Tricolored Blackbird colonies setting up in the Central Valley

We're getting reports from our field team that at least five Tricolored Blackbird nesting colonies have been found on dairy farms so far this spring. We're working closely with the State Department of Fish and Wildife, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Western Dairymen Assocation to contact the farmers and protect the nests. As we've discussed in the past, these colonies are in extreme danger when they nest on a dairy farm, because the farmers often need to harvest the field before the birds have fledged. Last year, we were able to protect every Tricolored Blackbird colony found on dairy farms, and that's our goal again this year.

Tricolored Blackbird surveyors out in the field this weekend

The beginning of nesting season is a great opportunity to get a read on the population number of Tricolored Blackbirds. This weekend, about a hundred surveyors are taking the field in locations throughout the state to count the birds. The survey is being led by our friends at UC Davis. Lots of Audubon volunteers and staff are taking part. While the bird has been sharply declining in recent years -- 44 percent since 2011 -- we're optimistic that we'll find more birds this year. Rains this year have made things much more hospitable for the birds. That said, Tricolored Blackbirds nesting on dairy farms will still be in danger if we're not able to arrange to have the colonies protected. Results from this year's survey will be available later this summer.

No, refuges don't get 100% of their water allocations -- ever

A recent opinion piece in the Bakersfield Californian argued that while Central Valley refuges are getting 100 percent of their water allocations, farmers were getting substantially less. That's just not true, and Harry Love of the Kern Audubon Society recently took to the same paper to explain why:

"Most of the Central Valley Project’s farm and urban water contractors will receive 100 percent of their contract amount with the federal government. The most junior South of Delta federal water contractors are projected to receive 65 percent of their contract amount and that allocation will likely increase in coming months.

"But there is another user that will not receive full water supplies – Central Valley wetlands. More than 90 percent of the Central Valley’s historic wetlands are gone. Our waterfowl populations have fallen from 40 million historically to 5 million today. Even at this diminished level, the Valley is one of the most important places in America for ducks, geese and other migratory waterbirds ...

"This year, the federal government announced an allocation of 100 percent of the minimum water supply for wetlands but this is far short of the full water contracts for our wetlands. The Bureau of Reclamation has an obligation to purchase or develop additional water supplies to meet the full needs of the Valley’s few remaining wetlands.

It is not clear yet how close the Bureau will get this fall to delivering full water supplies when wetlands need water most. In recent years, federal agencies have provided an average of only 32 percent of this critical water for south of Delta refuges. Unfortunately, this shortage of water for Valley wetlands is often overlooked.

To create critical habitat, hunting opportunities, and more, Central Valley wetlands are highly managed and irrigated, much like farmland. So when wetland water managers get only 32 percent of a key supply, it matters. This shortage reduces spring and summer habitat for ducks that breed here. It reduces the amount of food from wetlands plants that feed migratory birds in the fall. It increases the risk of overcrowding and disease.

Like Valley farmers, duck hunters and wetland managers need water supplies to manage their lands to support wildlife and recreational opportunities. However, in the last 25 years, the Bureau has not once delivered all of the water owed to wetlands. The truth is that the Valley’s two large water projects, the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, have never delivered 100 percent of their combined water obligations in a single year."

Governor declares drought emergency over

California Gov. Jerry Brown today declared the end of the state's drought emergency:

“This drought emergency is over, but the next drought could be around the corner,” Brown said in a statement. “Conservation must remain a way of life.”

Substantial habitat loss in the Sacramento Valley

New study shows massive wetland habitat loss in California's Sacramento Valley.

Bald Eagles bouncing back in the Bay Area

Great article in the Mercury News about the rebound of Bald Eagles in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Frank Ruiz: The fate of birds and people at the Salton Sea are linked

In an opinion piece in the Desert Sun, Audubon California's Frank Ruiz notes that issues of public health and bird habitat at the Salton Sea are linked:

When people argue that we must choose between habitat for birds at the Salton Sea and efforts to control dust, I am reminded of my father and his coworkers, and their small bird in the cage (in the mines). At the Salton Sea, when we ensure that birds survive, we will also ensure that people can thrive as well.