Band-a-Thon 2024
Support our bird banding work at the Coyote Creek Field Station
Have you ever visited SFBBO’s bird banding station at the Coyote Creek Field Station (CCFS), toured our mist nets, and seen birds up close and “in the hand?” Do you value long-term datasets that tell the story of Bay Area birds and help scientists from local universities and across the globe better understand how changes in habitat and climate may be impacting birds? Do you want students to have the chance to see biologists in action and explore science as a career?
Then we invite you to support our 2024 Band-a-Thon, a special campaign to raise money for our field station, an important science hub that has researched birds for more than 40 years. Here’s how:
Pledge Per Bird: To pledge to donate a certain amount per bird caught at CCFS during a month from September 14th through October 13th, 2024, please contact us at [email protected], or call us (408) 946-6548 ext. 2. We will send you a final count on Oct. 15th so you can calculate your final donation. Since 2003, captures during this period have ranged from 379 to 1026 birds. You can put a cap on the amount you give.
Lump Sum Donation: You can also make a straight lump sum donation to support the Band-a-Thon (please donate below). Donations can also be made by check to San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, 524 Valley Way, Milpitas, CA 95035. Please include a note sharing what it is for. You can send an email to [email protected] letting us know you sent your check.
Special Updates: All Band-a-Thon donors will receive special quarterly updates about our CCFS field station for the next year to learn about the impact of your support. To learn more about what is going on at CCFS, check out our weekly "Notes from the Station" blog!
Donations of $80 or more are eligible to receive a 2024 SFBBO t-shirt. The estimated value of the t-shirt ($15) is not tax deductible. Please visit our website to view the Shirt Size Charts.
The artwork (at right) was designed by Anastasia Nguyen, is on a Vintage Navy shirt, and depicts Wilson's Phalaropes. In March this year, SFBBO Director of Waterbird Science Dr. Nathan Van Schmidt traveled to Argentina to attend the International Phalarope Working Group Meeting and then co-authored a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking the agency to list Wilson's Phalaropes as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. This work is a culmination of two decades of waterbird surveys SFBBO biologists conducted in San Francisco Bay, including five years of focused summer phalarope surveys by staff and community science volunteers, which documented a 98% decline in the species locally. We hope people will wear their shirts to help us raise awareness about these beautiful birds and all of the birds we study and protect. You can read more about our phalarope program on our blog, Wingbeat.
We have the following shirt styles and sizes available: Women's Relaxed Fit Small, Medium, Large, and XL, and Unisex Small, Medium, Large, XL, 2XL, and 3XL (please see our website for size charts). We are taking pre-orders in September and October and will be orderig the shirts from the printers in early November and mailing them out when they are done (late November or early December) 2024. If you are interested in a shirt, after you make a donation please write to [email protected] and let us know what style and size you would like. These shirts will not be available after October 31st, 2024, so please order yours today!
More fun California Fall Challenge events are scheduled for September and October including great speakers, our Bird Photo Big Day, Birdy Hours, and an Online Silent Auction. Check them out. Thank you!