Right about this time of the year is when the Sooty Shearwaters begin to arrive off the coast of California — many off Santa Cruz and Monterey. They’re here to enjoy the abundant food resources of our California Current. Their arrival is really something of a miracle, representing the conclusion of another amazing round trip. [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

Last week California State Parks released its new General Plan and Environmental Impact Report for Big Basin State Park in Santa Cruz County. The Park has the largest stand of old growth redwood south of San Francisco, and harbors the vast majority of remaining  central coast marbled murrelet. It is literally the key to the future for [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

On Tuesday, West Coast fisheries managers voted to adopt an important vision and set of prescriptions for managing fisheries more sustainably, including the small “forage fish” that nourish seabirds and other marine wildlife. The Council also voted to initially focus on ensuring that no new fisheries develop on currently unfished species such as sand lance [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

  Channel Islands National Park officials yesterday declared the removal of invasive black rats on Anacapa a resounding success for seabirds and native reptiles and amphibians, mammals, and plants. The rats, which likely had been introduced in the 1800’s, had been decimating the rare Scripps’s Murrelet, which mostly nests on Anacapa and nearby Santa Barbara [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

We come across a lot of great bird photography, but this one by Glen Tepke of an Ashy Storm-petrel out over the Pacific has always stood out for us. Sure, it’s not a close-up, and it doesn’t give you lots of detail about the bird. But it nonetheless tells the story of the bird quite [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

The Pacific Fisheries Management Council, which sets catch levels on the west coast for important seabird prey items like anchovy and sardine, has released a draft of a long-awaited new plan calling for needed practical steps to protect these and other forage species that form the base of the ocean food web. The Council will [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

Guest blog post by Kerry Wilcox, Sanctuary Manager, Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary The term waterbird gets used a lot by biologists and naturalists, but it can seem a bit vague and too general. Clearly all birds (let alone life on this planet) depend on water, but even if we just look at the variety [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

A few of us from Audubon California went out to the San Francisco Bay shoreline this morning to check out perhaps the first big herring run of the season. Our first visit was Agua Vista Park, where the fish were plentiful, much to the delight of birds and fishermen alike. Check out the video our [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

We’ve come to expect amazing things from this particular Laysan Albatross, but she keeps one-upping herself. A few weeks ago, a Laysan Albatross nicknamed Wisdom layed an egg at Midway Island Atoll. Wisdom was first banded in 1956, and could actually be older than 62. Researchers estimate that she has raised between 30 and 35 [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

Audubon California’s Andrea Jones sent in this report and photos from the fifth annual Santa Cruz Island Audubon Christmas Bird Count: This year, 25 intrepid birders from Audubon California, The Nature Conservancy, UCSB, PRBO Conservation Science, National Park Service, and Audubon volunteers traveled out to Santa Cruz Island. Each year brings different stories, birds, and [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

With the implementation of a new set of marine reserves along California’s northern coast, the state now enjoys a complete system of protections from Mexico to Oregon. This is truly a great day for birds — and for California. (photo of a Sooty Shearwater by Mike Baird) Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

Small fish are a big deal for seabirds like the Brown Pelican and the Black-footed Albatross. That is why Audubon California and other conservation groups are applauding the California Fish and Game Commission’s unanimous approval yesterday of new policies governing the harvesting of small fish – such as anchovies, sardine, herring and squid – that [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]

By Rachel Spadafore, Restoration Ecologist, Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary Over the spring and summer, Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary staff worked hard to use hand-pulling and saline irrigation (safe and effective methods) to battle the high number of invasive species on the island.  We also collected a variety of seeds from native plants [...]

Share on Facebook

[Read more →]