Sign up now for an unforgettable, only-in-the-Bay-Area experience — the annual Return of the Terns bus tour!

Each year, a colony of endangered California Least Terns returns to nest on the tarmac of the old Alameda naval air base. The areas is off limits to the public except for one day — Return of the Terns, when you can take a biologist-led bus tour around the edges of the breeding area. This year it’s on Saturday June 15. See terns sheltering and feeding their chicks, and learn about the challenges these tiny birds face!

Register in advance, because spaces on the three bus tours will fill up quickly. Click here for the flyer with full information.…

We’re excited to host a reading on Sunday April 28 by Brian Kimberling, author of the new novel Snapper about a young bird researcher in the Midwest. Snapper is a sweet, funny coming of age story with guest appearances by Kentucky Warblers, Ovenbirds, Bald Eagles and more.

Brian will be reading from Snapper between 5 and 6 pm next Sunday at a private home in Rockridge (Oakland). Golden Gate Bird Alliance members and friends are warmly invited. Email Ilana at idebare@goldengatebirdalliance.org if you’d like to attend.

Meanwhile… check out Brian’s opinion piece on birding in this week’s Sunday New York Times! Or read about Snapper on Amazon.…

We need your vote! If you’re a member of Golden Gate Bird Alliance, please vote in our 2013 election for our Board of Directors.

Click here to vote online.

You can also vote in person at the Birdathon dinner on May 19 or at our Speaker Series events on April 18, May 16 or June 20. Or vote at the GGBA office at 2530 San Pablo Avenue, Suite G,. Berkeley during our office hours.

You must be a member in good standing of GGBA in order to vote. Ballots must be received by June 30, 2013.…

Join us this Thursday April 18th for a photographic tour of Colombia and its birdlife, along with information on the country’s geography, cuisine, culture, and people.

Our monthly Speaker Series will feature Colombian birding guide Christopher Calonje, sharing images and stories from the country with the world’s longest list of birds, now over 1,890 species (more than North America and Europe combined).

Much of this diversity is due to the country’s complex topography, which includes three Andean ranges and the valleys between these ranges, Atlantic and Pacific coasts, vast grasslands bordering Venezuela, and a large portion of the Amazon Basin. Chris will discuss Columbia’s improving security situation and how the government, at all levels, has made great strides in bringing peace and prosperity to the country. Birding in Colombia promotes responsible environmental and social ecotourism as well as providing an opportunity of a lifetime for birders.

Christopher Calonje was born and raised in Cali, Colombia, and earned a degree in natural resources planning from Humboldt State University. He has been conducting birding tours in his native country for many years and has traveled widely throughout the entire country photographing its amazing avian diversity.

Date: Thursday April 18

Time: 7 p.m. refreshments, 7:30 pm program

Location: First Unitarian Universalist Church & Center
1187 Franklin Street (at Geary), San Francisco

Cost: Free for GGBA members, $5 for non-members.