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The Santa Barbara Audubon Society presents, with the support of the City of Goleta, a free educational event for the children in our community: the 11th Annual Winter Bird Count for Kids. It is held at Lake Los Carneros Park, located at 304 N. Los Carneros Road in Goleta. Registration is from 9:00 to 9:30 on the grounds of Stow House.
This 3-hour event offers children ages 8-16 the opportunity to learn from expert birders about the various birds of our region. The first 75 participants will receive a free t-shirt, featuring artwork by Lucy London. A list of target bird species will be provided to each kid as a keepsake. Children will first learn how to use binoculars, which will be available for loan (one per family) at the event. From 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM, children will explore Lake Los Carneros with experienced volunteer leaders, who will show them what to look and listen for. Following the walk everyone will gather at Stow House, where the a leader will guide the young birders through a compilation – tallying the number of bird species seen (last year we had 49 species!) During the compilation, educators will display large photos of each species seen.
The main goal of this event is to inspire the next generation of nature-lovers. SBAS offers a host of educational programs throughout the year. At the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, visitors can view SBAS ambassador birds at an aviary, with volunteers bringing them out on a glove several hours a week. In addition, our “Eyes in the Sky” program provides about 80 off site presentations per year. About half of those make up a three-part “Meet Your Wild Neighbor” program, which currently reaches 16 K-3rd classrooms, mostly at Title I schools. The rest are presentations at local elementary schools, retirement communities, community centers, and with partner organizations like the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
The Winter Bird Count for Kids is run entirely by volunteers. For more information about this event and its volunteer opportunities, please visit https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/events/wbc4k/