting scope (if you have one), Lunch for Saturday, water (or whatever you wish to drink), snacks.
New Registration Process Sign-up Forms:
Our new Registration Forms will be sent out on Saturday, October 19 at 9:00 a.m. Be on the lookout for this registration email and be one of the first to sign up so that you may have a spot on the trip. We hope this new process will make our field trips accessible to more of our members! This trip is limited to 20 participants. Once the trip has filled, others will be placed on a waitlist. If you don’t see the registration form in your in box, don’t forget to look in your spam/junk folder.
Act Now! Funding to Maintain the Farallon Islands’ National Wildlife Refuge Research is at Risk!
Greetings Napa Solano Audubon Members, Family and Friends: We are extremely concerned to learn that the year-long funding for critical scientific research on the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is expected to be significantly reduced by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department budget cuts in 2025. The Farallon Islands are an incredibly rich ecosystem for Sea Birds and Marine Mammals and a critical habitat for their breeding and survival. The research and data collection, that has been ongoing for more than 50 years by Point Blue Conservation Science, has been instrumental in a number of crucial legislative policies and habitat interventions that have helped preserve this ecosystem and its wildlife. As a result, we are providing you with a Letter of Support Template. We encourage you to customize it to your liking, sign and email it to all of the key Congressional Representatives and associated Department Leaders listed in our Fall Digital newsletter. The rationale for these particular recipients, is to encourage Congress to support the USFWS and National Wildlife Refuge System at appropriate levels to achieve the Refuge System’s Mission.
To get a Template Letter as well as eMail Addresses of the Congressional Representatives and Department Leaders to Lobby for continued funding for the Farallons Research, download our Fall Digital Newsletter by clicking on the Newsletter Button at the top of this page
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.