Become a Member

Colonial Waterbird Nest Monitoring Research

Quick Links:
How to Become a Volunteer  • Visit the Colonial Waterbird Volunteer Website
​​Since 1982, our biologists and volunteer community scientists have monitored colonial waterbirds in the Bay Area. Beginning in early February and continuing through early August, we track numbers of breeding herons, egrets, terns, gulls and other birds that nest in colonies around the Bay Area.

​These numbers are added to a database that extends for nearly 40 years, allowing us to document colony location population trends. We also monitor the timing of nesting and evidence of disturbance and predation. These colonies are found on preserves as well as urban landscapes, including the Google Complex campus! Jump to the following sections below: Impact of our Work, View Our Data, Colonial Waterbirds in the Media, Get Involved, and Thanks to Our Supporters.

​The Impact of Our Work

Share Data Nationally - We share our long-term data set with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through our partneship with the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. 

Collaborate With Other Projects - We contribute our research findings to other projects, including the "Annotated Atlas and Implications for the Conservation of Heron and Egret Nesting Colonies in the San Francisco Bay Area," a collaboration between SFBBO and Audubon Canyon Ranch. In addition, one of our longterm volunteers founded a nonprofit in san Francisco, San Francisco Nature Education, in 2000 as a result of volunteering in our Colonial Waterbird project and monitoring Great Blue Herons in Golden Gate Park for SFBBO since 1993. 

Inform Conservation Efforts - We share research with Bay Area land managers and organizations such as the Audubon Society to help the public make resource management decisions that protect birds.

Serve Local Universities And Organizations - We share our data with universities and other groups that are doing region-wide research projects to help them understand localized bird population trends.
Picture
Photo by Jacqueline Deely

​​View Our Protocols, Data, and Findings

Click on the links below to view our data and reports. Mini Reports of specific colonies are available upon request, please contact Science Director Nathan Van Schmidt at nvanschidt@sfbbo.org.

Videos
Data and Reports 

​Colonial Waterbirds in the Media

​Get Involved

​Volunteer - Receive training about our field protocols and help our biologists monitor nests around the Bay Area or teach the community about colonial waterbirds by becoming a volunteer. Current volunteers can access trainings, protocols, and other information on our on our colonial waterbird volunteer website.

Donate - Make a positive impact for birds and habitats by giving generously to SFBBO.  Every donation we receive is wisely invested in our mission.

Report - If you like to kayak in Bay Area sloughs, please keep your eye out for colony nesting waterbirds and let SFBBO know if you find one so we can monitor it. Check out our flyer to learn how!​

Learn - Visit a colony near you by joining a "Birds in Your Neighborhood" event. Contact Education and Outreach Specialist Sirena Lao at slao@sfbbo.org to learn more. 

Share - Share our story by covering our work in your publication. Please contact Outreach and Communications Director Kristin Butler at kbutler@sfbbo.org to learn more.

​Thanks to Our Supporters and Volunteers

We could not do this work without the dedication of around 50 community science volunteers each year and the support of our donors who contribute to our annual appeals and membership program to fund staff time to manage the program, analyze our data, and share it with our partners and the public. Check out former Science Director Max Tarjan's thank you message to donors. 
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory ● 524 Valley Way, Milpitas, CA 95035 ● 408-946-6548 ● outreach@sfbbo.org