Bird Day is back for students at Abraham Lincoln Elementary, leaving students and teachers with something to smile about. The photo above shows one of the many Snowy Egrets nesting in this heronry, visible via spotting scopes. 

Heronry in Santa Rosa becomes an outdoor and community classroom

After a two-year break, ACR hosted a special visit to the W. 9th Street heronry in Santa Rosa for the students of Lincoln Elementary School.

On Friday, May 27, students walked from their school to a local heronry in a suburban neighborhood, where they got to see the herons through spotting scopes. The heronry on W. 9th Street is home to four species of herons and has over 200 nests, making it an important habitat—especially during nesting season.

For some students and...

This blog is part of our Choose Nature series, where we offer behind-the-scenes content that explores a central question in conservation: why did “choosing nature” feel like the fulfilling and right thing to do?

Beatrice Pezzolo is a high school sophomore, a passionate birder, and an emerging conservation scientist. From the team at Audubon Canyon Ranch, we thank Beatrice for her dedication to birds and community! The interview is available below to watch as well.

New collaborative research shows how Great Egrets adjust daily flight patterns to feed their growing families.

By David Lumpkin and Scott Jennings, Avian Ecologists

Conservation science works best when practiced as a team sport. When we share ideas, data, methods, and information, we can learn so much more about the natural systems we’re trying to protect, compared to if we work in isolation. A new paper published in the scientific journal Waterbirds is the most recent example of how scientists at ACR’s Cypress Grove Research Center collaborate with researchers from across the country—and for the benefit of stronger, more impactful research.

The complete article is “Seasonal...

Since 2001, Audubon Canyon Ranch has collaborated with the Invasive Spartina Project to monitor and remove the non-native, invasive cordgrass, Spartina densiflora, from Tomales Bay.

A lesser-known invasive Spartina that impacts San Francisco Bay and the nearby coast, S. densiflora, grows in expanding clumps that threaten wetlands by eliminating open areas used for foraging, particularly by birds. These dense clusters of cordgrass can alter marsh elevation, especially along the edges of channels and sloughs, by slowing water flow and trapping sediments.

Toms Point, an early Spartina hotspot

ACR’s Toms Point preserve, at the north end of Tomales Bay, was one of the first Spartina hotspots identified along the outer coast. Tomales Bay is an important wintering...