Birding
Information on birding events associated with Ohlone Audubon Society and resources for birding around the Bay Area.
Upcoming OAS Membership Meetings and Field Trips
Other Birding Events
Christmas Bird Count
Bird-A-Thon
Return of the Swallows Festival
Accessible Birding
Birding Resources
2011 Ohlone Audubon CBC's Scheduled!
The Christmas Bird Count is an annual nationwide volunteer-based bird survey effort coordinated by the Audubon Society to promote bird conservation and assess long-term trends in winter bird populations. In the largest citizen science effort in the world, tens of thousands of volunteer birders and scientists armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists will take part in Christmas bird counts throughout the Americas from mid-December through early January. Audubon and other organizations use data collected in this longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations and to help guide conservation actions.
The Ohlone Audubon Society has been completing the Hayward-Fremont CBC since 1967. The count area is very rich in avian diversity from the salt marsh habitats of the Hayward hills, Fremont's wetlands to the south, and all the parks and canyons in between.
In 2009, Rich Cimino and Jeff Miller organized the first ever Eastern Alameda County CBC. The count area is in the vicinity of Sunol, Pleasanton and Livermore, and includes five East Bay Regional Parks, significant San Francisco watershed lands, and birding hotspots such as lower Mines Road, Sunol Wilderness, Del Valle Reservoir, and the Springtown area in Livermore.
Each count day culminates with a festive dinner where final counts are tallied and stories exchanged about rare bird sightings and locations. Local CBC data, sent to the National Audubon Society, are a crucial part of this country's natural history monitoring database provide valuable insight into the past and present status and health of continental bird populations and the general health of our environment. Recent and historical CBC results are available on the National Audubon Society's website.
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Hayward-Fremont CBC - Sunday, December 18th
The 112th National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count is coming soon. Hayward-Fremont's segment will be held Sunday, December 18, with a pre-count meeting Friday, December 2. We anticipate oodles of returning shorebirds plus many resident and winter visiting landbirds and hope for good weather. We'll see what the season brings us this year. Already we hear tales of a returning Long-tailed Duck. From the salt marsh habitats to the Hayward Hills, Fremont's wetlands to the south, and all the parks and canyons between, our area is rich in avian diversity.
There will be a pre-count meeting Friday, December 2, at 7:30 p. m. at the home of co-compilers Pat and Phil Gordon. Everyone is welcome, especially new participants and leaders. The address is 1922 Hillsdale Street, northeast off the upper end of E Street in Hayward. It is not mandatory to attend this meeting in order to participate in the count, but it is fun to meet other birders. Contact us at 510.538.3550 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
The Hayward-Fremont Christmas Bird Count dinner will be held at Starr King Unitarian Universalist Church, 22577 Bayview Avenue, Hayward, CA 94541. Doors will open at 5:30 p. m., dinner will be ready at 6:30 p. m. Please bring utensils, cups, and plates to enjoy a catered meal, courtesy of Ohlone Audubon in recognition of all your hard work. From south Hayward, take Mission Blvd. (SR-238) to Foothill, turn right on B Street and proceed to the top of B Street, taking the right fork which is Kelly Street (look for Vals Burger). Proceed up Kelly Street and take the third left which is Bayview. The church is on the left side of the street. Look for the sign. From I-580 East, take the Crow Canyon/Grove Way exit. Turn right onto Grove Way. Turn left at the next signal, Center Street. Turn left at the next signal, Kelly Street (look for Vals Burgers). Proceed as above. From I-580 West, take the East Castro Valley Blvd. exit, turn left, onto Castro Valley Blvd. Turn left at the next signal, Grove Way, and turn left again at the following signal, Center Street. Go to the next signal and turn left on Kelly Street. Continue per directions above. —PAG
Eastern Alameda County CBC - Friday, December 16th
Join us on Friday, December 16 for the third annual East Alameda County Christmas Bird Count, sponsored by Ohlone Audubon Society and Alameda Creek Alliance. Last year a total of 86 backyard birders and ornithologists braved the rain to participate in the second annual Count. The volunteers spent the day canvassing a 15-mile circle centered on Highway 84 near Livermore. The area includes Livermore, Pleasanton, Sunol, part of Dublin and parklands where riparian, grassland, oak savanna, urban and agriculture habitats offer a good variety of species.
After the count, we'll get together for a catered meal and to share the results, at the Callippe Preserve Golf Course, 8500 Clubhouse Drive, Pleasanton 94566. The Callippe Preserve is 147 acres, with an additional 285 acres of mitigated preserve for endangered species. It has hiking trails and is an oak savanna habitat. For more information, or to volunteer, contact Rich Cimino at 925.353.0266. —RC
CBC Feeder Watchers
Want to stay warm and participate in a CBC at the same time? Be a CBC bird feeder watcher! Bird from the comfort of your own home! Count the largest number of birds of each species that visit your yard on Sunday, December 18 and the hours watched. If you live close to Hayward/Fremont send your data to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone it in to 510.538.3550 or mail it to 1922 Hillsdale Street, Hayward, CA 94541. This important information will be added to the official record if you live within one of our fifteen-mile circles. Call the Count Compilers for complete instructions. —PAG
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Media Coverage of Ohlone Audubon 2010 CBC's:
Hayward-Fremont CBC Published in Oakland Tribune: Fewer bird species documented in annual East Bay count
Eastern Alameda County CBC Coverage in the Independent Newspaper: Rainy Christmas Bird Count Finds 144 Species in Eastern Alameda County
OAS Bird-A-Thon
2011 Bird-A-Thon Date to be announced soon!
Celebrbrating John J. Audubon's Birthday & Earth Week
OAS EDUCATION & CONSERVATION FUNDRAISER
A birdathon provides a means of raising money for an organization while at the same time enjoying the outdoors, finding and viewing birds, and competing with others. Teams are organized, members solicit pledges (a flat amount or a certain monetary amount per species, for example), the team birds together on an appointed day, record their findings and gather pledges from the pledgers. Some birdathons specify rules that all teams must follow—geographical limits, rules on the number of team members, and the like. Well known local birdathons include those of PRBO and SFBBO, which attract birders from the region and net those organizations tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Ohlone Audubon Society has more modest, but high expectations. Sponsors will be supporting the projects and good work of the Education and Conservation Committees (for specifics, contact Phil Gordon, Education Chair and Rich Cimino, Conservation Chair).
Celebrate the Return of the Swallows
9th "Return of the Swallows to Chabot Festival
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 - John James Audubon's Birthday
10:30 am to 2:30 pm
Chabot Community College, Cezar C. Chavez Plaza (Near Cafeteria/Bookstore)
25555 Hesperian Boulevard Hayward, California
Sponsored by Ohlone Audubon Society and Chabot College
Please join us at Chabot College for one of the two Swallow Festivals in North America, celebrating these neo-tropical visitors who spend most of their lives in South America. Awards will be presented for best of nature art featuring birds and/or poems or other literature submissions. Festival questions for additional prizes will be offered.
Primary activities will be at Noon: events of the Day include Music; Poem Readings; Meeting the Artists; Swallow Talk & Questions; Recognition of the 20 Organization Exhibitors; all receive the new 55 page Swallow Booklet and other freebees.
Possible Show & Tell Exhibits include; Local Ice Age Fossils of Southern Alameda County (Math/Science Nucleus with the Gordon Family); Local Critters of our Wild Lands (Sulfur Creek Junior Museum & Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center, Hayward Area Recreation District); Good and Bad Insects with the "Giant Mosquito" (Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District); Bird Feeders and Houses, etc. (Wild Birds Unlimited, Dublin); Serving Wildlife and Nature Enthusiasts Display (Ohlone Audubon Society); Reptiles in Town (Reptile Room); New exhibit for Swallows and Festival in the Campus Library and others. The Film Show will be from 10.30 - 11:30 am. in Campus Library. A campus walk will be held to find campus swallows to see and photograph.
Fee: None; Parking: $2.00 (exact change)
Field Trip:
Saturday, Apr. 30, Swallows at Multiple Fremont Locations
For more information contact Phil Gordon a (510) 538-3550 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Finding and seeing some birds is reserved for the vigorous and fit. The rest of us can enjoy bird watching in easier circumstances.
The rich variety of accessible trails around the San Francisco Bay and nearby coast are listed and described in the publication A Wheelchair Rider's Guide San Francisco Bay and the Nearby Coast, published by The Coastal Conservancy in 2006, is available for free download at http://www.coastalconservancy.ca.gov/Publications/wheel.htm