Some 8 million migratory birds visiting California's Central Valley may have their habitats temporarily restored thanks to an innovative partnership with farmers affected by drought and the environmental charity group The Nature Conservancy which has launched a project called “Pop-up Habitats.” Eight million birds migrate along the Pacific Flyway each year, including the iconic and magnificent sandhill crane. With 95 percent of wetlands already gone, these birds are relying more and more on farms for their winter homes.  The Nature Conservancy and its partners are working with many farmers in California’s central valley to make their farms more hospitable for migratory birds—through mulching crops, flooding and more—while keeping their crops in production.

The project plans to determine where and when birds will need to land and whether water might be available to them, and then will pay farmers competitive prices to flood their fields precisely at the time of the birds' descent. If it works, it will be a win-win. Farmers whose livelihoods have been affected by drought will benefit from improved soil fertility and the financial incentive. Birds that have a scarce amount of habitat to choose from, as more than 90 percent of their wetlands have been turned into farms, would have a place to land in their seasonal journeys.

The project uses data collected through Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s database to figure out where the biggest populations of birds will be and when, and pinpoints water availability by collaborating with California-based conservancy group Point Blue Conservation. 

The organization is predicting that up to a quarter of shorebirds will use the habitats that result from the initial phase, coming as far away as the high Arctic to spend winter in California.

At the Conservancy’s Staten Island property located between San Francisco and Sacramento, conservation-friendly agricultural practices have led to one of the largest concentrations of sandhill cranes—15 percent of the cranes that winter in California.

At our Cosumnes River Preserve east of the Bay Area, organic rice fields are flooded in winter to provide habitat for birds. In December, 2013, nearly 124,000 birds were already roosting, feeding and settling in—an all-time record.

Information provided by The Nature Conservancy

California brown pelicans were delisted from the Endangered Species list in 2009. Roughly 90 percent of them typically breed and rear their young off the coasts of western Mexico, with the remainder breeding in the Channel Islands in Southern California. A 2014 population survey has uncovered a drastic decline in the number of California brown pelicans breeding in the Gulf of California.

University of California, Davis, professor emeritus and wildlife biologist Dan Anderson completed the survey of California brown pelican breeding colonies in late May with colleagues from the Mexican conservation agency National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP). The scientists found that this year, areas that typically host hundreds or thousands of nesting pairs held only a few hundred at most, and in some cases zero nesting pairs. "Populations do decline somewhat during El Niño years, but not nearly as drastically as what we saw widespread this year," says Dan Anderson.

This spring, when the birds arrived at breeding colonies, numbers were down and many arrived late. Of those who nested, many abandoned their nests when they could not find enough food to sustain their stay. Observers are also seeing large numbers migrating across the Baja Peninsula roughly six weeks early.

The survey’s findings include:

• At Angel de la Guarda, there were 120 nesting pairs and zero young in 2014, which is less than 2 percent of the past four years’ average since the pelicans were delisted. For comparison, in 2006—considered a “good” year for the pelicans—there were 3,550 nesting pairs and 3,905 young on the island.

• At Isla San Luis, there were 465 nesting pairs producing 16 young (9 percent of normal) in 2014, compared with 5,400 nesting pairs and 5,940 young in 2006.

• At Isla Piojo, there were 70 nesting pairs and zero young in 2014 (19 percent of normal), compared with 600 nesting pairs and 660 young in 2006.

• Low breeding numbers are often associated with El Niño conditions, which bring warmer waters to the Eastern Pacific Ocean. However, this year, the pelicans began showing signs of trouble well ahead of this summer, when El Niño was predicted to begin.

 This could be a serious blow to the remarkable comeback of the California Brown Pelican, which nearly went extinct primarily due to DDT. Brown Pelicans incubate their eggs while standing on them, and DDT made the shells so thin the eggs could not withstand the birds' weight.

The facts in this article have been documented and are courtesy of the University of California, Davis. LadyWhoLovesBirds is an avid conservationist and wildlife artist. Her love of birds is the focus of her art work which can be viewed at her website, www.LadyWhoLovesBirds.com  and her Etsy Shoppe: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LadyWhoLovesBirds.