PHOTOS: ALECIA SMITH
MONTHLY PROGRAMS
APRIL 2025
Topic: "Western Snowy Plover Recovery Program at the Santa Barbara Zoo"
Speaker: Kristen Wieners - Zoological Manager at the Santa Barbara Zoo
Ventura Audubon is excited to present this month’s speaker, Kristen Wieners from the Santa Barbara Zoo. Kristen will discuss the zoo’s Snowy Plover rearing and release program. Our nest monitoring team at Ormond Beach occasionally finds buried or abandoned plover nests. In the past, these nests were lost, but since the zoo began its program to hatch and rear plover eggs, we've been able to rescue eggs that would otherwise be unrecoverable. Our team has successfully submitted several clutches to the zoo, with nearly all of them being released as fledgling snowy plovers.
Kristen will explore the Santa Barbara Zoo’s role in Western Snowy Plover conservation, including how the zoo became involved in the recovery effort. She will discuss the program’s implementation, highlighting key successes in hatching and releasing plovers. Additionally, we will share how the zoo engages guests and students through education and outreach to raise awareness about this threatened species.
SUPPORT US
The support of our community is critical to ensuring that people today and 100 years from now have the opportunity to connect with nature and will get to experience our state’s wild places firsthand.
Ventura's wildlife and wild places define our landscape, bring us joy, and show us how important it is that we protect our natural world.
UPCOMING EVENTS
NESTING BIRDS
Please postpone any tree-trimming until the fall when the tree can be reassessed for trimming. Much tree-trimming is unnecessary, not helpful for birds, and bad for the tree, such as topping and over-thinning.
Please see our Tree Trimming Guidelines for more recommendations on tree-trimming.
GO BIRDING
Ventura County provides many recreational opportunities in a beautiful natural setting. Good birding is one of the Central Coast’s finest recreational features. The Central Coast is strategically located on the Pacific Flyway and provides habitat to many resident and migratory birds.
