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Partial closure 405 N in Sepulveda pass 4/18/26
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
The northbound 405 through the Sepulveda Pass between Skirball Center and Ventura Blvd. will be reduced to three lanes, 10pm Friday 4/17 through 5am Monday, 4/20. Also closed are: northbound off-ramp to Getty Center Drive, Skirball Center on-ramp to 405 N. Supposedly the southbound lanes will not be affected, but web sources didn’t agree on this.
If you’re planning on coming on our trip to Bear Divide banding station in the mountains above Sylmar, north of the San Fernando Valley, please take this possible slowdown into account, especially if you’re planning on arriving at the carpool meetup spot 6:45-7:00 am.
I’m not certain that three open lanes at 6:30-7:00 am on the northbound 405 constitute massive tie-ups, but there will be slowing at the least.
Death Valley Sage
[by Chuck Almdale]
National Public Radio (NPR) recently did a report of the very rare Death Valley Sage (Salvia furneria).
Most of the report focused on the work of botanist Naomi Fraga of the California Botanic Garden. For more than 15 years she has been trying to collect seeds from this plant, which will then be put into a vault for safekeeping, similar to the giant Svalbard (Norway) Global Seed Vault containing the seeds of important crop plants from around the world. She did collect many seeds from many other plants, but so far she’s empty handed with Salvia funeria. In 2026 the desert really bloomed, hope springs eternal, and she trying again.
Read the report, see the photos and listen to the 5-minute interview.
https://www.npr.org/sections/the-picture-show/2026/04/01/nx-s1-5749446/botanist-search-seeds-rare-death-valley-sage
Other web pages on Salvia funeria: Calscape, CNPS, Wikipedia
Read Naomi Fraga’s bio: https://naomifraga.com/naomi/
The California Botanic Garden where Naomi works, has their own website https://www.calbg.org/, well worth a look for anyone interested in native plants. You can:
- Visit their garden Tue-Sat 8am-7pm (what’s beautiful today)
- Become a member, get free admission to the garden,discounts on purchases, and more
- Volunteer
- Buy native plants
- Learn about the seed bank and buy seeds from over 6,000 California plant species
- Get their very interesting 12-page monthly Oak Notes newsletter
- Take classes & attend events
- Attend Seminar series’
- Donate to help
California Botanic Garden
1500 N. College Ave., Claremont CA 91711
909-625-8767 | info@calbg.org
[By Chuck Almdale]
It’s really easy to add an existing eBird checklist to the California Bird Atlas. If you have checklists for 2026 and noted breeding behavior codes on the list, you can add the entire checklist to the project in about one minute. [They prefer entire checklists.] If you noted any sort of breeding behavior but didn’t select a breeding code, you can select and enter the code during this process.
The California Bird Atlas (CBA) has a nicely done video showing you how to do it, only 2:48 long.
I suggest that you first determine if any of your 2026 eBird checklists have any breeding bird information in them. If you find one, then watch the video below in a separate tab, pausing the video and performing the steps.
You can watch the video here. If you want a transcript to read, scroll down past this video below.
Want a transcript to appear?
Watch the video on the CBA YouTube page.
Just below their name is a colored area with a blurb text beginning with “This video was created…”
Click the “…more” area, then scroll down to find the “Show Transcript” button and click it. The transcript appears to the right of the video and scrolls up as the video progresses.
When you’re done moving a checklist, a little 6-dot icon appears next to it in your ebird “My Checklists.”
Zoom Recording: Building California’s First Statewide Breeding Bird Atlas, with Van Pierszalowski
The recording of this program from 7 April 2026
is now available online
Building California’s First Statewide Breeding Bird Atlas, with Van Pierszalowski.
From the ocean to the deserts to the highest mountains, California is home to tens of millions of birds. But there’s no one definitive resource laying out exactly where the more than 700 bird species that live and breed in California can be found. The California Bird Atlas project aims to change that, by doing the first comprehensive, detailed bird survey of the entire state — all 58 counties, all 163,000 square miles. By the end of February over 100 breeding species had been confirmed, and by mid-March over 50,000 trip lists had been recorded by birders statewide. The leader of the project, Van Pierszalowski, tells us what’s involved in doing one of the most ambitious bird science projects ever, and how everyday birders can contribute to the effort.
Van sent us the following links to the California Bird Atlas Project.
Start Here:
- Join the Atlas and start contributing: CBA eBird Home Page
- New to the project:
○ Quick Start Guide (Text)
○ Quick Start Tutorial (Video)
Learn the Basics:
- About eBird (General)
- How to assign breeding codes (with examples): Breeding Code Overview
- Learn about ‘Atlas Blocks’: Atlas Blocks Overview
Explore Atlas Data:
- Project Effort Map (updated daily)
- Statewide Stats (updated daily)
- Species Maps (example: Bald Eagle)
About the Project:
- CBA Home Page
- Science Advisory Committee
- News and updates
- Town Hall Webinar: Intro to the Atlas
- FAQs
Follow Along:
Donate: Support California Bird Atlas, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Contact: info@californiabirdatlas.org
California Bird Atlas is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN: 33-2290415). Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. No goods or services are provided in exchange for contributions.
As of this posting (April 8, 2026, 3:30pm), the project has collected 68,688 checklists, 3422 atlasers, 5222 blocks with data, 344 species coded and 193 species confirmed.
• • • • • • •
Thousands of community members building
a lasting resource to protect biodiversity.
• • • • • • •
California’s first statewide Breeding Bird Atlas.
• • • • • • •
Forty-four states have completed Breeding Bird Atlases—
globally recognized tools that guide conservation efforts
and strengthen biodiversity.
California isn’t one of them. That’s about to change.
• • • • • • •
“Breeding Bird Atlases are large-scale efforts that tell us not just where birds are, but how birds actually use our landscapes. This initiative is critical to understanding the current status of birds in our state.”
— Morgan W. Tingley, Professor, Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA
Executive Director – California Bird Atlas
Van Pierszalowski is the Executive Director of the California Bird Atlas. Van’s childhood was split between Cambria, CA, and Kodiak Island, AK, where he worked on his father’s commercial salmon fishing boat for eight years. After earning a degree in Anthropology at UC Berkeley, he embarked on a successful career as a songwriter and musician, appearing on TV shows like Late Night with Conan O’Brien and CBS News Sunday Morning. Now living in LA, he’s fallen in love with the area’s varied habitats and stunning vagrant birds, and is continually inspired by its diverse birding community. In 2023, Van completed a California Big Year, recording 503 species, becoming only the second birder to surpass 500 in a single year in the state. He is an eBird Regional Reviewer for Los Angeles County, and leads trips for several local organizations, including Los Angeles Birders and the Pasadena Audubon Society.
You are all invited to the next ZOOM meeting
of Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society
Building California’s First Statewide Breeding Bird Atlas, with Van Pierszalowski.
Zoom Evening Meeting, Tuesday, 7 April, 7:30 p.m.
Zoom waiting room opens 7:15 p.m.
From the ocean to the deserts to the highest mountains, California is home to tens of millions of birds. But there’s no one definitive resource laying out exactly where the more than 700 bird species that live and breed in California can be found. The California Bird Atlas project aims to change that, by doing the first comprehensive, detailed bird survey of the entire state — all 58 counties, all 163,000 square miles. By the end of February over 100 breeding species had been confirmed, and by mid-March over 50,000 trip lists had been recorded by birders statewide. [CBA news link] The leader of the project, Van Pierszalowski, tells us what’s involved in doing one of the most ambitious bird science projects ever, and how everyday birders can contribute to the effort.
Thousands of community members building
a lasting resource to protect biodiversity.
• • • • • • •
California’s first statewide Breeding Bird Atlas.
• • • • • • •
Forty-four states have completed Breeding Bird Atlases—
globally recognized tools that guide conservation efforts
and strengthen biodiversity.
California isn’t one of them. That’s about to change.
• • • • • • •
“Breeding Bird Atlases are large-scale efforts that tell us not just where birds are, but how birds actually use our landscapes. This initiative is critical to understanding the current status of birds in our state.”
— Morgan W. Tingley, Professor, Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA
|
Executive Director – California Bird Atlas
Van Pierszalowski is the Executive Director of the California Bird Atlas. Van’s childhood was split between Cambria, CA, and Kodiak Island, AK, where he worked on his father’s commercial salmon fishing boat for eight years. After earning a degree in Anthropology at UC Berkeley, he embarked on a successful career as a songwriter and musician, appearing on TV shows like Late Night with Conan O’Brien and CBS News Sunday Morning. Now living in LA, he’s fallen in love with the area’s varied habitats and stunning vagrant birds, and is continually inspired by its diverse birding community. In 2023, Van completed a California Big Year, recording 503 species, becoming only the second birder to surpass 500 in a single year in the state. He is an eBird Regional Reviewer for Los Angeles County, and leads trips for several local organizations, including Los Angeles Birders and the Pasadena Audubon Society.
(If the button above doesn’t work for you, see detailed zoom invitation below.)
Meeting ID: 881 3364 9408
Passcode: 442920
One tap mobile
+16694449171,,88133649408#,,,,*442920# US
+16699009128,,88133649408#,,,,*442920# US (San Jose)
Joining Instructions
https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/88133649408/invitations?signature=lI40mgpUKbmG23PTEIHWfcipS2BOLqeSx_c15WK4G9M
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