{"id":768,"date":"2018-07-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weebly-import-post-10"},"modified":"2026-06-17T01:43:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T01:43:24","slug":"a-surprising-colony-in-pleasanton-enlightens-many","status":"publish","type":"wingbeat","link":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/a-surprising-colony-in-pleasanton-enlightens-many\/","title":{"rendered":"A Surprising Colony in Pleasanton Enlightens Many"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"paragraph\"><strong>\u200b<\/strong><strong>By Waterbird Intern Graham Pimm<\/strong><\/div> <div><div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7387b849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\"><div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Picture\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/graham-orig-1_orig.jpg?ssl=1\"\/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span>In today&#8217;s world, one could argue that environmental issues are more pronounced than they\u2019ve ever been. Some might bring up coal burning in the 1900s (think \u201cGreat-Smog\u201d event in London); widespread DDT spraying in the 60s; or increased urbanization. Each was destructive, and the cumulative effect has been a serious problem for many species.<br\/><br\/>\u200bDespite widespread outreach efforts by organizations such as SFBBO to teach people about our local birds and the issues they face, many still fly under the radar (no pun intended!).\u00a0For example: would you be surprised\u00a0if I told you that there was\u00a0a breeding colony of around 30 &#8230;<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<!--more-->\n\n  <div class=\"paragraph\">Double-crested Cormorant nests and 15 Great Egret nests only five minutes away from downtown Pleasanton? I know I was surprised when I first learned about them. But there is! And they\u2019ve been here since the 1970s! Even more importantly &#8211; thanks to the efforts of citizen scientists like Bill Rose and Dolores Bengston &#8211; SFBBO has been collecting data on this colony for decades as a part of our\u00a0<strong><a href=\"\/staging\/1924\/colonial-waterbird-monitoring\/\">Colonial Waterbird Program<\/a><\/strong>.<br\/><br\/>The data has the potential to serve as a litmus-test for these birds\u2019 ecosystems and teach us how different environmental pressures may be affecting these species. Simultaneously, they can provide a valuable outreach platform to show the public just how interesting and amazing these birds really are.<br\/>\u00a0<br\/>For instance, just this past May, over 30 people from around the Bay Area converged at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebparks.org\/parks\/shadow_cliffs\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Shadow Cliffs Regional Park<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to join SFBBO, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebparks.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>East Bay Parks District<\/strong><\/a>, and our wonderful volunteers for our \u201cBirds in Your Neighborhood\u201d event.<\/div> <div> <figure class=\"wp-block-gallery wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/34138828-10156481409535956-2940236316220063744-n.jpg?ssl=1\"\/><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/34199867-10156481408880956-2267057002104487936-n.jpg?ssl=1\"\/><\/figure><\/figure>\n<\/div> <div class=\"paragraph\"><span>For three hours we showcased the colony (and it\u2019s cute Great Blue Heron chicks) for participants and answered questions about the history of the colony, the species present, and their behavior and habitat.\u00a0<\/span><span>Not only was it an opportunity for the public to learn more about colonial waterbirds and for SFBBO to extend our message, it was also an enlightening experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.<\/span><br\/><br\/><span>Knowing that there are many people just like our volunteers and staff who genuinely care about the success of these birds is extremely uplifting and helps to confirm that SFBBO\u2019s mission (to conserve birds and their habitat through science and outreach) resonates with many members of the Bay Area.\u00a0<\/span><span>Your can read more about Bill Rose and the Shadow Cliffs Colonial Waterbird Colony in the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pleasantonweekly.com\/news\/2018\/05\/17\/the-bird-counter-at-shadow-cliffs\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Pleasanton Weekly<\/strong><\/a><span>.<\/span><br\/><br\/><strong><em>You can reach Graham at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:waterbird_intern_2@sfbbo.org\">waterbird_intern_2@sfbbo.org<\/a>. You can learn about our\u00a0<a href=\"\/staging\/1924\/colonial-waterbird-monitoring\/\">Colonial Waterbird Program<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"\/staging\/1924\/volunteer\/\">volunteering<\/a>, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/outreach-events.html\">outreach events<\/a>\u00a0on our website.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u200b<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u200b By Waterbird Intern Graham Pimm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1230,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":""},"class_list":["post-768","wingbeat","type-wingbeat","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Surprising Colony in Pleasanton Enlightens Many - San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/a-surprising-colony-in-pleasanton-enlightens-many\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Surprising Colony in Pleasanton Enlightens Many - 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