If you’ve ever wanted to plan your own field trip for your friends, family, or coworkers, now you can!
Golden Gate Bird Alliance can provide specialized field trips for various groups throughout the Bay Area and beyond.

Our Trip Options

Whether you are looking to fly solo with the help of an expert Bay Area birding guide or you’re more interested in a private trip for the whole flock, Golden Gate Bird Alliance has several trip options to meet your needs. To start the process of finding a birding guide with us, fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you within the following five days!
We can offer a discounted rate for non-profits and public schools.

Number of Attendees	2 hr	4 hr	8 hr
1-15 (one Field Guide)	$400	$500	$800
16-29 (two Field Guides)	$600	$850	$1250
30-45 (three Field Guides)	$800	$1200	$2000

Our FIELD Guides

Contact: mcerda@goldengatebirds.org

Marie Cerda is an ecologist with a bachelors in Natural Resources and Conservation and a masters in Fire Ecology. She grew up in Houston, Texas and San Diego, California, and has also lived in Cape May, New Jersey and the central highlands of Costa Rica. She moved to San Francisco in 2008 and began birding shortly after. Marie has worked at many of the Bay Area’s most treasured parks and cultural sites, including Alcatraz Island and Angel Island, where she developed programs, classes, and tours related to birds, ecology, and natural and cultural history. She has a thorough knowledge of bird-specific sites throughout the Bay Area, as well as a deep understanding of California’s unique ecosystems. She currently works as a vector ecologist and the program coordinator for the West Nile Virus Dead Bird Program at the California Department of Public Health, where her bird identification skills are put to regular use.

Contact: ewinstead@goldengatebirds.org

Whether charmed by cute California Quails, humbled by gazing into the eyes of an endangered California Condor, or struck by a flock of American White Pelicans flying in perfect synchrony, Elizabeth Winstead marvels at how the varied experiences of birding can inspire us with grace, awe, caring, and connection with our world.

She became a certified California Naturalist to share the beauty and wonder of the natural world around us as well as learning how humans can coexist with and protect birds, animals, and ecosystems and how we can mitigate climate change. A passionate beaver believer, she researched and wrote about the benefits of beavers for birds. She has led the popular “Birds and Beavers” field trips for Golden Gate Bird Alliance since 2022. She helps with community education and speaking events for Worth a Dam, the Martinez Beavers non-profit, and she volunteers as a US Fish and Wildlife Least Tern Watch monitor for the endangered birds at Alameda Point.

She has worked as an archaeologist, a consultant in healthcare, and taught kids with learning disabilities. Currently, she works for the State of California, connecting people with disabilities to community resources. Elizabeth welcomes newcomers to birding, especially Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and anyone with the slightest interest in exploring birding.

Contact: kschwartz@goldengatebirds.org

Dr. Kevin Schwartz is a birder, outdoor adventure guide, ecologist, ecological restoration practitioner, and ISA-Certified Arborist with more than 30 years of experience. Kevin has been guiding for the GGBA for 7 years with 32 guided trips just for the joint venture with the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Kevin is a San Francisco Bay Area native, but has also spent 10 years of his life living, traveling, and birding in 6 continents, 53 countries, and 48 other US states. Kevin speaks Spanish, French, and Portuguese, and is picking up some Mandarin and Hindi as well. Kevin has added 4654 bird species to his life list (https://ebird.org/profile/MjE3Nzc5/world) and has birded while guiding, trekking, and bicycling thousands of miles of trails around the world.

Contact: abradshaw@goldengatebirds.org

Andrew is a Bay Area native whose passion for birding dates back to elementary school, with fond memories of learning to identify birds alongside his mother at the Palo Alto Baylands. His love for nature and birds inspired him to pursue a degree in Ecology and Conservation Biology, eventually leading to a career as a Wildlife Biologist.

Andrew’s career has focused primarily on raptor conservation in the Bay Area, where he has studied and monitored species such as Golden Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, California Condors, and Burrowing Owls. He has also conducted research in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve in Belize.

Andrew also has experience in environmental education, working with with the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance facilitating educational programs, teaching bird classes, and leading field trips. Currently, he is a teacher at Pathfinders Nature Mentoring where he shares his love of local wildlife and open spaces with elementary school students, including his own two children.

For many years, Andrew has been a bird guide for organizations such as Monterey Audubon Society, NorCal Birding, and the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. Whether in someone’s backyard, a local park, or a wildlife refuge, Andrew loves opening people’s eyes to the world of birds and helping them deepen their knowledge, skills, and passion for birding.

Contact: jgpettibone@gmail.com

Jeanette Pettibone developed and taught her first class for GGBA – San Francisco Habitats and Their Birds – this past Spring and she’s been a member of GGBA’s San Francisco Conservation Committee since late 2022. She volunteers as a waterbird docent on Alcatraz and is excited to start a banding apprenticeship with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory this fall. She’s also been a docent with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco since 2011 and gives art talks around the Bay Area. (Jeanette on LinkedIn)

Contact: fireweed8@gmail.com

Jeff Manker is a member of the GGBA East Bay Conservation Committee, the Youth Advisory Committee and is a Board Member. He taught classroom science for 32 years including a high school ornithology class. He is on the Education Advisory Board for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and serves on the Board of 100K Trees for Humanity and the Regional Parks Association. Even though it makes him sound really old, he has been chasing birds for 60 years now.

Contact: bob@toleno.com

Bob Toleno has been birding for nearly 20 years. His spark bird was a Cooper’s Hawk that he and his partner (now spouse) photographed and identified in 2007. He started leading field trips for Ohlone Audubon Society in 2017, and has been the Field Trip Coordinator and board member there since 2020. He recently started guiding paid clients consisting of small private groups and individual birders, usually people who have specific California birds that they really want to see. One of his favorite things is helping people find life birds, and planning trips to make that happen. He loves seeing the look of joy that birders get when a bird they’ve only seen pictures of before suddenly appears in their binoculars. He’s also passionate about helping birders learn how to identify birds by sight and sound, and understand the connections between birds and the environment.

Private Birding Trip Request

Your Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Do you have a date in mind? (Optional)

Number of expected attendees(Required)

Please enter a number from 1 to 45.

Choose a Trip Length(Required)

2 hours

4 hours (half day)

8 hours (full day)

Trip Leader Preference (if any)

No Preference

Andy Bradshaw

Elizabeth Winstead

Kevin Schwartz

Marie Cerda

Do you have a preferred Bay Area city or birding hotspot in mind? (optional)

Are there any particular birds or ecosystems you are interested in seeing? (optional)

List any special needs or accomodations below

How many binoculars do you need for the trip?

Please enter a number less than or equal to 15.

Golden Gate Bird Alliance has a limited amount of binoculars to loan (up to 15)

Private Trip FAQ’s

Golden Gate Bird Alliance does not provide transportation at this time. Our Field Guides will meet you at your trip location.

If you have a large group, consider hiring a charter bus with our partner CharterUP. Private transportation is available through San Francisco charter bus rental company, GOGO Charters, as well as National Charter Bus, offering charter bus rentals to the Bay Area from anywhere in the nation.

Your field guide can bring loaner binoculars for you to borrow. Please indicate in the form how many pairs you will need.

If you need to cancel you must notify us at least two weeks before the confirmed trip date to receive a full refund. To cancel, please email membership@goldengatebirds.org, fieldtrips@goldengatebirds.org, and your field trip leader (if assigned).

In the event of severe weather we can work with you to either reschedule your trip or cancel the trip for a full refund.

GGBA Code Of Conduct & Birding Ethics

In order to keep our GGBA community (people and wildlife), feeling safe, welcome and respected please review our Code of Conduct, ABA Birding Ethics, and the NAS Guide to Ethical Bird Photography before attending our field trips.