bird-a-thon Archives

Kingpishers: Bird Locally, Think Globally, The Reprise

Started many years ago by enthusiastic folks at Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO, now Point Blue Conservation Science), the idea of a ‘birdathon’ (often abbreviated to BAT = finding as many bird species as you can in a 24-hour period) has become a tradition that has morphed into Point Blue’s annual Rich Stallcup Birdathon. This

Team Mola Mola Madness Goes Bird Crazy in the Headlands

written by Meredith Elliott, Principal Scientist/ACCESS Program Leader This account takes you along on this year’s Point Blue Marine lab team (Mola mola Madness) bird-a-thon adventure through the Marin Headlands. We hope you enjoy! And if you are inspired, we’d love your support. Find the donate button on our team page. As in previous years,

The Fledglings Descend Upon Shollenberger and Ellis Creek

We walked a two mile loop in two hours and change and detected 43 bird species and 8 non-bird species during that time. The weather was lovely, with clouds coming and going from a blue sky, low to no wind, and temperature hanging around the mid to high 60s. We were surprised for the final stretch of our walk to find a flurry of species in the business park landscaping sycamore trees and sidewalk-adjacent lawn.

Bird-A-Thon by Bicycle

The 45th Annual Rich Stallcup Bird-A-Thon is officially underway! September 15 – October 15, birders of all ages and skill levels are counting as many bird (and other) species as they can during a 24-hour period, encouraging people to sponsor them for their efforts, and raising critical funds for conservation. Lorrie Klosterman and Aminy Ostfeld

Point Blue Rich Stallcup Bird-A-Thon FAQ

Point Blue’s Bird-A-Thon has been happening for 45 years now, every fall migration season, from mid-September to mid-October. Our goal each year is to invite more folks into the fold to appreciate nature and learn how to be part of conservation action. We created this FAQ as a reminder for returning Bird-A-Thonners and a resource for new recruits.

Bird-A-Thon Team with the Youngest Counters Detect the Most Species

We gathered in the darkness of 5:00am at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Like last year, we were treated to a wonderful flight of Swainson’s Thrushes migrating and calling in the dark sky above us. We were able to hear a Northern Saw-Whet Owl and several Great Horned Owls right from the parking lot, so those three species marked the beginning of our list!

Team Ornicycles Thanks You

What an epic day! We covered over 28? miles on our mountain bikes and identified 98 different bird species in their natural habitat in and around Bolinas Lagoon, California. What were the highlights and lowlights? I could recount how amazing it was to share the bird-by-bike stoke with our new team members, Aidan and Amy, or how we were thwarted by the afternoon fog from reaching our goal of 100 species, or how we nearly collapsed by climbing two massive ridges in pursuit transcendent descents.

Science News: Guiding Renewable Energy, Celebrating Climate Legislation, and much more

Biden Signs Landmark Climate Bill On August 16th, 2022 President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. Although it’s not perfect, it is the biggest, most important piece of federal climate legislation to date. It encompasses clear and actionable policy to drive the needed investment to decarbonize our economy emissions. Importantly, the bill clearly prioritizes

Looking Back at How Good We Looked

We had a great group of Lookers looking their best in West Marin. A couple members of the team (Diana Humple and Renee Cormier) couldn’t join us in person because they were responding to the oil spill in Southern California, but they were with us in spirit and broaches (thanks Renee!). The team consisted of Maia Nguyen, Kevin Garcia, Wren Leader, Mike Mahoney, Mark Dettling, Megan Elrod, Kristy Dybala, Hilary Allen (and Brynn), Dennis Jongsomjit, and Lishka Arata, all of which are current or former Palo interns. We started birding at 4:08pm on October 10 at the bluffs above Agate Beach in Bolinas scanning the ocean for the birds of the near shore (cormorants, pelicans, gulls, murres). Within 20 minutes we had seen most of the expected species, so headed out on a walk around the nearby neighborhood.

Congratulations and Highlights from the 2021 Bird-A-Thon

Congratulations and thank you to all who participated in the 43rd annual Rich Stallcup Bird-A-Thon from September 15–October 15, 2021. Your efforts helped raise over $65,000 to benefit Point Blue Conservation Science! Over 24 teams and 99 counters spent time connecting with nature in unique and creative ways, whether remotely from varied geographic locations, individually,

Science Categories: bird-a-thon