Sparrows are one of the most widespread bird species across North America—but the Song Sparrows of the San Francisco Bay aren’t just any ordinary backyard bird. These birds are the only Song Sparrows equipped to survive in the harsh, inhospitable environment of the salt marsh. Each arm of the Bay is home to a different […]

Our Sonoma County birds are real-life phoenixes, with many of them enduring one wildfire after another and adapting to a changed landscape each year. How does smoke and flame affect bird populations? What happens in a bird rescue center after a wildfire? Which species thrive after a burn? Join us to hear behind-the-scenes stories of […]

Hummingbirds amaze and intrigue us. Their high-speed enigmatic lifestyles are a blur; their startling colors and exotic behaviors are delights. Hummingbirds also inspire us—they are like tiny ambassadors with the power to usher people into a deeper interest in and appreciation for the natural world. Author John Shewey taps into the intrigue in this program […]

Presented by Eric Schroeder Eric Schroeder will take you on a tour of this amazing island, home to 308 species of birds, 108 of which are endemic. Endemism isn’t limited to individual species but, remarkably, extends to the family level; Madagascar has six endemic avian families: the mesites, the asities, the vangas, the tetras, the […]

Join San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory as wildlife and conservation photographer Sebastian Kennerknecht discusses the basics of bird photography, including settings, composition, equipment, how to get close to your subject, ethics, and his mental approach when photographing birds. Sebastian Kennerknecht is a wildlife and conservation photographer with over fourteen years of experience visually covering wildlife and […]

Only male birds sing, right? Wrong! In fact, this widespread notion has a lot more to do with human cultural and geographic biases than it has to do with nature. In this talk, Nathan Pieplow explores the often-overlooked songs of female birds. You’ll hear the pair duets of meadowlarks and blackbirds, the musical songs of […]

Alvaro Jaramillo of Alvaro’s Adventures returns to share more about our local raptor population, living at the Wavecrest Open Space. Wavecrest is the single most important site on the San Mateo Coast for wintering raptors, which can be seen hunting in the property’s broad fields. Raptors and other species rely on its expansive grasslands, wetland […]

Instructors: Whitney Grover And Keith Maley 7 sessions on: Mondays and Sundays Birds are living their fascinating lives all around us even in this second most densely populated city in the U.S. Join Golden Gate Audubon Society to learn about bird identification, behavior, migration, habitat, song and more, and increase your appreciation for nature here […]

Instructor: Eddie Bartley Fall shorebirding in the San Francisco Bay Area is world class. By mid-August, hundreds of thousands of “wind birds” have winged their way from their northern breeding grounds to the globally significant San Francisco Bay – a key portion of the WESTERN HEMISPHERE SHOREBIRD RESERVE NETWORK . Shorebirds by Bob Lewis In three two-hour Zoom […]

Featuring Bob Lewis Thursday, August 19 – 7 p.m. Eastern Crested Berrypecker, a New Guinea endemic, by Bob Lewis Islands play a key role in both the evolution of new avian species and the extinction of others. Because of their isolation, birds that arrive on islands evolve separately from their parent group and eventually become […]

Learn about local birds and their stories through a presentation and accompanying photography all provided by guest speaker Judy Kramer. Join Judy Kramer and the Environmental Volunteers to learn about the stories of local birds, told through their photographs in “Every Bird Has a Story”. Explore their fascinating lives and behaviors; with a focus on […]

Sleuthing into the secret lives of wood ducks – new research reveals a complex underworld of a unique California bird. Please join Dr. John Eadie, Dennis G. Raveling Professor in Waterfowl Biology at UC Davis to hear about the natural history, ecology, and conservation of this interesting and beautiful local bird! This lecture will be […]

This summer, somewhere in Canada, a Blackpoll Warbler will hatch, fledge, and grow to young adulthood. Come August, this half-ounce bird will fly 3,000 miles to the Maritime provinces and then out over the Atlantic Ocean to catch a northwest tail wind that will take it south to around Bermuda. A northeast trade wind will […]

Snowy Plover Conservation in the Bay Area: Successes and Challenges in a Shifting Landscape The Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) is a federally threatened, ground-nesting shorebird species that breeds, roosts, and forages along the Pacific Coast from Southern Washington down to the tip of Baja California. While their typical habitat across the range is […]

Instructor: Clay Anderson 10 sessions on Thursdays and Saturdays Venue: Zoom and field trips to Lake Merritt Come celebrate nature on Lake Merritt. Our nature journal class spans the myriad issues surrounding Lake Merritt’s natural world and the practice of nature journaling. Come share your love of journaling and commune with others  of like mind. This year-round […]