• Bothin Marsh Preserve – Mill Valley

    Friday, November 21, 2025 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM Birding with Michelle Muir Register HERE for this Field Trip Registration required. Registration opens at 8 AM on November 11 Michelle Muir along with Rich Cimino welcome beginning birders, and bird enthusiasts of all levels, on a walk through the Bothin Marsh Preserve.  Enjoy scenic bay views as we look for early winter waterfowl, shorebirds, songbirds and an occasional raptor.  Some that we hope to see include American Wigeons, Green-winged Teal, Buffleheads, Black-necked Stilts, Greater Yellowlegs, Egrets and a several species of gulls and sandpipers.  This will be a 3 mile relatively flat and easy to navigate walk, primarily on the Mill Valley-Sausalito Multiuse Pathway with a few dirt path detours.  We will meet at the entrance to the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, near the flagpole circle.  Restrooms are available at the Sewage Agency, about 15 minutes into our walk, and at the Community Center at the end of our walk. Heavy rain cancels, with a rescheduled date of Friday, December 5, 2025.  Participants will be notified of cancellation via email by 6:30 am the morning of the walk. Directions: From Hwy 101, take exit 447 toward Blithedale Ave.  Continue on Blithedale for about .7 miles and turn left at Camino Alto to the Mill Valley Community Center.

  • Rodeo Lagoon and Marin Headlands

    Wednesday, November 26, 2025 7:30/8:15 AM to noon **Please note below start times for this field trip Birding with William Legge and David Wiechers REGISTER HERE Registration is required for this trip. Registration opens on Sunday, November 16 at 8 AM. Join William and David for this fifth fall migration field trip at Rodeo Lagoon. This is their long-time “patch,” which never seems to disappoint birders with daily variations in species and a good chance of an unusual sighting. On this trip, our group will be targeting scarcer passerines and other mid-fall migrants. We will begin the morning with a Sea Watch from Rodeo Beach at 7:30 AM. Those arriving later may join us at 8:15 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 light. Proceed through the tunnel on Bunker Rd to the Rodeo Lagoon Parking Lot at the end. Meet by the bridge over the channel to the beach or join MAS birders with scopes along the nearby beach area.

  • The Ponds at the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District (LGVSD) – San Rafael

    Thursday, December 4, 2025 8:30 AM to noon Birding with Mark Clark Registration is not required. All participants are welcome to join this trip. On this trip we especially welcome beginning birders to join Mark Clark, along with bird enthusiasts of all levels, on our monthly 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. There is a portable restroom in the parking area for public use. 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.

  • Bahia, Horseshoe Pond and Rush Creek

    Birding in Marin, Season 10 – Trip 12 Saturday, December 6, 2025 8:30 AM to mid afternoon Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin Register HERE for this field trip Registration is required and opens November 26 at 8 AM MAS acquired and restored to tidal action the diked bay lands around the residential Bahia neighborhood. As the ebbing tide exposes the mudflats thousands of shorebirds now descend to feed, while on the flood tide hundreds of ducks and some gulls float, forage and loaf about. The oak-wooded ridge stretching from Hwy 101 to Bahia, also saved from development by MAS, holds Oak Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatch, Hutton’s Vireo, at least four woodpecker species and many sparrows in the winter. Horseshoe Pond (Homeowners Lagoon) at the southeast end of Topaz is a great place to look for wintering ducks. Goldeneyes, Scaup, Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, and Mergansers seem to like it and it has been Marin’s best place for Barrow’s Goldeneyes the last few years. After lunch we plan to look at the nearby Rush Creek area from the Airport Rd which parallels Hwy 101 north of Atherton. DIRECTIONS: From 101 in north Novato take Atherton Avenue east, take the Y left onto Bugeia which becomes Bahia Drive, near the end at the bottom of the hill take a right onto Topaz, follow Topaz to its end and park.

  • Corte Madera Marsh Ecological Reserve

    Corte Madera Marsh Ecological Reserve Sunday, December 7, 2025 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM Birding with Lisa Hug Register HERE Registration is required. Registration opens November 26 at 8 AM. This field trip is an eBird workshop for those participating in the Christmas Bird Count in Southern Marin County.  We will walk the Corte Madera Marsh Ecological Reserve starting at the Marin Audubon Society site Lookout. The walk is level and easy. We will be making observations using eBird. We will see waterfowl and shorebirds in the estuary as well as upland suburban residents.  Experienced birders and Christmas Bird Count Leaders as well as eBird newbies can enjoy counting and compiling together in an informal and fun setting. Directions: From 101 North, take Lucky Drive Exit to Wornum, turn left on Tamal Vista Blvd and left on Madera Blvd. Go under freeway and take a left on Redwood Highway and turn right into the Trader Joe’s /World Market mall.  Stay to the right and park behind World Market. From 101 South take the Corte Madera exit left over the freeway on Tamalpais Dr. Take a left on Redwood Blvd. and Right into the World Market Mall, staying right and parking behind. Meet in the parking lot.

  • Elephant Seals at Point Reyes: 45 Years and Still Growing Strong

    Thursday, December 11 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM Speaker: Dr. Sarah Allen Event is free. Register HERE for this speaker series. Topic: Elephant seals were hunted to extinction at Point Reyes over 150 years ago, but in 1980, the colony recolonized the Point and gradually spread throughout the peninsula. Younger colonies may exhibit novel behaviors such as male altruism and adaptations to changes in climate. Marine protected areas such as national seashores and marine sanctuaries are critical to the recovery and persistence of species and ecosystems. Speaker Bio: Sarah Allen grew up in Marin County where she learned and has a passion for conservation. Sarah received her M.S. and Ph.D. studying marine birds and mammals from UC Berkeley and retired after 26 years as an employee of the National Park Service (NPS), 15 years of which were at Point Reyes National Seashore and then as Science Program Lead for the Pacific Region. She previously worked for 15 years with Point Reyes Bird Observatory. She has authored and co-authored publications, including the UC Press, Marine Mammals of the Pacific Coast: Baja, California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia. Sarah lives with her husband in Inverness, California.

  • The Ponds at the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District (LGVSD) – San Rafael

    Thursday, January 1, 2026 8:30 AM to noon Birding with Mark Clark Registration is not required. 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 walk around the ponds at Las Gallinas. On our search we’ll be looking for waterfowl, waders, songbirds and raptors. 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 restroon in the parking area for public use.

  • Skaggs Island Road

    Friday, January 16, 2026 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM Birding with Daniel Edelstein Register HERE for this Field Trip Registration required. Registration opens January 6 at 8 AM. Skaggs Island Road; flat, level hiking on road for no more than 1.5 miles; lunch at bridge (~.6 mile from the parking area at Highway 37.) 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). 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 Road and 2 miles east of the Highway 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. Please be careful turning into this road when coming from Marin County. Oncoming traffic is often heavy. Here’s a map link that shows where we’ll meet: https://www.google.com/maps/search/Skaggs+Island+Road,+Highway+37/@38.1563398,-122.3935838,14z Daniel is a freelance Birding Guide (WarblerWatch.com) and Consulting Avian Biologist. His web site (WarblerWatch.com) features abundant birding information, in addition to his 17-year-old warbler-centric blog (WarblerWatch.blogspot.com).