You Can’t Keep a Good Crew Down: The Bouverie Stewards at the Modini Mayacamas Preserves
November 28, 2017

Some will say to practice moderation in all things, but we have found a few exceptions to that rule. For instance, we never tire of hearing the inspiring stories of members of our North Bay community rising up to help each other recover from the devastating fires this past October; another example is the insatiable appetite of Audubon Canyon Ranch volunteers for pitching in to help protect and manage our preserves. At the Modini Mayacamas Preserves near Healdsburg, we have experienced both of those phenomenon in a concentrated burst as the Bouverie Stewards came to our aid over the past two weeks.

The Bouverie Stewards are a dedicated group that have lent their time, energy and manifold talents to stewardship projects of the Bouverie Preserve every Monday since 2007 but ever...

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Resiliency is inherent in the ecology of our local species
November 06, 2017

Just like thousands of others in the North Bay, we at Audubon Canyon Ranch are picking up the pieces after the recent fires. We are heartbroken to learn of friends who have lost loved ones, and for whole neighborhoods destroyed. Two of our staff members lost their homes when ACR’s 535-acre Bouverie Preserve in Glen Ellen burned during the Nuns fire. Our near-term goal is to support our community as they figure out the way forward. We also have a long-term goal: to learn from the resiliency of nature, and to use that knowledge to prepare our community to better weather the next firestorm.

For ecologists, resilience is how a system responds to a major disturbance. What species traits give rise to a system that can recover from or resist a major perturbation? ACR’s ecologists and...

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Early impressions of mountain lion territory altered by the Sonoma fires
October 30, 2017

Thank you all. Everyone has been so supportive of our wildlife - our community. Thank you!

This is a very hard time for all of us, and it is no different for the mountain lions or other critters. The ACR Mountain Lion Project has 3 lions that have been monitored using GPS satellite collars in the Bennet Valley area. A preliminary observation suggests about 50% of optimal lion habitat across our study area has been burned. In the long-term this will be good with rejuvenation inviting opportunities, but for now it is likely hard for them. I wouldn't say they have been displaced so much as re-routed. I have observed movement of our GPS collared cats cruising through burned areas, as well as avoiding them. Because lion ranges are so extensive (up to 300 square miles for males), they...

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P1, Sonoma's Engaging Supermom
October 04, 2017

It’s been one year since ACR fitted our first Sonoma County mountain lion (P1) with a GPS collar. Late last month, we recaptured her to replace the collar's battery and check on her overall health.

P1, our 10- to 11-year-old grande dame, has already provided us with reams of data as well as a window into the lives of these compelling cats. A stealthy supermom, she is also wowing us with her parenting skills. When we first began tracking her, P1 was traveling with two nearly grown offspring. We collared the female (P2) of the sibling duo in November 2016.

Off to new territories
Then, in late December, P1 sent both of her young adults packing right on schedule. Young mountain lions typically disperse from their mother at 12 to...

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Stewardship volunteers ready preserves for fall programs
September 21, 2017

The Modini Mayacamas Preserves Stewards are off to a victorious start in their effort to maintain trails, clear invasive species and complete long-range stewardship projects. In late summer, the volunteer crew convened on the Foss Road Trail high above Healdsburg to ready it for a full schedule of fall public hikes. They braved the fog AND the sun to clear out a few major roadblocks, trim the walking path and clip back the blackberry and poison oak.
A few weeks later, our intrepid team began a campaign to control the spread of non-native teasel that is invading our grasslands near Ferguson Spring.

Ongoing stewardship work performed by volunteers is vital for the long-term health of our preserves. To join us, see the next scheduled session for details:...

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Tracking data reveals egret's 98-mile nighttime flight to Sierra Nevada foothills
August 16, 2017
Map above shows GPS location points gathered from a female Great Egret from 8/14/17 through 8/17/17.
 

Since outfitted with GPS tracking devices in mid June, the three Great Egrets (one male and two females) tagged near Toms Point on Tomales Bay have remained in northern Marin and southern Sonoma counties. But on the evening of August 14, at around 7:20 p.m., a female identified as GREG 3 lifted off from Chileno Valley and started flying east. She stopped for about a half hour in some cypress trees southeast of Petaluma, then, just as darkness fell, she took flight again. She flew east through pre-moon darkness,...

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Mountain lion kittens learning new 'big cat' skills
July 31, 2017

This past weekend, ACR Mountain Lion Project lead Dr. Quinton Martins noticed GPS cluster points in the Glen Ellen - Sonoma area that indicated a potential feeding site for one of our research subjects, P1, a female adult lion who had a litter of three kittens in April. Excited to know how the kittens were doing, Quinton raced out to set up a camera to document mom and kittens on the kill. On arrival, he found an adult buck neatly cached in a thicket of manzanita, poison oak and blackberry bushes. Footage retrieved the following day revealed that two of the three kittens had survived to the 4-month mark. In this video, one of the kittens...

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Heron and Egret Telemetry Project takes flight
June 19, 2017

After months of planning and preparation, ACR’s Heron and Egret Telemetry Project has literally taken flight! ACR Avian Ecologists Scott Jennings and David Lumpkin and Director of Conservation Science Dr. John Kelly spent an exciting eight days with collaborators Drs. John Brzorad and Alan Maccarone, who travelled from North Carolina and Kansas, respectively, to train us in capturing Great Egrets and outfitting them with tiny GPS transmitters. So far, we’ve tagged three Great Egrets, all at ACR’s Toms Point in northern Tomales Bay.

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Congratulations 2017 Terwilliger Environmental Award Winner, Gwen Heistand
June 16, 2017

WildCare, a Bay Area leader in wildlife rehabilitation and environmental education, has recognized ACR Director of Education Gwen Heistand as an environmental educator of the highest caliber.

Named for nationally renowned naturalist and educator, Elizabeth Terwilliger (known affectionately as Mrs. T), the award annually honors an educator who 

  • Is actively involved in teaching the public to appreciate and protect the natural environment 
  • Has made a significant difference and a real impact on the Bay Area 
  • Inspires children and adults to love nature by making the study of nature interesting, fun...
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Springtime antics of colorful songbirds fill Sonoma County
June 16, 2017

Jeanne Wirka for THE PRESS DEMOCRAT 

It’s Spring Madness out there as Sonoma County’s songbirds swoop into the full-court press of their breeding season. Bird song and other breeding behavior is as astonishingly complex as it is beautiful to behold. Fortunately, one need not be an ornithologist or even an amateur birder to appreciate this annual avian spectacle. Becoming familiar with just a few of our local feathered friends makes any outdoor adventure that much more meaningful and even mind-blowing. 

Two birds that are easy to recognize, fun to watch, and fairly ubiquitous in our local parks and open space areas right now are western bluebirds (Sialia mexicana) and tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor...

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