GGAS

Cancellation of SF and Oakland 2020 Christmas Bird Counts

It is with heavy hearts that we announce that the 2020 San Francisco and Oakland Christmas Bird Counts have been cancelled due to public health orders. We are grateful to those of you who signed up for our sponsored counts. And of course, we are disappointed that we will have to wait until 2021 to join with you in the next Christmas Bird Counts.  

We are cancelling the counts this year due to the Bay Area’s newest regional stay-at-home orders, which prohibit interaction between members of different households and also has shut down many outdoor destinations. Although we did our best this year to adapt the CBCs to help ensure safety, we are cancelling the event to comply with the Bay Area’s health orders.

In the meantime, here are two online events that we’d recommend for you to participate in.

Project Feeder Watch: Go to feederwatch.org and learn how to create and contribute your report about birds that you see at your feeder. Your reports will be part of a valuable reservoir of data for conservation projects!

Auk the Vote’s Phone Banks for Georgia: The Georgia Senate run-offs determine control of the US Senate. Please join a coordinated effort by Auk the Vote!, Georgia Audubon, and the Environmental Voter Project in a series of non partisan phone banks beginning December 19th. Go to aukthevote.org for more information on how you can participate. 

We can take solace in the beautiful natural environment that surrounds us, and our continued ability to go out in the company of members of our household or just in the company of nature, to enjoy our local birds. We are also optimistic that next year we will be able to enjoy each other’s company during the count and at the celebratory post-count dinner. 

Let’s look forward to the San Francisco and Oakland CBC in 2021! Stay safe and be well.…

Updates From GGAS

Thank you for your continued support of GGAS during this difficult year. Here are some updates to get us through the rest of 2020!

We hope you like our new website! GGAS’s Communications Manager, Melissa Ramos, has been hard at work over the past several months to bring you a refreshed, contemporary and easy to use site. Take a look around at our new content (like our Archives and Conservation sections!). We hope you’ll also enjoy the custom bird-themed artwork by Bay Area tattoo artist, Tex Buss. Are you a bird photographer? We’re looking for beautiful bird photos for our rotating cover image on our main page. Send photos to Melissa at mramos@goldengateaudubon.org.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the GGAS office remains closed to the public, however there are plenty of ways to stay connected with us! Check out our social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for daily updates, articles, and beautiful bird photos. And of course, check out our website for daily updates through our news posts and blogs!

Our beloved Speaker Series event has officially been converted into an online format. If you’d like to learn more about our Speaker Series, and take a look at upcoming events, please click here. We are proud to offer our Speaker Series free of charge. Our events can accommodate up to 500 viewers.

Some of our habitat restoration events have restarted, with limitations due to county and Covid-19 rules. If you’d like to learn more about upcoming opportunities, please click here or email our Manager of Volunteer Services, Janet Carpinelli at jcarpinelli@goldengateaudubon.org.

We are also pleased to announce that we are planning to move forward with our annual Christmas Bird Count, pending county rules and restrictions. You can learn more about the 2020 Christmas Bird Counts by clicking here.

While we are offering tentative field trips as part of our fall/winter adult education classes, our general field trips are currently on hold until 2021. We hope to see you in the field next year. Until then, keep in touch with us on social media, stay safe, and take care! …

Get Ready for the 2020 Christmas Bird Count!

 

Golden Gate Audubon is pleased to announce that our Christmas Bird Counts will take place this December. GGAS traditionally sponsors two counts — one centered around Oakland and one centered around San Francisco.

Spend a fun day outdoors with a team counting individual birds and species, and contributing to our understanding of bird populations. Both beginners and experienced birders welcome.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this year’s teams will be much smaller in number and will require social distancing, masks, and your own scopes and equipment. Our Oakland count will take place on Sunday, December 20, 2020. The San Francisco count will take place on Tuesday, December 29, 2020. We will not host our traditional in-person dinners, but we will host a final tally count via Zoom. 

Cedar Waxwing by Stan Lupo

Registration for the 2020 counts will open in early November.

To learn more about the counts, please go to our Christmas Bird Count page by clicking here. If you’d like to register to receive Christmas Bird Count email alerts, please email our Communications Manager, Melissa, at mramos@goldengateaudubon.org. You can also continue to check our website for more updates. …

GGAS Is Hiring!

Open Position for Executive Director

GGAS is seeking an engaged, mission-oriented Executive Director to work in collaboration with the Board, its small, talented staff, and incredible volunteers to manage, nurture, and grow its programs designed to support a community of Bay Area conservationists and bird enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds. 

To learn more about this job position, please click here.

You can also click here to apply directly for the job.

Please help us by spreading the word to anyone you may know who meets our qualification requirements.

Photo of Peregrine Falcon by Doug Mosher

…

Summer 2020 Gull is available

The spring 2020 issue of our Gull newsletter is now available online, featuring details on the positive impact of GGAS's Master Birder class.