Seven hundred elementary school students from San Francisco, Marin County and Oakland formed a design depicting a giant Osprey carrying a shield and a “DEFEND THE SEA” message on the sand at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach, referring to the need for all of us to protect the ocean from pollution. The group art project, viewable from the air, took place following a beach clean-up, part of the 19th Annual Kids’ Ocean Day Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup event. The event kicked off a series of Kids’ Ocean Day Adopt-A-Beach Cleanups at six beaches up and down the California coast and one in Marineland, Florida. (aerial photo by Kevin Lozaw)
Our friends at the Golden Gate Audubon Society have launched a blog. Called the Golden Gate Birder, it promises to offer everything one might want to know about birding and bird conservation in the Bay Area. Check it out often.
Ever wonder where all our birds go when they head up north in spring migration? Across the U.S., millions of birds that go north for the nesting season head to Alaska. One place in particular is in the spotlight just now: the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska. Located on Alaska’s North Slope along the coast of the Arctic Ocean, the Reserve is the largest public land unit in the U.S.—at more than 22 million acres, it’s about the size of Indiana. Audubon is getting involved in the planning process for how new oil and gas leases in this landscape will be balanced with the needs of birds. You can help — visit Audubon Alaska’s page on the subject to learn more. (photo of Brant pair by USFWS)
Shorebird Conservation Biologist Monica Iglecia is currently monitoring shorebird nests all along the Sacramento Valley. She is placing ibuttons, small temperature trackers the size of watch batteries, into American Avocet and Black-necked Stilt nests. This is all part of our work with the Migratory Bird Conservation Partnership. Three nests have received an ibutton, all within a twenty to thirty mile range in Colusa county. [Read more →]
As we noted a few weeks ago, the spring migration of the Phainopepla is a little baffling. Between March and April, the bird will breed in the Sonoran Desert, then move more seriously into Arizona and California to breed in May and June. So, the bird kind of has two migrations and two breeding periods. And yet, as we pointed out, however, the bird is still seen in warm areas throughout Southern and Mid-California as the weather warms. We saw a pair near Fresno three weeks ago. Here’s a fact, its shimmering black plumage inspired its Greek name, Phainopepla, or “shining robe.” For sure, this is one of the stars of our latter stage of spring migration. Below is an eBird map of May sightings (photo by Dmitry Mozzherin):
We wrote about the first arrivals of the Yellow-headed Blackbird back in March, but we are impressed at how the sightings keep pouring in. The brightly headed bird is hard to miss and its distinctive creaky call sounds like it would be better placed in the soundtrack of a Boris Karloff movie. The bird is more sensitive to the cold than its relative the Red-shouldered Blackbird, but the two bird types do share breeding grounds during the spring and summer. [Read more →]
In the last five days, two wetlands on private land in Kern county have produced Tricolored Blackbird colonies. Roughly 120 acres in all have nests. The two wetland habitats were flooded with water paid for with last year’s Five Dollars / Five Birds campaign and supplemental funding from USFWS. Last year’s campaign was a huge success and Audubon California is seeing the impact a second year makes. Tricolored Blackbirds have an amazing ability to remember prime habitat, which underscores the importance of sustaining this program. We hope you take a moment to give five dollars to save five birds.
The LA Times published a story on Mission San Juan Capistrano’s attempt to bring back their Cliff Swallows:
In a last-ditch effort to lure back the tiny cliff swallow, Mission San Juan Capistrano is trying to win the affections of the migratory visitor by playing the bird’s mating call throughout the mission grounds.
The unromantic croak of the swallow, piped from an iPod tucked behind a statue of mission founder Junipero Serra, rings inside the mission’s adobe walls.
Back in late April, we alerted all of you to a tragedy unfolding in the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. Because of a shortage of water in the Refuge, thousands of migratory waterfowl were perishing on their way north for spring migration. Our alarm prompted nearly 20,000 of you to send emails to the Secretary of the Interior asking for more water at this critical time. Soon after your emails hit, the Bureau of Reclamation started new releases of water into the Refuge, and it looks like the the birds will have what they need through the summer. Clearly, public attention and involvement can make a difference, and we thank all of those who took a moment to speak out. The Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge is widely considered the most important place for migratory waterfowl in the Lower 48, and it deserves our attention. As we noted in our alert, ad hoc water releases are only a temporary solution, and we’ll have to remain watchful in the fall when birds will be need water in the Refuge. (photo of a Cinnamon Teal at the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge by Dave Menke/USFWS)
For the last several weeks, we’ve been talking in this space about spring migration, the great spectacle of birds moving over great distances. But during this whole period, we’ve been ever mindful of the great California birds that aren’t going anywhere this spring. Sure, they may shift locally from one place to another to set up a nest, but in the larger sense, they are nonmigratory. This isn’t to say that these birds are not part of the great Pacific Flyway. Rather, they represent some of the greatest birds of the flyway. It’s just that for various biological reasons, they are not disposed to head off to Alaska or South America. In other words, they’re stickin’. Now the list of these birds is pretty long, so we asked a few of our colleagues to name their favorites. Here are just a few that came to our heads — we’d love to hear about your favorite nonmigratory birds (photo by Clendennen/USFWS):
Reports of Grasshopper Sparrows have been constant this Pacific Migration. This small sparrow does indeed eat grasshoppers, as well as other insects, seeds, and other vegetation they forage for on the ground. The Sparrow can be hard to spot because it spends so much time on the ground, but males will perch on top of small shrubs or wildflower stalks in the spring and early summer, singing their high-pitched songs. Grasshopper Sparrows once thrived in the extensive native grasslands of California, but unfortunately they are increasingly rare, and are now listed as a California Species of Special Concern.
The biggest reason for the decline of the Grasshopper Sparrow is loss of native grassland habitat. Agricultural and urban developments have reduced grasslands in California, and many of the remaining grassland patches are too small and dispersed for the birds, or no longer have suitable habitat structure for Grasshopper Sparrows. Conversion of native grasslands to other crops or European annual grasses, early-summer mowing, and intensive grazing have all reduced the amount of good habitat for this species. Read our fact sheet to learn how to protect this species.
Although the distinctive Black and White Warbler is a summer resident of the East and Canada, it does make rare appearances in California during spring migration. It is said that a precious few actually winter here. And those lucky few who get to see them here in the Golden State, it’s quite a treat, because this is a great looking bird. The bird is on its way up from Mexico, Central America, and South America, where it has been wintering. Were it not for those distinctive stripes, we might mistake them for a nuthatch — it is known to creep up and down a tree searching its bark for food. Anyway, we’re starting to note a few sightings on the listserves (here’s one), and we’re hoping for more. Here’s a map of April-May sightings on eBird:
While Sunday we will celebrate moms around the world for Mother’s Day, Saturday is a different kind of thing altogether, International Migratory Bird Day. The day originated with the group Environment for the Americas, but has quickly caught on with conservation groups and many others. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is totally into the act. In a way, Audubon California has been celebrating the day for the last couple of months as we’ve highlighted the joys of spring migration along the Pacific Flyway. So, while you’re not likely to find a section for the birds at your neighborhood Hallmark, you may want to stop and consider them as you’re rushing around this weekend looking for something for mom.
It’s nesting season for Tricolored Blackbirds and once again we’re out there trying to save the colonies. You can help — just $5 will help save five of these terrific California birds:
