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Raptors

Learn more about raptors at the Golden Gate Raptors Observatory.

 

A hawkwatcher scans the eastern skies for raptors

Is bird-watching the antidote to the pandemic? S.F. high school pushes passion projects

San Francisco Chronicle

“Raptors are a gateway drug into bird-watching,” Allen Fish, Director of the Parks Conservancy's Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, said, explaining his 40-year obsession with birds of prey. “And bird-watching is a gateway drug into giving a damn about the environment.”

Adult Red-tailed Hawk
Article

Raptors and Smoke

After a 2018 season of smoke and haze, GGRO Director Allen Fish explored impacts of air pollution on birds in his 2019 article for Pacific Raptor 40. As first responders battle wildfires across the state each year, we again wonder what effect these extreme climate phenomenon will have on raptor health and movement.
Color-banded raptor.
Article

Color bands on hawks: What they mean and why they matter

Red-tailed Hawks! This season was full of them. The 2018 field season ended with 342 Redtails banded-almost 100 Redtails above our 10-year average.
Portion of Hawk Hill closed for 2020 Hawkwatch Program
Article

Hawk Hill Partial Closure Fall 2020

This year, significant changes to the Hawkwatch program protocols have been implemented to allow a limited number of GGRO Hawkwatchers to safely collect migration data from Hawk Hill.
Side-by-side photos two peregrine falcons, male on left and female on right.
Article

Fledge spotting: Peregrine falcon pair nesting on Alcatraz island

For the first time in recorded history, peregrine falcons have nested on Alcatraz Island! After months of observating the pair, park biologists have spotted two fledglings.
Raptor migration trends at the Marin Headlands
Conservation

Raptor Migration Trends in the Marin Headlands

Timing Profiles by Species

WHEN DO DIFFERENT RAPTORS PASS BY HAWK HILL? These graphs show how often a specific raptor has been sighted on any day of the season (normalized as raptors per hour of effort, or RPH). Historically, the peak of "Peak" is September 24th, with an average RPH of 95. Each species...
Hawk in flight over Bay.
Events

Lightning Talks: Raptors of the Parklands

Join us for a lightning talk on Raptors of the Golden Gate – with Golden Gate Raptor Observatory director Allen Fish.
Golden Gate Raptor Observatory intern Kirsti Carr.
Park E-Ventures Article

On life and raptors: Intern's lessons learned in a year atop Hawk Hill

After a few minutes of listing bird qualities, Kirsti Carr stops herself and laughs. “I love everything about birds,” she admits. “They’re just weird!”
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

Photos: UC Berkeley falcon chicks have hatched! Best moments so far

The falcon chicks have hatched, and the world is watching! Check out our favorite moments in this gallery.
A great horned owl.
Article

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. However, one particular bird caught my eye last month and it wasn’t a migratory bird—and it wasn’t...