Birds in the Golden Gate National Parks

Learn more about birds and birding in the parks.

Cooper's Hawk nest
Article
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...
The chicks look anxious for their next meal. From the nest cameras on UC Berkeley’s Campanile Tower where Peregrine Falcons Annie and Grinnell have been nesting since 2017, and two baby chicks hatched in April 2019.
Our Work
The falcon chicks have hatched, and the world is watching! Check out our favorite moments in this gallery.
A great horned owl.
Article
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. However, one particular bird caught my eye last month and it wasn’t a migratory bird—and it wasn’t...
An Anna's hummingbird.
Article
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.
Article
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.
Article
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
Conservation
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
Our Work
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
Our Work
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 watch
Our Work

Golden Gate Raptor Observatory

Thousands of raptors fly over Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands, and hundreds of volunteers stand atop to count them.