Peg Albrets

Birding history: I’ve enjoyed birds since I was a child, as my grandmother loved birds. We have a dear friend who is a life-long birder, and who encouraged us to take it up. My husband and I started birding when we retired a few years ago, and we’ve loved it. Great way to get outside, learn something, and meet some lovely people. 

Favorite birds: I really love owls and the raptors. 

Favorite birding locations: My yard! I also enjoy the parks along the Bay, Coyote Valley Open Space, Cap Ponds, Don Edwards, and anywhere we travel. 

Most memorable birding experiences: Seeing the boobies up close in the Galapagos was wonderful. We recently went to East Africa and saw an unbelievable variety of birds in Tarangire, the Serengeti, and Masai Mara. Truly an amazing experience.

Personal: I am a retired nurse. My husband and I have 2 grown children, 2 wonderful in-law children, and a little grandson that we adore. We travel every chance that we get, and love to spend time outside with family and friends. We are avid readers. 

Bilal Al-Shahwany

Birding history: I started birding around 2010, when, just ramping up my photography knowledge, I bought a telephoto lens (Sigma 150-500mm) and took a photo of a Red-tailed Hawk flying. Looking at the photo on my computer, I was stunned at how beautiful the bird’s colors and textures were and immediately fell in love with birds.

Favorite birds: Within ABA, Burrowing Owls are feisty cute little birds, outside ABA, Shoebill (in Uganda) and Sword-billed Hummingbird (in Ecuador). 

Favorite birding locations: Within ABA, Rio Grand Valley in Texas and Madera Canyon in Arizona, outside ABA, La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica

Most memorable birding experience: Seeing the Lyre-tailed Nightjar in Ecuador at sunset, their silhouette is beautifully unforgettable.

Personal: I also love dogs and enjoy birding with my 3 pooches. They learned slow pacing walks and lie down when waiting for a bird to show up. Birding can be enjoyable for them as well.

Mike Ambrose

Birding history: I started birding in 2018 after a trip to Palo Alto Baylands opened my eyes to the amount of avian biodiversity we have in the Bay Area. Armed with a field guide and a clunky pair of binoculars, I quickly became hooked, and I've been birding (and doing little else!) since then. I started leading trips for SCVAS in 2021 and love the opportunity to share my love of birds with other birders, especially beginners.

Favorite birds: Too many to pick! But I'll say Black-chinned Sparrow.

Favorite birding locations: Again, more than I can pick, but I'll say Henry Coe SP.

Most memorable birding experience: Finding a Wallcreeper in the Swiss Alps.

Personal: I'm an avid hiker and backpacker (great combination of hobbies with birdwatching!).

Dan Bloch

Birding history: I attended a high school in New York which, against all odds, offered an ornithology class. I birded for several years in high school and college, but took a break for about forty years. I've resumed birding in the Bay Area in the last five years or so.

Favorite birds: This really varies from day to day, but American White Pelicans and Blue Jays (the east coast ones) are always near the top of the list. White Pelicans are stately, and Blue Jays are raucous and pretty.

Favorite birding locations: Whichever ones are in biking distance. Currently that's from about Sunnyvale Baylands to Palo Alto Baylands.

Most memorable birding experience: Traveling from New York to Boston to see an immature Ivory Gull.

Bob Bolles

Birding history: I started birding seriously in 2015 after gradually getting more and more interested. I now bird four or five times a week. My goal is to find a life bird every month, but it’s getting harder and harder because I’ve seen almost all the non-pelagic birds in the area. (I obviously need to travel more!)

Favorite birds: Orioles are my favorite family of birds, mostly because yellow is my favorite color, plus I was born in Baltimore (but raised in Florida).

Favorite birding locations: I like to mix hikes at new places with hikes to my “standards,” such as Pearson-Arastradero, Shoreline, Sunnyvale Baylands, Ulistac, and Ed Levin.

Most memorable birding experience: When my wife and I went to Thailand a few years ago for a wedding, I hired a guide for a day who took me up to the ridge on the border with Myanmar. The guide could estimate the distance to a bird as well as identify it and estimate an azimuth and elevation from its calls. We found a wide variety of drongos, barbets, bee-eaters, trogons, hornbills, and a Greater Flameback. We also came across areas ransacked by wild elephants (but no elephants!)

Personal information: I did research at SRI International for my whole career, focusing on the development of computer vision techniques that we applied to industrial robots, autonomous vehicles, and aerial image analysis.

Adam Burnett

Birding history: Interested in birds basically since birth, thanks to my parents and to the great wildlife in our yard in New Hampshire. Got more serious about keeping track of all my sightings, and began to learn about details of migration timing and habitat preferences, early in my teenage years, when I started following email listservs and using eBird. Now enjoying getting to know the birds of the Bay Area!

Favorite bird: Snowy Owl

Favorite birding locations: Palo Alto Baylands, Stanford Dish Trail, and anywhere else I can bike to!

Most memorable birding experience: After my dad and I stumbled upon a Zone-tailed Hawk in coastal Massachusetts, what was probably the same individual appeared several more times in a total of 7 states and provinces! An amazing testament to the ever-growing number of birders with their eyes on the skies, the power of information sharing in the birding community, and the crazy things migration can do.

Personal: Currently visiting the Bay Area for a few years as I pursue a PhD in climate dynamics in the Department of Earth System Science at Stanford University.

Sarah Chan

Birding history: Started birding in the Bay Area in 2016

Favorite bird(s): Black Phoebe

Favorite birding locations: Vasona Lake County Park, Ed Levin County Park, Almaden Lake

Most memorable birding experience: Watching a baby phoebe fledge for the first time. The fledgling flew down the nest with a squeak. The parents immediately tried to encourage them to go to the higher ground, but they were so curious about everything! They eventually flew up to chase after their parents, but not before they picked at a few leaves!

Personal: I moved to the Bay Area from Toronto, Canada in 2015 and began my interest in California birds when I saw a Brown Creeper during my commute! In addition to co-leading field trips, I also help out with nest boxes and doing bird surveys. Outside of birding, I also enjoy video games and crafting.

Robin Chen

Birding history: I started birding in 4th grade when my mom bought me a beginner birding book and clear window bird feeder from the Scholastic book catalog. I got more serious about learning more about birds in college after getting my first DSLR. 

Favorite birds: Parrots! They're the whole reason I got into birds in the first place.

Favorite birding locations: Coyote Hills Regional Park and Rancho San Antonio

Most memorable birding experiences: Traveling to Chile and seeing, among other things, an Andean Condor soar overhead. Watching 7 Short-eared Owls hunt around me simultaneously in Vallejo. Taking my toddler for a walk in my cousin's suburban neighborhood in Corona (near LA) and randomly finding a Vermilion Flycatcher at the playground.

Personal: I've been lucky to live in a lot of places, including NJ, Pittsburgh, Taiwan, and Monterey - all great places for different birds!

MATTHEW DODDER, Executive Director

Birding history: Started birding in 1977 when I was stuck inside after a blizzard that stopped the transit system and closed schools for ten days. After I identified a Northern Cardinal female, I realized there were a lot of other birds I wanted to learn. The following spring I saw my first Scarlet Tanager and Ruby-throated Hummingbird—they cemented my love of birds and color. I was hooked! I also taught birding class at the Palo Alto Adult School for 21 years.

Favorite birds: I’m particularly fond of the birds that are a little more difficult to identify—Gulls, Flycatchers, fall Warblers and winter Sparrows. I like the challenge these groups provide and the enjoy the subtle features that make them different.

Favorite birding locations: Birds have wings. Where ever they are, I’ll go. Especially if it’s Ecuador or New Chicago Marsh.

Most memorable birding experience: I was almost gored to death by a Southern Cassowary in Australia during our 5th wedding anniversary.

Personal: I also love drawing and cooking. I have a large nature library that I refer to when I’m assembling a birding class or dreaming about traveling more.

Craige Edgerton

Birding history:  I've been a casual birder for over 20 years but since retirement I've become more active.

Favorite birds:  My favorite birds are the beautiful warblers and I'm still trying to learn all of them and their songs.  The flyover of 5,000 snow geese at Merced NWR is a religious experience for me.  

Favorite birding locations:  Santa Clara County (because I live here!) and Southern Arizona

Most memorable birding experiences:  The first most memorable birding is my "initiation" bird, the Varied Thrush.  I was hiking in the Santa Cruz redwoods and saw this incredible orange and black bird and just stood there and looked at it.  I was hooked!  I went to the ranger station and she pointed it out and suggested I get binoculars and Sibleys and the rest is history.  The other is the very common Black Phoebe as that was the first bird I ID'd on my own using just my Sibleys and binos.  And lastly, those Snow Geese!!!

Personal:  I've been a docent with the SCV Open Space Authority for 23 years and led wildflower hikes on Coyote Ridge for about 15 years.  I also lead hikes for multiple other organizations.  I'm not a great naturalist or birder but I love to tell stories, many of which are actually true!

Howard Friedman

Birding history: I started an interest in birds at 6 years old when my Uncle gave me a copy of a Roger Tory Peterson eastern field guide when I asked him about birds at his backyard feeder on Long Island, New York. This might have been around the fall of 1964. Eventually, I got my first binoculars when I was 20. I spent most of the time bird watching at Alum Rock Park, but soon I included Lake Cunningham, Joseph D. Grant County Park, and Don Edwards in Alviso.  I began to travel to Northern California around Redding and then to the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.  Soon I discovered I wanted to travel around the US and I have birded about half the states in  USA, mostly western states.  I have been to parts of Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain, Panama, and Ecuador. I hope to make one or two more journeys out of the US. Australia and New Zealand are the big hopes for my last big hurrahs.

Favorite birds: California Towhee, but warblers and raptors, shorebirds are some of my favorites in general.

Favorite birding locations: All of California and the Americas, but I hope to visit Australia and New Zealand.  Less travel equals a smaller carbon footprint. I can enjoy vicariously through others photos and experiences.

Most memorable birding experiences: Bird watching in Ecuador with my wife for three weeks, just before the pandemic! I do have to say that co-leading trips has been a transformative and exhilarating experience. 

Helping others experience the wonder of how birds live and nature in general is a new high for me.  The beginning birders are really fun. To see the world through the eyes of people who have the enthusiasm only seen in the discovery of something new is fulfilling.

Personal information: San Jose has been my home for 63 of my 65 years. I grew up and lived in east San Jose for 48 years and then relocated to the Rose Garden area. I have been married for 42+ years to an amazing partner. I am a father of two wonderful married adults. I have a 91 year old mother who leaves me in the dust being more active than I am. My hobbies include flutes (jazz and eclectic music), writing poetry, and meditating. I mentor adults who are in crisis. I am a retired primary school teacher.  Whew, enough about me! 

John Harshman

Birding history: I’ve been birding since 1983, when I bought my first Peterson guide at Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, and my main goal is to see a majority of the world’s species. So far, only around 18%, 2037 species. I’m trying to visit all the continents at least once.

Favorite birds: Too many to choose, but maybe Southern Ground Hornbill. Herons and woodpeckers. Ducks.

Favorite birding locations: In the Bay area, Charleston Slough, in season, Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, Coyote Valley OSP. Elsewhere, Jackson Park in Chicago, Northern Queensland, Okavango Delta. Or anywhere I’ve never been.

Most memorable birding experiences: Usually they involve life birds, often life families: breakfast in front of the feeders at Selva Verde, Costa Rica, seeing a Secretary Bird in Botswana, or a Trumpeter on the trail in Manu, Peru. I suppose I would have to add Machu Picchu, though that wasn’t entirely about the birds.

Personal: I’ve been married 35 years so far, with one son. I have a PhD in evolutionary biology, working on bird phylogeny using DNA sequences. In 2004, my friends and I received a $2 million federal grant to look at the relationships of all the birds; see Assembling the Tree of Life: Early Bird. And I had a previous life as a wargame designer.

DIANE AND PETER HART

Birding History:  We are “late adult onset birders”, having slouched into birding as we were winding down our professional careers over 15 years ago.

Favorite bird:  Cuban Tody.  A Cuban endemic, and the only color plate in James Bond’s (yes, the real James Bond) classic first edition of Field Guide of Birds of the West Indies.

Favorite birding location:  Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, where we’ve created a photographic record of JRBP avifauna.

Most memorable (local) birding experience:  Closeup view of a full adult Bald Eagle streaking low over our heads at La Honda Creek OSP.  We were there as part of our Birds of Protected Lands bird photography project for the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST).

Personal/Professional:  Diane is the author of 20 social studies textbooks—your kids have probably used one or more of them.  Peter was the founder or head of half a dozen AI companies and research centers.  He invented AI algorithms embedded in stuff you use today. Diane is past Board President of SCVAS;  Peter serves on the Board of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Michael Hawk

Birding History: While I'd casually birdwatched previously, my gateway to birding was moving to a birding hot spot (Arizona) in 2006. Caring for two young children prevented me from diving in too deeply at first, but my interest has continually, if slowly, grown since that time. I moved to San Jose in 2011, and began volunteering with SCVAS in 2019.

Favorite Birds: I'm not one for favorites, but Golden Bowerbird and Satin Bowerbird came to mind. I got to enjoy both of those on various trips to Australia. Locally, I always stop for a Belted Kingfisher. But honestly, I find enjoyment in nearly every species I see!

Favorite Birding Locations: Any location that also provides solitude. Henry Coe State Park would be near the top of my list.

Most Memorable Birding Experience: Watching a Satin Bowerbird tend to and organize its bower from only about 10' away. Amazing!

Personal: I recently left my tech job to pursue environmental conservation full time! I also produce a nature podcast (Nature's Archive), and love to learn about most natural sciences.

Vinayak Hebbagil

Birding history: Had been casually nature-watching since 2016, witnessing the wintering waterfowl in Central Valley, the Sandhill Cranes in Lodi area, and the raptors in Klamath Falls among others. That said, birding really took off for me during the early days of the pandemic. Starting in 2020, my wife and I started to pay more attention to the local birds as well as travel to places to enjoy birding. Multiple SCVAS classes and trips to Arizona, Ohio, Utah, Nevada, and Texas have helped me get even more involved in this hobby and now there's no looking back.

Favorite birds: Owls are my favorite bird family but I enjoy all birds and especially enjoy seeing a familiar Black Phoebe or Bewick's Wren on any walk. My spark bird though is the Red-tailed Hawk.

Favorite birding locations: A hard choice to make but within Santa Clara county, it would be Vasona Lake County Park and outside the county, I'll pick Southeast Arizona.

Most memorable birding experience: Many to pick from but seeing the endangered Akiapolaau, a Hawaii honeycreeper, using its specialized bill to forage for insects would rank as the best.

Personal: Professionally, I'm a Product Manager and have been here in the Bay Area for 8 years having moved from Chicago. In my leisure time, I delve into wildlife photography and love to hike and travel. 

Ann Hepenstal

Birding history: I grew up in a "birding aware" household with parents who had attended Audubon Camp in Maine. I got into birding as an adult when my oldest child became deeply interested in birds around age 5. We did birdwatching as a family; we participated in Christmas Bird Count with Alex the youngest one there by decades; and SCVAS gradually called me in as a volunteer!

Favorite birds: Gadwalls. But also Buffleheads. But also Bewick's Wrens.

Favorite birding locations: Charleston Slough. Bay trails around Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant. Cuesta Park. San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail.

Most memorable birding experiences: watching the Bewick's Wrens fledge out of the nest box in my yard. Flyover by a Golden Eagle at Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve. Hearing hundreds of Snow Geese "hum" at Kern National Wildlife Refuge.

Personal: I grew up in Michigan, and still spend time there each summer. I've lived in the Bay Area since 1993, and am now semi-retired and hoping to have more birding time.

Rick Herder

Birding history: One day in first grade my mom had me take out the garbage.  The bright American Goldfinch on the fence looked just like its picture in my new Golden Nature Guide.  I was hooked.  

Favorite birds: Wrentit, California Thrasher, Hutton's Vireo, Golden Oriole

Favorite birding locations: Moss Landing, the "Condor Coast" along Big Sur, Rancho Cañada del Oro, Grant Ranch

Most memorable birding experiences:  This question brings back so many memories: California Condors in the southern Sierra foothills before they were caught and tagged; Griffon Vultures in Cyprus before they were extirpated; finding and reporting a Masked Duck in south Florida; finding a “colony” of breeding Smith’s Longspurs on the tundra in Alaska; finding (with expert help) the tiny Yellow-breasted Crake in Belize; seeing 9 species of eagles in one day in South Africa, finding a Mountain Bluebird on Coyote Ridge on the very first Calero-Morgan Hill CBC

Personal: Happily retired, with a family who tolerates and sometimes even enjoys my birding quests.

CHRIS JOHNSON

Birding history: I began taking an interest in birds around age 10 and was able to bird with some experienced birders all around Thailand until I left the country at age 17. I did not connect with the birding community in the U.S. until around age 24, when a glimpse of a Spotted Towhee and a Hooded Oriole at the frog pond in Monterey, CA opened my eyes to the varied and beautiful birds found in North America. 

Favorite birds: I generally favor birding in woodlands and forests. I like birding where there are passerines and skulkers as I enjoy hearing and learning bird songs and catching a glimpse of something hiding in the underbrush. MacGillivray's Warbler and Ovenbird are some favorites. 

Favorite birding locations: Internationally: Ecuador and Thailand; Locally: Ulistac

Most memorable birding experience: Seven days of full-time birding in Ecuador in 2021 along the Eastern side of the Andes

Personal: Profession is Senior Analyst/Data Scientist. I have two lovely and rambunctious girls ages 2 and 5. One of my hobbies is playing classical piano from my favorite composers Beethoven and Rachmaninoff, and I am happy to have kept it up since age 12.

Sonja Kramer

Birding History: I have been birding more seriously for about 4 years now, mostly within California but always adding new birding locations as I travel!

Favorite birds: Belted Kingfisher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Canada Jay

Favorite birding locations: Rancho Cañada Del Oro, Don Edwards NWR

Most memorable birding experience: Seeing my first White-tailed Ptarmigan on the top of a mountain in Jasper National Park in Canada.

Personal: I work as an Occupational Therapist and volunteer at the animal shelter socializing dogs. In my free time I enjoy cooking, baking, hiking, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Diane McCoy

Birding History: I have always loved watching birds and teaching about them in my first grade classroom (Penguins Galore!), but I really have only been 'birding' for about five years; since I retired. What a fascinating and beautiful world to enjoy, learn about and experience!

Favorite Birds: Probably the one I am looking at at that moment; from crows, to Bewick's Wrens to Avocets and pelicans, I enjoy them all! However, my 'spark' bird is an Osprey named Rachel, from Hog Island, Maine, an Audubon camp. Following Rachel, her mate Steve and their nest each summer really hooked me into birding.

Favorite Birding Locations: Though I've been fortunate to go to Hog Island for two summer sessions, as well as some other 'trip' places to bird, the Palo Alto Bay Lands and Charleston Slough are my favorite places to bird and to just be; my happy places, in every season!

Most Memorable Birding Experience: (so far!) was sitting on the beach at dusk in Dunedin, New Zealand, watching Yellow-eyed Penguins and Little Blues coming out of the ocean to waddle their way to their dune burrows for the night!  Amazing!

Personal: Now retired, my volunteer activities with SCVAS and Environmental Volunteers allows me to indulge this passion. Helping to lead bird walks with SCVAS, write up a few guides, as well as classroom activities with young students centered around birds, wildlife and local habitats with SCVAS and Environmental Volunteers lets me share this passion and continued learning (on my part!) with others, not to mention 'working' with such wonderful and fun people. I am so lucky!

Eve meier

Birding history:  I have always loved animals and being outside ever since I was a little girl.  In college, I hiked a lot and always carried a small pair of binoculars along with me.  After finishing the hike, I would have fun looking up the birds I had seen in my field guide. Later in life, with the encouragement of my husband, I went on my first bird walk while we were on a family vacation in Costa Rica.  I loved it!  I loved the people, their enthusiasm and, of course, the birds. After we got home, I signed up for a beginning bird class with SCVAS and have been birding ever since.

Favorite birds:  Wild Turkeys. They make me smile every time I see them.

Favorite birding locations: This tends to shift from year to year but right now I am really enjoying Coyote Lake, Anderson Lake, Woods Road, Bald Mountain and Santa Teresa.

Most memorable birding experience: While ebirding at Villa Montalvo, a Chestnut-backed Chickadee landed on my cell phone. The bird spent a moment with me then flew off.

Personal: I’m a stay-at-home parent with two college-aged boys. Besides birding, I love to spend time with my family and hike with my friends.

Andrew Melnick

Birding history: I've been birding since the early 2000s, starting with Matthew Dodder's Palo Alto Adult Education classes (which is where I met Sheila Raymond, my partner, in 2008); mostly in the south Bay Area, with trips to Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina in the US, and elsewhere in Panama, Ecuador, the Yucatan in Central/South America, and Great Britain, France, and Germany in Europe.

Favorite birds: Locally:  Any gull (don't ask) and Belted Kingfisher; elsewhere Painted Bunting, Turquoise-browed Motmot.

Favorite birding locations: Anywhere on land -- boats tend to make me sick.

Most memorable birding experience: Stumbling upon a family of Elf Owls above Muleshoe Ranch in southern Arizona; finding and identifying an American Three-toed Woodpecker in the woods on the slopes of Mt. Bachelor in Oregon; observing Blue-footed Boobies close-up in the Galapagos; watching hummingbirds settle on Sheila's arm at a lodge in Ecuador.

Personal: Retired software developer.  Fairly avid bicyclist (birding by ear).

Charlotte Miranda

Birding history: I received a pair of binoculars for Christmas when I was five and haven't stopped birding since! Learned most of what I know from my local park rangers in the East Bay. Only started using eBird a few years ago, but have grown to love it!

Favorite bird: American Bittern

Favorite birding locations: Don Edwards, Coyote Hills, Sunol

Most memorable birding experiences: There are so many — from Christmas Bird Count rarities to bird-specific travels in Italy — but I can't list them all! Most recently I was in Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula and took a boat ride to see Horned Puffins and Black-legged Kittiwakes huddled along the jagged rocks of the Fjords together. Both lifers for me and I can't wait to go back to bird more!

Personal: While birds will always be my first love, I study plants! I am a biology graduate student at San Jose State University researching adaptation to serpentine soils. If you see me on the trails, feel free to ask me about the plants as well! 

Sergey Pavlov

Birding history: I have always been excited by nature, with marine life being my first interest. When I was 9, my uncle gifted me a pair of binoculars, and I began birdwatching, going on several SCVAS trips. The next few years, astronomy replaced birding as my primary interest, but when I was 13, I read The Big Year and was drawn to the adventures of birding. Since then, I've birded mainly in Santa Clara County, but recently more broadly around California, with a particular interest in birding by ear and bird distributions and movements. By helping lead field trips, I would like to share the joy of birding with others and learn more about birds.

Favorite birds: Townsend's Warbler, Canyon Wren, Red-breasted Nuthatch. All with lovely plumage, residents of my favorite landscapes (pine forests and rocky slopes), and beautiful vocalizations (yes, even the nuthatch!).

Favorite birding locations: My favorite spots are around where I grew up in the South County, including Santa Teresa CP, Coyote Valley, SCVWD, Almaden Lake, and Los Capitancillos. These spots host a great diversity of birds year round, with some unique habitats found in few other places locally.

Most memorable birding experiences: Tough to choose, but standing by Stevens Creek Reservoir watching in awe as tens of 1000s of robins streamed overhead towards their roost has to be up there. Also from not long ago, seeing and hearing several Yellow-billed Cuckoos on their breeding grounds at the Kern River Preserve, sharing a Great Gray Owl sighting with my dad, and Sandhill Cranes and Tundra Swans with my mom.

Personal: Currently a master's student at Stanford. I am applying to PhD programs in molecular and cellular biology, but will stay here in the Bay Area at least until August.

Sheila Raymond

Birding history: I’ve birded on and off for many years, originally in England. My sister and I were casual birders but became seriously interested on a family holiday to Manobier, Wales, where we became fascinated by a yellowhammer singing its song, mnemonic “a little bit of bread and no cheese” and watching jackdaws (now spread down south to my home county of Kent) clacking and thronging around the Norman castle. I’ve been birding in the Bay Area for about 17 years now and particularly like to bird by ear.

Favorite birds: Very difficult to choose, but locally I do love our pair of backyard Dark-eyed Juncos and further afield maybe the Painted Bunting.

Favorite birding location: I also love to hike and I’m especially fond of Rancho Canada del Oro - such a beautiful local park and relatively little used.

Most memorable birding experience: Well, Andy my partner, stole my Elf Owls story in southern Arizona, so I’ll select being in the middle of a puffin colony on Lunga Island, Scotland on a beautiful sunny May Day - birds that are wonderfully oblivious to us humans as they build their nests in their burrows and return with fish-filled bills.

Personal: Happily retired from a career in finance for almost a year now and very much enjoying the extra time to explore my own interests which include birding (obviously), hiking, swimming, a new pickleball convert, food and wine, travel, and spending time with my 2 children (in Louisville KY and Hamburg, Germany) and 5 granddaughters.

Mary Ann Robertson

Birding history: I was introduced to birding by a friend in 2018 and since then have taken online courses about birds through Cornell Lab and SCVAS. I have also led field trips, written up some self-guided trips, and joined the Wetlands Discovery Program for 3rd-5th graders. I enjoy using Merlin's Sound ID when I can't see the birds.

Favorite birds: Cedar Waxwings, American Kestrels, Northern Pintail Ducks so far.

Favorite birding locations: Charleston Slough, Coast Casey Forebay, Shoreline Lake, Emily Renzel Wetlands, Palo Alto Baylands, and the West Coast of Florida.

Most memorable birding experiences: Amazing explosion of geese taking of at Merced NWR; watching a family of Pied-billed Grebes during the summer of 2020 at Emily Renzel (avoiding the Pandemic); finally saw a Belted Kingfisher catch and swallow a fish at Shoreline Lake (the process took 1 minutes and I took over 40 photos!).

Personal: I volunteer at the SCVAS Nature Shop. I am a retired researcher and software engineer. I enjoy using photography to help me identify birds. I also like learning about and looking for insects and galls. Isn't nature wonderful!

Edward Rooks

Birding history: I started bird watching on Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalist Club field trips led by University Professors and other naturalists in the 1972. I led nature walks at the Asa Wright Nature Center in Trinidad in the 1980s and led birding trips to Trinidad for Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris. I have taught people to draw birds in the San Francisco Bay Area and on Cheesemans’ Eco Safaris to Antarctica.

Favorite birds: Eagles mating, Falcons stooping, Hummingbird courting, Skimmers skimming, whatever bird catches my attention at the time, but I love beautiful birds like Tanagers, Warblers and Grosbeaks.

Favorite birding locations: South America, or in the Bay Area - Henry Coe State Park in spring and San Francisco Bay in winter. I also love to visit Mt Umunhum, Panoche Valley and the Pinnacles, Año Nuevo and the Merced National Wildlife Refuge is an annual must to see the spectacle of winter waterfowl migrants.

Most memorable birding experiences: Clouds of Snow Geese and Cranes at Merced, Golden Eagles swooping display over Sierra Vista Open Space, Peregrines stooping for waterfowl on the SF Bay shore, Condors over the Pinnacles and the simple miracle of annual migrations of Selasphorus Hummingbirds through my backyard.

Personal: I grew up in the Caribbean, but I have lived in the Bay Area since 1988 and I am a Wildlife Artist. I paint birds and other wildlife in their habitat. I have always tried to include nature in my life.

Allen Royer

Birding history: Started birding around fifty years ago because I wanted to win a scholarship to the Audubon-sponsored Wyoming Workshop of the West located in the Wind River Range near Dubois, Wyoming.

Favorite birds: Belted Kingfisher, Wood Duck, Golden Eagle

Favorite birding locations: Seychelles, Charleston Slough

Most memorable birding experiences: Trips to the Arctic and Africa with Doug and Gail Cheeseman.

Personal: I have a daughter who is a junior at St. Mary’s in Moraga and a brother who is a green birder in Morro Bay.

Shravan Sundaram

Birding history: Started birding at the age of 6 watching nesting Cooper's Hawks from the balcony. Been birding for 20 years since and have a degree in wildlife biology and a minor in education. I've been photographing birds and other wildlife for 15 years and it's become a big passion of mine.

Favorite birds: Golden Eagle, Western Screech-Owl, Allen's Hummingbird

Favorite birding locations: Shoreline Park, SCVWD HQ, Ed Levin

Most memorable birding experience: Observing Golden Eagles hunting squirrels.

Personal: I work in Environmental Science/Compliance

Susan Tenney

Birding history: I have been birding since I took an introductory birding class at SCVAS in 2018, but my love of birds really deepened during the pandemic. I enjoy birding in our wonderful parks and open spaces, but I also love the meditative “slow birding” that I practice often in my back yard, my neighborhood, or anywhere I might find myself. I have a special interest in helping new birders discover the wonder and beauty of these extraordinary creatures.

Favorite birds: Cedar Waxwing, Hermit Thrush, California Quail, Brown Pelican. Or whatever bird I am looking at at the moment.

Favorite birding locations: Shoreline/Charleston Slough, Cuesta Park, Point Reyes, my neighborhood

Most memorable birding experience: Seeing a Bald Eagle flying through Cuesta Park being chased by a Cooper’s Hawk

Personal: I grew up in New England and have been at home in California for 30 years. I am a mostly-retired nurse practitioner and attorney.

Dave and Floy Zittin

Birding History: We fell into birding by accident. We both like to travel. Wherever we went, there was always a bird that caught our attention. We realized that travel and birding go hand in hand. Floy had been incorporating birds in her art for many years. We both admitted we were addicted to birding and started recording our sightings about seven years ago.

Favorite Birds: Any bird that is new to us is a favorite bird. New birds help us appreciate the vast diversity in this group of animals. Understanding birds at the behavioral, family, and genus levels has helped us to appreciate the evolution of this group of animals.

Favorite Birding Locations:  Santa Clara County is one of our favorites because we are familiar with many nooks and crannies that promote a lot of bird diversity in a relatively small area. We also like birding in Central Western Mexico in Jalisco State.

Most Memorable Birding Experience: Birding in Columbia was memorable because the diversity of species over small areas was mind-blowing.

Personal: We are thwarted biologists. Floy trained in the biological sciences and used to illustrate for a researcher at the National Museum of Canada. I have degrees in bio-science. After graduation, I was employed as a programmer-statistician advising professors and graduate students. While doing my graduate research, I discovered emerging productive software (UNIX), fell into computer programming, and eventually found my way into the Valley as a software engineer.