On Thursday evening, we attended NightLife: For the Birds, one of the signature nightlife events held after hours at the museum. For these events, the theme of the museum changes from family-friendly and purely educational to an adult-centric (21+) gathering with a social vibe. DJs are spinning, the lights are dimmed, pop-up bars are set up, and the museum lets loose while maintaining its focus on education and exploration.

Our first stop was outside in the East Garden for a demonstration by Full Circle Falconry, a local business that trains birds of prey for ecological pest control and educational presentations. Master falconer Kenny Elvin presented several birds of prey, including an Aplomado Falcon and a Harris’s Hawk. For a tense and thrilling moment, we experienced a hawk flyover and tried our best to stand still.

After the demo, we checked out the food trucks from Off the Grid: ASÚKAR, Grégoire, Peaches Patties, and The Waffle Roost were in the garden serving freshly cooked meals. We opted for the famous potato puffs from Grégoire and the jerk chicken plate from Peaches Patties.

Next up, we took a stroll through the Murmuration Marketplace where vendors were selling jams, mushrooms, boba drinks, clothing, and crafts. Artists were providing bird-themed face painting and feather hair extensions. Farther along, we spotted booths from local bird conservation organizations, including the Golden Gate Bird Alliance (we recently took a birding field trip with them), International Bird Rescue, and the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory.

On display was a small selection from the more than 100,000 bird specimens in the California Academy of Sciences’ research collection. This collection is not typically open to the general public. We were able to see two specimens of the Galápagos Lava Heron, the subject of one of the featured talks of the evening. Also on display were a small number of the museum’s inventory of Darwin’s finches. These finches helped scientists figure out exactly how geographic isolation drives the birth of new species.

Our final NightLife experiences were the two educational talks held in the African Hall. The first was a presentation by Dr. Jaime Chaves on the Lava Heron, a close relative of the Green Heron and endemic to the Galápagos. The talk focused on the research being done to better understand this species.

The second talk covered a familiar subject for us: the movie The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2003). This is a charming and popular documentary made by director Judy Irving about musician Mark Bittner, who cared for the famed flock of Cherry-headed Conures in San Francisco. The film received a remaster and re-release to local theaters for its 20th anniversary in late 2023 and early 2024. Sarah Lemarie of Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue was a participant in the talk. Mickaboo is the main organization supporting the wild parrots in San Francisco. Following a clip of the film, the hosts held a Q&A with details about the current state of the flock.

The NightLife: For the Birds event was an engaging ornithological deep dive that struck the perfect balance between learning and fun. Check the museum’s events page to see the upcoming NightLife themes.