On Friday, January 7th, Jeff Bleam led our first field trip of 2022, visiting Diamond Creek Pond. Below are his field trip report and several photos he submitted from his checklist.

Come join our LAS volunteers for an informational talk at Galena Creek Visitor Center. This talk starts at 10am and will be covering the waterfowl of Northern Nevada, including ducks, geese and swans. The events is free and open to the public. We hope to see you at Galena Creek!
 
To see a full schedule of upcoming Galena Creek Visitor Center, click here. ​

Did you know that Pinyon Jay populations have declined 80% since the 1960s? Here is your opportunity to help scientist understand why this species is in decline and how we can help to conserve them. ​Lahontan Audubon Society is partnering with the Great Basin Bird Observatory (GBBO) to recruit community scientists to conduct Pinyon Jay surveys. No experience is necessary and birders of all levels are welcome. This is a great opportunity to learn about a local species and support conservation efforts. We are finalizing dates for training, so send us an email if you are interested in participating or fill out the volunteer interest form (Pinyon Jay Surveys are under the Conservation Committee). Please include any questions you would like addressed in a training and we will work to incorporate them.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded a grant to the National Audubon Society (NAS) for its Saline Lakes Program on a project aimed at conserving shorebirds and their important habitat within the Lahontan Valley.  NAS, Lahontan Audubon, along with Manomet, will work closely with the Nevada Department of Wildlife and US Fish & Wildlife Service to identify habitat needs for 11 priority shorebird species;  examine the habitat management units at Carson Lake and Stillwater in order to identify impediments to and opportunities for improving shorebird management; and improve capacity for monitoring shorebird populations.
 
The Lahontan Audubon Society is focused on improving the capacity for monitoring shorebird populations.  Dr. Alan Gubanich and Mike Goddard are recruiting community science volunteers to monitor shorebird populations. We successfully conducted surveys during the fall migration and will be holding a training for new volunteers for spring surveys. The shorebird identification training program will focus on 22 species, along with some of the rare or uncommon shorebird species we might have the opportunity to see in the field. We will host two classroom sessions and two field trips to the wetlands as part of the program.  We will teach volunteers techniques for navigating to a point, conducting a point count, and accurately recording data. We can provide spotting scopes, binoculars, field guides and GPS units.

So, if you want to learn shorebirds, hang out with cool biologists, or just tramp around in the mud, send us an email and join us for our adventures in the marsh. We are finalizing dates for our spring training and will post them once they are officially scheduled.

We are looking for volunteers to help us staff a table at the Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience (YWCE). We will have a demonstration table with taxidermy mounts, museum skins, wings, and binoculars for kids to participate in an "Identify the Bird" exercise. There will be hundreds of school children in attendance on Thursday and Friday and the general public is invited on Saturday. This is a great opportunity to share your love of birds with the next generation. Volunteers will be provided lunch and training on educational activities. If you would like to participate, please email education@nevadaaudubon.org with the dates and times that you are available. We are trying to fill the following time slots:

• 1/13 12:30-2:30 (plus set up in the am)
• 1/14 12:30-2:30
• 1/15 10:00-4:00​

For more details about the event see the flyer below:
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