Wingbeat Blog

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

Back in the days of the global shelter-in-place, Nani Welsh, a Science Outreach Intern at SFBBO, created a program bringing together the teenage volunteers at the organization. The idea was to foster a community for teens interested in bird science and conservation and provide mentorship and opportunities to work together through research and outreach projects. Nani reached out to us teens directly, inviting us to be a part of this new program. Virtually gathering together nine of SFBBO’s teen volunteers, we became the first members of the Teen Volunteer Program.