• Thanks and Farewell to Noreen Weeden

    An interview conducted by Melissa Ramos

     

    On Friday, January 17th, Noreen Weeden, Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s extraordinary Director of Volunteers, retired from her position. A former GGBA board member and chair of the San Francisco Conservation Committee, Noreen joined the GGBA staff in 2005. In addition to her work with GGBA, she’s volunteered with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, and the Yerba Buena chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Noreen’s passion for habitat restoration has led to phenomenal breakthroughs at San Francisco’s Pier 94, among other habitat restoration projects throughout the Bay Area. Before signing on full-time to GGBA, Noreen worked in tech for large corporations and small businesses. We are in eternal awe and gratitude for Noreen’s dedication and contributions to GGBA. 

    Before she retired, Noreen sat down for an interview with Melissa Ramos, GGBA’s new Communications Manager.

    Noreen at a volunteer party in 2013. Photo by Ilana DeBare

    Melissa: Can you describe the first time you realized you were passionate about birds? How did you get into birding?

    Noreen: Well, I was always interested in getting outside and going hiking. Going outside was a way to escape from my indoor telecommunications job. Bigger escapes included vacations to places such as Central America and Mexico where, at the time, they couldn’t reach me by phone.  Birds quickly became a way to further enjoy nature. Going on bird walks in those places helped me notice that some of the birds in the south traveled to and from San Francisco! From that point on, I wanted to learn more about bird migration.

    My love of birding started with those Mexico and Central American trips, but over time I really wanted to learn a lot more about birds in general. There are so many different species and so many different aspects about birds. There’s listening to their songs and their calls. Watching their behavior. Learning about evolution. The different foods they eat and different dangers that they face. Some that migrate long distances and others short. All of this is pretty fascinating and a gateway to virtually all of the other nature sciences.

    The beautifully restored Pier 94, one of Noreen’s most successful long term conservation projects. Photo by Lee Karney

    Melissa: What are your favorite birds and why?

    Noreen: This has got to be one of the cryptic birds, like the Wilson’s Snipe, a bird that’s sometimes difficult to see even though you’re looking directly at it.…

  • Wren House Adventures

    By Doug Donaldson 

    A few years ago, my wife and I noticed a pair of beautiful little Bewick’s Wrens frequenting our backyard feeder. Eventually my wife discovered they had created a nest in the folds of an old tarp stored by our shed.  We kept an eye on the nest, but one night it was raided and destroyed. It was clearly time to build some wren houses!  

    Bewick’s Wren by Doug Donaldson

     

    Birdhouse Assembly by Doug Donaldson

    I found some old redwood fence boards that could work for this project and checked the internet for some design ideas and other guidance. I found quite a few website resources and sensed a consensus that the proper sized entrance hole for Bewick’s Wrens was 1 1/8 inches wide, 4-6 inches above the floor of a 6-8-inch-high wren house.  It didn’t take long to cut the walls, roof boards, and bottom for two birdhouses on my table saw, but I discovered that I had a hole saw blade of 1 1/4” but not 1 1/8”. I used the blade I had to cut the entrance hole, assembled the birdhouses and hung them in some tree branches 6-7 feet above the ground (within the range recommended by my internet sources). 

    Birdhouses by Doug Donaldson

    A year went by. We continued to see Bewick’s Wrens frequent the feeder. But none showed interest in my birdhouses. As we got to know the wrens better, we observed that they preferred the cover in dense shrubs and bushes, typically flying into a thick bougainvillea against the house or a Hebe shrub near the feeder. 

    Nesting Wren by Doug Donaldson

    So, I decided I would put a birdhouse in a place they like. I built two more birdhouses just like the first two, but with one difference. This time, I went to the hardware store and purchased a 1 1/8-inch bit, making entrance holes of the recommended diameter.  I hung one house inside the bougainvillea and another in a thick camelia bush nearby. 

    Nesting Wrens by Doug Donaldson

    Bingo! We quickly noted that the wrens were very active in the bougainvillea and discovered a pair was building a nest in the new birdhouse. We didn’t notice immediately, but the other house (in the camelia) was soon occupied as well. We watched and I photographed the busy parents. Eventually, two newly fledged chicks came into the picture. Wren sightings around the feeder were very common, with many flitting in and out of the bougainvillea.  …

  • Rarities and sunshine at 2019 SF CBC

    By Siobhan Ruck

    Thanks to all participants in this year’s San Francisco Christmas Bird Count – we had a great turnout and a clear (but chilly) day for counting.

    Count Week is still going through Monday 12/27.  Hoping we can still pick up a few more species!

    Counting at Crissy Lagoon. Photo by Ilana DeBare.

    First the high points:

    Black was the theme for uncommon warblers:  Black-throated Grey, Black and White, and Blackburnian were all seen.  Some uncommon species that seem to be becoming annuals were Tropical Kingbird, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Western Tanager and Orchard Oriole.

    Tropical Kingbird at the Sharp Park Golf Course, by Joseph Morlan

    Among the less-frequently reported species, we had a Redhead and Rhinoceros Auklet (Sloat seawatch), and Northern Fulmar (Funston afternoon seawatch).  The continuing Rock Sandpiper at Heron’s Head showed up on count day (a first on SF Count) but the Red-Footed Booby did not.  We do have the Booby for Count Week, but if anyone saw it yesterday, please get in touch.

    Rock Sandpiper at Heron’s Head Park by Peter Seubert

    Two other species were reported by people not on count teams:  Tree Swallow, and Palm Warbler at Concrete Bridge in Lake Merced.

    In addition to the Rock Sandpiper, we had four other additions to the list:

    • San Bruno Mountain had a Pacific-slope Flycatcher.  Erica Rutherford found it while scouting on 12/26; they looked for it throughout count day – and it finally showed up at 4:08 pm, the exact time it had been seen the day before.
    • Crystal Springs had a Chateura-type swift, most likely Vaux’s Swift, flying with a flock of White-throated Swifts.
    • Sunset had a Scarlet Tanager at the Zoo, as reported to SF Birds last night. See Megan Jankowski’s post on the SF Birds email group for details.
    • Pacifica had a Long-eared Owl.  Because this is a species of special concern, the location has not/will not be shared, but the bird was well seen and photographed by the counters.
    Common Goldeneye at Heron’s Head Park by Peter Seubert Counting in Colma, city of cemeteries, by Laurie Graham Tallying up the morning results over lunch at the Randall Museum. Photo by Ilana DeBare.

    I’m still waiting for paperwork from a few areas, but the current numbers show 177 species seen on count day.  (179 pending documentation from the non-count observers)

    A few common/annual species were missed – if you see any of these through Monday anywhere in the count circle, please let me know:

    Wood Duck
    Eurasian Wigeon
    Cinnamon Teal
    Northern Pintail
    Long-tailed Duck
    Green Heron
    Ridgway’s Rail
    Red Knot
    Burrowing Owl
    Hermit Warbler

    This year’s count was notable for a number of terrific new area leaders.…