2019 Annual Report
In 2019 we had another successful year of conserving birds and habitats through science and outreach. Below you can read about our Waterbird Program, Plover Program, Habitats Program, and Landbird Program and can also find information about our Outreach Program and our financials.
WATERBIRD PROGRAM
Our Waterbird Program is the most extensive and robust set of research projects at SFBBO, and each has its own impact. Our Shorebird Survey adds critical Bay Area data to an annual survey of the more than 1 billion shorebirds that winter along the Pacific Flyway from Canada to Peru. Our California Gull Surveys provide groundbreaking data about the exponential growth in breeding gulls in our region and the impact they have on other species. Our Landfill Surveys track the success of new strategies to decrease gull and corvid use of our landfills without harming the birds. Our Avian Disease Prevention Program prevents the spread of avian diseases in the Bay Area. Our Managed Pond Surveys help regional restoration groups like the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project understand the importance of these manmade ponds to local birds. Our Phalarope Surveys are providing more comprehensive data to assess potential declines in the number of phalaropes in the Bay Area. Our Colonial Waterbird Program documents nesting success at more than nearly 50 colonies throughout the Bay Area and engages hundreds of volunteers in avian research and conservation in their neighborhoods. We understand that the first step in conserving birds is counting them, and in 2019 we continued to play a critical role in waterbird conservation through these diverse projects.
CWB
The Colonial Waterbird Program (CWB) is one of SFBBO’s long-standing community science programs, initiated in 1982 to monitor waterbird nesting colonies in the San Francisco Bay. For 37 years, teams of biologists and community scientists have monitored herons, egrets, terns, and other colony nesting waterbirds through our Colonial Waterbird Program. The program has engaged hundreds of community scientists in waterbird nest-monitoring activities and introduced hundreds of local community members to the presence of these birds and their needs for protection and management. Trained community scientists work independently to collect observational data on nesting status, timing of breeding, waterbird behavior, and evidence of disturbance at selected colonies each year.
The Colonia Waterbird Program emphasizes community engagement and community science in order to: 1) increase monitoring capacity across a large geographic area, and 2) generate public interest in protecting waterbirds and their habitats. Many of the colonies monitored by SFBBO community scientists would not otherwise be tracked. The 2019 team, led by Waterbird Program Director Max Tarjan, monitored 50 potential colonies across 49 sites, 49 of which became active breeding colonies, throughout the Bay Area from February to August using observational methods. Community scientists recorded the number of adults, chicks, and nests they saw and also noted conservation threats such as predation and human disturbance. Thank you to these community scientists for donating more than 835 hours monitoring colonies.
Gulls
California Gulls are the most abundant nesting waterbird in the South San Francisco Bay and SFBBO has been monitoring the growth of the breeding population since 1980. In 2019, during all day walk-through surveys from May 12 to May 25, biologists and community scientists surveyed ten colony locations in Palo Alto, Alviso, Hayward, and Fremont. They documented 45,026 nesting California Gulls in the South Bay and re-sighted 40 banded gulls.All of these birds were banded at the A6 colony at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge near Sunnyvale from 2008 - 2010. Band resighting data from this project provides insight into gull lifespan, dispersal, and the potential impact of encroachment into breeding areas for other sensitive species.
Shorebird Survey
In 2019, we again participated in the annual Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey. SFBBO managed an additional set of sites this year and our biologists and community scientists surveyed a total of 58 sites across the South Bay. The SFBBO team counted over 68,000 shorebirds and also collected data on habitat conditions. Our data collected for this multi-partner monitoring program provided a Flyway-wide assessment of shorebird communities that is used to identify conservation needs along the Pacific coast.
Managed Pond Surveys
Since 2005, SFBBO biologists have conducted surveys of the waterbirds that use managed
ponds around the Bay (as well as water quality) that are associated with the South Bay Salt
Pond Restoration Project. These surveys covered 82 ponds extending across the Alviso, Newark, Mowry, Ravenswood, and Hayward Eden Landing Ecological Reserve complexes.
In 2019, Waterbird Director Max Tarjan, as well as biologists Gabbie Burns, Anjou Kato, Anqi Chen, Dan Wenny, Cole Jower, Alex Rinkert, and interns Alicia Manfroy, Illianna Termuehlen, Parker Kaye, and Sarah Cantell, surveyed over 20,000 acres of managed ponds in the South Bay and counted more than one million birds during throughout the year. These data guide the restoration efforts of the project and enable our partners to maintain ponds that support the needs of multiple local species. SFBBO reports the pond survey data regularly to managers at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. They use the data to maintain target numbers for particular waterbird guilds, like Eared Grebes and phalarope.
Phalarope Surveys
Counts of phalaropes in current and former salt production ponds in South San Francisco Bay have declined from 2005 to present. In 2019 SFBBO staff and community scientists piloted a new survey protocol specifically targeting phalarope species during their summer migration windows to give us a better estimate of peak abundance. During two survey rounds, the team counted 4,870 phalaropes. This survey will be expanded in 2020 based on what we learned during the pilot. The data from these surveys will help land managers understand the impacts of ongoing habitat change on phalaropes.
Landfill Surveys
SFBBO staff have surveyed gulls at a local landfill since 2007, and expanded this project to
include a local recyclery and the survey of corvids in 2014. Gull counts in 2019 pointed to the effectiveness of the multi-approach abatement. In 2019, the abatement program, continued by Wingmaster Falconry, appears to have maintained a dramatic decrease in the number of gulls using the Landfill and Recyclery since their initiation in February 2012. Reducing landfill use by nuisance species limits population growth and their potential to negatively affect other local ground-nesting waterbirds.
ADPP
In 2019, SFBBO staff and volunteers involved in the Avian Disease Prevention Program (ADPP) conducted surveys from June through November on several sloughs in the South Bay to retrieve dead, sick, and injured birds with the ultimate goal of detecting and preventing avian botulism. We have conducted these surveys annually since 1982 and are happy to report another year with no detected outbreaks of avian botulism in the South Bay. Along with removing dead birds and other vertebrates from the sloughs, biologists and volunteers collected one sick gull and brought it to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley.
CWB
The Colonial Waterbird Program (CWB) is one of SFBBO’s long-standing community science programs, initiated in 1982 to monitor waterbird nesting colonies in the San Francisco Bay. For 37 years, teams of biologists and community scientists have monitored herons, egrets, terns, and other colony nesting waterbirds through our Colonial Waterbird Program. The program has engaged hundreds of community scientists in waterbird nest-monitoring activities and introduced hundreds of local community members to the presence of these birds and their needs for protection and management. Trained community scientists work independently to collect observational data on nesting status, timing of breeding, waterbird behavior, and evidence of disturbance at selected colonies each year.
The Colonia Waterbird Program emphasizes community engagement and community science in order to: 1) increase monitoring capacity across a large geographic area, and 2) generate public interest in protecting waterbirds and their habitats. Many of the colonies monitored by SFBBO community scientists would not otherwise be tracked. The 2019 team, led by Waterbird Program Director Max Tarjan, monitored 50 potential colonies across 49 sites, 49 of which became active breeding colonies, throughout the Bay Area from February to August using observational methods. Community scientists recorded the number of adults, chicks, and nests they saw and also noted conservation threats such as predation and human disturbance. Thank you to these community scientists for donating more than 835 hours monitoring colonies.
Gulls
California Gulls are the most abundant nesting waterbird in the South San Francisco Bay and SFBBO has been monitoring the growth of the breeding population since 1980. In 2019, during all day walk-through surveys from May 12 to May 25, biologists and community scientists surveyed ten colony locations in Palo Alto, Alviso, Hayward, and Fremont. They documented 45,026 nesting California Gulls in the South Bay and re-sighted 40 banded gulls.All of these birds were banded at the A6 colony at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge near Sunnyvale from 2008 - 2010. Band resighting data from this project provides insight into gull lifespan, dispersal, and the potential impact of encroachment into breeding areas for other sensitive species.
Shorebird Survey
In 2019, we again participated in the annual Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey. SFBBO managed an additional set of sites this year and our biologists and community scientists surveyed a total of 58 sites across the South Bay. The SFBBO team counted over 68,000 shorebirds and also collected data on habitat conditions. Our data collected for this multi-partner monitoring program provided a Flyway-wide assessment of shorebird communities that is used to identify conservation needs along the Pacific coast.
Managed Pond Surveys
Since 2005, SFBBO biologists have conducted surveys of the waterbirds that use managed
ponds around the Bay (as well as water quality) that are associated with the South Bay Salt
Pond Restoration Project. These surveys covered 82 ponds extending across the Alviso, Newark, Mowry, Ravenswood, and Hayward Eden Landing Ecological Reserve complexes.
In 2019, Waterbird Director Max Tarjan, as well as biologists Gabbie Burns, Anjou Kato, Anqi Chen, Dan Wenny, Cole Jower, Alex Rinkert, and interns Alicia Manfroy, Illianna Termuehlen, Parker Kaye, and Sarah Cantell, surveyed over 20,000 acres of managed ponds in the South Bay and counted more than one million birds during throughout the year. These data guide the restoration efforts of the project and enable our partners to maintain ponds that support the needs of multiple local species. SFBBO reports the pond survey data regularly to managers at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. They use the data to maintain target numbers for particular waterbird guilds, like Eared Grebes and phalarope.
Phalarope Surveys
Counts of phalaropes in current and former salt production ponds in South San Francisco Bay have declined from 2005 to present. In 2019 SFBBO staff and community scientists piloted a new survey protocol specifically targeting phalarope species during their summer migration windows to give us a better estimate of peak abundance. During two survey rounds, the team counted 4,870 phalaropes. This survey will be expanded in 2020 based on what we learned during the pilot. The data from these surveys will help land managers understand the impacts of ongoing habitat change on phalaropes.
Landfill Surveys
SFBBO staff have surveyed gulls at a local landfill since 2007, and expanded this project to
include a local recyclery and the survey of corvids in 2014. Gull counts in 2019 pointed to the effectiveness of the multi-approach abatement. In 2019, the abatement program, continued by Wingmaster Falconry, appears to have maintained a dramatic decrease in the number of gulls using the Landfill and Recyclery since their initiation in February 2012. Reducing landfill use by nuisance species limits population growth and their potential to negatively affect other local ground-nesting waterbirds.
ADPP
In 2019, SFBBO staff and volunteers involved in the Avian Disease Prevention Program (ADPP) conducted surveys from June through November on several sloughs in the South Bay to retrieve dead, sick, and injured birds with the ultimate goal of detecting and preventing avian botulism. We have conducted these surveys annually since 1982 and are happy to report another year with no detected outbreaks of avian botulism in the South Bay. Along with removing dead birds and other vertebrates from the sloughs, biologists and volunteers collected one sick gull and brought it to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley.
SNOWY PLOVER PROGRAM
In 2019, SFBBO continued our long-term effort to recover the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover in the San Francisco Bay. SFBBO staff and volunteers worked diligently to achieve our annual research goals of monitoring all Snowy Plover breeding in the South Bay by tracking nest success and chick survival. The team was led by Plover Program Director Ben Pearl, and included Biologists Anqi Chen, Jessica Gonzalez, Alex Rinkert, and Anjou Kato, and intern Illianna Termuehlen.
For the third year in a row, we continued our monitoring program of the endangered California Least Tern, monitoring breeding population, nest success, and chick fledging rates at Eden Landing Ecological Reserve. We continued our valuable partnerships with agencies and projects, like the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, to achieve species recovery while plover and tern resource needs continue to change in the South Bay. Although historically the Bay Area likely only supported a small Snowy Plover Population and zero Least Terns, today the South Bay salt ponds support nearly 10% of the rangewide Snowy Plover population, and one of only five Least Tern colonies in the San Francisco Bay Area. These two sensitive species face substantial threats across the Pacific Coast—habitat loss, predation, human disturbance, and imminent sea level rise—making the South Bay a critical habitat for these sensitive birds.
Through these programs, in 2019 our team monitored 279 Snowy Plover nests, including an amazing 108 nests found at pond E14 in Eden Landing Ecological Reserve. This pond was treated with an oyster shell enhancement in late 2014 to provide high quality breeding habitat for Snowy Plovers. Since then, it has attracted a large number of Snowy Plovers to breed annually, and breeding Least Terns beginning in 2017. With the help of biologists from several other sites, we counted 190 plover adults across the entire Bay Area during the breeding window survey. Unfortunately, this represents a 19% decline from the count of 235 adults in 2018. Our biologists banded 60 plover chicks, finding an apparent fledging rate of 32%. Due to the small sample size and our difficulties in resighting banded Snowy Plovers, these numbers should be viewed with caution. We monitored 142 Least Tern nests at two ponds within Eden Landing, with fifteen nests confirmed to have hatched at least one chick and an additional 22 presumed to have hatched at least one chick. An estimate of 10-13 fledglings was produced from the colonies. This work was funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge via Facebook, Inc., Alameda County Fish and Game Commission, Cargill Inc, and our SFFBO members.
For the third year in a row, we continued our monitoring program of the endangered California Least Tern, monitoring breeding population, nest success, and chick fledging rates at Eden Landing Ecological Reserve. We continued our valuable partnerships with agencies and projects, like the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, to achieve species recovery while plover and tern resource needs continue to change in the South Bay. Although historically the Bay Area likely only supported a small Snowy Plover Population and zero Least Terns, today the South Bay salt ponds support nearly 10% of the rangewide Snowy Plover population, and one of only five Least Tern colonies in the San Francisco Bay Area. These two sensitive species face substantial threats across the Pacific Coast—habitat loss, predation, human disturbance, and imminent sea level rise—making the South Bay a critical habitat for these sensitive birds.
Through these programs, in 2019 our team monitored 279 Snowy Plover nests, including an amazing 108 nests found at pond E14 in Eden Landing Ecological Reserve. This pond was treated with an oyster shell enhancement in late 2014 to provide high quality breeding habitat for Snowy Plovers. Since then, it has attracted a large number of Snowy Plovers to breed annually, and breeding Least Terns beginning in 2017. With the help of biologists from several other sites, we counted 190 plover adults across the entire Bay Area during the breeding window survey. Unfortunately, this represents a 19% decline from the count of 235 adults in 2018. Our biologists banded 60 plover chicks, finding an apparent fledging rate of 32%. Due to the small sample size and our difficulties in resighting banded Snowy Plovers, these numbers should be viewed with caution. We monitored 142 Least Tern nests at two ponds within Eden Landing, with fifteen nests confirmed to have hatched at least one chick and an additional 22 presumed to have hatched at least one chick. An estimate of 10-13 fledglings was produced from the colonies. This work was funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge via Facebook, Inc., Alameda County Fish and Game Commission, Cargill Inc, and our SFFBO members.
LANDBIRD PROGRAM
Coyote Creek Field Station
For nearly 40 years, SFBBO staff and volunteers have banded birds at our Coyote Creek Field Station (CCFS) located on a restored riparian habitat in northern San Jose, on City of San Jose property managed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Sixty-seven community science volunteers spent 4,778 hours throughout the year collecting, entering, and proofing our CCFS data. SFBBO and academic partners use these data to track avian responses to climate change, restoration and urbanization, and to document long-term demographic trends.
In 2019, this program was led by Landbird Program Director Josh Scullen with support from biologists Anqi Chen, Alex Rinkert, and Dan Wenny; intern Michelle Walters, and education specialist Jessica Kochick. With our staff, interns, and community scientist volunteers, we captured 4,117 birds of 64 species. This is above our annual average of 3,900 birds captured per year, but within expected yearly variation.
Burrowing Owls
In 2019, SFBBO concluded a five-year project funded by the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency and in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Talon Ecological Research Group to monitor Western Burrowing Owls and enhance, maintain, and restore nesting habitat at the Warm Springs Unit, a vernal pool alkaline grassland that is part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. SFBBO ecologists Emily Sullivan and Matt Hinshaw conducted field work, coordinated by Landbird Program Director Josh Scullen. We also continued working with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society on Burrowing Owl habitat management and monitoring in Alviso, and with the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and Pathways for Wildlife on Burrowing Owl surveys in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Santa Cruz County Breeding Bird Atlas
In 2017, Alex Rinket initiated a comprehensive assessment of the breeding birds of Santa Cruz County. Previous surveys were conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and with an updated dataset, Alex will be able to evaluate how bird populations have changed over the past 30+ years. In 2019, SFBBO continued to serve as a fiscal sponsor in support of Alex. Read more about the incredible work Alex is doing here: https://santacruzbirdclub.org/breeding-bird-atlas/
For nearly 40 years, SFBBO staff and volunteers have banded birds at our Coyote Creek Field Station (CCFS) located on a restored riparian habitat in northern San Jose, on City of San Jose property managed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Sixty-seven community science volunteers spent 4,778 hours throughout the year collecting, entering, and proofing our CCFS data. SFBBO and academic partners use these data to track avian responses to climate change, restoration and urbanization, and to document long-term demographic trends.
In 2019, this program was led by Landbird Program Director Josh Scullen with support from biologists Anqi Chen, Alex Rinkert, and Dan Wenny; intern Michelle Walters, and education specialist Jessica Kochick. With our staff, interns, and community scientist volunteers, we captured 4,117 birds of 64 species. This is above our annual average of 3,900 birds captured per year, but within expected yearly variation.
Burrowing Owls
In 2019, SFBBO concluded a five-year project funded by the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency and in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Talon Ecological Research Group to monitor Western Burrowing Owls and enhance, maintain, and restore nesting habitat at the Warm Springs Unit, a vernal pool alkaline grassland that is part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. SFBBO ecologists Emily Sullivan and Matt Hinshaw conducted field work, coordinated by Landbird Program Director Josh Scullen. We also continued working with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society on Burrowing Owl habitat management and monitoring in Alviso, and with the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and Pathways for Wildlife on Burrowing Owl surveys in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Santa Cruz County Breeding Bird Atlas
In 2017, Alex Rinket initiated a comprehensive assessment of the breeding birds of Santa Cruz County. Previous surveys were conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and with an updated dataset, Alex will be able to evaluate how bird populations have changed over the past 30+ years. In 2019, SFBBO continued to serve as a fiscal sponsor in support of Alex. Read more about the incredible work Alex is doing here: https://santacruzbirdclub.org/breeding-bird-atlas/
HABITATS PROGRAM
The San Francisco Bay contains habitats of hemispherical importance for millions of individual migrating birds from dozens of species in addition to many resident species that live in these ecosystems year-round. Unfortunately, approximately 90% of tidal marsh habitats once found along the edge of San Francisco Bay have been severely fragmented or destroyed by human activities, since the 1800s.
Along the margins of these tidal marshes existed what we call the upland ecotones or upland-transition zones - habitats situated between the marsh plains and the higher elevation uplands - which provided refuge for sensitive and endangered species during high tides. The SFBBO Habitats Program aims to restore native plant communities to the upland-transition habitats by:
Over the past year we have continued work to conserve these estuarine habitats through two restoration projects: Inner Bair Island and Alviso Pond 17.
At Inner Bair we wrapped up our Phase 2 restoration, which began in 2016, while also continuing to reintroduce native plants and remove invasives in Phase 3 and 4. Additionally, we began our 5th and final phase of restoration which will be completed in 2022. Overall, each phase continues to progress to a community dominated by California native plants, and it is our goal that they reach this stage without continued maintenance beyond the 3 year per phase effort – such as with our Phase 1 restoration which wrapped up in 2018.
At A17 we continued working on the transition zone mounds, which were created in 2015 atop the historic levee along the eastern side of the pond. These mounds were created to provide topographic variability, facilitating the establishment of native plants from the restoring marsh into the higher elevation transition zones. Past years of intensive invasive removal allowed us to focus more on plantings in 2019, which we will continue into 2020. Additionally, we added the southern and western levees of A17, as well as the eastern Alviso Pond A16 levee to this project, which have been historically weedy and will be the focus of most of our efforts in Alviso going forward.
Both of our restoration projects are collaborations with the USFWS Don Edwards SF Bay NWR, which manages the lands for wildlife. Our Inner Bair Island project has been funded by Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), Ducks Unlimited (DU), and as of 2019, by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). Our Alviso Pond A17 project was funded by a Climate Ready grant from the California Coastal Commission, and is now supported by the Valley Water (formerly Santa Clara Valley Water District) Clean Safe Creeks & Natural Flood Protection Program, in addition to funding raised by the South Bay Salt Ponds Restoration Project.
Finally, another important research program of ours is a collaboration with Brian Fulfrost & Associates on mapping the upland transitional topography around the SF estuary and attempting to rank their feasibility for restoration in the face of rapid sea-level rise. Due to climate change, tidal marsh habitats in the SF Bay are at threat of being lost, but identification and restoration of the transition zones have been recognized as the key to saving these ecosystems. By providing space in the form of transition zones, tidal marsh plant communities can adjust to rising sea-levels by moving upslope over time. This project is support by the USFWS Coastal Program; with additional funding from the California Coastal Commission Climate Ready grant, the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture, and the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, which have adopted our methods for mapping these habitats and utilize our data as a conservation baseline.
Along the margins of these tidal marshes existed what we call the upland ecotones or upland-transition zones - habitats situated between the marsh plains and the higher elevation uplands - which provided refuge for sensitive and endangered species during high tides. The SFBBO Habitats Program aims to restore native plant communities to the upland-transition habitats by:
- Developing feasible methods to create, restore, and enhance functional habitats,
- Conserving biodiversity across scales: from local genetic diversity up to whole ecosystems, and
- Collaborating with the region's wide variety of conservation groups.
Over the past year we have continued work to conserve these estuarine habitats through two restoration projects: Inner Bair Island and Alviso Pond 17.
At Inner Bair we wrapped up our Phase 2 restoration, which began in 2016, while also continuing to reintroduce native plants and remove invasives in Phase 3 and 4. Additionally, we began our 5th and final phase of restoration which will be completed in 2022. Overall, each phase continues to progress to a community dominated by California native plants, and it is our goal that they reach this stage without continued maintenance beyond the 3 year per phase effort – such as with our Phase 1 restoration which wrapped up in 2018.
At A17 we continued working on the transition zone mounds, which were created in 2015 atop the historic levee along the eastern side of the pond. These mounds were created to provide topographic variability, facilitating the establishment of native plants from the restoring marsh into the higher elevation transition zones. Past years of intensive invasive removal allowed us to focus more on plantings in 2019, which we will continue into 2020. Additionally, we added the southern and western levees of A17, as well as the eastern Alviso Pond A16 levee to this project, which have been historically weedy and will be the focus of most of our efforts in Alviso going forward.
Both of our restoration projects are collaborations with the USFWS Don Edwards SF Bay NWR, which manages the lands for wildlife. Our Inner Bair Island project has been funded by Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), Ducks Unlimited (DU), and as of 2019, by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). Our Alviso Pond A17 project was funded by a Climate Ready grant from the California Coastal Commission, and is now supported by the Valley Water (formerly Santa Clara Valley Water District) Clean Safe Creeks & Natural Flood Protection Program, in addition to funding raised by the South Bay Salt Ponds Restoration Project.
Finally, another important research program of ours is a collaboration with Brian Fulfrost & Associates on mapping the upland transitional topography around the SF estuary and attempting to rank their feasibility for restoration in the face of rapid sea-level rise. Due to climate change, tidal marsh habitats in the SF Bay are at threat of being lost, but identification and restoration of the transition zones have been recognized as the key to saving these ecosystems. By providing space in the form of transition zones, tidal marsh plant communities can adjust to rising sea-levels by moving upslope over time. This project is support by the USFWS Coastal Program; with additional funding from the California Coastal Commission Climate Ready grant, the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture, and the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, which have adopted our methods for mapping these habitats and utilize our data as a conservation baseline.
OUTREACH PROGRAM
The goals of SFBBO’s Outreach Program are to share our research, develop and grow relationships with partners and supporters, and educate the community to increase the public’s science literacy, appreciation for birds, and understanding of the issues birds face and ways people can help.
In 2019, we continued to offer a variety of activities, including bird and nature walks, bird ID and bird language workshops, bird banding demos, family science events, and science talks and presentations throughout the Bay Area, from Morgan Hill to Berkeley and from San Francisco to Livermore.
We offered programs at Bay Area libraries, to students from elementary school through college, and for youth groups including Scouts and the Boys and Girls Club. We also participated in important conservation events, including the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo, USF’s Discovery Day, and the Bay Area Science Festival, and partnered with the Peninsula Open Space Trust, Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, and other Bay Area science and conservation groups.
In addition, we received coverage by local media, including Bay Nature Magazine, the San Jose Mercury News, and KALW Radio, collaborated with Bay Area companies including Cargill, Facebook, Salesforce, Columbia Sportswear, and Western Digital, and raise more than $30,000 during our annual California Fall Challenge. Thank you to our partners and to the more than 75 volunteers who contributed more than 2,000 hours to the Outreach Program in 2019!
In 2019, we continued to offer a variety of activities, including bird and nature walks, bird ID and bird language workshops, bird banding demos, family science events, and science talks and presentations throughout the Bay Area, from Morgan Hill to Berkeley and from San Francisco to Livermore.
We offered programs at Bay Area libraries, to students from elementary school through college, and for youth groups including Scouts and the Boys and Girls Club. We also participated in important conservation events, including the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo, USF’s Discovery Day, and the Bay Area Science Festival, and partnered with the Peninsula Open Space Trust, Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, and other Bay Area science and conservation groups.
In addition, we received coverage by local media, including Bay Nature Magazine, the San Jose Mercury News, and KALW Radio, collaborated with Bay Area companies including Cargill, Facebook, Salesforce, Columbia Sportswear, and Western Digital, and raise more than $30,000 during our annual California Fall Challenge. Thank you to our partners and to the more than 75 volunteers who contributed more than 2,000 hours to the Outreach Program in 2019!
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2019 Board of Directors
Board Chair - Jan Hintermeister Board Vice Chair - Christine Zack Board Secretary - Lynne Trulio Board Treasurer - Anne Hepburn Board Member - Leah Russin Board Member - Marty Michael Board Member - Larry Spivak Board Member - Anna Zivian Board Member - Kiana Said Board Member - Anastasia Neddersen |
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Above photo by Ricky Pan