Raptors

The fall raptor season is upon us, and that means Peak Week is coming quickly. What is Peak Week, you ask? Peak Week is the mini-season of absolute high-count, high-banding days each year at the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory.

For just a few weeks each year, Red-necked Phalaropes visit Rodeo Lagoon in the Marin Headlands. This brief migratory stopover for these slender shorebirds allows birders a good view of this unique species. Click to learn why these birds are so unusual.

Parks Conservancy internships launch scientific careers! Chris Briggs was a banding intern with the GGRO in 2000. A dozen years of raptor research later, Dr. Briggs returns to the GGRO as the Banding Program Manager to take over when Buzz Hull retires.

International Migratory Bird Day has been celebrating migratory birds for 20 years, and here in the Golden Gate National Parks a free IMBD event has been held for 12 years running. Join us at Muir Woods on May 12, 2012 for bird walks, demonstrations, games and activities, and a chance to meet a live Spotted Owl!

Balancing precariously on the strong March winds, stilling Red-tailed Hawks are easy to spot in the Marin Headlands. But what’s the driving force behind this aerial feat? What adaptations do these majestic raptors rely upon to perch in the sky?