Jewel Lake, Tilden Park Thursday, August 31, 7:30 AM - 11 AM Our traditional first field trip of fall - a short walk along Wildcat Creek and around Jewel Lake in Tilden Park. Possible highlights include fall warblers, Red-Breasted and Pygmy Nuthatch, Pacific Wren and maybe a Varied Thrush. This trip is suitable for beginners. […]

This hike is especially for beginning birders! We'll walk through oak woodlands and oak savannah habitats, climbing uphill on a rutted fire road with one steep section. Then we'll walk a single track trail back to the fire road, about 2.5 miles total. We should have excellent views of acorn woodpeckers, likely views of red-tailed […]

Vaux's Swifts migrate south along the Pacific Americas Flyway each fall, and one of their few known stopping points in Northern California is McNear Brick and Block in San Rafael. At sunset on many September and October evenings, as many as 20,000 swifts mass and fly into the decommissioned brickyard chimneys to spend the night. […]

Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands is one of the best spots in the entire US to see raptors during the fall migration! We'll also have stunning views of the Golden Gate, San Francisco, and the Pacific Ocean. We'll meet at the parking lot at Hawk Hill at 10:30am. From there it's a short walk […]

Outer Point Reyes is a wonderful place for fall migrants, many of them Eastern passerine vagrants. You never know who'll turn up...sightings in past years have included Blackburnians and Blackpolls; Chestnut-sided, Connecticut, Black-and-white, Magnolia, Prothonotary, Yellow-throated, and Black-throated Blues...and that's just the warblers. We've also seen Yellow-green, Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireos, Orchard Orioles, Ovenbirds, American […]

Have a bicycle, e-bike or scooter, and like to bird? Join MDAS at Clifton Court Reservoir in eastern Contra Costa County, where we will do an out-and-back biking/birding trip of approximately 10 miles on a flat, paved levee road, to see a myriad of bird species. Those who are equipped for it can also navigate […]

The millions of shorebirds that winter on San Francisco Bay make it a state and global Important Bird Area. It is part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network and is also designated as a Wetland of International Importance under UNESCO’s Ramsar Convention. We’ll start at the viewing platform at Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary, which […]

We see a variety of birds on the water on this trip, that is only about a 55 minute drive from Walnut Creek. It is exciting to be on the largest tract of undisturbed marshland remaining in the San Francisco Bay. Locations include Charleston Slough, Shoreline Lake, Palo Alto Baylands, and Redwood Shores. Hike Rating: […]

** Please note change in trip date ** We'll bird first at Lodi Lake and its riparian area alongside the Mokelumne River. Plan to see waterfowl and many bird species including Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatch, Cedar Waxwing, Herons, Warblers and Wood Duck. (We've had Varied Thrush in the past but cannot guarantee!) From Lodi Lake we'll […]