By Ilana DeBare

GGBA Volunteer Coordinator Noreen Weeden was birding recently at Pier 94, the old San Francisco dump site that we’ve restored as wetlands habitat, when she found an unusual piece of washed-up trash….

A plastic candy box covered with Japanese writing.

Noreen wondered if this might be debris from the March 2011 Japanese tsunami. She contacted NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which monitors marine debris.

It turns out that tsunami debris began washing up on beaches in the Pacific Northwest last winter. Although most of it is still concentrated out at sea, NOAA predicts that some debris will start reaching the rest of the West Coast this winter. (See chart at bottom of this post.)

The agency couldn’t say for sure if this particular plastic box came from the tsunami. Buoys and litter from Asia end up on U.S. beaches all the time.

Japanese candy box found at Pier 94 / Photo by Noreen Weeden

But Noreen’s mystery is a reminder about our modern, self-inflicted plague of marine debris. Most common plastics don’t completely break down in water. Instead, they shred into little particles that are eaten by fish, turtles and seabirds.

Plastic can damage the digestive systems of fish and seabirds. Or if plastic remains in their gut, they may feel full and stop eating, leading to malnutrition or starvation. Researchers estimate that nearly all of the 1.5 million Laysan Albatross on the Midway Islands have plastic in their gut. About one-third of the albatross chicks die, many from eating plastic debris that their parents mistake for food.

Meanwhile, large pieces of plastic debris such as bags or nets can trap fish and other sea life. And there are still other unknown effects from the release of chemicals like PCBs that are components of plastic — and that travel up the food chain as fish are eaten by larger predators.

That’s why we support efforts to limit the use of disposable plastic bags, like the Bay Versus Bag campaign run by our friends at Save the Bay. They estimate that more than 1 million plastic bags enter the San Francisco Bay each year.

And that’s why our Eco-Education staff makes it a priority to teach students about plastic debris.  In 2011, we were able to send one of our high school interns  to the 5th International Marine Debris Symposium in Hawaii.

When our Eco-Ed staff lead elementary school families on field trips to the beach, they have the kids collect garbage and try to guess the decomposition timeline for each piece.…

By Pamela Clark

As in real estate, we know location is everything in birding. I recently attended the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival for the second time. This festival is based in subtropical South Texas in the town of Harlingen and for me represents total immersion birding. I was in the field by dawn and birded until heat, hunger, or the seminar schedule enticed me inside.

Last year, I was excited to be seeing so many life birds and birding in such new places. This year, I focused on activities to improve my general birding skills. Throughout my stay I was struck by the differences in the most commonly seen bird species — what I refer to as the “usual suspects”.

Here in the Bay Area, the usual suspects often include House Finches, American Crows, Common Ravens, Robins, American Goldfinches, and Mallards. In Texas, most of these species are sparse.

Instead Black-bellied Whistling Ducks replace Mallards on the ponds and House Sparrows are seen in places where I would expect House Finches. In my two visits, I have never seen American Goldfinch, House Finch, American Robin or Song Sparrow. The valley specialties that can be seen almost every day include Great Kiskadee, Green Jay, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Plain Chachalaca, and the omni-present Great-tailed Grackle.

Fulvous and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks / Photo by Robert Clark Great-tailed Grackle / Photo by Kelly Smith

Checking my email in the evening, it was funny to read Bay Area birding list emails about the few Great-tailed Grackles being seen at Lake Merced and Lake Elizabeth. The Texas locals think of Grackles as nuisance birds, but I found them fascinating with their blue-black feathers (males) and raucous calls and whistles.  I also enjoyed getting to know the whistles of the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, which can be seen in town as well as on the trails. The distinctive calls of the Green Jay and Great Kiskadee soon became as familiar to me as the calls of our California Towhee or Western Scrub Jay.

Some of my favorite Valley birds include White-tailed Hawk, Harris Hawk, Least Grebe, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Altamira Oriole, and the doves. I loved watching all the different doves, from the large, plump White-winged Dove to the delicate, intricately-patterned Inca Dove. In the right place, I could watch six species of doves vying for space at the feeder or water drip.

Inca Dove / Photo by Robert Clark White-tailed Hawk pair / Photo by Robert Clark

On South Padre Island, I saw Reddish Egret and Tri-colored Herons, along with migrating warblers, such as Northern Parula, American Redstart, Tennessee and Black-throated Green. …

This post is reprinted from Audublog, the blog of Audubon California. GGBA’  incoming Executive Director Mike Lynes helped draft Audubon California’s comments to the California Fish and Game Commission on the importance of protecting forage fish — small species that are eaten by larger fish and other predators.

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Small fish are a big deal for seabirds like the Brown Pelican and the Black-footed Albatross. That is why Audubon California and other conservation groups are applauding the California Fish and Game Commission’s unanimous approval [in early November] of new policies governing the harvesting of small fish – such as anchovies, sardine, herring and squid – that are vital to the survival of birds and wildlife.

“Seabirds and other marine wildlife in California are safer today as a result of this new policy,” said Anna Weinstein, seabird program manager for Audubon California. “These small fish are the heartbeat of our coast and ocean, supporting our diverse array of seabirds and other marine wildlife.”

The policy comes at a critical time. Forage species have gone from 40 percent to 80 percent of total landings in commercial fisheries in California. Market squid is now the most lucrative commercial fishery in California, reflecting increasing global pressure on forage species as larger fish have declined or disappeared.

Brown Pelican / Photo by Rick Lewis

“Seabirds are especially sensitive to changes in prey abundance, and their populations have crashed and not recovered in areas where overfishing takes place,” added Weinstein. “Now, the state of California, which manages a substantial part of the range of many wide-ranging birds and wildlife, has gone far to ensure that in the future there will be sufficient prey for our marine wildlife.”

The policy prevents the expansion of existing fisheries or the initiation of new fisheries until more is known about the needs of predator species such as seabirds, sharks, tuna and sea otters, and that these needs can be explicitly included in fisheries management plans. Catch quotas on currently fished species such squid and herring will not increase without first ensuring enough is set aside for predators.

Brown Pelican / Photo by Rick Lewis

The policy puts similar conditions on the development of new fisheries on currently unfished species such as sand lance, an important prey item for California breeding seabirds like Common Murre, Tufted Puffin and Marbled Murrelet.

The policy adopted by the Commission was submitted by a working group comprised of fishing industry representatives and conservation groups, including Audubon California, Oceana, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Ocean Conservancy.…

By Ilana DeBare

NOTE: Check out our more recent post on Holiday Gifts for Birders, 2015!

Looking for kids’ gifts? We also have a post on Great Bird Books for Kids. 

Hard as it may be for some of us to imagine, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count isn’t the only big event in December. There’s that little holiday called, um, Christmas. Plus Chanukah, and Kwanzaa, and solstice… lots of reasons to celebrate and buy gifts for loved ones.

Need help finding gifts for the birders in your life? Here are some ideas for cool presents for adults and kids, home and field, in various price ranges.

(Note: We’re not including bird feeders, field guides, or optics — too many options in each of those categories! But you can find field guides, other birding books, feeders, toys and other bird items for sale at the Golden Gate Bird Alliance office at 2530 San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley.)

Birding Gear

LowePro FieldStation belt pack with ledge for reading/writing

Fingerless gloves can make it easier to handle binoculars and scopes in cold weather. Bike gloves are one option that can cost as little as $20. Or you can get fingerless gloves designed specifically for outdoor optics and photography such as a waterproof, insulated pair for $49.99 from Aquatech.

Backpacks or belt packs. The FieldStation Beltpack by LowePro has a padded compartment for binoculars and a retractable platform for reading a field guide or writing in a journal, as well as a water bottle pouch. It’s $99.99. Other LowePro backpacks are built to hold scopes and tripods.

BirdCam. Catch images or video of feathered backyard visitors even when you’re not home! Wingscapes sells a motion-detecting birdcam that is endorsed by the National Audubon Society for $119.95.

Nest boxes. If you’re in the Bay Area, consider gifting one of the wooden nest boxes made by our volunteers! Prices are $20 and up, with all proceeds going to our conservation and Eco-Education programs. Call us at (510) 843-2222 to reserve one.

Drawing birds kit. GGBA board member John Muir “Jack” Laws recently published a wonderful book on how to draw birds. Pair that book with a set of colored drawing pencils and… voila! a great gift set that will open up a new and fun approach to seeing birds. The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds costs $24.95 and colored pencils are available at any art or stationery store.…

By Ilana DeBare

You’d never guess it from the box-office-blockbuster Skyfall, but…

James Bond was a birder.

No, not the Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery secret agent Bond. But the James Bond who was an eminent American ornithologist, an expert in Caribbean birds who wrote the definitive Birds of the West Indies field guide.

In fact, Ian Fleming named his secret-agent-Bond after the birder.

Wikipedia writes:

Ian Fleming, who was a keen bird watcher living in Jamaica, was familiar with Bond’s book, and chose the name of its author for the hero of Casino Royale in 1953, apparently because he wanted a name that sounded ‘as ordinary as possible’. Fleming wrote to the real Bond’s wife, “It struck me that this brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine name was just what I needed, and so a second James Bond was born.”

Birds of the West Indies by James Bond, 1936 edition

Fleming initially used Bond’s name without permission, according to a 2008 article by Katherine Tweed in Audubon magazine. Apparently Bond didn’t notice until several years had passed — at which point his wife wrote a furious letter to Fleming. The novelist apologized and said he viewed Bond’s field guide as “one of my bibles.” He later invited the Bonds to stay at his Jamaican estate.

The real Bond was born in Philadelphia in 1900. His interest in natural history grew out of a trip taken by his father to the Amazon in 1911. Later he studied at Cambridge University, worked briefly as a banker, and then joined the staff of Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences, eventually becoming its curator of birds.

Since Bond first published his Birds of the West Indies in 1936, it has been reissued several times, including as a Peterson Guide. Bond died in Philadelphia in 1989.

Wikipedia notes that, “In his novel Dr. No, Fleming referenced Bond’s work by basing a large Ornithological Sanctuary on Dr. No’s island in the Bahamas.”

In the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day, the Pierce-Brosnan-Bond is seen examining Birds of the West Indies in an early scene that takes place in Cuba.

Later in that film, Brosnan introduces himself to the Halle Berry character as an ornithologist. It was, of course, a false identity.

But not quite as false as most movie viewers assumed.

James Bond, birder, 1974 / Photo by Jerry Freilich from Wikimedia Commons…