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Volunteers count shorebirds in San Francisco Bay!
Contact: Melissa Pitkin, PRBO Conservation Science
mpitkin@prbo.org (707) 781-2555 ext 307
Matt Reiter, Shorebird Ecologist, PRBO Conservation Science 760-417-9997, mreiter@prbo.org
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[San Francisco, CA] – On November 22, 2011, volunteers and scientists with PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO) will count the hundreds of thousands of shorebirds expected to be found in San Francisco (SF) Bay this winter! The count is part of a larger scale tracking effort to understand and conserve migratory shorebirds of the Pacific Flyway, from Canada to Mexico. Our findings guide conservation of wetlands for birds, fish and the vital services they provide people, including filtering out pollution, flood control, and carbon sequestration. With this count, scientists are trying to answer the question of how to much habitat, what types of habitat, and where the habitat is needed to sustain the millions of shorebirds using the Pacific Flyway.
The San Francisco Bay is one of the most important sites for migratory shorebirds in the entire Western Hemisphere and is central to PRBO’s multi-partner international monitoring program, The Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey (www.prbo.org/pfss ). PRBO’s Flyway-wide shorebird survey, first conducted in 1988, is expanding to include southern California, Mexico, and addition parts of the Central Valley this year.
Shorebirds are truly migratory superheroes! Ranging in size from six inches to 23 inches in length, they can travel long distances between their wintering and breeding grounds. The longest recorded shorebird migration was of the Bar-tailed Godwit which winters in New Zealand and flies over 6,000 miles, non-stop, to breed in Alaska, in a study that PRBO participated in. Shorebirds are some of the most visible yet least studied of birds – their migratory behaviors make them difficult to track, and as a result there is still a lot scientists don’t know about them. (More on the common species and where people can go to see shorebirds at the end of the release).
California’s wetlands and agricultural fields are critical to the survival of the Pacific Flyway’s shorebirds each winter. Shorebirds depend upon tidal mudflats, shallow ponds, and even shallowly flooded rice and other agricultural fields for feeding and resting. The tidal mudflats and salt ponds of SF Bay are particularly important for overwintering shorebirds with their bounty of tiny invertebrates that feeds hungry migrating birds.
Last year over 100 people participated in the Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey, counting over 400,000 wintering shorebirds throughout the northern and central California coast and the Central Valley. These counts were the largest shorebird surveys in California since they began more than 20 years ago. PRBO’s findings enabled researchers to estimate the total population size and general habitat needs of shorebird species. From these surveys, the SF Bay population has been estimated at 1 million shorebirds during the entire year.
Tracking shorebirds teaches scientists about the amount and condition of wetlands in SF Bay, and about the importance of these habitats to shorebirds throughout the entire Flyway.
“We designed the survey to help us track shorebirds populations and to use shorebirds as indicators of changes in land-use and climate. Our results will help guide the management and conservation of shorebirds and their habitats in San Francisco Bay and across the entire Pacific Flyway,” said Dr. Matt Reiter, PRBO Shorebird Ecologist leading the Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey.
In the recently published State of the Birds Report for SF Bay, led by PRBO and the SF Bay Joint Venture, tidal mudflat and shallow ponds was highlighted as a priority habitat in need of greater conservation action. The report found that while shorebirds using the Bay’s tidal mudflats appear to be stable, they are shifting from the South Bay to the North Bay. This raises the question: will there be enough tidal mudflats in the North Bay to support these birds as restoration and sea level rise alter the landscape? The report also noted that the total amount of mudflat needed to support shorebird populations in SF Bay still needs to be determined.
“The shift of shorebirds from south to north is a result we would not have known without the shorebird surveys. Continuing the surveys annually will help us answer the question of how much mudflat is needed to sustain these migratory birds,” said State of the Birds Report co-author Julian Wood of PRBO.
New in 2011 is the addition of new sites - six coastal sites in southern California, more than 10 new survey routes in the Central Valley, and 11 estuaries throughout Mexico. This survey expansion will provide a more complete picture of all shorebirds in the Flyway. All surveys throughout the wide geographic range of this program utilize both professional biologists and trained citizen scientists to collect bird observations with a standardized protocol. Partnerships and workshops in California, Mexico, and Canada have facilitated the expansions of this program and provide the framework for continued expansion to South America in 2012.
“The Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey, when fully implemented in 2012, will provide regular data to evaluate the the impacts of habitat management and predict the effects of climate change on shorebird populations and wetlands throughout the Pacific Coast of the Western Hemisphere,” said Dr. Reiter.
In the San Francisco Bay, the habitat is constantly changing with human use, restoration, development, recreation, and rising sea levels. Our ability to adapt to these changes and effectively conserve Bay ecosystems requires knowledge. Surveys of birds help us track how these changes affect wildlife and provide the basis for actions to ensure that the SF Bay’s streams, marshes, mudflats, and open water support human and wildlife needs into the future.
Key partners in San Francisco Bay Shorebird Survey include, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, and Audubon California.
Summaries of data can be retrieved at user-defined scales with online interactive tools (see www.prbo.org/pfss).
More on SF Bay Shorebirds:
Some of the most common shorebird species in the San Francisco Bay include: Willet, Western and Least Sandpipers, Dunlin, Marbled Godwit, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, and Dowitchers. The world’s smallest sandpiper is the Least Sandpiper (6 inches in length, and the largest is the Long-billed Curlew, 23 inches long. Both can be easily seen along the Pacific Flyway and in the SF Bay and coastal estuaries.
To view shorebirds this winter, attend a bird walk or visit some of the following locations:
Rush Creek – Marin County Open Space– Novato,
Corte Madera Marsh – Corte Madera
Shollenberger Park – Petaluma
South Bay Salt Ponds – SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge – Freemont
Sonoma Baylands
Richardson Bay Audubon Sanctuary - Tiburon
Bird walks:
PRBO – http://www.prbo.org/cms/391 - next is Sunday December 4th, Bolinas Lagoon
Richardson Bay Audubon Sanctuary
Golden Gate Audubon Society
About PRBO Conservation Science:
PRBO Conservation Science, founded as Point Reyes Bird Observatory in 1965, works to conserve birds, other wildlife and ecosystems through innovative scientific research and outreach. We partner with hundreds of governmental and non-governmental agencies as well as private interests to ensure that every dollar invested in conservation yields the most for biodiversity -- benefiting our environment, our economy and our communities. Visit PRBO on the web at www.prbo.org.
