Osprey (Pandion haliaeetus ) at Antelope Lake, CA, ( you may be able to see that it is carrying breakfast).
by Jim Shea
Birdwatching is a sport, a hobby, a skilled occupation. Hawkwatching is an obsession.
-- Marie Winn, Red-Tails in Love - A Wildlife Drama in Central Park, Pantheon Books, 1998, p. 204.
Osprey (Pandion haliaeetus )
at Antelope Lake, CA, ( you may be able to see that it is carrying breakfast).
Golden Gate Raptor Observatory activities
I began volunteering with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory during the summer of 1996. This organization, which is affiliated with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, National Park Service, performs scientific studies of hawks; they engage in three primary activities:
In my first year with the GGRO I participated only in the Hawkwatch effort. Since then I have been a member of both a Hawkwatch team and the Radiotelemetry group.
The objective of these pages is to describe the GGRO volunteer experience from the standpoint of a novice entering into the program. When I joined the GGRO, I had an interest in hawks, but only a very rudimentary ability to identify a few species. I hope to convey an understanding of how the programs I have worked with function and what prospective volunteers can look forward to. The following links to descriptions of the Hawkwatch and Radiotelemetry programs were written after the completion of my first two years with the Hawkwatch program and my first year with Radio-telemetry.
Getting started
Several recruiting meetings are held in late spring at Fort Mason in San Francisco - check the GGRO site for how to get notification of when and where the meetings will be held. At these meetings GGRO personnel describe the various activities and prospective volunteers fill out application forms that include a request for information about their experience and interests and the times when they can be available. In general, enthusiasm and commitment are more important than present hawk-identification skills.
More information
A full list of the volunteers and staff, and a summary of the each year's results, including the hawk count, banding activity, and docent contributions, are found in the annual "Golden Gate Raptor Observatory Season Summary." Articles about raptors, the GGRO, and complete descriptions of the results of each year's activities are published in the annual "Pacific Raptor Report." Both publications are available free from the GGRO.
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