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The GGRO is a cooperative program of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and the National Park Service.
The GGRO is proud to be supported by:
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The GGRO only brings in new volunteers once per year due to the
extensive training involved. Banders are only recruited every other
year because there is so much to learn. Our Recruitment Meetings are held at the end of April each year, where we give an
overview of the organization and what volunteering entails. Volunteers should be 18 years of age; all training is provided.
Unfortunately it is too late to volunteer with us in Fall 2010. If you would like to receive our volunteer recruitment meeting dates for next spring, please send an email to ggro@parksconservancy.org. Thank you!
There are several ways to volunteer with the GGRO. Both Hawkwatch and Banding volunteers are expected to commit at least one regular day every two weeks (i.e. every other Tuesday, every other Sunday, etc.). So we have fourteen banding and hawkwatch teams that work together each time they come out. Teams are run by experienced volunteer Dayleaders under the guidance of the Director and Research Director.
Hawkwatchers scan the sky and count migrating hawks from Hawk Hill as they pass through the Headlands. Trainings occur at the end of June, and in July; the count starts mid-August and goes through the beginning of December. Hawkwatchers meet in the Headlands at about 8:45 and count from 9:30 to 3:30 on Hawk Hill, then come back to the office to do some paperwork before leaving at 4 or 4:30. (Weather permitting; on heavy fog days Hawkwatchers usually wait around a bit to see if it will clear, or sometimes they end up quitting early after being able to start on time.)
Banders sit in small banding blinds in the hills of the Headlands, trap and band raptors and take measurements on them. Trainings and workdays are more rigorous for banders, so there is a bit of a larger commitment. The trainings occur on weeknights and weekends in July and into the beginning of August. Bander field days generally start at 7:45a.m. and last sometimes until the evening, depending on weather and bird activity. Their season is the same as the Hawkwatch — mid-August through the beginning of December.
Radiotelemetrists radiotag a hawk and follow its movements for as long as possible. The season is short, just two weeks in the middle of the migration, but it is intense work, lasting all day every day. There is also a bit of work and training involved to prepare for the season. We ask our telemetrists to have at least one year’s experience volunteering as a GGRO bander or hawkwatcher before they become telemetrists.
If you’d like to have an announcement mailed or emailed to you when next year's Recruitment Meeting dates are set, please email us with your contact info. Thank you!
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