Sponsors
A big thank you to our sponsors:
California
State Parks
Mountain Parks
Foundation
Preserving
the legacy of our Redwood forests
Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Related Links
Santa Cruz Bird Club
The
Santa Cruz Bird Club was founded in 1956
Ohlone
Audubon Society
A
chapter of the National Audubon Society serving Southern Alameda County,
CA
Sequoia
Audubon Society
Your
local Audubon chapter for San Mateo County, California
Santa
Clara Valley
Audubon Society
Connecting people with nature
Wild
Bird Center
of Los Gatos
792 Blossom Hill Rd
Los Gatos, CA 95032
(408) 358-9453
Wild
Bird Center
of Monterey
910 Del Monte Center
Monterey, CA 93940
(831) 373-1000
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Big
Basin Redwoods State Park invites those who love birds and
butterflies to the 8th Annual Wings Over the Basin May 14 - 16, 2010.
Experience
the park's varied birdlife at the height of the nesting season on
field trips, guided bird and butterfly walks,
and at an evening campfire presentation.
All
Wings Over the Basin events are free and you are welcome to attend
any or all of the activities. Come and enjoy late spring in the
Santa Cruz Mountains!
A
special group campsite will be specially reserved for this event. We
are asking participants to donate $20 per person (or more, if you
feel generous) to Mountain Parks Foundation to help defray the
weekend expenses. Click here
for more information on reserving a spot in the group campsite.
Space in the group campsite is limited, so reserve early!
To
reserve
an individual campsite at Big Basin Redwoods State Park go to ReserveAmerica.com. The day use/parking fee is
$10.00 per
car.
Wings Over the Basin 2010
Event Schedule
Friday,
May 14, 2010
7:15
PM to 10 PM - Owls of the Redwood Forest
Join Jan Hintermeister on a 2 mile hike to learn about the rarely seen but
sometimes heard owls at Big Basin. Experience the nocturnal world of
owls while listening for our local species. Whooooo knows, maybe
we'll get lucky and hear one! Be prepared to stand quietly and
patiently in cold weather. Dress in layers of quiet clothing, wear sturdy
hiking shoes, bring a flashlight and bincoculars (if you have them).
Meet under the flagpole at Park Headquarters.
Saturday
May 15, 2010
9:45 AM to 11:15 AM Birds of the Redwood Forest
On this
1-1/2 mile walk with Karen DeMello you will learn about common birds of
the redwood forest and listen to the tales of history and lore of one very
special bird: the Marbled Murrelet. We will follow the path of its
remarkable nest discovery right here in the center of Big Basin.
Meet at Park HQ. Binoculars recommended (not required).
12:45
to 3:45 PM - Butterflies at the Edge of Big Basin
This is
a unique opportunity to explore a different part of Big Basin Redwoods
State Park. On this 2 mile walk Paul Johnson will point out the
lovely lepidoptera and search for an assortment of butterfly species.
Bring water, snacks and binoculars (if you have them). Note there are no
restrooms (but plenty of trees!). Meet at the intersection of upper Hwy
236 and China Grade Road; park along Hwy 236 near the intersection (make
sure your parking or camping permit is visible in the dashboard;
carpooling is encouraged). Plan to leave HQ a little before
12:30 PM as the curvy 3.7 mile drive is slow and takes time.
5:00
PM - Potluck Dinner for Birders and Butterfliers
This
food-fest is an eagerly awaited tradition! Bring a dish to share.
Meet at Old Lodge across from the parking lot from the store and museum.
7:00 PM - "Magnificent Raptors" Campfire Program
Join us for an introduction to our local birds of prey, presented by
Native Bird Connections. Learn more about how raptors, or birds of
prey, fit into Big Basin 's ecology and why they are important in a
balanced environment. Special guest raptors will give you a glimpse
of the true meaning of what it means to be a bird of prey. Meet at
the Campfire Center near Park Headquarters. Afterwards, enjoy marshmallows
and music.
Sunday
May 16, 2010
5:15 AM - Dawn Marbled Murrelet Survey
Join
Matthew Strusis-Timmer in listening and looking for this remarkable bird
as it circles over the old growth forest nesting area before heading out
to sea. Learn why this robin-sized seabird is so special to Big Basin .
Feel free to bring a folding chair or blankets to be comfy.
Meet at Park
Headquarters at 5:15 AM sharp. (1-1/4 hours)
7:00
AM - Birding by Ear with Todd Newberry
Such tall
trees, such deep shadows! But you hear the birds you can't see. We will
learn how to listen, and we will try to learn a half-dozen kinds of birds
out of the many we will hear. And we will try to make sense of what these
birds are up to when they sing or -- not the same -- when they call. Meet
at Park Headquarters. Bring binoculars if you have them. (2 miles, 3
hours)
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Leaders
 Jan Hintermeister,
a
Silicon Valley engineer and resident of Santa Clara, has been an
avid birder for over 20 years. He has banded hawks with the Golden
Gate Raptor Observatory, has monitored Great Blue Heron colonies and
served on the board of directors of the San Francisco Bay Bird
Observatory, and is currently a docent for Mid-peninsula Regional
Open Space District.
 Paul Johnson
has
been interested in butterflies for as long as he can remember. He is
the Wildlife Biologist at Pinnacles National Monument where he
conducted a butterfly and moth inventory and published a butterfly
checklist. He has been running the annual Pinnacles Butterfly Count
for ten years, and participates in nearly a dozen
butterfly counts in California each year.
Native Bird Connections
is a non-profit group who
works with live wild birds while sharing educational messages with
groups of all ages. Native Bird Connections maintains a daily
commitment to three goals:
Respect: For animals and people, accepting
them for who they are, not who we wish them to be.
Responsibility: We are obligated to walk our talk and accept
personal responsibility as well as responsibility for the lives of
our wild partners.
Reverence: We are thankful for the people and animals that influence
our ability to continue providing unparalleled nature experiences.
 Matthew
Strusis-Timmer is a
wildlife biologist whose interests generally lie within conservation
biology and ecology. He earned his Master's degree Biology at San
Jose State University by studying the habitat associations and nest
survival of Yellow Warblers on the central coast of California.
He also assisted in ornithological research at Grand Valley State
University (in Michigan) on the breeding biology and energetics of
Tree Swallows and has been trained and certified to conduct Marbled
Murrelet dawn surveys. Matthew enjoys natural history
interpretation and worked three years as a Naturalist at a nearby
residential Outdoor Education school in Scotts Valley and
volunteered for many different organizations and events over the
years. Examples include: Quail Hollow Nest Box Project,
Monterey Bay Birding Festival, the Santa Cruz County Forest Bird
Monitoring Study, and Audubon Christmas Bird Counts. He is
also currently the Conservation Officer of the Santa Cruz Bird Club.
 Todd
Newberry, UCSC
professor emeritus of biology, is author, with the artist Gene
Holtan, of THE ARDENT BIRDER. As a
biologist, he studies how its intimate environment helps mold the
form of a growing organism like a tree or a coral. Alas, he has few
answers to this puzzle or, for that matter, to most other tough
questions about life. Perhaps to balance these quandaries, he
has been a lifelong, ardent birder.
 Karen
DeMello is
the docent at Big Basin Redwoods State Park who suggested having a
bird weekend in 2002 as part of Big Basin's Centennial Celebration.
Never did she imagine this bird weekend would become such an eagerly
awaited almost-annual event! She thanks the hardworking organizers,
presenters, and participants for making this weekend happen.
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