Our principles
Golden Gate Bird Alliance focuses its conservation efforts on wild bird populations in the San Francisco Bay area. We use education, advocacy, collaboration with land owners and agencies, and volunteer action to protect birds and their habitats.
Habitat loss is the leading cause of bird population declines. Despite the Bay Area’s dense urban landscape, pockets of critical habitat remain, along with opportunities for enhancement. Golden Gate Bird Alliance works to protect and restore these vital spaces, focusing on their immediate value for birds and their potential to support populations for decades to come. Our efforts prioritize bird species of special concern, guided first by our own priority lists. We define quality habitat as complex, connected, and biodiverse—supporting birds with native vegetation, natural and abundant food sources, clean water, and varied structure. Quality habitat can include urban environments such as backyards and parks where native plants are the dominant vegetation.
Environmental justice means ensuring all people have equal access to a healthy environment and a voice in decisions that affect their communities. Indigenous tribes, low-income communities, and communities of color have long faced a disproportionate share of environmental harm. At Golden Gate Bird Alliance, we believe conservation is not just about protecting birds; it’s a powerful way to build community and foster connections between people, place, and nature. To ensure long term sustainable stewardship, local community participation is essential. We prioritize efforts that create inclusive opportunities for education and meaningful engagement, empowering people to learn, participate, and lead.
Climate change is reshaping the landscapes birds depend on—through rising seas that threaten shorelines, more frequent and intense wildfires and storms, shifting weather patterns, heat waves, and the rapid pace of ecological change. Resiliency is the ability of ecosystems and species to withstand, adapt to, and recover from these disruptions. While some bird species may adjust by changing their range or behavior, many cannot adapt quickly enough without our help. Golden Gate Bird Alliance supports both mitigation, actions that reduce the drivers of climate change, and adaptation, strategies that help birds and habitats cope with its effects.
Urban environments are full of dangers to birds and wildlife. To effectively protect bird populations and steward healthy habitats, we focus on reducing threats that have measurable, population-level impacts. We rely on the best available evidence to guide our priorities and actions, ensuring that our efforts are strategic, impactful, and science-based. Direct threats to birds include outdoor cats, collisions with buildings, disorientation and misdirection from artificial lights, collisions with cars, second-hand poisoning from rodenticides, pollution such as fishing lines and plastic, disturbance by off-leash dogs, and others.
Our projects and focus areas
Conservation Projects
Make the City Safe for Wildlife
The Pier 94 Restoration Project
Wetlands and Wildlands
The Native Oyster and Eelgrass Project at Pier 94
Native Plants For Birds
Birds at Risk
Backyard Bird and Wildlife Habitat
Conservation Committees
San Francisco Conservation Committee
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East Bay Conservation Committee
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Friends of the Alameda Wildlife Reserve
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Brochures to Download
Share information about our local birds! You can view and download the following brochures produced by Golden Gate Bird Alliance about Bay Area birds:
SFCC Bird Species of Concern
Ospreys of the San Francisco Bay
Healthy Trees, Healthy Birds
Árboles Sanos Aves Sanas
Climate Protection Checklist
Invita la Naturaleza a tu JArdin
Inviting Wildlife into your Garden (East Bay)
Inviting Wildlife into your Garden (San Francisco)
