Alan Krakauer

Only 3 new birds in this update, all from Miller-Knox on Saturday. Three from an eBird list of 50 isn't very impressive, although this is partly due to all the birding I've already done along the Richmond Shoreline this month, and also that I was there as a co-leader for a GGBA bird walk! Instead of capturing photos for later, I was helping people enjoy our local bird life in real time.

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New birds for this update were Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, and a nice surprise of a couple of Red-throated Loons that surfaced quite near the old pier.

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Many thanks to everyone who's contributed so far!

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eBird shared list from the field trip: https://ebird.org/checklist/S218750911

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My cumulative list and photo gallery: https://www.alankrakauerphotography.com/GGBA-Birdathon-2025-Challenge

A smaller update today with 7 more species to add to the list that I photographed in my neighborhood. It all started with a Lincoln's Sparrow I saw in my through the kitchen window. With a mid-day break in the rain I headed out to a nearby forest trail at the Gyuto Foundation Monastery in East Richmond Heights. One of the biggest bird highlight was a gorgeous intergrade Northern Flicker. Biggest non-bird highlight was a BOBCAT, only maybe the 3rd I've seen in Wildcat Canyon and first I've seen here in my neighborhood in more than 20 years living here and probably over 200 trips to the Gyuto Foundation. In spite of all that, I chose this photo of another backyard bird. This partially leucistic White-crowned Sparrow is easily recognizable to us with its snow-white front and white-mottled back. It has returned to our neighborhood for several years. I'm happy to share this old friend with all of you!

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I'm thrilled with how well my 100 bird challenge has gone so far. I've had great fortune getting photos of birds, and I can't believe I'm almost at my goal before the spring migrants have arrived.

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eBird list from today: https://ebird.org/checklist/S218499647

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Cumulative list and photo gallery: https://www.alankrakauerphotography.com/GGBA-Birdathon-2025-Challenge

Photo Update #4. My first three lists were from spots right along the bay, so for this one I headed to the Tilden Nature Area, a wooded stretch of Wildcat Creek in the northern part of Tilden Regional Park. With the change in habitat, I grabbed photos (of varying quality) of 22 new species for my tally! My targets were wintering species that might leave before the end of the Birdathon Challenge, and I did find a few such as Fox Sparrow, Varied Thrush, and Townsend's Warbler. My favorite finds was a male Belted Kingfisher at Jewel Lake and some Pine Siskins near the Little Farm.

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With 4 really productive outings under my belt I'm already drawing close to my goal of 100 species photographed! I'm looking forward to finding those last few birds and to have the luxury to try for better photos of some of the species I already photographed. It should be a fun spring!

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eBird list from today: https://ebird.org/checklist/S217799848

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Full species list for the challenge and photos: https://www.alankrakauerphotography.com/GGBA-Birdathon-2025-Challenge

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Photo: Red-shouldered Hawk

Expedition #3 around the Richmond shoreline, this time to Dotson Marsh, which sits between Landfill Loop and Pt. Pinole in North Richmond. With 100 birds to photograph, I'm putting in the time with the wintering birds along the bay so I don't have to sweat getting a photo of every warbler and vireo later in the challenge. So far so good! I got almost all of my "target birds" for this location, including Wilson's Snipe, White-tailed Kite, Say's Phoebe, Savannah Sparrow, and Western Meadowlark. Nice surprises were Cinnamon Teal, Northern Harrier, Herring Gull, and surprisingly in-focus photos of the acrobatic White-throated Swift. Another treat was a pair of jackrabbits (not birds, I know!).

The prime reason for this challenge is to help Golden Gate Bird Alliance, but I'm enjoying spending time at some great local hotspots. It's also a different mentality of photography – to emphasize number of species taken. This is what birding is like for me, some birds give fleeting, incomplete views and others extended looks.

I also want to thank everyone who is supporting my photography challenge. You've already doubled what I hoped to raise, thank you so much!

ebird list from today: https://ebird.org/checklist/S216928172

List of species for the challenge: https://www.smugmug.com/app/customize/GGBA-Birdathon-2025-Challenge

Striking while the (wintering bird) iron is hot! This morning I made a visit to Meeker Slough, just up the Richmond shoreline from Point Isabel. My goal of 100 species is going to be a lot easier if I can make a good show of shorebirds and waterfowl before the migrate out. Today the tide was far out and the sun was causing heat haze, a bad combination for photography. While these photos are not ready for National Geographic, I'm happy to have added 24 to the total! Highlights were Ridgeway's rail, one of our local endangered species. Ridgeway's Rails usually stick to the dense marsh-grass and are often "heard only" for me, although one was kind enough to take a bath right in the main channel here. Black Skimmers are a treat for us here this winter as well. I was hoping to find them skimming along the water, but finding a flock of 17 roosting on the mudflat was pretty cool.

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Ebird List: https://ebird.org/checklist/S216484417

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Cumulative list and photo gallery: https://www.alankrakauerphotography.com/GGBA-Birdathon-2025-Challenge