Volunteer to Count Vaux’s Swifts
September begins the fall migration of Vaux’s Swift through Marin County Marin Audubon and the Bay Area Vaux’s Swifts Working Group are expanding efforts to count Vaux’s Swifts and are seeking new volunteers with various abilities to join in the effort through this Workshop. This is part of a wide effort to understand the largely unknown movement and roosting patterns of Vaux Swifts. We invite you to join us for this exciting citizen science opportunity! Volunteers will engage with knowledgeable Vaux’s Swift counters/members of the Working Group who bring years of experience to share with newly-motivated birders. Volunteers will learn about and participate in refining the methods used to count these large congregations of Vaux’s Swifts and plan future counting activities. The Workshop has two parts: - Thursday, September 5th - 7PM - a meeting on Zoom at which you will hear an overview of the conditions at the overnight roost areas, efforts to count the swifts at this local site, and the various ways you can help. Register HERE for this Zoom Workshop Program: Welcome - Barbara Salzman, President Marin Audubon Society MC – Rich Cimino Presenters – Michael Helms, Rusty Scalf - Sunday, September 8 , 6 to 8PM A site visit to the Vaux’s Swift migration roost at Mc Near Brick Yard, San Rafael for on-site experience and guidance from experts. Contact Rich Cimino for more information: via email at or text 925-353-0266
Point Reyes Lighthouse to Drakes Beach – Birding in Marin
Birding In Marin, Series 9 – Trip 9 Saturday, September 7th, 2024 8:30 AM to mid-afternoon Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin Register HERE for this Field Trip Registration is required for this trip. Registration opens August 28 at 8AM. This is the place to be for fall birding. Many migrants like hawks, jaegers, shorebirds and loons follow the coast south. Many songbirds migrate at night and seem to have a compass bearing in mind, momma said “fly 15 degrees east of due south for 4 days.” Millions of recently fledged birds undertake a journey of 2,000-4000 miles, many without further parental guidance and without google. Some get lost. Imagine that you are a dyslexic Connecticut Warbler hatched in early June in the boreal forest of north central Canada. It is your second night flight, but you are flying west instead of east or south. You crossed some mountains so that you are flying sort of high, morning is approaching so you descend thru the clouds and there is nothing but ocean water. A fog shrouded coast was not in your flight plan. You reverse directions, trying to avoid the gulls and jaegers pursuing you, when you see trees in the distance sticking out above the fog. Relief, a place to land, to rest, and to find something to eat. These vagrant warblers and other eastern songbirds are the reasons that the tree islands of the Point Reyes peninsula are so popular with birders. We intend to visit the nearby Fish Docks after the lighthouse then work our way back to Drake’s Beach for lunch and much more birding. Directions: Meet at 8:30 at the Light House parking area. The lighthouse parking area is at the west end of S F Drake. Going north thru Inverness follow Drake to the lighthouse. Allow 30 min from Inverness or 1.5 hour from San Rafael.