• Monitoring Mount Sutro

    By Dominik Mosur

    For much of my birding “career” I have been drawn to the concept of Patch Birding. This is an approach to birdwatching where a specific site is visited on a regular basis allowing for a real-time glimpse at the timing of migrant arrivals and departures, breeding behavior, and the influence of seasonal changes on bird activity.

    In fall of 2022 I was notified that Golden Gate Bird Alliance was looking for an observer to continue a multi-year project to survey Mount Sutro Open Space Preserve. I jumped at the opportunity to put my patch birding proclivity to a constructive purpose. 

    The Preserve has been the site of  a years-long restoration effort and these surveys are designed to tell us how this is affecting the birds that live here. Swaths of the Preserve that had for decades stagnated under a canopy of mostly Blue Gum Eucalyptus towering over Himalayan Blackberry and English Ivy have been opened up and revegetated with native shrubs and annuals. This restoration has created a mosaic of habitat much closer to what would have been present prior to the establishment of San Francisco. 

    Reflecting now on my own two years of accumulated data as well as data gathered by previous surveys dating back to the spring of 2019 and incidental eBird data from other observers, a picture of what is happening has begun to emerge.

    The Preserve is a permanent home to about  25 species of birds. In addition, another 30 species are present only as breeders or non-breeding season visitors. Over 110 species in total have been noted to date. Some of the more notable are as follows:

    Allen’s Hummingbird at Mount Sutro by Catie Michel

    Allen’s Hummingbird — The Preserve has one of the higher densities of nesting Allen’s Hummingbirds of any site in San Francisco. This is important because this “fog-belt” obligate hummingbird has been notably declining in much of its range along the coast of California. Interestingly, perhaps due to the higher elevation on Mount Sutro (~550-900 feet) Allen’s Hummingbirds tend to arrive here a week or two later than they do in other parts of San Francisco at lower elevations.

    Band-tailed Pigeons — Formerly known in San Francisco only as fly-over migrants and dispersers, Band-tails are now established as localized breeders in the City, with  Mount Sutro and surrounding areas making up the core of their range. I suspect the increase in Red Elderberry, one of the main plants promoted in the restoration and a key Band-tail food source, could be the reason.…

  • Birding the Bay Islands: Bair Island’s Tidal Food Court

    by Helen J. Doyle and Jeanette Pettibone

    Bair Island’s restored tidal wetlands provide a variety of food found in high tide waters and low tide exposed mudflats for both year-round residents and thousands of birds migrating through or overwintering in the Bay Area. 

    Located just east of Highway 101 near Redwood City, Bair Island is part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, an impressive multi-agency effort to restore the South Bay’s natural wetlands. Bair Island’s primary habitat is tidal wetlands, dominated by salt marsh-loving plants like pickleweed and gumplant, bounded on the landward side by shrubland. Twice a day the exposed mudflats serve up abundant food for a variety of shorebirds, waterbirds, gulls and terns. Shorebirds are especially cooperative and fun to watch in such an exposed and expansive landscape. They move slowly as they use their bills to forage in the mud, their long legs keeping their bodies above the water. A terrific time to watch the Bair Island food court is on ebb tide, with the birds descending on the freshly exposed mudflats as the tide goes out. This is a great place to bring a scope, if you have one.

    Like Mare Island further north in the San Pablo Bay, Bair Island may not have always been an island like it is today. As elsewhere in the San Francisco and San Pablo Bays, the shoreline has been molded and shaped to serve agricultural and industrial uses. In the 1920s, cattle were raised here by Fred Bair, for whom the island was named. Subsequently, they were part of the complex of salt evaporation ponds along the Bay shoreline. In the 1970s and 1980s, housing developments were proposed for Bair Island until local conservation efforts succeeded in protecting it and ultimately incorporating it into the extensive Don Edwards Refuge. Now the approximately 3,000 acres of Bair Island is part of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, converting just over 15,000 acres of industrial salt ponds back to tidal wetlands and other habitats. This and other efforts to restore native habitat and prepare for sea level rise were recently funded through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law announced in March by US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, and Wade Crowfoot, Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency.

    Marbled Godwits search for food in mud exposed by the ebbing tide by Helen Doyle

    On our first outing to Bair Island, a calm late January morning between winter storms, we neglected to coordinate with the tides.…

  • Birding the Bay Islands: Bair Island’s Tidal Food Court Copy

    by Helen J. Doyle and Jeanette Pettibone

    Bair Island’s restored tidal wetlands provide a variety of food found in high tide waters and low tide exposed mudflats for both year-round residents and thousands of birds migrating through or overwintering in the Bay Area. 

    Located just east of Highway 101 near Redwood City, Bair Island is part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, an impressive multi-agency effort to restore the South Bay’s natural wetlands. Bair Island’s primary habitat is tidal wetlands, dominated by salt marsh-loving plants like pickleweed and gumplant, bounded on the landward side by shrubland. Twice a day the exposed mudflats serve up abundant food for a variety of shorebirds, waterbirds, gulls and terns. Shorebirds are especially cooperative and fun to watch in such an exposed and expansive landscape. They move slowly as they use their bills to forage in the mud, their long legs keeping their bodies above the water. A terrific time to watch the Bair Island food court is on ebb tide, with the birds descending on the freshly exposed mudflats as the tide goes out. This is a great place to bring a scope, if you have one.

    Like Mare Island further north in the San Pablo Bay, Bair Island may not have always been an island like it is today. As elsewhere in the San Francisco and San Pablo Bays, the shoreline has been molded and shaped to serve agricultural and industrial uses. In the 1920s, cattle were raised here by Fred Bair, for whom the island was named. Subsequently, they were part of the complex of salt evaporation ponds along the Bay shoreline. In the 1970s and 1980s, housing developments were proposed for Bair Island until local conservation efforts succeeded in protecting it and ultimately incorporating it into the extensive Don Edwards Refuge. Now the approximately 3,000 acres of Bair Island is part of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, converting just over 15,000 acres of industrial salt ponds back to tidal wetlands and other habitats. This and other efforts to restore native habitat and prepare for sea level rise were recently funded through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law announced in March by US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, and Wade Crowfoot, Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency.

    Marbled Godwits search for food in mud exposed by the ebbing tide by Helen Doyle

    On our first outing to Bair Island, a calm late January morning between winter storms, we neglected to coordinate with the tides.…

  • Birding: a Real Option for City Kids

    By Dan Scali

    As an immature iteration of a long-standing committee, Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s Youth Education Committee hatched in September 2022 and continues program development for new audiences, most notably middle school students. One pilot program finding early success is the committee’s collaboration with San Francisco-based youth organization, Real Options for City Kids (R.O.C.K.). R.O.C.K. has been providing out of school programming to historically underserved K–8 youth in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood since 1994. Within R.O.C.K. is a perfect audience for our outreach, the Saturday Adventure Leadership Team (S.A.L.T.). This team is exclusively for middle schoolers who are held to high expectations in their commitment to each other, staff, environmental stewardship, and exposure to new outdoor experiences.

    Our committee was excited for this partnership and despite concerns that volunteers might shy away from teens full of testosterone, interest was very high. With an important goal of promoting social and environmental justice, we were glad to sign on several Spanish speakers and others with relatable backgrounds as the R.O.C.K. youth to volunteer. 

    Getting the hang of the scope. Photo by Natalie Gustin Toland

    We kicked things off with S.A.L.T. at Heron’s Head Park in September of last year. Though we were about a month too early for wintering ducks, the park’s varied habitats: bay, pond, beach, rocky shore, tidal marshes, channels, and sloughs, were likely to provide excellent opportunities for newer birders to see large aquatic species up close. One hurdle was that S.A.L.T. turnout is unpredictable — families have a lot going on — and waking up early on the weekend to go bird watching is maybe not at the top of the list for most 12 to 14-year-olds. Nevertheless, three co-leaders, Clay Anderson, Bianca Escalante, and myself, were ready to flow with the outgoing tides. Six boys arrived with staff members Franny, a graduate of S.A.L.T., and Cassandra, ready for an adventure. We distributed brand-new, recently donated 10×42 Vortex binoculars to all, made introductions, and headed out.

    The Heron’s Head Crew.  Photo by Dan Scali

    Our first invasive plant, star thistle, and our first native plant, Oregon gum plant, were much easier to observe than our first bird. And yet, the tiny Least Sandpiper was plenty confiding and gave all of the beginners great looks at its bright yellow legs. Moving on we found many opportunities to discuss bird ID, behavior, life history, and to connect with the ecology around us.…

  • Birding the Bay Islands: Thriving in Angel Island’s diverse habitats

    By Helen J. Doyle and Evan Weissman

    We met at 6:30, as we agreed the night before. The sky was already light, a week before the summer solstice, though a layer of ocean fog gave everything a slightly hazy outline and dulled gray tone. June gloom. Summer on the San Francisco Bay. We parked where the road had been washed out by winter storms, listening for birds in the light morning breeze.

    We passed through oak woodlands and coastal scrub/chaparral habitats. Further along, a small grove of coast redwoods, planted a hundred years ago or more. All these habitats on a small island in the San Francisco Bay. We took a few steps, stopped and listened again, peering into the scrub for a flash of color or motion in the muted light. We heard one, two, three birds, several different species, on one side of the trail and then the other. Quietly, patiently, we listened.

    Angel Island has at least seven distinct habitats for its avian life, packed into one square mile: oak woodland, coastal scrub/chaparral, introduced Eucalyptus and Monterey Pine, a small Redwood grove, shoreline, and of course the surrounding bay waters and sky above. For those new to birding, the Island offers the chance to see a diversity of birds on easy walks through varied habitats (don’t forget to bird from the ferry!).

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    Acorn Woodpecker by Evan Weissman
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    Acorn Woodpeckers thrive with their well-stocked granaries by Helen Doyle

    Angel Island may delight experienced birders too. While none of these habitats are unique to the island, the type and number of birds differs from what you might see elsewhere. The oaks appear to support more Acorn Woodpecker families than a similarly sized woodland would elsewhere, perhaps because the birds are not competing with squirrels, who don’t live on Angel island. There are no California Towhees, common in the Bay Area, but there may be more Spotted Towhees than expected, perhaps due to reduced competition from their California Towhee relatives.…