By Patricia Bacchetti

Early May marks the occurrence of Godwit Days, the annual birding festival in Arcata, in Humboldt County. By doing some advance planning this year, I was able to register and attend this well-run event with friends. Be warned: The popular trips fill quickly, so check out the schedule in February if you are planning to attend. The highlight of the trip, in addition to David Sibley’s keynote address Saturday night, was a two-day trip from Arcata to Brookings, Oregon, along a stretch of the coast that I’d never birded before.

One of our first stops was the picnic grounds at Wilson Creek, off Highway 101 just north of the Del Norte County line. A beautiful pair of wintering Harlequin Ducks was resting under the bridge: It’s a species that’s always hard to find in the state, particularly in pairs. They used to breed in rushing streams in the western Sierra, but haven’t been documented for years. This pair was likely heading north to Alaska to breed.

Harlequin Ducks at Wilson Creek, by Patricia Bacchetti

Our next stop was Castle Rock National Wildlife Refuge, one-half mile off the coast near Crescent City. The fourteen-acre rock hosts the second-largest colony of breeding seabirds south of Alaska, surpassed only by the Farallon Islands breeding colony. Common Murres are the most numerous species, and the rock is considered their largest breeding colony on the coast of California. They’re joined by small numbers of Tufted Puffins, Pigeon Guillemots, all three cormorant species, Rhinoceros and Cassin’s Auklets, Western Gulls, and both Leach’s and Fork-tailed Storm Petrels. Northern Elephant Seals and Harbor Seals also breed on the island. Aleutian Cackling Geese have made the island a night roost, and they fly out to the pastures of Humboldt and Del Norte Counties to feed during the day.

Common Murre by Patricia Bacchetti

Castle Rock was privately owned until 1979, when it was acquired by the The Nature Conservancy. Recognizing its importance for breeding sea birds on the north coast, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bought the island and put it into the National Wildlife Refuge program in 1980. Besides Southeast Farallon Island, it’s the only other off-shore National Wildlife Refuge in California. The rock was an important foraging site for the local Tolowa people in times past, and that history is commemorated at the Point St. George entry site.

Rhinoceros Auklet by Patricia Bacchetti Castle Rock at Point St George / Photo by Patricia Bacchetti

We went to Castle Rock hoping to see Tufted Puffins at their breeding burrows, but because they’re actively feeding in the water during the day, we didn’t find any that day.…

By Ilana DeBare

We’ve got a conservation triple-header happening — and you’re invited!

Right now Golden Gate Bird Alliance has three major opportunities for you to speak out on behalf of birds and wildlife. There’s something for everyone, whether you like to write, to chat on the phone, or to connect in person — and whether you have five minutes to tap out an email, or a full day to explore the inner workings of our state Capitol.

Here’s where we need your help:

Dog management in the GGNRA

This Wednesday (May 25) is the deadline for commenting on the proposed new dog management rules for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. GGBA supports these new rules because they provide more dog-free areas where wildlife can flourish and people can choose to enjoy a park experience without dogs. But off-leash dog owners are lobbying and suing to undermine the rules. Please add your voice by clicking here to file an online comment. (Click here to read more background on this issue.)

Off-leash dog at Ocean Beach / Photo by Jouko van der Kruijssen

Phone bank for Measure AA

Make phone calls to Bay Area voters in support of Measure AA, the $12-per-year parcel tax that will raise $500 million to restore wetlands around San Francisco Bay. There are phone bank sessions scheduled for both San Francisco (Audubon California offices) and Berkeley (Sierra Club offices). Training, snacks, and maybe even a little wine provided. Bring a friend! Click here for dates and details on phone banking in Berkeley. Click here for info on San Francisco. And then remind your friends and family to vote Yes on AA.

The birds can’t phone bank for Measure AA, but we can!

Become a citizen-lobbyist for a day

On June 7, Audubon California will hold its second annual Advocacy Day in Sacramento. I did this last year, and it was both fun and fascinating! You’ll get a thorough orientation and talking points over breakfast, then join other Audubon members to meet with our local lawmakers. It’s a great way to learn about the lawmaking process, to meet Audubon members from different chapters. Plus there will be a lunchtime visit with some live raptors! Click here for info and sign-up.

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Clearly, this is a lot going on at once!  Some months, being involved with GGBA feels like it’s all about the birding. (Like during Christmas Bird Count season!)…

By Ilana DeBare

Birdathon 2016 was a smashing success — delighting 198 birders who took part in 22 special field trips, and raising over $62,000 for Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s conservation and education programs.

GGBA members and friends gathered for a warm, sunny Birdathon Awards Celebration on Sunday May 15 that included the presentation of our highest annual honors: the Elsie Roemer Conservation Award, to Cornelia Foster, and the Paul Covel Education Award, to Alan Kaplan.

More on Corny and Alan further down…

But first, kudos to the winners of our Birdathon prizes for fundraising and for birding!

Birding Awards

Most Birds in 24 Hours: First place to Dave Riensche and his “146 Birds in a Day in East Bay Parks” team. They set out to find 146 species within East Bay Regional Park District lands…. and hit that number exactly!

Second place in the 24 hour category went to Ivan Samuels for his Miwok-style birding day in San Francisco, which betted 87 species entirely on foot and without optics. (Click here to read Ivan’s firsthand account on our blog.)

Most Birds in Six Hours: First place to Bob Power and his Southern Alameda County team for 115 species.

Second place in the six hour category went to Glen Tepke and his Oakland team for 101 species.

Bob Power and his Southern Alameda County team. Board President Alan Harper presents Glen Tepke with his second place award for the Big Six Hours category.

Third place went to Dan Murphy and Murphy’s MOB for their Peninsula trip with 70 species.

Best Bird: Laughing Gull at Hayward Shoreline, the first documented sighting of that species in Alameda County, by Bob Lewis and his Hayward Shoreline team on May 8. Other birders have been trekking to Hayward for the past ten days to see the Laughing Gull!

Laughing Gull on Hayward Shoreline Birdathon trip, by Chris Wills Bob Lewis with the Best Bird award for Laughing Gull at Hayward Shoreline.

Fundraising Awards

First Place Fundraiser: Dan Harris set a new historic record for Birdathon, breaking the $3,000 barrier for the first time and raising $3,060! Dan is a master of raising small gifts from many, many donors – 62 separate donations this year. How does he do it? You can read about his secret sauce (well, not so secret – it’s his love of birding and GGBA) in a blog post earlier this spring, Dan’s prize is a two-night stay in a guest cottage at Point Cabrillo Light Station in Mendocino, along with a pair of guest passes to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg.…

Editor’s Note: Each spring since 2011, Ivan Samuels has taken part in Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s annual Birdathon with a “Miwok-style” Birdathon – birding as the Bay Area’s original inhabitants might have done it, without optics, motorized transport, or even a bike.

By Ivan Samuels

When it came time to plan my 2016 “Miwok-Style” Birdathon for Golden Gate Bird Alliance, I found myself studying new routes for the first time. Things did not work out for my fellow Miwoks this year and it was time to do the count alone, my first time counting solo since 2011 when I first conceived of the idea to do a Birdathon without any modern implements. Although tempted to return to my usual site at Point Reyes, I decided to retreat deep into GGBA territory and do my count within the limits of San Francisco.

Obviously, the city of San Francisco has seen far more changes to its natural environment than Point Reyes. But Bay Area birders also know that the combination of natural and restored habitats with unique urban landscapes and bay and ocean frontage provide a wealth of birding opportunities. And I am lucky enough to live in the Presidio, perhaps the wildest corner of the city.

Waking up in my own home was bending the rules a bit, but I left the windows open so I would rise early, and was quickly out of the house and into the dawn chorus. Knowing the Presidio well was key, and I took full advantage of the restoration projects that have helped restore native habitats and their birds here. These included Bewick’s Wren at the Lobos Creek dunes, shorebirds at Crissy Field, and a singing Wrentit (that was actually seen!) on the Coastal Bluffs. The city’s non-native habitats contributed too of course, not the least of which was an active Cooper’s Hawk nest in a eucalyptus near the Presidio Golf Course.

Lobos Creek dunes / Photo by Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Bewick’s Wren by Bob Lewis

I missed my rocky shorebirds walking through Lincoln Park, but was delighted to pick up a large mix of Black Turnstones and Surfbirds at Sutro Baths. And the tide was so low at this point I was able to walk around to Ocean Beach without going back up. Giving up on Brown Pelican and the other distant seabirds I could not make out on the horizon without modern optics, I turned into Golden Gate Park for my final land birding of the day.…

By Ilana DeBare

The ficus trees of downtown Oakland are an enticing but brutal spot for a heron rookery — lush canopies and nearby food at Lake Merritt and the Oakland estuary, but deadly concrete sidewalks and traffic for young birds that fall from the trees.

Now Golden Gate Bird Alliance has forged a partnership with the Oakland Zoo and International Bird Rescue to save the lives of fallen and injured young herons.

This spring, GGBA trained 25 volunteer docents to monitor the downtown Oakland nesting colony, which includes over 75 Black-crowned Night-Heron Nests plus dozens of Snowy Egret nests.

The docents count and track the nests, engage with passersby who want to learn about the birds, and keep an eye out for fallen herons that need help. When they find an injured bird, they contact the Zoo, which sends technicians to pick up the bird and provide emergency care. Once the bird is stabilized, it’s transported to International Bird Rescue in Fairfield, which provides veterinary treatment and nurture until the young bird is ready to be released into a suitable wild habitat.

So far more than ten injured night-herons have been retrieved from the Oakland streets.

Fallen heron in downtown Oakland / Photo by Kaya Cohn Oakland Zoo staff ready to retrieve herons / Photo by Oakland Zoo Heron receiving care at Oakland Zoo / Photo by Oakland Zoo

“We are so heartened by the crucial assistance we’ve received from the Oakland Zoo and IBR in helping to save the lives of these young herons growing up in the heart of downtown Oakland,” said GGBA Executive Director Cindy Margulis, who together with GGBA Eco-Education Coordinator Marissa Ortega-Welch set up the new heron program.

Night-herons and Snowy Egrets are colonial nesters, which means there can be dozens of nests of both species coexisting in a single tree. The juvenile herons often clamber around on branches inside the canopy before they learn to fly, putting them at risk of falling.

In a less urban habitat, the young herons’ falls are often cushioned by understory or bushes. In downtown Oakland, they hit a concrete sidewalk and then may face oncoming cars.

GGBA’s efforts grew out of a nationally-publicized incident two years ago when tree trimmers hired by the downtown Oakland post office destroyed branches with active nests, leaving a number of young herons injured and homeless.

Since then, GGBA has been working to find a long-term solution to protect the rookery and its residents.…