Winter Birds of the Delta - Boat Trip
2026-02-08 08:30 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Sunday, February 8, 2026
8:40 AM to 4:00 PM
Birding with David Wimpfheimer
Register HERE for the Boat Trip
Registration for this trip opens January 6 at 8 AM.
The trip costs $130. Limit of 25 participants for this trip.
This popular 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 9 AM
As we head east, we enter sloughs and waterways with views out over the flooded agricultural fields that provide a refuge for flocks of geese, ducks, swans and shorebirds that nest in the north but winter here. Well known birder and naturalist David Wimpfheimer will provide commentary and captain Ronn Patterson will fill in bits about the history of the delta.
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate is provided, bring lunch and snacks. As bad weather can cancel as with any winter trip, there is an inclement weather date set for February 22. Light rain will not cancel.
Waitlist: A waitlist will open if the trip sells out. Add your name to the list by clicking Contact Organizer prompt.
Cancellation: If you cancel your registration before February 1 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 tax-deductible donation to MAS.
Directions: Approximately one week prior to the trip, ticketholders will receive instructions and directions to the Antioch Marina, where the trip begins and ends.

Phalaropes in the Big City: Can Human Habitats Help Save the Birds of America's Saline Lakes?
2026-02-12 19:00 - 21:00
Phalaropes in the Big City: Can Human Habitats Help Save the Birds of America’s Saline Lakes?
Thursday, February 12
7:00-9:00 PM
Speaker: Nathan Van Schmidt
Event is free. Register HERE for this speaker series.
Topic:
Wilson’s Phalaropes and Red-necked Phalaropes are exceptionally unique shorebirds that specialize in hypersaline habitats. Nathan will discuss the challenges facing phalaropes within the San Francisco Bay and across their intercontinental migration. He will discuss monitoring data within the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, how saline lakes like California’s Mono Lake have declined under the pressure of unstainable water withdrawal and climate change and key research questions and next steps that the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) plans to address these conservation science needs.
Speaker Bio:
Nathan Van Schmidt is the Director of Regional Strategies at SFBBO. He obtained his B.S. from University of Wisconsin – Madison and his Ph.D. at U.C. Berkeley. He currently leads monitoring and research on non-breeding waterbird guilds, colonial waterbird breeding activity, waterbird disease and abatement research, and is the Lead Author of the Central Coast Regional Report for California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment.
Photo Credit: Don Dvorak

Hamilton Wetlands - Novato
2026-02-20 08:30 - 12:00
Friday, February 20, 2026
8:30 AM to noon
Birding with David Sexton and Matt Keller
No registration required. All participants are welcome to join this trip.
Birders of all experience levels are welcome to join us for an exciting morning at Hamilton Wetlands with Point Blue Conservation Science! Spotting scopes and binoculars will be available. We recommend bringing your own pair of binoculars, water, sun protection, layers of clothing, and comfortable walking shoes. We will be on a wide, flat compacted dirt/gravel levee. 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.

Rodeo Lagoon - Marin Headlands
2026-02-25 07:30 - 12:00
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
7:30/8:00 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, February 15 at 8 AM.
Limit of 15 participants for this trip.
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.
