By Dave Quady and Bob Lewis
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After 2015’s memorable 75th anniversary count a letdown seemed inevitable, and our expectations dropped further when a terrific rainstorm moved in three days prior to count day. But when owlers began “work” in Redwood Regional Park at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 18, the stars were brilliantly clear. Later on, the day warmed to 54 degrees under bright sunshine, no rain fell, and the 302 participants in Oakland’s 76th Christmas Bird Count enjoyed good birds and another wonderful Oakland Christmas Bird Count.
Altogether we found 116,055 birds, some 20,000 above our recent average, and 179 species, near our recent average. Total numbers were buoyed by a record high count (since 1974) of 24,000+ Greater Scaup, with more than 14,000 of them found by our South Boat. Numbers of scaup have fluctuated greatly over the years – in the 1970s, three consecutive counts recorded 14,000+, 91,000+, and 35,000+ scaup, respectively, so the fact that this year’s total of 26,084 scaup is more than twice last year’s total does not represent a trend. The actual, highly discouraging trend is this: On average, numbers of scaup, and numbers of all duck species in total, have declined 50 percent from the 1970s to recent years.
Besides Greater Scaup, we also had record-high counts of Green-winged Teal, Least Sandpiper, Forster’s Tern, Hairy Woodpecker, Peregrine Falcon, American Crow, and Pygmy Nuthatch.
Surfbird by Calvin Lou
Among the notable species recorded on count day were a Snow Goose, a Brant, two Red-necked Grebes, and two Common Gallinules. A lone Cattle Egret at the Oakland Airport was likely the same bird present there last season, when it broke an eleven-year-long drought since the last Cattle Egret. It was gratifying to again find Snowy Plovers – 25 of them – present in Alameda, and 29 Surfbirds present along the Bay shoreline.
Swallows, especially Tree Swallows, are being seen in increasing numbers on Bay Area Christmas bird counts, almost certainly a sign of warmer winters. We found Tree Swallows in two areas this season; our two House Wrens and two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers may also owe their presence to warmer winters. Wilson’s Warbler, with three found on Bay Farm Island – our first since 2004 – was selected as the count’s Best Bird. Disappointingly, a male Black-headed Grosbeak spending its third winter in Claremont Canyon was not seen on count day.…

By Ilana DeBare
Hey, if you turn 100, you’re allowed to celebrate for more than one day, right? Like maybe for a whole year?
That’s what we at Golden Gate Bird Alliance are doing. For the Centennial of our founding in 1917, we developed a traveling museum exhibit that will be featured at different venues throughout 2017.
During February and March, it will be on display at the Environmental Education Center in Tilden Regional Park. We kicked off its Tilden stay with a reception last Saturday that included wine, women, and song.
Well… wines donated and served by our own genial enophile George Peyton. The song of birds on a pre-reception bird walk led by GGBA field trip leader Alan Kaplan and East Bay Regional Park District naturalist Anthony Fisher.
And women… celebratory speeches by GGBA board member Jill Weeder O’Brien, GGBA Executive Director Cindy Margulis, and East Bay Parks board chair Beverly Lane.
Pre-reception bird walk with Alan Kaplan, winner of our 2016 Paul Covel Education Award / Photo by Denny Scott Parker
Viewing the Centennial exhibit at the Tilden Environmental Education Center
Plus a wonderful speech by East Bay Parks General Manager Bob Doyle about the very productive, decades-long partnership between GGBA and the district.
“Audubon fought against development, even litigated, to protect shorebirds and habitat,” Doyle said. “I can’t tell you how important that is…. (and) I don’t know of any other partner that has done more to get kids to the shoreline, to learn about birds and the plants you restored to nourish the birds.”
East Bay Parks board chair Beverly Lane congratulates GGBA on our 100th anniversary
East Bay Regional Parks General Manager Bob Doyle with GGBA Executive Director Cindy Margulis
Attendees at the reception were stunned by the vibrant and detailed photographs of birds and Audubon activities in the 12 exhibit panels. But the back story behind the exhibit is nearly as impressive.
When the GGBA board started mulling how to celebrate the Centennial two years ago, they wanted an outward-facing celebration — something that would introduce Golden Gate Bird Alliance to broad parts of the community that may never have heard of us.
They settled on the idea of a traveling exhibit that would appear at free public venues with a lot of foot traffic.
Cindy Margulis connected GGBA with a graduate-level seminar in Museum Studies at JFK University. GGBA became the class project!…

By Bob Lewis
I was fortunate to visit Malaysia in 2015, both Borneo and the peninsula, as well as a few islands of Indonesia. The forests there are spectacular, some of the most diverse and rich in terms of all sorts of animal and plant life. Primates included Orangutan (critically endangered), Western Tarsier, Proboscis Monkey and many others; the butterflies were spectacular, and the birdlife was exciting to see. There was even a new family for me to photograph: the endemic Bornean Bristlehead (classified as near-threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature)!
We visited an IBA (Important Bird Area) in Borneo’s Danum Valley, a lush jungle with treetop walkways; Fraser Hill, north of Kuala Lumpur; Taman Nagara, Malaysia’s oldest jungle National Park; as well as many other places. They were all full of wonderful sights like the Daird’s and Scarlet-rumped Trogons (both near-threatened), White-crowned Hornbill (near-threatened), Bornean Wren-babbler (vulnerable) and Black & Yellow Broadbill (near-threatened).
Bornean Bristlehead by Bob Lewis
Red-Naped Trogon by Bob Lewis
Proboscis Monkey by Bob Lewis
Unfortunately, these wonderful places are becoming oases in the middle of palm “deserts,” monocultures that are not suitable habitat for any of the birds and mammals that inhabit the forests. And that explains why so many creatures are now considered threatened or endangered by the IUCN. When I got home, I started to learn more about the palm oil industry.
Throughout Southeast Asia, and especially in Malaysia and Indonesia, tropical forests are being lumbered and burned, and palm oil plantations are taking their place. Everywhere I looked outside the parks, the impact of the palm oil industry was clear to see – either already-producing plantations consisting of miles of palm trees in perfect lines, or evidence of future plantations, such as logging residue where forests had been, or smoke pillars from burning, trenched peat that remained after the forest was logged.
Forest being cleared for a palm plantation. Photo by Ulet Ifansasti / Greenpeace
The result of a deforestation fire for a palm oil plantation. Notice the black canal. Photo: Alexander Hotz / Coconuts Media
A monoculture palm oil plantation, owned by PT. Photo courtesy of Greenpeace.
According to the IUCN, Indonesia’s birdlife includes 429 endemic species, of which 82 are threatened. The threat continues to grow as the forest is destroyed. In the Fall 2016 issue of Audubon magazine, Jocelyn C. Zuckerman discussed the problems of illegal clearing, burning and poaching.…

By Ilana DeBare
Jutting out into San Francisco Bay, the Albany Bulb and Neck has received a lot of attention for its human uses: a onetime garbage dump, onetime homeless encampment, and the first section of shoreline targeted to be a part of today’s McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.
Now people can also learn about avian uses of Albany Bulb and Neck, thanks to a joint citizen-science initiative by Golden Gate Bird Alliance and Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP).
Golden Gate Bird Alliance and CESP recently published the results of a year-long bird survey of the Bulb and Neck that found about 90 species using the 33-acre area.
“Birds heavily use this area across the seasons for breeding, as a migration rest stop, for year-round residence, and for wintering,” according to the report, which is available on the CESP web site.
Albany Shoreline bird report
Examples include:

• White-crowned Sparrows spend winters at the Bulb, foraging for seeds and sheltering in the abundant Coyote brush.
• Colorful yellow-and-black Townsend’s Warblers rely on the Bulb as a rest stop during their annual migration from breeding areas in Alaska to wintering areas as far south as Panama.
• White-tailed Kites hunt and nest on the Bulb, and can often be seen hovering almost motionless in mid-air.

The Bulb and Neck extend west into San Francisco Bay at the foot of Buchanan Street, west of I-80. Golden Gate Bird Alliance members were already somewhat familiar with the area from annual Christmas Bird Counts and a bird survey they did of the broader Eastshore State Park area in 2006.
But even they were surprised by the abundance and tenacity of birds in the area, which gets heavy use by people and dogs.
“It surprised me how much nesting activity there was,” said Pam Young, a Golden Gate Bird Alliance board member who led the volunteer bird surveyors. “We found nests in places like along the parking lot where you’d think, ‘How can they possibly nest there?’ Despite all the human disturbance, there are some very tenacious birds breeding out there. It’s a wonderful story of resilience and persistence.”
Merlin over cypress tree at Albany shoreline / Photo by Pam Young
Say’s Phoebe at Albany shoreline / Photo by Pam Young
Northern Mockingbird by Pam Young
The survey project – funded in part by a grant from the California State Parks Foundation – had its roots in a desire by CESP to ensure that the natural resources of the Bulb and Neck were understood and protected.…