The final results of our 75th Oakland Christmas Bird Count are now available, including a comparison of this count with our first one in 1938! You can download the narrative report by compilers Dave Quady and Bob Lewis and the tally of species found:
Many thanks to Bob and Dave for organizing the count and producing this report… and to the dozens of area leaders and hundreds of participants who made it happen.
See you again in December 2016!
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Allen Hirsch
Allen Hirsch meant a lot to the birding community, and especially to Golden Gate Bird Alliance. He was a valued Board Member excited to join the Board as the organization approaches its 100-year anniversary of conservation engagement here in the Bay Area. Allen’s professional expertise and intellectual capacity merited serious respect. His ability to capture the marvel of birdlife with a camera endeared him to thousands who never had the pleasure to meet him in person.
Allen’s photographic talents and fascination with birds made him an important contributor to Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s conservation and education endeavors. Our popular Birds of the Bay Area calendars included artful imagery from Allen’s lens in recent years. Allen’s photos helped us bring awareness to the plight of birds at risk in local urban settings, including an extensive rookery of Black Crowned Night Herons and Snowy Egrets nesting in street trees in downtown Oakland. People were moved to support Snowy Plovers on Bay Area beaches by seeing Allen’s images of these threatened tiny shorebirds.
Ordinary citizens are now getting involved in caring for shoreline habitats so that dramatic Ospreys — including the very same birds shown in Allen’s pictures — will thrive on SF Bay. His series of Western Bluebirds thrilled the under-served schoolchildren in our award-winning Eco-Education program, who built and installed nest boxes with us for their own schoolyards and local parklands. Still more photos of waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds by Allen galvanized people to join and support our efforts to protect the myriad species and habitats that grace our shared world.
Allen will be dearly missed by all of us at Golden Gate Bird Alliance. Our only consolation in losing this remarkable gentleman much too early is that he departed while doing something that he loved: birding with a camera in hand. In fact, Allen was helping conduct our 75th annual winter census of local birdlife and documenting the presence of beautiful native birds on a world-record-setting Christmas Bird Count, when he suddenly passed away on December 20, 2015.
Allen Hirsch left a trail of inspiration, though, and here are a few photo souvenirs that remind us of his vision…
Golden Gate Bird Alliance is grieving…. We’ve lost our friend and an esteemed Board Member who passed away unexpectedly on December 20, 2015. Allen Hirsch helped advance our work in numerous ways, including with his much admired photographic skills.
You’re invited to view some of Allen’s wonderful bird photographs in an online memorial gallery:
goldengatebirdalliance.org/allen-hirsch/
You’re also invited to join us at his memorial service on Thursday January 7th at 3 p.m., at the church where Allen was an active and beloved congregant:
Piedmont Community Church
400 Highland Ave.
Piedmont, CA 94611
Allen’s family has asked for donations in his memory to the church or to Golden Gate Bird Alliance. Click here if you wish to make a donation to GGBA in Allen’s memory.
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Golden Gate Bird Alliance membership operates on a calendar year basis — so unless you renewed in the past couple of months, your membership expired on December 31, 2015!
Renew or join online now to ensure that you don’t miss any GGBA benefits during 2016:
When you renew or join, please consider joining as a Wildlife Guardian with an automatic monthly payment of $10, $20, or $30. This is a great way to maximize your support for Bay Area birds… while spending less than if you were to buy a cup of coffee each morning.
Thank you for your support! We look to sharing a year of great birding and great companionship with you.…
We’re looking forward to our 2015 Oakland and San Francisco Christmas Bird Counts! The Oakland count will take place on Sunday December 20, while the San Francisco count will be on Tuesday December 29.
Registration for both counts is now closed. If you signed up for the count, you will be contacted by your team leader during the week before your count.
Media: You’re invited to cover the Oakland or SF count! Contact Communications Director Ilana DeBare at idebare@goldengatebirdalliance.org or (510) 301-5573.
The CBC is a fun event for both beginning and experienced birders. This is the 116th year of this nationwide Audubon tradition. Enjoy a fun day of birding, while contributing to our understanding of bird populations through the largest and oldest citizen science project in the world. Then come share results at the festive compilation dinner after each count!
For information and registration for each count, see https://goldengatebirdalliance.org/birding-resources/christmas-bird-counts/.
NOTE: This year the Oakland count is looking to expand the number of people participating as feeder watchers. Do you have friends in the East Bay with backyard bird feeders? Click here for a flyer you can print and share with them about the count.
Counting on Bay Farm Island in 2014. Photo by Nancy Johnston.
Tallying totals at the 2014 Oakland count dinner / Photo by Ilana DeBare
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Our Mission
To inspire people to protect Bay Area birds and our shared natural environment.
Our Vision
A world where birds, wildlife, and all people flourish together.
The Golden Gate Bird Alliance is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Our federal tax ID number is 94-6086896
Contact Us
Golden Gate Bird Alliance
2150 Allston Way Suite 210
Berkeley, California 94704