• The American Kestrel’s Mysterious Decline

    By Taylor Crisologo

    Crickets chirped, hidden somewhere in the brown ocean of grass beside the trail. The sun cast a golden glow on the hills, dotted with oak trees. In the distance, a lone American Crow called. It was an hour before sunset, and we were making our way along the trail in search of American Kestrels.

    “There’s one!” Dan exclaimed, pointing to a small, dove-sized bird hovering above the trail ahead of us. Laughing at the fact that Dan always seems to find the birds first, I brought my binoculars up to see an energetic male hovering with feet outstretched. This “hover hunt” is a hunting tactic occasionally used by American Kestrels, allowing them to have a bird’s eye view of the habitat below to locate their next meal.

    Kestrel in flight by Rick Lewis

    We moved off the trail to watch him, listening passively to the sounds of Anna’s Hummingbirds chirping and Oak Titmice calling around us.

    Dan and I have seen American Kestrels before – both resting on telephone wires lining agricultural fields in Ithaca, New York and perched on bleached branches of dead trees above the grassland in the South San Francisco Bay. Their familiarity to us is largely due to their widespread range, which extends across the United States.

    American Kestrels are birds of prey, feeding on insects, reptiles, and small birds and mammals. They are secondary cavity nesters, meaning that they lay their eggs in cavities excavated by other animals. In addition to their interesting life history, American Kestrels are fun, dynamic birds to watch. Even at rest, their head and tail bobbing give them an impatient demeanor, as if they’re itching to rise up in flight.

    Male American Kestrel makes an offer to his mate by Rick Lewis

    Sadly, populations of these personable birds are experiencing a grim reality check across North America. Data on population numbers, from sources including the U.S. Geological Survey’s Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, indicate that American Kestrel populations have been declining across the United States for decades. Data from the Peregrine Fund’s American Kestrel Partnership and BBS suggest that kestrel populations in coastal California have suffered declines since the 1960’s.

    Scientists are unsure about the “one true cause” of kestrel declines. It seems that multiple causes may be working together to reduce kestrel populations each year. These causes may also vary by region, making one simple answer very difficult to determine.…

  • Birders thrilled watching wayward bird at Lands End

    by Janice Bressler
    Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the Richmond ReView/Sunset Beacon August 7, 2018
    Bird watchers from all over California have been flocking to the Outer Richmond District this summer, hoping to spot a Parakeet Auklet – a little seabird that spends this time of year breeding on the rocky shorelines and islands around Alaska. Why are birders looking in this western district of San Francisco for a bird that should be in Alaska now? Are these people mixed up?
    No, this particular bird is.
    The Parakeet Auklet being stalked and sighted at Lands End this summer, and much talked about in local birding circles, is what is known as a “vagrant” bird, or “one that has strayed a long way from its expected breeding or migrating range,” according to Bay Area ornithologist John Sterling, who has worked for the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in Washington D.C. and now heads an environmental consulting and guide company in the Bay Area.
    Bird watching enthusiasts from around the state have been going to Lands End to see a wayward parakeet auklet. Courtesy photo.
    Sterling said there are different conditions that can explain vagrancy in groups of birds and various theories for why an individual bird might become vagrant. In a non-scientific aside he added, “I have to say that this bird staying here in San Francisco at this time of year is pretty weird.”
    One of the vagrant auklet’s favorite places in San Francisco appears to be Hermit Rock, a craggy rectangular boulder that rises just off the shore below the part of the Lands End trail known as Mile Rock Overlook. That is where most of the birders who have posted sightings of the auklet say they have seen the bird.
    Sterling recently came to Lands End to try to catch a glimpse of the bird, and not only made a sighting, but managed to take several photographs of the bird in the water. When he first arrived and stationed himself at Mile Rock Overlook, there were already seven or eight other birders there, scanning the rocks and water below.

    Parakeet Auklet s18a copy

    A Parakeet Auklet has been sighted at Lands End. Courtesy photo.

    Ever since a sighting of the bird was first posted this year on July 9, birders have come daily not only from in town, but from cities all over the state. Scores of birders have come long distances, day after day, and waited for hours for a chance to see the auklet.…

  • Flight of the Condors

    By Taylor Crisologo
    The air was cool and crisp. It was just before sunrise, so you could begin to see swatches of color painting the sky. On the horizon, the twisting curves of the mountains were beginning to be illuminated. We were the only ones awake at this hour in the small motel. Our bags packed, we walked outside into the dawn.
    I’ve been a birder since my first months in college. There, I discovered a community of people that were just as in love with nature as I was. I reveled in studying new field guides and visiting new places with unfamiliar habitats to discover and explore. Thus, my journey as a birder and conservation devotee led me to Pinnacles National Park this February morning to look for California condors.
    With wingspans over 9 feet, the California condor is North America’s largest bird. As scavengers, they rely on animals that are already dead for food. But the food that they scavenge is not always safe: hunters often use lead ammunition, resulting in carrion that is lead-tainted. Condors that eat carrion such as this are subject to the effects of lead poisoning, which ultimately leads to death.
    Photo by Richard Neidhardt
    Lead poisoning and other threats (such as habitat loss and hunting) resulted in only 22 wild birds remaining in 1982. As lead poisoning threatened to kill the few wild condors left, efforts were mobilized to capture the last individuals in the wild for captive breeding programs. Since the last wild condor was captured in 1987, the species has been slowly increasing in numbers. Today, there are over 440 individuals total, both in captivity and released into the wild.
    We drove slowly through the entrance of the park, arriving just as they opened the gates. Pulling into a spot in a nearly-empty lot, we grabbed our packs and set off on the trail. I clutched my binoculars nervously, fidgeting with the focus. We headed slowly down the path, our necks craned up to scan the skies. Turkey vulture. Red-tailed hawk. Two turkey vultures.
    We had only been on the trail for 15 minutes when Dan grabbed my arm. “Large white wing patches”, he breathed with one hand still firmly on his binoculars. My hands shot to my own binoculars, bringing them quickly up to the sky to look up at the same area. There they were. Two individuals soared gracefully, illuminated by the morning light.…

  • Oakland Zoo Celebrates Locals (in more ways that you think!)

    by Leslie Storer

    The Oakland Zoo has just opened California Trail, a series of habitats featuring species that are currently or were once found in California. This is a theme near and dear to my heart. My career path found me interpreting wild animals from around the world to zoo guests. The whole time I asked myself, ‘What about the species in our backyard?’

    California Trail is home to black bears, brown bears, jaguars, mountain lions, bison, gray wolves, California condors, and bald eagles.

    I am proud to be associated with this project as an animal care staff member, because of the emphasis on rescued individuals and the ties with conservation partners. There’s another reason I’m especially excited about this project, but that’s a surprise.

    California Condor Program Information

    The California condor program is a prime example of the direction modern zoos are going. The two males in the condor habitat were hatched at other zoos and are members of the breeding population, which means they will live in Oakland until duty calls. What guests do not see (unless they are watching the webcam) are any condors that may be at our condor recovery center. We work with field biologists at Pinnacles National Monument and Ventana Wildlife Society in Big Sur who are monitoring wild individuals for lead poisoning. If the biologists discover an individual suffering from lead poisoning, the bird is transported to the Oakland Zoo where several staff members, myself included, are specially trained to handle and treat them. While guests marvel at the North America’s largest flying bird, they also learn about their conservation story: from 22 birds to over 400, more than half of whom are in the wild today.

    Native Bird Information

    Leslie Storer is a GGBA Board Member who started developing her passion for birds at the age of twelve as a volunteer at the San Francisco Zoo. She is currently an animal care manager at the Oakland Zoo, where she is part of the team of people specially trained to treat wild California condors for lead toxicity.

    Raptors in our own backyard…

  • An Owl by Any Other Name

    By Joe Galkowski

    The ghost owl, death owl, white owl, monkey-faced owl, church owl, and my favorite: the hobgoblin owl, these are just a small selection of the common names used for barn owls. The Latin name for the species is Tyto Alba which simply means white owl. Seems like an appropriate moniker, so why so many other names for the world’s most common owl? Most likely their nocturnal nature, eerie calls, white feathering, and completely silent flight, inspired men to create myths and legends of the barn owl’s connections with death and the afterlife and those stories have led to the different names being adopted.

    The Native Americans who lived in what is now Yosemite National Park, believed that if a warrior lived life without honor, that after death, he would return to earth as a barn owl. If, however, he lived a good life, with integrity and courage, he would come back as a great horned owl. As a person who spends a fair amount of time with both species, I can say that great horned owls do seem braver around people and they are tougher birds. That said, barn owls have always been my favorite.

    Female Barn Owl nesting in Oak cavity by Joe Galkowski.

    This Spring, I enjoyed watching a barn owl nest that was in a large cavity of an old oak tree. When the nest was first discovered, the female was incubating eggs. At least five of them successfully hatched. Later, we marveled at how her five owlets cuddled together on cold mornings, shared food, and even occasionally groomed each other.

    Barn Owl family by Joe Galkowski

    Barn owl young hatch over a period of a few weeks so there are dramatically different size owlets in a barn owl nest. I knew that the moms leave the nest when the youngest owlet is able to self-regulate their own body heat, but I did not expect to see the older owlets taking care of the younger ones. Notice the difference in maturity levels. Also, the monkey-faced owl name makes sense to me when looking at the owlets.

    Owlets by Joe Galkowski

    Barn owls are one of the most widely distributed birds on the planet. They live on every continent except Antarctica. They also often live in close proximity to people, sometimes nesting in man-made structures such as, well… barns, hence the currently accepted name.  It should be clear though, that no matter what name you use for these wonderful birds, seeing one is a true gift.…