NSAS Presents Birding the N Sierras from the Valley Floor to the Crest w the Hamilyons & Stephenson

Have you ever visited the Sierras and wondered where to go to find the most exciting birds? The Hamiltons and Stephensons have teamed together to share their 20 years of experience birding in the Northern Sierras from the Sierra Valley to the Sierra Crest, and locations further North. They will show you their best photos of the birds, plants & wildlife they have observed exploring Sierra ecosystems from Marble Hotsprings on the valley floor, to unknown canyons around the perimeter, to the top of the Sierra Crest. They will take you to explore a number of places that you have likely never visited before. Their travels will include favorite birding locations along Highways 49 & 89 from Bassett’s, Sardine Lakes, & Yuba Pass to untraveled forest service roads. They will share birding hotspots above Graeagle, from the Graeagle Lodge and Lakes Loop Trails, to Church Meadows and Mills Peak. For those curious of locations further North, they will explore spots near Lake Davis, Smith Peak & Bagley Pass. As an added bonus they will venture to a few locations in the high Eastern Desert including Frenchman Lake, Red Peak Pass and Shaffer Mountain. Come join us to see the flora and fauna they have observed during their years of exploring these birding jewels of the Sierra!
About the Presenters: David and Denise Hamilton are members of Napa-Solano Audubon and have been birders for the past 42 years. Both grew up in southern California; Denise enjoyed birds from the start, but David didn’t catch the bug until they got married in 1980 and moved to Minnesota. David finished school there, and Denise finally got to see her first Northern Cardinal. Then they saw an Indigo Bunting followed by a Baltimore Oriole, and were hooked! They spent the next five years on the northern prairies of Montana, living with birds that many still have on their “want-to-see list”; this really helped spark their passion. Since then, they’ve travelled around the USA, Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago, Panama, Romania, Australia (twice), South Africa, and Ecuador. Their Napa backyard bird list for the past 22 years is at 142 species, including 6 species of hummingbirds, 10 species of warblers, Evening Grosbeaks, and some amazing sparrows such as Clay-colored and Black-throated (a new bird for Napa County in 2021.)
The Stephensons are well known to NSAS. Mark has been the President for the past 4 years and Lucas has grown into an amazing birder finding all kinds of rare birds in the Bay Area. Mark began birding in the 4th grade and expanded his experiences when his family moved to Ithaca, NY and he birded regularly with Dr. Arthur Allen and experts from Cornell’s Laboratory of Ornithology. After High School he worked summers at Sapsucker Wood’s and for Massachusetts Audubon before heading west and directing Environmental Education Summer Camps and Expedition Programs. After a career of more than 30 years in public education, teaching and administrating in Benicia and Napa, he is enjoying retirement and Northern California birding. Lucas is a senior in High School and has been birding since he was 8, when he got the “Birding Bug” hearing a Great Horned Owl calling outside his tent while backpacking at Point Reyes. He was completely hooked after observing his first Varied Thrush. Now, with his growing expertise he helps his Dad locate and photograph those challenging and “hard to find” birds. He is headed to Cal Poly Humboldt in the Fall where he will be majoring in Wildlife Biology.