Allen Fish is a life-long SF Bay Area resident, and has directed the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory since its founding in 1985. He also lectures on Raptor Biology at the University of California, Davis, and has led eco-tours with Raptours, Golden Gate Audubon Society, and California Academy of Sciences. Allen also works closely with the National Park Service on bird conservation issues in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area

For a quarter century, the citizen-driven Golden Gate Raptor Observatory (GGRO) has kept track of the biggest hawk migration in the western US each autumn over the Marin Headlands.   Traditional scientific tools like binoculars, traps, and radio-transmitters have allowed volunteers to count 1000 hawks a day, to band dozens a day, and to follow at least one hawk to Mexico.   But some volunteers weren't satisfied with the traditional, and so created innovations for raptor study at the Golden Gate: among them, a standardized group-counting technique for "measuring" daily flights, a mechanical bird to lure hawks into traps for banding, and the first calibrations of West Nile Virus infection rates in California's wild raptors.

A dynamic result of the partnership between the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the GGRO today makes use of 300 volunteers annually, and draws some 10,000 visitors to the Headlands each autumn.   Come see the fall migration for yourself, just a few minutes west of the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge.   For information and directions, visit www.ggro.org, email us at ggro@parksconservancy.org, or call us at 415-331-0730.