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Christmas Bird Count in Los Angeles at Limekiln Canyon

The Christmas Bird Count has been an annual tradition for the past 115 years, since 1900, taking place of the annual “side hunt” that men would go on each year to hunt as many birds as possible. This is my third year participating in the event, last year I counted with Dan Cooper at Ballona Wetlands, and the year prior at Sepulveda Basin with Kris Ohlenkamp. This year I counted at Limekiln Canyon Park with Rose Leibowitz, President of the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society and three other participants.

Christmas Bird Counts are are officially organized through the National Audubon Society and conducted by local chapters or groups that have signed up.

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Written by: Jeff Mann

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Education, Featured, Guides, Main Feed

Duck Feeding PSA

No bread, of any kind, has any nutritional value for ducks. By feeding them bread, it fills their stomachs while providing no nutrients. It’s essentially the equivalent of humans eating cotton balls, or grass. This also goes for such snacks as tortilla chips, regular chips, pretzels, cheesies etc. The oil, salt, and/or flavoring on any human snack is no good for ducks. This is especially important for the wee ones during the breeding season, while they’re growing.

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Written by: Andrea Mott

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Entertainment, Featured, Main Feed

Abandoned Giant Chicken Church in Indonesia

I stumbled upon this video of a giant chicken church in located deep in the forest of Central Java island in Indonesia.

The building was originally built as a prayer house by 67-year-old Daniel Alamsjah after he received a divine message from God. Although he intended the building to resemble a dove, the locals care more that it looks like a chicken, nicknaming it “Chicken Church.”

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Written by: Jeff Mann

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christmas bird count

Education, Featured, Main Feed, Science

Did you know there is a bird census every year?

For the past 116 years the Audubon has organized the annual Christmas Bird Count where groups all over the country gather between December 14th and January 5th to count birds in a particular area.

Like many people do on bird outings, the number of species spotted and how many of each species is recorded and submitted to eBird to help scientists monitor population fluctuations and migration patterns. The Christmas Bird Count bird census was started to replace the tradition of the “side hunt” where men would go out and hunt as many birds in a day as possible.

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Written by: Jeff Mann

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Falconry, Featured, Main Feed, News

Los Angeles Bird Fest 2015 Attracts Bird Lovers from All Over

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the second annual Los Angeles Bird Fest. The free event was put on by the Western National Parks Association with participation by the National Audubon Society, International Bird Rescue, Heal the Bay, California Wildlife Center, and other vendors and organizations. The event kicked off at 9AM with bird walks being led by San Fernando Valley Audubon volunteers.

The first bird walk of the morning was led in two different groups that explored around the nearby King Gillette Ranch.

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Written by: Jeff Mann

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pigeon profile

Education, Entertainment, Featured, Main Feed

5 Things You Might Not Know About Pigeons

Pigeons are some of our most common urban neighbors, and much like humans, they are frequently seen where there’s a possibility of free food. But despite sharing our space with them on a regular basis, people still have plenty of misconceptions about our feathery friends. Here are five things you might not know about pigeons.

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Written by: Chelsea McClellan

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New eBird Update Brings Photos and Audio to Checklists

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and eBird have been hard at work bringing improvements to the online bird checklist site, eBird. Their latest update on November 3rd brings the ability to attach photos and audio clips to bird checklists. This rich media becomes a part of the Macaulay Library, which acts an a permanent archive for eBird data.

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Written by: Jeff Mann

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