2019 Christmas Bird Walk | Oakland

Help start off Christmas Bird Count Day with a pair of binoculars or some sharp eyes for the Annual Christmas Bird Walk.

Every December, hundreds of Bay Area birders take part in Golden Gate Audubon’s Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) in Oakland and San Francisco. From before dawn until dusk, they trek through parks, neighborhoods, and wetlands, venture out in boats on the bay, and skirt reservoirs and bayside mudflats to identify the species and count the numbers of birds at every site.

The Oakland count will take place on Sunday, December 15, 2019. The San Francisco count will take place on Friday, December 27, 2019.

Please note that the registration for Oakland is now closed. For San Francisco, you may check them here.

2019 marks the 120th year of Christmas Bird Counts.

The Oakland and San Francisco counts have ranked among the top 25 nationwide in terms of numbers of species found. In recent years, the Oakland count has had more participants in the field than any other count in the world.

• The Oakland count circle extends from Treasure Island northeast to the San Pablo Reservoir in Contra Costa County, and south to St. Mary’s College in Moraga and the Oakland International Airport. With its wide variety of habitats, the Oakland count typically records more than 170 bird species.
• The San Francisco count circle includes the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge and all of San Francisco, and reaches down the peninsula to San Bruno Mountain and the wetlands north of the San Francisco International Airport. Also blessed with a wide variety of habitats, the San Francisco count generally tops 160 species.

BYOB(inoculars) and help identify and count as many different species as you can find. No experience is necessary; all levels of expertise are welcome.