Redwood Region Ornithological Society was organized in 1962 to encourage the study and conservation of birds, other wildlife, and their natural habitat. 

RROS Officers

Beatrice ‘BJ’ Blanchard Anne O’Donnell Annette Roth Malcolm Blanchard
President Vice President Secretary Treasurer

RROS Committee Chairs

Alan Wight

Keeper: Sonoma County Bird List

Contact us: RROSinformation@gmail.com

Young Ancient Murrelets

RROS’s Youth Adventure

It all started when…

A few years ago, I received a request from an adult student at Petaluma Adult School to allow her 14-year-old daughter to join the class. This is how I met mother and daughter Beverly and Danielle Dube. All the other class members and I fell in love with 14-year-old Danielle immediately. Her love of birds and her expressive drawings of birds impressed us all.

This inspired me to start a birding club for youth. So, I went on a search for young people with birding interests. It didn’t take me long to find Mario Balitbit, birding with his dad and Rob O’Donnell at Bodega Bay. I ran the idea by him, and I couldn’t get a more enthusiastic response. Bill Doyle recommended Luke Campbell, who regularly came to RROS field trips, notebook in hand, writing down all observations with his grandfather, Glenn.

So, on September, 2014, we had our first youth group birding field trip at the Laguna de Santa Rosa Trail. I was a member of the Point Blue Bird-a-thon Committee at the time. I decided that Point Blue needed more youth teams and I invited Mike Parmeter to co-lead this youth team. I wanted to connect the birding generations. I also drafted Nicole Bardon to help out as she does a fantastic job through the environmental education program at Pepperwood Preserve.

We did our first Bird-a-thon as the Sonoma County Youth Team on October 25, 2014. We had 3 youths – Mario, Luke and Danielle and several adults. We had a blast that day. We saw 121 species, and raised about $500 for Point Blue Conservation Science. We were all beaming at the end of the day. One of the highlights of the day was finding Gabriel Tarantino on Bodega Head, birding with his family friend Scott Sorby. The instant we met, I wanted to just throw Gabe in the car and have him join us the rest of the day. I got his contact information instead.

On our next field trip, we added Will Anderson (recommended by Sonoma County naturalist Dave Barry) to the group. We went to Bodega Bay. While we were on Bodega Head, we all observed Ancient Murrelets. It was a life bird for all of the youth members. As we were having lunch that day, we brainstormed different names to call ourselves. Names like "Sonoma County Youth Birders" and "Passerine Penetrators" were tossed around. Then, we all settled on "Young Ancient Murrelets". It was perfect. And "YAMS" was born.

Not long after, we added Lucas Stephenson. I met Mark (Lucas’ dad) and Lucas at Ellis Creek one day while I was teaching an adult birding class. Lucas was timid at first, but curiosity overpowered his shyness and he was soon asking dozens of questions about birds, and he just had to be invited into the group.

Since then, we have added Morganna, Beatrice, Aiden, Junco, and our newest members Nolan and Clayton.

Of course, the downside of forming a youth group is that youth don’t stay "youth" forever. It’s hard to let go of YAMS members as they grow out of our group. But I am so proud of each one of them. Stay tuned in the future to meet our YAMS individually.

Lisa Hug
YAMS Coordinator

What Have the YAMS Been up to?

YAMs Trip to Ellis Creek

On a late March visit to Ellis Creek, a modest group of YAMs members met in the parking lot, welcomed by the darting Tree Swallows and incessant blackbird song. After picking up some Bushtits, Western Bluebirds, and Canada Geese, we began the walk around the ponds, first checking the eucalyptus trees for previously seen White-tailed Kites. The shallow, seasonal pond was filled with Long-billed Dowitchers preening and Green-winged Teals dabbling about the reeds.

We then took the perimeter trail around the main ponds, getting fantastic views of an American Bittern, hunched over its perch in the dried reeds, as well as a Say’s Phoebe, Common Yellowthroat, and silvery male Northern Harrier. As we neared the far line of eucalyptus trees, activity from the rookery caught our attention. We watched for several minutes as Great Blue Herons and Double-crested Cormorants awkwardly navigated the tight spaces between branches, nests, and birds. Our attention on the rookery was drawn away by the spotting of two Swainson’s Hawks, lazily circling over the fields accompanied by a vulture. Looping back around, we stopped to watch the Tree Swallow and Western Bluebird activity around some nestboxes.

We had just enough time to head over to Shollenberger and walk the levee out front of Point Blue. After scanning through the more distant pan of gulls and shorebirds, among them Black-bellied Plovers, Western Gulls, and Long-billed Curlews, we lucked out and saw the fascinating mating dance of an American Avocet pair. We then ate lunch in front of the Point Blue offices and looked over our checklists. We had a total of 8 breeding confirmations, a satisfying end to our morning!

-Aubrey Parnay, YAMs Field Columnist

Upcoming YAMs Events

Saturday, August 29 - Shorebirds and waterfowl along Highway 37

Meet at 2:30 pm at the Caltrans Park and Ride on Lakeville in Petaluma. We will return to the Park and Ride lot around 8:30 pm.

Saturday, September 19– Spring Lake RROS potluck and birdathon

Meet at Spring Lake at 2:00 pm. Details to be provided via email next month.

Saturday September 26 - Trip to Outer Point Reyes

Meet at 7:30 am at the Caltrans Park and Ride on Lakeville Highway. Full day trip, returning around 3:30 pm.

Saturday October 10 - POINT BLUE RICH STALLCUP BIRD-a-THON – (meet at Sebastopol Community Center at 6:45am) This is a long day where we bird at multiple locations, going from dawn to dusk. Afterwards we will gather at Mountain Mike’s Pizza in Petaluma where we tally our species counts and reminisce about the day. It is a fundraiser for Point Blue Conservation Science https://www.pointblue.org/engage-with-us/events/

Saturday October 31, (Palomarin banding station and Bolinas Lagoon/Pine Gulch afterwards)

Meet at Lakeville Park and Ride at 7:30 am. We will bird in costume on Halloween. Come dressed in your favorite bird outfit (or not). This a full day and we will return to Petaluma around 3:30 pm so be sure to bring layers, lunch, and water.

Saturday, November 21 – Ellis Creek Water Recycling Facility -Meet in the Ellis Creek Parking Lot at 8:30am for an easy walk around the ponds.  If there is time and interest, we may also visit Shollenberger Park.  Half-day field trip ending at 12:30pm.  Be sure to bring lunch as we will go over our trip list at lunch.   https://cityofpetaluma.org/elliscreek/

Saturday, December 5-Bodega Bay with Dan Singer

Meet at Porto Bodega parking lot at 8:30 am. This is a half day trip and we will return to the Porto Bodega lot at 1pm.

Sunday, December 20 – Santa Rosa Christmas Bird Count YAMS Our territory includes the Laguna Santa Rosa and the Water Treatment Plant on Llano Road and includes farm and ranch lands west of Santa Rosa, and mostly south of Sebastopol.  All present and former YAMS are welcome to participate in the YAMS Santa Rosa CBC. We will meet at the Valero gas station on Highway 116 between Sebastopol and Cotati early in the morning. 

This is an all-day event with optional CBC pizza dinner in the evening to go over every group’s highlights.

Join the YAMs: Young Ancient Murrelets

for members AGES 8-18 YEARS OLD

RROS HATS FOR PURCHASE BY DONATION

Just in time for the new season ahead, we’ve got a crop of brand new RROS hats! Sourced from Stockton-based company Dorfman Pacific, these six-panel hats provide a comfortable worn-in fit right from the start, yet will withstand the rigors of nature outings for years to come. These hats feature a size-adjusting strap.

Available in an array of colors (from the left) – navy, teal, olive, khaki, and putty. The hardest part will be picking just one !!

Hats will be available for purchase in person at our monthly meetings September through May or by mail-order now.

A donation to RROS of $25 or more entitles you to one cap

If you’re interested in an RROS cap, please email: lindavallee@comcast.net