{"id":10,"date":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weebly-import-page-2"},"modified":"2026-06-08T00:53:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T00:53:46","slug":"2018-annual-report","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/2018-annual-report\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Annual Report – San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory"},"content":{"rendered":"

2018 Annual Report<\/span><\/h2>

In 2018 we had another successful year of conserving birds and habitats through science and outreach. Below you can read about our Waterbird Program<\/a><\/strong>, Plover Program<\/a><\/strong>, Habitats Program<\/a><\/strong>, and Landbird Program<\/a><\/strong>. This year, in addition to a written annual report, we are highlighting our volunteers in a testimonial video<\/a> created by students at San Jose State University’s Dwight Bentel Hall Student Agency. Below you can also find information about our Outreach Program<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and our Financials<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>

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Waterbird Program<\/strong><\/p>

Our<\/strong> Waterbird Program<\/strong> is the most extensive and robust set of research projects at SFBBO, and each has its own impact. Our Shorebird Survey<\/strong> adds critical Bay Area data to an annual survey of the more than 1 billion shorebirds that winter along the Pacific Flyway from Canada to Peru. Our California Gull Surveys <\/strong>provide groundbreaking data about the exponential growth in breeding gulls in our region and the impact they have on other species. Our Landfill Surveys<\/strong> track the success of new strategies to decrease gull and corvid use of our landfills without harming the birds. Our Avian Disease Prevention Program<\/strong> prevents the spread of avian diseases in the Bay Area. Our Managed Pond Surveys<\/strong> help regional restoration groups like the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project understand the importance of these manmade ponds to local birds. Our\u00a0Colonial Waterbird Program<\/strong> documents nesting success at more than 70 colonies throughout the Bay Area and engages hundreds of volunteers in avian research and conservation in their neighborhoods. We understand that the first step in conserving birds is counting them, and in 2018 we continued to play a critical role in waterbird conservation through these diverse projects.\u00a0<\/p>

Annual Shorebird Survey\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0In 2018, we again participated in the annual Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey. Biologists and community scientists surveyed 40 sites across the South Bay. The SFBBO team counted 151,630 shorebirds and also collected data on habitat conditions. Our data collected for this multi-partner monitoring program provided a Flyway-wide assessment of shorebird communities that is used to identify conservation needs along the Pacific coast.<\/p>

California Gulls Surveys<\/strong>\u00a0– California Gulls are the most abundant nesting waterbird in the South San Francisco Bay and SFBBO has been monitoring the growth of the breeding population since 1980. In 2018, during all day walk-through surveys from May 9 to May 15, biologists and community scientists surveyed ten colony locations in Palo Alto, Alviso, Hayward, and Fremont. They documented 46,766 nesting California Gulls in the South Bay and re-sighted 32 banded gulls.Thirty-one of these birds were banded at the A6 colony at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge near Sunnyvale from 2008 – 2010. One was banded at A6 in 1985 and it is one of the oldest California Gulls on record. Band resighting data from this project provides insight into gull lifespan, dispersal, and the potential impact of encroachment into breeding areas for other sensitive species.<\/p>

Landfill Surveys<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0SFBBO staff have surveyed gulls at a local landfill since 2007, and expanded this project to\u00a0include a local recyclery and the survey of corvids in 2014. Gull counts in 2018 pointed to the effectiveness of the multi-approach abatement. In 2018, the abatement program, continued by Wingmaster Falconry, appears to have maintained a dramatic decrease in the number of gulls using the Landfill and Recyclery since their initiation in February 2012.\u00a0 Reducing landfill use by nuisance species limits population growth and their potential to negatively affect other local ground-nesting waterbirds.<\/p>

Managed Pond Surveys<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Since 2005, SFBBO biologists have conducted surveys of the waterbirds that use managed\u00a0ponds around the Bay (as well as water quality) that are associated with the South Bay Salt\u00a0Pond Restoration Project. These surveys covered 82 ponds extending across the Alviso, Newark, Mowry, Ravenswood, and Hayward Eden Landing Ecological Reserve complexes.\u00a0In 2018, Waterbird Program Director, Max Tarjan, and former Lead Waterbird Biologist, Victoria Heyse, used existing data to evaluate survey protocols to improve project efficiency and better align data collection with project goals. These methods are used to survey over 20,000 acres of managed ponds in the South Bay and to count more than one million birds over the course of the year. The resulting trends in bird counts guide the restoration efforts of the project and enable our partners to maintain ponds that support the needs of multiple local species. SFBBO participated in meetings of the Science Advisory team for the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. Results from the final report were used to update the survey approaches for 2019, allowing for more efficient surveys that can be further adapted to better capture trends of key waterbird species.<\/p>

Colonial Waterbird Program<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0The Colonial Waterbird Program (CWB) is one of SFBBO\u2019s long-standing community science programs, initiated in 1982 to monitor waterbird nesting colonies in the San Francisco Bay. For 36 years, teams of biologists and community scientists have monitored herons, egrets, terns, and other colony nesting waterbirds through our Colonial Waterbird Program.The program has engaged hundreds of community scientists in waterbird nest-monitoring activities and introduced hundreds of local community members to the presence of these birds and their needs for protection and management.\u00a0 Trained community scientists work independently to collect observational data on nesting status, timing of breeding, waterbird behavior, and evidence of disturbance at selected colonies each year.\u00a0The CWB emphasizes community engagement and community science in order to: 1) increase monitoring capacity across a large geographic area, and 2) generate public interest in protecting waterbirds and their habitats.\u00a0 Many of the colonies monitored by SFBBO community scientists would not otherwise be tracked. The 2018 team, led by Waterbird Program Director Max Tarjan and Outreach and Communications Director Kristin Butler, monitored 62 colonies across 52 sites, all of which became active breeding colonies, throughout the Bay Area from February to August using observational methods. Community scientists recorded the number of adults, chicks, and nests they saw and also noted conservation threats such as predation and human disturbance. Thank you to these community scientists for donating more than 912 hours monitoring colonies.<\/p>

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Snowy Plover Program<\/strong><\/p>

In 2018, SFBBO continued our long-term effort to recover the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover in the San Francisco Bay. SFBBO staff and volunteers worked diligently to achieve our annual research goals of monitoring all Snowy Plover breeding in the South Bay by tracking nest success and chick survival. The team was led by Plover Program Director Ben Pearl, and included Biologists Anqi Chen and Alex Rinkert, and Intern Anjou Kato.<\/p>

For the second year in a row, we continued our monitoring program of the endangered California Least Tern, monitoring breeding population, nest success, and chick fledging rates at Eden Landing Ecological Reserve. We continued our valuable partnerships with local agencies and projects, like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, to achieve species recovery while plover and tern resource needs continue to change in the South Bay. Although historically the South Bay likely only supported a small Snowy Plover Population and no Least Terns, today the South Bay salt ponds support nearly 10% of the rangewide Snowy Plover population, and one of only five Least Tern colonies in the San Francisco Bay Area. These two sensitive species face substantial threats across the Pacific Coast\u2014habitat loss, predation, human disturbance, and imminent sea level rise\u2014making the South Bay a critical habitat for these sensitive birds.<\/p>

Through these programs, in 2018 our team monitored 269 Snowy Plover nests, including an astounding 145 nests found at pond E14.\u00a0 This pond was treated with an oyster shell enhancement in late 2014 to provide high quality breeding habitat for Snowy Plovers. Since then, it has attracted a large number of Snowy Plovers to breed annually, and breeding Least Terns beginning in 2017. We counted 235 plover adults during the breeding window survey, the second highest count since 2011 when 249 adults were counted. Our biologists banded 31 plover chicks, yet only observed an apparent fledging rate of 19%. Due to the small sample size and our difficulties in resighting banded Snowy Plovers, these numbers should be viewed with caution. We monitored 98 Least Tern nests, with twelve nests confirmed to have hatched at least one chick. An estimate of 1-4 fledglings was produced from the colony. This work was funded by the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge via Facebook, Inc., Cargill Inc., and Alameda County Fish and Game Commission.<\/p>

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Habitats Program\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

San Francisco Bay contains habitats of hemispherical importance, meaning they are required by millions of individual migrating birds from dozens of species (in addition to the thousands of birds from many species that live here year round). Habitats once found along the edge of San Francisco Bay have been almost completely destroyed by human activities. In fact, over 90% of the estuary is levied off from either part of its historic extent or from upland habitats that are needed by many species.\u00a0
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In a nutshell: SFBBO\u2019s Habitats Program studies methods to improve conservation of the estuary\u2019s margin. We strive to:\u00a0<\/p>