2020 Annual Report
2020 was an unprecedented year as the world faced a global pandemic and financial uncertainty. But thanks to our partners and supporters, we had a 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 has engaged 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 2020 we continued to play a critical role in waterbird conservation through these diverse projects.
Colonial Waterbird Program
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 38 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 CWB emphasizes community engagement and citizen 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 citizen scientists would not otherwise be tracked. The 2020 team, led by Science Director Max Tarjan, surveyed a total of 40 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 53 community scientists that contributed 395 volunteer hours to the CWB Program.
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. Due to Covid-19 safety considerations, our gull colony walkthroughs were canceled in 2020, but will resume in future years.
Shorebird Survey
In 2020, we again participated in the annual Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey. SFBBO managed an additional set of sites this year and our biologists and citizen scientists surveyed a total of 58 sites across the South Bay. The SFBBO team counted over 70,000 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 2020, SFBBO biologists surveyed over 20,000 acres of managed ponds in the South Bay. Despite some canceled surveys due to Covid-19 safety concerns, our staff counted more than one million birds 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 2020 SFBBO staff and community scientists implemented a new survey protocol specifically targeting phalarope species during their summer migration windows to give us a better estimate of peak abundance. During seven survey rounds, the team counted 6,731 phalaropes. 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 2020 pointed to the effectiveness of the multi-approach abatement. In 2020, 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.
Avian Disease Prevention Program
In 2020, 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 nine sick gulls and brought them to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley.
Colonial Waterbird Program
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 38 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 CWB emphasizes community engagement and citizen 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 citizen scientists would not otherwise be tracked. The 2020 team, led by Science Director Max Tarjan, surveyed a total of 40 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 53 community scientists that contributed 395 volunteer hours to the CWB Program.
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. Due to Covid-19 safety considerations, our gull colony walkthroughs were canceled in 2020, but will resume in future years.
Shorebird Survey
In 2020, we again participated in the annual Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey. SFBBO managed an additional set of sites this year and our biologists and citizen scientists surveyed a total of 58 sites across the South Bay. The SFBBO team counted over 70,000 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 2020, SFBBO biologists surveyed over 20,000 acres of managed ponds in the South Bay. Despite some canceled surveys due to Covid-19 safety concerns, our staff counted more than one million birds 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 2020 SFBBO staff and community scientists implemented a new survey protocol specifically targeting phalarope species during their summer migration windows to give us a better estimate of peak abundance. During seven survey rounds, the team counted 6,731 phalaropes. 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 2020 pointed to the effectiveness of the multi-approach abatement. In 2020, 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.
Avian Disease Prevention Program
In 2020, 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 nine sick gulls and brought them to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley.
SNOWY PLOVER PROGRAM
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic that upended our plans at the beginning of the breeding season, in 2020 SFBBO was able to continue 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. We also began conducting some Snowy Plover work on the Monterey Bay! The team was led by Plover Program Director Ben Pearl, and included Biologists Anqi Chen, Jessica Gonzalez, Parker Kaye, Dan Wenny, Cole Jower, and Josh Scullen.
For the fourth 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 also started a three year social attraction project designed to attract the colony to an enhanced location to improve breeding success. 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 few (if any) 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 2020 our team monitored 211 Snowy Plover nests at subset of sites that we usually monitor, and from observations of young broods determined that at least 27 additional undetected nests hatched. Pond E14 at Eden Landing Ecological Reserve was again the most critical Snowy Plover breeding site, supporting over 25% of all known nests in the San Francisco Bay! 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 147 plover adults across the entire Bay Area during the breeding window survey. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to survey several important breeding sites, therefore this count does not represent the full breeding population size. Our biologists banded 85 plover chicks, finding an apparent fledging rate of 27%. Although we banded less than half of all hatched chicks, we believe that this data provides a relatively accurate depiction of chick survival, indicating that additional habitat enhancement is needed to improve survival. We monitored just one Least Tern nest at Eden Landing, which was quickly eaten by predators. With close to 20 birds on-site for over a month and additional breeding behavior observed, it is likely that additional nests were established and met a similar fate. This work was funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Santa Clara County Fish and Game Commission, Alameda County Fish and Game Commission, Ducks Unlimited, Facebook Inc., Cargill Inc., and our SFFBO donors.
For the fourth 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 also started a three year social attraction project designed to attract the colony to an enhanced location to improve breeding success. 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 few (if any) 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 2020 our team monitored 211 Snowy Plover nests at subset of sites that we usually monitor, and from observations of young broods determined that at least 27 additional undetected nests hatched. Pond E14 at Eden Landing Ecological Reserve was again the most critical Snowy Plover breeding site, supporting over 25% of all known nests in the San Francisco Bay! 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 147 plover adults across the entire Bay Area during the breeding window survey. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to survey several important breeding sites, therefore this count does not represent the full breeding population size. Our biologists banded 85 plover chicks, finding an apparent fledging rate of 27%. Although we banded less than half of all hatched chicks, we believe that this data provides a relatively accurate depiction of chick survival, indicating that additional habitat enhancement is needed to improve survival. We monitored just one Least Tern nest at Eden Landing, which was quickly eaten by predators. With close to 20 birds on-site for over a month and additional breeding behavior observed, it is likely that additional nests were established and met a similar fate. This work was funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Santa Clara County Fish and Game Commission, Alameda County Fish and Game Commission, Ducks Unlimited, Facebook Inc., Cargill Inc., and our SFFBO donors.
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 at two sites: Inner Bair Island and Alviso Pond 17.
At Inner Bair we continued to reintroduce native plants and remove weeds in our Phase 3, 4 and 5 sections of the site, while also monitoring Phase 1 and 2 which are no longer actively managed. Overall, we have observed the plant communities in each phase transition from weedy to California native, with some already providing adequate habitat for wildlife. It is our goal that we see each phase reach a state of equilibrium, where plant communities are dominated by native plants, provide habitat for native wildlife, and will not require continued maintenance - such as with our Phase 1 and Phase 2 sections which wrapped up in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
At A17 we wrapped up restoration activities on a series of transition zone mounds, which were constructed 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. While we will no longer actively manage the mounds, we will continue to monitor them in case any serious maintenance is required. Additionally, we continued to restore transition zones on south A17, which included mulching the levee slopes, installing native plants and spreading seed, and due to drought conditions, applying supplemental water to help plants establish.
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 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 at two sites: Inner Bair Island and Alviso Pond 17.
At Inner Bair we continued to reintroduce native plants and remove weeds in our Phase 3, 4 and 5 sections of the site, while also monitoring Phase 1 and 2 which are no longer actively managed. Overall, we have observed the plant communities in each phase transition from weedy to California native, with some already providing adequate habitat for wildlife. It is our goal that we see each phase reach a state of equilibrium, where plant communities are dominated by native plants, provide habitat for native wildlife, and will not require continued maintenance - such as with our Phase 1 and Phase 2 sections which wrapped up in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
At A17 we wrapped up restoration activities on a series of transition zone mounds, which were constructed 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. While we will no longer actively manage the mounds, we will continue to monitor them in case any serious maintenance is required. Additionally, we continued to restore transition zones on south A17, which included mulching the levee slopes, installing native plants and spreading seed, and due to drought conditions, applying supplemental water to help plants establish.
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 and education 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.
We started off 2020 with a Family Science Event at Milpitas Library and a field trip to Coyote Hills Regional Park to look for ducks. With the onset of the pandemic, we faced the challenge of having to cancel many of our planned events and pivot to alternative formats to continue engaging the public. We began creating educational content on our social media, such as our Ask A Scientist series, which helped us greatly increase our following on all of our social media platforms. We also successfully shifted to offering virtual programs, including our popular Birdy Hour Speaker Series. We hosted talks by a variety of speakers, including SFBBO scientists, agency scientists, university professors and graduate students, and community scientists and birders, and we partnered with several organizations, including Bioblitz.club, Mote Marine Lab, and Latino Outdoors. The virtual format allowed us to reach an international audience and make the content accessible to even more people by posting recordings online.
For youth, we shifted our Family Science activities to a virtual format, partnering with libraries to help kids connect with nature and learn about avian science at home. We also partnered with Marshmallow Minds to pilot a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) and design thinking curriculum for elementary school students. These lessons taught kids about various aspects of bird biology and conservation issues, challenging them to collaborate with each other and design solutions through interactive hands-on activities. We successfully scaled up one of our lesson plans to serve 4th-6th students at Title I schools, focusing on the topic of migratory birds and the threats they face.
For the community, SFBBO scientists gave talks for other organizations such as the Lindsay Wildlife Experience, the Napa County Resource Conservation District, Bay Area Older Adults, Peninsula Open Space Trust, and more. Our staff also participated in panels, including one focused on women in science and another on outdoor experiences by LatinX scientists and naturalists. We participated in virtual versions of community events, including the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo, Bay Area Science Festival, and Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society’s Wildlife & Harvest Festival, and we contributed to an updated version of the Birding the Bay Trail brochure with Bay Metro and a new virtual tour of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Alviso with Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society.
We also shifted to offering virtual versions of our popular bird identification workshops with Alvaro Jaramillo. Thanks to the generosity of donors, we offered 15 scholarships for students from underrepresented groups to attend for free as part of our commitment to racial justice.
In the fall, we held our Annual California Fall Challenge (CFC) virtually for the first time and, thanks to the generosity of our community, we surpassed our CFC fundraising goal. We also held Volunteer Appreciation Party virtually in the spring and enjoyed a fun game of bird and SFBBO trivia, and held our Annual Meeting virtually and welcomed guest speaker SFBBO Biologist Jessica Gonzalez, who share her experience as a pursuing a career in science.
Finally, we ended the year with a holiday craft workshop to make felt birds and a fun trivia challenge! These outreach and education programs were possible thanks to generous donors and grants from the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Cargill, and Applied Materials. Thanks to their support, we were able to reach ~5,000 people!
We started off 2020 with a Family Science Event at Milpitas Library and a field trip to Coyote Hills Regional Park to look for ducks. With the onset of the pandemic, we faced the challenge of having to cancel many of our planned events and pivot to alternative formats to continue engaging the public. We began creating educational content on our social media, such as our Ask A Scientist series, which helped us greatly increase our following on all of our social media platforms. We also successfully shifted to offering virtual programs, including our popular Birdy Hour Speaker Series. We hosted talks by a variety of speakers, including SFBBO scientists, agency scientists, university professors and graduate students, and community scientists and birders, and we partnered with several organizations, including Bioblitz.club, Mote Marine Lab, and Latino Outdoors. The virtual format allowed us to reach an international audience and make the content accessible to even more people by posting recordings online.
For youth, we shifted our Family Science activities to a virtual format, partnering with libraries to help kids connect with nature and learn about avian science at home. We also partnered with Marshmallow Minds to pilot a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) and design thinking curriculum for elementary school students. These lessons taught kids about various aspects of bird biology and conservation issues, challenging them to collaborate with each other and design solutions through interactive hands-on activities. We successfully scaled up one of our lesson plans to serve 4th-6th students at Title I schools, focusing on the topic of migratory birds and the threats they face.
For the community, SFBBO scientists gave talks for other organizations such as the Lindsay Wildlife Experience, the Napa County Resource Conservation District, Bay Area Older Adults, Peninsula Open Space Trust, and more. Our staff also participated in panels, including one focused on women in science and another on outdoor experiences by LatinX scientists and naturalists. We participated in virtual versions of community events, including the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo, Bay Area Science Festival, and Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society’s Wildlife & Harvest Festival, and we contributed to an updated version of the Birding the Bay Trail brochure with Bay Metro and a new virtual tour of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Alviso with Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society.
We also shifted to offering virtual versions of our popular bird identification workshops with Alvaro Jaramillo. Thanks to the generosity of donors, we offered 15 scholarships for students from underrepresented groups to attend for free as part of our commitment to racial justice.
In the fall, we held our Annual California Fall Challenge (CFC) virtually for the first time and, thanks to the generosity of our community, we surpassed our CFC fundraising goal. We also held Volunteer Appreciation Party virtually in the spring and enjoyed a fun game of bird and SFBBO trivia, and held our Annual Meeting virtually and welcomed guest speaker SFBBO Biologist Jessica Gonzalez, who share her experience as a pursuing a career in science.
Finally, we ended the year with a holiday craft workshop to make felt birds and a fun trivia challenge! These outreach and education programs were possible thanks to generous donors and grants from the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Cargill, and Applied Materials. Thanks to their support, we were able to reach ~5,000 people!
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2020 Board of Directors
Board Chair - Marty Michael Board Vice Chair - Christine Zack Board Secretary - Lynne Trulio Board Treasurer - Cristina Siegel Board Member - Jan Hintermeister Board Member - Barbara Coll Board Member - Nathan Goodman Board Member - Kiana Said Board Member - Anastasia Neddersen Board Member - Hrishi Arria Board Member - Stephanie Oxley |
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Above photo by Ricky Pan