By Janet McGarry
Like most nature lovers, I am alarmed and outraged at Trump’s efforts to dismantle environmental regulations and policies. So when I read on Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s Facebook page about Audubon California’s Advocacy Day on June 8th, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take action rather than despair and rage. Spending a day in Sacramento would be a small sacrifice in light of how much I love birdwatching and enjoy Audubon classes, walks, and lectures. I had traveled much further to attend the climate change conferences in Copenhagen and Cancun; a trip to Sacramento would be easy in comparison.
I was a bit nervous at the prospect of speaking to politicians, so was relieved when Audubon California invited me to participate in two conference calls to prepare for Advocacy Day. During the calls, Policy Director Mike Lynes provided background about the bills and advice about how to best communicate with legislators. Although they meet with many professional lobbyists, lawmakers are particularly interested in hearing about issues that impact their constituents. He encouraged us to speak about out personal experiences with birds in addition to the proposed legislation. He also reassured us that an Audubon employee knowledgeable about the bills would accompany each group of advocates.
Mike Lynes orients the citizen-advocates at the start of the day. Photo by Chris Winn.
In addition to these training calls, Audubon staff scheduled meetings with legislators, helped coordinate carpooling, and provided links to web sites with information about legislators’ voting records. Some quick Internet research allayed any remaining anxiety: My representatives strongly supported environmental laws, so I anticipated “preaching to the choir” on Advocacy Day.
For our 2017 visits, Audubon focused on four areas that directly pertain to birds:

• Protecting California’s natural resources.
• Wildlife funding.
• Funding and support for the Salton Sea.
• Climate.

“Preserve California” Bills

Three of the bills we were supporting — Senate Bills (SB) 49, 50 and 51, collectively called the “Preserve California” package – will provide protection under California law if Trump’s administration weakens federal environmental laws and policies. SB 49 establishes baseline protection for water and air quality and endangered species so that California will continue to have environmental standards at least as strong as the federal laws that were in place on January 1, 2017.
SB 40 would give California the right of first refusal to purchase any federal land that the U.S. government tries to sell in the state.…

By Christina Tarr
In spring, the U.C. Berkeley campus is a veritable nursery. I walk across campus almost daily, and have regularly seen baby juncos, phoebes, crows, Brown Creepers, and Red-shouldered Hawks, not to mention skunks and raccoons. This spring, though, the most exciting family by far were the Peregrine Falcons nesting on top of the Campanile, the 307-foot bell tower in the middle of campus. The two chicks, named Fiat and Lux, fledged during the first week of July.
While peregrines have overwintered on the Campanile, as far as we know they have never nested there before this. But now that they have successfully nested there once, they will likely return in years to come.
Because I work on campus, I was lucky enough to be able to hang out intermittently with the volunteer “fledge watch” for most of the week. First, we assembled equipment, boxes, and a net, in case we had to catch a bird on the ground. We posted signs around the area, telling people what to do and whom to call if they found a bird on the ground. The watchers started each day by 7 a.m. in a little patio near the northwest corner of the plaza surrounding the Campanile, scopes trained on the tower. Around 11, when the fog burned off and the sun came out, they moved to a shaded spot near Evans Hall, directly north of the tower. As the day wore on, they moved to the west side, near South Hall, or back to the little plaza south of the library. They stayed until dark, typically wrapping up about 8:30 or 9 p.m.
Adult falcon flying from the Campanile on July 5. If you look closely, a juvenile is perched in the niche next to the righthand fleur de lis. Photo by Elizabeth Winstead.
Adult falcon on Campanile. Photo by Elizabeth Winstead.
The birds spent long periods of time doing not very much. The parents flew in and out, bringing food to the hungry and noisy chicks. They sat on the tower keeping watch over things. They liked the corners, the tops of the light stands, and the top of the cupola. The mother in particular spent a lot of time sitting on the decorative carved garland directly below the balcony level where the chicks were. The mother screamed. The chicks screamed. Occasionally, more and more often as time went on, we could see the babies poke their heads out between the decorative fleurs de lis that made up the railing around the balcony.…

By Ilana DeBare
What a difference three years makes!
In spring 2014, Oakland post office officials thoughtlessly decided to cut foliage in the Bay Area’s largest heron rookery at the height of nesting season — destroying nests and leaving young birds injured and homeless.
This week, the City of Oakland had to remove a hazardous tree in that same rookery. But city staff partnered with Golden Gate Bird Alliance and International Bird Rescue in a humane, well-planned initiative to ensure that birds, eggs, and nests were protected.
THANK YOU to Oakland city staff — especially the folks in Animal Control; the Creeks, Watershed & Stormwater division; Tree Services; Traffic Control and Maintenance; and Drainage Maintenance!
Young night-heron in tree slated for removal / Photo by Ilana DeBare
Here’s the full story:
Over the past decade or so, the leafy ficus trees lining the streets near Alice and 13th Streets became home to the Bay Area’s largest nesting colony of Black-crowned Night-Herons and Snowy Egrets. Over 150 pairs of birds nest and raise young in the thick canopy, foraging for fish and other prey at nearby Lake Merritt and the Oakland Estuary.
The colony received little public attention until the disastrous tree trimming incident in 2014, which made national headlines.
In the wake of the trimming debacle, Golden Gate Bird Alliance launched a multi-year campaign to protect and educate the public about these dramatic-looking birds.
The problem went deeper than thoughtless tree trimming. The street trees are a dangerous nesting site: Young, not-yet-fledged birds that fall from the branches face broken bones on the hard concrete and deadly automobile traffic.
In 2015, we mounted an educational campaign with volunteer docents leading tours of the rookery, multi-lingual posters in nearby storefronts, a bilingual brochure on bird-friendly tree care, and a chalk art “flash mob” creating sidewalk art about the herons.
In 2016, we created a three-way rescue partnership with Oakland Zoo and International Bird Rescue. GGBA volunteers monitored the area for fallen birds; Oakland Zoo technicians provided speedy rescue and triage; then IBR provided long-term rehab and release into more suitable wild habitat along the Bay.
This year we continued that partnership. And two weeks ago, when one of the large rookery trees suddenly split in half and fell, GGBA, Oakland Zoo, and IBR all joined Oakland city staff in an emergency effort to rescue young birds from the fallen jungle of branches and leaves.…

By Eric Schroeder
As a horse owner dependent upon a trailer to get into our local parks in the spring, I am vigilant about the trailer’s readiness. My trailer lives at Hossmoor, a 138-acre horse property where I’ve seen over fifty species of birds. It’s also just an eight-minute drive from Briones Regional Park—an excellent place to ride and to bird year-round.
But this spring my horse had been injured and I let down my guard. Walking by the trailer in April,, I noticed that what we trailer owners fear most had happened—a Brewer’s Blackbird was sitting on a nest she had built on the spare battery compartment under the gooseneck of my trailer.
I thought to myself that if she hadn’t yet laid any eggs, I could remove the nest—maybe put it on somebody else’s trailer that wasn’t in use. I approached, the bird flew the nest, and I poked my head in. Four eggs.
Why my trailer? There were 25 other trailers that bird could have chosen! I realized immediately I wouldn’t be using the trailer for a while, even when my horse was sound again. But just how long would that be? On the west coast where Brewer’s Blackbirds are non-migratory, they start pairing up as early as the third week in January and all birds are paired by the second week in February. (I realize now that I should have been checking my trailer earlier—and regularly!—since females built the nests over a nine-day period.)
The nest on the trailer. Photo by Eric Schroeder
Generally, eastern populations of Brewer’s Blackbirds tend to nest on the ground, while western populations built nests in a wide variety of locations—in bushes, in vegetation over water, in vegetable crops, and on available trailer perches. Nests built above ground tend to be built from twigs and weed stems with the rougher outer construction giving way to finer materials around the bowl. Bowls are often lined with horsehair—lots of that where my blackbirds live!
Blackbird nest lining, including horse hair. Photo by Eric Schroeder
Brewer’s Blackbirds are synchronous nesters, meaning that nest building for an entire colony starts at the same time. (If I had been paying closer attention to the blackbirds as a whole population, this wouldn’t have happened!) I discovered the eggs in early April but I didn’t have any idea how long they had been there (or when I might use my trailer again).…