$5-10 suggested donation. Limited to 15 participants.
Meet at 9:30 AM at the Olsen Barn Meadow parking area off Highway 36.
Bring comfortable shoes for walking, sun protection, water, snacks, binoculars.
Activity level 2.
DESCRIPTION Join PAS Board Member Mitch Poling for a walk along the Chester Railroad Grade trail bordering the town of Chester and ending at the Olsen Barn. This bird walk is on mostly flat ground and is bordered by riparian vegetation that is prime for wildlife viewing. TRIP LEADER: MITCH POLING Mitch Poling grew up in Michigan and attended Grand Valley State University. There, he studied natural resource management, with an emphasis on wildlife management and ecosystem restoration. After working a couple of seasons for the Forest Service in Baldwin, MI, he began seeking out wildlife work in the Sierras. After moving around to various places, a Northern goshawk surveyor position with the Plumas Audubon Society caught his attention. He moved here for the job, with his partner Jac, and they pretty quickly became enamored with Plumas County. With its unique ecology and beauty, Mitch decided that this is where he wanted to work to promote the wellbeing of wildlife and the ecosystems that they reside in. While living here, he has done surveys for Northern goshawks, black-backed woodpeckers, California spotted owls, Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs, willow flycatchers, and carnivores, as well as various habitat restoration and fire management efforts with the Forest Service. When it's the off season for field work, he's often working in kitchens. If you've eaten at Pangaea, he has probably fed you. He has also worked at some notable restaurants in Grand Rapids, MI and Portland, OR. When he isn't doing field work or working in the kitchen, he enjoys a good hike, camping, birding, fishing, reading old sci-fi novels, playing guitar, experiencing new music, watching old cartoons, the occasional video game, and relaxing by the creek. Mitch's favorite bird is a hermit thrush!