Birding in Marin, Season 10 – Trip 1 Saturday, January 4, 2025 8:30 AM to mid afternoon Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin Register HERE for this Field Trip Registration required. Registration opens at 8 AM on December 26 Bob and I are leading our Birding in Marin monthly first Saturday field trips for the tenth season sponsored by the MAS. Please join us as we go birding with a goal of finding and sharing 100 species at two of our prime wintering habitats for ducks, shorebirds, raptors and sparrows. Las Gallinas is a great example of generating wildlife habitat with ample human access. This will be a 2 mile walk over a wide, flat packed dirt walkway with plenty of scope views to share closeups. The Hamilton wetlands have been restored with intelligence, sensitivity, and precision. The birds and wildlife have appreciated this and come back in numbers that we expect to share. The walk is flat over a wide, mostly paved walkway, accessible via a ramp. DIRECTIONS: From Hwy 101 in northern San Rafael take Smith Ranch Road east about a mile, just crossing the tracks turn left and park in 1/2 mile near the east end. Meet at Las Gallinas VSD parking lot.

Friday, January 10, 2025 10 AM to 1:30 PM Birding with Daniel Edelstein Register HERE for this Field Trip Registration required. Registration opens at 8 AM on December 31, 2024 Daniel invites you to discover the joy of a wilderness-like paradise — Skaggs Island Road — that often attracts dozens of shorebird and duck family members, in addition to uncommon, visiting non-breeding raptors such as Rough-legged Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, and Merlin (along with sightings of White-tailed Kite and other raptor species). Skaggs Island Road has flat, level hiking for no more than 1.5 miles; bring your lunch, we’ll eat at the bridge approximately 0.6 mile from the parking area at Hwy 37. DIRECTIONS: Closed to the public, Skaggs Island Road is accessed by meeting our group in the parking area adjacent to Hwy 37 (approximately 3 miles east of Reclamation Rd and 2 miles east of the Hwy 121/Sears Point Raceway intersection (at the stoplight). We’ll meet on the north side of Hwy 37 where it intersects with Skaggs Island Road. Here’s a map link that shows where we’ll meet: https://bit.ly/3YYIJeg. Please be careful turning into this road when coming from Marin County. Oncoming traffic is often heavy.

Birding in Marin, Season 10 – Trip 2 Saturday, February 1, 2025 8:30 AM to mid afternoon Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin Register HERE for this Field Trip Registration required. Registration opens at 8 AM on January 22 We get a fine view of the San Francisco Bay waters from the small park at Harbor Point and the nearby rocky shoreline. Some grebes, loons, gulls, cormorants and a few shorebirds are often visible. We hope for Black Turnstones and a Spotted Sandpiper. We will walk or take the short drive to see if Sausalito’s Yellow Crowned Night Heron has returned for another winter, usually offering a direct comparison to our Black-crowned Night Heron. We then intend to drive the 2 miles to Fort Baker under the West end of the Golden Gate Bridge to see birds in the active bay mouth and the calmer Coast Guard boat harbor. We wonder if the Wandering Tattler will be spending another winter on the breakwater. Bring lunch for a quick break for our final stop at Strawberry Point, a rather new development with a fine public path along the Richardson Bay shore. This portion of San Francisco Bay is protected from boating, hunting and fishing, so many diving ducks spend some of the winter there. If the herring are running this can be an active space. DIRECTIONS: Meet at 8:30 at the bay end of Harbor Drive. From Bridgeway in North Sausalito take Harbor Drive to the ample parking lot at its bay end.

Thursday, February 6, 2025 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM Birding with Mark Clark All participants are welcome to join this trip. We welcome bird enthusiasts of all levels, especially beginning birders, to join leader Mark Clark on our monthly first Thursday walk around the ponds at Las Gallinas.  On our search we’ll be looking for waterfowl, waders, songbirds, raptors and rails. We are likely to spot some interesting species, so come assist in our search. The packed dirt paths around the ponds are wide, flat and easy to navigate. Heavy rain cancels. DIRECTIONS: From Hwy 101, exit at Smith Ranch Rd. Drive east on Smith Ranch Rd. toward McInnis Park. Turn left immediately after crossing the railroad tracks and drive about 0.5 mile through the LGVSD gates and into the parking lot at the end of the road. Meet the group by the bridge just past the parking lot. There is a portable restroom in the parking area for public use.

Saturday, February 15, 2025 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM Birding with Rich Cimino All participants are welcome to join this trip This field trip is a twofer: We will bird the Redwood-San Andreas Marsh, located behind Redwood High School in Larkspur on Lucky Drive, and Piper Park pine forest and athletic field. During low tides, the marsh supports shorebirds and waders, and during high tides, it supports many duck species and waders. We’ll meet at 8:30 AM in the DMV parking lot located at 75 Tamal Vista Boulevard Corte Madera and make a short walk to the marshlands. We’ll move on to Piper Park, which is located off Doherty Road behind the police station. Piper Park has an Oak-Pine ornamental “forest” around its picnic area, which can have Pygmy Nuthatches, Pine Siskins, three species of woodpeckers, and Red-breasted Sapsuckers. The athletic field may have Canada Geese, White-fronted Geese, Cackling Geese, American Pipits, Western Meadow Larks, Western Blue Birds, and Says Phoebe. Piper Park has a restroom. The field trip ends at noon. Those who want to enjoy the picnic grounds, please bring your lunch and drinks. Rain cancels.

Sunday, February 16, 2025 8:40 AM to 4:00 PM Birding with David Wimpfheimer Register HERE for the Boat Trip The trip costs $130. Registration for this trip opens January 19 at 8AM. A waitlist will open if the trip sells out. Add your name to the list by clicking Contact Organizer prompt.  If you cancel your registration one week before the start of the trip and we can fill your spot with someone else on the waitlist, you will be reimbursed unless you would like to convert your registration fee into a donation to MAS. This cruise is a winter highlight for birders and provides a specialized look at the richness and history of the California Delta. After meeting at 8:40 for sign in and instructions, we’ll depart from the Antioch Marina at 9AM. As we head east, we enter sloughs and waterways with views out over the flooded agricultural fields that provide a refuge for flocks that nest in the north but winter here. Along with the flocks of snow geese, white fronted geese and Tundra swans, numerous ducks, shorebirds, and raptors are usually spotted. Well known birder and naturalist David Wimpfheimer will provide commentary and Ronn Patterson (captain and naturalist) will fill in bits about the history of the delta as we transit this altered but still viable ecosystem. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate is provided, bring lunch and snacks. Light rain will not cancel. Ticketholders will receive instructions and directions to the Antioch Marina, where the trip begins and ends, approximately one week prior to the trip.

Birding In Marin, Season 10, Trip 3 Saturday, March 1, 2025 9:00 AM to mid afternoon Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin Register HERE for this Field Trip Registration required. Registration opens at 8AM on February 19, 2025 The Valley Ford Wetlands span the Marin/Sonoma County line less than a mile West of Highway 1 and just a few lies from the mouth of Tomales Bay and the Pacific coast at Dillon Beach. This involves for most of us a drive to the N/W corner of Marin so I’d like to recommend carpooling and delaying our meeting time to 9am. (Three can ride with me from Muir Beach at 8) Wading birds such as the Pacific Golden Plover and White Faced Ibis and many swallows including Bank Swallows have been seen there with more birder coverage in recent years. The rolling grassland pastures southwest the few miles to the coast can harbor many raptors, mostly Red Tails and Kestrels, but Ferruginous even Rough-legged Hawks and Eagles may sometimes be seen. There is a $10 dollar parking fee to visit Dillon beach, but the views and the potential Birds are good. The rocky tip of Marin, often obscured by fog, is just over a mile west, and the south edge of Bodega Bay and the mouth of Tomales Bay exchange a vast amount of water as the tide changes. Bring lunch, dress in layers. Heavy rain cancels Directions: Take Rt 1 north thru Marin or the Valley Ford road west from Petaluma to Valley Ford then from its N/W edge take Valley Ford Estero Rd west a mile where there is ample parking on the road edge and meet on the bridge. For a shorter route from San Rafael and Novato, take 101 north to Railroad Ave, exit 479 work you way west to Valley Ford and make a left on Valley Ford Estero Road, approx. one mile and park on the side of the road, near the bridge.

Thursday, March 6, 2025 8:30 AM to noon Birding with Mark Clark All participants are welcome to join this trip. We welcome bird enthusiasts of all levels, especially beginning birders, to join leader Mark Clark on our monthly first Thursday walk around the ponds at Las Gallinas.  On our search we’ll be looking for waterfowl, waders, songbirds, raptors, rails and swallows. We are likely to spot some interesting species, so come assist in our search. The packed dirt paths around the ponds are wide, flat and easy to navigate. Heavy rain cancels. DIRECTIONS: From Hwy 101, exit at Smith Ranch Rd. Drive east on Smith Ranch Rd. toward McInnis Park. Turn left immediately after crossing the railroad tracks and drive about 0.5 mile through the LGVSD gates and into the parking lot at the end of the road. Meet the group by the bridge just past the parking lot. There is a portable restroom in the parking area for public use.

Friday, March 14, 2025 9 AM to 12 PM Birding with David Sexton and Matt Keller Register HERE for this Field Trip Registration required. Registration opens at 8AM on March 4. Join us for an exciting morning of birding at Hamilton Wetlands with Point Blue Conservation Science! The site is one of the largest wetland restoration projects in the North Bay Area, home to the endangered Ridgway’s Rail. We will search for a dozen shorebird species, including Snowy Plover and Black-necked Stilt, Canvasback and other wintering ducks, herons and egrets, elusive rails, raptors such as White-tailed Kite, and songbirds like wintering Golden-crowned Sparrow. Anyone is welcome to join, from those with no birding experience to the most seasoned birders. Binoculars will be provided if needed. We recommend bringing water, sun protection, layers of clothing, and comfortable walking shoes. Our walk will be on a wide, flat compacted dirt/gravel levee, possibly with some mud. A fully accessible bathroom will be available at the start and end of the event. Directions: meet at Point Blue’s Novato Baylands native plant nursery at 737 Aberdeen Road, Novato, CA From Hwy 101 take exit 458 to merge onto Nave Dr toward Hamilton Field. Turn right onto Hamilton Pkwy. Turn left through an open gate onto Aberdeen Rd, then keep to the right at the fork to proceed to the nursery. From there, we’ll carpool a short distance to the middle of the site.

Wednesday, March 26, 2025 7:30 AM to 12:00 PM **Please note the 7:30 and 8:00 AM start times below Birding with William Legge & David Wiechers Register HERE for this Field Trip Registration is required for this trip. Registration opens on March 16 at 8:00 AM. With early spring migration underway will be looking out for migrant wildfowl, grebes, loons, gulls, and passerines. As usual, the weather will dictate our focus with onshore northwest winds ideal for spring sea watches, while offshore easterly winds promise a good selection of late winter and early summer passerine migrants. Join us for a Sea Watch at 7:30 AM or arrive later at 8:00 AM for a circuit of the lagoon. A brief mid-morning ‘coffee-stop’ is planned at Headlands Center for the Arts and it would be appreciated if participants come willing to contribute via the onsite ‘tip-jar’ as a thank you to the Headlands Center for the Arts for accommodating our group. This field trip is less suitable for beginners. DIRECTIONS: Head south on Hwy 101 and take the last Sausalito exit just before the Golden Gate Bridge. At the exit stop sign, turn right and go under the freeway, then follow the road down to the left. Within 300 feet turn left at the sign to the Marin Headlands; this is the only available left turn before you begin the descent into Sausalito. You should see the tunnel with the five-minute signal light. Proceed through the tunnel on Bunker Road to the Rodeo Lagoon Parking Lot at the end and meet by the bridge over the channel to the beach.