Skip to content
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Our Staff
    • About Our Board
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • GGAS in the News
    • Annual Report
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
    • Join/Renew
    • Donate
    • Other Ways to Give
    • Planned Giving
    • Member Login
    • Corporate Partnerships
Golden Gate Audubon Society
Golden Gate Audubon Society
  • Education
    • Speaker Series
      • Past Speakers
    • Eco-Ed for Kids
    • Adult Education Classes
    • Rotary Nature Center
  • Conservation
    • Bird-Friendly Coffee Club
  • Volunteer
  • Bird With Us
    • Field Trip Information
    • Travel with GGAS
    • SF Bay Ospreys
    • Birding Resources
      • Authors
    • Christmas Bird Counts
    • The Gull
    • Golden Gate Birder Blog
    • GGAS’s Birdathon
  • Archives
    • Trip Reports by Year
    • Past Speakers
    • The Gull Archives
    • GGAS Press Releases
    • Travel with GGAS – Past Tours
  • Donate
 

GGAS Field Trip Report

February 1, 2020 Ballena Bay, Alameda

Trip Leader(s):

Megan Jankowski

Date/Location:

February 1, 2020
Ballena Bay, Alameda

Trip Info:

Number of Participants: 18
Number of Species: 41

Saturday was an unusually foggy day all over the bay, which made terrible conditions for scoping rafts of ducks off of Alameda. Upon arriving at 9 a.m. conditions were bad and only got worse. After seeing a few birds, including a Spotted Sandpiper on the shore, we decided to reverse our route and bird the inner Ballena Bay before walking along the outer SF bayside.

Ballena Bay is a great spot because aside from the offshore ducks you can reliably see a nice variety of landbirds such as Western Bluebirds, Western Meadowlarks, and usually a Say’s Phoebe. Walking among the buildings the first bird we spotted was a lone Red-breasted Nuthatch low on a trunk, which was slightly unexpected. Moving in to a small courtyard to view Bushtits, we found a Black-Crowned Night Heron hidden in the leaves. 

Moving on further brought coots, a few Common Goldeneye, more Spotted Sandpipers, Lease Sandpipers and a Snowy Egret. Crab Cove was not visible through the fog, and the marina wall and docks were empty of roosting shorebirds. 

Toward the end of the walk conditions were just starting to clear, and we saw only a handful of Surf Scoter. Most notable however was a first winter Ring-billed Gull that walked right up to the group. It had an obviously injured left wing, so I captured it and drove it to International Bird Rescue. IBRC confirmed it has a fractured ulna. With their expert care and a bit of luck, hopefully this bird will fly again.

Full eBird list:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S64014142  

More Reports

March 25, 2020 Lake Merritt

The March 4th-Wednesday Golden Gate Audubon walk was cancelled, like pretty much everything else in this first month of the recognized pandemic, but I strolled

Read More »

February 26, 2020 Lake Merritt

“That’s the bird of the day!” sang out one participant, looking up at a catalpa tree across from the Garden Center. As always when approaching

Read More »

February 16, 2020 Chain of Lakes Golden Gate Park

We had a very productive morning with pleasant, mostly sunny weather, a bit cool in the shade, and an enthusiastic group of about 15.  Our

Read More »

February 16, 2020 Fort Mason

Today’s field trip participants were able to see most of the overwintering special birds, including the male ORCHARD ORIOLE, a YELLOW-SHAFTED NORTHERN FLICKER, an Intergrade

Read More »

February 15, 2020 Patterson Pass

14 of us including Carol and I had a great time pounding the back roads of Eastern Alameda County on a delightful, windless, faux-spring day. 

Read More »

February 12, 2020 Hilltop Lake Park

Eight of us had a very nice walk on a sunny, warm winter day.  Birds are getting ready for spring and were super active.  Ducks

Read More »

Our Mission

The Golden Gate Audubon Society engages people to experience the wonder of birds and to translate that wonder into actions which protect native bird populations and their habitats.

Home page photo of Allen’s Hummingbird by Robert Ho. Home page photos rotate on a monthly basis. If you have a Bay Area bird photo you would like us to consider, email us at mramos@goldengateaudubon.org.

Home page bird illustrations by Tex Buss. We are grateful for her generous donation of time and talent!

Facebook
Instagram
Youtube
Twitter

Contact Us

Golden Gate Audubon
2530 San Pablo Avenue, Suite G
Berkeley, California 94702

Phone: 510.843.2222

Office hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 12 noon, or by appointment

Email: ggas@goldengateaudubon.org

Manage your GGAS account online

Now you can manage all your GGAS business online — renew your membership, update your contact information, view past donations, or sign up for events such as classes, Birdathon or the Christmas Bird Count. Click here to access your account. (You’ll need to create a login name and password if you don’t have one already. If you forget your password, click on the “forgot your password” link.) You can also sign up for our new GGAS Chat to get updates on trips, talk with other members, and more!

© 2021 Golden Gate Audubon Society | All Rights Reserved
All photos on this site belong to the photographers and may not be used without written permission.
  • About Us
    • About Our Staff
    • About Our Board
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • GGAS in the News
  • Education
    • Speaker Series
      • Past Speakers
    • Eco-Ed for Kids
    • Adult Education Classes
    • Rotary Nature Center
  • Conservation
    • Bird-Friendly Coffee Club
  • Volunteer
  • Bird With Us
    • Field Trip Information
    • Travel with GGAS
    • SF Bay Ospreys
    • Birding Resources
      • Authors
    • Christmas Bird Counts
    • The Gull
    • Golden Gate Birder Blog
    • GGAS’s Birdathon
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Member Login
  • GGAS Archives
    • Trip Reports by Year
    • Past Speakers
    • The Gull Archives
    • GGAS Press Releases
    • Travel with GGAS – Past Tours
  • Contact Us
    • Join/Renew
    • Other Ways to Give
    • Planned Giving
    • Member Login
    • Volunteer Hours Reporting
  • Blog
  • Donate