2021 Annual Report
This year we celebrated our 40th Anniversary and 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 and Tern 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 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 2021 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 39 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 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 2021 team, led by Science Directors Max Tarjan and Gabbie Burns, surveyed a total of 45 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 49 community scientists that contributed 670 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. In 2021, during all day walk-through surveys from May 10 to May 16, biologists and community scientists surveyed ten colony locations in Palo Alto, Alviso, Hayward, and Fremont. They documented 45,294 nesting California Gulls in the South Bay and re-sighted 67 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 2021, 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 tens of thousands of 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 2021, Waterbird Director Gabbie Burns, as well as biologists Parker Kaye, Angela Petrice, Dan Wenny, Katie LaBarbera, Lori Liu, Cole Jower, Josh Scullen and Kaili Hovind surveyed over 20,000 acres of managed ponds in the South Bay and 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 2021 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 14,840 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 2021 pointed to the effectiveness of the multi-approach abatement. In 2021, 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 2021, 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 four sick gulls and brought them to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley where they were rehabilitated and released.
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 39 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 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 2021 team, led by Science Directors Max Tarjan and Gabbie Burns, surveyed a total of 45 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 49 community scientists that contributed 670 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. In 2021, during all day walk-through surveys from May 10 to May 16, biologists and community scientists surveyed ten colony locations in Palo Alto, Alviso, Hayward, and Fremont. They documented 45,294 nesting California Gulls in the South Bay and re-sighted 67 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 2021, 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 tens of thousands of 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 2021, Waterbird Director Gabbie Burns, as well as biologists Parker Kaye, Angela Petrice, Dan Wenny, Katie LaBarbera, Lori Liu, Cole Jower, Josh Scullen and Kaili Hovind surveyed over 20,000 acres of managed ponds in the South Bay and 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 2021 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 14,840 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 2021 pointed to the effectiveness of the multi-approach abatement. In 2021, 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 2021, 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 four sick gulls and brought them to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley where they were rehabilitated and released.
SNOWY PLOVER AND LEAST TERN PROGRAM
In 2021 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. For the second year in a row we conducted some Snowy Plover work at Sand City on the Monterey Bay, and we also expanded our work up to the North Bay at the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area. We even helped “discover” and monitor a new California Least Tern colony at San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge! The team was led by Plover and Tern Program Director Ben Pearl, and included Biologists Anqi Chen, Josh Scullen, Parker Kaye, Dan Wenny, Jessica Gonzalez, and Cole Jower.
For the fifth 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 into the second year of 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, including 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 six 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 birds.
Through these programs, in 2021 our team monitored 207 Snowy Plover nests in the South Bay and found an additional 39 nests at the brood stage. Pond E14 at Eden Landing Ecological Reserve was again the most critical Snowy Plover breeding site, supporting over 16% of all known nests in the South 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 263 plover adults across the entire Bay Area during the breeding window survey. Our biologists banded an SFBBO record 149 plover chicks, finding an apparent fledging rate of 31%. We were able to band 43% of all chicks known to have hatched and believe that this data provides a relatively accurate depiction of chick survival, indicating that additional habitat enhancements are needed to improve survival. We monitored a total of 56 Least Tern nests at Eden Landing, and determined that only one chick that hatched from these nests survived to fledge, indicating that this species is also in need of continued support! Down in Sand City, Monterey County, we monitored five Snowy Plover nests and estimated that 1-3 chicks that hatched from these nests survived to fledge. This work was funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Environmental Law Project, California Wildlife Foundation, Alameda County Fish and Game Commission, Santa Clara County Fish and Game Commission, Sonoma County Fish and Game Commission, Ducks Unlimited, Cargill Inc., and our SFFBO donors.
For the fifth 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 into the second year of 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, including 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 six 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 birds.
Through these programs, in 2021 our team monitored 207 Snowy Plover nests in the South Bay and found an additional 39 nests at the brood stage. Pond E14 at Eden Landing Ecological Reserve was again the most critical Snowy Plover breeding site, supporting over 16% of all known nests in the South 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 263 plover adults across the entire Bay Area during the breeding window survey. Our biologists banded an SFBBO record 149 plover chicks, finding an apparent fledging rate of 31%. We were able to band 43% of all chicks known to have hatched and believe that this data provides a relatively accurate depiction of chick survival, indicating that additional habitat enhancements are needed to improve survival. We monitored a total of 56 Least Tern nests at Eden Landing, and determined that only one chick that hatched from these nests survived to fledge, indicating that this species is also in need of continued support! Down in Sand City, Monterey County, we monitored five Snowy Plover nests and estimated that 1-3 chicks that hatched from these nests survived to fledge. This work was funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Environmental Law Project, California Wildlife Foundation, Alameda County Fish and Game Commission, Santa Clara County Fish and Game Commission, Sonoma County Fish and Game Commission, Ducks Unlimited, Cargill Inc., and our SFFBO donors.
LANDBIRD PROGRAM
Coyote Creek Field Station
For 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. Forty-one community science volunteers spent 3,444 hours throughout the year collecting 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 2021, this program was led by Landbird Program Science Director Katie LaBarbera and Senior Biologist Dan Wenny, with substantial contributions from Waterbird Program Director Gabbie Burns, Senior Biologist Josh Scullen, and Biologist Julian Tattoni. This year we captured 3,144 birds of 63 species. Our most-captured species in 2021 was the Song Sparrow. This research was funded by SFBBO donors.
The banding program was involved in several projects in addition to data collection. We shared CCFS with ecologists around the world through a “virtual field trip” presentation at the 2021 conference of the Ecological Society of America. Our NSF-funded collaborative network, Student Opportunities in Avian Research (SOAR), continued to develop innovative ways to incorporate avian field science into undergraduate education, and submitted a grant to NSF to fund the implementation of these ideas. We hosted two Mission College summer interns as they studied the impacts of precipitation on birds; collaborated with Santa Clara University to support students doing research on Empidonax flycatchers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, habitat management, and habitat edge effects; and contributed genetic samples to the Bird Genoscape Project.
Motus Radiotelemetry Project
SFBBO’s first Motus (a Latin word meaning movement) radiotelemetry receiving tower was put up at Coyote Creek Field Station, where it will detect any wildlife in the area that are carrying small Motus-compatible transmitter tags. This is the first step in our project to set up three towers in the South Bay (joining a fourth tower at Eden Landing Ecological Refuge) and contribute to the growing network of Motus receivers on the Pacific Flyway. These receivers will enable us and other researchers to track migration and habitat use for a wide variety of birds.
Joseph D. Grant County Park Post-fire Surveys
In 2020, the SCU Lightning fire burned 3,700 acres in Grant Park. To study how birds respond to fires, in spring and summer 2021 we performed the first of what we intend to be an annual survey covering both burned and unburned areas in the park. This project was funded by Santa Clara County Parks and involved staff as well as community scientists. We documented a total of 57 species, with burned habitat supporting fewer species than unburned habitat on average.
Google Campus Bird Surveys
In 2021 we repeated our survey of the bird community on Google campus and in surrounding neighborhoods. This project, managed by the San Francisco Estuary Institute, aims to evaluate how landscaping on Google campus can support bird and pollinator communities.
American Badger and Burrowing Owl Habitat Assessment
In 2019, SFBBO partnered with Pathways for Wildlife on a project funded by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District examining badger and burrowing owl occurrence and habitat use in Midpen preserves in the Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. We compiled occurrence records from the past 20 years and combined that with habitat and landscape maps to predict areas with suitable habitat. Starting in the fall of 2019 and continuing through 2021 we conducted transect surveys for badgers and owls and collected badger hair and fecal samples to study the genetic structure of the population.
For 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. Forty-one community science volunteers spent 3,444 hours throughout the year collecting 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 2021, this program was led by Landbird Program Science Director Katie LaBarbera and Senior Biologist Dan Wenny, with substantial contributions from Waterbird Program Director Gabbie Burns, Senior Biologist Josh Scullen, and Biologist Julian Tattoni. This year we captured 3,144 birds of 63 species. Our most-captured species in 2021 was the Song Sparrow. This research was funded by SFBBO donors.
The banding program was involved in several projects in addition to data collection. We shared CCFS with ecologists around the world through a “virtual field trip” presentation at the 2021 conference of the Ecological Society of America. Our NSF-funded collaborative network, Student Opportunities in Avian Research (SOAR), continued to develop innovative ways to incorporate avian field science into undergraduate education, and submitted a grant to NSF to fund the implementation of these ideas. We hosted two Mission College summer interns as they studied the impacts of precipitation on birds; collaborated with Santa Clara University to support students doing research on Empidonax flycatchers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, habitat management, and habitat edge effects; and contributed genetic samples to the Bird Genoscape Project.
Motus Radiotelemetry Project
SFBBO’s first Motus (a Latin word meaning movement) radiotelemetry receiving tower was put up at Coyote Creek Field Station, where it will detect any wildlife in the area that are carrying small Motus-compatible transmitter tags. This is the first step in our project to set up three towers in the South Bay (joining a fourth tower at Eden Landing Ecological Refuge) and contribute to the growing network of Motus receivers on the Pacific Flyway. These receivers will enable us and other researchers to track migration and habitat use for a wide variety of birds.
Joseph D. Grant County Park Post-fire Surveys
In 2020, the SCU Lightning fire burned 3,700 acres in Grant Park. To study how birds respond to fires, in spring and summer 2021 we performed the first of what we intend to be an annual survey covering both burned and unburned areas in the park. This project was funded by Santa Clara County Parks and involved staff as well as community scientists. We documented a total of 57 species, with burned habitat supporting fewer species than unburned habitat on average.
Google Campus Bird Surveys
In 2021 we repeated our survey of the bird community on Google campus and in surrounding neighborhoods. This project, managed by the San Francisco Estuary Institute, aims to evaluate how landscaping on Google campus can support bird and pollinator communities.
American Badger and Burrowing Owl Habitat Assessment
In 2019, SFBBO partnered with Pathways for Wildlife on a project funded by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District examining badger and burrowing owl occurrence and habitat use in Midpen preserves in the Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. We compiled occurrence records from the past 20 years and combined that with habitat and landscape maps to predict areas with suitable habitat. Starting in the fall of 2019 and continuing through 2021 we conducted transect surveys for badgers and owls and collected badger hair and fecal samples to study the genetic structure of the population.
HABITATS PROGRAM
The habitats of the San Francisco Bay and its estuaries are of global importance for dozens of migratory bird species, representing millions of individuals, in addition to many resident species that rely on this ecosystem 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 tidal marsh plains and the higher elevation uplands - which provide refuge for sensitive and endangered species during high tides. The SFBBO Habitats Program aims to restore native plant communities to upland-transition habitats by:
In 2021 we continued restoring upland-transition habitats in the Alviso ponds along Pond A16 and Pond A11, Inner Bair Island in Redwood City, and started a new project at Alviso Marina County Park.
At Inner Bair we continued reintroducing native plants and removing 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. We installed 823 plants in 2021 with plans for hundreds more in early 2022. Overall, we have observed the plant communities in each phase transition from being dominated by weedy, non-native plants to a native plant dominant landscape, 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 Pond A11 we designed seven concentrated planting areas to introduce native transition zone species to the levee slopes. In the fall of 2021 we heavily mulched the planting areas and in the winter we started the process of installing about 1000 native plants across the sites. We continued to monitor our previous work at Pond A17 while providing supplemental water to plants installed in 2020 which were being affected by drought conditions. In addition, we selected 3 new areas of levee bordering Artesian Slough, in the vicinity of Pond A16, mulched those areas, and began installing over 1000 native plants.
Our new project at Alviso Marina County Park aims to enhance the landscape around the park’s entrance with native transition zone species. The field work for this project will be done almost entirely by volunteers who will help us mulch, apply seed, and install over 900 plants during the first season of the project. By the end of 2021 we had already mulched and seeded the site and installed 549 plants with the help of 221 volunteer hours.
Both our Inner Bair Island and A11/A16/A17 restoration projects are collaborations with the US Fish and Wildlife Service Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 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. Our project at Alviso Marina is funded through a partnership with Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation. This work was led by Habitats Program Directors Cole Jower and Eric Lunch and Ecologists Matt Hinshaw, Kaili Hovind, and Yeimi Cifuentes.
Along the margins of these tidal marshes existed what we call the upland ecotones or upland-transition zones - habitats situated between the tidal marsh plains and the higher elevation uplands - which provide refuge for sensitive and endangered species during high tides. The SFBBO Habitats Program aims to restore native plant communities to 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.
In 2021 we continued restoring upland-transition habitats in the Alviso ponds along Pond A16 and Pond A11, Inner Bair Island in Redwood City, and started a new project at Alviso Marina County Park.
At Inner Bair we continued reintroducing native plants and removing 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. We installed 823 plants in 2021 with plans for hundreds more in early 2022. Overall, we have observed the plant communities in each phase transition from being dominated by weedy, non-native plants to a native plant dominant landscape, 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 Pond A11 we designed seven concentrated planting areas to introduce native transition zone species to the levee slopes. In the fall of 2021 we heavily mulched the planting areas and in the winter we started the process of installing about 1000 native plants across the sites. We continued to monitor our previous work at Pond A17 while providing supplemental water to plants installed in 2020 which were being affected by drought conditions. In addition, we selected 3 new areas of levee bordering Artesian Slough, in the vicinity of Pond A16, mulched those areas, and began installing over 1000 native plants.
Our new project at Alviso Marina County Park aims to enhance the landscape around the park’s entrance with native transition zone species. The field work for this project will be done almost entirely by volunteers who will help us mulch, apply seed, and install over 900 plants during the first season of the project. By the end of 2021 we had already mulched and seeded the site and installed 549 plants with the help of 221 volunteer hours.
Both our Inner Bair Island and A11/A16/A17 restoration projects are collaborations with the US Fish and Wildlife Service Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 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. Our project at Alviso Marina is funded through a partnership with Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation. This work was led by Habitats Program Directors Cole Jower and Eric Lunch and Ecologists Matt Hinshaw, Kaili Hovind, and Yeimi Cifuentes.
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 appreciation for birds, the issues they face, and ways people can help.
In 2021, we continued our popular Birdy Hour Speaker Series over Zoom, hosting over 20 talks throughout the year freely accessible to the public. These talks featured a diversity of speakers, including university professors and postdocs, PhD students, SFBBO staff and volunteers, community college students, youth birders, and nonprofit partners such as Wild Care Cape Cod, NorCal Bats, Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, and Golden Gate Audubon Society. These events welcomed over 1600 attendees, and the talks continue to be accessible to even more people through recordings posted on our YouTube channel.
We also continued our popular workshops over Zoom. We hosted five bird identification workshops with renowned ornithologist Alvaro Jaramillo and one bird photography workshop with professional wildlife photographer Sebastian Kennerknecht. Thanks to the generosity of workshop attendees and donors, we awarded 26 scholarships to students from underrepresented groups to attend these workshops for free.
We participated in educational programs hosted by a number of other organizations as well, including Peninsula Open Space Trust, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, the UC Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society. We also partnered with the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of Latino Outdoors to host a special Halloween program about spiders.
For youth, we continued to put on virtual Family Science activities and presentations for schools and libraries to help kids connect with nature and learn about avian science at home. We also partnered with Marshmallow Minds to continue a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) and design thinking curriculum. These lessons taught kids about the wonders of bird migration and the threats these birds face, focusing on the issue of bird collisions with human-built structures. Using a hands-on STEAM kit, the students learned to design solutions to help reduce this threat to birds. These lessons were delivered to a wide diversity of students, including those attending Title I schools that serve low-income families and to the Boys & Girls Club of Silicon Valley. In the fall, we were able to welcome back students to Coyote Creek Field Station for bird banding demonstrations, learning about why scientists band birds and what we can learn from this process. We also brought back our annual Kids Bird Art Contest. In the spirit of SFBBO’s 40th anniversary, we asked kids ages 3-17 to recall a memorable experience with birds and create a drawing with a written story about that experience. Through these programs, we engaged over 500 kids this year.
These outreach and education programs were possible thanks to generous SFBBO donors in the community and grants from Cargill and the Applied Materials Foundation. Thanks to their support, we were able to reach about 5000 people. This work was led by Outreach and Communications Specialist Sirena Lao.
In 2021, we continued our popular Birdy Hour Speaker Series over Zoom, hosting over 20 talks throughout the year freely accessible to the public. These talks featured a diversity of speakers, including university professors and postdocs, PhD students, SFBBO staff and volunteers, community college students, youth birders, and nonprofit partners such as Wild Care Cape Cod, NorCal Bats, Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, and Golden Gate Audubon Society. These events welcomed over 1600 attendees, and the talks continue to be accessible to even more people through recordings posted on our YouTube channel.
We also continued our popular workshops over Zoom. We hosted five bird identification workshops with renowned ornithologist Alvaro Jaramillo and one bird photography workshop with professional wildlife photographer Sebastian Kennerknecht. Thanks to the generosity of workshop attendees and donors, we awarded 26 scholarships to students from underrepresented groups to attend these workshops for free.
We participated in educational programs hosted by a number of other organizations as well, including Peninsula Open Space Trust, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, the UC Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society. We also partnered with the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of Latino Outdoors to host a special Halloween program about spiders.
For youth, we continued to put on virtual Family Science activities and presentations for schools and libraries to help kids connect with nature and learn about avian science at home. We also partnered with Marshmallow Minds to continue a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) and design thinking curriculum. These lessons taught kids about the wonders of bird migration and the threats these birds face, focusing on the issue of bird collisions with human-built structures. Using a hands-on STEAM kit, the students learned to design solutions to help reduce this threat to birds. These lessons were delivered to a wide diversity of students, including those attending Title I schools that serve low-income families and to the Boys & Girls Club of Silicon Valley. In the fall, we were able to welcome back students to Coyote Creek Field Station for bird banding demonstrations, learning about why scientists band birds and what we can learn from this process. We also brought back our annual Kids Bird Art Contest. In the spirit of SFBBO’s 40th anniversary, we asked kids ages 3-17 to recall a memorable experience with birds and create a drawing with a written story about that experience. Through these programs, we engaged over 500 kids this year.
These outreach and education programs were possible thanks to generous SFBBO donors in the community and grants from Cargill and the Applied Materials Foundation. Thanks to their support, we were able to reach about 5000 people. This work was led by Outreach and Communications Specialist Sirena Lao.
2021 Board of Directors
Board Chair - Marty Michael
Board Vice Chair - Christine Zack
Board Secretary - Debbie Wong
Board Treasurer - Cristina Siegel
Board Member - Hrishi Arria
Board Member - Deanna de Castro
Board Member - Karan Gathani
Board Member - Anastasia Neddersen
Board Member - Stephanie Oxley
Board Member - Bruce Paton
Board Member - Kiana Said
Board Member - Sheri Scheldorf
Board Member - Shubha Tuljapukar
Board Chair - Marty Michael
Board Vice Chair - Christine Zack
Board Secretary - Debbie Wong
Board Treasurer - Cristina Siegel
Board Member - Hrishi Arria
Board Member - Deanna de Castro
Board Member - Karan Gathani
Board Member - Anastasia Neddersen
Board Member - Stephanie Oxley
Board Member - Bruce Paton
Board Member - Kiana Said
Board Member - Sheri Scheldorf
Board Member - Shubha Tuljapukar
Above photo by Ricky Pan