Wingbeat Blog

​When I was very small, one of the first birds I learned to recognize was the “English Sparrow,” as it was then called. Small and brown, unlike the colorful jays and cardinals at our feeders, it was a “downtown bird,” most often seen on sidewalks or in parking lots, especially where there were trash cans. I liked it because it was tame and approachable, and there were many of them, making them easy to recognize. So it was surprising to hear adults refer to it as “that bird,” in terms more pejorative than admiring.

​I was surprised again to learn from Jan Thornhill’s handsome picture book, The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow, …

​For almost 40 years, SFBBO has been deeply rooted in our Bay Area community. We were founded by professors from San Jose State University, are fueled by citizen scientists from cities around the Bay, and are supported by local people who donate goods and money to our cause. During the past few years, Bay Area corporations have become increasingly engaged in our work as volunteers and donors, and this year we plan to grow this engagement through our 2019 Corporate Campaign. 

The Colonial Waterbird Program is one of my favorite research projects at SFBBO. As one of our two longest running avian studies, it has produced a continuous data set that reaches back to the early 1980s. In addition, the project has covered vast geography from Morgan Hill to Alameda, from Pescadero to Livermore, and throughout most of the cities in between. This kind of information is rare and powerful because it tells us an important story about our region’s birds over time and gives us a chance to make decisions … 

Did you participate in the Christmas Bird Count? How many kids were along on your count? Did you count at night or by day, outdoors or from a window? The history of this important event is introduced, in simple picture-book format, in Counting Birds by Heidi Stemple. “Frank Chapman loved birds,” she says, and describes how he worried about the tradition of …

​Greetings from south of the equator! I’m currently teaching bird language in the Amazon jungles of Ecuador. There is such a passion here to protect the rare and endangered birds. I’m grateful to share bird language in Spanish because it connects local families to their natural world without the challenge of identifying the 1638 species of birds that live here! We can just listen and learn.

I grew up with a marine biologist father. So I was always at home poking about in the tide pools, walking in the woods, and …

​With the closing of 2018 also comes the end of another Avian Disease Prevention Program season in the South Bay! This year we collected and removed 10 dead birds of 5 species (American White Pelican, California Gull, Double-crested Cormorant, Mallard, and Canada Goose), 17 dead striped bass, and 1 unknown fish species. In addition, we captured 10 sick or injured birds with 8 California Gulls, 1 Herring Gull, and 1 Mallard. All live birds were taken to the …

Each Saturday morning Raptor Migration programs began with introductions in front of the 158-year-old historic ranchero house at Bernal-Gulnac-Joice Ranch. Avid bird watchers would arrive early and were easily identified with binoculars around their necks. The new additions to raptor observation in the field were still waking up at 9:50 AM on sleepy Saturday mornings as they carefully parked their vehicles in the car lot. Visitors would be greeted by a friendly easy going smile from San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory staff/volunteer Eric Lynch. ​Darting between Eric and the visitors wold be myself …

Cada sábado en la mañana los programas Raptor Migration empezaron con presentaciones en frente de la casa histórica Bernal-Gulnac-Joice Ranch, en el estilo ranchero que tiene 158 años. Observadores ávidos de aves llegarían temprano y los identificamos de sus binoculares colgados en sus cuellos. Los nuevos observadores de aves de rapaz acaban despertarse, son las 9:50 AM de la mañana. Eric Lynch el personal/voluntario de San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, saludó a los visitantes con una sonrisa sin preocupación. Me lanzaba entre ​y los visitantes para completar …

​Growing up, my brothers and I knew better than to expect lots of gifts at Christmas time. Nuts and oranges in our stockings, topped with a peppermint stick; new shoes; and one or two special gifts were about it, except for the handful of small packages that came in the mail from relatives. As little kids, we played with blocks, a doll or two, and Lincoln logs; as we got older, we rode bikes or skated.

Contrast that with today’s closets full of toys. With the gift-giving holidays approaching, how does a distant relative know what to …

I first came to SFBBO in the Fall of 2014 to work as a Salt Pond Intern. I was familiar with waterbirds, but as a recent New England transplant, my only experience had been with east coast species. To say that I had a lot to learn those first couple months would have been an understatement, and not only that but I needed to learn fast as the winter migration of shorebirds & waterfowl would soon be in full swing. But after my first salt pond survey not only was I hooked … ​​I was obsessed! I loved familiarizing myself with the diversity of the pond habitats and their corresponding waterbird niches. As my internship was ending, an opportunity arose for me to join the …