Ecological Services

The Tricolored Blackbird

Senior Wildlife Biologist, Mike Stake works with our partners at the Santa Lucia Conservancy to observe and study a California icon, the Tricolored Blackbird. The Tricolored Blackbird is a true California specialty, with more than 99% of their global population residing in California. These birds form the largest breeding colonies of any North American land bird.

In the 1930s, there were an estimated 2-3 million Tricolored Blackbirds. Now, population estimates are less than 200,000 – a 90% decline in less than 100 years. Learn what Ventana Wildlife Society and Santa Lucia Conservancy are doing to improve management for Tricolored Blackbirds and mitigate the threats that they face.

The Western Snowy Plover

Keeping dogs on a leash in wildlife areas is crucial for the protection of local fauna. Dogs, even the most well-behaved, can disturb, chase, or even harm wildlife if left to roam freely. For instance, this video about Western Snowy Plovers highlights how these delicate shorebirds, which nest on sandy beaches, can be easily scared away from their nests by off-leash dogs. When the adult plovers are frightened and forced to flee, their eggs or chicks are left vulnerable to predators, temperature extremes, or accidental trampling. By ensuring our dogs remain on leashes in such habitats, we can significantly reduce stress and potential harm to wildlife like the Western Snowy Plovers, thereby playing a role in their conservation. Ventana Wildlife Society staff consulted on the making of this video.

Consultation

We are your condor experts. As co-managers of the central California population, Ventana Wildlife Society has the necessary knowledge, technology, and permits to help you protect condors while maintaining compliance with federal and state regulations.

We are also your general bird experts. Our senior wildlife biologists each have more than 20 years of experience working with a variety of bird species of conservation concern, including Bald Eagles, Spotted Owls, Burrowing Owls, Willow Flycatchers, Purple Martins, and Tricolored Blackbirds.

By having the most complete data set of condor GIS locations, we are able to help government and companies avoid harming condors.

Our biologists are now permitted to do Red-legged Frog surveys.

Red-Legged Frogs

We possess 10(a)(1)(a) recovery permits for the following special status species:
• California Condor
• California Red-legged Frog

Conservation planning started with our successful Bald Eagle recovery project in the 1980s and continues today through nearly 25 years of managing the central California Condor population.

We balance our field proficiency with top scientific writing skills in preparing your environmental documents, particularly those addressing avian conservation measures, such as Avian Protection Plans, Eagle Conservation Plans, and Resource Management Plans.

Conservation Planning

Our biologists combine data collection and document preparation skills to meet our clients' conservation planning objectives.

Surveys

Ventana Wildlife Society designs surveys and monitoring projects that will best achieve your objectives. We are proficient in point counts, transects, area searches, bird banding, nest searches, call playback, distance sampling, remote sensing, Anabat sampling, trapping, remote cameras, aircraft surveys, and other proven sampling techniques. Recent survey projects have included Tricolored Blackbird, Spotted Owl, Bald Eagle, riparian birds, grassland birds, and coastal raptors.

We survey all kinds of wildlife with a variety of proven techniques.

A Sample of Past Projects

Tricolored Blackbird Post-breeding Dispersal Research
In 2013, Ventana Wildlife Society assisted Santa Lucia Conservancy with their research and monitoring study of Tricolored Blackbirds, a California Bird Species of Special Concern experiencing considerable population declines. We monitored breeding colonies at Santa Lucia Preserve and Fort Ord, and tracked foraging and post-breeding dispersal for 19 radio-tagged Tricolored Blackbirds. By tracking Tricolored Blackbirds, even once by airplane, we learned more about the connectivity of regional populations, the importance of breeding and foraging habitat on the preserve, and the post-breeding habitat these birds need.

Riparian Birds
In 1992-2010, we operated a bird banding lab along the Big Sur River, which contains important riparian habitat for migrating songbirds. Widely known as the Big Sur Ornithology Lab, this station allowed us to determine population trends for a variety of species while demonstrating the importance of local riparian habitat. We have also conducted long-term surveys over the last 25 years at another important riparian corridor, the Carmel River.

Spotted Owl Surveys in the Santa Lucia Range
In 2006 and 2009, Ventana Wildlife Society conducted Spotted Owl surveys through a contract with the U.S. Forest Service at 250 locations in Los Padres National Forest and other nearby sites within the Santa Lucia Mountain Range. We recorded a minimum of 112 Spotted Owls in 2006 and a minimum of 99 at the same survey locations in 2009. Our surveys helped evaluate the persistence and distribution of this California Bird Species of Special Concern, amid recent habitat changes associated with sudden oak death and a 2008 wildfire.

Avian Predator Management to Protect Snowy Plovers and Least Terns. Starting in 2010, Ventana Wildlife Society contracted with California Department of Parks and Recreation to monitor and manage avian predators of Snowy Plovers and Least Terns, two listed species at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. Our specialist identified individual avian predators posing an unacceptable threat to plovers and terns, and when needed, trapped those predators and transported them to appropriate habitat away from the park. Correcting an imbalanced predator-prey relationship, even in the short-term, can give Snowy Plovers and Least Terns a fighting chance for a long-term recovery on our coastline.

Condor cams

the Condor Chat

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