The Biggest Week in American Birding - Fall Monthly Speaker Series Returns Thursday, Sept. 11 at 7:00 p.m.
2025-09-11 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Napa Valley Lutheran Church, 1796 Elm St., Napa, CA 94558, 94558
Napa Solano Audubon’s monthly speaker series returns on Thursday, September 11, 7:00 PM, at the Napa Valley Lutheran Church. We hope that you join us to kick off another season on birding adventures with NSAS.
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. This annual Festival draws upwards of 10,000 birders from around the country. 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, birders observed 243 species including 36 North American Warblers.
About the Presenter:
Mark has been the President of our Chapter, Napa-Solano Audubon, for the past 5 years. He began birding in the 4th grade and his birding knowledge expanded dramatically when his family moved to Ithaca, NY where he birded regularly with his mentor, Dr. Arthur Allen, founder of Cornell’s Laboratory of Ornithology and other leading experts from the Lab. During college he worked summers at Sapsucker Wood’s and for the Massachusetts Audubon Society before heading west and directing Environmental Education Programs at Foresta Institute in Washoe Valley, Nevada. After a career of more than 30 years in public education in Benicia and Napa Valley schools, he is enjoying retirement. When Mark’s son, Lucas, caught the “Birding Bug,” Mark turned from his passion for portrait and landscape photography to focus on birds. With Lucas, he has traveled to every corner of California, Arizona, Texas, Ohio, Florida, and Costa Rica observing and photographing birds. This Spring, after previously attending the Biggest Week 8 years ago with Lucas, Mark returned to the festival with his brother Tom and our very own Tom Slyker and took hundreds of photos of Ohio’s migrants and resident birds. He is excited to share his experiences with our community and his friends from Napa-Solano Audubon.

NSAS Presents: Our Native American’s Reverent Relationship with Birds - with Charlie Toledo - March 13th at 7:00 p.m. at the Napa Valley Lutheran Church
2025-03-13 19:00 - 21:00
About the Program: Birds played a significant role in Native American Cultures. Ms. Charlie Toledo will share her knowledge of birds and the role they played in CA native American cultures. Birds were used by every Native American culture for food, medicine, art and ceremony. She will explore the reverent relationship that Native Americans had with these incredible animals.
About the Presenter: Charlie Toledo is of Towa descendent, native to New Mexico. She is the Executive Director of the Suscol Intertribal Council, a community-based organization, since 1992 located in Napa, California. She has extensive experience as public speaker, presenter, and community organizer in regional, statewide, national and international forums. Since 1982 she has worked in alternative healthcare fields, as well as background in mediation for individuals, families, and organizations. She has been an organic gardener since 1978. She has lifelong commitment to social justice and international work on Human Rights and Environmental social justice issues.

Monthly Speaker Program Thursday, September 12th The Albatross of Kaua’i with Hob Osterlund
2024-09-12 19:00 - 21:00
About the Presentation: The Laysan Albatross is a large soaring seabird distinguished by sensational thousand mile flights from the Hawaiian Islands to the Aleutian Islands and the West Coast of the U.S. They breed mainly on islands and atolls in the Hawaiian Archipelago during the northern winter, and spend the non-breeding summer months from July-November in the North Pacific Ocean. Following the loss of hundreds of thousands of breeders early in the 20th century to feather hunters and military development, this species has recently colonized new breeding grounds in the main Hawaiian Islands and Guadalupe Island off the Mexican coast.
About the Presenter: Hob is a Safina Center Fellow and the founder of the Kauaʻi Albatross Network. She lives on Kauai and has helped to protect the Laysan Albatross and preserve their nesting habitat. She can often be found near the Kilauea Lighthouse helping visitors to observe these exciting birds of the sea! Hob Osterlund is the author of “Holy Mōlī: Albatross and Other Ancestors.” In 2018 she produced a documentary called “Kalama’s Journey”, which won a Telly Award. An advanced-practice nurse who spent her career working in acute hospitals on Kauaʻi and Oʻahu, Hob performed a multi-ethnic pidgin-speaking comedy character called Ivy Push RN for national audiences. She now focuses her full time attention on advocacy for birds of Hawai’i, especially the magnificent Laysan Albatross. She is an engaging and entertaining speaker, so don’t miss out on this exciting presentation.
This is a hybrid meeting: In-Person and via Zoom
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89856106538?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 898 5610 6538
Passcode: [REDACTED]
One tap mobile
+16694449171,,89856106538#,,,,*[REDACTED]# US
+16699009128,,89856106538#,,,,*[REDACTED]# US (San Jose)
