April 2010: Wingbeat

Monthly enewsletter of the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

In This Issue....

First of the Season
Workshops with Alvaro Jaramillo
Upcoming Events
Volunteer Opportunities
News on the Fly
Thank you!

First of the Season

Bird Observatory biologists found the first Snowy Plover nests in the South Bay during the week of March 29th. Plovers nest on the ground, in shallow depressions called scrapes. The decorate the scrapes by tossing small pieces of shell, salt, sticks and any other small objects they can find. In past years we’ve found scrapes decorated with shards of glass and a small fish jaw bone. See the photo of the first nest on the left - can you find the nest, which is surrounded by oyster shells?

Workshops with Alvaro Jaramillo

These workshops incorporate ecology, evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, and natural history to complement bird identification.

RSVP
UNDERSTANDING & ENJOYING MIGRATION - new workshop!
Tuesday, April 6th and Thursday, April 8th (instruction), 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Saturday, April 10th (fieldtrip)
Nothing in birding and ornithology is perhaps as exciting as migration. Throughout the world, birds move, capturing our imaginations from ancient times until now. Today we have many technologies at our disposal to understand migration, and scientists are beginning to explain how birds do it. This course is an introduction and summary of bird migration, with a focus on recent techniques and what they are teaching us. The how’s, why’s, and wow’s of migration is what this workshop is about! The field trip will take us to places we can see some local migrant birds, landbirds and shorebirds.

RSVP
BIRD SOUND
Tuesday, June 8th and Thursday, June 10th (instruction), 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Sunday, June 13th (fieldtrip)
Birders are attracted to birds for many reasons: aesthetics, the thrill of the chase, their behavior, amazing flying powers and migration….but one aspect of birds that transcends all is their ability to sing. One can just sit back and enjoy bird song. But it is also interesting to learn how to differentiate songs. SFBBO has developed a workshop that does just that. This is not a workshop solely devoted to identifying birds by song, but also focuses on understanding the ecology and behavior of bird vocalization. We will cover topics on the development of song, song variations, and the purpose of song as well as how to visualize, learn, and study bird sounds. The field trip will not only aim to listen to bird sounds in nature, but also attempt to do some simple experiments to see what we learned in the class.

Upcoming Events

Thursday, May 13, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
RSVP
VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION PARTY
SITE: RENGSTORFF HOUSE, SHORELINE at MOUNTAIN VIEW PARK
This  is our day to celebrate YOU and all of your hard work! We couldn’t complete our work without our volunteers. Please come and celebrate all of our shared achievements with the Bird Observatory staff and fellow volunteers. Enjoy good food, great people, and of course, our local birds.

Saturday, May 22, 7:45 - 10:30 am
RSVP
TOLMON PEAK TRAIL
SITE: GARIN/DRY CREEK PIONEER PARK (HAYWARD)
Join Bridget Greuel on a walk through the oak savannah and riparian habitats of Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Park. We can expect Lazuli Bunting, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Wilson's Warbler, Brown Creeper, Hooded Oriole, California Quail and possibly Grasshopper Sparrow. These are just a few of the dozens of species we can see on this trip... this place is a bird-a-palooza! Expect to walk 2 miles in moderately strenuous terrain. 

Volunteer Opportunities

Banded California Gull Re-sighting Volunteer
SFBBO has recently banded over 400 California Gulls with numeric bands (black bands with three white numbers). Now, we need your help relocating these birds around the Bay! This year we will be banding 100 adults, and, in partnership with the USGS, we will band another 500 chicks with these numeric bands. Re-sighting these gulls is becoming increasingly important as the dry salt pond that hosts over 23,000 breeding California Gull is restored to tidal marsh. Volunteers will use binoculars and spotting scopes to search for color banded California Gulls 2-4 times a month during the breeding season, and 1-2 times a month after that. Surveys generally take between 30 minutes and 2 hours depending on the location and time of year. Many of the survey areas require a high clearance vehicle (i.e. pickup truck or SUV) to drive on bumpy levees, but some are accessible by car and/or bicycle. To volunteer, or request more details, please contact Caitlin Robinson-Nilsen at cnilsen@sfbbo.org

California Gull Colony Walkthroughs
For the past 30 years, SFBBO biologists and volunteers have documented the number of California Gull nesting throughout the South Bay colonies. To complete the 2010 surveys, we need volunteers! We ask that volunteers commit to a day of colony “walkthroughs.” This will require 4-8 hours of walking in a colony, counting nests, eggs, and chicks. This fieldwork can be hot, muddy, and smelly! Some sites involve kayaking. The walkthroughs will occur the 2nd and 3rd weeks of May. To volunteer, or request more details, please contact Caitlin Robinson-Nilsen at cnilsen@sfbbo.org

News on the Fly...

Friday, May 14 - Sunday, May 16
WINGS OVER THE BASIN
SITE: BIG BASIN REDWOODS STATE PARK
Big Basin Redwoods State Park invites those who love birds and butterflies to the 8th Annual Wings Over the Basin. Experience the park's varied birdlife at the height of the nesting season on field trips, guided bird and butterfly walks, and at an evening campfire presentation. All Wings Over the Basin events are free and you are welcome to attend any or all of the activities. To find out more information, including campsite information, visit their website at http://www.wingsoverthebasin.org/.

Thank you!

We offer our sincere thanks to our members, donors, and volunteers for making our work possible!

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to the conservation of birds through science and outreach.

Please click here to donate to the Bird Observatory!