Burrowing owl flight with dove Photo: Rob Bielefeld This presentation will focus on recent advancements in camera and lens technology. From sensors, to IBIS, to AF, advancements have made at getting great birds-in-flight images easier than ever before. However, with advancements come potential pitfalls. Speaker Rob Bielefeld will discuss both sides of the technological coin: […]

North America’s bird populations have declined by approximately 3 billion birds since 1970 and two-thirds of North America’s bird species now face an even greater risk of extinction due to climate change. Mike Lynes will discuss the threats California birds face from climate change and how Audubon California is working with chapters, allies, and decision-makers […]

Join Peninsula Open Space Trust for a special free online screening of “The Falconer” in honor of the Fall Raptor Migration Season! The event is free but registration is required. Guests who register for the event will receive a viewing link and password to access the film anytime between 7pm Friday, November 5 through midnight on Wednesday, […]

Workshop Dates: Nov 1 & 3, 2021 6:00pm – 8:00pm $100 total per person for both sessions This workshop will be a basis to identify the wintering sparrows in California, with a focus on the Bay Area. We hope to also give you a background to understand a bit about the biology, evolutionary history, migration, […]

Workshop Dates: Nov 1 & 3, 2021 6:00pm – 8:00pm $100 total per person for both sessions This workshop will be a basis to identify the wintering sparrows in California, with a focus on the Bay Area. We hope to also give you a background to understand a bit about the biology, evolutionary history, migration, […]

Once thriving in the East Bay, the Burrowing Owl has been forced to move inland and the consequences for many have been fatal. Conducting long-term research on these colonies, Shawn Smallwood and Doug Bell have observed the rate of mortality for Burrowing Owls living within the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, as wind turbines within […]

Shorebirds flock to the Bay Area in the fall. Many are coming from their breeding sites in the Arctic, others from the prairies. They take advantage of the rich food resources in the Bay to recover from their migration, to molt their feathers, and to prepare for their trip back to their nesting grounds. A […]

Raptors include hawks, falcons, eagles, vultures, and owls. They are efficient hunters, catching a variety of prey from small mammals and birds to snakes and large insects, using razor-sharp talons. Although identification may seem a bit difficult at first, with a little experience it is possible to identify many raptors in flight as well as […]

Featuring Dan Airola Thursday, September 16 — 7 p.m. via Zoom Male Purple Martins in Sacramento, by Lisa Alvarez Purple Martins have been in long-term decline in California due to factors such as habitat loss, competition with the European Starling, disturbance from construction projects,  and declines in their insect food supply due to  neonicotinoid insecticide […]

The Bay Area is rich in varying habitats that are home to many bird species. As the seasons change, some birds arrive, others depart, and some just stay here at home. We’ll talk about many bird species that can be found in our gardens, with some discussion of things one can do to enrich these […]

Speaker: Wendy Dreskin Famous for having the biggest concentrations of large mammals on the planet, Tanzania is also an exciting birding destination.  This presentation will feature birds travelers would be likely to see on a safari to Northern Tanzania in the winter, before migratory birds have left for their breeding grounds, as well as some of […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]