Many birders have what they call a “spark bird”: the bird that got them into the hobby in the first place — and Nguyen’s is a chicken. “I came in knowing nothing about birds. I was born in the Year of the Rooster, and I just like chickens,” they said.” Now I can confidently identify a lot more birds than chickens.”
Each Queers of a Feather event is free to attend, but requires reservations due to a group size limit of about 35 people. All are welcome, especially newcomers, and each event features knowledgeable facilitators to help answer questions, Nguyen said. Event managers send out a logistics email ahead of time, reminding people to bring layers, sun protection, water and comfortable shoes to walk in and can make accommodations for those who request them. They’ll also provide snacks, binoculars and pocket bird guides — but you’re likely to walk away with something extra as well, Nguyen said.
“Everyone leaves with smiles and swag,” they said.
Want to meet up with Queers of a Feather to celebrate Pride month?
The next Queers of a Feather outing is June 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Wavecrest Open Space in Half Moon Bay, a hotspot for birding on the coastside that POST has helped protect from development.
Adventure awaits with the San Francisco Hiking Club
Started in 1983, the San Francisco Hiking Club was born out of necessity, the club’s vice president, Sam Kaufman, said.
“Back in those days, pre-internet, it was harder to find folks in the LGBT community who shared similar interests — much harder than now, certainly,” he said. ”And I think they found a really good niche, because it kept going.”
The San Francisco Hiking Club is fairly informal, Kaufman said, and you can just show up for their weekly hikes for your first few times before they’ll ask you to pay the $20 annual membership fee. Their hikes range from entry-level to strenuous, but the group also plans more unconventional outings like weekday climbs up Telegraph Hill or Colma cemetery strolls, Kaufman said. And since each trip leader chooses the hike, “it’s really a little bit of everything,” Kaufman said.
The group’s membership has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning “almost every hike there’s some new folks,” Kaufman said. When he’s leading a hike, Kaufman said he tries to plan for places the group hasn’t been to in a while.
“Being in this area, I feel really blessed,” he said. “If you’re into the outdoors, you just can’t ever run out of somewhere new to discover.”
Want to meet up with the San Francisco Hiking Club to celebrate Pride month?
Kaufman is guiding a 10-mile hike in Butano State Park, which was burned in the 2020 CZU August Lightning Complex Fire, on June 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There are carpool options available from the East Bay and San Francisco.
“We haven’t been there as a club since the fire shut most of [Butano] down,” Kaufman said. “So I’m really curious to see what it looks like.”
