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Latest News and Updates from Audubon in California
California Condor. Photo: Scott Frier/USFWS
KCET writer Chris Clarke has an excellent story up that tries to answer the question of why Californians aren't clammoring to save the Salton Sea as they would places like Lake Tahoe, San Francisco Bay, or Mono Lake? Despite this, he notes, state officials seem to finally be taking notice that something has to be done.
Two female California Condors successfully raised a chick. The ladies teamed up after the suspected male mate of one of the females died after nesting began. Ventana Wildlife Society monitored sondor females 317 and 171 raising the chick in an extremely remote nest cave in the Ventana Wilderness, in Big Sur, CA. They produced this time-lapse video of the chick hatching in the nest. Thier video is the first time-lapse footage ever taken of a condor chick hatching in the wild.
The above visual answers the question of why we are undertaking a large scale restoration project in San Francisco Bay. On the left is a healthy, functionining marsh in Baja California and on the right is the site of our restoration in Sonoma Creek Marsh, a dead marsh. The difference between a vibrant wetland system and dysfunctional one is dramatic.
Who wore it better?
White-crowned Sparrow or Cruella de Vil
Our friends at Golden Gate Audubon have spent a lot of time recently talking about the problem of dogs and bird at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Recently, they hit the airwaves on the PBS NewsHour talking about a way forward.
That's David Rivas's size-13 cowboy boot and next to him is a California Condor feather. He found this avian calling card on his property, located on the western slope of Bear Mountain at elevation of 5000 feet. For reference, Bear Mountain is between Bakersfield and Tehachapi in the Tehachapi Mountains.
A Cerulean Warbler was found on October 10 by Brad Elvert and Tristan McKee in the small town of Samoa on the north spit of Humboldt Bay. This was the third record for Humboldt County and, when accepted by the California Bird Records Committee, will be only the 19th overall record for species in California. The last Cerulean Warbler seen in California was an immature female banded at the Humboldt Bay Observatory on October 3, 2010. This bird is the rarest of the eastern Wood Warblers to ever show up in California. Sadly, Cerulean numbers are dropping due to habitat loss and nest failure.
Thank to Rob Fowler for providing the photograph and the story.
Migratory ducks, grebes, loons and shorebirds use our Richardson Bay Sanctuary for re-fueling on their journeys south, or while they over-winter in San Francisco Bay. Approximately 900 acres of bay waters are closed to the public from October 1 to March 31. This closure is the only one of its kind in the entire San Francisco Bay, making it incredibly important for migratory birds. Watch above as the Richardson Bay Sanctuary team marks the boundaries with buoys.
California is a global biodiversity hotspots, with one of the greatest concentrations of living species on Earth.
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