• Lake Merritt wildlife at risk from A’s stadium plan

    Editor’s Note: Golden Gate Bird Alliance came out in opposition last week to the proposal to relocate the Oakland A’s baseball stadium to a site adjacent to the Lake Merritt Channel, currently owned by the Peralta Community College District. We received prominent news coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as in the East Bay Times, KGO-TV, and KCBS radio, and we published an op-ed piece in the East Bay Times. The following is adapted from the press release we sent out.

    The large-scale ballpark proposed by the Oakland A’s for the Peralta Community College District site could be disastrous for the abundant birds, fish, and other animals that rely on Lake Merritt.
    Golden Gate Bird Alliance — which represents over 7,000 members in Oakland and nearby cities — opposes selection of the Peralta site because of the loud noise, intense light, trash, and harmful contaminants it would generate directly alongside the Lake Merritt channel, a narrow and vital waterway connecting the lake to the estuary and San Francisco Bay.
    Peralta is the smallest and densest of the three proposed stadium sites. It is ill-suited for the huge footprint of a stadium plus parking, and the additional planned housing and commercial development. (See map below.)
    Golden Gate Bird Alliance raises the following concerns over the site proposal:

    • Lake Merritt, the nation’s oldest wildlife refuge and a public asset, is home to nearly 200 species, including ducks, herons, songbirds, nesting cormorants, fish, and other species.

    Barrow’s Goldeneye pair at Lake Merritt / Photo by William Clark
    2012 Kids' Bird Count at Lake Merritt2012 Kids’ Bird Count at Lake Merritt organized by Golden Gate Bird Alliance / Photo by Ilana DeBare

    • Siting a ballpark at Peralta could jeopardize major improvements recently made to Lake Merritt through $198 million in Measure DD bond funding, including environmental cleanup, restoration of water quality, enhanced bird and fish habitat, and connection to the Bay ecosystem.
    • Restoration of the Lake Merritt Channel has helped connect Lake Merritt and its ecosystem to the surrounding communities and public institutions, such as the Oakland Museum, Oakland Main Library, and Laney College.
    • Tens of thousands of people would pour over the Lake Merritt Channel bridge at every home game to get to the stadium from the Lake Merritt BART station, dropping trash (including plastic) that is both unsightly and dangerous to wildlife.
    • Loud noise from PA systems, amplified music, traffic, and crowds can frighten birds away from their habitat and into roadways.
    …

  • What are your dreams for Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s next century?

    By Ilana DeBare
    Yesterday we printed quotes from our volunteers about what they most appreciate about Golden Gate Bird Alliance. Today we’re sharing other responses from the Centennial survey that our volunteers filled out last year — about what they hope and envision for our next century.
    Do these statements strike a chord with you? Do you have other or different ideas? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts!

    What do you think Golden Gate Bird Alliance should strive to achieve in the next 100 years?

    Continue rising to new challenges as they come along and coordinating with other agencies with similar agendas to promote healthy habitats for humans and wildlife alike.
    Further restoration of natural habitat throughout the Bay Area.
    Adapt to a changing world — not just technology, but diversity and cultural differences.
    Work to make the connection between birds and people ever stronger, so that climate change policies help to protect bird habitat as well as human habitat.
    Turning the huge birding community into a powerful advocacy force for conservation.
    Subsidize and engage the “young” professionals (e.g. over 18 and under 40). I am 35 and I always bring down the average age.

    Today’s Eco-Ed students could be tomorrow’s Audubon leaders. Photo by Monica Moore.

    I would love GGBA to have an actual facility of our own, where we could teach classes, have meetings, and maybe even do a little birding and habitat maintenance — maybe in one of the regional parks?
    Preserve wetlands and other safe places for birds and animals in general.
    The biggest challenge will be climate change, sea level rise, and what this will mean for the birds and people in the Bay Area and globally.  GGBA needs to engage in activities and partnerships that optimize habitat for the survival of birds in the next century.
    We need to do our part in our own backyard to further E.O. Wilson’s project to set aside 50% of the planet for biodiversity.
    Whoa!!  I am convinced the operating budget must be expanded to achieve what GGBA needs to achieve. We need to do so much – and we need funds to do most of this work. As a native of the Bay Area, I see the natural environment shrinking on a daily basis – and we have to do everything we can to stop this shrinkage!

    GGBA volunteers clean up shorebird habitat at Crissy Field.…

  • What do you love about Golden Gate Bird Alliance?

    By Ilana DeBare

    Last year, while planning for our Centennial exhibit, we conducted a survey of our most active volunteers to learn what they felt was unique about Golden Gate Bird Alliance. Their responses helped us shape the exhibit.

    Now, as we enter the final months of our Centennial year, it seems an opportune moment to share some of their answers with you. Today we’re featuring responses about what people appreciate about GGBA. Tomorrow we’ll feature people’s hopes for our next 100 years.

    Do these statements strike a chord with you? Do you have other or different ideas? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts!

    .
    What do you respect, admire, or love about GGBA and its work?

    The octopus-like involvement in a million things at once, with none of them spread too thin. Something for everyone.

    One of the joys of GGBA is the different and diverse bird outings.  I enjoy birding and sometimes its a great experience as well as fun to go with other birders.

    The members of GGBA are dedicated, hard-working, and enthusiastic birders that want to share their knowledge.

    They actually succeed in protecting wildlife and the environment.

    Takes guts to stand up to dog owners  : – )

    GGBA docents at Lake Merritt / Photo by Eleanor Briccetti

    It brings together a variety of people from disparate backgrounds around a shared interest in birds.

    I admire the conservation and advocacy work, like Leora Feeney working so hard for so long to protect the tern habitat in Alameda.

    I am grateful for the lawsuit that led to the restoration of Arrowhead Marsh.

    Love the combination of ardent conservation with education and fun, too.

    I have loved the enthusiasm and dedication of the teachers and leaders and other birders. It’s a pleasure to spend time with such people.

    I am so proud of being involved with an organization that “bats above its weight.” For such a small budget and staff, we accomplish amazing things.

     

    GGBA field trip to Middle Harbor Shoreline Park / Photo by Ilana DeBare

    My favorite thing is meeting people from so many different backgrounds with a variety of different skills and perspectives yet a common love of birds.

    The class teachers are AMAZING. The Gull is pretty great, too. The conservation achievements are impressive, too.

    The Oakland Christmas Bird Counts… all of them, over the years.

    GGBA is much more evolved and involved than thirty years ago in what it does to “connect birds and people.”…

  • Presidio of San Francisco: Birding Hotspot

    By Alan Hopkins

    With a bird list of more than 200 species, the Presidio has become a beloved site for Bay Area birdwatchers. The area has diverse habitats: ocean, bay, marsh, riparian, woodland, and more.

    Founded in 1776, the Presidio was a military installation established first by the Spanish and held briefly by the Mexican Government. Then in 1846, after the Mexican American War, the Presidio became a holding of the United States. The 1,491 acre base was decommissioned in 1989 and became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1994. Like some other military bases, large tracts were left undeveloped and as a result, remnants of San Francisco’s original flora and fauna can still be found there.

    My personal history of birding the Presidio goes back to the 1970s and birding with Mary Louise Rosegay when the base was still run by the army. One of the first female graduates of Cornell’s orinthology program, Mary Louise was an avid birder and advocate for the Presidio’s birds. She wrote the first bird list for the Presidio as well as countless letters trying to protect the birds and their habitats. I have a vivid memory of seeing my first Red Crossbill on a trip Mary Louise led for Golden Gate Bird Alliance. The Presidio wouldn’t be what it is today without Mary Louise and the young people she inspired.

    Fort Scott at the Presidio / Photo by Alan Hopkins

    Mary Louise wouldn’t recognize parts of the Presidio today. Since it became a national park, an enormous effort has been made to restore much of its natural habitat. Back in its time as a military base, Crissy Field was an asphalt lot surrounded by a cyclone fence, El Polin Spring was a 1950s-style picnic area at the edge of a landfill, and Lobos Dunes and Presidio Hills held large parking lots and ball fields. As restoration continues and new habitats become mature, the Presidio will look much different in the future than it does today.

    There isn’t space to go into depth about all the Presidio’s birding hotspots, so here are some highlights.

    Northern Coastline from Fort Point to Crissy Field

    The Golden Gate Promenade runs from the Marina to Fort Point and offers spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay, and the city skyline. Many of the Presidio’s 5 million annual visitors use this path.

    Historic Fort Point has Pigeon Guillemots nesting in the gun turrets in the summer.…

  • Burrowing Owl docents start their 11th season

    By Della Dash

    Everyone loves Burrowing Owls… once they actually see one.

    As Burrowing Owl docents with Golden Gate Bird Alliance, we get the added thrill of helping people see their first owl and learn more about them. We’re monitoring owls, and creating owl allies!

    GGBA will hold its annual training for Burrowing Owl docent volunteers this month, on Saturday, September 23. You’re invited to join us! (Details below.) But first, I’d like to share an update on our East Bay Burrowing Owl population.

    Species of Special Concern

    Once abundant throughout California, Burrowing Owls were a ubiquitous part of the Bay Area landscape. But as their habitat of open fields dwindled, so did their numbers. The Burrowing Owl is currently a federal and state “Species of Special Concern” and considered a likely candidate to be listed under the State of California’s Endangered Species Act.

    Burrowing Owls are the only ground-dwelling owl in North America, and are typically the only owls likely to be seen roosting during daylight and hunting in the early morning and evening. Just 8-10 inches tall, they live in ground squirrel burrows or rocky outcroppings and hunt insects, rodents, and other small prey. They favor grasslands, open fields, and areas with low vegetation.

    Burrowing Owl at Cesar Chavez Park by Mary Malec

    For the population to recover, Burrowing Owls need safe breeding, foraging, and over-wintering sites. Although historically there were ample breeding populations throughout the Bay Area, the area around the Bay has now become primarily an over-wintering site. “Our” owls have been documented at summer breeding spots as far away as Idaho.

    Local over-wintering sites include Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley, Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline in Oakland, Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont, Shoreline Park in Mountain View, and Santa Clara County, where Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society manages property that holds a breeding population.

     

    GGBA Docent Program

    The East Bay Shoreline Burrowing Owl Docent Program, co-sponsored by Golden Gate Bird Alliance and the City of Berkeley, is intended to make parks and open spaces more welcoming and safer places for over-wintering Burrowing Owls. GGBA docents invite all park visitors, with a special focus on dog walkers, to look through a viewing scope or binoculars to see the owl(s). We focus on three main messages:

    1) Keep all dogs leashed, except in the designated off-leash areas.

    2) Don’t allow dogs to approach the owls or chase any other wildlife in the park.…