Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary

Richardson Bay Audubon Center will be closed tomorrow in observance of Juneteenth. You can learn more about Juneteenth and celebrate at the Marin City Juneteenth Festival! https://juneteenthcommunityfestival.info/

Many thanks to the Rotary Clubs of Tiburon for coming out to help us with some gardening work at the Center!

Our native pipevine plants are supporting the growth of one of our native insect species, the swallowtail butterfly! Check out this caterpillar spotted at the center! Learn more about growing Dutchman's Pipe for your own butterfly garden here: https://calscape.org/Aristolochia-californica-(Dutchmans-Pi

It turns out that terns like it out on Aramburu Island! This group has been seen hanging out here for a few weeks now :)

Happy Earth Day! We hope you can get outside and help the earth today or this weekend. Please also consider donating to help us fight for birds and the planet year round!

Center staff will be closely monitoring Richardson Bay over the coming days for any waterbirds that may have been impacted by this oil spill.

How many of these duckies can you ID?

Stormy mornings are beautiful too!

Great news from our fellow bird allies down in SoCal! Shovels have finally hit the ground at the Salton Sea. The groundbreaking Species Conservation Project will create 4,000 acres of habitat for birds and suppress dangerous dust that threatens the health of 650,000 regional residents. The Salton Sea is California’s largest lake and one of the biggest migratory bird stopovers along the Pacific Flyway. The project will construct wetlands that support fish and a variety of wa...terbirds like the American White Pelican. Threatened by contaminated runoff and reduced inflow, the Salton Sea is degrading rapidly, exposing airborne dust from the dry lakebed that endangers the health of the 650,000 residents who live in the region. The project will reduce exposed playa and health hazards posed by the dust across 30,000 acres. We applaud Governor Newsom's administration and recognize the local leadership of Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia. This investment will expand access to outdoor spaces and lead the way to economic recovery after this devastating pandemic. This is a vital demonstration of state commitment to both people and wildlife at the Salton Sea. The Species Conservation Project is led by the California Salton Sea Management Program.

Thank you to one of our lovely community members (and to Mojo the dog) for sharing this footage of a herring run out on Richardson Bay near Belvedere! The waterbirds migrating through love stopping at Richardson Bay for a feast of herring!

Fall migration season is here! That means the Richardson Bay Sanctuary is now closed to all watercraft to protect rafting water birds. More details below:

In this class we will combine two critical elements, a functional understanding of bird structure, and key principles of foreshortening. Be sure to print out and fold the paper bird models before the class. They will help you see, understand, and draw flying birds and help solve key points of confusion. Here is the worksheet for today’s class: https://richardsonbay.audubon.org//birds-in-flight-paper-m

This Saturday is Coastal Cleanup Day! This year, beach cleanups start at our own front doors. Trash can travel through storm drains, creeks, and rivers to become beach pollution. Let’s help clean the beach by cleaning up in our own neighborhoods and local natural areas. Host your own neighborhood cleanup and share your photos using #coastalcleanupday ... Learn more below: https://youtu.be/Ji3YxqLXrus https://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/ccd/guidance.pdf

Say goodbye to static side views and draw birds every which way they land. A few basic visualization techniques will help you see the pose in the field and capture it on paper. In honor of Latinx Heritage Month, we will be drawing from birds found in Central and South America.

In honor of California’s Biodiversity Week, Audubon CA is putting on two free webinars! HOTSPOT: Flyover of California’s Birds and Biodiversity Tuesday, September 8, 2020 12-1 PST https://audubon.zoom.us//register/WN_Se1U99suQqmz_wPxgHpZYw... Discover some of the places that make California a biodiversity hotspot, with 450 species of birds. Experience a flyover of the four main landscapes Audubon works in: deserts, coast, central valley, and urban rivers. We will reveal why we’ve chosen these landscapes as keys to protecting bird biodiversity in the golden state. Speakers include Andrea Jones, Tania Romero, Matt Allshouse, Haymar Lim, Sandy DeSimone ________________________________________ Intersectionality of Nature Access, Equity, and Biodiversity Thursday, September 10, 2020 12-1 PST https://audubon.zoom.us//register/WN_XzsR9MTSTKOVHptg_vvoyg Where is Audubon intertwining environmental equity, nature access, and biodiversity? Join an engaging discussion with leading staff at the Salton Sea, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fresno, and the Central Valley, to hear how these intersectional issues are critical for protecting our communities and conserving birds across California. Speakers include Mika Perron, Pedro Hernández, Casey Arndt and Frank Ruiz

We are thrilled to announce our second series of bird drawing classes with artist John Muir Laws! This time, we will be exploring new techniques to add on to the fundamentals we explored in our last series. Classes will take place over ZOOM Webinars and Facebook Live at 12 PM 1:30 PM (PST) on every other Tuesday in September. (Sept 1, 15, 29) Register Here: https://audubon.zoom.us//register/WN_DEwzA3hoR860ZTAg1U_paw... Or watch live here: https://www.facebook.com/audubonca

Nuestros amigos Point Blue Conservation Science daran un tour virtual en Facebook Live de la estación de Palomarin! Este viernes de 8:30 am a 9:15 am hora del Pacífico.

This week we got a bit messy pulling buoys from around Richardson Bay! These buoys are normally deployed during our waterbird sanctuary closures. Recreating on Richardson Bay in a personal watercraft is safe for birds outside of the major migration period, typically October - March. By limiting our use of watercrafts in the bay to months outside of the migration season we can effectively coexist with our feathered friends! The buoys will be back on October 1st! #coexist #audubon #conservation #richardsonbay

Join us in celebrating Latino Conservation Week with a panel exploring the diversity of the LatinX outdoors experience, co-hosted by Latino Outdoors.

This week is Latino Conservation Week! In celebration, we are partnering with Latino Outdoors to host a panel discussion recognizing the ways members of our LatinX communities engage with the outdoors and the field of conservation. Our panelists represent a wide array of voices including outdoor educators, organizers and conservationists. All are welcome to join us in embracing and celebrating diversity in the outdoors. Tune in on Thursday, July 23rd from 2 3 PM PST via Zoom and Facebook Live (Audubon CA Page). https://audubon.zoom.us//register/WN_mc7g4Da4SBKeQekbXliICw

Did you know much of California's landscape is fire adapted? Indeed, many native species actually benefit from the use of controlled fire when managing open spaces. Together with Cal Fire, staff at Audubon CA's Bobcat Ranch used prescribed fire to enrich biodiversity and mitigate wildfire risks for the ranch and its neighbors this year.