GGBA BLOG
Welcome to our online blog featuring thoughtful articles on everything from birding hotspots to bird science written by members of our community.
In order to keep this blog as engaging and relevant as possible we welcome all interested contributors to pitch their article idea(s) to our communications desk at rnakano@goldengatebirds.org
We are especially interested in publishing blog posts from writers within underrepresented communities including; Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, LGBTQIA+ individuals and people with disabilities. For more information on contributing blog posts and the editing process visit our Blog Guideline page here.
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The Westernmost WC in Europe: Birding Iceland
By Bob Carloni My wife Linda and I had wanted to visit Iceland for many years, even before we started birding. Our opportunity came in
Vaux’s Swift monitoring hits its tenth year
By Michael Helm This fall, for the 10th consecutive year, Golden Gate Bird Alliance members monitored the number of migrating Vaux’s Swifts spending the night
Helping birds from the first base line
By Mary Malec When people sign up to volunteer with Golden Gate Bird Alliance, they often imagine working at shoreline marshes or birdsong-filled hillsides. Not
Welcoming refugees through birding
By Laura Cremin Lake Merritt, the heart of Oakland, has long beckoned people to peel away from the pulses of the city and just watch
Bay Area birds and climate change
Chickadees. Juncos. Woodpeckers….These familiar backyard Bay Area birds are all at risk from climate change, according to a new report by National Audubon.
Warbler wonderland in May 2020
Magee Marsh in Northern Ohio is one of the premier birding spots in North America. Our May 2020 guided trip there will spot nearly 200 species.
Egrets in the Monterey pines, 2019
Breathtaking sight as we approach where the colony once was and spot six Great Egrets in several pines a few yards from the old Monterey pine tree. Hardly drawing attention to themselves, they have built their new nests.
Birding in Baja: two sorts of tails
When I first heard about the Golden Gate Bird Alliance trip to Southern Baja, I was tempted by the variety it offered—not only in the different sorts of habitat we’d be visiting there, but in the variety of bird species that would be present, and the opportunity to see California Gray Whales at their breeding grounds. Birds and whales—what could be better?
From digital games to shoreline clean-ups
I got involved with Golden Gate Bird Alliance after moving to Ocean Beach and becoming enchanted with shorebirds, when I realized, “My God, I have been so alienated from nature that I have never before noticed birds!
What the fox says
Of the dozen times I have seen gray fox, this was the first time I ever heard them make a sound. I now know that not only do gray fox growl, they yap, bark, and make a screaming sound that carries a long distance.
Shakespeare’s Birds Walk & Talk
By Mary Ann Koory In 2010, Linda Swanson, I, and friends attended a thrilling CalShakes production of Macbeth in Orinda. As we took our seats,
Barn Owl Boxes in Bay Area Parks
By Max Lee For my Eagle Scout project, I built twelve nest boxes for Barn Owls. These boxes (designed by Steve Simmons) are made to