Choose Your Excursion
private excursions
Are you a local birder in the San Francisco Bay Area region or are you visiting the Bay Area and need a personal guide to take you to areas you have not yet discovered or to assist you in finding specialty birds? I am here to take you out on a birding adventure to fill up your life list, get that nemesis bird, teach you about identification, or to share with you local birding hotspots.
Trip Rates (For 1-2 people, for each additional person a $25 per hour fee is assessed)
2 hours= $150.00
4 hours= $250.00
6 hours= $325.00
8 hours= $400.00
$50 for each additional hour
Group excursions
These trips are prearranged trips to a specific location in the San Francisco Bay Area region ranging from 4 to 8 hours in length. They are limited to 10 people, so that we can move swiftly to locate birds and everyone can get on the birds. Check our schedule of trips to book your seat.
Trip Rates (Limited to 10 people per excursion):
4 hours= $45.00 per person
6 hours= $70.00 per person
8 hours= $95.00 per person
family excursions
Do you want a truly unique family experience that every family member will appreciate? You can hire us for a few hours or all day to teach your family about birding, which includes, but is not limited to, how to identify birds, how to use field guide, how to use binoculars, where to look for birds, ecology of birds, vocalizations, and bird behavior.
Trip Rates (Up to 8 family members):
2 hours= $150.00
4 hours= $250.00
6 hours= $400.00
$50 for each additional hour
raptor field workshops
These trips are specifically to observe and learn all about birds of prey. This is more of an educational enrichment rather than just a bird excursion. You will learn about identification, ecology, breeding biology, migration, molt scheme, and conservation of raptors. Depending on the location they will last 4 to 8 hours.
Workshop Rates (Limited to 10 people per workshop):
4 hours= $45.00 per person
6 hours= $70.00 per person
8 hours= $95.00 per person
California specialty seeker
Are you seeking to observe the many specialty species that are found in northern California and need a personal guide to assist in locating these species for you? I can plan a trip specifically for what bird species you would like to observe either for your life list or just to observe these species in the field. Let me know what you would like to see, and I can plan your trip to fit your schedule.
Trip Rates (For 1-2 people, for each additional person a $25 per hour fee is assessed)
2 hours= $150.00
4 hours= $250.00
6 hours= $325.00
8 hours= $400.00
$50 for each additional hour
Each excursion is customized with a schedule, pace, and objectives to meet your needs, which will give you a personalized and unique birding experience. All day trips are local excursions in the Bay Area region, unless we customize an excursion outside the area. If I use my vehicle there is a vehicle use fee in addition to the listed fees above. Here is a list of areas that are frequently visited on our excursions, but are not limited to depending on your custom excursion.
Santa Clara County
Coyote Valley
Henry Coe State Park
Loma Prieta
Grant Ranch County Park
Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge
Shoreline Park
Rancho Canada del Oro Open Space Preserve
Calero County Park
Lexington Reservoir County Park
Ed Levin County Park
Monte Sereno Open Space Reserve
Stevens Creek County Park
Sunnyvale Baylands Park
Santa Cruz County
Natural Bridges State Park
Henry Cowell State Park
Quail Hollow Ranch
Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Wilder Ranch State Park
Monterey county
Elkhorn Slough and Moss Landing
Carmel River Mouth
Point Lobos State Reserve
Andrew Molera State Park
Garrapata State Park
san benito county
Panoche Valley
Pinnacles National Park
Pacheco State Park
Merced County
Merced National Wildlife Refuge
San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex
san mateo county
Half Moon Bay State Beach
Pillar Point Harbor
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Devil's Slide
Butano State Park
Pescadero State Beach
Sample Excursion
Natural Bridges State Beach and Surrounding Area in September/October 8 hour excursion
We meet at the Deleware Street entrance to Natural Bridges State Beach at 7:00am. We start birding immediately for residents such as Pygmy Nuthatches, California Towhees, California Quail, Hairy Woodpecker, California Scrub-Jay, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and Red-shouldered Hawks, just to name a few, as we do a short loop trail through the forest patch for a couple hours. In the same area we will search for migrant species such as Yellow Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, with a chance to find a vagrant as many have been observed here such as Summer Tanager, Painted Bunting, and Red-eyed Vireo. After the loop we will take the Moore Creek Trail through chaparral habitat to look for California Thrasher, Wrentit and others and riparian habitat for warblers, sparrows and flycatchers, which is a leisurely walk. We will bird this trail for about 1 hour. This trail will take us to the beach where we look for wetland and beach going species, such as Sanderlings, Heermann's Gull, and others. We will then scan the cliffs and tidepools for Black Oystercatchers, Black Turnstones, Pelagic Cormorants, Brandt's Cormorants, Black-bellied Plovers, and many other shorebirds. We will then go up on the bluff to search for pelagic species such as Elegant Tern, Sooty and Black-vented Shearwaters, Surf Scoters, three loon species, and Pigeon Guillemot. After lunch we will walk up to West Cliff Drive and look along the rocks shores and cliffs for missed shorebirds such as Surfbird. We will then walk back through Natural Bridges and go to Antonelli's Pond to look for Green Heron, Double-crested Cormorant, waterfowl such as Cinnamon Teal, Willow Flycatcher, Hutton's Vireo, Orange-crowned Warbler and many others to wrap up our day at 3:00pm. There is a chance to observe up to 100 species. This would be an example of an eight hour birding excursion.
Policies and Procedures
Birding Ethics
I strongly follow and instill the American Birding Association's Code of Birding Ethics. We visit many protected and non-protected areas with sensitive birds and habitats. Therefore to respect the animals and landscapes, I strongly adhere to the Code of Ethics. Following these ethics will make for an overall better experience and will protect us from disturbing the natural behavior of the birds. You can review the ABA Code of Ethics here.
Reserving an Excursion
I require a 10% deposit of the excursion cost 1 week after making the reservation to hold your date/s. I accept credit cards through the website or personal checks.
Cancellation Policy
If you need to cancel for any reason you forfeit your deposit unless I am able to book another excursion that day or fill your spot in a group excursion. In which I would fully refund your deposit minus a $25 processing fee. Or if you plan to do a future trip within the next 6 months you can have that deposit go towards that excursion.
Protected Areas Admission Fees
Many protected areas (County Parks, Wildlife Refuges, State Parks, etc.) that we visit for these excursions have entrance and/or parking fees. These fees will be included in the quoted cost of your trip and will be paid by the trip leader.
Transportation
For most excursions we will meet on-site at a planned location. It is your responsibility to get yourself to the location unless we have a prearranged agreement. If you need transportation or I drive there will be an additional fee for vehicle use and fuel in addition to the listed fees above.