Bird use of changing habitats: The good, the bad, and the ugly

The South San Francisco Bay area contains salt ponds, which were managed for salt production until 2003, that support large numbers of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, and nesting shorebirds, terns, and gulls. The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project will restore a number of South Bay ponds to tidal action and will manage others for waterbirds and other species. Potential negative impacts of tidal restoration are reduction of mud flats and shallow, saline areas for shorebirds, decreases in shallow subtidal areas for waterfowl, and changes in nesting locations for resident waterbirds. However, pond management has the potential to increase the nesting and foraging productivity of the remaining ponded habitat. To meet its goals, the Project must balance the needs of tidal marsh species with those that require ponds. In particular, the Project faces challenges in providing enough nesting and foraging habitat for Western snowy plovers as well as nesting habitat for terns, avocets and stilts; managing ponds for species such as grebes and phalaropes that seek out medium-salinity ponds; and managing encroachment and predation of native and non-native species. To meet these challenges, the Project has initiated a number of studies to assess how to provide for pond-associated birds with a smaller number of ponds. Data from these studies and other Project monitoring will be used to adaptively manage habitat in the Project area to meet the needs of both tidal marsh and pond-associated species. This talk will discuss the Project studies and monitoring planned and underway, and will make recommendations for providing high-quality waterbird habitat in the Project area, based on our current knowledge.