Projects tagged with "birds"

Support the Starr Ranch Sanctuary’s Work

Please consider supporting Starr Ranch. Your donation will help them: Enroll students in their Field Ecology and Junior Biologist programs, now in their second decade of giving insight into nature and imparting valuable practical skills, support their seasonal restoration and education staff – recent college graduates from all over the country who come to live and work at Starr Ranch for 6-10 months to learn about their innovative approaches to restoration, wildlife research, and education, remove invasive plant species – without the use of toxic chemicals – in preparation to restore rare habitats such as coastal sage scrub, which is found only here in Southern California, increase the quality of the viewing experience of Starr Ranch's webcams – their broadcasts heard 'round the world, and maintain Starr Ranch. This includes twelve buildings, eight vehicles, two tractors plus implements, and 18 miles of roads. Most importantly, it will help preserve this special place. From all of the folks at Starr Ranch, thank you! Visit: https://act.audubon.org/a/support-starr-ranch
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Volunteer as a Bird Bander with the Starr Ranch Sanctuary

Dedicated birders who would like banding experience are invited to apply to become volunteer banders for a MAPS (Mapping Avian Productivity and Survivorship) station at the Starr Ranch Bird Observatory. MAPS is a growing network of hundreds of songbird banding stations in North America run by the Institute for Bird Populations (IBP). Long term banding data from MAPS stations help track changes in populations and migration patterns. In 2005, they became part of an international monitoring network that tracks birds in their wintering grounds, MoSI (Monitoreo de Sobrevivencia Invernal) with stations from Mexico to Columbia (and Starr Ranch!). Visit: https://starrranch.org/volunteer/
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Volunteer for Songbird Monitoring with the Starr Ranch Sanctuary

Besides bird banding, Starr Ranch manages other songbird monitoring projects that utilize volunteer citizen scientists who are trained by ornithologists. Monitoring usually targets rare species and habitats such as coastal sage scrub but they also use songbirds as indicators of restoration success and climate change. New monitoring projects help them make decisions on which invasive plant species they will work to control. Below are some current songbird monitoring projects that utilize citizen science volunteers: Songbirds of Starr Ranch Coastal Sage Scrub, Effects of Coastal Sage Scrub Restoration on Songbirds, Effects of the Streambank Weed, Periwinkle, on Songbirds, and Songbird Phenology in Coastal Sage Scrub and Riparian Woodlands. If you would like to volunteer or would like to learn more about Starr Ranch songbird monitoring projects, please contact Sandy DeSimone (sdesimone@audubon.org) at 949-858-0309. Visit: https://starrranch.org/volunteer/
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Help the Starr Ranch Sanctuary Monitor Other Wildlife with the Starr Ranch Sanctuary

In spring 2004 Starr Ranch Sanctuary trained volunteers to assist their biologists with a long-term study that examined the effects of artichoke thistle control and coastal sage scrub restoration on small mammals (and songbirds). The goal of this project was to produce estimates of small mammal species composition, richness, diversity, and abundance in their paired restoration and pristine coastal sage scrub monitoring sites as well as over a chronosequence of sites of increasing restoration age. Data collected through 2010 indicated a negative effect of artichoke thistle and a positive effect of restoration, so this small mammal study is currently inactive. Monitoring responses to actions or lack of actions remains the key strategy for resource management in a changing climate. Currently Starr Ranch biologists train citizen science volunteers to help them monitor wildlife that serve as good indicators of habitat quality and help them decide which invasive species they will work to control. These are long term projects that will also aid in detection of shifts in wildlife populations that may be associated with a changing climate. Current wildlife monitoring projects include: Aquatic Vertebrates of Bell Creek (fish, reptiles and amphibians), Perennial Pools of Bell Creek, Effects of the Streambank Weed, Periwinkle, on Small Mammals and Invertebrates, and Phenology of Butterflies (and Plants) of Coastal Sage Scrub and Riparian Woodland. If you would like to volunteer with our wildlife monitoring projects, please contact Sandy DeSimone (sdesimone@audubon.org) at 949-858-0309. Visit: https://starrranch.org/volunteer/
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