Upcoming Programs

Thursday, September 25 at 7:00 PM. Yakima Area Arboretum, 1401 Arboretum Drive, Yakima

A Birding Safari and More: Exploring the Splendors of Africa’s Parks and Reserves

Speakers: YVAS members Sarah Shippen and Gene Miliczky

Join YVAS members Sarah Shippen and Gene Miliczky for a photographic exploration of the parks and reserves of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Kenya, and Tanzania. Cruise the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers, journey across the savannah grasslands of the Serengeti and Masai Mara, and visit the rocky beaches of the South African Cape in pursuit of birds and wildlife.  This program will focus on the native birds, while also providing opportunities to view diverse wildlife throughout various regions of the continent. Sarah and Gene spent five weeks touring in Africa in the fall of 2024 and look forward to sharing our African adventures with you.

Sarah Shippen and Gene Miliczky are residents of the Yakima Valley and field trip leaders for the YVAS Second Saturday Bird Walk.  Gene is a retired USDA entomologist, a life-long birder, and has a long interest in African ecology. Sarah enjoys travel, birding, and photography.

Malachite Kingfisher, Chobe River, Namibia. Photo: Sarah Shippen

Village Weaver, Masai Mara National Park. Photo: Sarah Shippen

Thursday, Oct 23, 7:00 PM. Yakima Area Arboretum, 1401 Arboretum Drive, Yakima

Cascade Ridges – a southbound highway for birds in the fall.

Speaker: YVAS member Andy Stepniewski

Starting in August and ending in early November, the Cascades to the west of Yakima are a highway for migrating birds heading south. Most conspicuous are raptors who use the updrafts to aid them on their journey. Red-tailed Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, and American Kestrels are three easily seen common species. But, there are 17 or so other raptors using these high elevation ridges and forests on their migration. Some are owls, so not easy to detect. In addition to raptors, a large number and variety of songbirds also are on this route, shunning the parched shrub-steppe at lower elevations and choosing, instead, the lush thickets and meadows of these mountains as their route south. These include a variety of warblers, sparrows, and other many other species.

Andy Stepniewski, who has wandered in the Cascade Mountains for nearly 50 years, is looking forward to sharing the remarkable fall migration of birds along the Cascades “highway.” 

Red-tailed Hawk, adult, photo: George Vlahakis

Nashville Warbler, male, photo: Ellen Stepniewski

Thursday, November, 7:00 PM. Yakima Area Arboretum, 1401 Arboretum Drive, Yakima

A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers 

Speaker: Paul Bannick

Woodpeckers are the heart of North American forests in many ways. Their distinctive drumming sounds out a familiar rhythm, while their presence supports owls and a myriad other creatures. They have evolved in ways that make them ecologically critical to forest health, serving as keystone species in a variety of wooded habitats across the continent.

In this new presentation, which accompanies the release of his new book, Woodpecker: A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers, Paul explores the often secret lives of woodpeckers from Alaska’s boreal forests to the oak woodlands of the West and Midwest and from the ribbon of Ponderosa Pine habitats that stretches from British Columbia through much of the Western states until they transition in southern Arizona to the Sierra Madre pine-oak that forms the spine of Mexico. Paul also explores the diversity in arid ecosystems straddling the US-Mexico border and the wet tropical habitats from Florida through the Caribbean Islands and southeastern Mexico.

Through first-hand experiences, more than 200 never-before published photographs and the latest science, Paul examines woodpeckers in every season: their courtship and nest selection in spring; life in the nest during summer; fledging and gaining independence in autumn; and the challenges of surviving the winter.

Paul also takes a closer look at the most important woodpecker habitats in North America and what we can do to protect them.

Paul Bannick is an award-winning author and photographer who makes images to inspire education and conservation. He is the author and photographer of five books including two best-selling bird books, Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls and The Owl and The Woodpecker: Encounters with North America’s Most Iconic Birds.

Paul’s photography has won awards from prestigious contests, including those hosted by Audubon Magazine and the International Conservation Photography Awards. It is also featured in many bird guides, including those from Audubon, Peterson, and The Smithsonian.

Paul serves as a Director for Conservation Northwest, a Seattle based conservation non-profit. Read more about Paul’s new book, Woodpecker: A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers, here. Visit Paul’s website, here.

A female Pale-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus guatemalensis) greets her mate at the entrance to their nest cavity. The two look very similar except for the female’s (foreground) dark markings on her forehead. Photo: Paul Bannick.

A male Gilded Flicker greets his mate as she arrives to share pollen from a Saguaro blossom. Displays of the colorful undersides of males or females are less intense after the period of courtship and establishing territories is complete. Photo: Paul Bannick.

Great Egret, photo: Sarah Shippen

Western Bluebird, photo: Karen Zook

The following programs and videos can be found here:  YVAS Facebook page. At the top of the Facebook page, click on “More.” A drop down menu will appear. Click on Videos.

2025

January 23, 2025 – Exploring Madagascar’s Otherwordly Wildlife – Jason Fedorra

2024

March 28, 2024 – Whose Track is That? Exploring for Wildlife Sign – Deborah K. Essman
April 25, 2024 – Tropical Wildlife and Conservation,  Peru and Kenya – Eric Heisey

2023

October 26, 2023 –Bluebird Country – Karen Zook
August 24, 2023 – Travels in Africa – Deborah Essman
May 25 , 2023 – Nutcrackers and Whitebark Pine – Taza Schaming
March 23, 2023 – Wild America 2022 – Andy Stepniewski
February 23, 2023 – Woodpeckers 2 – Denny Granstrand
January 26, 2023 – Madagascar – Eric Heisey

2022

December 8, 2022 – Forests and People – Ken Bevis
October 27, 2022 – Tahoma’s Biggest Stories – Jeff Antonelis-Lapp
September 22, 2022 – White-headed Woodpeckers – 20 years of Research in WA – Jeff Kozma
August 25 ,2022 – The Secret Life of the Deserts of the Pacific NW – Mike Denny
May 26, 2022 – Yakima Valley Audubon’s Vredenburgh Bluebird Trail Marks its 40th Year! – Andy Stepniewski
March 24, 2022 – Bird’s Eye View – Gina Roberti
February 24, 2022 – Westport Seabirds – Bill Tweit