• Bay Birding Challenge Team: Stork Raven Mad

    By Keith Maley (Stork Raven Mad Team Captain)

    The day’s sunrise at 6:55 a.m. marked the start of the competition, and Team Stork Raven Mad was already gathered on Lake Merced’s concrete bridge filled with anticipation. Marsh Wrens rattled in the reeds. A Clark’s Grebe glided along the still water. A Sharp-shinned Hawk plucked its breakfast of an avian variety in the willow thickets. Male Great-tailed Grackles assembled a lek on the bridge to display in the cold, 45-degree air.

    Great-tailed Grackle with visible breath – Rajan Rao

    Observing an impressive number of species after 20 minutes at the bridge, the team piled into two cars and headed up to Fort Funston’s observation deck to see what we could over the ocean. Almost immediately, team member Rajan Rao spotted a continuing White-winged Scoter among the many Surf Scoters — a lifer for him! Not far away, a stunning Pacific Loon in alternate plumage preened on the water, affording great scope views for everyone. Two huge birds for the day, and it wasn’t even 8 a.m.!

    At Lake Merced’s Harding Park Boat House, disappointment awaited. Failed attempts at a continuing Snow Goose, Northern Parula, and a Great Horned Owl seen sitting on a nest just the day before, were the first major letdowns for Team Stork Raven Mad. That is, until Lisa Bach shouted, “I SEE THE SNOW GOOSE!”– pointing to the end of the fishing dock where the bird stood nonchalantly. More shouting ensued, and we were off to our next destination, but not before Nina Bai picked up on a distant White-throated Swift among the swallows.

    On to Ocean Beach for the continuing small flock of Black Scoters and a few lingering Brown Pelicans, which are mostly absent in the city this time of year. We raced to Battery Godfrey to see if there were any migrants moving. There were not. We did grab Wrentit, Spotted Towhee, Peregrine Falcon and a few other key species, but dipped on the long-continuing House Wren. Fort Scott yielded a wheeting Hooded Oriole from a palm tree as we stepped out of our cars. Swallows flew over the field, including a pair of Cliff Swallows. Five meadowlarks foraged in the grass.

    Cutting across to El Polin Spring, we spent some time ticking additional species, including an Acorn Woodpecker, and the continuing Blue-gray Gnatcatcher that Dawn Lemoine and Lisa Bach located after some effort. Onto Crissy Field where no less than three breeding-plumaged Red-necked Grebes floated on the bay, and a late Say’s Phoebe hunted for flying insects in the dunes.…

  • Bay Birding Challenge: East Bay Scrub Jays

    By Derek Heins (East Bay Scrub Jays Team Captain)

    Team East Bay Scrub Jays – Ilana DeBare

    On Saturday, April 1, Anne Ardillo, Dan Roth, Clay Anderson, Alex Henry, Tara McIntire, Jeff Manker, Eric Schroeder and I comprised the East Bay Scrub Jays, competing against the Stork Raven Mad team from San Francisco as part of Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s “Bay Birding Challenge”. We also had Jaewon Lee, a member of the UC Berkeley Bears for Birds Audubon club, with us to help document and capture our “Big Day”.

    We executed an extensive plan that took into consideration the unique physical layout of our side of the Bay, timing of tides, and the interesting time of year regarding spring migration.

    When planning a one-day effort, it is fascinating to learn when each non-resident species begins its migration movements. In our case, we have a lot of waterfowl and passerines starting their migrations north in March. This often made what a couple weeks earlier was an easy species to find, very difficult. On the other hand, in the week or two leading up to April 1, we started to see reports of spring arrivals such as Wilson’s Warblers and Pacific-slope Flycatchers.

    So, with that in mind, we met a few minutes before daylight (the agreed upon start and end times being dawn and dusk) at the Skyline Gate Staging area of Redwood Park, our only scheduled stop high in the Oakland Hills. As expected, our first species recorded was a Great Horned Owl hooting. Fortunately, it was not foggy and as it got lighter, activity picked up nicely as we started finding our key targets including a Varied Thrush singing, both Red-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Purple Finch, Hairy Woodpecker and Townsend’s Warbler. The best bird in that location was an overwintering Townsend’s Solitaire, first heard calling but later seen with great views. We also picked up Cooper’s, Sharp-shinned Hawks and Western Bluebird. Our pipe dream of getting a Pileated Woodpecker didn’t pan out.

    Barn Swallow by Tara McIntire

    Energized by 36 quality species at our first stop, we drove to Lake Temescal where 20 American White Pelicans were lit up by the morning light. We picked up all five expected swallow species, a Green Heron flew across the lake and two recently arrived Wilson’s Warblers were feeding in the willows.

    We then headed down to the Bay at Miller Knox Park where we immediately found a Eurasian Wigeon amongst American Wigeon in the main pond, along with a Gadwall pair.…

  • Meeker Slough Cleanup for Osprey Nesting Season… and Beyond

    By Cathy Bleier

    On March 1, just in time for Osprey nesting season, Golden Gate Bird Alliance and East Bay Regional Parks Department (EBRPD) cooperated in a cleanup of the shoreline and marsh edges near Meeker Slough and Stege Marsh in Richmond. Our immediate goal was to reduce entanglement hazards to Ospreys that can occur as they gather manmade materials for their nests.

    The Richmond shoreline, which reaches from Point Isabel (by Costco), past Point Molate and on to Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, has the highest concentration of Osprey nests in San Francisco Bay (22 nests in 2021). The amount of treacherous debris at Meeker Slough and other marshes can increase dramatically after intense storms, like this year’s and last. Some of the worst offenders are plastic twines, cords and fishing line, but these raptors can also get their talons caught in bags, erosion fabric and even clothing. Results can be lethal for both adults and chicks.

    While entanglements can be fatal for ospreys, fortunately the one trailing material here (lower left picture on the posterboard) was disentangled at the Port of Alameda nest by Craig Nikitas of Bay Raptor Rescue with the help of GGBA.

    Eager to help, and probably grateful for a break in the rain, over two dozen volunteers showed up for our cleanup event, including members of Golden Gate Bird Alliance, Friends of Meeker Slough, friends of the Osprey cam Ospreys—Rosie and Richmond, and members of the EBRPD public. In total the groups collected around 12 garbage bags worth of waste, adding up to 300 pounds or 360 Gallons of trash, plus some loose pieces of plywood, painted wood, a large plastic cooler, and a plastic bucket.

    Golden Gate Bird Alliance volunteers at the Meeker Slough cleanup – Janet Carpinelli

    We were also delighted to learn that a few hours after finishing the cleanup, Rosie the Osprey, was seen arriving at her nest at Rigger’s Loft. Rosie’s arrival inspired five of the nest cam’s live chatters to remove a tarp near the nest that had been disintegrating over the past year.

    Before and After Meeker Slough Richmond Shoreline Cleanup

     

    Tony Brake, a Richmond resident who has been studying Ospreys since he moved to the area in 2010, has proposed that Golden Gate Bird Alliance hold an annual local cleanup, starting in February. Ideally this would also include Brooks Island (requiring EBRPD cooperation) as well as Point Molate and the Point San Pablo Peninsula where there are over a dozen Osprey nests (a slam dunk Osprey sighting area, by the way).…

  • The Audubon Name: Members Speak

    By Ilana DeBare

    As part of considering whether to keep the “Audubon” part of our name, Golden Gate Bird Alliance (GGBA) conducted an online survey of our current members earlier this month. Of about 2000 dues-paying members, 354 responded—18 percent. That’s a very high turnout, considering that many surveys garner responses of only two or three percent. It’s a sign of how much GGBA members care about the organization and its future.

    Results from the “Audubon” Name Change Preliminary Survey.

    The results were:
    221 (63 percent) in favor of removing the “Audubon” name.
    89 (25 percent) against removing the “Audubon” name.
    44 (12 percent) undecided about whether to remove the name.

    The responses were uniformly thoughtful and heartfelt, regardless of which position they took. The GGBA Board of Directors is deeply appreciative of everyone who shared their views. The following is a sample of people’s comments, in proportion to the number of pro/con/undecided responses. (Each paragraph is from a different respondent.)

    In Favor of Removing the Name

    I don’t want to honor someone who enslaved and sold other human beings. I also want to respect the feelings of African Americans who have suffered from the legacy of slavery and act in solidarity with them.

    As someone who is mixed race (African American and Caucasian), having one of my favorite organizations have loose ties to the imprisonment of my people has always made me feel icky. A small name change to remove the word Audubon would open up the doors to more minorities across San Francisco.

    Emphasize the mission, not the man.

    He was a product of his time, but there were people in his time who were anti-slavery, and he certainly wasn’t. Names are symbols. We need a racist-free name now… We can rebrand ourselves and still be a forceful presence for birds.

    Aside from the character of Audubon, younger people have no idea what/who “Audubon” is. It’s opaque that Golden Gate Bird Alliance is a bird conservation organization.

    Let’s keep naming free from individual personages, living or dead, righteous or not. For example, National Airport in DC was a perfectly good name and should have been kept in my view but instead was renamed for a political figure [Ronald Reagan] of dubious distinction.

    Audubon was a man of his time—owning people and slaughtering birds were common. We need to move beyond those times. A name change might help us move past the stereotype of a group of white, wealthy, and older people.…

  • Hannah Breckel Takes on Birdathon!

    By Ryan Nakano

    On February 26, a new participant profile appeared on Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s fundraising platform Pledge It for this year’s Birdathon, and within a week, Hannah Breckel raised $600 to help protect our local birds and their habitat. Last week she surpassed her species goal of 50, seeing a total of 58 different bird species since March 11.

    Seeing her profile at the top of the fundraiser leaderboard for the first week or so since the Birdathon fundraising campaign began, I started asking the rest of our staff if anyone knew her personally. It appeared she’d been on a few monthly field trips with us, but no one could place the name. Already, the prospect of sharing her story as a new individual fundraiser for Golden Gate Bird Alliance was exciting.

    Hannah Breckel on an ecotour at Elkhorn Slough.

    And then I learned Hannah Breckel is 11-years-old and her dream is to become the CEO of the National Audubon Society. Which tells us two things:

    1. It is never too early or too late to lean into your passion and ask for support! (Now is the time to go and set up that fundraising page for yourself and catch up!)

    2. We will be seeing and hearing the name Hannah Breckel now and in the future, especially in the world of bird conservation. This is just a fact.

    On Breckel’s fundraising campaign page, she states “There’s nothing more exciting than identifying a new bird and, after moving around the U.S. my entire life, I’ve had the opportunity to see so much diversity among birds. I’m excited to help the Golden Gate Bird Alliance with this fundraiser.”

    Born in Kodiak Alaska, Breckel was introduced to birding through a 4-H class at the age of eight years old. Twice a month a 4-H leader and a naturalist from the Alaska Raptor Center would lead birding trips for the 4-H class, and after that Hannah was hooked.

    So hooked in fact, that she unintentionally got the rest of her family into birding as well.

    “I don’t think I did it on purpose, but I would be so proud of myself for identifying a new bird and they (my family) would be like ‘wow!’, so they also started getting into it.”

    As she became more and more proficient with identification, pouring over her beloved bird books, her family started going on bird walks together in Alaska with Hannah serving as their guide.…