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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. …

Calgary Owl Adventure

By Mick Griffin

The year was 2019, the first and only time I had been in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. My primary reason for being there was to see the Snowy Owl, a most beautiful creature, evolutionarily adapted and designed to survive in the Arctic climate. The only way for this particular San Francisco Bay area resident to see a Snowy Owl was to fly north to Calgary in the darkest depth of the Canadian winter. Was I crazy to do this at a time when Canadians were flying south to Mexico for a few months to escape the bitter cold and short days?

Snowy Owl by Mick Griffin

As any fellow birder will appreciate, birding or a desire to see a particular species is an inexplicable obsession where logic fails to apply.

So yes, I booked the shortest, most direct flight possible (United Airlines, San Francisco to Calgary, approx 2 hrs & 45 minutes), and I was on my way to Calgary.

I had very limited time to spend in Calgary, so before I left I found a local bird guide, environmental biologist Dan Arndt, who grew up in the area and compiled wildlife field studies for the Alberta Provincial government and companies applying for mineral, gas, oil exploration permits in Alberta. He knew the area, terrain, wildlife and in particular, the avian population like the back of his hand. He also turned out to be an incredibly amiable companion and enthusiast of outdoor life in general.

Dan met me at my hotel in minus 10 degrees celsius temperatures at 7am on our first day together, and, in a nutshell my trip initially was a success. It took a couple of hours but we found and photographed many Snowy Owls together. There are many, many miles of flat agricultural roads around Calgary that we scoured, but there they were, either sitting on the flat snowy Tundra or perched higher up on the ubiquitous telephone poles and wires. But hold on… where was the Great Grey Owl! We hadn’t seen a single one. The Great Grey Owl had not been my target species but I had assumed it would be a formality to see at least two or three individuals. I was only with Dan for two days, with half of arrival day and half of departure day on my own scouring the more local city parks, lakes and rivers for species such as Bohemian Waxwing, Black-capped, Boreal and Mountain Chickadees, Canada Jay, Bald Eagles and Rough-legged Hawks.…

Who Won the Fall Big Game?

Results of the Berkeley-Stanford Fall Birdathon are Out!

By Sierra Glassman and Shrey Chaudhary

A flash of feathered flame caught my eye. A scruffy male Western Tanager perched at the crown of a tree in the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, an exciting moment for the Bears for Birds morning shift during our faceoff with the Stanford Birdwatching Club.

In the spring, our undergraduate student Audubon Campus Chapter at UC Berkeley, Bears for Birds, went head-to-head against the Stanford Birdwatching Club to see which team could observe the most bird species on and around our respective campuses. While we lost in spring,both teams agreed to shift the rules to account for inherent differences between birding locations.

Adam Crawford Burnett, president of the Stanford Birdwatching Club, proposed a different scoring system for this Fall game. This semester, there were two avenues to gain points: whichever team saw the most species above their baseline, an average of the Spring 2023 and Spring 2014 species counts, and whichever team saw the most overall species. Thus, a tie was possible.

Once again, our officer Emily Banno made some wonderful graphics and flyers so we could advertise the Big Game to fellow Bears over social media and on campus.

On the Big Day, November 11, our first excursion was led by Shrey Chaudhary, who had spotted several Killdeer on the small field behind the Hearst Annex a few days earlier. At 5:30am, our small party scouted the dark field to no avail, but we did find a restless Bewick’s Wren hopping about a tree next to the lit Music Library and a Hermit Thrush already beginning to forage in an oak tree. By the Campanile, as the sky lightened, we spotted a flock of twittering Chestnut-backed Chickadees. We walked further east on campus, hearing a Spotted Towhee at Bowles Hall. At the Memorial Stadium, we heard a flock of Golden-crowned Sparrows. Among this flock there were two White-throated Sparrows. By the Foothill Dining Hall were several Acorn Woodpeckers.

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Sierra and Shrey debating a chip note above memorial stadium. It turned out it was from a Golden-crowned Sparrow. Credit: Emma Teng.

Our next excursion was a point count for Bears For Bird’s Berkeley Avian Biodiversity Survey (BABS). These surveys involve standing at each point along one of three possible routes through campus for 10 minutes. As there are six points per route, the count lasts a little over an hour.…

7 Last Minute Gifts for “the Bird-Obsessed”

By Ryan Nakano

Not all of us are early birds, especially when it comes to finding the perfect gift for our loved ones during the holiday season. It’s been a busy time for so many of us, hence the timing of this blog. That said, I’ve put together a quick gift guide for the “bird obsessed” people in your life! Even if these gifts don’t make it “in time”, we all know time is simply a construct and your friends and family will enjoy these bird-themed gifts no matter the date and occasion.

Alan Krakauer’s Birds of the Bay Area Desk Calendar $25

One of our year-round Golden Gate Bird Alliance residents is none other than the incredible birder, biologist and wildlife photographer Alan Krakauer. We’ve been using Alan’s bird photos for years and years because he’s just that good. But don’t take our word for it, you can snag one of the few remaining 2024 Birds of the Bay Area Calendars from Alan’s Etsy page just in time to track the new year. That means you’ll be able to add at least one new species to your list as each month passes!

Bird Friendly Chocolate and Coffee $13-40

While these are truly two separate bird-friendly items of indulgence, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to list these as a combo (who doesn’t love balancing a little bitter with their sweet?). Still, let’s break these two down so you really know what you’re in for, starting with the chocolate.

Our very own board member Sharol Nelson-Embry has not only been instrumental in bird conservation efforts in Alameda and chairing our Annual Birdathon Fundraiser, but she’s also spoiled us year after year with some of the best chocolate I’ve ever had. It just so happens, this chocolate is bird-friendly! What makes it bird-friendly? Sharol explains how farming and harvest techniques friendly to native birds is what makes this chocolate truly sweet in her blog here!

Okay, on to coffee! For all you earlybirds trying to go owling at unreasonable hours, I have to believe the day starts with coffee. And if that’s the case, make the best part of waking up bird-friendly coffee in your cup! This shade-grown organic coffee by Birds&Beans is the only coffee we drink in the office, making it essentially a daily ritual and it’s surely fueling the writing of this very blog post. Whether you get it straight from the source or you want to join our coffee-club, you won’t be disappointed! …

Birding by EV: Reluctantly Joining the Car Culture

By Whitney Grover

Living in San Francisco without a car was easy. I could do everything I needed to do by bicycle, bus, or on foot. Everything that is, except the only thing that really mattered: birding.

I have mad respect for birders who don’t blink an eye at hopping on the bike and setting off on a one-hour (one-way) ride across town, or adding 45 minutes to an already 30 minute bicycle commute for a pre-work session. Occasionally I’d muster up the spirit, but somewhere halfway up the hill leaving the Presidio I’d be questioning all my life choices.

I met some of my best birding friends by hitching rides, but you can only ask so many times before guilt starts getting you down.

Buses, forget it. Try being stuck on a packed 38-Geary, making all the stops, just imagining that rare warbler at Lands End taking off. Even if rarity chasing is not your thing most bus routes don’t operate early enough on weekends.

I truly enjoy patch birding but every now and then as you round that familiar corner of that familiar trail, listening to those familiar songs, you start dreaming of far-off exotic places like Mitchell Canyon and Coyote Hills.

I believe in a future where humans live densely and efficiently, concentrated in well-designed cities, and preserving vast landscapes for wild nature. Everyone can walk to an urban park in 10 minutes, or hop on a quiet, 24-7, carbon-free train to visit those wildlands. But the reality is, as it stands, our infrastructure is car-based. So I met the world where it is and purchased an electric vehicle.

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Charging my EV – Whitney Grover

Road-Tripping

Birding by EV in the Bay Area is easy. Chargers are abundant and staying within 100 miles of city limits gives me no range anxiety. As the years go by, more and more chargers are deployed and I run into fewer broken or busy stations. Road trips along major highways are no problem at all, following the I-5 from Washington to San Diego takes five minutes of pre-planning. Half a dozen apps exist to help with charge station mapping and trip planning. Every three hours or so I stop for a 45 minute charge, not bad. (And if you can make the investment, newer EV makes and models can charge at fast chargers in half the time).

When I meet folks who reject the idea of electric vehicles or think it’s just not viable I ask them to consider all the time their car sits.…