Marin Audubon Society Fall Open House
Saturday, October 14, 2023 from 10:00 AM until noon
The event will take place at our Corte Madera wetland habitat next to the Corte Madera Marsh Ecological Reserve. We have a special event planned to highlight the history of the site, restoration work to date, and ongoing stewardship to support bird and wildlife habitat. Join us for the entire event or for whatever amount of time you can. This event is free for all ages and no RSVP is necessary.
BRING YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS, ALL ARE WELCOME !!
- Location: Entrance to the wetland habitat is at the east end of Industrial Way in Larkspur, but there is very limited parking at the site.
- Parking: Parking is available in the parking lot behind the World Market Plaza Shopping Center at 2020 Redwood Highway. Access the parking lot by taking the road to the right of World Market. From the lot, take the packed dirt trail to the east, turn left on the main levee trail a short distance to the wetland habitat. There is also parking in the main shopping center parking lot.
- Bring: We recommend layers and a hat for cool or warm conditions, and binoculars for bird spotting.
- Website: Check the website for information updates the week before the event, www.marinaudubon.org.
Rodeo Lagoon – Marin Headlands
Wednesday, October 18th
7:30 AM to 12 PM
Birding with William Legge and David Wiechers
Register HERE for this Field Trip
Registration required for this trip. Registration opens October 8 at 8AM.
With large numbers of birds moving through the area this time of year, it’s sure to be an interesting outing with unusual sightings a definite possibility. We’ll start with a 30-40 minute visible migration and sea watch from Rodeo Beach hoping for Parasitic Jaegers as well as other passing goodies before undertaking an extended circuit of Rodeo Lagoon in the search for scarce migrants including early winter wildfowl, shorebirds and fall passerines. More than 60 species should be possible at this time of year. The morning will begin with a sea watch at 7:30 AM.
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 tun- nel with the five-minute 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.
The Ponds at Las Gallinas Sanitary District – San Rafael
Thursday November 2, 2023
8:30 AM to noon
Birding with Sande and Bob Chilvers
No registration required. All participants are welcome to join this trip.
Join old friends and meet new ones as we resume our regularly scheduled walks on the first Thursday of the month at Las Gallinas. Special thanks to Bob and Sande Chilvers for volunteering once again to lead our monthly walks in search of waterfowl, waders, songbirds, raptors, and shorebirds. Among other birds, we will see various species of rails, swallows and teals. With fall migration underway, we are likely to spot some interesting species, so come assist in our search.
We welcome bird enthusiasts of all levels, especially beginning birders on this leisurely walk around the ponds We all 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 our group is easy to find.
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 or you can use the bathrooms at nearby McInnis Park.
Las Gallinas and Hamilton Wetlands
Birding in Marin, Season 8 – Trip 11
Saturday, November 4, 2023
8:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin
Register HERE for this Field Trip
Registration will be open starting on October 25 at 8 AM.
Join Jim and Bob on an easy, birdy walk of 1.5 miles around the Las Gallinas ponds where we are likely to see 10 species of ducks, five of herons, five of raptors, five of sparrows and some rails like Ridgway’s, Sora, and Virginia with Gallinules, coots, swans and geese!
After lunch we are going to visit the Hamilton Wetlands, restored by the Army Corp. of Engineers in the recent 5–10 years to the SF Bay ecosystem, which have become the winter home of some ten thousand birds.We will try to find 10 species of shorebirds here while staying alert to many other possibilities.
DIRECTIONS: From 101 north San Rafael take the Lucas Valley/Smith Ranch Road exit east. In about 0.5 miles, immediately after crossing the RR tracks, left turn and follow the road another 0.5 mile to the Las Gallinas parking at the end.
To the Hamilton Wetlands return to 101 North, take the second exit, Nave Drive toward Hamilton. Stay on Nave Dr, heading north, to Main Gate Dr and turn right. Go east to Hanger Ave and park along the levee behind Hanger 7.
My Favorite Birds of the Sierra Nevada
Thursday November 9, 2023
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Speaker: Rich Cimino
Register HERE for this Speaker Series
Topic:
Rich will be discussing and showcasing his favorite birds from the Sierra Nevada. He will share with us where he has photographed certain species and illustrate population distributions with maps. He will be discussing their various habitat requirements and conservation concerns.
Among other birds, Rich will be showing the Flammulated Owl, Clark’s Nutcracker, American Dipper, Nashville Warbler and Black Swift.
Speaker Bio:
Rich Cimino lives in Larkspur and is an active member of the Marin Audubon Society, where he participates in three Marin Christmas Bird Counts and the Marin County Breeding Bird Atlas. He has been birding Northern California for 55 years, leading Bay Area Audubon and Marin Audubon field trips. He is also active in conservation groups in Northern California, emphasizing preservation of habitat.
Photos: Summer Tanager
Photo by: Beverly Meekins, USFWS
Next Speaker - Thursday, December 14
Controlling Invasive Spartina and Protecting SF Bay Marsh Habitats, by the California Invasive Plant Council
Winter Birds of the Bay – Boat Trip
Saturday, November 11, 2023
9 AM to 4 PM
Trip Leader: Roger Harris
Register HERE for this Field Trip
The trip costs $130. Ticket sales begin on Oct 10 at 8AM. If the trip is sold out, a waitlist will open. Click the “contact organizer” prompt on the Ticketbud page and send a contact phone number. You may cancel your ticket for a refund, up to 48 hours before the time of the event. Please note that a $7.51 fee will be deducted to cover the transaction cost.
San Francisco Bay, the largest and one of the most important estuaries along the Pacific Flyway, is right in our own backyard. Join us as we cruise from Berkeley toward the Golden Gate Bridge and north into San Pablo Bay, hugging the shorelines and waters that are home to thousands of wintering birds. We will pass by 10 islands, under two bridges, and up two creeks in four counties in search of migrating and resident waterfowl, shorebirds and marine mammals. This trip offers water bird and marine mammal viewing in stunning locations, many of which can only be seen by boat.
Dress in layers. Bring liquids and lunch. Please bring a mask for any time spent inside the cabin.
Registered participants will receive directions to the Berkeley Marina and other instructions prior to the trip.
Inclement weather will reschedule the trip to the next Saturday, November 18.
Rodeo Lagoon – Marin Headlands
Wednesday, November 15 2023
7:30 AM to noon
Birding with William Legge and David Wiechers
Register HERE for this Field Trip
Registration required for this trip. Registration opens November 5 at 8AM.
With large numbers of birds moving through the area this time of year, it’s sure to be an interesting outing with unusual sightings a definite possibility. We’ll start with a 30-40 minute visible migration and sea watch from Rodeo Beach hoping for grebes, loons, passing wildfowl and gulls before undertaking an extended circuit of Rodeo Lagoon in the search for scarce migrants including early winter wildfowl, shorebirds and fall passerines. More than 60 species should be possible at this time of year. The morning will begin with a sea watch at 7:30 AM. This 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 tun- nel with the five-minute 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.
Bahia and Rush Creek
Birding in Marin, Season 8 – Trip 12
Saturday, December 2, 2023
8:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin
Register HERE for this Field Trip
Registration is required for this trip. Registration opens November 23 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 shore- birds 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.
The Ponds at Las Gallinas Sanitary District – San Rafael
Thursday December 7th, 2023
8:30 AM to noon
Birding with Sande and Bob Chilvers
No registration required. All participants are welcome to join this trip.
Join old friends and meet new ones as we resume our regularly scheduled walks on the first Thursday of the month at Las Gallinas. Special thanks to Bob and Sande Chilvers for volunteering once again to lead our monthly walks in search of waterfowl, waders, songbirds, raptors, and shorebirds. Among other birds, we will see various species of rails, swallows and teals. With fall migration underway, we are likely to spot some interesting species, so come assist in our search.
We welcome bird enthusiasts of all levels, especially beginning birders on this leisurely walk around the ponds We all 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 our group is easy to find.
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 or you can use the bathrooms at nearby McInnis Park.
Loch Lomond Marina – San Rafael
Saturday, December 9, 2023
8:30 AM to 11:00 AM
Birding with Rich Cimino
No registration required. All participants are welcome to join this trip.
Join Rich for an easy stroll around the Loch Lomond Marina breakwater, wheelchair accessible with a paved path out to the end. The path provides panoramic views of the surrounding bay and gives you the feeling of actually being out on the bay in close proximity to the Marin Islands.
Winter birds here include Black-bellied Plover, Black Turnstone, Least and Western Sandpipers, Black Oystercatcher, and a variety of ducks on the bay. If you have a scope, bring it for a better look at the ducks.
DIRECTIONS: Head east on Second Street in San Rafael, which turns into Point San Pedro Road. Continue approximately 2 miles past the Montecito Shopping Center to a red light at the intersection of Point San Pedro Road and Loch Lomond Drive. Turn right here, then turn left in front of Andy’s Market where the road comes to a “T” at the water- front. Continue all the way to the end of the road where you will find ample parking and a public restroom. Meet in the parking lot next to Andy’s Market, 75 Loch Lomond Dr. Come early for coffee and chat.
Dress warmly as some winter days here are cold and windy. Heavy rain cancels.
Protecting Biodiversity and Facilitating Landscape-scale Tidal Marsh Restoration: Management of Invasive Spartina in the San Francisco Estuary
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 7:00 pm - 9 pm
Speaker: Jen McBroom, California Invasive Plant Council
Register HERE for this Speaker Series Program
Topic:
San Francisco Bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of North America and a critical stopover along the Pacific Flyway migration route for millions of shorebirds and waterfowl. Rimming the Bay between freeways, airports, and landfills remain precious tidal wetlands and opportunities to return salt evaporator ponds to functioning ecosystems. Since 2005, the Coastal Conservancy’s Invasive Spartina Project has used airboats, genetic testing, sophisticated GIS, and a lot of hard, muddy work to push back the invasive plants that threaten habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl, and the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse. Learn about how hometown heroes are doing their part to address the global biodiversity crisis.
Speaker Bio:
Jen McBroom is a biologist at Olofson Environmental Inc. and has been counting Ridgway’s rails for the Invasive Spartina Project since 2005. She got her start in the tidal wetlands of the San Francisco Bay studying song sparrows and marsh wrens after finishing her degree at UC Davis. Since then, she has logged many hours in muddy boots mapping invasive plants and observing the wildlife at the edge of the Bay.
Photo: Marsh along San Leandro Bay
Photo by: Simon Gunner
Next Speaker - Thursday, January 11, 2024
Northern Spotted Owls, by Taylor Ellis, National Park Service
Point Reyes Christmas Bird Count
Point Reyes CBC covering West Marin including Tomales Bay and the Point Reyes National Seashore. Register HERE and to get more information on the count and dinner.
The Ponds at Las Gallinas Sanitary District – San Rafael
Thursday, January 4, 2023
8:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Birding with Sande and Bob Chilvers
No registration required. All participants are welcome to join this trip.
Join old friends and meet new ones on our regularly scheduled walks on the first Thursday of the month at Las Gallinas. We welcome bird enthusiasts of all levels, especially beginning birders, on this leisurely walk around the ponds. Special thanks to Bob and Sande Chilvers for volunteering once again to lead our monthly walks in search of waterfowl, waders, songbirds, raptors, and shorebirds. Among other birds, we will see various species of rails, swallows and teals.
Stinson – Bolinas Birding Area
Birding in Marin Season 9-Trip 1
Saturday, January 6, 2024
8:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin
Register HERE for this Field Trip
Registration opens on December 27, 2023 at 8 AM
A healthy happy New Year to you all. Bob and I are pleased to share the bird rich Stinson Beach/ Bolinas birding area with you. Coupled with non freezing winter weather and many diverse habitats the CBC, Southern Marin Christmas Bird Counts, show this to be most specie rich, birdiest, area in Southern Marin county. These habitats include the ocean, beaches, rocky shores, a large lagoon with acres of mudflats, Douglas Fir and Redwood forests, Alder riparian, parking lots, residential and more. The CBC data show an average of over 125 specie winter in this area. Plus, many of these birds, like ducks, gulls and shorebirds, are rather easy to see as they float about on the water or walk along the open shores. Can we find 100 species today?
Northern Spotted Owls
Thursday, January 11, 2024
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Speaker: Taylor Ellis, U.S. National Park Service
Register HERE for this Speaker Series
Topic:
Taylor will discuss Marin’s unique spotted owl population, which is geographically and genetically distinct from other northern spotted owl populations to our north. Northern spotted owls are considered an indicator species of healthy forests and were federally listed as a threatened subspecies in the 1990s and have been monitored closely by the National Park Service and Point Blue since then. Taylor will discuss the main threats to Marin’s spotted owls, including the threat from barrel owls, who have taken over most of the nesting sites for spotted owls to our north. He will also discuss what makes Marin's spotted owl population so unique relative to others.
Speaker Bio:
Taylor Ellis is a wildlife technician at Point Reyes National Seashore, where he implements the northern spotted owl monitoring program as well as monitoring other wildlife species throughout the year. Taylor has been working with spotted owls for 20 breeding seasons since first interning with the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico in 2003. Taylor received his M.S. in Biology from Sonoma State University after studying the indirect impacts of tule elk on small mammal populations at Tomales Point in Point Reyes National Seashore.
Photos: Northern Spotted Owl
Photo by: Taylor Ellis
Next Speaker - Thursday, February 8, 2024
Snowy Plover - by Matthew Lau, National Park Service
Loch Lomond Marina – San Rafael
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Register HERE for this Field Trip
Registration required. Registration opens on January 7 at 8:00 AM.
Join Roger Harris and other Marin Audubon board members for a field trip specifically designed for people interested in getting some of the birding basics down. And there is no place better suited for that than the half-mile-long flat and paved levee path at the Loch Lomond Marina. With panoramic views of the surrounding bay, we should get close-up views of wintering waterbirds including Black Turnstones, diminutive Least Sandpipers, Black Oystercatchers with bubblegum pink legs, Snowy Egrets sporting golden slippers, and a variety of ducks, grebes, gulls, and cormorants. This is a terrific place for photography, if you like, but each participant is requested to bring binoculars.
Olompali State Historic Park – Novato
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
9:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Birding with Rich Cimino
No registration required for this trip. All participants are welcome to join.
Olompali State Park has reopened after a nearly nine-month closure due to mudslide damage. It’s always an exciting time to birdwatch at Olompali State Historic Park! Beginning and experienced birders are invited to join Rich Cimino to bird the park. We will walk the old ranch road to the park’s reservoir. We hope to see a wide variety of species that thrive in the park’s oak savanna and open grasslands.
Meet Rich at 9:15 AM in the parking lot. The field trip will start at 9:30 .
DIRECTIONS: Exit Hwy 101 at Atherton Ave/ San Marin Dr in Novato. Follow the signs to Olompali State Historic Park. A right turn onto the Old Redwood Hwy frontage road will take you to the park. There is an $8 cash only parking fee. Recently, the park gates have been opening by 8:30 AM.
Skagg’s Island Road
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
10 AM - 2 PM
Birding with Daniel Edelstein
Register HERE for this Field Trip
Registration required. Registration opens January 21st at 8AM.
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 Is. Rd. and bird together while walking north on the road.
Please be careful turning into this road when coming from Marin Co. because 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).