• Reluctant No Longer

    By Eric Schroeder

    It was the first day of my month-long program teaching University of California students in South Africa. I was leading a three-hour walking tour of downtown Cape Town and decided I’d better begin with one of the tougher parts of the program—introducing my students to the local birds. We had begun our walking tour at the Castle of Good Hope—the original Dutch fort and oldest building in South Africa, completed in 1679. The moats had been dry on my last visit two years earlier but had recently been refilled. The first moat was full of garbage—the students were really disgusted. But the second moat looked healthy—reeds were growing and there was almost no garbage. A quick flash of bright blue—a Malachite Kingfisher! Wow.
    Never thought I’d see one of those in downtown Cape Town.

    The program, called “City to Safari,” is a UC Davis Summer Abroad offering for which
    students enroll in two 4-unit university courses. The first of these is African
    American & African Studies (AAS) 157, “Literature and Society in South Africa”; the
    second one is AAS 198, a group studies course that I design as a fieldwork course.
    When I first starting leading it in 2001, my idea was to teach an interdisciplinary
    program that would include not only South African literature and history (the focus
    of the first course and my own field of study), but also politics, some anthropology,
    and close observation of nature, such a key feature of South Africa.

    This last goal, I reasoned, would be important to attract students to the
    program—they would see lots of South African mammals and birds. In AAS 157, the
    “classroom” course, students learn about South African history and politics and
    literature, and their assessment would be based on three essays they would write
    and a midterm exam. In the “field work” course students visit many of the places
    they are reading about (like Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in
    prison) but they also explore several South Africa national parks and nature
    reserves. For this course they are required not only to keep field journals about the
    places they were seeing, but also to keep records of the mammals and birds they
    observe. Their final essay exam would draw upon their work in both courses.

    The mammals are an easy sell. All of the students want to see lions, leopards, rhinos,
    elephants, zebras, giraffes, baboons—you get the picture—and they do see these,
    and more (most students record between thirty and forty mammals for their month
    in South Africa).…

  • The Journeys of Debi Shearwater

    An interview with Debi Shearwater, founder of Shearwater Journeys and recipient of the Ludlow Griscom Award at the 2018 Monterey Birding Festival

    By Taylor Crisologo

    Debi Shearwater received the Ludlow Griscom Award at the 2018 Monterey Birding Festival held in Monterey, California. The award is given by the American Birding Association to an individual who has made significant contributions to our understanding of a region’s birds.

    Debi Shearwater, famous for her incredible knowledge of seabirds, is the founder of Shearwater Journeys, Inc. Shearwater Journeys offers birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts the opportunity to venture out from California’s central coast to see seabirds and other marine life.

    Mark Rauzon, Seabird Biologist, noted author, and Professor of Geography, offered this about Debi Shearwater, “Debi is a true visionary- a self made legend of the birding community, famously portrayed by Anjelica Huston in the movie The Big Year.  She was a pioneer of sea birding on the West Coast, developed a business, Shearwater Journeys, and carried it on for 43 years. Since 1976 more than 67,000 birders from every state in the USA and more than 30 countries worldwide have had an opportunity to appreciate seabirds and the phenomena of Monterey Bay oceanography. One of the first women birders to achieve national recognition, she has many firsts, including discovering new North American species like the Jouanin’s Petrel.”

    Debi came to California in 1976. “I thought I was only going to be here for about 18 months,” she exclaimed. Within 10 days of arriving in the Golden State, she arranged to go on her first pelagic trip from Monterey. After a great experience, she booked another Monterey trip for that September – just six months later.

    “In those days, there were no field guides to whales. They didn’t exist. There were really no good field guides to seabirds at that time either,” Debi explained. She spent the night before reading books about blue whales – an IUCN Red List endangered species whose global population was driven to drastically low numbers by commercial whaling. “I just thought, man, if I see a whale – that’s going to be amazing.”

    Blue Whale tail by Beth Hamel

    On her trip in September, Debi encountered a blue whale: the first whale species she’d ever seen. The following year, she spotted a Streaked Shearwater – a rare sight in California, since its native range is the western Pacific Ocean. “That’s how it began – with a blue whale and a Streaked Shearwater,” she said.…

  • Birds and Beginning Sailors

    By Marjorie Powell and Linda Carloni

    It all started with a comment at a GGBA Centennial Celebration in spring 2017.
    Photographs of birds in Alameda were on display. A member of the Board of an Alameda sailing camp mused about the variety of birds that might be seen at the camp and wondered if a birding class for the sailing students might be possible. It was late to set something up for that summer, but persistence and networking paid off and Marjorie made contact with Emily Zugnoni, the camp’s director in the spring of 2018.

    Yes, the Alameda Community Sailing Center operates a sailing camp in Alameda, at
    the Encinal boat ramp, and yes, they would be interested in volunteers teaching a lesson about birds during each of their 5 2-week sessions in the summer. After collecting more details about the students, how they are grouped for the sailing lessons, dates, where the presentations would occur, and other details, we brainstormed topics for possible sessions.

    We thought it was important to focus on our Bay and its birds, to give the young sailors the
    chance to learn about the birds that share the waters with them, the challenges those birds face,
    and ways the sailors and the rest of us can steward the environment to give those birds a better
    chance.

     

    Photo of campers starting a birding project by Emily Zugnoni

    Challenges abounded – only a 30 minute time for each session, a student age range from 8 to
    18, presentation outdoors with no screen, and the request that each group “do” something
    rather than just listen. Working around busy travel schedules, Marjorie, GGBA Executive Director Cindy Margulis, and Sharol Nelson-Embry brainstormed ideas for sessions. Over several weeks, ideas for each
    of the four different sailing groups slowly came together.

    More volunteers were needed. Some of the people designing the sessions couldn’t teach the
    sessions; other volunteers could teach the sessions but were not available for the brainstorming
    and design session. Our volunteer teaching crew was terrific: Leora Feeney, Jerry and Michelle
    Harrison, Dawn Lemoine and the two of us.

    Campers making bird whirligigs by Emily Zugnoni

    For the beginners, called Discovery Sailors, the sessions focused on two birds of the Bay, Least
    Terns and Osprey. These younger students focused on hands-on activities – a wooden model
    of a Least Tern, a transparency of an osprey wing (against which students could measure
    themselves) and making whirligigs with a flying Osprey or Least Tern.…

  • Surveying Brown Pelicans at the Alameda Wildlife Reserve Breakwater Island

    NOTE: Updated post with additional photos.

    By Taylor Crisologo

    The pelican moved slowly, stretching out its great wings in one fluid motion. It lifted its long bill to the sky and opened it briefly, then quickly snapped it shut. Our boat continued to move parallel to the pelican’s resting place, our movement causing me to crane my neck to keep sight of the individual.

    As the pelican drifted away from my binocular’s view, I turned my attention to another individual and scanned its legs for bands. The only sounds that could be heard were the hum of our boat’s engine and the long calls of gulls from the breakwater’s rocks.

    “140 total,” called a voice behind a pair of binoculars. The voice belonged to John Luther, who was in charge of keeping the total count of pelicans per section for our count.

    “14 brown heads,” followed Emilie Strauss, who was counting the total number of younger birds per section. The younger birds have brown heads – as opposed to the adult birds’ light golden heads – making them discernible in the group.

    First Light by Deborah Jacques

    Breaking my focus on watching the pelicans momentarily, I wrote the numbers on my record sheet and repeated the data back to our team for confirmation. Leaning my head into the ship’s main cabin where Judy Irving stood recording behaviors, I alerted her of the start for the count of the subsequent section. Beside me, Jennifer Walton stood diligently, recording any banded individuals we witnessed. (The next morning by daylight, biologist Debora Jaques re-sighted 15 pelicans wearing bands at the Breakwater!)

    All 4 BRPE Band Programs represented at Alameda Breakwater Band Collage by Deborah Jaques

    It was a breezy September evening. The vessel Sparky, captained by Jim Labbe, slowly moved parallel to the Alameda Wildlife Reserve Breakwater Island, allowing us a clear view of the roosting pelicans without disturbing them. Leora Feeney, along with Deborah Jaques, assessed the pelicans coming and going to the breakwater from shore.

    Leora counting from shore by Deborah Jacques

    Leora, our team’s organizer, was instrumental in orchestrating our efforts for the task at hand: counting the thousands of pelicans currently roosting at Alameda Wildlife Reserve Breakwater Island. Luckily, our team’s local knowledge of the area is vast. Since 2004, Leora and John have coordinated their own efforts to monitor the breakwater’s pelicans twice a month as part of the All Bird Surveys done at Alameda Wildlife Reserve.…

  • Monterey Pine Egret Colony in Alameda – A Photo Blog

     

    Text and photos by Gerry Traucht

    “Once almost hunted into extinction for the value of their feathers – an ounce of feathers surpassed the value of an ounce of gold – these birds were saved by the landmark Migratory Bird Treaty Act passed in 1918. In celebration of the MBTA centenary, 2018 has been named the Year of the Bird.”

     

     

     

    A Great Egret, a majestic white bird with a five-foot wingspan, takes to the air. One might imagine that this elegant large creature inhabits only exotic settings, but in fact this egret lives at the heart of the extremely urban San Francisco Bay Area. This bird belongs to an egret colony on Bay Farm Island off the southern tip of Alameda.

     

     

    A Monterey pine leans over the lagoon on Bay Farm Island in Alameda, home to a San Francisco Bay Area egret breeding colony. Nesting begins as early as February and continues through August. The egrets and the tree are almost hidden. After the chicks are born and they begin to grow, the tree will resound with the rhythmic clacking of egrets.

     

     

    Due in large part to Golden Gate Bird Alliance, the removal of a dying tree is postponed until after the egrets’ breeding season.

     

     

    In March 2018, ten Great Egrets arrive. Soon they are joined by another four. Two weeks later, a pair of Snowy Egrets arrive.

     

     

    https://goldengatebirdalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/5_Tree-video-June-16-3mb.mp4

    By June the colony is noisy and full of life. But the tree is not as healthy as its inhabitants.

     

     

    A Great Egret brings a gift of a branch to woo his mate and repair their nest.

     

     

    And then there are chicks!

     

     

    It is feeding time for the chicks. The parent’s bill and most of the head are inserted into the chick’s mouth and down the throat.

     

     

    Chicks build biting strength and coordination, as they nip the parent’s beak.

     

     

    Fledgling egrets, now as large as their parents, experience quick changes between harmony and raucous battles in the nest. They are stretching their wings and learning to fly.

     

     

    New egret life abounds in the dying tree. By summer the pine’s green needles have disappeared leaving a clear view of the abundant breeding season.

     

     

    Now in September the egrets are gone. The Monterey pine is dead and scheduled for removal soon.…