GGAS Blog
Not for beginners only: Two new birding books
By Ilana DeBare There are birding books that are great for beginners, and then there are birding books that are great for beginners AND. The past several months saw publication of two unique bird guides that will charm experienced birders as well as novices—especially those of us living in the Bay Area. These are Birds
Chaetura Swifts: From trees to chimneys
By Rusty Scalf Even a passing acquaintance with the natural world reveals that species exist on a continuum from Specialist to Generalist—from species that require a very particular habitat to those that can survive in a variety of places. Both have their strengths but the vulnerabilities of the specialist are easily seen. What happens to
Honoring the Berkeley Bird Festival
By Ryan Nakano Just over three week ago, Golden Gate Audubon, in partnership with the California Institute of Community, Art and Nature, held the inaugural Berkeley Bird Festival, which I’m delighted to say was a great success. Of course, success is subjective and dependent upon how we measure it. Since the festival ended, I’ve had
Richmond Christmas Bird Count Takes Shape
By Ryan Nakano When the first Christmas Bird Count (CBC) started back in the early 1900’s, conservationists were attempting to square the circle, i.e. tackle a seemingly insurmountable problem. At the time, hunters carried out the Christmas “side hunt” and bird populations were noticeably dropping at an alarming rate. In response, conservationists counted birds on
Bird chalk art at the Berkeley Bird Festival
By Ilana DeBare The sidewalks of U.C. Berkeley blossomed with colorful bird life on Sunday — a chalk art aviary that was part of the first-ever Berkeley Bird Festival. Golden Gate Audubon Society invited artists and nature sketchers, adults and kids, casual doodlers and “me? I can’t draw!” passersby to join in creating chalk art
Birding at the University of California Botanical Garden
By Chris Carmichael With one of the richest plant collections in the United States, the University of California Botanical Garden (UCBG) offers birders in the Bay Area a range of unique birding opportunities. Located in Strawberry Canyon in the hills above the UC Berkeley campus, the UCBG plant collections are arranged in a biogeographical manner (California,
Help Protect Our Birds in the Altamont Pass
In less than one week, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors will decide whether to approve of the Mulqueeney Ranch Wind Repowering Project despite the fact that it will unnecessarily kill large numbers of Golden Eagles, Burrowing Owls, Swainson’s Hawks, and Tricolored Blackbirds, many of which are already severely impacted by the Altamont Pass. On
Lake Merritt Docents: The Wonder of Birds
By Maureen Lahiff Ducks and waterbirds come in close toward the paved path around the lake. Gulls drop mussels on the path to crack their shells. Black-crowned Night-Herons sit motionless in the trees. For the past several years, passionate Golden Gate Audubon volunteers have helped passerby notice, understand, and appreciate these everyday moments at Lake
eBird Streaking Leads to Better Birding
By Marjorie Powell I followed the lockdown rules carefully; I went out once a week for groceries; I went birding, alone, once or twice a week. I read book after book—history, biography, fiction, emptying the shelves of books collected over the years. Then Golden Gate Audubon Society member and birding instructor Dawn Lemoine asked me
Tesla Park: A Win for Wildlife
By Ilana DeBare There are too few victories for wildlife these days, but East Bay conservationists and their legislative allies just managed to save 3,100 acres of unique habitat in the hills of southeastern Alameda County. State lawmakers and Governor Newsom agreed last week to turn the property known as Tesla Park into a permanent
MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline: Birding Hotspot
By Blake Edgar Wedged between Interstate 880 and Oakland International Airport along the eastern edge of San Leandro Bay, Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline protects a remnant of a once-extensive tidal marsh. This habitat maintains a population of endangered Ridgway’s Rails and serves many shorebirds and water birds, especially during winter migration. This area
Oysters, Climate Change, and Pier 94
By Noreen Weeden Pier 94, our habitat restoration site along San Francisco’s southeastern shoreline, is a potential oyster hotbed! No, we’re not talking about turning Pier 94 into the next Hog Island Oyster Company. These are a different kind of oysters—tiny native oysters that make better eating for wildlife than for humans, and that could