Mary's Bird Notes

Altacal Notes

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 18:33:18 GMT

Enjoy winter birding!

There are now millions of Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese in the Northern Central Valley – if you haven’t seen them up close and personal, I suggest you take a drive out to Llano Seco, the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, or Gray Lodge Wildlife Area and experience these beautiful birds first hand. Both the SacNWR and Gray Lodge have driving loops. Both refuges have daily fees, however if you have your Federal Duck Stamp (which I encourage everyone to purchase because almost all of the money goes to conservation – and you can get them at the post office) then you can visit the National Wildlife Refuges and not have to pay the daily fee. If you have your California fishing license or the new “Land’s Pass” you can enter certain State Wildlife Areas without having to pay the daily fee.

When you’re out there, driving the loop or walking on one of the walking trails, the wonder is not just from seeing the thousands of birds, it’s HEARING them! They are often “talking” to one another and it is quite special to be able to hear them, sometimes very boisterously calling. Bring your binoculars or your camera, and enjoy a few hours of admiring our wintering feathered friends. It’s good for the soul. Take your child or grandchild with you and introduce them to the birds!

Although we have decided to cancel the Snow Goose Festival, which would have been in January, we will be having Facebook Live visits to local birding areas and other fun programs. You’ll be able to find out about these on our Facebook page or on our website. Speaking of our website, we are currently having it completely overhauled by long-time Altacal member and birder Billie Sommerfield. This will make it much easier to keep it up-to-date.

We are very excited! Regarding local bird sightings, Liam Huber (our new Field Trip Chair) has been finding rare birds in Butte County quite frequently. We can’t even keep up with him. Red-Necked Grebes, Pacific Loons, Vermilion Flycatchers, White-Winged Scoter – so many fun birds to chase, right here in Butte County.

We also welcome Karen von Bargen to the Altacal Board of Directors as the Lands & Sanctuary Chair (see her bio below). She has recently retired and wanted to become more involved with Altacal. Those of us who use eBird to record our bird sightings often see her name pop up attached to our “needs” lists, so she must be getting out there on a regular basis to bird around Butte County!

Enjoy the winter, and if you can, help out with a Christmas Bird Count from December 14th, 2020 to January 5th, 2021 – wherever you are!

Make the most of the season by following these simple guidelines

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Sat, 28 Nov 2020 23:05:45 GMT

The new season is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Whether it’s eating right or cleaning out the garage, here are some tips for making and keeping resolutions.

Make a list

Lists are great ways to stay on track. Write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too.

Check the list regularly

Don’t forget to check in and see how you’re doing. Just because you don’t achieve the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.

Reward yourself

When you succeed in achieving a goal, be it a big one or a small one, make sure to pat yourself on the back.

Think positively

Positive thinking is a major factor in success. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, remind yourself of things that did.

Keep in touch with site visitors and boost loyalty

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Sat, 28 Nov 2020 23:05:45 GMT

There are so many good reasons to communicate with site visitors. Tell them about sales and new products or update them with tips and information.

Here are some reasons to make blogging part of your regular routine.

Blogging is an easy way to engage with site visitors

Writing a blog post is easy once you get the hang of it. Posts don’t need to be long or complicated. Just write about what you know, and do your best to write well.

Show customers your personality

When you write a blog post, you can really let your personality shine through. This can be a great tool for showing your distinct personality.

Blogging is a terrific form of communication

Blogs are a great communication tool. They tend to be longer than social media posts, which gives you plenty of space for sharing insights, handy tips and more.

It’s a great way to support and boost SEO

Search engines like sites that regularly post fresh content, and a blog is a great way of doing this. With relevant metadata for every post so search engines can find your content.

Drive traffic to your site

Every time you add a new post, people who have subscribed to it will have a reason to come back to your site. If the post is a good read, they’ll share it with others, bringing even more traffic!

Blogging is free

Maintaining a blog on your site is absolutely free. You can hire bloggers if you like or assign regularly blogging tasks to everyone in your company.

A natural way to build your brand

A blog is a wonderful way to build your brand’s distinct voice. Write about issues that are related to your industry and your customers.