The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach, and to contributing to informed resource management decisions in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Founded in 1981, the Bird Observatory has produced more than 25 years of scientific information on local bird populations working with both government agencies and partner organizations.

In the 1970's, people including Prof. Richard Mewaldt and Michael Rigney of San Jose State University began studying the birds on the commercial salt ponds of the South Bay. With other local residents from a birding class, they investigated the seasonal use of the ponds by roosting and nesting waterbirds under the auspices of the South Bay Institute for Avian Studies, now the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory.

In 1999, Coyote Creek Field Station became a part of the Bird Observatory's Landbird Program, and continues the bird-banding operation that began in 1982.

"It's fun, it's exciting, and at work I find myself talking about it every day.  And it's real science, contributing to a worldwide effort to understand how birds use and interact with the environment, and how we can help preserve them."

—TOM STEWART, BIRD OBSERVATORY VOLUNTEER