Wingbeat Blog

​On March 28th this year, I co-authored and signed a petition for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list Wilson’s Phalaropes as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The petition was coordinated and submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity (read their press release here). 

This work is a culmination of two decades of waterbird surveys biologists at the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory have conducted in San Francisco Bay, including five years of focused summer phalarope surveys carried out with the help of our dedicated team of volunteer community scientists. In the 1980s, during days of peak migration San Francisco Bay had around 40,000 Wilson’s Phalaropes foraging on salt ponds here in order to gain enough fat reserves to continue their migration to wintering grounds to South America.

This is the first of a series of blog posts by Dorian recounting his six-day Circa Bay Ride around the San Francisco Bay to raise awarenes about the health benefits of birding and raise money for SFBBO’s 2024 Spring Appeal. During the first day of his ride, he led bird walks at Coyote Point in San Mateo and the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve. 

Let’s state this up front – biking in crappy weather is not fun. And I speak from experience because I outlasted a lot of it during my 18,000-mile, transcontinental odyssey (aka “Biking for Birds’) in 2014!

​Last month, I  returned from a trip to Argentina, where I met with scientists at the International Phalarope Working Group Meeting at Laguna Mar Chaquita, the main wintering ground for Wilson’s Phalaropes, where I had the chance to visit and survey for these interesting birds.

​At the bilingual meeting, phalarope researchers from across North and South America shared results from the past …

​I’m not a birder. My wife of nearly 57 years, Jan, is the family Sibley master. While I may not keep a life list, I’ve really enjoyed our many opportunities to appreciate birds and watch their behavior. Most recently, our annual trip to the Central Valley, once again, gave us the joy of watching the mating dance of a pair of Sandhill Cranes and up-close looks at a lovely pair of Hooded Mergansers and many other waterfowl.

​One thing I love about the Bay Area is how easy it is to find beautiful places to walk. It’s fantastic that you can be in the middle of Silicon Valley and arrive so quickly at a woodland trail, a levee on the bay, or an open meadow dotted with oaks.
 
Some of my favorite spots are the Sierra Azul and El Sereno Open Space Preserves in Los Gatos; Calero County Park in San Jose; and the Fremont Older ​Open Space Preserve in Cupertino.

Each year, SFBBO hosts a Kids Bird Art Contest where we invite children ages 3-17 to spend time outside, observe birds in nature, and record their observations in the form of art and writing. With our renewed mission statement, we wanted participants to help promote a sustainable future for birds. We asked kids to create artwork reflecting a memorable experience they have had with birds in nature, do research about the threats birds face, and write about how people can help birds…

For 20 years, SFBBO has surveyed the Western Snowy Plover, a federally listed species that usually lives on beaches but has found a home on the dry salt pond beds along our Bay. Because of it’s protected status, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has set goals to restore plover numbers throughout the region. In addition, the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, a 50-year effort to return half of the Bay’s salt ponds back to tidal marsh, has also established goals to increase plover numbers in the Bay Area. SFBBO is a part of a range-wide effort to study and help these birds by improving their habitat and banding and re-sighting them to learn where they go. As part of our 2023 California Fall Challenge (CFC), for the next four …

“How do you tell the story of the bird?” That was the biggest takeaway I had from Sebastian Kennerknecht’s photography workshops.

I first got bitten by the photography bug after taking a freshman introductory seminar in conservation photography with Stanford’s Professor Sue McConnell. I’d spent years taking questionable iPhone photos of birds through my binoculars, and I’d originally gone into the class thinking I’d leave with the skills to take better photos with my dad’s old DSLR (a Nikon D60, which I still love.) I left with a completely new understanding of how photography could be used to touch people’s hearts and inspire them to take part in conservation efforts…

​My inspiration and love of nature started with visiting Yosemite Valley – the pulverized scenery, astounding cliffs, and majestic waterfalls. Undoubtedly what has always enhanced my experience in the parks is the chirping and singing of birds and the vibrant array of colors they bring to life. “My First Summer in the Sierras” by John Muir infused in me immense love for nature and a strong desire to protect wilderness. The works of John Muir and George Bird Grinnell inspired me to start volunteering and supporting various conservation efforts both in National Parks and our local Bay Area parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

​I started participating in trail watch programs at Vasona Lake and Los Gatos Creek county parks a couple of years back. I’ve been fascinated and hugely rewarded by encountering the diversity of wildlife along the