A science-based course for curious adult learners who have some birding experience.

The focus is on avian evolution – including the scientists whose work has led to the modern theory of evolution, the evolutionary processes that have resulted in over 10,000 species of birds today, and the geological events that have been much of the cause of today’s avian multitude.  From dinosaurs in Pangea to mountains rising in California, we’ll cover 100 million years of the earth’s history, ending with California’s remarkable birdlife – all in six weeks. 

PDFs of the Powerpoint slides will be made available to the participants.

Recordings of the presentations will be available for participants to view .

• Six Wednesday evening classes by Zoom, February 23; March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30: 7 to 9 pm
• $90 for GGBA members, $120 for non-members

Once this class is full, you may sign up to be on a waiting list.…

Roughly 50 million years ago, a lineage of birds known as Apodiformes (the birds with no feet) split apart, leading to today’s bird families of Swifts and Hummingbirds.  More recently, Rusty’s and Bob’s avian foci have also drifted apart − Rusty to Swifts and chimneys, and Bob to Hummingbirds and nectar flowers.  The two will present an in-depth review of these two fascinating bird families − their origin, diversity, physiology and behavior.

Recordings of the lecture presentations will be available to class participants  for a limited period of time.

• Four Thursday evening classes by Zoom, February 10, 17, 24, March 3: 7 to 8:30 pm
• $60 for GGBA members, $80 for non-members

Once this class is full, you may sign up to be on a waiting list.…

California and the Bay Area provide winter homes for many species of pelagic birds that are adapted to life in a deep water environment. This is a short course on the natural history and identification of commonly found members of the families Alcidae (puffins, murres, murrelets, guillemots), Gaviidae (loons), Podicipedidae (grebes) and Anatidae (ducks, geese, and swans). This grouping allows a close study of adaptive strategies that are commonly engaged by those species. Many members of these families are typically bichromatic in winter: dark above and white below, and share other commonly-held adaptive strategies such as salt glands and waterproofing that enable them to live in deep water environments. These convergent features can make these winter visitors challenging to identify, so the class will cover divergent characteristics that will help us better differentiate them in the field. The class offers illustrated explanations of these strategies as well as dietary practices and cycles of breeding, molt, and migration. 

Recordings of the lecture presentations will be available to class participants  for a limited period of time.

• Three Tuesday evening classes via Zoom, January 11, 18, and 25  ̶  6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Three Saturday field trips, January 15, 22, 29 (times and locations will be announced in class and by email)
• $75 for GGBA members, $100 for non-members

Once this class is full, you may sign up to be on a waiting list.

All field trips will be bike accessible and carpooling will be encouraged. Field trip locations will be determined by weather and class interest.…

Do you want to improve your gull identification skills?  While a class can help, practice is just as important. Gull ID Camp blends instruction and practice during its 5 online sessions. There will also be two field trips for additional practice and to test your skills. By the end of Gull ID Camp, participants should feel comfortable identifying the majority of gulls encountered in the field in Northern California.  

Gull ID Camp will focus mainly on: California, Glaucous-winged, Ring-billed, Western, Herring, Thayer’s, and Short-billed Gulls of all ages.  Other gulls that may be encountered in the field will be touched upon including: Heerman’s, Bonaparte’s, Kittiwake, Sabine’s, Glaucous, Lesser Black-backed, Laughing, and Franklin’s. We will also learn how to identify hybrid gulls and how to make an educated guess as to their lineage.

Gull ID Camp is designed for intermediate level birders. The target audience are birders who already feel comfortable identifying the common adult gulls, but struggle in sorting through large flocks of gulls of multiple species and ages.

Recordings of the lecture presentations will be available to class participants  for a limited period of time.

• Five Wednesday evening classes by Zoom: January 5, 12, 19, 26; February 2: 7 to 8 pm.
• Two field trips, Saturday January 22 and Sunday January 30 (locations and times will be announced in class and by email)
• $100 for GGBA members, $125 for non-members

Once this class is full, you may sign up to be on a waiting list.…

In spring, the Bay Area blooms; after regenerative winter rains, the warmer, sunnier weather bring forth wave after wave of colorful songbird migrants, and the wooded canyons of the East Bay hills fill with bird song. Suddenly many different species including warblers, vireos, flycatchers, thrushes, hummingbirds, buntings, grosbeaks, and tanagers are moving through. Some species are common, and stay in the area to breed, while others are scarce and pass through in short windows of time. The more difficult and sought-after spring songbirds will be the focus of this class.

Recordings of the lecture presentations will be available to class participants  for a limited period of time.

• Lecture Thursday April 7: 7:00 to 8:30 pm.
• Field trip Sunday April 10 (time and location will be announced during class) 
• $40 for GGBA members, $60 for non-members.

Once this class is full, you may sign up to be on a waiting list.…