Bring the beauty of birds into your home—while helping artists and Bay Area wildlife—through an online auction of bird art sponsored by Golden Gate Bird Alliance. From May 17 through June 1, Golden Gate Bird Alliance is holding an online auction of nearly 50 widely varied paintings, prints, photographs, and sculptures of birds at http://goldengatebirdalliance.org/auction.

This year’s auction is an online part of Birdathon, Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s annual fundraiser to support our conservation and education work for the coming year. This year we’re excited bring you this auction in support of both the artists and Golden Gate Bird Alliance as we shelter in place at home. Auction proceeds will be split between Golden Gate Bird Alliance and the artists, in most cases on a 50/50 basis. This is the first time in Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s 103-year history that we’ve sponsored an online auction of bird art. 

Greater Roadrunner, the watercolor painting by David Tomb that is for sale in GGBA’s Online Bird Art Auction

Hooded Mergansers by Scott Partridge

Snowy Plover & chick by Maggie Hurley

The auction offers items for all tastes and budgets, from giclee prints of kingfishers and herons that open for bidding at $20, to paintings of chickadees and roadrunners valued at over $1800. Along with items for bidding, there are items for sale at fixed prices, such as bird notecards by Berkeley artist Rigel Stuhmiller.

Perhaps the most unique item is a gift pack from best-selling author Amy Tan, who is also a proficient bird artist. The  pack includes a set of bird notecards by Tan, plus autographed copies of her breakout novel, The Joy Luck Club, and her memoir, Where the Past Begins.

Another unusual item is a personal chalk art rendition of birds—made to order for the buyer’s sidewalk by artist Clay Anderson. Please check out our auction website to see the full range of art available in this unique auction.

Here’s how the auction will work:

• The auction will open on May 17, 2020 and will continue through June 1, 2020.
• To bid, you’ll be prompted to create a free account with 32Auctions (the website that hosts our auction).
• You can either bid an exact amount or by “proxy”, in which 32Auctions automatically raises your bid such that it is the lowest possible winning bid, up to your maximum bid amount.…

Are your kids sheltering-in-place at home because of the Covid-19 epidemic? Enjoy these fun projects to learn about birds and nature in your neighborhood, prepared by our Eco-Education team.

These activities are geared primarily towards elementary school-aged children, and incorporate STEM (science-technology-engineering-math) and language arts skills, as well as direct observations of nature and outdoor activities. They are available in English and Spanish.

In English:

So You Want to Be a Birder?

What Kind of Plant Do I Have?

How Do I Find Animals?

Follow the Garbage!

Bird Detective – explore birds in your neighborhood

Listening Bingo  – what sounds do you hear in your neighborhood?

Hummingbird Story Packet – read and discuss an Ohlone folktale about hummingbirds

Hummingbird Math – do hummingbird hearts beat faster than yours?

Make A Hummingbird – all you need are scissors, crayons, and tape or glue

How to Help Birds – ways your family can help birds and their S.F. Bay habitat

En Español:

Bird Detective (Detective de Aves) – Spanish

Listening Bingo (Bingo de Escuchar) – Spanish

Hummingbird Math (Matemática del Colibrí)  – Spanish

How to Help Birds (Diez Maneras de Ayudar las Aves) – Spanish

Other ideas: 

Our Osprey NestCam offers live streaming views of an active Osprey nest along the Richmond shoreline. Watch with your family and talk about what you see the Ospreys doing, and why you think they’re doing it. You can also join our free Osprey chat group to ask questions and share your reactions. Our Osprey web site has free downloadable lesson plans for grades 6-12, which you may be able to simplify and adapt for younger children. (Yes, you may download these even if you’re not a teacher — just write “Covid” in the space where it asks for your school!) 

National Audubon Society offers a wide range of activities for children and families, from online bird drawing lessons to tips for observing city pigeons. See audubon.org/get-outside/activities/audubon-for-kids. 

Put up a bird feeder in your yard. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has information on how to get started. Then download the free Merlin app or go to allaboutbirds.org to identify and learn about the species you’re attracting. 

And here’s a short video about outdoor nature activities with kids by our friend Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro. This was created before the pandemic, but can help when your family is feeling housebound now.…