The Raptor Observatory operates under the philosophy that incorporating citizens into the process of gathering scientific data will deepen long-term conservation results.

The GGRO programs center around Hawk Hill, one of the highest points (940 feet elevation) immediately above the Golden Gate on the north sides, in Marin County.

While moving toward the Marin peninsula's southern tip in the Headlands, the "front" of migrating raptors is squeezed by San Francisco Bay on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west.

GGRO offers free public programs every Saturday and Sunday at noon in September and October, peak migration season (weather permitting: rain or fog cancels).

The Golden Gate migration is primarily one of diurnal raptors—hawks, kites, falcons, eagles, vultures, osprey, and harriers—with an average of nineteen raptor species appearing annually.