Come for the Birds, Stay for the Chocolate

Come for the Birds, Stay for the Chocolate

By Ryan Nakano

Lately, I’ve been wondering what I enjoy most about birding. As a novice, it’s hard to say that it has anything to do with generating a long list, chasing after a rare bird, or even really identifying different bird species by sight or sound. I think what I’m starting to realize is, I, myself am changing, am slowing down, allowing my senses to be open to the world in a way they weren’t before I started, and this ability to concentrate and focus my attention on one particular thing and be satisfied has brought me immense joy. 

Before I joined Golden Gate Bird Alliance, I knew very little about birds, and if we’re being honest, I still have so much to learn. What I did know however, was that during my day-to-day I was slipping into a terrifying habit of curating my senses to a digital world. For example; anytime I would go out for a run, I would immediately cue up a playlist from Spotify and throw my bluetooth earbuds in before leaving my apartment. I never heard the dogs barking, cars passing, House Finches chirping from above, Mourning Doves singing in their low hum. When dishes piled up in the sink, my attention sought an endless Youtube algorithm as my hands tried to busy themselves with plates and soap. 

At some point in time I had bought into the “attention economy” as it is referred to in the book How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell, leaving me with a feeling of unresolved longing. I felt that somehow by maximizing stimuli I was maximizing my time, therefore living the fullest and most efficient life possible. In reality, I was disappearing “life” altogether.

So what does this personal epiphany have to do with birds and chocolate, the focus of this article as the title suggests?

Photo of chocolate tasting provided by Cacao Case

Striking up a conversation with one of our newest board members Sharol Nelson-Embry about her unique contribution to the 2022 Birdathon Auction (yes, this is indeed a long sales pitch), I was reminded of the personal change that happens when we slow down and learn to sharpen our senses to the unabridged version of the world. 

Happening sometime in the fall/winter, a small group, led by Sharol will spend an hour or so observing shorebirds and terns along Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary in Alameda before heading over to a beautiful Victorian home to enjoy a bird-friendly chocolate tasting. …

Saved by a Pigeon

Saved by a Pigeon

By Patsy Wood

While we may not realize it, an estimated 100,000 carrier pigeons served in the U.S. military in World War I and 95% of these pigeons were successful in completing their missions. Carrier pigeons were crucial messengers of information between humans during the war and due to the efforts of a single pigeon I am here today. 

When my grandfather, Daddy Jack, left college in 1917 to enlist as a Navy pilot in World War I, he was commissioned as an Ensign, earning his aviator certificate before being sent to Florida for basic training. From there he was assigned to the Royal Naval Air Service in Norwich Great Britain where he flew fuel and supplies to the front lines in France, defended London against zeppelin raids and engaged in anti-submarine patrols against German U-boats.  

The planes he flew were Sopwiths and Snyders. These single seater aircrafts with two pontoons and two machine guns carried 65 pound depth charges to use against submarines. Because this was the age before on-board radio, each plane enlisted a carrier pigeon trained to fly messages back to the base in Britain in case of emergencies. These pigeons were trained to alight on a seesaw at the naval base in Norwich where they were fed. The rocking of the seesaw rang a bell, alerting base personnel to the pigeon’s arrival so messages could be received quickly. 

On one fateful mission, Daddy Jack’s plane was shot down over the North Sea. As his plane crashed into the water, my grandfather secured his carrier pigeon and swam to a nearby buoy where he released the bird, attaching a message with his coordinates to a small capsule on its leg. Just as it was trained to do, the pigeon flew back to the base enabling my grandfather to be rescued and brought home alive.  

My grandfather was lucky that one of his duties as a naval aviator was to check the location of buoys on the routes he flew, but without his carrier pigeon, he likely would have perished. 

Because of this single carrier pigeon, my mother and aunt, their eight children, 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren are alive today.  My family owes that pigeon a huge debt.

Franco-British carrier pigeon getting ready to send a message

So how is it that pigeons have the capability to be such effective message bearers? Studies have found that pigeons will find their way home even if blindfolded when they are released from distant places.…

Annie + Grinnell 4EVA

Annie + Grinnell 4EVA

By Megan Fradley-Smith

The morning of March 31 dawned with sweet promise.: Annie, one half of the famous Cal Falcons, was due to lay her much-anticipated third egg. After a nesting season full of violence, injury, and love triangles, her adoring fans were ready to finally breathe easy. I was up early, coffee in hand, video of the Campanile tower streaming on my laptop. There was much more action that I anticipated: a juvenile female hopped into the nest during one of Annie’s absences, checking out the eggs while we, surrogate human parents, watched in rapt horror. Annie and Grinnell both were seen battling encroaching falcons, displaying the daring aerial combat for which Peregrines are known. Mercifully, by midday, Annie was back, serenely resting on her eggs. I decided it was safe for me to take a quick break from my monitoring, and ran a few errands. In that hour, the world of the Cal Falcons was forever changed.

Grinnell watching his last brood fly by John Davis

Tragedy struck. In a shocking turn of events, Grinnell, beloved patriarch of the Cal Falcons, was found dead in downtown Berkeley. I read this news with a slack jaw and aching heart, aghast. After so many ups and downs, after receiving expert care from Lindsay Wildlife in October, after the presumed death-then-return of Annie, Grinnell was gone, just like that. Comments poured in on the social media channels of the Cal Falcons, run by ornithologist couple Lynn Schofield and Sean Peterson. Collective grief was palpable, and we grappled with yet another blow, not only to our cherished Peregrine couple, but to all of us who followed them. I had personally set out to write a charming essay about these two love birds, culminating in a grand point about how their resilience could bolster our own, so faltering after these pandemic years. Instead, I am here to write the memorial of an incredible Peregrine Falcon called Grinnell, ambassador of his species and father to five successful broods.

Grinnell was born sometime in 2013, around Martinez, California. He and his brother were banded by the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group as fledglings, and his black bands became his signature look, easily distinguishable from other falcons. He and Annie were first seen on the UC campus in late 2016, as they scoped out and ultimately chose the Campanile as their nest site. Their first attempt at parenthood was precarious, as they chose a decrepit sandbag as their nest scrape.…

Progress towards a Point Molate park

Progress towards a Point Molate park

By Ilana DeBare

When a struggle to save a natural area from development has been going on for 25 years, every small step forward is more than welcome.

Golden Gate Bird Alliance and its allies in the fight to save Point Molate were heartened on March 18 when the Richmond City Council rejected a proposed bond issue for development there.

The council voted 4-0 (with three members absent) against a $292 million bond issue that would provide infrastructure for up to 2,000 luxury condos at Point Molate, one of the last undeveloped and unprotected areas along the San Francisco Bay shoreline.

Point Molate Eelgrass by Allen Krakauer

Golden Gate Bird Alliance is part of a coalition of Richmond community groups, Native American groups, and environmental justice groups fighting the Point Molate project. The 413-acre site, north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, is home to 600 plant and animal species—including over 140 bird species and four active Osprey nests—as well as Ohlone sacred sites and the Bay’s most pristine eelgrass bed.

Its stunning Bay views and wooded hillsides are a public treasure and should be preserved for public access as part of the East Bay Regional Park District, not privatized for luxury housing.

“We welcome this thoughtful decision by the Richmond City Council,” said GGBA Executive Director Glenn Phillips. “There’s still a long road ahead to preservation of Point Molate. But the council has acted responsibly in challenging a project that would be a disaster for wildlife, for public access to nature, and for the City of Richmond.”

Western Bluebird at Point Molate Beach by Allen Krakauer

The roots of the Point Molate development battle date back to the nationwide military base closures of the 1990s, when a naval fuel depot there was turned over to the City of Richmond. (The San Francisco Presidio was also transferred to civilian use then and became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.)

In stark contrast with the Presidio’s transformation into public parkland, Richmond officials contracted with a developer to build a casino at Point Molate. When Richmond voters rejected the casino plan in 2010, the developer sued the city for $750 million in alleged lost profits. The city then contracted with another developer from Los Angeles to build luxury housing and promised to split proceeds from that sale with the disgruntled casino developer.

The negative impacts of such a project go beyond the loss of wildlife habitat, open space, and recreation opportunities.…