• Creating Bird-Friendly Gardens: Native Plants for Bay Area Birds

    By Glenn Phillips

    The San Francisco Bay Area is a hotspot for bird diversity, with its mix of coastal habitats, oak woodlands, and urban green spaces providing refuge for countless avian species. But with habitat loss and climate change threatening bird populations, our gardens and yards have become essential sanctuaries. One of the best ways to support local birds is by planting native vegetation. Not only do native plants provide food and shelter, but they also sustain the insects that many birds rely on. By creating bird-friendly landscapes, we can help reverse the decline of species like the Allen’s Hummingbird, California Quail, and Wilson’s Warbler.

    The Importance of Native Plants for Birds

    Native plants have evolved alongside local wildlife, making them the best choice for sustaining birds and pollinators. Unlike non-native species, which often provide little to no ecological benefit, native plants offer nutritious berries, nectar, seeds, and host native insects that birds depend on for survival. The Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s Plants for Birds Program promotes the use of native plants in gardens and green spaces, helping to ensure that birds have the resources they need year-round.

    Top Native Plants for Birds in the Bay Area

    If you’re looking to make your garden a haven for birds, consider incorporating these native species:

    1. California Coffeeberry (Frangula californica)

    A favorite of thrushes, towhees, and mockingbirds, this evergreen shrub produces small black berries that are a valuable food source in late summer and fall. It also attracts insects that provide food for chickadees and warblers.

    2. Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)

    Often called “California holly,” Toyon produces bright red berries that draw Cedar Waxwings, American Robins, and Northern Flickers in winter. It is a hardy shrub that thrives in various conditions, making it an excellent choice for urban and suburban gardens.

    3. Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis)

    While the wild type can be unruly in a garden, low-growing forms like “Twin Peaks” or “Mayacama Mound” for coastal or inland sites respectively, look great and grow manageably. Host for over 20 species of lepidopterans, Coyote Brush, provides both food and cover.

    Coast Live Oak / ArtemesiaTridentat via creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

    4. California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum)

    With its vibrant red tubular flowers, California Fuchsia is a magnet for Anna’s Hummingbirds. It blooms in late summer when other nectar sources are scarce, ensuring a steady food supply during critical months. “Everett’s Choice” is a low-growing, green-leaved form first discovered in a garden in Berkeley. …

  • Exploring Cypress Grove

    Shorebirds, Waterbirds, and Conservation Science with Nils Warnock and Kenneth Hillan

    Cypress Grove, Marshall CA / provided by Nils Warnock

    Tucked away on the eastern shores of Tomales Bay, Audubon Canyon Ranch’s Cypress Grove Research Center is a hidden gem in the world of bird conservation. Normally closed to the public, this 100-acre preserve is a sanctuary for shorebirds, waterbirds, and other avian species, offering a unique blend of scientific research and ecological beauty. For those lucky enough to visit, Cypress Grove provides a rare opportunity to witness conservation science in action while being surrounded by stunning coastal landscapes and bird species.

    A Sanctuary for Shorebirds and Waterbirds

    Tomales Bay is a critical stopover site along the Pacific Flyway and has long been recognized as an important wetland area for wintering shorebirds. However, in the last 30 years, shorebird populations there have declined significantly—from nearly 16,000 individuals in 1989 to approximately 5,300 today, a 66% decline. Among the hardest-hit species has been our familiar Dunlin, a small Arctic-breeding shorebird that has seen dramatic reductions in its wintering populations in California.

    A Personal Encounter with Shorebird Conservation

    In August 2023, I had the privilege of spending a misty morning surveying shorebirds on Tomales Bay with Nils Warnock (Director of Conservation Science at Audubon Canyon Ranch). It’s also when I had my first-ever sighting of an American Golden-Plover. This remarkable bird had stopped briefly to feed on the shores of Tomales Bay while enroute from its breeding grounds in northern Canada and Alaska to its wintering grounds on the grasslands of southern South America; a staggering migration spanning up to 20,000 miles each year! 

    Yet, the American Golden-Plover’s presence was also a reminder of its tenuous history. Nearly wiped out in the 19th century by market hunting, the species has since made a partial recovery thanks to the protections offered by actions such as the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 

    Witnessing this resilient traveler first hand solidified my ongoing commitment to shorebird conservation. If we are to protect these extraordinary bird species, each with its own unique life history, we need longitudinal data—gathered through monitoring and research—to take informed actions to ensure their survival.

    Nils and David Lumpkin banding a short-billed dowitcher at the Walker Creek Delta in Tomales Bay / S. Jennings)

    Tracking Dunlin: Motus Wildlife Tracking System

    One exciting advance in shorebird conservation at Cypress Grove was the introduction of the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, which helps us to understand the status and movement of species like Dunlin.…

  • Rocky Mountain Birding

    By Daryl Goldman

    The fabulous Rocky Mountain Birding Package will open the GGBA’s 2025 Birdathon fundraising event.  Bidding on this amazing trip will run from February 14 to February 25, at www.32auctions.com/GGBA2025kickoff  The trip is set for June 20 to June 28 2025, so we’d like to give you time to make your plans now.  The main Birdathon Auction will open in May and there are many other exciting birding adventures and art in store, so stay tuned for more information on those items. The auction officially opens Sunday, May 11 at 1pm.

    .kb-image66106_2c740d-dd .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;} Rocky Mountain National Park by Allie Peterson

    Experience 9 days/8 nights of Rocky Mountain birding with NO logistical planning or stress! Four-star resort condos, airfare, ground transportation, birding itinerary… they’re all taken care of for you. Just pack your clothes and optics and show up.

    .kb-image66106_c5ea6b-25 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;} Rocky Mountain National Park by Steve Hunter .kb-image66106_e73341-16 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;} Rocky Mountain National Park by Viviana Wolinsky

    Join expert birders Viviana Wolinsky and Steve Hunter to explore the birds and sights of the amazing Rocky Mountains. Fly on Southwest from Oakland* to Denver and start birding as soon as you land. Spend your first night in an Estes Park lodge, rising early to search for White-tailed Ptarmigan in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). As a special treat, Sue Riffe, owner of Colorado-based She Flew Birding Tours and guide for the fabulous Grouse Extravaganza tour offered through GGBA Travel (and a woman with seemingly bionic hearing), will join us to bird the Rocky Mountain National Park portion of the trip. The trip through RMNP is incomparable and there is much to see along the road to your next stop in Steamboat Springs.

    .kb-image66106_8756ed-36 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;} Dusky Grouse by Viviana Wolinsky

    Spend 4 nights at the Steamboat Sheraton Resort Villas and then 3 nights at the Sheraton Mountain Vista Villas in the Avon/Vail Valley. After a bird-filled scenic drive back, you’ll fly out of Denver.

    .kb-image66106_10c690-18 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;} Avon/Vail Sheraton Vista Villas .kb-image66106_a72941-b3 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;} Steamboat Sheraton Resort Villas

    In addition to the White-tailed Ptarmigan, target birds include Dusky Grouse, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Dickcissel, Gray Catbird, Eastern Kingbird, Canada Jay, Sand Hill Crane and many birds we just don’t see in the Bay Area.

    Of course, you have the option of taking a birding break and using some of your free time enjoying the pools, hot tubs, golfing, biking, or the galleries and hot springs in Steamboat Springs.…

  • A Renter’s Mostly-Native Garden

    By Deborah Underwood

    Why on earth would a renter plant a garden? Why would anyone spend time, energy, and money to improve someone else’s property?

    Five years ago, I had no idea. But now I do.

    Flashback to 2020: Each month, men my landlord hired came by to chop down and spray all the weeds in our building’s large backyard. I hated their noisy visits; I preferred the weed-riddled lot to the barren patch of destruction they left.

    In April, I learned they were spraying Roundup. Roundup! I asked if they’d stop if I pulled all the weeds. The main guy looked at the yard speculatively, shook his head, then said, “That would be a lot of work.”

    He wasn’t wrong.

    But I had to try. I bought a weed puller and slowly cleared the space. Wise Facebook friends thankfully nixed my original thought, which was to cover the yard with ground cloth. They told me cardboard flats topped by mulch would help suppress weeds.

    .kb-image66037_f0291f-ac .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}

    I figured I’d put in a pathway before I mulched, and maybe a few plants, too. Neighbors on the Nextdoor site donated pavers. They also offered a variety of plant starts, which I gratefully accepted.

    .kb-image66037_63d1db-c7 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}

    At first, my plants were a random collection: things I’d been given and things I picked up at a nursery because I thought they were pretty. I knew nothing about water needs or soil requirements. I didn’t know how sunlight changed in the yard over the course of the year. I had no help and a limited budget. And I had no organizing plan for the garden.

    Thankfully, I stumbled upon some great native gardening lectures on the San Francisco Public Library’s YouTube site. I learned about the importance of native plants to our ecosystem, and got some good plant suggestions. As an animal lover, I finally had a plan: I wanted a wildlife garden, one that would provide food and shelter for birds, and food for the caterpillars and bugs that birds eat.

    Calscape.org told me how many species various plants support, and I tried to go for the biggest bang for the buck. I picked the brains of people in native plant nurseries. I watched more online lectures.

    .kb-image66037_049922-99 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}


    Natives, it turns out, tend to be less fussy: good news for newbie gardeners. As some of my original plants kicked the bucket, I replaced them with natives.…

  • 2024 SF Christmas Bird Count Recap

    Compiled and Written by David Assmann

    Christmas Bird Counts are always full of surprises, which makes them more enjoyable. No one could have predicted that a Jouanin’s Petrel, a bird that nests in Oman, and forages in the Arabian Sea, would be found in the Richmond District on Count Day.

    .kb-image65970_5531c2-54.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image65970_5531c2-54 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:662px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column .kt-inside-inner-col .kb-image65970_5531c2-54.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column .kt-inside-inner-col .kb-image65970_5531c2-54 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image65970_5531c2-54{max-width:662px;}.image-is-svg.kb-image65970_5531c2-54{-webkit-flex:0 1 100%;flex:0 1 100%;}.image-is-svg.kb-image65970_5531c2-54 img{width:100%;}.kb-image65970_5531c2-54 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;} Jouanin’s Petrel found at Golden Gate Park and taken to Peninsula Humane Society for health reasons / photo provided by Peninsula Humane Society.

    Prior to the Count, rainy weather had been predicted for weeks, but when the day actually started – the skies cleared, and we enjoyed sunshine in the afternoon.  So instead of having a low species tally on Count Day, 180 were tallied – only two short of our record in 2019. Our Count Week total ended up at 185, six short of our record.

    The advent of eBird and improved electronic communication has clearly had an impact on the number of species spotted on the Christmas Bird Count. Our annual species count averaged 162 prior to 2012, but since then it has jumped to 179.  We counted 57,233 birds this year, about the same as the average in recent history.

    .kb-image65970_ac993e-da .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;} Bullock’s Oriole at Fort Mason by David Assmann

    New and Rare Species

    In addition to the Jouanin’s Petrel, the overwintering Grace’s Warbler was a new bird for the San Francisco Count. Second-ever sightings included a Vermillion Flycatcher (seen in the same cemetery in Colma as in 2016), a Black-headed Grosbeak in northern San Mateo (1999), a Pomarine Jaeger (last seen off the coast in 2003) and Brant (2016). A Black-legged Kittiwake at Battery Godfrey was a 4th record. In total, 34 rare or uncommon species were seen. We had a Summer Tanager, a Western Tanager, 4 Orchard Orioles (a record), and a Bullock’s Oriole. Of the expected species, we missed only two – Tree Swallow and Long-billed Dowitcher.

    The Bright Spots

    Corvids are doing extraordinarily well. We hit a new record for Common Ravens with 1,538 (more Ravens were counted than American Crows which came in at 1,532). California Scrub Jays (305) approached their record number of 353, and Steller’s Jay numbers came in at 148 (160 is the record). These species were extremely uncommon a few decades ago. If you go back to 1986, there were 3 Steller’s Jays and no California Scrub Jays found on the Count, and the combined total number of ravens and crows was 88!…