Since 2006, the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary has conducted surveys of birds using our 900-acre Sanctuary waters. Most of the observers have been and continue to be volunteers from the local Marin community. Some 70 individuals ranging in age from 14 to 80 have contributed their time and expertise to the effort, and most have returned each season. During the surveys, volunteers help locate, identify and document the waterbirds within marked sections of the Sanctuary using telescopes and binoculars. Because the birds move around, and the tide levels change fairly quickly, it would be nearly impossible to survey the entire Sanctuary without the help of these volunteers.
We’re off to a strong start this year: twenty individual volunteers have participated in the first three surveys of the season (we schedule twelve surveys each winter). Volunteers say they enjoy the chance to take part in a program that monitors the status and health of Richardson Bay, learn about the birds that use it, and meet fellow bird lovers.
The counts are increasing steadily this season and will peak sometime in January or February during the heaviest spawning activity of Pacific herring. In fact, we’re already seeing signs of Pacific herring in the bay! Just last week, we observed hundreds of Double-crested Cormorants and Brown Pelicans following schools of herring to feed.
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