National Audubon’s Action Center has launched its 2024 “I Bird, I Vote” campaign to encourage nonpartisan voter education prior to the November elections.

“In addition to the much-talked-about federal races, there are state and local elections this year that will have an impact on what happens next; on the future of our communities, habitats, and the birds we love,” says the Audubon website.

Make a pledge to vote in this November’s elections to make a difference nationally and locally.

Click here to view or download Chapparal Naturalist Fall2024

Photo by Carol Coy.
Rehabilitation manager Kristine Koh cradles a rehabilitated Red-tailed Hawk released in July during the center’s grand opening.

Filling a highly anticipated need, Los Angeles County officials opened a raptor rescue center in July at the San Dimas Canyon Natural Area and Nature Center.

After the closure last year of the non-profit Wild Wings of California — in operation since 1987 — the only remaining licensed raptor recovery center in the county was in Calabasas.

The raptor rescue center in San Dimas has already adopted more than 70 raptors and hopes to rehabilitate and return to the wild more than 250 injured or orphaned raptors annually, including owls, hawks and kestrels.

The center received a boost in July with a $200,000 grant from Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office. The funds will be used to add a new 50-foot flight cage for raptors.

Raptors, which are predatory and carnivorous, become injured or orphaned for numerous reasons, including flying into windows, being struck by vehicles, shot by pellet or BB guns, or sickened by pesticides or rat poison. Birds also are injured when their nests are damaged or destroyed by tree-trimming crews.

Noemi Navar, a park superintendent for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, will oversee the center, which is permitted and authorized by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

To help support the center, visit https://www.lacpf.org/sandimas-raptorrescue.

Audubon’s illustration of Pileated Woodpeckers

By Sam Atwood, Chaparral Naturalist Editor
In July, the Pomona Valley Audubon Society board voted to drop “Audubon” from the chapter’s name and start a process to develop a new name.

“The board, in consultation with membership, has been considering this issue for the past 12 months,” said chapter president Tina Stoner. “Moving toward adoption of a new chapter name and brand that clearly reflects our commitment to birds and conservation is critical. It also positions our chapter as inclusive and welcoming, an important step in appealing to a broader spectrum of the community.”

The next steps for the board are to review the processes used by other chapters that have also dropped Audubon from their name, and to develop a list of possible new names for our chapter. It is generally agreed that the name should express our focus on birds, be clear and concise, consistent with our mission statement, and reflect our geographical location, Stoner said.

Although the chapter’s new name will no longer include “Audubon,” it will remain an official local chapter of the National Audubon Society (NAS) with no change in the benefits of being part of more than 500 chapters nationwide.

The name change follows similar actions by at least 30 local U.S. chapters due to the controversy in recent years surrounding John James Audubon owning enslaved people and being resolutely opposed to the abolition movement.

Audubon also committed academic fraud and plagiarism and once stole human remains and sent the skulls to a colleague to help argue that whites were superior to non-whites.

Audubon (1785-1851), a French American artist and explorer, “revolutionized the depiction of birds,” said Seth Thompson, PVAS chapter vice president. “He painted them in natural settings and altered perspective so that the bird appeared as it would to an observer in the wild. His paintings are valued today for both their artistic beauty and scientific value.”

Indeed, Audubon’s seminal The Birds of America, a collection of 435 life-size prints, is considered the gold standard of bird illustration. We can still value John James Audubon’s contributions as an artist and naturalist without his name being part of our organizational identity, Stoner said.

Among local chapters that have dropped the name “Audubon” are the Golden Gate Audubon Society in the San Francisco Bay Area, which rebranded itself last year as the Golden Gate Bird Alliance, and Seattle Audubon, which is now Birds Unite Seattle.

Name changes in the bird world have not been limited to Audubon chapters. The American Ornithological Society announced last year that birds will no longer be named after people. For example, the society in 2020 renamed McCown’s Longspur, referring to Confederate Army general John P. McCown, to the Thick-billed Longspur.

The PVAS board started the process of considering a name change in July 2023, when it established an ad hoc name committee to investigate members’ opinions about retaining or removing “Audubon” from the chapter’s name.

The committee conducted an informal poll at the November 2023 monthly meeting and followed up with an email survey to all members. Of those responding to the survey, 56 percent said that dropping Audubon from the chapter’s name would have no effect on their participation and 24 percent said it would make it more likely they would contribute money to the chapter and participate in its activities.

Another reason for the name change is to better identify the chapter’s mission. While “Audubon” is a household word to many, others hearing the word confuse it with its homophone “Autobahn,” the German high-speed highway system.

The board also will be planning for the significant work involved in changing the chapter’s name and logo on its website, brochures, this newsletter and other outreach material.

“It’s going to take a lot of work, but it will be well worth it to have a name that is easy to understand, reflects what we do and makes our chapter more inclusive of everyone in our community,” Stoner said. “We want to attract new members with fresh ideas that will help us promote the protection, appreciation and enjoyment of birds by all.”

San Dimas Raptor Rescue had its grand opening July 20, 2024 and is accepting ill, injured and orphaned birds of prey. Call (626) 559-5732 to make arrangements for a drop off at the San Dimas Canyon Nature Center.

Kandie Cansler is a licensed bird rehabilitator in Oak Glen and affiliated with Bear Paw Ranch (also in Oak Glen), who specializes in orphaned and injured raptors. Her home phone number is 909-790-1010 and her cell phone number is 909-289-0166.

Leslie Triplett, Pond Digger Ranch Wildlife Rehab at 909-800-7676, 9012 Oak Glen Road in Cherry Valley, specializes in passerines. (perching/singing b irds)

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