If you go out on a walk this month, you may notice that the birds are more active than usual. The males may seem brighter, louder, and more performative. Other birds can be seen hopping from branch to branch, carrying twigs in their beaks. They are preparing for the difficult task of raising their young. It’s nesting season!
For the EcoStewards, the CCRCD’s restoration team, nesting season is a delight, but it also means extra work. Between March and September, we must diligently survey for nests before doing any work that may disturb nesting birds or their chicks. The seemingly harmless act of weed whacking a patch of invasive plants may pose a significant threat to nesting birds. If we’re not careful, we could accidentally destroy a nest, expose a nest to predators, remove critical habitat, or trigger nest abandonment. Thus, it is critical that we conduct surveys before doing work that may cause a disturbance. Binoculars in hand, we scan the trees and peer inside bushes for nests. If a nest is found, we put a buffer around it, prohibiting any loud noises or vegetation removal in that area.
You may be wondering, why are we so careful about bird nests, and not other wildlife? The truth is, birds are not any more important than other animals, but we are extra cautious with birds because they are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918. Created during a time when many bird species were facing extinction due to unregulated game hunting, the MBTA prohibits “take,” or the lethal removal, of most native birds, which includes protections for bird nests and eggs. The MBTA is accredited for saving many species from extinction, such as the wood duck and sandhill crane.
Dutch Slough, one of the restoration sites we help manage in Oakley, is a bird nesting hot spot. Every year, we find nests belonging to California quail, bush tits, and red-winged black birds, to name a few. Seeing these birds choose to use this site as refuge is a lovely reminder that our efforts managing invasive species and promoting native vegetation are working. In a time when habitat is scarce and climate change is putting additional pressure on birds, we are giving birds the necessary resources to thrive.
