Key findings from the report include:
- Most bird populations are stable while others are struggling;
- All habitat types harbor species that are declining;
- Species facing the most danger are the California Clapper Rail, Western Sandpiper, Forster’s Tern, Caspian Tern, Black-crowned Night Heron, Snowy Egret, Canvasback, Northern Pintail, Scaup and Scoters. These birds struggle because of rising sea level, habitat loss, predator pressure and the influence of invasive species;
- Rising sea level is a critical threat.
Achieving a balance between the public use of the Bay and habitat disturbance is tricky, but San Francisco Bay Joint Venture scientists and policy makers hope that the Report galvanizes action.
Contributors to the report included PRBO, US Geological Survey, US Fish and Wildlife Service, San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, Audubon California, Audubon Canyon Ranch, California Coastal Conservancy, National Park Service and Laney College.
To read the full report, visit http://data.prbo.org/sfstateofthebirds/index.php?page=habitats.
(Photo of California Clapper Rail by Stephen Lea)
By Daniela Ogden
A New Colony of Caspian Tern Decoys on Aramburu Island
Richardson Bay Audubon Center is attacting breeding pairs of Caspian Terns with these newly painted tern decoys—a strategy successfully used by previous tern relocation efforts.