When a weasel photobombs your Tricolored Blackbird photoshoot

Bald Eagles nesting in Angeles National Forest

Southern California chapter network manager Travis Abeyta was interviewed by San Gabriel Valley Tribune about a pair of amateur birders discovery of a pair of Bald Eagles in Angeles National Forest. From the article:

Abeyta positively identified the bird as a bald eagle chick, about 10-12 weeks old, using photographs provided by this newspaper group.

Hikers and amateur birders Joann and Dennis Sanderson of Azusa saw the juvenile bald eagle, covered in brownish feathers and with a sharp, curved beak but lacking the distinctive white head, peeping out of the nest Saturday morning. On Sunday evening, the couple returned and saw an adult bald eagle with the white-feathered head. The same adult pair were featured in a photo Dennis Sanderson took in May 2015, shown nesting in the exact same tree, located a few miles north of Azusa in the San Gabriel Mountains...

The large nest, built high in an old, columnar tree, near a body of water good for fishing yet far away from people represent telltale bald eagle nesting behavior, Abeyta said.

Mostly, bald eagles in California thrive in the Klamath Basin and in the upper Pacific Northwest, he said. But the species, the beloved national bird of the United States, has been spotted in more unusual places of late, including Irvine Lake in Orange County and Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County, he said...

Kimball Garrett, the ornithology collections manager for the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum and author of “Birds of the Los Angeles Region,” said finding a nesting bald eagle in this area is a rare thing. He also positively identified the bald eagle from pictures provided to him.

Red-crowned Parrots thriving in the U.S.

Cool article talking about how Red-crowned Parrots that escaped from the pet trade have built thriving populations in California and Texas -- to the point that the non-native U.S. population is doing better than the native population in Mexico.

Trikes on NPR

Samantha Arthur, conservation program manager, spent last week with Valley Public Radio's Ezra Romero. They hiked around Tricolored Blackbird colonies at Merced National Wildlife Refuge and a Fresno County dairman's property. The story will air tomorrow on NPR. 

Good news from Merced National Wildlife Refuge

From Tricolored Blackbird Program Manager Samantha Arthur:

Great news! There are TWO colonies of Tricolored Blackbirds nesting at our Merced National Refuge enhancement site with each group being roughly 5,000 birds. These breeding families are benefiting from the silage planted with funds raised from you during last years $5/5 Birds Campaign. Will you help us reach this year's goal? We are only $5,000 short of making our $15,000 match. You can make your gift here.

Quite possibly the weirdest thing you'll watch all day

National Geographic has produced a series of short animated videos for kids about the 50 states that stars, wait for it, rapping birds. There is a spinning rock dove that follows Barry the Bald Eagle as he travels to each US state, guided by state bird MCs. Of course, in California his steward is one MC Cali. The resulting masterpiece can be watched here.

San Joaquin River declared America's second most endangered

American Rivers this week declared California's San Joaquin River the second most endangered river in the United States. “Dams, levees and excessive water diversions have hurt river habitat and opportunities for recreation and community access,” the report says. “The river’s salmon and steelhead populations are on the brink of extinction.” Audubon California has advocated for the restoration of the San Joaquin River for some time -- more about that on our website.