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| About BirdNUTZ
Les Chibana is nuts about birds. And BirdNUTZ
is Les Chibana.
Les set off on his fateful involvement birds
when he helped to hand-raise a Red-crested Cardinal, named
"Sam", from nestling to fledgling in Hawaii. His
friend, Barbara Tam, rescued the just-hatched bird at her
workplace and named him. She cajoled a not-so-certain Les
into taking care of the little bird during her classes while
they attended college. Like Sam, Les fledged in Hawaii.
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Les wearing inspirational
headwear, above left, and the inspiration, Ciba, the
Galah, above right. |
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To the right, a Sam
look-alike, a Red-crested (aka Brazilian) Cardinal,
an introduced species in Hawaii. |
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Since experiencing the everyday details of nestling
care, Les paid more attention to birds he subsequently encountered.
For nine years, he was a volunteer bird-bander at the San Francisco
Bay Bird Observatory's Coyote Creek Field Station (formerly Riparian
Station), studying birds while holding them. He has been an avid
bird photographer for over 10 years. For eight years, he taught
beginning and intermediate birding classes at Palo Alto Adult
School, leading many fieldtrips for his classes. He continues
to teach at the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Center.
His bird guiding experiences have taken him to many
amazing birding locations:
• Alaska for Sierra Club Outings
• The Hawaiian Islands for Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris (one
trip included an incredible visit to Midway Atoll)
• Monterey Bay pelagic trips for Monterey Seabirds and Cheesemans'
Ecology Safaris
• California areas including the Kern River Valley &
Plateau, Yuba Pass & Sierra Valley, and the Lower Klamath
Basin
• Southeast Arizona, as a personal guide
• He will soon be leading bird trips to the lush and diverse
habitats of Costa Rica
BirdNUTZ is a further expression of his love for
leading trips and teaching others about birds.
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If you have questions, grab
the pigeon to the left and send a note. |
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