Thursday, November 3, 2022
8:30 AM to noon
Birding with Sande and Bob Chilvers 

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

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. 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. 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. 

Saturday, November 5, 2022
8:30 AM to mid afternoon (3PM)
Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin
Register HERE for this Field Trip

Registration will be open starting on October 27 at 8 AM. There is a limit of 15 participants for this trip. There will not be a waiting list. No drop-ins, please. 

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! Shall we try to identify the duck species by females? I wonder if the Merlin will be back. These oxidation ponds, where a large portion of Marin’s waste water is converted to useful nutrients and clean enough to return safely to the San Francisco Bay ecosystem, demonstrate how we can provide for wildlife and live in harmony with nature.

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. It is remarkable that thru the 2nd World War and the Cold War years the US

Air Force stayed on alert and could launch jet fighter planes in minutes from an airport here to defend the Bay Area. 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 Hangar 7.

Become a chapter supporting member of the Marin Audubon Society starting at $35 a year, or RENEW your membership today! Your membership helps to fund important efforts such as our ongoing habitat restoration projects, the Monarch Rescue Project, and our Northern Spotted Owl Outreach program. We cannot do these important projects, along with our many other efforts, without the support of our dedicated members!