Speakers Archive - Golden Gate Bird Alliance

Long-billed Curlew

Learn about the biology of these charismatic birds, the largest North American shorebird: their habitats, nesting requirements and migratory journey. Learn how satellite technology is uncovering some of their mysteries and is connecting communities from the mountains of Idaho to coastal California.

About Our Speaker

Heather Hayes is a research biologist and the Community Science Coordinator for the Intermountain Bird Observatory (IBO) in Boise, Idaho. In addition to the Long-billed Curlew Satellite Tracking program, Heather has worked on the 8-state Western Asio flammeus
Landscape Study (WAfLS) community science program for Short-eared Owls, and the IBO’s Hummingbird Monitoring Program.
Heather loves integrating her fieldwork with education, not only in the K-12 classroom but also in Hunter’s Education.

Date: Thursday. July 24 (7pm)

Location: Online via Zoom

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83897582723?pwd=1Nc6IbOGx1PXlnVqAVBJKSUS9DFL7l.1…

Nest Building: Creating Lasting (Birding) Community

Chelsea will be sharing her thoughts and perspectives on “Nest Building”. No, not bird nests per say, but rather the spaces we build to create a lasting community with our fellow birders.

About Our Speaker

Chelsea Connor is the co-founder of Black Birders Week, a 2024 GGBA Birding for Everyone Fellow, and an MS candidate at SFSU.

Date: Thursday, May 15, 2025 (7pm)

Location: Online via Zoom

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86714178233?pwd=l4bsUnQAmdRESjJ25qdNzI2aXZp4St.1

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The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: connections and complexity

In this talk, Aaron will discuss the connections that created and define the Delta
from its formation to its ecology and biodiversity. The talk will also explore some of the
ecological and social complexities the Delta embraces and faces.

About Our Speaker

Aaron N. K. Haiman has been a student of nature his entire life. He spent countless hours
birding across California and has lived and birded in the California Delta for over a decade.
Aaron volunteered from a young age with numerous bird research organizations before
attending the University of California, Berkeley (BS in environmental science), rotating through
several bird-focused internships, attending the University of California, Davis (MS in avian
science and a second MS in animal behavior), working for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Conservancy, and now as a Senior Environmental Scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Board.
Beyond his formal career, Aaron leads bird walks for a variety of organizations, mentors high
school students on ecology and sustainability, leads a youth bird-a-thon team for Point Blue
Conservation Science, gives presentations on birds and habitat restoration, has written for
multiple science websites, and creates content for his own blog, social media platforms, and
YouTube channel all under the A Birding Naturalist handle.

Date: Thursday, June 26 (7pm)

Location: Online via Zoom

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83516705279?pwd=a76VLb7FhDsDqGxt2HE9XChkKQHrbW.1

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Restoring the San Franciso Bay Estuary: Wetlands, Birds and More!

The San Francisco Bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of the United States, and is home to a wide range of birds, from rails to shorebirds, waders, and ducks. Over 90% of the tidal wetlands around the estuary have been lost, but there is now large-scale local support for protecting and restoring the estuary. We’ll review efforts to restore San Franciso Bay wetlands, including challenges and opportunities associated with sea-level rise and climate change, and implications for local birds.

About Our Speaker

John Callaway is a wetland ecologist who specializes in plant and soil ecology of tidal wetlands, but his original motivation for researching wetlands was driven by an interest in waterbirds. He recently retired from Department of Environmental Science at the University of San Francisco. His research has focused on sea-level rise impacts, carbon sequestration, and restoration issues for salt and brackish marshes in the San Francisco Bay estuary.

Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025 (7pm)

Location: Online via Zoom

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87631566197?pwd=Eb7h5It2RWiLoBoJbzAML0KE2TYHG7.1

Passcode: 381334…

Lend an ear: Studying Hearing in Songbirds

Songbirds communicate with one another for many reasons – to find and attract a mate, to defend their territory, or even to band together to ward off a predator. However, levels of human-generated noise, also known as anthropogenic noise, and encroachment into bird habitats continue to rise year after year. Birds are thus faced with the ever-increasing challenge of still communicating with one another amidst these changes. The naturally occurring mixed-species flocks of black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice, and white-breasted nuthatches offer the perfect means to understand how anti-predatory behaviors are affected by noise, and how these behaviors may be explained by the species’ auditory physiology. This walk will answer questions about how these songbirds communicate in rising levels of urban noise, and how their signals have evolved/are evolving to overcome the challenges of anthropogenic noise.

About Our Speaker: Trina Chou is currently a second-year Ph.D. student in the Ecology of Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, studying acoustic communication in treefrogs and other anuran species with Dr. Jessie Tanner. She originally hails from Sunnyvale in the South Bay Area and she graduated from Vassar College in the Spring of 2023 as a Neuroscience and Behavior Major. At Vassar, she worked in Dr. Megan Gall’s lab for three years studying anti-predator behaviors and communication between black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice, and white-breasted nuthatches.

Date: Thursday, February 20, 2025 (6pm)

Location: Online via Zoom

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83222428797?pwd=9i6Ppa4ecLWnScO3fTtu1Oa3spyvob.1

Passcode: 944037…