In cooperation with the Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk and Sacramento chapter of the Audubon Society, the Conservancy hosted an on-site visit and tour with 47 wildlife lovers recently. The group, under the direction of Frank Gray, toured the Conservancy’s Silva tract. The group identified ruddy ducks, white-faced ibis (an NBHCP “Covered Species”), wild turkey, marsh wrens, Western kingbird, Black-necked stilts, Pied-billed grebes and many other species. The tour was arranged at a time when there was least likely to be disturbance to the NBHCP’s list of species the site was designed to serve as a refuge for. This was a particularly well-informed group, and even so, there were many excellent questions about the preserves and how the Conservancy operates. It was good to have the group back out on site again.
They’re back!
We are so pleased to see one of the NBHCP’s “Covered Species,” the Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), back on Conservancy property! Going back 15 years, the owl used to be seen frequently on Conservancy mitigation lands. At the time, we documented too-common depredation of them by dogs from nearby residential… Continue Reading They’re back!