Designed by Frank Gehry and CMG Landscape Design, Facebook’s Building 20 in Menlo Park includes a 9-acre living roof decorated with a palette of native and habitat-creating trees, shrubs, grasses and annual flowers. The vegetation creates a complex landscape, with bands of habitat that simulate California landscapes, from grasslands to oak savannas and meadows. The building incorporates bird-safe glass with fritting to provide birds with visual cues to minimize the risk of bird strikes.    

Through a partnership with Facebook, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society initiated monthly bird surveys of the living roof in June 2015 (shortly after the building was completed and populated with employees). In these surveys, we monitored the species and numbers of birds observed on the roof and documented bird behaviors. This report covers the months between June 2015 and May 2018. During this time period, 3,602 birds were documented on the living roof, representing 43 avian species. We also documented bird food sources that are provided by the roof’s habitat. The Facebook living roof has become a breeding-and- foraging habitat for local, resident birds and for several migratory and wintering bird species. 

Google’s Ecology Program looks to integrate our region’s ecology into our urban-suburban landscape. Using a science-based framework to guide the design of regional ecosystem health, Google’s Resilient Silicon Valley program invests in nature-oriented organizations in Silicon Valley in four different categories: Education, Demonstration, Research & Assessment, and Native Plant Restoration. Google is also investing in projects on campus to restore native habitat for both people and wildlife. 

• Check out our self-guided birding tour of Google's Mountain View campus! In 2016, Google's Resilient Silicon Valley Program sponsored SCVAS with an award that allowed us to develop this map, which allows the public to explore popular nature hotspots around Google's campus.

• Want a little more information on our local birds before going out on your own? Join us for one of our monthly birding walks around Google's Campus. Birders of all levels are welcome! Check our calendar for the next scheduled walk. Note: No walks are scheduled for the summer, but we'll pick back up again in September.

• Google is also home to an Egret Rookery. Every year, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, and Black-crowned Night Herons build their nests in the sycamore trees along Shorebird Way and raise their young. In 2017, SCVAS held Egret Office Hours every week in May and June to educate Google employees and the public about the rookery. Learn more about the rookery here.