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Morro Coast Audubon Society

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Morro Coast Audubon Society

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Promoting the appreciation, conservation, and restoration of the ecosystems and birds of the Central Coast since 1966.

We are composed of volunteers devoting time, energy, and resources to enjoying and protecting the environment through conservation, research, education, expansion, and diversity.

09/16/2026

A flash of yellow in the oaks: a sign of fall.

Townsend’s Warblers are returning from their breeding grounds in the coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest, western Canada, and Alaska. Some continue south to Mexico and Central America; others spend the winter along the California coast.

Here on the Central Coast, look for them in oaks and conifers, and in trees along creeks and other waterways. They often forage high in the canopy for insects and can be found in mixed-species flocks of warblers and other small birds.

Fall migration isn’t always about birds passing through—for many, this is the destination. Welcome back!

📷 Townsend’s Warbler, rural Atascadero, September 2026.
Photo Credit: Ben Kolstad

09/14/2026

90 volunteers. Three hours. One remarkable morning at Sweet Springs. 🌿

Yesterday, 75 Cal Poly students joined about 15 of our regular monthly Sweet Springs volunteers for three hours of hands-on habitat stewardship. Together, they removed a mountain of invasive w**ds, tended restoration plantings, and contributed roughly 270 volunteer hours to Sweet Springs Nature Preserve.

This extraordinary turnout grew out of an ongoing partnership with Cal Poly’s LEAD Scholars program. A very special thank-you goes to Cal Poly student Keegan Fish, LEAD Scholars NRES Department Project Leader, who has been working alongside MCAS at Sweet Springs for the past three years and led the organizing effort that brought so many students to the preserve yesterday. Keegan has also brought two new student leaders into the project this year, Tess Durrell and Clara Cameron, who will help carry that relationship forward.

Work on this scale also depends on the people who care for Sweet Springs month after month. Our enormous thanks to MCAS Lands Manager Dave Clendenen, Lands Chair Marie Goeritz, longtime MCAS volunteer and Sweet Springs steward Eric Wier, and all of our dedicated work party volunteers who plan, plant, w**d, haul, restore, and keep coming back.

And to all 75 Cal Poly students who gave us their Saturday morning and an astonishing amount of energy: thank you. 💚

A healthier Sweet Springs, one work party at a time.

Want to join us next time? Our Sweet Springs volunteers gather on the second Saturday of every month (9 AM, main Ramona Avenue entrance) to care for the preserve. New volunteers are always welcome! To get on the list, email [email protected]. 🌿

09/13/2026

🐦 What can you find in one morning at Sweet Springs? Quite a lot!

Today, Morro Coast Audubon hosted our 2026 Sweet Springs BioBlitz, bringing students, volunteers, and community members together for a morning of community science across the preserve.

In just two hours, participants documented 51 different birds, plants, reptiles, insects, mollusks, and lichens, including 38 bird species. From salt marsh to woodland, we looked, listened, consulted field guides, peered through binoculars and spotting scopes, and kept adding discoveries to our growing lists.

🔭 We were also excited to put two new spotting scopes to work, purchased with support from the California Coastal Commission’s WHALE TAIL® Grants Program and the California Ocean Protection Council. They were in use all morning, giving participants a closer look at the birds of Sweet Springs and the Morro Bay Estuary.

And community science really does take a team! A huge thank-you to the Cal Poly College Corps Fellows who worked alongside MCAS volunteers to help make the BioBlitz happen. Special thanks as well to Cal Poly’s CESAME for connecting us with additional Fellows who joined the team for the morning.

Most of all, thank you to everyone who came out to explore with us. A BioBlitz is a snapshot of a place at a particular moment, and we loved seeing just how much we could discover together. 💚

09/11/2026

Tomorrow morning: it’s BioBlitz time!

Can we find 30 species at Sweet Springs? Come help us find out!

Join us TOMORROW, Saturday September 12, from 9–11 AM at Sweet Springs Nature Preserve in Los Osos for our California Biodiversity Week BioBlitz.

California Biodiversity Week is part of the state’s broader 30x30 initiative, an effort to conserve 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030 while protecting and restoring biodiversity. BioBlitzes and community science help us learn more about the extraordinary diversity of life found in the places we’re working to protect.

We’ll have binoculars, spotting scopes, hand lenses, field guides, and help with iNaturalist. No experience needed, and kids are especially welcome!

Come explore, look closely, and see what we can find together.

See you at Sweet Springs!

09/11/2026

Find your place at Morro Coast Audubon!

There are so many ways to be part of our work: in the field, in classrooms, at Sweet Springs Nature Preserve, at community events, behind the scenes, and more.

Whether you’re an experienced birder or naturalist, interested in conservation and community science, an educator, a student looking to build your skills, or simply someone who cares about birds, nature, and the Central Coast, there’s a place for you here.

Bring your interests. Build your skills. Share what you know. Learn something new. Make a difference.

Scroll through for some ideas →

And if you have skills or interests we haven’t mentioned, we’d love to hear about those too.

📩 [email protected]

09/09/2026

Can we find 30 species at Sweet Springs?

Come help us find out!

Join Morro Coast Audubon Society for a family-friendly BioBlitz at Sweet Springs Nature Preserve this Saturday, September 12, from 9AM-11AM, as part of California Biodiversity Week.

We’ll explore the preserve together, looking for birds, plants, insects, spiders, fungi, lichens, mammals, and whatever else we can find. Every discovery adds to our collective species count!

Sweet Springs BioBlitz: Find 30 Species!
Saturday, September 12
9:00–11:00 AM
Sweet Springs Nature Preserve, Los Osos

We’ll have spotting scopes, binoculars, field guides, hand lenses, and help with iNaturalist. No experience is necessary, and you don’t need an iNaturalist account to participate.

Kids are especially welcome! Bring your curiosity, come explore with us, and watch our species count grow.

How many will we find?

09/06/2026

Explore the world birds depend on. 🐦

Curious about the plants, wildlife, geology, and ecosystems that make the Central Coast what it is? Registration is now open for Cuesta College’s Fall 2026 UC California Naturalist course!

This eight-week course combines classroom learning with field experiences around San Luis Obispo County, giving participants the chance to explore our region’s natural communities while learning about ecology, stewardship, and community science.

At Morro Coast Audubon, we know that protecting birds means understanding and caring for the habitats and ecosystems they depend on. Conservation, environmental education, stewardship, and community science are central to our work, and they’re also at the heart of the UC California Naturalist program.

📅 September 18–November 6
🌿 Eight Fridays, 9 am–3 pm
📍 Cuesta College Community Education

Whether you’re a birder, native plant enthusiast, community scientist, conservation volunteer, or simply curious about the natural world around you, this is a great opportunity to broaden your view of the Central Coast and deepen your connection to the places we work to understand and protect.

See the flyer for details. Register at https://www.cuesta.edu/communityprograms/

09/04/2026

September birding is here! 🐦

A few of our September field trips still have space, including Snowy Plovers at Villa Creek, a look at habitat along the Marina Boardwalk, and an Oso Flaco trip especially for beginning birders.

Come get outside with us!

Find trip details and register at morrocoastaudubon.org.

08/20/2026

Throwback Thursday: Brown Pelicans, 1966

From the first year of the Flyway Express: “Getting Acquainted with Morro Coast Birdlife,” a regular feature by Leonard B. Penhale.

In the summer of 1966, Penhale reported something extraordinary. Brown Pelicans normally arrived along the Central Coast in flocks of about 500 or more. But on June 28, more than 5,000 were counted along the coast between Point Buchon and Lion Rock. When observers returned on July 12, they estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Brown Pelicans resting on headland cliffs and offshore rocks.

Why so many? Penhale wrote that the reason was “yet to be determined.”

Penhale’s observations reached beyond the pages of the Flyway Express. His name also appears among the contributors to Audubon Field Notes, part of a regional network of observers documenting birdlife throughout California’s Southern Pacific Coast Region.

And the pelicans, of course, are still very much part of Morro Bay. Our second image, taken by Steve Schubert in Morro Bay Harbor during a 2008 pelagic trip, captures a rather more recent gathering.

Nearly 60 years later, the Flyway Express archives offer a remarkable record of the birds, people, and places of the Central Coast, and of a tradition of careful observation that was part of Morro Coast Audubon from its earliest days.

As MCAS approaches its 60th anniversary, we’ll be sharing more glimpses from our archives.

Read the 1967–68 Audubon Field Notes report:
https://californiabirds.org/AFN/AFN_22_476-480_Winter_1967-68_SPC.pdf

📷 Brown Pelicans, Morro Bay Harbor, 2008. Steve Schubert.

08/19/2026

SLO County birders, UC Davis researchers want to hear from you!

Grasslands and oak savannahs are among California’s most threatened habitats, and many of the birds that depend on them have declined in recent decades. Researchers at UC Davis, in collaboration with USDA, are conducting a survey to better understand birdwatchers’ views on habitat conservation, restoration, and ways to support this work in California.

You do not need to be an expert birder or regularly visit grassland or oak savannah habitats to participate. Whether these landscapes are close to home or farther afield, your perspective matters.

The survey takes about 15–20 minutes. Participation is voluntary and anonymous.

Help inform bird conservation and habitat restoration in California.

🔗 Take the survey here: https://tinyurl.com/UCDavis-Survey-2026

Please complete the survey only once, even if you receive it from more than one Audubon or Bird Alliance chapter.)

Address

601 Embarcadero, Suite 14
Morro Bay, CA
93442

Opening Hours

Wednesday	1pm - 3pm
Thursday	1pm - 3pm
Friday	1pm - 3pm
Saturday	12pm - 3pm

Website

https://www.morrocoastaudubon.org/

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