April 2024

Living With and Learning About Bumblebees

Presenter: John Whittlesey

John will share his photos taken over the last 8 years sharing his property with six species of bumble bees while weaving a discussion of their life history along with anecdotes of “living with bumble bees,” ending the talk with plants to plant if you too would like to invite bumble bees to visit your garden.

March 2024

Ecuador: 488 Species in 10 Days!

Presenter: Ken Sobon

Ecuador is arguably one of the most species-rich countries in the world. As a science teacher, it was Ken Sobon’s lifelong dream to visit the Amazon jungle. Follow his journey from Quito, the historical city on the Equator, to the high-altitude cloud forest, making stops all the way down to the Amazon Basin’s Rio Napo.

February 2024

Valley's Edge Update & Native Habitat Program

Presenters: Jared Geiser & Deb Halfpenny

Jared gives a brief presentation about the Valley’s Edge development proposed for the foothills above Chico, presenting facts about this development and shining a light on the impacts Valley’s Edge would have on bird and other wildlife habitats and the Chico community.

Deb Halfpenny’s presentation will focus on the steps to create a habitat garden in your own yard, as well as the upcoming Water-wise & Habitat-friendly Garden Tour.

AltaCal’s Neighborhood Habitat Certification Program encourages and helps residents create beautiful, water-wise gardens, with the goal of retaining and restoring critical habitat needed for the continued survival of our locally threatened wildlife populations.

November 2023

Members' Slideshow

Presenters: AltaCal Audubon Society

AltaCal Members Slide Show. Join us to see the bird and nature photos that our members have taken and present to us tonight.

October 2023

Northern Pygmy-Owl Family

Presenters: Joan Robins & John Seid

Joan and John will share about their two month experience with a pair of Northern Pygmy Owls this summer. From April until late June, they observed the various stages in the life of a Northern Pygmy Owl family, from courting, to mating, through incubation and hatching, and finally fledging and dispersing into the oak-covered hills.

April 2023

Climate Smart Solutions for Grassland Birds: Conservation Ranching

Presenter: Matt Allshouse,

Audubon California Conservation Ranching Coordinator

Audubon’s Conservation Ranching Program uses an innovative, market-based approach to connect conservation-conscious consumers to ranchers who employ bird-friendly management practices in raising their livestock. The program addresses loss in ecosystem function and health through the conservation of focal bird species and the habitat they depend upon. It incentivizes bird-friendly livestock management practices, emphasizing regenerative grazing approaches that improve soil health, diversify habitat structure, and ensure environmental sustainability that benefits pollinators and other grassland wildlife.

February 2023

Blinded by the Light!

How light pollution affects the behavior, physiology, and ecology of birds.

Presenter: Valentina Alaasam, Ph.D. University of Nevada, Reno

Valentina Alaasam discusses the diverse ways in which light pollution affects our local birds, what this means for the broader ecosystem, and what we (humans) can do about it.

October 2022

Owls Through the Ages

Presenter: Jo Severson

This presentation will take you on a tour around the world, throughout history, to see how owls have been viewed in different cultures and times. You’ll hear inspiring stories of people who are creatively changing negative views of owls.

May 2022

Keeping Utah Wild for Birds, Biodiversity, and the Climate

Presenter: Jenny Holmes

Learn about the important contributions that protecting 8.4 million acres of Utah wildlands will make toward President Biden’s goal of protecting 30 percent of US lands and waters by 2030 to protect biodiversity and the climate with Jenny Holmes, Field Organizer with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). Key areas for birdwatching and migratory birds in or near wild lands will be discussed and we will view the award winning short film Wild Utah! which draws upon diverse voices to tell the story of why Utah’s unique wildlands—places of stunning natural beauty, intact ecosystems and unfathomable cultural significance—are worth protecting!

April 2022

Not Your Average Bird: Yellow-billed Magpie

(or Magpies of the World)

Presenter: Laura Lukes

Magpies are amazing birds! We take a closer look at these clever creatures, first around the globe, and then we focus on the yellow-billed magpie, which is endemic to the Central Valley of California.

March 2022

Birding Pt. Reyes Over the Years

Presenter: Mary Muchowski (Recording by Stanislaus Audubon)

Take a tour of the birding hotspots in Pt. Reyes. This program will highlight many of the past Altacal trips and all the rare migrants and other cool birds that have been seen at Pt. Reyes National Seashore.  Mary will introduce you to the main birding spots with maps and photos and share stories about them all. If you have never joined Altacal on one of these trips, you will want to after watching this presentation!

February 2022

Purple Martins Going, Going, Gone?

Presenter: Dan Airola

Purple Martins have been in long-term decline in California. Dan Airola has been studying and working for over two decades to conserve the last Central Valley population of Purple Martins, which nest in elevated freeways and overpasses in Sacramento. This program will present his study results and describe conservation measures that have been implemented and are needed to protect this species and help it recover.

December 2021

Members' Slideshow

Presenter: AltaCal Audubon Society

Members and friends of Altacal Audubon show off their photos at our annual Members’ Slide Show, a favorite program for many. Participating members include John "JT" Lewis, George Rawley, and Joan Robins. Fantastic photos from all three members! Beautiful birds from the local area, and also from Arizona and Ecuador.

November 2021

Marathon Birding in Alaska

Presenters: Liam Huber, J.T. Lewis

Altacal's November Program features Liam Huber and J.T. Lewis telling stories and showing photos of their adventures in Alaska (June 2021).

October 2021

Approaches to Creating Habitat

Presenter: Carla Resnick

How we think about habitat will inform the ways in which we approach the important work of creating places for our wildlife. We’ll look at examples from nature, and our less-managed lands, for inspiration. We’ll discuss considerations including site, aesthetic desire, budget, and more. We’ll talk about some good online resources that can help with plant selection and planning for home-scale habitat restoration in the northern Sacramento Valley.

September 2021

Birds & Wildflowers of Butte Meadows

Presenter: Joyce Bond

Join Joyce Bond on a trip to Butte Meadows and the surrounding high elevation areas of Butte County. She gives a tour of some of the best places to go birding and searching for wildflowers, and gives a great list (with lots of photos) of the birds and wildflowers they saw on their trip.

May 2021

The Art of Bird

Presenters: Dr. Carol Burr & Dr. Roger Lederer

The human history of depicting birds dates to as many as 40,000 years ago, when Paleolithic artists took to cave walls to capture winged and other beasts. But the art form has reached its peak in the last four hundred years. Carol and Roger will discuss how art has impacted ornithology since the 17th century and how advances in ornithology have changed the way artists have depicted birds.

February 2021

Winter Birds: Neighbors & Visitors

Presenter: John "Mac" McCormick

Mac’s presentation is a program to help refresh the minds of experienced birders, as well as provide a general introduction to those more curious about who’s hopping around in their backyard. During the course of the talk, Mac will include tips on bird identification, feeders, feathers, and a few humorous anecdotes of his almost 50 years of “birding”.

January 2021

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge:

A Million Birds Can't Be Wrong

Presenter: Lora Haller

Visitor Services Program Manager Lora Haller gives the history and an overview of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and stories about the birds that winter there.

December 2020

Members' Slide Show

Presenter: AltaCal Audubon Society

Each December we get to see the bird photos taken by Altacal members! This year we had 8 presenters and saw photos of some really pretty, unique and interesting birds. Most birds were local, but we did have some photographs/paintings of birds from Australia and Kenya!!

November 2020

Northern Saw-Whet Owl Research & Education Program

Presenter: Ken Sobon

Ken Sobon, director of the Northern Saw-whet Owl Research & Education Program will be giving a presentation on what this project entails. You will see the whole process of capturing the owls in mist nets, banding and measuring them, and then releasing them. He will also give information about the project and share data that we have collected over the last 15 years.