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Cooper's Hawk by Luis Villablanca
Members Only Field Trip: Rodeo Lagoon and Hawk Hill (Marin County)
We will start the morning birding Rodeo Lagoon - a prime birding destination located in the scenic Marin Headlands. In mid-October, expect to see various waterfowl, shorebirds, sparrows, warblers. Some of these birds will be overwintering in this area, and others will be passing through on their southbound migration. You never know what might turn up!
If weather conditions permit, we will then condense ourselves into a few vehicles and caravan up to Hawk Hill. This is a spectacular destination to witness raptor migration and is the main location in the Bay Area to see Broad-winged Hawks. On a good day, you might see dozens of them. This is also a fantastic location to get multiple side-by-side looks of Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks. In addition to these highlights, good conditions may also yield various falcon species, great numbers of our more common raptors, and maybe even a rarity like American Goshawk!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Hawk Hill is a dynamic birding site, with highly variable weather. On a good day, it's spectacular; on a bad day, you might socked in with fog and see nothing. If weather conditions are not good, we may forego the Hawk Hill portion of the field trip entirely and end the field trip 1-1.5 hours early. The trip leader will be in communication with all participants leading up to the field trip date to discuss weather conditions and their implications.
Trip Difficulty: 1.5 miles, paved trails, gravel trails, some shade, sandy beach
Other Trip Notes: Likely fog in the morning, wear layers, scope is great for Rodeo Lagoon, but not necessary for Hawk Hill.
Leaders: John Tsortos (408) 348-6805 and Connor Christensen (714) 616-4866
Family Friendly Ages 14 and up, Intermediate Level Birding
Meet: Picnic area along Mitchell Rd.
Directions: Take US-101 N across the Golden Gate Bridge. Just after crossing the bridge, take exit 442 from US-101 N onto Alexander Rd. Take an immediate left turn onto Bunker Rd. and follow it for 3.4 miles. When Bunker Rd. veers off to the right, keep left onto Mitchell Rd. and continue a little further to the meeting spot. Note that we start along the lagoon edge where there’s tons of streetside parking. GPS: 37.831564, -122.534382
Facilities: cell phone service, bathroom in main parking lot accessible for part of the day
Parking Type and Fees: paved parking lot, dirt parking lot, no fees
Questions? Email general questions to fieldtrips@scvbirdalliance.org or contact the trip leader for questions regarding the event.