Today, I headed to the dry salt lake where I worked for 3 hours. Terns and snow plovers breed at the salt lake during the middle of May. We clean their habitats before they come and remove objects like garbage and posts. Posts are used by predators, who like to perch on them and wait for these birds to arrive. Removing these posts and vegetation that was encroaching on the nesting habitat ensures that the terns and snow plovers have a safe stay.

Clearing vegetation with the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory to improve the habitat for endangered species.

The Western Snowy Plover is a threatened shorebird that breeds along the west coast of the U.S. Because of its protected status, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has set goals to restore plover numbers throughout the western Pacific region. In addition to the federal government’s efforts, the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, a 50-year effort to return half of the Bay’s salt ponds back to tidal marsh, has also established goals to increase plovers. 

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, the organization I work for, surveys salt ponds to determine the best possible breeding habitats and monitors plovers to determine where they’ll have the most success in breeding and nesting. Each spring, SFBBO biologists band plover chicks to track their movements and survival, and use remote trail cameras to identify predators such as corvids, gulls, and foxes. This way, plovers can be studied for how they behave in the Bay during breeding season and improve their habitats.

Other members of the team working on clearing the vegetation near the San Francisco Bay Area. 

The California Least Tern is another endangered species that breeds along the California Coast in sparsely vegetated and flat areas located next to the Pacific Ocean. The San Francisco Bay Area is another popular area for them to breed and nest in. The California Least Tern is another species that the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory works with and tracks. These terns began showing up to the SFBBO-maintained habitats that were actually meant for Snowy Plover, and the SFBBO has been monitoring Least Terns as well during breeding season ever since. 

To attract these birds and improve their habitats, my team and I at SFBBO spread oyster shells at the bottom of the ponds to help camouflage plovers and provide them small habitats during the breeding season. We also cut back the vegetation and weeds to make their habitats neater and easier to settle. Much of this work is necessary to improve the baby chick’s survival rates. 

I’m excited to see where our work takes us, and I look forward to seeing how our field work improves the numbers of Least Terns and Snowy Plovers that can call the San Francisco Bay Area home.