Who We Are
You have reached the Website for the Central Sierra Audubon Society, which includes both Tuolumne and Calaveras counties. We are a chapter of the National Audubon Society and affiliated with Audubon of California. Central Sierra Audubon supports the mission of the National Audubon Society which is: to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife and their habitats, for the benefit of humanity and the Earth’s biodiversity.
Scholarships
Every year we offer scholarships for eligible students of at least junior standing in college who are pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in Natural or Environmental Sciences. Preference will be given to alumni of a high school in either Calaveras or Tuolumne County, or those who have attended Columbia College.
The scholarship fund for 2025 will be $5,000 total. See the application form here for more details: The Edye Dingman Central Sierra Audubon Scholarship Application Form
Previous Zoom Recordings
- October 16, 2024 “Under the Surface with Bird Bones and Skeletons” by David Lukas: https://youtu.be/tCNCMhnJIFE
- March 20, 2024 “Geology & Birds” by Jeff Tolhurst: https://youtu.be/OmpUO2E7x9A
- Jan. 17, 2024 “Birds of the Mojave” by Alex Harper: https://youtu.be/CLWNrIeaiCY
- March 15, 2023 “Tracking Avian Dispersal with Drone-based Telemetry” by Martha Zillig: https://youtu.be/FZBeFglYla4
- Feb. 15, 2023 “Yellow-billed Magpie Population Status & Ecology in the Sacramento Region” by Dan Airola: https://youtu.be/VMYSwiQvCbs
- Jan. 18, 2023 “Experiences with Bluebird Nest Boxes” by a panel of CSAS Members: https://youtu.be/Z_bhQqeMUzo
- Nov. 16, 2022 “The Ups & Downs of Wildlife Rehabilitation in Challenging Times by Laura Murphy: https://youtu.be/G9JaWPkEMBQ
- Sept. 25, 2022 “Burrowing Owls and Prairie Dogs” by Caitlyn Rich: https://youtu.be/4IHlEgiQ9bk
- May 18, 2022 “Lahontan Cutthroat Trout – a Comeback Story” by Tom Hahn: https://youtu.be/W5fcD_kSgKY
- Apr. 20, 2022 “Neo-tropical Birds that Forage with Swarming Army Ants” by Rich Cimino: https://youtu.be/-6miyw9bgv8
- Mar 16, 2022 “Tracking the Elusive Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep” by Christian John: https://vimeo.com/689468741
- Feb. 16, 2022 “You are What you Eat: Connecting Foraging and Breeding Behavior in Lekking Sage-Grouse” by Eric Tymstra: https://vimeo.com/678562211
- Jan. 19, 2022 “The Foraging Ecology of Migrant Raptors” by Ryan Bourbour: https://vimeo.com/668090120
- Nov. 17, 2021 “Breeding under the Midnight Sun: the Life of Arctic-breeding Songbirds in a Changing World” by Helen Chmura: https://vimeo.com/647516984
- Oct. 20, 2021 “Bird Migration: How, When, and Why” by Joely Desimone: https://vimeo.com/653546144
- Sept. 15, 2021 “Step into the Boots of a Biologist” by Caitlyn Rich: https://vimeo.com/606979824
- May 19, 2021 “Vocal Dialects in Birds” by Tom Hahn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTQBU5cOwk
- Apr. 21, 2021 “Avian Malaria in the Hawaiian Amakihi” by Gabbie Names: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItO6C_9L-m8
- Mar. 17, 2021 “Birds of the Central Sierra Foothills” by Rich Cimino: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHcnQPd-CDY
- Jan. 21, 2021 “The Nature of Yosemite – a Visual Journey” by Robb Hirsch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAxitEZCeZg
A Little Bit of CSAS History
In 1995 the New Melones Reservoir water level rose 182 feet between January and July! Breeding Osprey nests were threatened by these rising waters and so staff at the Bureau of Reclamation collaborated with CSAS President Al Bergeron to create a solution – which they jointly accomplished!
This article from California Outside describes the successful story: https://centralsierraaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Saving-Ospreys-from-Rising-Waters.pdf