Sacramento Audubon Society’s General Meeting includes a Monthly Speaker event that focuses on birds and/or the natural world. Meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month, September through May (except in December).

Past programs have included presentations on Yellow-billed Magpies, exotic bird locations, and conservation. Since September 2020 most of these presentations have been recorded. If you missed any of these past presentations, you can watch them on our Past Speaker Presentations page.

Upcoming Speaker Presentations

January 15, 2026

Join us on January 15, 2026 at 7pm for Southwestern Ornithological History, Climate Change, and the Birds of the Zuni Mountains of New Mexico presented by John Trochet, M.D. The meeting will be held in-person at Effie Yeaw Nature Center and online via Zoom (hybrid meeting). Registration is no longer required to attend via Zoom.

Zoom Link for January Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82751344995?pwd=vxkpVmQbI1Tdaaaw9k6rRjKmyQDNWe.1
Passcode for January Meeting: 683702

About the Presentation

By accident of geography and history, the Zuni Mountains Region has a history of botanical and zoological study that must be the envy of every other inland location in western North America. I have integrated my natural history findings with those of others from the mid-19th Century to the present in an attempt to understand the changes in the regional avifauna.

More About Our Speaker

John Trochet is a Sacramentan formerly with the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology at the University of California at Davis. He is still a research affiliate there. After a stint in the Indian Health Service at PHS Hospital, Zuni, he has returned regularly to Zuni Pueblo and the adjacent Zuni Mountains for some 45 years. Along with following the birds of the Cosumnes River Preserve and being part of a team in Louisiana trying to better document the persistence of ivory-billed woodpeckers there, this is one of three projects keeping him busy in retirement.

Attend the Meeting and Presentation

This meeting will be a hybrid session. Participants can join the meeting on-site at Effie Yeaw Nature Center or from the comfort of their home via Zoom.

Attend the Meeting in Person
John will give his presentation live at Effie Yeaw. Registration is not necessary to attend the meeting at Effie Yeaw.

 Effie Yeaw Nature Center
2850 San Lorenzo Way
Carmichael, CA 95608

Attend the Meeting Online via Zoom
The presentation will be streamed in real time on ZOOM from Effie Yeaw. To attend the meeting via Zoom use the link below then enter the passcode.

Zoom Link for January Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82751344995?pwd=vxkpVmQbI1Tdaaaw9k6rRjKmyQDNWe.1
Passcode for January Meeting: 683702

You do not need a ZOOM account to join the meeting. The Zoom portion of our meeting is limited to 100 participants. Participants will be admitted on a first come, first serve basis.

Since September 2020, Sacramento Audubon Society has recorded most of their monthly speaker presentations. These recordings are available for you to view here.

2025 Programs

October 2025
Status and Conservation of the Purple Martin in California in 2025
Presented by Dan Airola

September 2025
Three Decades at the Bufferlands
Presented by Chris Conard

May 2025
The Waterbird Habitat Project: Addressing a Decades-Long Problem on the American River
Presented by Dr. Willey

April 2025
Bushy Lake Restoration Project
Presented by Dr. Michelle Stevens, Dereck Goodwin-Martinez, and Joel Craven

March 2025
Birds of the California Delta
Presented by Aaron Talbot

February 2025
Sparrows – The Masters of Bird Song
Presented by Ed Pandolfino
Video Unavailable

January 2025 Speaker Presentation
Sacramento Waterfowl and Salmon Sharing the Floodplain 
Presented by Cliff Feldheim 

2024 Programs

November 2024 Speaker Presentation
The November General Meeting and Speaker Presentation was canceled due to scheduling conflicts.

October 2024 Speaker Presentation
Raptor Quest: Chasing America’s Raptors
Presented by Scott Harris

September 2024 Speaker Presentation
Colombia: South America’s Birding Mecca
Presented by Benny Isaac Jacobs-Schwartz

May 2024 Speaker Presentation
Amazing Adaptations: How Birds Cope with Hardship
Presented by: Jamie Cornelius

April 2024 Speaker Presentation
Falkland Islands
Presented by: Michele McCormick

March 2024 Speaker Presentation
Magnificent India
Presented by: Andy Engilis

February 2024 Speaker Presentation
South America: Diversity and Rare Birds
Presented by: John Sterling
Video Unavailable

January 2024 Speaker Presentation
Birding Above the Artic Circle
Presented by Glyn and Sylvia Dawson

2023 Programs

November 2023 Speaker Presentation
Monarch Butterflies - A Conservation Opportunity for Native Species
Presented by Melissa Burns

October 2023 Speaker Presentation
From Sea to Summit: The Marvelous Hummingbird
Presented by Benny Isaac Jacobs-Schwartz

September 2023 Speaker Presentation
The Language of Birds
Presented by Nathan Pieplow

May 2023 Speaker Presentation
Understanding Common Raven Behavior and Movement to Protect Western Snowy Plovers
Presented by: Janelle Chojnacki

April 2023 Speaker Presentation
Cancelled

March 2023 Speaker Presentation
A 27 Year Wildflower Journey: The Making of Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change
Presenters: Rob Badger and Nina Winter

February 2023 Speaker Presentation
Papua New Guinea
Presenter: Chris Conard

January 2023 Speaker Presentation
Presentation by Jonelle Mason of Project Learning Tree

2022 Programs

November 2022 Speaker Presentation
Birds of Belize
Presented by Richard Cimino

October 2022 Speaker Presentation
Multiple Lines of Evidence Indicate Survival of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Louisiana
Presented by John Trochet

September 2022 Speaker Presentation
CalTrout: Fish and Bird Management and Conservation
Presented by Cliff Feldheim and Molly Ancel

May 2022 Speaker Presentation
Following the Scent of Avian Olfaction
Presented by Dr. Gabrielle Nevitt

April 2022 Speaker Presentation
Desert Exploration, Desert Birding
Presented by: Chris Conard

March 2022 Speaker Presentation
International Bird Rescue
Presented by: JD Bergeron, IBR
Video not available.

February 2022 Speaker Presentation
Birding the Capital: A nature photographer’s exploration of bird life across Sacramento and its regional parks
Presented by Jamieson Scott

January 2022 Speaker Presentation
Successful Backyard Nestboxes
Presented by Mike Azevedo and Georgette Howington of the California Bluebird Recovery Program

2021 Programs

November 2021 Speaker Presentation
A Galápagos Adventure
Presented by Susan Goodrich

October 2021 Speaker Presentation
Breeding Birds of Sacramento: A Tale of Two Atlases and Three Decades of Change Presented by: Ed Pandolfino

September 2021 Speaker Presentation
How to Photograph Birds
Presented by: William J. Carroll III

May 2021 Speaker Presentation
Populations and Habitat of the Yellow-billed Magpie in Sacramento
Presented by: Dan Airola

April 2021 Speaker Presentation
In Search of Meadowlarks
Presented by: John Marzloff

March 2021 Speaker Presentation
Learning to Fight the Climate Crisis
Presented by: Susan Schneider

February 2021 Speaker Presentation
Tricolored Blackbird Conservation
Presented by: Xerónimo Castañeda

January 2021 Speaker Presentation
Sierra Pollinators
Presented by: Helen Loffland

2020 Programs

November 2020 Speaker Presentation
Biking for Birds: 365 days, 18,000 miles, 618 species, 1 amazing adventure
Presented by: Dorian Anderson

October 2020 Speaker Presentation
My Favorite Bird
Presented by: David Yee

September 2020 Speaker Presentation
Southern Ecuador: In Search of Rare, Local, and New Species
Presented by: Vayun Tiwari

2018-19 Programs
Born in the USA - Bald Eagles  
Coyotes
Education and Birding
How Woodpeckers Can Save the World
eBird
Bald Eagles in the Wild-A Visual Essay of America's National Bird
Morroco
Nesting Grebes in the High Lakes of Plumas County

2017-18 Programs 
Swainson's Hawks 
Sandhill Crane Biology and Viewing
Yolo Bypass State Wildlife Area
Norway/Svalbard
Cuba
Birding Spots of I-5
Rediscovering Peru
South Africa

2016-17 Programs
A Visit to Borneo
Paraguay
Shrinking Salton Sea
Things that Sting and Bite
Historical Records Into ebird
A Year in the Life of a North American Owl
The Game Warden's Son
Wildlife of Indian, Bhutan, and Thailand

2015-16 Programs
Birds of South America
Birds and Wildlife of Northern Japan
Why we bird
Our Changing Oceans
Black-backed Woodpeckers
Giant Gartersnake
Birding Alaska
Birds of Saudi Arabia

2014-15 Programs
Birds & Culture of Oaxaca
Rattlesnakes
Northern Saw-whet Owls
Flammulated Owls of Lake Davis
California Spiders
Tricolored Blackbirds
Bird Learning, Instinct, and Intelligence
Wetlands of California's Central Valley

2013-14 Programs
Birds of Sierra Nevada
Midway Atoll Albatrosses
Wood Ducks
Saw-whet Owl migration
White-nosed syndrome in Bats
Sierra Nevada Adaptive Mgmt Project
Birds of Borneo
Indonesian Birds

2012-13 Programs
Sacramento Region's Ecosystems
San Juaquin River Restoration
History of Falconry
Ring Tailed Cats
eBird
Birding Montana
Pelagic Birds
Arctic Summer

2011-12 Programs
Farming Shorebirds in California Rice Fields
Bird Species Changes in Central Valley
Anza-Borrego’s Sister Park in Mongolia
Great Grey Owls
Audubon CA. & Renewable Energy
Around the world starting at Mono Lake
The Mystery of Bird Song
Native bees in our Yards

2010-11 Programs
Tricolor Blackbirds
Blue Whales
Our birds and Baja California
Birding in Chile
Birds of Antarctica
Winter Raptors
Central Valley Red Fox
East African Mammals and Birds

2009-10 Programs
Sandhill Cranes
Sparrow Identification
Hokkaido in Winter 
Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area: Present & Future 
Protecting California Birds 
A First Visit to Australia
Africa on Steroids 
Birding in Delhi, India

2008-09 Programs
The Farallones 
Raptor Identification
Christmas Count Workshop
Save Our Sandhill Cranes
Wildlife Care
Birding Alaska
Exploring the Sierra Nevada
Swainson’s Hawk

2007-08 Programs
Natural History of Red Crossbills
Bird Banding in Hungary
Christmas Count Workshop
Bluebird Nesters Want Your Help
Kirkland Warbler and Others
Checkerspot Butterfly 
Sacramento’s Purple Martins
Audubon California Projects

2006-07 Programs
Burrowing Owls in California
Birds of the Tahoe Rim Trail
Christmas Count Workshop
The Ivory Billed Woodpecker
Art, Nature & the Sierra Nevada
Raptor Tracking at Golden Gate
The California Black Rail
Birds and Beauty of Bhutan

Held at 7pm on the third Thursday of every month (except for June, July and December), the General Meeting consists of two parts: Chapter Business and Monthly Speaker. During the first 10 minutes of the meeting Sacramento Audubon Society business items are addressed such as the election of new board members and officers or the approval of changes to the Society’s bylaws. The rest of the meeting is devoted to the Monthly Speaker.

Banner Photo Credit: Downy Woodpecker by Mary Forrestal