Central Valley Bird Club

04/20/2026

Fundraising season is upon us, so please consider making a donation to the Central Valley Bird Club.

As an all-volunteer organization, every dollar contributed goes directly to scholarships, research grants, publications, and symposium activities.

Our active initiatives need your support!
-Birding Camp Scholarships: We offer tuition for up to six young birders to attend summer camps around the country. Many of these young birders have gone on to further studies in bird biology and conservation. Each grant is for $2000 and your contribution can make sure this successful program continues.

-Student Research Scholarships: We offer two scholarships per year to support undergraduate or graduate students working on bird-related projects in the Central Valley. This program helps to train the next generation of researchers and conservationists. These $1500 grants can make a difference for birds and conservation.

-CVBS: This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Central Valley Birding Symposium! With our recent collaboration with UC Davis and the University of the Pacific, student participation has risen, and your generous contribution can help support their attendance.

These efforts are important in keeping us up-to-date and in fulfilling our mission to support the enjoyment, study, and conservation of birds in California’s Central Valley

Please consider a donation. You can earmark it for any of our programs or make a general contribution.

You can donate online at: https://cvbirds.org/donate/
or send a check to:
Central Valley Bird Club
c/o Frances Oliver
1817 Songbird Pl
Lodi, CA 95240

Thanks!
The CVBC Board

03/27/2026

New blog post!

Read about a recent paper in the journal Conservation Biology that makes the case for the importance of journals like our own Central Valley Birds.

Central Valley Birds publishes peer-reviewed articles, notes, and reviews of publications on the avifauna of California's Central Valley.

03/14/2026

Our editor of Central Valley Birds, Dan Airola, also appeared on PBS KVIE to talk about woodpckers in the Central Valley.

How can we protect woodpeckers in the Sacramento region? Dan Airola, a certified wildlife biologist from the Sacramento Audubon Society, joined PBS KVIE for ...

03/14/2026

CVBS presenter, Ed Pandolfino, joined PBS KVIE during their pledge break for a showing of a Nature episode on woodpeckers.

What's that woodpecker? Ed Pandolfino, a birder and ornithologist from the Central Valley Bird Club, stopped by the PBS KVIE studio to share his best tips an...

03/06/2026

Congratulations to Paul Bannick, a keynote speaker at the 2025 Central Valley Birding Symposium! 🎉

His book Woodpecker: A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers has been named a finalist for the 2025 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards (Nature category)!

We loved hosting Paul at our symposium and are thrilled to see his work getting national recognition.

Stay connected for updates on the Central Valley Birding Symposium and future speakers:

🪧 Stay in Touch
👀 www.CVBirds.org

02/27/2026

02/10/2026

WFO is pleased to announce its 2026 Research Grant Program to support student research and internships in the field biology of birds.

The program supports WFO's mission of promoting the study of birds throughout western North America and supports the mission of the WFO Student Programs Committee to help develop the next generation of field ornithologists and sustain a long term bond between young ornithologists and WFO. Four grants of $1,500 will be awarded for the 2026 field season.

The application deadline for 2026 is March 15, 2026:
https://westernfieldornithologists.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/WFO-Research-Grant-App-2026-final.pdf

02/10/2026

01/21/2026

So sad.

The ABA mourns the loss of Ronan Nicholson, the ABA’s 2019 Young Birder of the Year from the 10–13 age group. Ronan’s passion for birding, adventurous spirit, and involvement in the Young Birder Program embodied so much of what makes this community special. The ABA will share a remembrance of Ronan in a future issue of Birding magazine. Our deepest condolences to his family, all who loved him, and the many birders who enjoyed his company.

01/01/2026

Hi Birders,

Tomorrow marks the launch of California’s first statewide Breeding Bird Atlas, a community-powered initiative to document breeding birds across the state and generate the science needed to guide habitat protection, restoration, and long-term conservation planning for decades to come.

This landmark effort is being led by California Bird Atlas (https://www.californiabirdatlas.org/) (CBA), an independent nonprofit, in collaboration with state agencies, thousands of volunteers, and dozens of partner organizations.

All birders are now officially invited to join the project by visiting the new California Bird Atlas eBird website (https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/home). Simply click “Join Project” (or “Log In to Join Project”) and you will automatically be able to contribute checklists to the Atlas project.

The Atlas is fully integrated with the eBird mobile app. If you submit checklists on mobile, this Quick Start Tutorial video (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8Z3kbqiO9rw) provides a brief overview.

If you use the website, you can submit checklists to the Atlas project by clicking Submit (https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/submit) from the CBA eBird site.

Please visit the About (https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/about) page for resources, basic guidance, and everything you need to begin contributing to this statewide initiative.

We encourage all checklists submitted year-round to be entered through the Atlas project, even if they don’t include breeding behavior. While we are still a few months from peak breeding season, you can learn more about species with a history of breeding in January in California by reading this article (https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/news/early-breeders-jan).

We will be growing our team, expanding resources, and continuing to build this grassroots movement in the coming months. As we launch, early donations are especially impactful — supporting training, field tools, and outreach in the first critical months. We’re a nonprofit, and every contribution is tax-deductible and genuinely appreciated. If you have the means, please consider making a gift today to help the Atlas start strong — your support right now truly matters. Donatehere (https://donorbox.org/california-bird-atlas).

With gratitude and excitement for what we’ll build together,

Van Pierszalowski
Executive Director,
California Bird Atlas (CBA)
email: [email protected]
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11/22/2025

Some of the birds seen Central Valley Birding symposium Eastern Stanislaus County field trip today. More trips Saturday and Sunday-come join us!