The 2025 Central Valley Birding Symposium was held at the Stockton Hilton Hotel, bringing together over 200 birders from California and beyond. A glass of wine or a beer, stories of birds seen and not seen, and companionship were on the informal program as David Yee started the ball rolling.

Formally, Ed Harper’s beautiful presentation on Birding the High Arctic in Svalbard opened the program, highlighting Walrus, Polar Bear, and Ivory Gull. Ed’s presentation was as memorable as getting within 8 degrees of the North Pole.

Despite the rain, participants enjoyed a variety of field trips across the Central Valley, observing 161 species over two and a half days. Notable sightings included Red-breasted Merganser, Pacific Golden Plover, Short-eared Owl, Hammond’s Flycatcher, and Mountain Bluebird.

Friday’s keynote by Erro Lehnert provided an insightful overview of the California Condor Recovery Program, sharing firsthand experiences as a wildlife biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Her personal involvement with these magnificent birds was an inspiring look at how heroes are achieving an improbable recovery in the wild.

Students were the stars of the show on Saturday. Lynette Williams Duman organized an afternoon of University of California at Davis students presenting their research on Central Valley birds. And for the first time, students from Stockton’s University of the Pacific also presented. The symposium has become an important way for students to engage with the local birding community and to present their work to an interested audience.

Jonn Dunn and Fernanda Araujo started a 2-year series on flycatcher identification, beginning with Myiarchids and Kingbirds. Empidonax and Peewees will be covered next year. Paul Bannick offered a comprehensive look at woodpecker species from his recent book. His beautiful photographs captured the magic of woodpeckers going about their daily lives.

The weekend concluded with the silent auction organized by Tom and Laura Uslan, which raised funds for student scholarships, research grants, publications, and conservation efforts. The symposium is the club’s major fundraiser, and we thank everyone who successfully (or unsuccessfully) bid. And thanks also to everyone who attended, led field trips, spoke, volunteered, or just attended and had a good time. Special thanks to Katie Steiner for registration, Cliff Hawley for field trips, Stephanie Levens for merchandise, Chris Conard for vendors, and the whole symposium committee and board for organization. See you next year for the 30th annual CVBC symposium on November 19–21.