Improve your birding skills — or get started in birdwatching with some friendly, expert help! Golden Gate Audubon offers classes for all levels of birding experience. Please register for our classes online (easy and fast). If you don’t have access to a computer, call our office at (510) 843-2222 and we will return your call as soon as possible.

CANCELLATION POLICY: As a small organization with limited office staff, it is challenging for us to handle last-minute cancellations. If you need to cancel, we will refund your registration fee if :

(1) You withdraw more than two weeks before the start of the class, AND

(2) We can fill your spot with someone from the class waiting list.

Please note that there will be a $5 cancellation fee to cover the credit card transaction costs for your sign-up and cancellation.

For information on GGAS classes at the Lake Merritt Rotary Nature Center go to https://goldengateaudubon.org/classes-rnc/

Spring 2019 Birding Classes

Birding by Ear – Late Spring FULL
April 18 through May 25

Oh my, song is in full force. From the morning chorus to the evening roosting, birds are singing,
reinforcing pair bonds, defending territories, and just keeping track of one another. It’s a
wonderful time to be in the field and improve your birdsong knowledge. Join Denise in class
and in the field. Field trip locations are listed on the instructor’s website denisewightbirds.com

• Six Thursday evening classes, April 18 to May 23; 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• Six three-hour field trips on the Saturday following each class, 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.
• Instructor: Denise Wight
• Limit to 20 participants
• $110 for GGAS members, $130 for non-members
• Location: Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline Street, directly across the street from Ashby
  BART in Berkeley. Free parking in the lot behind the center.

Click HERE to register online. Once the class is full, you may register to be on a waiting list.

Beginning Birdwatching – Spring FULL
March 25 through April 27

This great introduction to bird-watching will teach you about the migrants and seasonal visitors, as well as year-round residents. Instructor Anne Hoff will familiarize you with the tools of the trade — binoculars, field guides, scopes, and the best local places to watch birds.  In Monday evening classroom sessions, she’ll introduce you to different kinds of birds. Then on the following Saturday, she’ll help you spot them in the field! No prior birding experience required. Note: You will need to own or borrow binoculars for this class, but they are not necessary until the first field trip.

• Five Monday evening classes, March 25 to April 22 – 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• Five field trips to a different site every week, 8:30 to 11 a.m. on the Saturday after each
  class. (March 30-April 27)
• Instructor: Anne Hoff
• Limited to 16 participants
• $100 for GGAS members, $120 for non-members
• Location: Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline Street, directly across the street from Ashby
  BART in Berkeley. Free parking in the lot behind the center.

Click HERE to register online. Once the class is full, you may register to be on a waiting list.

Advanced Beginning Birdwatching – Spring FULL
March 27 through April 28

The Advanced Beginning class is geared to people who have already taken our Beginning Birding class, OR who have birded once a month (on average) for at least a year. Participants must have and use binoculars confidently. Field trips will be to East Bay woodland, riparian, and
grassland locations to see breeding birds.  This class will help you understand the various bird families and master tricky IDs. It will also introduce you to citizen science (bird counting/monitoring) activities and current bird conservation issues.

• Five Wednesday evening classes, March 27 to April 24; 7 to 8:30 PM
• Five three-hour field trips to a different site every week on the Sunday following each
  class, 8:30 to 11:30 AM (March 31-April 28)
• Instructor: Anne Hoff
• Limited to 16 participants
• $100 for GGAS members, $120 for non-members

Location: Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline Street, directly across the street from Ashby
BART in Berkeley. Free parking in the lot behind the center.

Click HERE to register online. Once the class is full, you may register to be on a waiting list.

Songbird
Only 1 spot left!
April 2 through April 27

Woods, fields, riparian corridors and urban backyards are filled with song in the spring. The Bay
Area hosts a rich array of songbirds: year-round, winter residents, and summer residents.
What is a songbird? How do they produce their complex songs? What are the functions of
male and female song? How do the young learn their songs?
In addition to sharpening your ID skills, this class will increase your appreciation of these
remarkable birds.

• Four Tuesday evening classes, April 2 to April 23; 7 to 8:30 PM
• Four three-hour field trips on the Saturday following each class, 8:30 to 11:30 AM
• Instructors: Maureen Lahiff
• Limited to 20 participants
• $80 for GGAS members, $100 for non-members
• Location: Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline Street, directly across the street from Ashby
  BART in Berkeley. Free parking in the lot behind the center.

Click HERE to register online. Once the class is full, you may register to be on a waiting list.

Birds of the Sierra, Sessions 1 and 2

Registration for both classes opens on Wed., March 6 at 9:00 a.m.

Two sessions of the popular class “Birds of the Sierra” will be offered again this year. Both will be held at and near Yuba Pass, on highway 49 between Sierra City and Sierraville, in Sierra and Plumas Counties. Classes include six half-day field trips to different habitats in Sierra Valley and its surroundings, as well as a lecture and dinner at SFSU’s Sierra Nevada Field Campus in Bassetts. An optional evening trip to hear booming Bitterns and winnowing Snipes may be arranged.

Birds we may see include many Sierra specialties: Swainson’s Hawk, Sandhill Crane, White-headed and Lewis’s Woodpecker, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Calliope Hummingbird, Empidonax flycatchers, Cassin’s Finch, Mountain Chickadee, Mountain Bluebird, Sage Thrasher, MacGillivray’s and Hermit Warbler, Western Tanager, Green-tailed Towhee and Brewer’s and Vesper Sparrow.

 Birds of the Sierra I, taught by Rusty Scalf and Bob Lewis,
meets from 3 p.m. Thursday
June 6th to noon on Sunday June 9th.

 Birds of the Sierra II, taught by Eddie Bartley and Bob Lewis,
meets from 3 p.m.
Thursday June 13th to noon on Sunday June 16th.

Each class is limited to 25 people. The fee of $175 (or $200 for non-GGAS members) includes one dinner at SFSU campus. Room and other meals are not included in the fee. Bob Lewis will send a more detailed itinerary and information about where to look for lodging after registration. Questions? Email Bob Lewis at bob@wingbeats.org.

Registration for both classes opens on Wed., March 6 at 9:00 a.m.
Click HERE to register online for Session 1.
Click HERE to register online for Session 2. Session 2 is FULL
Once a class is full, you may register to be on a waiting list.

You might also enjoy Joe Morlan’s non-GGAS classes “Topics in Field Ornithology” at City College of San Francisco starting March 13

For more information call (415) 561-1860 or go to
https://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/spring19.htm