In San Francisco Bay, three former salt pond complexes (Alviso, Eden Landing, and Ravenswood) have been decommissioned, i.e., taken out of commission, and are planned for marsh restoration.
In order to determine where the displaced California Gulls would nest in 2011 and to prevent them from nesting in ecologically sensitive areas, the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) and the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) conducted intensive surveys and se
We have included a summary table of areas where gulls were re-sighted in 2011, the number seen in each area, if the gulls were adults or immature, and the months banded gulls were observed at that location.
A yearly snapshot of Project milestones and assessment of progress toward meeting restoration, public access and flood management goals
Our goal was to evaluate communities of benthic invertebrates and shorebirds on the Alviso mudflat prior to breaching Pond A6 to serve as the baseline for future assessments of potential impacts.
We determined that the intertidal mud flat study site adjacent to Ravenswood Pond SF2 was already at carrying capacity for small shorebirds during spring migration.
This project will examine the bird population and benthic invertebrate densities on the Alviso Shoals immediately adjacent to A6 which separates Alviso and Guadalupe Sloughs.
A yearly snapshot of Project milestones and assessment of progress toward meeting restoration, public access and flood management goals
In cooperation with the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, we experimentally manipulated water levels in pond A12 to examine the response of waterbird breeding effort and nest success, and assess the unintended consequence of this management action on the bioaccumulation of m
Our objectives are to determine the impact of gulls on breeding snowy plovers and Forster’s terns.; Color-mark California gulls at A6 to determine potential nesting distributions after restoration of A6.; Continue our California gull colony surveys to document current population size.
This study addresses these questions: What is the flush rate and flush distance of nesting snowy plovers in response to new trail use around seasonally-dry ponds where birds nest? Do plovers respond differently to people who have disturbed them versus people they have not seen before?
We surveyed on 22 salt ponds in the Coyote Hills, Dumbarton, and Mowry salt pond complexes from October 2009 – November 2010. During the surveys, we recorded the number of birds, species and behaviors. We also recorded the birds’ locations within the ponds, using a 250m X 250m grid system.
The project was initiated in April 2010, and to date has included four sampling events of surface water (April, May, June/July, and August 2010) and five sampling events of biota (April, May, June/July, August, and September 2010) and three sampling events for surface sediment (May, June/July, an
Adapted from the Adaptive Management Plan