GGAS BLOG
Welcome to our online blog featuring thoughtful articles on everything from birding hotspots to bird science written by members of our community.
In order to keep this blog as engaging and relevant as possible we welcome all interested contributors to pitch their article idea(s) to our communications desk at rnakano@goldengateaudubon.org. We are especially interested in publishing blog posts from writers within underrepresented communities including; Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, LGBTQIA+ individuals and people with disabilities. For more information on contributing blog posts and the editing process visit our Blog Guideline page here.
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Calling All CBC Yard Watchers
By Ryan Nakano Every year Golden Gate Audubon organizes Christmas Bird Counts, providing fun and exciting opportunities for people living in the Bay Area to contribute to community science. Originally pitched by conservationist Frank Chapman back in 1900 as an alternative to Christmas bird hunts, the Christmas Bird Count has been a beloved annual event
Meeker Slough
By Gail Kurtz A small mudflat channel along Richmond’s southern shoreline, MEEKER SLOUGH is easy to miss. It cuts a narrow track between UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station and the Marina Bay residential community, eventually draining into a tidal marsh nestled against the bay. Meeker Slough may be little, but it plays a big part
Lands End
By Dominik Mosur Summertime can be slow for the city birder. Migration is largely over by the end of May and city parks and backyard green belts only harbor a few hardy local nesting species. At this time of year, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area parcel at Lands End becomes especially relevant on early
Corona Hill
By Dominik Mosur The City of San Francisco is sprinkled with an array of small parks ideal for a birder on a time budget. One of my favorites, especially on a warm, east wind day in Fall, is Corona Hill. Standing approximately 540 degrees above current sea level, Corona Hill is a lone outcrop on
California’s 30×30 Goal
By Whitney Grover What is 30×30? In 2020 Governor Newsom signed executive order N-82-20, committing to protect 30% of California’s land and coastal waters by 2030. In September of 2022 the state legislature passed, and Newsom signed into law, AB 2278 (sponsored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra), directing the California Natural Resources Agency to implement the
I Heard It Through The Vine: Butterflies on Mount Sutro
By Liam O’Brien People always come to a butterfly walk slightly fearful. I find this strange considering how much joy these bugs seem to give us all. But it is true primarily because many aren’t sure of their butterfly species and the butterflies fly around so damn fast how could anyone really identify them? (Fascinatingly
Q&A with Wildlife Photographer Peter Shen
After receiving the announcement for the National Audubon Society Photography Competition Winners, I reached out to Golden Gate Audubon member and most recent winner of the NAS Photography Amateur Award, Peter Shen. Peter was recognized for his photo of a Western Grebe and her chicks fighting over a fish down at the Calero Reservoir in San Jose, CA.
Behind a Winning Shot
By Alan Krakauer By now you may have seen the winners of the 2022 Audubon Photography Awards. Given the ever-expanding ranks of excellent bird photographers, I had no expectation of winning anything when I submitted three photos this spring. I had entered a few times in the past, and with the exception of a photo
How to See Nesting California Least Terns and their Chicks
By Marjorie Powell California Least Terns (Sternula antillarum browni) can be seen plunge-diving for fish at several East Bay locations in the summer but seeing them nesting is more difficult. Traditionally, Least Terns make scrapes in the sand to lay their two or three eggs, but with beaches full of people and dogs, the terns
On Naming Individual Birds
By Ryan Nakano When I bought my first car I named it Lorelai, after Lorelai Gilmore from the show Girlmore Girls. Growing up with beagles, my family had Elsa, and then Buddy. My cat has many names, the primary of which is Eevee, after the Pokemon, although this is disputed by my girlfriend who named
How Many Birds Can Be Found in the Bay Area in One Day?
Originally published on June 15 in Bay Nature By Lia Keener and Mukta Patil Birders sometimes have competitions to see who can find the most bird species in a set amount of time. If you want to participate in one of these, a few things to know first: It is frenetic. It is competitive. Forget
The Birds and The Beavers
By Elizabeth Winstead I may not be the best birder since I’m not much of a morning person, but recently I woke up at an ungodly hour to drive to Fairfield for the dawn. I thought, “Who is this person who really doesn’t like to be cold, but is so captivated that she forgets she