We gathered in the darkness of 5:00am at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Like last year, we were treated to a wonderful flight of Swainson’s Thrushes migrating and calling in the dark sky above us. We were able to hear a Northern Saw-Whet Owl and several Great Horned Owls right from the parking lot, so those three species marked the beginning of our list!
Science Tags: bird-a-thon
Team Ornicycles Thanks You
What an epic day! We covered over 28? miles on our mountain bikes and identified 98 different bird species in their natural habitat in and around Bolinas Lagoon, California. What were the highlights and lowlights? I could recount how amazing it was to share the bird-by-bike stoke with our new team members, Aidan and Amy, or how we were thwarted by the afternoon fog from reaching our goal of 100 species, or how we nearly collapsed by climbing two massive ridges in pursuit transcendent descents.
Science News: Guiding Renewable Energy, Celebrating Climate Legislation, and much more
Biden Signs Landmark Climate Bill On August 16th, 2022 President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. Although it’s not perfect, it is the biggest, most important piece of federal climate legislation to date. It encompasses clear and actionable policy to drive the needed investment to decarbonize our economy emissions. Importantly, the bill clearly prioritizes
Looking Back at How Good We Looked
We had a great group of Lookers looking their best in West Marin. A couple members of the team (Diana Humple and Renee Cormier) couldn’t join us in person because they were responding to the oil spill in Southern California, but they were with us in spirit and broaches (thanks Renee!). The team consisted of Maia Nguyen, Kevin Garcia, Wren Leader, Mike Mahoney, Mark Dettling, Megan Elrod, Kristy Dybala, Hilary Allen (and Brynn), Dennis Jongsomjit, and Lishka Arata, all of which are current or former Palo interns. We started birding at 4:08pm on October 10 at the bluffs above Agate Beach in Bolinas scanning the ocean for the birds of the near shore (cormorants, pelicans, gulls, murres). Within 20 minutes we had seen most of the expected species, so headed out on a walk around the nearby neighborhood.
Congratulations and Highlights from the 2021 Bird-A-Thon
Congratulations and thank you to all who participated in the 43rd annual Rich Stallcup Bird-A-Thon from September 15–October 15, 2021. Your efforts helped raise over $65,000 to benefit Point Blue Conservation Science! Over 24 teams and 99 counters spent time connecting with nature in unique and creative ways, whether remotely from varied geographic locations, individually,
Faculty Flock Photos & Bird List
Here are some pictures from the Faculty Flock’s Bird-A-Thon outing on October 14th at the Loch Lomond Marina. Also our list of sightings. A beautiful day shared with great friends! Best wishes, Patti Vance Our Bird List: Mallard Greater Scaup Surf Scoter Bufflehead Common Goldeneye California Quail Rock Pigeon Anna’s Hummingbird American Coot Black
123 Species: A Birding Breakers to the Bay by Bicycle
There was a solid gray overcast sky on the morning of October 15. I had hardly moved from my car in the parking lot above Tomales Bay State Park. It was very quiet, not a coyote howl, nor a wood rat scurrying, certainly not a Great Horned Owl hooting. It was not a good start to my Point Blue Conservation Science Birdathon.
Mola Mola Madness! Bird-A-Thon 2021
Written by Meredith Elliott, Senior Scientist Just as the Mola mola is not like other fish, this Bird-A-Thon was not like other Bird-A-Thons. In some ways, it was much like previous years. As I headed to the Marin Headlands Visitor Center, a text came in from Laura to let us know she was going to
East Bay Oystercatchers 2021
Team participants: Maya Hayden, Meredith Elliot, Julian Wood, Mani Oliva, Allison Ford and Abby Ogden. We decided to keep the team small due to continuing health concerns from the pandemic. Our team focused on the birds of the East Bay. We were hoping to exceed our count of 90 in our inaugural year last year,
Boarderline Birders 2021
by Josh Dieterich, Chief Development Officer After some hemming and hawing about the rain in the forecast, the Boarderline Birders went ahead with their count on Sunday September 19. Our perseverance was rewarded with a magically crisp late summer day in west Marin, just perfect for exploring a variety of bird habitat and wrapping up
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