Slowly stroll around the S.F. Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park, exploring the many birds that thrive amidst several micro-habitats with more than 8,000 kinds of plants. This trip is oriented towards helping beginning birders develop their skills, and recurs on the first Sunday of each month. Entry to the Garden is free before 9 ... Read more

Birding in the Moraga area on level trails and fire roads owned by East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). This area features a variety of habitats: chaparral and scrub, grassland, pine-oak woodland, marsh, and the top of the reservoir. Likely birds include raptors, sparrows, California Thrasher, nuthatches, wrens, and the shy Wood Ducks. We will ... Read more

The Nature Conservancy manages the farmlands on Staten Island for the wintering Sandhill Cranes. The flooded fields have a variety of shorebirds, waterbirds and raptors. Tundra Swans are also likely. Cosumnes has a great variety of wintering ducks and is a fairly reliable place for Wilson’s Snipe. The Staten Island part of the trip is ... Read more

Have you made a New Year’s Resolution to learn some new birding skills or brush-up on some rusty birding skills? Come bird with us at the Blake Garden. Winter is a great time to hone in on your skills by finding the resident and overwintering birds when many broad-leafed trees are bare. The Blake Garden ... Read more

Join me for an easy, flat 0.75 mile stroll around Hilltop Lake in Richmond to look at ducks, woodpeckers, passerines, and maybe raptors and a wader or two. Freshwater pond surrounded by willows, cattails, and native and ornamental trees and shrubs. Check out ebird bar chart for this location at https://ebird.org/barchart?r=L1405454&yr=all&m=. Please bring binoculars. There ... Read more

All are welcome but LGBTQ+ and BIPOC folks are especially invited to a participatory field trip. We all benefit when anyone shares their observations, knowledge and enthusiasm.  There should be large birds that can be seen without binoculars, including migratory and winter water birds. We will likely discover land birds by sight and ear too. ... Read more

Meet in front of the Community Garden to explore several different habitats in this compact part of GGNRA. This will be the beginning of winter, which means all our wintering species should be present, and the species count can be as high as 50.  We'll explore Aquatic Park for Red-Breasted Mergansers and other ducks, grebes ... Read more

Here’s another chance to experience the incredible spectacle of millions of waterfowl convening every winter to turn the Central Valley into a veritable avian Serengeti.  Join GGAS on a day trip to Gray Lodge, a California State Wildlife Area on the north side of the Sutter Buttes, “the world’s smallest mountain range”, in the center ... Read more

We will cycle about 10 miles from Warm Springs BART to Coyote Creek Lagoon and back: 5 miles on city streets and 5 miles on gravel trail.  Beginners welcome! https://www.fws.gov/refuge/don_edwards_san_francisco_bay/Visit/Coyote.Creek.Map.html We will look for wintering ducks, shorebirds, waders and other species in the slough east of the trail and the marsh to the west.   ... Read more

Still the high season for birds at Lake Merritt, the oldest bird sanctuary in the country, with all the winter visitors still here. Come take advantage of a hoped-for break in the weather and enjoy them! MASKS REQUIRED FOR THIS FIELD TRIP Leader: Ruth Tobey,  ruthtobey@gmail.com, (510) 717-3264; Hilary Powers, hilary@salamanderfeltworks.com This trip is free ... Read more

A new Trailhead has been officially opened on Clarendon Ave where there is usually ample parking on weekends. We’ll cover about two miles with significant climbing on mostly well-graded trails with some rocky spots and exposed roots (sutrostewards.org/trail-map) in the UCSF Mount Sutro Open Space Preserve. The preserve is a 61-acre remnant of more than 2000 ... Read more

Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline is truly one of the gems of the East Bay. Along the shoreline, beautiful views of the Bay complement the opportunity to see a variety of waterbirds. As you head inland, you pass through open fields, dense scrub, and then up into the rolling hills, some of which are blanketed in forest. ... Read more