Bird Watching Walk to Celebrate Black Birders Week

To highlight Black nature enthusiasts and to increase the visibility of Black birders, Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is partnering with the Bureau of Land Management and the Wilderness Society providing a free, family friendly introduction to birding. Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is an internationally known birding site with over 240 species of birds being recorded. Join Alicia Thomas, California Community Partnership Manager, The Wilderness Society, Jihadda Govan, Manager, Sand to Snow National Monument, and Kaeliegh Watson, Ranger, Big Morongo Canyon Preserve who will lead this introduction to bird watching, looking for migrating birds, as well as our year-round residents. If you don't have binoculars, we see you! We have some pairs on-hand so you can closely observe these wonderful avian friends.

Register now, as space is limited for a great experience with birds at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve.

We will walk along a boardwalk at the preserve which is handicapped accessible.

As usual in the desert, bring sun protection to include a hat, sunglasses, and water. One small bottle is not enough! Put several in your backpack. And, bring your cell phone and/or camera to take pictures of the colorful birds.

Alicia Thomas is the California Community Partnerships Manager for The Wilderness Society. She is an interdisciplinary ecologist, originally from Iberville Parish, Louisiana, and she's spent the past 7 years working in desert ecology throughout the Southwest. Alicia is interested in the intersections of ecology, culture, history, advocacy, and technology, and she’s explored these themes throughout her career through various roles in wildlife biology, federal policy, endangered species consultation, regional habitat conservation planning, public lands management, water resources, recreation, agriculture, environment education/interpretation—always through the lenses of justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. As an ecologist, Alicia has lifelong wonder and curiosity for how communities and all living beings (including birds) interact with their landscapes, and she's honored to be able to continue exploring that passion through her work. Her favorite birding experience is catching sunsets at the Salton Sea, where an incredible variety of birds fill the sky in Imperial County throughout the year as they fly toward the shore to roost for the night.

Jihadda Govan received her degree in 1996, from California Polytechnic University, Humboldt, where she studied Wildlife Management with an emphasis in ornithology, botany, and environmental planning. Growing up in the Pasadena/Altadena areas, she spent a great deal of time hiking and exploring in the San Gabriel Mountains where she gained her love of the outdoors. Early in her career, Ms. Govan worked as a temporary wildland firefighter, wildlife biologist, and wildlife refuge and preserve manager until her current position as the monument manager for the Sand to Snow National Monument. In her spare time, Jihadda enjoys hiking, walking her dogs, traveling with friends, botanizing, and of course, birding!

Kaeliegh Watson is Big Morongo Canyon Preserve's ranger where she gives interpretive talks and walks to families, school children, and adults. Kaeliegh is a student at Copper Mountain College in Environmental Sciences. She was awarded the Minerva Campbell Hoyt Internship at Joshua Tree National Park where she worked and studied with the Science and Resource Stewardship Division of the park.