Thursday, May 4, 2023
8:30 to 11:30 AM
Birding with Sande and Bob Chilvers 

All participants are welcome to join this trip. No registration required. 

Beginning birders are especially welcome on the first Thursday of each month for a leisurely walk around the Las Gallinas ponds. Join our friendly leaders as we search for waterfowl, waders, songbirds, raptors, and shorebirds. Bird enthusiasts of all levels help each other to find and identify the birds, and there are usually several experienced birders to assist. You don’t even have to arrive on time because we spend the first 30 – 60 minutes studying the birds around the first pond and the group is easy to find. 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 an outhouse in the parking area for public use. 

Saturday, May 6, 2023
8:30 AM to mid afternoon
Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin
Register HERE for this field trip

Registration for this trip is required. Registration opens April 26 at 8:00 AM.

Join Jim and Bob for a field trip to the gentle slopes of Mount Burdell where we’ll listen to and observe the impressive variety of songbirds that make this area their springtime home. Species we might see include Lark Sparrow, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Bullock’s Oriole, Lazuli Bunting and Grasshopper Sparrow, among may other possibilities. In the afternoon, we plan to continue birding at Stafford Lake or Rush Creek.

This will be a moderate hike with many opportunities to look at birds and spring wildflowers. Wear comfortable walking shoes and layered clothing. Bring water and snacks. We will meet at the end of San Andreas Drive in Novato.

DIRECTIONS: Take Hwy 101 to Novato, exit at the San Marin Dr/Atherton Ave exit. At the end of the exit ramp, turn left (west) on San Marin Dr. Go approximately two miles and turn right on San Andreas Dr. Drive nearly to the end of the road and park on the street. No restrooms available.

Saturday, May 13th
8 AM to 12 PM
Birding With Josiah Clark
Register HERE for this Field Trip 

Registration is required for this trip. Registration opens May 3^rd at 8:00 AM. 

The Presidio, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area since 1972, provides an excellent case study for the human and wildlife interface in San Francisco. Consulting Ecologist and San Francisco native, Josiah Clark, will share with us both the challenges and opportunities for wildlife and habitat preservation he has observed here. While the area has benefitted from the protection of the National Park Service and increased funding for special restoration projects, there have also been accompanying challenges brought about visitors, dogs, pathogens, and invasive plants that have all become more numerous as visitation to the area has dramatically increased.

We’ll meet Josiah at the Baker Beach Parking Lot, then travel on foot to Logos Valley, Mountain Lake Park, and the Presidio Hills before returning to Baker Beach. We’ll watch for signs of seasonal transitions in the area as wintering birds depart and the breeding season begins. A secondary focus for the trip will be habitat plants, some unique to the Franciscan scrub habitat, that Marin birders may not have seen. Heavy rain cancels.

DIRECTIONS: From Marin take Hwy 101 south to Merchant Rd. (Exit 439, first exit after the bridge) toward 25th Ave. in San Francisco. From Merchant Rd. turn right onto Lincoln Blvd. Next, turn right onto Bowley St. and right again onto Gibson Rd. Park in the Gibson Rd. parking lot. Parking is limited here, so ride with a friend if possible.

June 3rd - 8:30 AM - Mid Afternoon
Birding with Jim White & Bob Battagin
Register HERE for this Field Trip

Registration is required for this trip. Registration for the Bear Valley/Five Brooks trip will be open starting on May 24 at 8:00 AM.

Join Jim and Bob on this trip as part of their yearly series of Marin walks. We will start our day at Bear Valley in search of nesting birds. Next, we’ll travel to Olema Marsh and Whitehouse Pool for a look at some different habitats. Our final stop of the day will be Five Brooks where we have a chance of finding Wood Duck at the retired logging pond. We will also look for birds in the Douglas Fir forest.

DIRECTIONS: From Hwy 101 take Sir Francis Drake Blvd toward Point Reyes for about 20 miles. At Olema turn right onto Hwy 1.
In 600 feet, turn left onto Bear Valley Rd. In approximately 0.5 mile, turn left at the entrance to Point Reyes National Seashore Headquarters at Bear Valley. We will meet at the picnic tables near the parking lot.