Birds in the Golden Gate National Parks

Cooper's Hawk nest
When is Migration, When is Nesting?

The autumn raptor migration at the Golden Gate runs August through December. The spring migration is late February through May. So how is it that my neighborhood Bay Area Redtails are nesting in April? Shouldn’t they be migrating north? How exactly does the hawk breeding season fit between May and August?

A great horned owl.
Presidio’s resident raptor is owl the rage

By Jainita Patel
San Francisco Park Stewardship Intern

It’s March and you know what that means—bird season! Soon, Lands End will be covered in passing migratory birds of all colors, shapes, and sizes.

An Anna's hummingbird.
Hummingbird: A poem

Take a minute to read a poem about a beautiful bird we see throughout our San Mateo park sites. 

A Peregrine Falcon defends its nest at the UC Berkeley Campanile tower.
Conservancy, UC Berkeley team up for Peregrine Falcon nest cam

By now, you might have heard about the nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons discovered at UC Berkeley in 2017. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get a closer look?

A White-Tailed Kite in flight.
The White-Tailed Kite is quite a sight

The White-Tailed Kite is a beautiful predatory raptor that has recently been spotted at various parklands in San Mateo. Read more about the role this bird plays in its ecosystem and why I think it is so special.

Allen's Hummingbird
What Bird Personality Fits Your Bill?

What kind of bird are you? Find out with our scientifically dubious but finely feathered personality quiz, based on distinct avian phenotypes!

GGRO bander Ari La Porte examines a Sharp-shinned Hawk
Raptor Banding

Specially trained volunteers sit in small blinds in the hills of the Headlands, trapping and banding raptors and taking measurements and health data.

Two hawkwatchers scan the west quadrant
Hawkwatch

During the autumn months, our teams of volunteer hawk counters identify and tally 19 species of birds of prey, working under the leadership of an experienced dayleader.

Hawk Hill
Raptor Tracking

Raptor tracking provides a more complete picture of raptor movements between banding and recovery

bird watching
Birds of a Feather: A GGRO Volunteer Finds Her Flock

When volunteer Christina Cambie “migrated” from England, she had no idea she would find comfort and community in her new home by studying another migration—that of raptors over Hawk Hill.

© 2025 Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. All rights reserved.