A group of curious young naturalists wondered what could fit inside the small entryway of their very own bird boxes they learned to build July 23 under the shade of mature oak trees at McClellan Ranch.
After having gone on a guided birding walk that day, Toby Goldberg, programs coordinator for the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, asked the group of 8- to 12-year-olds what they thought might fit inside.
“Chickadees?” one girl asked. “A titmouse?” a boy suggested.
“Or a White-breasted Nuthatch?” Goldberg also chimed in.
The scene was part of the Audubon Society’s Summer Nature Days program that took place at the end of July for children in grades 2-6.
The outdoor adventure camp–put on by the Audubon Society, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and Shoreline at Mountain View–takes children to Picchetti Ranch in Cupertino, Rengstorff House and Shoreline Lake in Mountain View, and Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve to learn about nature and the open space areas in the area.
Children spent five days exploring the area’s creek trails and wetlands, learning about birds, bugs and conservation.
The summer camp program is just one of many educational programs that the Audubon Society coordinates year-round for novices and experts alike with an affinity for all things avian.
Founded in 1926, the Audubon Society has grown from a small group of people to upward of 3,000 members and volunteers who share the common mission to preserve, protect and educate the community about native birds and their ecosystems in Santa Clara County.
“We just want kids to get outside and want them to get excited about exploring the natural world,” Goldberg said. “We have some really fabulous volunteers that have so much knowledge and expertise that we want to be able to share it with the kids in a way that isn’t just, ‘This is this, and this is that,’ but keeps kids engaged.”
One of the things the organization has found repeatedly is how many students and families say they have never explored the open space areas and had no idea there were so many birds here. According to the Breeding Bird Atlas of Santa Clara County, there are 177 bird species documented in the Santa Clara Valley.
“The Audubon’s goal is to connect people to the natural world, expose them to the wonders of the natural world and hopefully make those emotional connections, and I think we’re succeeding,” Goldberg said.
Programs range from school-based to community-based and are available to everyone. Goldberg said the group has hosted scout troops, college classes, senior groups and ladies with the Red Hat Society.
One of the biggest events for the past 20 years has been the annual Wildlife Education Day Festival, coming up on Oct. 18.
Touted as one of the premier festivals in the Bay Area, the free event draws hundreds of families to Blackberry Farm in Cupertino to celebrate and learn about birds, nature, ecology and wildlife. More than a dozen nature-oriented organizations provide live animal demonstrations, educational presentations, free hands-on activities, an early morning bird walk, nestbox and bird feeder construction, and more.
“That has become probably the largest wildlife festival in the Bay Area,” Audubon Society executive director Stephanie Ellis said. “Over 1,000 people attended last year and over two dozen vendors came.”
In addition to the annual event, every month except July and August the organization has a free speaker series where a variety of bird-related topics are discussed. Families feeling particularly ambitious can sign up for an Adventure Travel trip, where people go to other countries to learn about birds.
For the Khanzode family of Sunnyvale, a favorite activity is the spring Birdathon, where participants form their own teams and count or photograph bird species for four to 24 hours. It is the organization’s biggest fundraising effort and helps keep track of how bird species are doing.
“Birding is always a part of our daily routine: on vacations, at home, in the back yard and even going to school,” 12-year-old Mitali Khanzode said. “It’s really addictive. They’re a very, very important link in our ecosystem.”
Leena Khanzode, Mitali’s mother, added that birding is something that all four of her family members enjoy.
“I feel that it not only brings us together, but it’s so unique,” Khanzode said. “And I feel so fortunate to have all four of us like the same thing and it’s for a good cause. We look at nature through completely different eyes. We all are there to conserve.”
The girls have even taken up the advocacy side of the organization, going to local city council meetings and advocating for bird-safe building.
A year and a half ago, Mountain View’s city council was reviewing Google’s proposal to build on north Bayshore, a known burrowing owl habitat.
“Burrowing owls are actually critically endangered in Santa Clara County and they only live in parts of Florida and in California in the Bay Area, so we thought it was really important to save them because other generations might not be able to see these birds,” Mitali said. “We just love them to death. One my goals for when I’m older is to advocate more for birds, because I love them so much.”
In addition to volunteer advocates, such as the Khanzodes, the organization has a full-time environmental advocate on staff, Shani Kleinhaus, who works year-round to ensure cities and agencies are operating in a way that keeps birds in mind.
Some of the biggest efforts under way have to do with bird-safe building and protecting the burrowing owl population. Just a few of the accomplishments the organization had this past year included halting development of a subdivision along Penitencia Creek, saving riparian nesting habitat for many species and continuing a collaborative effort with Google to ensure its Moffett campus plans have positive environmental outcomes.
“Birds are sentinels for our environment,” Ellis said. “Their populations tell us about–depending on the species–our water quality, our air quality, climate change. The canary in the coal mine is the classic example. Watching their behavior closely is extremely valuable.”
To learn more about the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, visit scvas.org or visit the group’s headquarters and nature shop at 22221 McClellan Road in Cupertino.
