Pasadena Audubon Society

While children look forward to December 25th with great excitement, what gets most birders motivated at that time of year are Christmas Bird Counts. As the year draws to a close, what better way to end it than participating in the Pasadena-SanGabriel Valley CBC?

Newcomers are always welcome on the Pasadena-San Gabriel Valley CBC. If you’re new to birding or to Christmas Counts, this is a great opportunity to learn more about our local birds. We will team you up with more experienced participants, or you can cover an area on your own.

A group of dedicated PAS Audubon Members and Docents from Eaton Canyon Nature Center joined forces at Longfellow Elementary on Friday, October 24th to help celebrate their annual Fall Festival. PAS and ECNCA have participated in this outreach for three years running. This year's theme was Skeletons and Day of the Dead. Many kids and parents were dressed in costume, so it added to the fun atmosphere.

Pasadena Audubon's first photography contest was underway this summer! You can get full details, rules, conditions, right here on our site. Download the Rules and Entry Form here .

Here are the entries and winners!

Grand Prize: Great Blue Heron by Kathy Degner

Winners in the Bird Category:
First Place: Golden Hooded Tanager by Mark Scheel
Honorable Mention: Bird of Prey with Bird Riding on top by Karen Suarez

195 Species for Team Irritable Owl Syndrome
143 Specties for Team Locavores
57 Species for Team Big Sit

This year the proceeds go to the Western Field Ornithologists, to the youth scholarship fund dedicated to the memory of Mike San Miguel, a well-loved PAS member who died doing field work in the San Gabriel Mountains almost five years ago. Scholarship funds help young aspiring ornithologists attend the camps and conferences presented by WFO.

You can donate a fixed amount or an amount per species sighted.

From Laura Garrett, conservation chair:
The 88-acre Mater Dolorosa Monastery is planning to sell 15-20 acres of its property to a developer who plans to build several houses there. This is potential Spotted Owl territory. CA Fish & Wildlife has already been apprised of the situation.

A coalition of Sierra Madre folks, including the Sierra Madre Mountain Conservancy, has begun the work of trying to stop this project. If you are interested in learning more, please visit www.stopmonasteryhousingproject.com.

From Laura Garrett, conservation chair:

Now we wait. On January 21st, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works closed its public comment period on the Draft EIR of their massive sediment removal project.