Welcome to Eastern Sierra Audubon
Eastern Sierra Audubon is "the little chapter that could...." We may be small, but we are proud of what we have been able to offer the community in events, education, conservation, collaboration and communication. What makes this chapter special are the members - join us and become part of a great community!
A little taste of what we offer, and what your membership will be supporting, is listed below.
Events: Programs, Field Trips and Seminars
Evening Programs are held at 7PM, usually on the first or second Wednesday of each October, December, February and April at White Mountain Research Station (see map). Free and open to the public.
Field Trips are great opportunities to learn about birds of the Eastern Sierra and visit some special places. Free and open to the public.
The Annual Christmas Bird Count, Bird-a-Thon fundraiser, and Big Days at Owens Lake are fun events that help census birds and raise money and/or awareness.
Another annual event is the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua, which celebrates the birds of the Eastern Sierra with a weekend of field seminars, trips, programs and classes. ESAS is a proud partner of this premier birding event spearheaded by the Mono Lake Committee.
Education
Eastern Sierra Audubon offers a Birds in the Classroom program to local schools, funded by our annual Bird-a-Thon. We have also sponsored other educational programs, such as author/artist/speaker Jack Laws in the Eastern Sierra. We have participated in other local educational events, and developed a poster of Ten Common Backyard Birds in the Eastern Sierra for beginning birders. Learn more...
Community Involvement
We have collaborated with several other local groups to support wonderful opportunities and services related to Audubon's mission, "to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity." Eastern Sierra Audubon is a regular participant in community events - look for our table and pick up a poster or Birding Trails Map (also available at visitor centers in the area). We also work for local conservation issues with the community, such as the ongoing Owens Lakebed planning process, ensuring habitat conservation in this Important Bird Area.
Communication: Forums, Facebook, Newsletters and Email
Sierra Wave Newsletter
The Eastern Sierra WAVE is our award-winning bi-monthly newsletter. Here, you can read it online, and archives are also available for browsing or download. WAVE newsletters are archived to 1997.
One of the popular features in every issue are the articles by Tom and Jo Heindel - here's a wonderful collection of their informative Inyo County birding articles.
Eastern Sierra Bird Sightings Forum
Eastern Sierra Birds provides a forum to post your bird observations and read what other locals have been seeing. Older posts to 1999 are in the Sighting Archives. We also have a Birding Hot Spots page showing good birding sites in our area.
Eastern Sierra Audubon on Facebook
If you are on Facebook, be sure to visit and "Like" our page, https://www.facebook.com/esaudubon so you can get updates to your news feed. See our latest updates in the box on the left - scroll down in the box to see more!
We will be sharing not only updates of our own events, but also other items of interest to our members, and you can share comments, links, and photos on our page as well.
Subscribe to Email Updates
Be sure to sign up for our e-mails - sent out no more than once a month with reminders of upcoming events, notification of when the Eastern Sierra Wave newsletter is online, conservation updates, and more. We will never share your email address, and now that the newsletters are no longer printed and mailed, email is the best way to stay in touch!
Get Involved! Volunteer!
ESAS is fortunate to have a solid core of Officers and Committee Chairs and we are always welcoming additions. Please contact anyone on the board if you are interested in volunteering. We currently need a programs coordinator, publicity chair, and vice president. Join the board as a member-at-large and there are always smaller ways to help out, too. We also need volunteers for Birds in the Classroom, bird counts, and helping out with other events.
Merchandise
ESAS has two T-Shirt designs, available in many sizes, styles, and colors at Spellbinder Books in Bishop.