On May 12^th, Birdathon 2011 wrapped up with a highly successful awards dinner at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Park.  Guests filled the spectacular room to capacity and enjoyed a wonderful dinner catered by 269 The Arlington, wines by Rock Wall Wines, And great beer from Lagunitas Brewery.

Top Birdathon awards went to Bob Lewis as Top Fundraising Trip Leader and Glen Tepke as top individual fundraiser.  Winners received donated getaways including a stay at the historic Tallman Hotel in Clear Lake along with a tour of the Six Sigma Winery there, and a four day stay in the mountains near the Stanislaus River at Dorrington.  Second place individual fundraiser went to Chris Bard and trip leaders Eddie Bartley and Noreen Weeden.

Avid bird-sighting awards went to: The Dippers for most bird species sighted within 24 hours.  Team members were Glen Tepke, Pat Bacchetti, Carol Chetkovich, Mark Rauzon, and Martijn Verdoes.  The top birders in the 4 hour category were the Contra Costa Song Chasers, Denise Wight and Kitty O’Neill.

And topping the evening, Eddie Bartley and Noreen Weeden swept the Best Bird Awards with their sightings of a Baltimore Oriole in San Francisco and a Black Vented Oriole in Texas.

Our thanks to Premiere Sponsors, Scope City San Francisco, KTVU Fox 2 TV, and REI, Inc.  as well as to our top sponsor, the Oakland Airport.  Thank you also to Lozeau Drury LLP, iBird, New Resource Bank, the law offices of Andrew Packard and Jackson Tuerck Attorneys at Law, Scientific Certification Systems, Emergency Management and Safety Solutions and the many outstanding donors of wonderful auction items and prizes, including Lowepro, stunning jewelry from Melissa Joy Manning, and Pentax.…

We will be limiting the Golden Gate Bird Alliance office walk-in hours starting May 16, 2011. If you’d like to come in and buy bird seed, renew your membership, or just browse, please visit us between 1:00 and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.…

Farallon Islands Pelagic Trip: Sunday, August  7, 2011

Aboard: Superfish with Shearwater Journeys
Departs from Emeryville at  7:30 AM, Returning approximately 3-4 PM
Leaders: Debi Shearwater & some very special guest leaders
Boat Fee: $129 GGBA members (non-refundable), $152 non-members; fuel surcharge not included.
Reservations: Send payment to Debi Shearwater, POB 190, Hollister, CA 95024
Contact: debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

This is a fabulous pelagic trip to the unique breeding seabird colonies of the Farallon Islands. Our main target seabird is the Tufted Puffin, but we shall also see many other seabirds, as well as whales. Dolphins are possible, too. Last year’s trip saw Black-footed Albatross; Northern Fulmar; Sooty, Pink-footed and Buller’s Shearwaters; Ashy, Black and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels; Pomarine, Parasitic and Long-tailed Jaegers; Pigeon Guillemot; Xantus’ Murrelet; Cassin’s and Rhinoceros Auklets, and, of course, Tufted Puffins! Whales included: Blue, Minke, Humpback and Gray. This trip always sells out, weeks in advance. Please make your reservations as soon as possible by sending a check to Debi Shearwater. Please note: your check confirms your reservation. Be sure to include the names, addresses and phone/email for each person in your party. You will receive a return confirmation letter by snail mail.

Half Moon Bay Pelagic Trips with Shearwater Journeys

JULY 30, 31; AUGUST 1; SEPTEMBER 16, 17, 18, 19; OCTOBER 2, 10, 15; NOVEMBER 22
Aboard: New Captain Pete
Departing from Huck Finn Center, Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay at 7:00 AM, Returning About 3:30-4:30 PM
Leaders: Debi Shearwater & The Shearwater Journeys’ Leaders, varies each trip
Boat Fee: $150 GGBA members (non-refundable), $175 non-members; fuel surcharge not included.
Reservations: Send payment to Debi Shearwater, POB 190, Hollister, CA 95024
Contact: debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

This is a new program of seabird trips offered by Shearwater Journeys in 2010. Some excellent sightings were made in 2009, including a Short-tailed Albatross and White-chinned Petrel (second record for North America, first live sighting). In 2010, our July 31 trip recorded Cook’s Petrels in both San Francisco and San Mateo Counties. It is expected that these trips will be very popular. It is easy to get to Half Moon Bay, either from San Francisco, the East Bay, or Silicon Valley. We may be able to reach seabirds such as storm-petrel flocks more easily than other ports. The July 30, 31 and August 1 trips offer a great chance to see Cook’s Petrels which were so abundant last year offshore. For general trip reports see: www.shearwaterjourneys.com…