PubTalk 11/2015 — Waterbirds in a Changing Landscape

Evaluating Avian Response to the West Coast's Largest Tidal Marsh Restoration Project

by Susan De La Cruz, USGS Research Wildlife Biologist

• The urbanized San Francisco Bay is a critical wintering and stop-over area for more than a million migratory annually that rely on a mosaic of Bay habitats, including former salt ponds.
• The 15,100 acre South Bay Salt Pond (SBSP) Restoration Project is in the process of restoring 50 to 90% of former salt production ponds to tidal marsh while maintaining the rest as foraging and roosting areas for migratory birds.
• How are birds responding to the preliminary phases of this project? How can research help optimize future restoration actions to benefit migratory birds?