Tag Archives | BLM

Proactively Manage Pests Based on Predator-Prey Ecology

Katherine Larson is a wildlife biologist with the Redding Bureau of Land Management (BLM), where she helps to make informed land management decisions that benefit birds. She hopes to grow in this position by coordinating with avian biologists along birds’ entire flyways and life cycles, and by incorporating citizen science and outdoor education on BLM land.  Prior to this position, Katherine studied wildlife biology at Humboldt State University after transferring from University of Colorado where she played NCAA softball, rock climbed and was a white-water raft guide. When not thinking about birds, Katherine can be found backpacking in the Trinity Alps, cooking and baking, or hanging out with Buddhist monks.

Research Abstract:

Ecological theory predicts that raptors exert top-down effects on their prey by direct consumption, indirectly by imposing risk of predation, or a combination of both. However, empirical evidence for these effects is mixed and inconsistent. Understanding relationships between raptors and their prey is especially important where raptors may contribute to the control of agricultural pests. Earlier work shows promise that barn owls may control rodent pests, but empirical evidence is limited and the distinction between direct and indirect effects remains unresolved. Here, we investigate the top-down effects of barn owls on rodent pests in winegrape vineyards in Napa Valley, California. We monitored barn owl occupancy, reproductive status, and fledgling success in over 300 nest boxes in 2023. We used this to create a spatially and temporally explicit barn owl hunting pressure model from hunting locations and from prey delivery rates that vary as nestlings develop. The hunting pressure layers were used to examine the direct effect of barn owls on rodent abundance (measured with chew blocks), and the indirect effect of barn owls on rodent perceived predation risk and activity (measured with giving-up density trays and game cameras respectively). We found that barn owls exert both direct and indirect effects on rodent pests and that dense vegetation favors the acoustically attuned barn owls over the visually-oriented rodent pests. We contribute to growing evidence that barn owls can be used as biological control in agricultural systems, and we show that growers can manipulate vegetation to enhance the effect of barn owls and to induce more fear in rodents.

Shasta Birding Society is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Proactively Manage Pests Based On Predator-Prey Ecology
Time: Nov 13, 2024 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88004338851

Meeting ID: 880 0433 8851

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Meeting ID: 880 0433 8851

Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kcrlfN8Lk9

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Paynes Creek Wetlands Bilingual Bird Walk

Leaders: Jared Geiser, Rebeca Ladron de Guevara, Oscar Rodriguez, David Garza

AltaCal is partnering with BLM biologists, and the Shasta Birding Society to offer a bilingual birding trip around the Paynes Creek Wetland Area. This is a beginner friendly trip suitable for anyone interested in birds and exploring this unique and beautiful wetland area near Paynes Creek in the BLM Sacramento River Bend area in Tehama County. We will observe the wetland ecosystems here discussing the birds and ecological interactions we see, in both Spanish and English. We will meet at the Bass Pond Parking Area on Bend Ferry Road at 8:00 am. Se habla Español! Llame (530) 965-1325 para inscribirse al paseo en Español. To register for this field trip, click on the Zeffy sign up link for this trip: https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/eefa703d-0a63-4667-85fa-0b62e159ee9e

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Rancho Breisgau Field Trip

Join Shasta Birding Society for a field trip led by Brooke Thompson of the Bureau of Land Management at the 426-acre  in southern Shasta County. The property is the site of a BLM restoration project to reclaim the area from agricultural use to riparian oak woodland in the Battle Creek watershed. Brooke will present the details of the history, progress and goals of BLM’s work at the site. We will meet at the entrance gate off of Jellys Ferry Road at 8:00 am, Saturday April 27, 2024, located approximately ¼ mile south of the intersection of Jellys Ferry Road and Coleman Fish Hatchery Road and pool to various locations of interest to learn about site. Short hikes are expected on level ground, there are no bathroom facilities at the site, but there are facilities at the nearby Battle Creek Wildlife Area and Coleman Fish Hatchery. Expect the program to last approximately 60 – 90 minutes with some free time after to bird.

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Hog Lake Outing

Tundra Swans

On Saturday, January 7, we will kick off the new year with a visit to Hog Lake in Tehama County to check on waterfowl and upland wintering birds. Caravan leaves the Kutras parking lot at 6:45 am or meet at the parking lot at Hog Lake at 7:30 am (Approximate Sunrise). Hog Lake is located off of State Route 36 about 9.5 miles east of Red Bluff. Look for the BLM sign on the left side of the highway. Bring layered clothes and sturdy boots as the hiking is very rocky at points. There is no fee for use of this BLM property. Rain cancels the trip.

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Wintu/BLM Field Trip to Hog Lake

Wintu Audubon will join BLM staff on a full day trip to Hog Lake. Join David Byers and Tim Kashuba to explore this new destination for Wintu Audubon members. Recently seen species include Tundra Swan, American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Yellowlegs and Lewis’s Woodpecker! This walk includes a relatively flat 1/2 mile walk to the lake and another 1/2 to 3/4 mile to explore some of the vistas to the north. Bring your lunch and water. Participants are required to have proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and sign waiver. Meet at the Hog Lake Parking Lot at 7:30 am, approximately 10 miles east of Red Bluff on SR 36, 40.27898, -122.12182.

Participants are required to have proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and sign waiver.

Birds of the Bend List: https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/docs/2021-12/Birds_of_Bend_Brochure_508.pdf

Sacramento Bend Map Brochure: https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/docs/2021-07/Sac_Bend_Map_Brochure_508.pdf

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