Dusky-capped flycatcher (credit: mdf)

Most people know the Philadelphia suburbs for cheesesteaks and unruly sports fans. But it’s no wonder that John James Audubon started his lifelong affair with birds just 25 miles northwest of Center City, and a 20-minute drive from my natal stomping grounds. The dense, rolling woodlands of Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County where I grew up offered prime habitat for cardinals, chickadees, blue jays, wrens, and countless other species my mom loved to point out to us kids. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my mom’s avian affinities taught me not just to pay attention to the biology in my backyard but, ultimately, to consider which species lived there and why.

This weekend, novice Bay Area wildlife watchers get the chance to play field biologist in their own backyards and join forces with expert birders and scientists to gather data on the incidence, abundance, and distribution of birds. Between February 17 and 20, the 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count invites people of all ages and experience to spend as little as 15 minutes (or as long as you like) counting birds wherever you are.

The event is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Bird Studies Canada, leading bird conservation organizations that provide a wealth of resources for participants, including tips for getting started,
regional checklists, and tools for resolving tricky identifications.

“The Great Backyard Bird Count is an excellent introductory citizen science project for any level of birder,” says Brian Sullivan, an expert on North American birds and project leader of Cornell’s online resource for birders around the world, eBird.

“You can just count the birds you see in your backyard or go to your local park and count what you see there. The idea is to get a weekend snapshot of late-winter bird distribution across the United States and to make things really simple so just about anyone can participate.”

Sullivan, who has 1,669 species on his life list, says lucky birders could see “mega-rarities” like an Iceland gull, “a very rare bird in California” spotted near Sausalito in early February, or maybe the dusky-capped flycatcher that's been living in Golden Gate Park all winter.

The largest estuary on the West Coast, the San Francisco Bay Delta provides habitat and refuge to more than 250 species of waterbirds, some (including pelicans, loons, herons, and egrets) year-round residents, others, like the Wilson’s phalarope and Sabine’s gull, on stopovers to feed and rest before resuming their long-distance migrations. As many as 800,000 birds inhabit Bay Area waterways at any given time.

To find out which birds you’re likely to see in your area, go to Cornell’s eBird, click on “View and Explore Data,” then click on “Bar Charts,” select “United States,” “California,” and then “Counties in California.” Choose your county, click “continue,” and you’ll see the occurrence of birds throughout the year.

Last year, participants entered more than 92,000 checklists with 1.4 million birds from 596 species. Their data helped researchers identify changes in abundance (including an increase in evening grosbeaks, which declined 50% between 1988 and 2006) and distribution (winter finches moving south), and spot anomalies (an Asian brown shrike in McKinley, California).

The bird counts give weekend nature lovers an easy way to help scientists gather data on a widely distributed group of animals that serve as valuable indicators of biodiversity. Because birds occupy many different “trophic” levels in food webs, eating everything from insects to fish to mammals (and, for top predators like owls, hawks, and eagles, other birds), they play critical roles in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Among their many “ecosystem services,” all of which benefit humans, birds help regulate prey populations, facilitate plant reproduction through pollination and seed dispersal, and recycle nutrients by scavenging carcasses.

This widespread influence on their environment also makes them extremely sensitive to ecosystem disruptions, including habitat destruction and climate change. An alarming 13% of the world’s birds, 1,253 species, face extinction, according to the 2011 IUCN Red List. The Great Indian bustard, a native of India and Pakistan that barks when alarmed, has been reclassified as critically endangered, a victim of hunting and widespread habitat destruction. Scientists think fewer than 250 mature birds remain.

Closer to home, black-crowned night herons and snowy egrets have been on a downward slide since 2005. And the endangered California clapper rail, once abundant in the tidal marshes of San Francisco Bay, offers a case study in the unintended consequences of development. Extensive filling and diking of the bay has destroyed some 85% of the clapper rail’s salt marsh habitat, making a shy species that seems to prefer scampering over swimming and flying easy pickings for feral cats and invasive red foxes, which now have unfettered access to adults and their ground-nesting offspring.

California clapper rail (Don Roberson)

Roughly 60% of the critically endangered clapper rail population, estimated at between 1,000 and 1,500, lives in San Francisco Bay’s Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, in Fremont.

Researchers will use the information collected from the bird count to learn how birds like the clapper rail are coping with these new predation pressures, as well as other stresses from ongoing urbanization, global climate change, and disease.

The decline of suitable habitat for these species affects us as well. Tidal marshes filter contaminants to enhance water quality and serve as natural flood barriers. If the marshes can no longer support species like the clapper rail, chances are they can’t provide these ecosystem services for us either.

Birds are among the most diverse and ubiquitous vertebrates on the planet and often offer humans a first brush with wildlife.

As a little girl, I marveled that my mom always knew when Jenny Wren and her husband, Joe (as she liked to call the resident house wrens), would appear in our backyard, build their nest, and settle into the business of raising, feeding, and protecting their broods.

She couldn’t have known that scientists would one day blame the precipitous declines in Bewick’s wrens in the eastern United States on the expansion of her beloved house wrens, known for ejecting eggs, and even young, from coveted nest sites.

Blue jay (Liza Gross)

As I listened to Mom’s fanciful tales of avian domestic dramas, my young imagination conjured all manner of worrisome scenarios. Would Joe find enough food for the babies? Could Jenny protect them from a torrential summer downpour? How would either of them cope with a curious cat? Some may shudder at such anthropomorphizing, but I wonder: If more people viewed birds the way my mom did, struggling to survive like the rest of us, would they worry about their welfare, too?

Henry David Thoreau first said “In wildness is the preservation of the world” in a lecture some months after Audubon’s death. I like to think, had they discussed the question, Audubon would have objected: “My dear sir, I believe you meant to say, ‘In birds is the preservation of the world.’ ”

Courtesy of Frederik Questier and Yanna Van Wesemael.

In mid February, I attended and presented at the inaugural 2011 International Public Science Events Conference (IPSEC) in Washington, D.C. on behalf of the California Academy of Sciences. About 180 attendees gathered from all over the world to discuss the science café movement and its future direction. There were delegates from Italy, China, Japan, England, Egypt and the United States and the enthusiasm for the topic of science was tanamount. There were attendees from large science festivals and national movements down to organizers of intimate gatherings in local cafés and pubs.

The science café movement in the United States stems from a longer history in Europe. It all began with Café philosophique. It was a grassroots forum for philosophical discussion, founded by philosopher Marc Sautet in Paris, France in the 1990's.

This concept was applied to café scientifique in 1998. Duncan Dallas, café founder, got the idea for the scientific forum from reading the obituary of Marc Suatet. He set up his first meeting in a wine bar in Leeds, England. Café scientifiques started popping up all over England. Now café scientifique is a recognized international movement linking those interested with cafes – not only in England, but through the rest of the world.

This reach was related by Duncan Dallas when he spoke of his work with new cafes in West Africa at the conference. It was really wonderful to find out about these very rural science cafes. Mostly women are starting them in native tribal languages. The most sought after topics concern public health and they are a way to better educate the general public about health concerns everyone is facing in these areas.

The two-day conference was truly inspiring for its reach and passion about science. I walked away thinking that science is an intrinsic part of culture that needs to be discussed and delved into rather than placed on a pedestal collecting dust. This movement continues to flourish because science in an café or festival format make science an approachable part of our everyday world; one which fuels not only discussion and community but also curiosity and enthusiasm.

This discussion is very much alive in the bay area and many events taking place can be found on the Bay Area Science events calendar. For more information on how this science café movement is taking off in the United States, the science café website and the science festival alliance website are both great resources to check out.

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It's like the Discovery Channel with beer!

Back when I was in school, such a proclamation would have gotten me beat up. Luckily, I live in San Francisco, which was just shown to be the nerdiest city in America according to the US Census Bureau. Nerd culture has boomed locally over the past few years. There are nerd podcasts, nerd variety shows, and plenty of nerd couture. Add a new addition to the mix, a nerd social night – the revival of NerdNite SF. It is a night of presentations, music, and socializing. Their classic description is "It's like the Discovery channel, with beer".

NerdNite started where many great scientific ideas get launched: a bar. A small group of guys kept bothering their scientist friend to tell tales from his field research. He got tired of retelling the story individually, so he came up with a format to share the work to a larger group. NN has maintained that casual, social spirit as it expanded to cities across the world (Austin, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, DC, Dublin, LA, Munich, NYC, Toronto, and Wellington). Topics range from the strange curiosities to borderline insane. Check out the example from NerdNite NYC featuring a rap song, with lyrics

The SF edition brings a few twists: DJ Alpha Bravo spinning some nerd tunes, presentations on designing spacecraft, kinetic art robots, and competitive bearding (of course!) As a veteran of a few NerdNites, I can attest to the fun: you'll meet plenty of other nerds (of all types) and enjoy a wild array of entertainment. My favorite moment: At the last NerdNite SF a presenter was booed when he mentioned his data was "hypothetical".

Can NerdNite speed dating be far behind?

NerdNite SF
When: Thursday, July 8th 7:30PM
Where: Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco
Cost: $10
Details: Nerd Nite SF returns with the two-time world beard champion to answer all your pogonological questions! Also discussing the perils of spacecraft navigation (but don’t call it rocket science!) and how to build your own robotic bartender.

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Every Thursday, the California Academy of Sciences is transformed into a lively venue filled with music, provocative science, mingling, and cocktails for visitors 21 and older. Activities and performers change week to week. Image courtesy Jenny Oh.

Over lunch today, I got into a debate with my friend over which camp I fell into – nerd or geek. His understanding is I lacked the technical aptitude to fall into either category. Of course, I disagreed. I am quite confident that I am situated comfortably in the nerd camp. His rebuttal was that I throw parties for a living of which I countered that I throw “science” parties.

So at an impasse, definitions were in order – both are quoted form the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Nerd
Function: noun
Etymology: perhaps from nerd, a creature in the children's book If I Ran the Zoo (1950) by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel)
An unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits

Geek
Function: noun
Etymology: probably from English dial. geek, geck fool, from Low German geck, from Middle Low German
1: a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake
2: a person often of an intellectual bent who is disliked
3: an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity

“Slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits” definitely rings a bell. I love researching and I always have. In high school, the librarians knew me by name because I spent more time with books than peers. In college, I would pick paper topics specifically to gain access to the Bancroft rare books library at Cal. In school, it was easy to fuel my nerdy interests and get lost into a battle of wits amongst friends but in adulthood, I have had to search for like-minded people and events. Below is my list of favorites intellectual haunts in the city.

NightLife at California Academy of Sciences

Okay, I am totally biased as I manage the music and programming for the series. But I don’t think I would have explored so many other events if I wasn’t working on creating a “science” party of my own.

Down to a Science Informal Lectures at Atlas Café

This past Monday, I heard Brian Fisher talk about ants at this series. His stories, passion, and enthusiasm filled the room and the audience was captivated. Not only did we see into the fascinating world of ants but we found out why Dr. Fisher screens his calls. His number one question from the public is ‘How do I get rid of the ants in my kitchen?’

Down to a Science Book Club at Book Inc.

In January, we are reading Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice for all Creation which is one of my all-time favorite science books. In the past month, I was introduced to the amazing medical mystery of Prions. The discussion has been small and incredibly lively each time I’ve attended.

Exploratorium after Dark

Okay, I have to admit that I haven’t been to this particular event yet because I work on NightLife on Thursday nights. But I have a group assembled to go check it out during our hiatus in December. I love that they are doing a night like this as I HEART the Exploratorium. I have ever since I visited during bubble day and was able to step into a giant bubble thanks to a lot of bubble solution and a simple pulley system.

LoveTech usually held at Il Pirata

I attended LearnTech which is a part of this series to support my friend who built a navigation portal into fractals. This is a great event that plays with the intersection between art, electronics and music. LearnTech was set up as mini talks and tabling. The talks, interaction, and boundless creativity had me captivated.

Ask a Scientist Informal Lectures held at Axis Café

This is another informal Science Café that has great content. The last one I was able to attend delved into the science behind magic. Even thought the place was packed, the lecture and discussion were lively and funny to boot.

Bookswap held at Booksmith

Reading, being my portal into nerdiness, is a constant pastime. But there are very few times that I get to truly discuss a book let alone several. I brought Mary Roach’s Bonk and swapped it for a Ninja novel. I was also given the recommendation of World War Z. I read it in two days; itt was so well written and absolutely engrossing.

What’s wonderful about San Francisco is this is only a slice of science events in the city. Have you found a haunt in the San Francisco Science Scene? Feel free to share you’re favorites in the comment section below.

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As the impact grows closer, NASA is making an effort to talk about the locally driven mission. Many of the upcoming talks are suitable for any audience, from kids to adults.

Luna Philosophie: Hitch-hiking to the Moon

Where: Scribd, 539 Bryant St. (2nd Floor), San Francisco

When: Wednesday, 9/23 6-8 PM

Cost: Free, RSVP to Delia.L.Santiago@nasa.gov

Details: Dr. Kim Ennico, LCROSS Payload Scientist and the LCROSS Payload Integration & Test Manager, will provide an overview of the NASA LCROSS mission and discuss how NASA has been expanding the concept of “participatory exploration” with LCROSS as an example. This will be a lively discussion.

Andrew Chaikin on LCROSS

Where: Chabot Space & Science Center

When: Saturday, 9/26 3-430 PM

Cost: Free with Museum Admission

Details: Author, speaker, and space journalist Andrew Chaikin joins Chabot visitors for a night of moon conversation and exploration. Using the detailed program Google Moon, which he helped to develop, Chaikin takes the visitor on a guided tour of the moon’s surface. Chaikin will also discuss the recent LCROSS mission and his extensive knowledge of the Apollo missions.

To the Moon: A Look at NASA’s Upcoming Lunar Impact Mission and the History of Moon Exploration

Where: Exploratorium

When: Sunday, 9/27 2-4 PM

Cost: Free with Museum Admission

Details: Take a trip to our nearest neighbor in space with renowned science journalist and space historian Andrew Chaikin. Relive the achievements of Apollo lunar astronauts and learn about the ambitious LCROSS mission, which will send a rocket crashing into the moon’s permanently shadowed regions to kick up huge plumes of debris in the hopes of uncovering deposits of ice. In addition, Exploratorium educators will give an entertaining and interactive overview of moon science.

QUEST on KQED Public Media.

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Every fall, 30,000 raptors and hawks migrate across the Bay Area in a fantastic display.

In celebration of the 25^th anniversary, there are a number of interactive events and talks scheduled over the next month.

Hawk Talk and Banding Demo

Where: Hawk Hill

When: Sat 9/12, Sun 9/13, Sat 9/19, Sun 9/20, Sat 9/26 12 Noon – 2 PM

Cost: Free

Details: At these Hawk Talks, a GGRO volunteer gives an hour-long talk about hawk monitoring, migration, and identification using photos and other props. Then at 1 PM a newly banded wild hawk is shown to the crowd, a volunteer talks about GGRO's banding program, and the hawk is released.

GGRO Open House and Raptor Fest!

Where: Ft Cronkhite at Rodeo Beach

When: October 24^th and 25^th, 10 AM-4 PM

Cost: Free

Details: Scientific Displays, Radiotelemetry Demonstrations, Live Non-releasable Raptors, Kid Crafts, GGRO 25th Anniversary Product Sales, Visits to Hawk Hill, Banding Demonstrations, and Raptor Art. On Sunday only – Speakers from UC Davis, SF State University, UC Berkeley presenting results of their research with GGRO.

Celebrate Raptors—A Series of Raptor Biology Talks

Satellite-Tracking Peregrines throughout the Americas

Where: San Francisco Zoo

When: Thursday, September 10^th 7-9 PM

Cost: $3-$5 suggested donation

Falconiformes Discovery: Field, Lab, and Conservation

Where: California Academy of Science’s Nightlife

When: Thursday, October 15^th 7-9 PM

Cost: $12

Eagle Quest:  To See All the World’s Eagles

Where: Mission Blue Chapel, Cavallo Point

When: Wednesday, November 18^h 7-9 PM

Cost: $3-$5 suggested donation

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Cal Academy and The 11th Hour Project are bringing some excellent speakers to town.

Maybe this is a reflection on my choice in friends, but the above quote is a common comment about the Academy's wildly successful adults only Nightlife program (just check Yelp). Yet if you go a touch deeper than the rockin' DJ, numerous bars, and diverse exhibits, there is a wealth of interactive programs to exercise your brain. This month may bring the most celebrated speakers yet, all thanks to the folks at the 11^th Hour Project, a non-profit dedicated to creating a sustainable world.

Opening the month are Dan Kammen & Sally Benson discussing the emerging green energy economy, focusing on the novel technological solutions to the global energy issues. In case you were worried about their credentials, Dan is the lead author for the UN IPCC panel (they netted a Nobel Prize in 2007) and Sally is one of the pre-eminent U.S. experts on carbon sequestration.

On 9/10, Annie Leonard takes the stage to discuss her popular polemic, The Story of Stuff. Annie's tale is 20 minute tale of our unsustainable production and consumption pattern. The viral video is now well past 7 million views, all from a filmmaker who was curious what happens to all our "stuff".

Maya Lin, the Chinese-American artist who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, unveils her new sculpture titled "What is Missing?" in the East Garden on 9/17. She'll discuss the new piece, which is dedicated to raising awareness of biodiversity and habitat loss, as well as her artistic process.

Finally, 9/24 is the night for the disappearing glaciers. Orvile Schell, the director of the Center on US-China Relations, has been documenting the decline through photography. Beyond his stunning photos, Orville will discuss his work to create a cooperative strategy between the US and China (the top 2 greenhouse gas emitters) to reduce their carbon emissions. Filmmaker and mountaineer David Breashears will also discuss the glacier disappearance through his 1^st hand accounts of traveling to receding sites on the highest peaks of the world. He knows a thing or two about high peaks; David was the first American to summit Mt. Everest twice.

California Academy of Science's Nightlife

Where: California Academy of Sciences

When: Every Thursday in September, 6-10 PM

Cost: Tickets are $12 ($10 for Academy members).  Many of the programs below require passes. Please check the Nightlife page for more information.

Thursday, September 3^rd 2009

Professors Dan Kammen, coordinating lead author for the IPCC, and Sally Benson, Director of the Global Climate and Energy Project, debate the Green Energy Economy.

Thursday, September 10^th, 2009

Author & Filmmaker Annie Leonard recounts a Story of Stuff.

Thursday, September 17^th, 2009

Celebrated artist Maya Lin (she designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C.) unveils her new sculpture in the East Garden. In addition, Chef Laura Stec & Climatologist Eugene Cordero cook up a low carbon diet.

Thursday, September 24^th, 2009

Orville Schell, current Director of the Center on US-China Relations, unveils his photographs of retreating glaciers as we chart a path to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. In addition, American Mountaineer David Breashears, director of the IMAX film Everest, shares his adventures on the edge of the disappearing glaciers.

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Professor Gordon Frankie of UC Berkeley was an early adopter of urban beekeeping.

Professor Gordon Frankie of UC Berkeley was an early adopter of urban beekeeping. In the late 1990s, he started the Urban Bee Project, an experimental project to document bee populations in the Bay Area. Gordon used this data to plant a bee garden right in downtown Berkeley (how he managed to get approval of that is mystery to me). The project has catalogued over 80 species of native bees, a number expected to grow well over 100. Gordon has even used the research to create a bee-friendly garden builder.

Gordon will discuss the Urban Bee Project at the next East Bay Science Café. In addition, there are a whole host of local beekeeping organizations that offer educational events.

Native Bees: A rich natural resource in urban California gardens

When: Wednesday, September 2^nd 2009

Where: East Bay Science Café, La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley

Cost: FREE

Local Beekeeping Organizations

• Alameda County Beekeepers Association
• Santa Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild
• Santa Cruz Guild for Beekeepers
• Mount Diablo Beekeepers Association
• Sonoma County Beekeepers
• San Francisco Beekeepers Association
• San Mateo Bee Guild
• Marin County Beekeepers

Also, you can watch QUEST's TV story "Better Bees: Super Bee and Wild Bee" below:

QUEST on KQED Public Media.

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This week's local science event pick focuses on health care reform.

The idea for Kaiser was developed by Dr. Sidney Garfield way back in 1933. He established a prepayment health plan for 5000 workers building the Los Angeles Aqueduct in the Mojave Desert. Workers paid about a nickel a day to receive full medical care from Dr. Garfield. He emphasized prevention and early treatment to prevent more serious problems later.

Fast forward to today, the same issues of prevention to keep down costs are still being discussed today. Certainly, HMOs are not without criticism, but it is certainly a compelling story to trace the development of the modern system from a place of preventative care. Plus, it will be a relief to have a healthcare discussion without all the yelling.

Tom Debley is the author of The Story of Dr. Sidney R. Garfield: The Visionary Who Turned Sick Care into Health Care, the theme of his talk will be "The Long Quest for Health Care Reform: A Bay Area Doctor's Belief in Health Care as a Right." He will trace the story of Dr. Garfield's life because so much less is known about him than his co-founder, Henry J. Kaiser.

The Long Quest for Health Care Reform: A Bay Area Doctor's Belief in Health Care as a Right

When: Tuesday, August 25^th 2009

Where: Commonwealth Club, 595 Market Street 2nd Floor

Cost: $8 members, $15 non-members, Tickets

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David Lindberg, Professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, and Steve Croft, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Astronomy at UC Berkeley

How do you connect seemingly separate historical events? Team an astrophysicist and an evolutionary biologist of course. David Lindberg, Professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, and Steve Croft, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Astronomy at UC Berkeley will tie these great anniversaries in a unique lecture this weekend.

Starting 14 billion years ago with the Big Bang, Steve will trace the evolution of the universe, from scorching hot gas forming galaxies to the continued birth and death of new stars. David will step in and discuss how the history of our special little planet is inexorably tied to material raining down from space. The water in our oceans, the formation of some organic molecules, and even mass extinctions on this planet have largely been determined by extraterrestrial events. And let's not forget Area 51 (that's a joke!).

Astronomy and Evolution: From the Death of the Dinosaurs to the Stardust in your Bones

When: Saturday, August 15^th 11AM – 12 PM

Where: 100 Genetics & Plant Biology Building, UC Berkeley Campus

Cost: Free

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