Project Phoenix Weekly Newsletter

September 4, 2025

Dear Project Phoenix community,

We hope your weekly surveys are going well! Every checklist you submit for Project Phoenix helps us gather valuable data on bird populations during the fire season. We will use this data to learn more about how birds respond to smoke disturbance and identify conservation actions to help protect our feathered friends. Our research would not be possible without your dedication and hard work – thank you!

Our incredible communications lead, Ms. Yuka Wu, has planned several exciting events for our volunteers. Scroll down to learn more! We hope you’ll join us. We look forward to getting to know our volunteers and going birding together!

Sincerely,

Olivia

Olivia V. Sanderfoot, Ph.D. | Program Director, Project Phoenix

BIRD OF THE WEEK:

American Kestrel

The American Kestrel, the smallest falcon in North America, is roughly the size of a Mourning Dove. This bird is found all across the country and hangs out in a wide range of habitats with open and semi-open areas, from farmlands to deserts to cities. Key field marks to look out for when identifying American Kestrels are their long pointed wings and relatively long tails. They are pale below, with a reddish brown back and gray wings with black patterning. Their tails have a black band at the tip, and their faces have prominent, black “mustache” markings. Although we don’t know for certain, it is thought that these dark malar stripes help kestrels hunt by reducing glare from the sun and improving vision in bright conditions. Some behaviors you might observe in kestrels include hovering and tail pumping for balance. When looking for kestrels, keep your eye on telephone poles and wires along roads in open areas, where they like to perch, and listen for their shrill “klee-klee-klee!” calls. American Kestrels are cavity nesters, and many conservation groups support local kestrel populations by providing artificial nest boxes.

Events Calendar

Bird Walk at Richardson Bay

Calling all Bay Area birders for our first-ever in-person event in the Bay! Join us next Thursday, September 11th, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. for a bird walk with the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary, one of our awesome partners. This walk will take place at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary in Tiburon, California. Their sanctuary hosts a variety of habitats that supports a large diversity of birds throughout the year, and we will hear about some of the conservation projects their team is actively working on. We are bound to see many cool birds, perhaps including Great Egrets, Black Turnstones, Caspian Terns, and Clark's Grebes! If you are interested, sign up here. This event is free and open to all!

Virtual Hangout

Come chat with us tomorrow, Friday, September 5th from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.! We can talk birds, surveys, and all things related to Project Phoenix. If you have any questions or have observed any cool bird behaviors while out surveying, we’d love to hear from you! Here is the Zoom link. Pop by any time!

Virtual Trivia Night

Back by popular demand! We will be hosting our second bird-themed virtual trivia night next Friday, September 12th at 5 p.m. Come hang out, meet other volunteers, and show off your knowledge of birds and other topics in ecology and conservation! If you made it to our last trivia night, note that we are changing the format this time so that everyone will be able to answer all the questions, rather than just the first person to buzz in. Sign up here! Participation is free. We hope to see you there!

Coming Up: October Big Day

We are organizing a Project Phoenix October Big Day! October Big Day is the second “big day” of the year in the birding community, when community scientists and birders worldwide go out and record as many birds as they can in one day. This year, October Big Day will take place on October 11th. We will try to organize in-person bird walks/sits throughout California, Oregon, and Washington so that Project Phoenix volunteers can go out together and share in this fun day of birding. If we have enough interest, we might even host a friendly competition to see which county can observe the most species! If you are interested in leading one of these walks/sits in your county, please fill out this form. (This is the same form as the form we sent out last week inviting folks to lead in-person birding events, so if you have filled this out previously, you don’t need to fill it out again.) You do NOT need to be an expert in birds to lead a bird walk/sit - we are just looking for a point person to coordinate and lead each group. Please email us if you have questions!

From Our Partners

Learn about California Condors with the Ventura Audubon Society!

Ventura Audubon Society’s Debbie Parisi will be presenting on the History of California Condors next Tuesday, September 9th at 7 p.m. She will provide a brief history of the California Condor and its demise, then speak about the California Condor Recovery Program and its goal of establishing captive breeding and the reintroduction of this critically endangered species. If you are interested in this talk, check out the event page.

Learn about feather coloration with L.A. Birders!

L.A. Birders will be hosting a webinar featuring Project Phoenix team member and researcher Dr. Allison Shultz next Tuesday, September 9th at 7:00 p.m. She will be presenting on new research just published on how birds modify or modulate their feather colors. What started as an observation of feathers in museum collections turned into an elegant story combining cutting-edge imaging methods, mathematical modeling, and biological variation that has changed how Dr. Shultz thinks about feather color and how to measure it. Check out the event page to tune into the presentation.

Bird Photo Big Day with San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

SFBBO will be holding a photo contest fundraiser to support their bird conservation science and outreach programs on September 20th. The three categories of the bird photo contest will be Best Bird Behavior, Funniest Bird Photo, and Best Photo (from a list of provided species). Learn how you can participate here.

SHARE YOUR STORY

We love to hear from our volunteers! What motivated you to join Project Phoenix? Click here to share your story as a volunteer spotlight.