Madrone Audubon Society
Established in 1967
The Sonoma County Chapter of the National Audubon Society
Madrone News and Events
Our bird walks and field trips are free, open to the public and suitable for all levels of interest. See upcoming walks.
The public is welcome at our monthly meetings with guest speakers. View our schedule.
Form a team of your birding friends and join in our annual fundraising effort. Learn more.
Upcoming Bird Walks
Sunday, March 15, 8 am-10:30 am
Santa Rosa Creek Trail at Willowside Road
Thursday, May 14, 8:30 AM-10:30 AM
General Meeting
Monday, April 20th, 2026. 6:30pm
Our monthly member meeting begins at 6:30 PM on the third Monday of the month (except for the months of June, July, August and December) at the First United Methodist Church, 1551 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa.
Speaker Series
As always, the public is invited to these free programs.
Helping Wildlife Cross the Road: Protecting Amphibians with the Newt Brigade
Christyne Davidian, Chileno Valley Newt Brigade (CVNB) Captain
Sarah Millus, Biologist at Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands
Our speakers will offer insights into amphibian conservation and wildlife crossing. Chileno Valley Newt Brigade (CVNB) is a voluntary group concerned about vehicles on Chileno Valley Road running over newts and other amphibians trying to get to and from Laguna Lake to breed. The presentation will cover how the CVNB got started; amphibian species and biology; current conservation efforts and CVNB statistics; and the proposed wildlife crossing,=
MEMBERS TO VOTE ON REVISED BYLAWS AT APRIL 20th MEETING
The Madrone Board of Directors recommends that the Society update its bylaws to make them more understandable and eliminate ambiguities. The Draft Bylaws presented here bring them up-to-date with current Society practices and in compliance with State Code and IRS regulations.
The draft will first be presented to the members at the March 16th General Meeting. They will be reviewed a second time and voted on at the April 20th General Meeting to be held at 6:30 PM, at the 1551 Montgomery Dr., Santa Rosa.
If you have questions or suggestions please email them to madroneaudubon@gmail.com by April 17.
Bird-A-Thon 2026— Birding for Good
A great Madrone Audubon tradition, the Bird-a-Thon, is our annual fun/fund-raising effort, occurring during winter migration months through the height of spring’s busy bird breeding season.
Would you like to participate in this Madrone tradition? It’s quite simple - form a team of your birding friends. Give yourselves a fun name, and solicit donations - from friends, family and co-workers - to “reward” your team for how many species of birds the team observed in a specified time period. And if you are not on a team, please support the Bird-a-Thon teams
All experience levels are welcome. Teams may survey anywhere in Sonoma County, for a day, several days or even weeks, at your convenience. Your sponsors can pledge per species observed (such as $1-$2) or just donate a single amount for your worthy efforts (e.g. $25, $50). The goal is just to have fun birding AND raise money for Madrone’s programs.
So grab a few birding buddies, give yourselves a name, get out there and have fun raising some dough for Madrone! For further information, contact Carolyn Greene at 805 443-7289, cgnpark@icloud.com.
The California Breeding Bird Atlas is Live!
Did you know that 44 states have completed Breeding Bird Atlases? And now California is joining that group. The 5-year California Bird Atlas (CBA) launched January 1.
Learn more at: www.californiabirdatlas.org/
Breeding bird atlases get us out in nature, hone our observation skills, teach us about the birds we love, and enable us to contribute to a landmark effort for California and its birds.
It’s easy to participate. For previous Sonoma County BBA volunteers, this Atlas uses the same grid and similar evidence codes to document breeding status. For eBirders, the website has simple instructions for linking CBA to your eBird mobile app. You’ll be part of a valuable and timely citizen science project. Check it out and join the fun!
Christmas Bird Count - Madrone Audubon's West Sonoma County CBC
Our 59th annual West Sonoma County Christmas Bird Count took place on Sunday 28th, 2025!
The annual Christmas Bird Count of the National Audubon Society is the largest-in-community project for collecting data and more important than ever in planning and decisions for support of birds and habitat in the climate crisis.
