Watsonville Wetlands Watch
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Calendar

This calendar page lists events for Watsonville Wetlands Watch, the City of Watsonville Nature Center, and the Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center.

Click on links below for more information on a particular event.

August 2010

Saturday, August 14th,
10 a.m. – noon. 		Wetlands Alive! Tour. Experience the birds, plants, and wildlife of the Watsonville sloughs….fun for the whole family! Approximately ½ mile walk; 1 hour in length, with optional 2nd hour; non-walkers will be given a tour of the Resource Center. Free and Open to the Public. Reservations required 48 hours in advance; call 728-1156, ext. 7, or e-mail genie@watsonvillewetlandswatch.org. Map/directions.
Tuesdays, August 17th – October 12th, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Birding Classes with Nanci Adams. Choose either Tuesdays or Thursdays. This fun and fascinating class is an introduction to many of the amazing birds of the Pajaro Valley, including resident birds and those who stop here during migration. You will begin building your basic field skills, including identification techniques. Please bring your binoculars and field guide, if you have them. Students are required to buy a $5 package of bird cards. $65 for 9 two-hour classes. Map/directions.
Thursdays, August 19th – October 14th, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Birding Classes with Nanci Adams. As above .Map/directions.
Thursdays, August 19th – October 7th, 5 – 7 p.m. Brown Bag Birding. Want to learn more about local birds, but can't attend a morning class? Bring a brown bag light meal, binoculars and a field guide, and join us in the late afternoon. This is a class of just field trips, and will involve easy walking. It is especially designed for beginners and for those who have taken Birding Basics. $65 for 8 two-hour classes. First meeting place:  Green Valley Center parking lot by Watsonville Adult Education. Click here for map. To sign up for Brown Bag Birding, mail this printable registration form to Watsonville Adult Education, 294 Green Valley Rd., Watsonville CA 95076.
Sunday, August 22nd,
10 a.m. – noon.		 Wetlands Alive! Tour. Experience the birds, plants, and wildlife of the Watsonville sloughs….fun for the whole family! Approximately ½ mile walk; 1 hour in length, with optional 2nd hour; non-walkers will be given a tour of the Resource Center. Free and Open to the Public. Reservations required 48 hours in advance; call 728-1156, ext. 7, or e-mail genie@watsonvillewetlandswatch.org. Map/directions.
Thursday, August 26th,
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.		 Talk: Bears of Central California, Past and Present: Just the Bear Facts. Please join us for biologist and educator Bruce Elliott’s presentation on the grizzly bears that once roamed Central California in abundance, the American Black Bears that still occur in modest numbers nearby, and the grizzly-dwarfing bears that foraged here in prehistoric times. Map/directions.

Bruce Elliott is a retired senior Biologist Supervisor for the California Dept. of Fish and game and an educator. He teaches classes on wildlife biology through the University of California and Community College System. He is also a skilled field trip leader who conducts a variety of tours and explorations of the area's natural resources.
Saturday, August 28th,
9 a.m. – noon. 		Restoration Saturday. We invite you to help restore wetland habitat on the fourth Saturday every month. The work includes planting native plants, removing exotic invasive plants, and helping in our native plant greenhouse.

Please bring water, and wear layered work clothes, sturdy shoes and a sun hat. Bring binoculars if you have them.We provide tools, gloves and a snack. We will meet at the Wetlands Education Resource Center center at Pajaro Valley high School (500 Harkins Slough Rd.) at 9 a.m. Map/directions.

The end of the summer finds us preparing for the upcoming winter plantings. Join us for a fun day of nursery work, sowing and collecting native plant seeds for many upcoming restoration projects in the Watsonville Sloughs! We'll also be planting seeds for our new native seed production fields. We'll work most of the morning at the Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center nursery. At the end of the morning, we'll head out to the Watsonville Sloughs Ecological Reserve for seed collection. No previous experience is necessary. All are welcome as we make this late summer push to fill our nursery with native plant seedlings.

Afterwards we will go on a nature walk. Contact Mary for more information at 831-566-4938 or .

September 2010

Thursday, Sept. 9th, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Talk: Birds of the Watsonville Sloughs: Seasons and Cycles of Change. Join local expert David Suddjian for a presentation exploring the rich and varied birdlife of the Watsonville Sloughs. At the WERC. Map/directions.

David is a passionate birder and wildlife biologist. He has studied the birds of Santa Cruz County and Central California for over 25 years and is an expert in the status and distribution of birds in the Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains region. He has led hundreds of local field trips and given many presentations on birds of our region to help share his love of birds with others.

Saturday, Sept. 11th,
10 a.m. – noon. 		Wetlands Alive! Tour. Experience the birds, plants, and wildlife of the Watsonville sloughs….fun for the whole family! Approximately ½ mile walk; 1 hour in length, with optional 2nd hour; non-walkers will be given a tour of the Resource Center. Free and Open to the Public. Reservations required 48 hours in advance; call 728-1156, ext. 7, or e-mail genie@watsonvillewetlandswatch.org. Map/directions.
Sunday, Sept. 19nd,
10 a.m. – noon.		 Wetlands Alive! Tour. Experience the birds, plants, and wildlife of the Watsonville sloughs….fun for the whole family! Approximately ½ mile walk; 1 hour in length, with optional 2nd hour; non-walkers will be given a tour of the Resource Center. Free and Open to the Public. Reservations required 48 hours in advance; call 728-1156, ext. 7, or e-mail genie@watsonvillewetlandswatch.org. Map/directions.

Thursday, Sept. 23rd, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Cost: $20.

Friday, Sept 24th, 8 a.m. – noon,
Cost $30.

Photographing Wild Birds.
Unsure about how to photograph wild birds? Don't know a Great Blue Heron from a Mourning Dove? Or, just looking for some tips about how to improve your photography skills? Come join us to learn how to get that perfect wild bird photograph.

Two sessions: details at left.
Trip Leader: Larry Selman.
Location: At/departs from Watsonville Civic Plaza.
Activity: Moderate.
Friday, Sept. 24th, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Creative Art Journaling.
Whether you use it to record ideas, for travel, or as a tool for observation or selfdiscovery, the practice of keeping a visual journal is an enriching way to xpress and record your deeper creative self. In your travels and daily life it helps you to experience place on a deeper and more meaningful level. It is a tool to awaken our senses and help you see the world through artist’s eyes. We'll visit the Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center and take advantage of an excellent collection of mounted local bird specimens.
Cost: $30
Trip Leader: Susan Dorf
Location: Departs from Watsonville Civic Plaza
Activity: Moderate
Saturday, Sept. 25th,
9 a.m. – noon. 		Restoration Saturday. We invite you to help restore wetland habitat on the fourth Saturday every month. The work includes planting native plants, removing exotic invasive plants, and helping in our native plant greenhouse.

We meet at the Fitz WERC located at the top of the Pajaro Valley High School campus (500 Harkins Slough Rd) at 9 a.m. Please bring water, and wear layered work clothes, sturdy shoes and a sun hat. We will provide tools, gloves and a snack. Map/directions.

Afterwards we will go on a nature walk. Contact Mary for more information at 831-566-4938 or .
September 23rd – 26th Sixth annual Monterey Bay Birding Festival.

October 2010

Tuesdays, October 19th – December 14th, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Birding Classes with Nanci Adams. Choose either Tuesdays or Thursdays. This fun and fascinating class is an introduction to many of the amazing birds of the Pajaro Valley, including resident birds and those who stop here during migration. You will begin building your basic field skills, including identification techniques. Please bring your binoculars and field guide, if you have them. Students are required to buy a $5 package of bird cards. $65 for 9 two-hour classes. Map/directions.
Thursdays, October 21st – December 16th, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Birding Classes with Nanci Adams. As above. Map/directions.
Saturday, Oct. 23rd,
9 a.m. – noon,		 Restoration Saturday. We invite you to help restore wetland habitat on the fourth Saturday every month. The work includes planting native plants, removing exotic invasive plants, and helping in our native plant greenhouse.

We meet at the Fitz WERC located at the top of the Pajaro Valley High School campus (500 Harkins Slough Rd) at 9 a.m. Please bring water, and wear layered work clothes, sturdy shoes and a sun hat. We will provide tools, gloves and a snack. Map/directions.

Afterwards we will go on a nature walk. Contact Mary for more information at 831-566-4938 or .

 

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