• Bringing Back the Bay Birding Challenge

    By Whitney Grover

    In 2022 Golden Gate Bird Alliance brought back the Bay Birding Challenge to Birdathon. Two teams, one in the East Bay and one in San Francisco, squared off to see more species in their areas than their competitor in the span of a single day. San Francisco won the day in 2022, only to have their title taken back by the East Bay team in 2023. Watching from the sidelines, it was clear the Bay Area tops the charts in both bird species and badass birders who know just where to find them. This year we are mixing it up! 

    Rather than two teams competing across the Bay, we’re inviting any number of teams to join us on April 27 for a Big Day Challenge like no other. By forming a team of 3 to 10 birders, you can use your hard earned birding skills as a veteran or develop your skills as a beginner by exploring any of our three counties (SF, Contra Costa, and Alameda)! The goals of the Bay Birding Challenge are to have fun, compete in seeing the most bird species, and help fundraise to support our work throughout the year. 

    Interestingly enough, this “new approach” to our Bay Birding Challenge isn’t really new at all. Back in the day we had multiple teams participating in Birdathon “big days.” In some years we participated in National Audubon’s Bird-A-Thon, or partnered with other local chapters to fundraise for particular conservation causes like saving Mono Lake. Turns out we have the best birds, birders, and bird-pun-name-creators in our region.

    I sat down with Dan Murphy of “Murphy’s Mob” to learn more about our history of Big Day competitions and get the skinny on the best strategies for planning one. “April is the month to do it,” Dan said. 

    By April 27 we may miss some ducks but it will be the last good week for shorebirds. It’s important to have all your locations and routes picked out ahead of time. But Dan reminded me the planning process wasn’t like it is today, where we have all the birds and even rare birds pinned down. (I know I start any birding planning with eBird and I’m grumpy when rare birds aren’t reported with exact GPS coordinates, we’re spoiled). It took expert knowledge of the Bay Area’s habitats and a lot of birding to find “hot spots” where you could maximize species. …

  • The Cost of our Choices: Calculating Your Carbon Footprint

    By Bruce Mast

    I checked my carbon footprint last night. Why, you might ask? Well, it was either that or step on the bathroom scale. Both have about the same effect—vaguely unpleasant but much-needed reminders about how my choices impact either my health or the planet’s health. The science around my personal choices still seems murky—count calories or just carbs? More exercise? More protein? Good cholesterol? My head spins. But despite what a few naysayers would have us think, the basic science underpinning climate change is straightforward. When we burn fossil fuels for energy, we add more and more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This buildup acts like a blanket that traps heat around the world, which disrupts the climate. Heat buildup drives ever more frequent and extreme weather events. The hots get hotter, the colds get colder, the wets get wetter, the drys get drier, and storms pack a more powerful punch.

    Of course, climate change affects humans in numerous (mostly negative) ways, but birding has further attuned me to how it stresses my feathered friends. If it wasn’t already hard enough being a bird in the face of habitat loss, outdoor cats, light pollution, and on and on, now birds must cope with the increasing prevalence of extreme heat waves, drought, wildfires, and shifting seasons that disrupt essential food sources. I derive great joy from birds and nature, and I want my nieces, nephews, and their children to enjoy the same experiences. So it’s painful to watch bird numbers decline year after year, knowing that my carbon emissions contribute to the problem.

    Compared to my personal health, my choices influencing my carbon footprint are more complicated because I reject the notion that I should make heroic sacrifices to save the planet. The problem is simply too big for a handful of altruists to solve on their own. The solution requires all of us and . Only when planet-saving choices align well with individual self-interests can we expect people to adopt those choices on a mass scale.

    On the other hand, I can’t just point my finger at “those other people” who need to change their ways—Big oil! China! Big Coal!—again, the solution requires all of us. I can get on my soapbox about how “the government” should take action to bring climate-friendly choices within reach, but when our elected leaders take action to do so, then it’s up to us (and me!)…

  • A Remembrance of Chris Carpenter

    We mourn the loss of Chris Carpenter, a long-time active Bay Area birder. Chris died in December at the age of 82.

    Chris was a mainstay of local birding, beginning in the 1970’s, pursuing rarities and leading field trips for Golden Gate Bird Alliance. An annual weekend-long late February field trip that he co-led with Peter White was a real favorite. On Saturday, Chris would stuff his lanky 6’ 8” frame into a compact car, then lead a chain of cars through Panoche Valley, halting whenever his eyes or his keen ear detected interesting bird activity. At nightfall the group gathered for an enjoyable dinner at a Basque restaurant in Los Banos, fortifying themselves before Peter took over to bird the refuges and fields east of I-5 on Sunday.

    Chris played basketball at the University of California from 1961 to 1964, and remained close to Cal, especially the athletic department, thereafter. I understand he was especially proud that for several years he held the Cal record for total fouls in a season. A Kensington native, he earned both his bachelor’s and law degrees from Cal and began his professional career as a prosecutor in the Alameda County District Attorney’s office.

    Over the years, I probably ran into Chris at a Cal basketball game nearly as often as in the field. No matter where we met, we would always interrupt whatever we were doing and spend a few minutes chatting, Chris towering over me as we shared a story and a smile. He was a warm, welcoming man who brightened the time that anyone spent with him.

    I’ll miss him.

    Dave Quady

    January 23, 2024…

  • Audubon’s Save the Seabirds Fly-In

    By Sierra Glassman and Emily Banno

    We’ve lost 70% of seabirds worldwide over the last 70 years. Our warming climate pushes the forage fish that seabirds eat deeper and further offshore, and overfishing puts additional pressure on these important food resources. Loss of shoreline habitats leaves coastal communities vulnerable to floods and deprives seabirds of crucial nesting areas. As aspiring ornithologists passionate about conserving both our birds and communities, we were eager to sign up for Save the Seabirds Fly-in, an opportunity for Audubon on Campus students to speak with lawmakers in support of federal protections for forage fish and investment in natural infrastructure.

    On October 16, 2023, we landed at Reagan National Airport after a collective six hours of sleep. After depositing our carry-ons in our rooms, we went off to explore the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We were particularly drawn to the “Birds of D.C.” display, its taxidermied Passenger Pigeon and Carolina Parakeet — a grim reminder of what we were trying to prevent. We returned to the hotel to join up with the rest of the cohort for dinner at the Lauriol Plaza. Gustavo Figueroa, the Student Outreach Associate for the National Audubon Society’s Audubon on Campus Program, greeted and introduced us. In total, over twenty campuses were represented by almost thirty students from across the country.

    The next morning, we attended training at the Audubon office to prepare for our congressional meetings. We were grouped with Sonia Stan and Estephania Quintana, fellow California representatives who started the University of California, San Diego chapter. Jesse Walls, an Audubon lobbyist, was our mentor. He taught us how to speak to the representatives as constituents and helped us practice our personal connections to seabirds and natural infrastructure. After a bento box lunch, we nervously Uber-ed to Capitol Hill.

    Senior Director of Government Affairs at NAS, Jesse Walls, and Campus Chapter members speak to Hon. Brad Sherman’s (D-CA) Legislative Aid, Emma Silver (bottom right), during the National Audubon Society Seabird Fly-In on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Tuesday, October 17, 2023. The Seabird Fly-In is held to build grassroots pressure on Congressional decision makers to take the declining seabird population crisis seriously. Credit: Sydney Walsh

    The meetings were less formal than we expected. Jesse amicably chatted with each staffer about the current shutdown before we got into each of our stories. The staffers seemed sympathetic to the issue and close to our age, making it easier to connect with them.…

  • SF Christmas Bird Count Report

    By David Assmann

    Despite rainy weather, a record 190 participants joined the San Francisco Christmas Bird Count, an increase of 68 over last year. It was our highest number ever, and included 25 beginning birders. Fortunately, despite a forecast of rain all day, the rain held off until early afternoon giving dry conditions for most of the morning. However, the boat survey was done the day before the Count, due to the forecast weather conditions. 

    By the time Count Week (CW) was over, the species tally was at 191, tying the previous record set in 2019. For the official Count Day, our species total was 178, the same as last year. Our total count of birds for the Count Day was 61,671 – up 3,500 from last year but below our numbers from 2020 and 2021. However, if you add the 7,620 birds counted on the boat the day before, our numbers are comparable to 2020 and 2021.

    Sage Thrasher by Adam Winer

    There were 47 rare or uncommon birds found on this year’s count, with 34 of these found on Count Day. For the first time ever, we recorded Elegant Tern on Count Day. It was the only new species added to the Count. We did have a number of species that had only been seen once before, including Winter Wren (first seen in 2022), Gray Catbird (2013), Sage Thrasher (2022), Northern Parula (2005), White-winged Dove (2021) and Magnolia Warbler (2004). One Count Week bird – Black-headed Grosbeak – was also seen for only the second time. 

    Overall duck numbers were about the same this year as last year, although we missed a number of uncommon species – Harlequin Duck, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Merganser and Cinnamon Teal. Seen on Count Week were Wood Duck, Redhead, White-winged Scoter and Long-tailed Duck. 

    Surf Scoter numbers were up somewhat from last year at 703, but still well below historic levels. In 1985 the count for Surf Scoters was 13,600 and as recently as 2015, the count totaled more than 3,000. 194 Northern Shoveler were reported – a fraction of numbers in previous years – there were 7,268 reported in 2000.  Greater Scaup numbers are also down significantly – 662 were recorded, well below our high of 8,004 in 1986.  Lesser Scaup numbers are down as well – from 2,663 in 1985 to 30 this year. On a more positive note, last year only 1 Northern Pintail was seen – this year we had an unexpected offshore flight of 564, setting a new record. …