The bird and the place are both national treasures. The California Condor is the largest bird in North America, recovering from near-extinction in the 1970s due to the pesticide DDT. Pinnacles National Park—a release and research site for these birds—is a 23 million-year-old rhyolitic volcanic formation, one of the oldest known anywhere. The geology of the place is truly fascinating. Join Rusty Scalf and Richard Neidhardt for a 90-minute discussion of both Condors and Rhyolite. California Condor at Pinnacles by J. Clark Richard Neidhardt is a condor tracker with extensive experience radio-tracking condors on the ground and in the air, at Pinnacles and far flung locations in the California Coast Ranges. Rusty Scalf is a longtime Golden Gate Bird Alliance birding instructor and trip leader, who leads a field trip to Pinnacles each spring as part of Birdathon. This event will take place online via Zoom and last approximately 90 minutes. Registrants will be sent a link and password to access the Zoom. The session will be recorded, and registrants will have access to the recording on the web for two weeks after the event, regardless of whether they attend the live presentation. Registration will close at 10 a.m. on April 12. Registrants: If you didn’t receive or misplace the Zoom link, email birdathon@goldengatebirdalliance.org or call Ilana at (510) 301-5573.

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The East Bay is home to an impressive variety of habitats—from vast tidal mudflats, to rolling grassland hills, to the pine-oak woodlands of the interior Coast Range. Corresponding to these varied landscapes is an incredible diversity of avifauna. Join us for a chronological exploration of the bird life of the East Bay, with a focus on strategies for finding the rarer and more sought-after species we are fortunate enough to have in the area.

Pacific Golden-Plover by Alex Henry

Alex Henry is a lifelong nature enthusiast and shameless bird-nerd. Although only a recent resident of the Bay Area, Alex has spent countless hours exploring the many wild places the East Bay has to offer, and is excited at the opportunity to share what he’s learned in those explorations. And, although he’s too self-effacing to recount this, he was the number one birder in Alameda County on eBird last year.

This event will take place online via Zoom and last approximately 60-75 minutes. Registrants will be sent a link and password to access the Zoom. The session will be recorded, and registrants will have access to the recording on the web for two weeks after the event, regardless of whether they attend the live presentation.

Registration will close at 10 a.m. on April 20.

Registrants: If you didn’t receive or misplace the Zoom link, email birdathon@goldengatebirdalliance.org or call Ilana at (510) 301-5573. …

Since riparian habitat is scarce in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mitchell Canyon, on the north side of Mount Diablo, is a magnet for migrating birds seeking a refueling stop. In addition to migrants, we’ll also see and hear a number of permanent residents and summer nesting birds. We’ll look for warblers and flycatchers and enjoy early wildflowers and butterflies while walking along Mitchell Creek, traversing chaparral, and spending some time under a variety of mature trees.

Lazuli Bunting / Photo by Bob Lewis

Maureen Lahiff was part of the first cohort of the Golden Gate Bird Alliance/Cal Academy of Sciences Master Birder Program in 2013 and is a California Naturalist.  She is a Lake Merritt docent and leads field trips and teaches classes for GGBA adult ed. She’s been leading trips at Mitchell Canyon for GGBA and for Birdathon for several years.

This event will take place online via Zoom and last approximately 60-75 minutes. Registrants will be sent a link and password to access the Zoom. The session will be recorded, and registrants will have access to the recording on the web for two weeks after the event, regardless of whether they attend the live presentation.

Registration will close at 10 a.m. on April 26.

Registrants: If you didn’t receive or misplace the Zoom link, email birdathon@goldengatebirdalliance.org or call Ilana at (510) 301-5573. …