Point Blue Conservation Science

The introduction of invasive, non-native house mice to the #Farallon #Islands has caused significant disturbance to the islands’ sensitive ecosystem. The house #mice have direct and indirect harmful impacts on the islands’ breeding #seabirds, especially ashy stormpetrels, but also on Leach’s storm-petrels, as well as on native salamanders, crickets and other invertebrates, and native plants. We're working hard to support our San Francisco Bay NWR Complex partners in addressing this problem. Learn more about what's being done at https://restorethefarallones.org/. #restoration #InvasiveSpecies #NISAW

Some research behind-the-scenes on this Friday. James Lee, a volunteer seabird research assistant, climbs down from a blind on a foggy day. Our research field station on the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge has placed several observational blinds in strategic vantage points across Southeast Farallon Island. An observational blind is a a shelter that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close proximity. #Funfact Photo by fellow volunteer seabird research... assistant and graduate student partner Danielle Devincenzi. USFWS National Wildlife Refuge System U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service NOAA's Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary California Academy of Sciences San Francisco Bay NWR Complex #farallonislands #sfbayarea #bayarea #research #conservation #science #BTS #seabird #seabirdresearch #farallonislandsnationalwildliferefuge

In 1994, a student in Laurette Rogers’ 4th grade class set the wheels in motion that would change her life, the lives of many of her students, and of the surrounding community and beyond. Today the program continues to be significant on a global scale. Point Blue supports the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. Learn more about the Decade at www.pointblue.org/decade. To celebrate the launch of this crucial decade, we invite you to join a virtual screenin...g of the story of our Students and Teachers Restoring A Watershed (STRAW) program. The screening will be followed by live audience Q&A with STRAW Founder and Ambassador Laurette Rogers, one of the filmmakers David Donnenfield, and Climate-Smart Restoration Expert Tom Gardali. Join us to get ideas on how to start and grow your own community-based restoration program, learn how STRAW continues to evolve to address some of the greatest conservation challenges of our time (the climate, biodiversity, and nature disconnect crises), and get inspired by the power of people big and small to do good in the world. Hope to see you there!

When students return to Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, CA in the fall, they will find a recently restored native plant nursery in full operation, thanks to a joint effort of the school and our STRAW team. Petaluma Argus-Courier/ Petaluma360 covers the story: https://www.petaluma360.com//native-plant-nursery-awaits/ #nativeplants #CAnatives #nativeplantnursery #casagrandehighschool #restoration #straw #conservation #science #northbay

Happy #WorldEnvironmentDay! Today is the launch date of the United Nations #DecadeonEcosystemRestoration. We are thrilled that the UN has recognized the importance of restoration, and are eager to continue pursuing these climate-smart restoration objectives with the support of a global partner. Join our launch date celebration with the virtual screening of , "A Simple Question: A STRAW Story", today 11AM-12:15PM PST! https://www.pointblue.org//launch-the-decade-with-a-simp.../ www.worldenvironmentday.global UN Environment Programme #generationrestoration Photo credit: Ethan Inlander/TNC

New paper alert! We are excited to share a new paper out in #AntarcticScience led by Parker Levinson, Breeding behaviour of Colour-Aberrant Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) at Cape Crozier, Ross Island, Antarctica. Cambridge Core Parker led this work as an intern with the Antarctica Program in 2019-2020 and we are very happy to see it out in print already! Please join me in congratulating Parker and co-authors (including Megan Elrod, Dennis Jongsomjit, and Grant Ball...ard). See abstract below and paper attached in the link below! http://ow.ly/xAI650ERxV8 #intern #firstauthor #antarctica #antarcticresearch #adeliepenguin #capecrozier #rossisland

Do you know about our climate-smart resource for Sierra meadow restoration? The Sierra Meadow Planting Palette Tool and Tool User Guide is to help restoration practitioners plan for climate change by identifying plant species that have traits that will increase the likelihood that they will survive, recruit, and continue to provide additional co-benefits under projected future conditions. The tool includes a list of 70 wet meadow plant species suitable for use in restoration ...projects in the North Fork Feather River watershed. For each species, the tool summarizes traits that might confer resilience to the restoration site. Check out the tools with the link: https://www.pointblue.org//sierra-meadows-planting-palett/ Join the online celebrations as we count down to the United Nations #DecadeonEcosystemRestoration, June 5th, #WorldEnvironmentDay! www.worldenvironmentday.global UN Environment Programme #generationrestoration

Defenders of Wildlife have developed an incredible story map on California's Central Valley Wetlands, just in time for #AmericanWetlandsMonth.

Take a look at this fiery jewel of a #hotbirdinhand! This stunning Anna's Hummingbird was banded at the Pine Gulch field site in Bolinas, CA in January 2021 by Palomarin banding interns. #Didyouknow? Anna's Hummingbirds consume more insects than any other North American hummingbird, and are the only hummingbird species to primarily winter in the United States (which is how we got a close look at this stunner in the middle of winter!). Bird banding interns are part of a rigor...ous training program at Point Blue's Palomarin Field Station, where they learn to safely capture birds using mist nets and record data on each bird that they catch. The information collected allows us to better understand how populations of birds are doing and in turn gives us insight into the health of the systems we research. Learn more about our seasonal internships by visiting the careers page on our website: https://www.pointblue.org//conservation-science-internshi/. Photo by Taj Hittenberger #annashummingbird #intern #palomarinfieldstation #conservation #birds #nature #outdoor #research #science #sfbayarea #bayarea #Hotbirdinhand #birdbanding #avianresearch #bolinas #westmarin

Please join us at noon on Thursday, June 10th for Episode 4 of Science Stories from Palomarin: Crossroads & Connections. We’ll be chatting with two more scientists who have spent decades chasing and observing migratory birds on foot and with advancing technology. https://zoom.us//r/4416213636132/WN_Fv2GCpTnTIyh-fDr5BD38g National Audubon Society ... UC Davis National Geographic Magazine Point Reyes National Seashore #ScienceStories #Palomarin #migration #conservation #climatechange #keystonedataset #longtermstudy #ecology #bird #habitat #science #bayarea

The decade 2021-2030 has been designated by the United Nations as the #DecadeonEcosystemRestoration and Point Blue is proud to support and contribute to this global wave of united energy around restoring the planet. We invite you to celebrate, get on board, and/or re-up your commitment to ecosystem restoration starting on June 5th, 2021, the official launch day. Check out our latest science blog post to learn how specific objectives for the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration ove...rlap with our strategic objectives for climate smart restoration, ocean conservation, nature-based adaptation interventions, soil health, natural and working lands stewardship, and more. https://www.pointblue.org//a-decade-to-re-up-on-restorati/ We’ll help kick off the Decade with inspiration from a virtual screening of A Simple Question: The Story of STRAW complete with live Q&A with program Founder Laurette Rogers, Filmmaker David Donnenfield, and Pacific Coast and Central Valley Director Tom Gardali. RSVP with the event link: https://www.pointblue.org//launch-the-decade-with-a-simpl/ Join the online celebrations as we count down to the United Nations #DecadeonEcosystemRestoration, June 5th, #WorldEnvironmentDay! www.worldenvironmentday.global UN Environment Programme #generationrestoration Photo credit: Ethan Inlander/TNC

Ah, the fiesty Wrentit, the rowdy mascot of the Palomarin Field Station. This bird has been previously banded. Bird banding is one of the only ways biologists can identify individual birds of the same species. These unique bands are used for population estimates, dispersal ranges, and migration routes, just to name a few valuable recourses gained by banding birds. These color bands allow our banders to identify a specific bird and know more about its specific life history. ...Did you know? Once they choose a mate, these residents of the chaparral become the sort of couple that does everything together. Their characteristic bouncing-ball song is a classic sound of coastal scrub and chaparral along the West Coast. Palo alums-- What are your favorite traits of the Wrentit? Bird banding interns are part of a rigorous training program at Point Blue's Palomarin Field Station, where they learn to safely capture birds using mist nets and record data on each bird that they catch. The information collected allows us to better understand how populations of birds are doing and in turn gives us insight into the health of the systems we research. Learn more about our seasonal internships by visiting the career's page on our website. Photo credit Caroline Provost #wrentit #studyspecies #spring #palomarinfieldstation #conservation #birds #nature #outdoor #research #science #sfbayarea #bayarea #Hotbirdinhand

Love #FarallonFriday ! We would add more but @SanFranciscoBayNWRComplex nailed it!

It's been pretty windy outside, time to get cozy and curl up with a field guide for some "mind birding". Want to find some books on ornithology, but not sure where to start? Maybe Rich Stallcup can help. In the Winter of 1985 he announced that next to binoculars, a birder's most important tool is their set of books. Check out his past focus article to see if any books in your library match up with his recommendations. To be fair, this article came out in '85; some books might... be out of print, old editions, or just not in existence yet. For example, "Sibley's Guide to Birds" was first published in 2000! Does that make you feel old? We feel old. Are there any favorites you spot on his list? Or do you have new recommendations that birders today should use? Let us know in the comments below! https://rdjzr2agvvkijm6n3b66365n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com// Photo: Interns relaxing in the Palomarin Library #birding4all #diversifyoutdoors #RichStallcup #stewardship #sfbayarea #science #nature #birds #birding #fieldguide #legacy #birders

Why is it that nightjars have the most sinister common names but look like muppets? Speaking of--We had an unexpected visitor come to Bolinas a Chuck-will’s-widow! Read the circumstances of this rare encounter and the December 2020 banding roundup in the Palomarin Blog! https://www.pointblue.org//palomarin-monthly-banding-summ/ Photo by Mark Dettling ... #nightjars #conservation #palomarinfieldstation #avianresearch #ecology #bird #birdbanding #science #SFbayarea

This egg was found by our SF Bay Tidal Marsh biologist, Megan Elrod, sitting up in the pickleweed in Marin, likely flooded out of its nest from a recent high tide. Can you guess whose egg is this? Here is a hint: it belongs to the project's study species and is 23mm long! #SFBay #tidalmarsh #pickleweed #keystonedataset #conservation #survey #science #bird #outdoors #nature #SF #bayarea