Due to a massive road improvement project, Upper Conzelman Road in the
Marin Headlands is currently closed to all traffic, bikes, and
pedestrians through October. East Road is also currently closed.
Other roads will experience delays of up to 30 minutes for traffic and
may be closed completely to bikers. Please see the Project Headlands website for
maps and timelines of the closures for cars, bikes, and pedestrians,
including weekly updates. This means there will be no public access to
Hawk Hill until the road re-opens in the fall. Thank you for your
patience during construction! Please check back for updates about our public docent programs.
- Road delays and closures
- Bike delays and closures
- Trail delays and closures
- Transit delays and closures
- Destinations & parking information
What does the Hawk Hill closure mean to GGRO’s raptor migration monitoring in 2010? We will be able to get GGRO volunteers and staff into the road closure zone on some days, but other days will be closed to us for obvious safety reasons. So, we’re considering other count locations where we can keep a steady eye on the 2010 flight. In changing count sites, we know that the resulting data won’t be fully comparable to our past 25 years, but we still expect to see an amazing array of raptor species.
This all raises a great question – if not Hawk Hill, where else can the public see this great Pacific Coast raptor migration during September and October?
There are a few alternate sites right here in the Marin Headlands. My favorite is called the Annex by GGRO old-timers. The Annex is the large pull-out on Conzelman Road just about a quarter mile east of the gate that blocks the upper stretch of Conzelman up to Hawk Hill. Drive westward from Highway 101 about ¾ mile and watch on your left for the only pull-out with four wooden benches. This is a wonderful place to see raptors of all species collect above Kirby Cove before making the southbound crossing.
On weekends in September and October, we will have GGRO Raptor Docents at the Annex from 10 am to 2 pm, tracking the hawks in the sky, and telling the migration story to any drop-in visitors ready to listen. Raptor Docents can help you learn to identify hawks from falcons, Sharpshins from Cooper’s, and vultures from planes. Click here for a map of the Annex.
Another dramatic Marin Headlands raptor site is way out to the west: the Bird Island Overlook. This windy site is reached by taking Bunker Road from the Five-minute Tunnel toward Rodeo Beach. Turn left at the Marin Headlands Visitor Center and take Field Road out to the great bluff overlooking this grand guano rock. If you can handle the winds, stand outside your car and keep your eyes to the north and try to pick up raptors as they come down the coast.
Check back for other ideas for alternatives to Hawk Hill farther afield. Thanks for bearing with us during the road closure!
- Allen Fish
As the lazy days of summer roll through the parks, many bird species are
finishing up their nesting attempts—but are not yet ready to move away from
their breeding grounds. Most raptors and songbirds won’t begin their migrations
in earnest for another month. But shorebirds start their journeys earlier and
have already begun to arrive along our coast. The Golden Gate National Parks
provide some great viewing areas for travelling sandpipers and their allies. Read more...
(Photo of juvenile Western Sandpiper by Eddie Bartley)
There is a distinctive hacking sound that a young Great Horned Owl makes when it is begging for prey from its parents. Like a child with a bad cold trying to clear his throat. Yes, yuck. It’s actually more like an upward, growling “retch”!
I heard an owl retch last night as I was getting ready to leave the Marin Headlands at sunset. And I knew instantly, we had owl babies this year. Read more...
(Photo of branching Red-shouldered Hawk by Don Moseman)