• 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.

    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.

    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.


    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. I gave away the prima donna lemon tree and replaced it with a Pacific wax myrtle.…

  • 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!…

  • Vote Yes on Prop 4, the Climate Bond

    By Maureen Lahiff

    “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community” — Aldo Leopold

    .kb-image65686_e8ce73-d8 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;} American Avocet/Glen Tepke

    The integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community in the San Francisco Bay, of which almost 8 million humans are an integral part, is threatened by climate change, including habitat loss and sea level rise. As generous and appreciative members who love this community and its birds, we can respond in a positive way this fall by supporting California Proposition 4, the Climate Bond. Even if you are not a California voter, you can express your support and encourage others to vote for this critical investment in our future.

    When my birding colleague Linda Carloni and I started developing a class on shorebirds and waterbirds for Golden Gate Bird Alliance ten years ago, we considered it essential to include a unit on the importance of San Francisco Bay to birds, especially migrants and the shorebirds and waterbirds who spend the non-breeding season here. 

    As I prepare to teach this class again, I continue to be amazed at the number of species for which SF Bay is crucial habitat, either as a stopover or as a final destination on their off-season journeys from the Arctic, the Great Plains and the Great Basin, or, since migration is, after all, all about food, from Mexico and southern California. Every fall, SF Bay holds more migrating and wintering shorebirds than any other major wetland area on the Pacific Coast. This includes around 90% of the American Avocets, 80% of the Black-necked Stilts, 70% of the Willets, 70% of the Least Sandpipers, 60% of the Western Sandpipers, and 60% of the Black-bellied Plovers. There’s more, but that’s enough to give a vivid portrait. And that’s with only 10% of the Bay’s wetlands left.

    Much of the waters and surrounding natural shorelines of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay are designated as Important Bird Areas. One of the criteria for a shorebird IBA is that over 10,000 shorebirds can be observed on a single day (by several observers). I volunteer for the annual fall shorebird survey that collects these sorts of data. Holding ten or more sensitive species is another IBA criterion. SF Bay is designated of hemispheric importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) and is a Ramsar Convention Wetland of International Importance.…

  • Save the Planet in Your Spare Time

    By Joyce Mercado

    Birding brings us great joy. We love observing and identifying our feathered friends.  Unfortunately, climate change is a big threat to birds.  Audubon’s research shows that two-thirds (389 out of 604) of North American bird species are at risk of extinction from climate change. The good news is that if we act now, we can help improve the chances for 76% of species at risk.  So what difference can individuals with busy lifestyles make?  It turns out to be a big one!  

    Leaders influencing others in their communities to protect the climate is an essential element in fighting climate change.  Anyone can be a leader, including you, even if you have a pretty packed schedule. My new book Save the Planet in Your Spare Time – A Climate Protection Handbook for the Busy Person chronicles my journey to becoming a climate protection leader in Alameda so others can learn from my experience. Below are a few highlights from the book.

    Nathan Staz/Unsplash

    I started by reducing my greenhouse gas emissions by hauling my bicycle out of the garage and using it  instead of my gas-guzzling vehicle to run errands. I changed all of my light bulbs to compact fluorescents then LEDs.  A home energy efficiency audit provided several good suggestions for reducing my gas and electricity usage, further reducing emissions. I got better gas mileage when I did drive, by getting my car serviced on schedule, clearing stuff out of my trunk, carpooling for kid activities, and properly inflating my tires.  I embraced the four R’s of reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot (compost).  I purchased a reusable coffee mug, reusable water bottle, cloth napkins instead of paper napkins, and dishcloths instead of paper towels. I stopped most junk mail by calling the catalog companies to remove my address from their distribution list.  I switched to a primarily plant-based diet. I also avoided food waste by making soups, omelets, and stir-fries out of wilting vegetables and shopping with a list of recipes planned for the week.  When doing laundry I switched to using cold water instead of hot or warm water. I installed solar panels, replaced our gas dryer with an electric dryer, and recently purchased an electric vehicle.

    Phillip Strong/Unsplash

    All the time I was making these changes though, I was thinking “but I’m just one person”. How can I influence others to make changes in their lifestyles as well besides just leading by example?…

  • Birding the Bay Islands: The crazy chaos of nesting season on Alcatraz

    By Helen Doyle (All Photos and Story)

    Alcatraz Island is quieting down as another nesting season wraps up. The Peregrine falcon and Western gull chicks have fledged, the Brandt’s Cormorant chicks are as big as their parents, the Snowy Egrets and Pigeon Guillemots are mostly gone. Another generation flies the coop. Just what makes this rocky island such a fabulous nesting location?

    My interest in Alcatraz’s unique seasonal bird population was piqued when I had the opportunity to visit frequently as a volunteer with the Alcatraz Historic Gardens program. More of a plant person than a birder, I’m intrigued by different habitats and the wildlife they support (hence, my interest in writing the Birding the Bay Islands series: Bair, Angel, and Mare).

    Few birds were visible on the Parade Ground on this calm December day, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

    Less than two miles from San Francisco, Alcatraz Island offers 22-acres of critical nesting habitat for many shore and water birds. It’s noisy and smelly and fascinating.

    By May, Brandt’s cormorants have staked out their nesting spots on the Parade Ground.

    The human history of Alcatraz is a multi-layered, mostly painful story. While there’s no evidence that the Ramaytush Ohlone and other indigenous people of the Bay Area had settlements on the island, they may have visited the island to harvest eggs and birds for food, to conduct ceremonies, and to isolate/ostracize members of their tribes who violated tribal law. It should also be noted that indigenous people used the island as a refuge from the oppresive California Mission system, and once the island became a prison, many Native Americans were incarcerated for resisting the allotment of tribal lands and refusing to send their children to boarding schools.  We don’t know what the local indigenous people called the island prior to colonization by the Spanish. Juan Manuel de Ayala named it Isla de los Alcatraces (“Isle of the Pelicans”) in 1775, recognizing its abundant bird population. Alcatraz had the first lighthouse on the Pacific coast (built in 1854), was an important military base during the Civil War, became a military prison, and finally was a brutal federal prison from 1933 to 1963. From 1969 to 1971, local Native Americans and members of the American Indian Movement took over the island as part of the nationwide activism around indigenous rights and sovereignty (see We Hold the Rock for more about indigenous history and occupation).…