SFBBO Supporter, Jan Hintermeister

Follow the Leaders

Jan Hintermeister

Imagine a bird flying thousands of miles to a place it’s never been! The amazing fact of bird migration and my love of science led me to SFBBO. I was introduced to birdwatching when I was in my 20’s, and I joined SFBBO more years ago than I can remember. It was impossible to resist the infectious enthusiasm of Janet Hanson and Lou Young who recruited me to become a board member in 1997. I stayed on the board until 2004, and was the board president much of that time. I’ve always found the SFBBO events to be highly invigorating because the scientists and the volunteers are so passionate and well-spoken. Volunteer leaders and teachers, like Gerry Ellis and Rita Colwell, have been huge sources of inspiration for me.

We are blessed here in the San Francisco Bay Area because of the foresight and intense efforts of previous generations to protect open spaces. To preserve our animal and plant populations, our open land must be properly managed based on the best scientific data. What SFBBO does is provide impartial data about fragile bird populations that live among an enormous thriving human population. We depend on what those earlier generations provided. Our responsibility is to pass on that legacy so that future generations can thrive.

What is truly unique about SFBBO is our long-term research projects, like the Colonial Waterbird Monitoring and Coyote Creek Field Station bird banding programs. These long-term datasets are essential to providing baseline data on our birds and to assess long-term changes in the environment. Our biggest challenge is to maintain and expand our long-term monitoring and to provide that data in a usable form to wildlife managers and the public.

In addition to my own personal contributions to SFBBO, as a volunteer and donor, I support SFBBO through fundraising and encouraging others to give. I urge SFBBO members to consider monthly giving because it’s convenient and painless and provides a reliable source of income to SFBBO. Motorola, my employer, matches my donations, doubling every dollar I give. I leverage this during the California Fall Challenge. I ask people at work to sponsor me in the CFC and their donations are matched by Motorola, too! Hint: This could be a strategy to help win the birding trip to Puerto Rico.

If I could tell SFBBO supporters one thing it would be: THANK YOU! We would not be here today without our volunteers, members, and supporters. You get up before dawn to open the mist nets, you sit for hours and count the birds in your scopes, you donate and you read our reports. Thank you for sharing your energy with us.

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