Maureen Lahiff treks across the UC campus every weekday for her job as a public health lecturer.

Last Sunday, she made that trek again but saw the campus in a whole new light –  as a place brimming with birds. Lahiff was among 200 volunteers taking part in the 72^nd annual Oakland Christmas Bird Count, run by the Golden Gate Audubon Society.

Part of a national Audubon tradition, the Oakland count covers a 177-square mile circle that stretches north to Point Isabel and south to the Oakland Airport. Five of the count’s 29 teams were assigned to sections of Berkeley, including the waterfront, Claremont Canyon, Tilden Park, UC, and central Berkeley.

Read more at Berkeleyside.

Most people go to Cesar Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina to walk dogs, fly kites or stroll kids. Karen Smith goes to monitor owls.

Smith is one of about a dozen volunteer docents from Golden Gate Audubon Society who help passersby spot and learn about the small population of Western burrowing owls who spend each winter at the marina.

This year, five owls have been documented – three along the north bank of Cesar Chavez Park, and two in the area set off from pedestrians by a new owl-friendly art installation. The small ground-dwelling birds spend much of the day sitting alertly near their burrows, astonishingly close to all those humans with dogs, kites and strollers.

“Everyone has the same gasp – ‘Oh, they are so wonderful!’ – when they see them for the first time,” said Smith …. 

Read more about the burrowing owls on the marina at Berkeleyside.