PHOTO BY KEITH SAUER NATIVE BIRDS ARE PROTECTED BY LAW, AND DURING NESTING SEASON REMOVAL OR DISTURBANCE OF ACTIVE NESTS, INCLUDING THOSE BUILT ON STRUCTURES, IS PROHIBITED. THESE BLACK PHOEBE CHICKS WILL SOON FLEDGE FROM THEIR NEST UNDER A BUILDING EAVE. While many people have at least cursory knowledge of the Endangered Species Act and perhaps of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, most are unaware of a number of other federal and state laws that protect wild birds and their habitats and govern how to deal with them. Many species considered common, and that even birding enthusiasts may take for granted, enjoy protections from adverse impacts under that legal umbrella.

For example, suppose you live in an apartment complex where cliff swallows are nesting, and the apartment manager has ordered the nests removed. Is this legal?

Or suppose you keep a small collection of feathers you’ve found during your travels. Someone told you it’s against the law to possess these without a permit. Is that correct?

Perhaps you’ve read that a wheat field harboring thousands of tricolored blackbird nests was harvested during the nestling period but that killing these birds was legal because farmers are exempt from laws that otherwise protect such birds. Is that true?

Maybe you’re sitting at an outdoor café, and Brewer’s blackbirds, apparently to protect nestlings in a nearby tree, are dive-bombing diners and passersby, some of whom swing at the aggressive birds to ward off the attacks. What can the restaurant manager legally do to protect patrons without harming the birds or violating the law?

Or you’ve heard that a large housing development is proposed for construction in a grassland area where you regularly see Swainson’s hawks. Because this hawk is listed under the California Endangered Species Act, will its presence on the site stop the proposed development project?

Jeff Davis, an ecologist with H. T. Harvey & Associates in Fresno, will answer these questions and others as he reviews the laws and regulations that protect wild birds in California in a slide presentation, “The Rights of Birds: You, Birds and the Law,” at the November meeting of the Yosemite Area Audubon Society in Oakhurst. The program will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Oakhurst Senior Center on Cinder Lane.

Along with his role as an ecological consultant and writer, Davis works as a research biologist for the University of California, Santa Cruz. He co-founded the Big Sur Ornithology Lab and founded the natural history museum at UC Santa Cruz. He is now writing a book about the natural history of California birds for UC Press.

To reach the Oakhurst Senior Center, turn onto Road 425B from Road 426, drive about a half mile and turn right on Cinder Lane. Immediately after turning, take the left fork and follow the signs to the Senior Center (past the Oakhurst Community Center) to the end of Cinder Lane.

Like all Yosemite Area Audubon Society programs, Davis’s presentation is open and free to the public, although donations to defray program costs and to support Audubon’s local activities are welcome. Refreshments will be available afterward.

The Yosemite Area Audubon Society will also offer a birding trip to Hornitos and Merced Falls Reservoir (McSwain Forebay) on Saturday, Nov. 21. Participants will meet at 8 a.m at the Mariposa Rest Area adjacent to the Mariposa History Center to carpool. The trip is free and the public is welcome. Bring binoculars, field guides, lunch and water.

Call 742-5579 for additional information about either the program or the birding trip.

The Yosemite Area Audubon Society is a chapter of the National Audubon Society under the state office, Audubon California. All are dedicated to the preservation of natural habitats and native species and to educating and inspiring others to help protect those resource values.