Saturday, October 12 - Sacramento River Workshop - A meeting of the Conservation Coalition, which is made up of conservation organizations throughout the Northstate, will be held on Saturday, October 12 at the Red Bluff Community Center. The morning session will be a workshop focused on the Sacramento River and will have presentations by US Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, Sacramento River Conservation Area Forum, CALFED, Sacramento and SanJoaquin River Basins Comprehensive Study and Friends of the River.

The afternoon session will involve a roundtable between the various organizations in attendance, with updates by each on areas of activity and concern. The day will end with a discussion of future workshops and ongoing communication opportunities.

The cost will be approximately $15-$20, and will include a continental breakfast and a buffet lunch. Registration will begin at 8:30am, the workshop will begin at 9:00am, and the day will end no later than 4:00 PM.

For further information and to register, please contact the Sacramento River Preservation Trust at 345-1865 or e-mail johnmerz@shocking.com.

Nov. 21-24 - Annual CVBC Symposium - The Central Valley Bird Club is hosting the Sixth Annual Central Valley Birding Symposium Nov. 21-24 at the Radisson Hotel in Stockton, CA. Speakers include Kevin Karlson, Shawneen Finnegan, Ed Harper, Jon Dunn, Kimball Garrett, Joe Morlan, etc. We have field trips, workshops, and a "Birder's Market" with vendors and artists selling birding related items. We have activities and classes for beginners as well as more advanced birders. More info is at http://cvbs.org.

January 2003 - East Africa - Golden Gate Audubon Society is offering a birding trip to East Africa, departing on January 18, 2003. Join Golden Gate Audubon past president and Altacal member Steve Margolin for a two-week trip to Mt. Kenya, Samburu, the Rift Valley lakes and the Maasai Mara. The group will see ostriches, turacos, hornbills, rollers, waxbills, widowbirds and whydahs, just for starters. And there will be plenty of time to look at lions, hippos, zebras, rhinos, gazelles and wildebeests. The cost is $4,495 per person, double occupancy (including airfare from San Francisco). A one-week extension ($2,695 per person) will take the group to Amboseli, then over the border into Tanzania to visit the Serengeti (during the zebra and wildebeest migration), Oldupai Gorge and Ngorongoro Crater. For more information or a detailed itinerary, call Steve Margolin at 530-342-6476. Join Steve for this trip and soon it's bustards out all over.