Habitat restoration can work! Join us on Thursday May 17th to learn about a success story in the Carman Valley, near Yuba Pass. Jim Steele, former director of the Sierra Nevada Field Campus, will share secrets of the restoration of six wet meadows that are critical bird habitat. He’ll also provide  insights on the upslope movements of Orange-crowned Warblers and the changing habitat use of Black-headed Grosbeaks in the Carmen Valley area.

Refreshments at 7 pm, speaker at 7:30 in San Francisco.

Free for GGAS members, $5 nonmembers.

Golden Gate Audubon is holding its 2012 election to select new members for the Board of Directors. This year we offer the option of voting online by clicking:

GGAS Election Ballot 2012

In addition to online voting, you can also mail in the paper ballot in the May’June issue of The Gull, or vote in person at the Birdathon dinner on May 10, the Speaker Series event in San Francisco on May 17, or at our Annual Meeting/Speaker Series on June 21 in Berkeley. You must be a member in good standing of GGAS in order to vote. Ballots must be received by June 30, 2012.

The new edition of The Gull newsletter for May-June 2012 is now available online, with updates on efforts to protect the colony of endangered California Least Terns in Alameda; the Birdathon dinner on May 10; the Volunteer Picnic on June 23; plus upcoming field trips, classes, speakers and opportunities for volunteering amnd travel.

Click here to read it in color:  May-June 2012 Gull.

We’re excited to announce our weeklong Wildlife Discoverers summer day camp! Kids from 7 through 12 are invited to join in a week of Bay Area wildlife exploration filled with fun and games. Led by our award-winning Eco-Education staff, they’ll learn to identify local birds, animals and plants; collect marine life like plankton and crabs; explore beautiful local parks; build animal kites and puppets; make art, sing songs and more.

Wildlife Discoverers camp will run from July 9 through July 13. Hours are 9 am to 4 pm, but extended care is available.

Sites include MLK Jr. Shoreline Park, Wildcat Canyon, Point Pinole Shoreline, and Lake Merritt (all in the East Bay).

Cost is $225. Space is limited to fifteen participants and may fill up fast. Sign up early!

For more information, contact ggaseducation@gmail.com or (510) 508-1388.

Two weeks into Birdathon, our annual fundraiser during the month of April, and the birding reports are flowing in… The team at Lake Del Valle spotted 77 species in four hours including BALD EAGLES on a nest. The Hayward Harriers team saw 91 species in four hours, while the Oakland Ospreys spotted 98.

The Hayward Harriers Birdathon team in action

It’s not too late to join a guided Birdathon trip or form a team of your own! See the Birdathon web site.

Or submit/vote in our monthlong Facebook Birdathon photo contest. It’s open to any photos of Bay Area birds taken during the month of April.

Finally… don’t forget to sign up for the Birdathon celebration dinner on May 10th.

Special features this year include guest speaker Tom Stienstra, the Chronicle’s award-winning outdoor columnist, and an exhibit and silent auction of the amazing bird sculptures of Aimee Baldwin.

You can sign up on the Birdathon web site or call (510) 843-7293.

GGAS’ Eco-Education staff and their students at Verde Elementary School helped lead a community creek clean-up for Earth Day in North Richmond — and were featured in the S.F. Chronicle.

You can read the article here.

Our first-ever Birdathon Photo Contest is up and running on Facebook — and will continue throughout the month of April!

Bird lovers (or photography lovers): Vote for your favorite photos! You can vote once each week during April.

See our Photo Contest page on Facebook to submit photos, view photos and vote.

The four winners (one each week) will receive a Golden Gate Audubon baseball cap, an 11×14 color print of their winning photo from Ritz Camera in Rockridge, a $50 Snapfish gift certificate, and recognition at our Birdathon award dinner on May 10th.

Questions? Email Ilana at GGAS.  Or for information on guided bird walks, team competitions and other fun Birdathon events during April, see the Birdathon web site at http://birdathon.dojiggy.com.

And… mark your calendar for the Birdathon Celebration Dinner in Tilden Park on May 10th. We’re excited to announce  Chronicle outdoors columnist Tom Stienstra as the guest speaker, along with a special exhibit/auction of the amazing bird sculptures of Aimee Baldwin.

(Above photo by Mike Baird)

An 18-year-long conflict over a key Alameda breeding site for California Least Terns is close to a positive solution — now we need your help to ensure that this plan becomes a reality!

Background: The former naval base on the island of Alameda is home to one of the most important breeding colonies of endangered California Least Terns. 

Over the past decade, the future of the colony has been threatened by plans to build a Veterans Administration medical complex at Alameda Point.

Learn more about local birds and see them at local parks.  Golden Gate Audubon Docents will be out in the field in March.

Lake Merritt Docents in Oakland – in partnership with SF Nature Education:

March 17 from 10am-12noon

March 31 from 10am-12noon

Birding the Bay Trail Docents in Richmond

March 16 from 8:30am-10:30am at Vincent Park (Cancelled due to heavy rain)

March 20 from 1pm-3pm at Meeker Slough

March 24 from 3pm-5pm at Vincent Park

(Photo on home page of Black-crowned Night Heron by Eddie Bartley)

Egret and heron nesting season has arrived, and Golden Gate Audubon members are invited to serve as volunteer hosts at Audubon Canyon Ranch! The Ranch, established at Stinson Beach in 1962 with the help of GGAS, is one of the largest heron and egret rookeries on the West Coast.

The Ranch will open for the season on March 18, allowing visitors to watch the nesting activity. Golden Gate Audubon volunteer hosts are needed to support this program by signing up for a shift from 9:15 am to 4:14 pm including a break for lunch. No training necessary! The dates for the 2012 Public Season assigned to Golden Gate Audubon are:

• Sunday March 18 (opening weekend)
• Sunday April 8 (Easter)
• Saturday May 5 & Sunday May 6
• Saturday May 26 & Sunday May 27 (Memorial Day weekend)
• Saturday June 16 & Sunday June 17 (Father’s Day)
• Sunday July 15 (Last day of Public Season)

Please email Anna Marie Bratton at Audubon Canyon Ranch for details or to sign up.