September 10 , 2003 – migratory bird census

The team (left to right): Kerstin Wasson, Research Coordinator – she needs a baseline count of the migratory birds in the North Marsh; expert birder Todd Newberry – he's along to help us ID the birds (and we pick his brain mercilessly for birding lore); volunteers Shirley Murphy and Steve Legnard – lending their keen eyes to the count.


The first significant observation is a mixed flock of 1000 peeps (this is just a portion of the full flock). In the background are Marbled Godwits, with a smattering of Avocets, Stilts, and other waders.


The same flock in flight! All it took was one Red-tailed Hawk loping overhead to get the whole joint in an uproar.

A group of White Pelicans, however, remains unruffled.

These tide gates are used by the Reserve to control the North Marsh water level – measured in inches – in the interest of the shorebirds.


Our final treat – a very good look at a Semipalmated Plover.

The tally for the 90-minute outing: 900 Western Sandpipers; 100 Least Sandpipers; 100 Marbled Godwits; 60 American Avocets; 30 Red-necked Phalaropes; 30 White Pelicans; 5 Brown Pelicans; 24 Black-necked Stilts; 20 Willets; 20 Snowy Egrets; 15 Great Egrets; 15 Great Blue Herons; 15 Ring-billed Gulls; 2 Western Gulls; 4 Short-billed Dowitchers; 5 Black-crowned Night Herons; 2 Double-crested Cormorants; 2 Long-billed Curlews; 1 Greater Yellowlegs; 1 Semipalmated Plover.

Research Coordinator Kerstin Wasson summarizes the goals of this program: The objective of this monitoring effort is to track migratory (and resident) shorebirds, waders, and waterfowl using the tidal wetlands of Elkhorn Slough. While this modest program will not be sufficient to detect subtle alterations, we will be able to detect dramatic changes. By comparing our results to those from other wetlands along the coast, we can determine whether the changes are due to local factors affecting only the slough (loss of foraging areas due to tidal scour, elimination of prey due to oil spill, etc.) or regional processes affecting the whole coast (breeding failure, El Nino effects on prey recruitment, etc.).