The southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) is indeed a ‘rare bird’ in every sense of the word and today it was heard and confirmed for the first time on the Ojai Meadows Preserve.  Bird expert and retired US Fish and Wildlife Service employee Jesse Grantham and his friend Peter Larramendy were bird watching on the Ojai Meadows Preserve early Wednesday morning and were stopped in their tracks by the bird’s distinctive fitz-bews.  Grantham said, “this is the first one I’ve heard in about 20 years.  It was fun!”

On Saturday the Sespe Fly Fishers Club recognized Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard's commitment to preservation of the environment and support for local conservation through direct action in the Ojai Valley.

As part of its continuing efforts to preserve the entire Ventura River, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, on June 17th, successfully completed the purchase of a roughly 1 mile stretch of the Ventura River.  This section of the river near its confluence with San Antonio Creek has deep, cool, shaded pools that don’t dry up in the hot Ojai summers.  These pools provide a refuge for endangered southern California steelhead as they await flow conditions which allow them to continue their migration upstream.  In addition to steelhead, this new “Ventura River Steelhead Preserve” offers a home for 31 other “special status” species listed at the state or federal level.  This list includes the California red-legged frog, Least Bell’s vireo, great egret, white-faced ibis, and southwestern pond turtle.