2010 Annual Report - Ventana Wildlife Society

Protecting Least Terns and Snowy Ploversare managing plover and tern nesting areasat the park by monitoring predator activity,identifying individual predators posing athreat to reproductive success, andrelocating those individuals.In 2009, six Loggerhead Shrikes, fiveAmerican Kestrels, two Great Horned Owls,and two Peregrine Falcons were trappedat Oceano Dunes and safely transported tosuitable habitat elsewhere. Human activitieshave greatly reduced the amount of suitablebeach nesting habitat for plovers and terns;relocating some of the predators gives thelocal plovers and terns a fighting chance forpopulations to recover.Ventana Wildlife Society partnerswith The Bird Group, a non-profitorganization formed from the SantaCruz Predatory Bird ResearchGroup, to protect Snowy Ploversand California Least Terns in coastalCalifornia.The Bird Group has addressednumerous issues concerning theconservation of birds of prey,most notably the recovery ofPeregrine Falcons in California andneighboring states. In some cases,populations of endangered orthreatened birds are at risk becauseof predation by birds of prey.Ventana Wildlife Society andThe Bird Group are now teaming upto not only protect the birds of prey,but the birds that are prey.Snowy Plovers and CaliforniaLeast Terns nest on the beachesof Oceano Dunes State VehicularRecreation Area, a parkencompassing nearly 5,000 acresof coastal sand dunes and 9 milesof coastline in San Luis ObispoCounty. Fenced enclosures helplimit human-caused disturbance, butbirds of prey, particularly falcons,harriers, and shrikes, were regularlyobserved hunting plovers and terns,and depredating nests. VentanaWildlife Society and The Bird GroupVentana Wildlife Societyand The Bird Groupare teaming upto not onlyprotect thebirds of prey,but the birdsthat prey.13