Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance

10/28/2026

A requiem for the owls of Orchard Parkway 🦉

In 2013, Greg Kerekes made a beautiful video and song inspired by the disappearing landscape of Orchard Parkway in North San José.

▶️ Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuBGK2Jaycs

The burrowing owls of Orchard Parkway in North San José were displaced to make way for development that never happened. Their colony was destroyed and the land is still undeveloped. Now it may be used for expanding PG&E power infrastructure for a proposed 99-megawatt Prologis data center.

It is heartbreaking to see how easily wildlife habitat disappears. The owls are gone, the land is still empty, and its future is being decided once again, this time to make way for power infrastructure for data centers.

The song’s message about urban sprawl and disappearing landscapes feels more relevant than ever.

This song was inspired by a disapearing landscape. Orchard Parkway ...

10/27/2026

Advocacy win for the Baylands! 🌊🦆

On October 26, the Palo Alto City Council unanimously voted to defer a proposed zoning amendment that would have reaffirmed a pathway for new housing east of Highway 101.

After concerns raised by SCVBA and our partners at Bay Alive and the Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge, a majority of Councilmembers questioned whether more housing belongs in this vulnerable area. They chose to discuss the City’s housing policy east of 101 before acting on the amendment.

Why it matters: Sea level rise and rising groundwater are growing threats to Palo Alto’s Baylands. More housing there would put more people and property at risk, increase future flood protection obligations, and could take up the space tidal marshes and wildlife habitat need to migrate inland as the Bay rises.

This is an important step toward making sure Palo Alto plans for long-term shoreline resilience and protects Baylands habitat before allowing more development.

SCVBA will keep advocating for land use policies that protect birds, wetlands, and room for nature-based adaptation. Thank you to our partners and everyone who speaks up for the Baylands! 💙

10/26/2026

The Nature Shop will be running on reduced hours for the next two weeks, Oct 26- Nov 6, 2026. Our adjusted hours will be 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM Monday-Friday.

📸 Oak Titmouse by Carol Ann Krug Graves

10/22/2026

We are super excited to be hanging out with the plant experts of Grassroots Ecology and California Native Plant Society - Santa Clara Valley Chapter this Saturday, October 24th at Hidden Villa for the annual native plant sale! Join us in celebrating the amazing flora that host the birds we love, pick up something new for the garden, and enjoy the beauty of Hidden Villa with us!

📸Cedar Waxwing feasting on Toyon berries by Steve Patt

10/21/2026

Knitting, sketching, felting... we know our members have some amazing hobbies beyond birding!

We invite you to join us for an afternoon of socializing, snacks, and crafting at McClellan Ranch on Wednesday, October 28! Don't have a project to bring? We'll have coloring sheets available for folks who don't have a current project and are looking for conversation!

📅 Wednesday, October 28
🕙 5-7 pm
📍SCVBA Office - McClellan Ranch Preserve

10/19/2026

SCVBA staff Shani Kleinhaus and volunteer Ada Marquez have been digging further into Prop 45 - just in time for you to fill out your ballot!

Please leave a comment!

Prop. 45 is being sold as a way to make California more affordable and speed up project approvals. But behind that promise is a sinister bargain: weaken the California Environmental Quality Act, the law that requires public agencies to examine environmental harm and listen to residents before approv...

10/18/2026

Hey Cupertino residents! Take a look at your ballot:

Measure L would protect Cupertino’s parks, open space, wildlife habitat, recreational areas, and safe bike and school routes by requiring voter approval before these protected lands can be converted to other uses.

Wildlife can't vote, but we can.

📸 Pygmy Nuthatch: Sushanta Bhandarkar

10/16/2026

Looking for something new to do this weekend? Join a bioblitz! We'll be learning all about the habitat and organisms of Coyote Creek this Sunday, October 18 with Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and the BioBlitz.club at the Coyote Creek Trailhead in Milpitas (McCarthy Road). Discover plants, insects, birds, and animals of all different shapes and sizes as we explore and use iNaturalist to document our findings.

This FREE event is open to explorers of all ages and experience levels.

📸 Downy Woodpecker: Deanne Tucker

10/14/2026

🦅🦉Join SCVBA and community allies on Thursday, October 15, to demand strong protections in San José before data centers move forward.

Data centers are being proposed beside homes, schools, open space, and waterways. Their constant hum, nighttime lighting, air pollution, and enormous energy and water demands put communities and wildlife at risk. People and birds need quiet nights, dark skies, and protected resources. San José’s current protections must be strengthened.

📅Rally and press conference: 5:00–6:00 p.m. Civic Plaza West, outside San José City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara Street.

📅City community meeting: 6:00–8:00 p.m. City Council Chambers. Stay after the rally to speak up, or join via Zoom (https://sanjoseca.zoom.us/j/94944524154)

📸Peregrine Falcon: Tom Grey

10/13/2026

North American bird species are disappearing. Join SCVBA staff and volunteers, Carolyn Knight and Julie Amato for a Speaker Series digging deep into the darker side of America's environmental history with Vanished: Extinct (or Possibly Extinct) Birds of North America And Why Their Stories Matter.

We'll be learning about extinction and the efforts (successful and not) to stymie it with two famous case studies from North America: the Passenger Pigeon and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker; the drivers that removed these birds from the landscape, and what lessons might be learned from our past mistakes.

📅 Wednesday, October 21
🕙 7-8:30 PM
💻 FREE ONLINE WEBINAR

https://scvbirdalliance.org/event-calendar/speaker-series-vanished