Help Us Help Birds by Taking This Survey!

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are conducting a survey to better understand birdwatchers’ views on grassland and oak savannah habitat conservation, restoration, and possible ways to support this work in California.

Grasslands and oak savannahs are among California’s important and threatened habitats, and many birds that rely on them have declined in recent decades. Whether these habitats are near where you live and bird or farther away, your perspective is still valuable.Please help us and the birds by taking this survey:

Take the survey!

The survey takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Participation is voluntary and anonymous, and you may stop at any time. Please complete the survey only once, even if you receive this invitation from more than one chapter.

This study has been reviewed by the UC Davis Institutional Review Board, IRB ID #2397454-2.

Questions? Contact Roshan Puri at 

rpuri@ucdavis.edu

 or Lucia Levers at llevers@ucdavis.edu.

Thank you for helping inform bird conservation in California.

Lights at night are harmful to birds, and other creatures

By Jolian Kangas, RRAS Secretary

Of the myriad impacts human encroachment has begat on wild habitats, one of the less commonly considered is that of outdoor light pollution. From dense residential lighting in city skyscrapers to floodlights at rural airstrips, humans have created the equivalent of daytime illumination during times it should be pitch black. This phenomenon has led to severe impacts on other species; for birds in particular, it is a literal waking nightmare.

A study recently published in the journal Science revealed that birds inhabiting a light-polluted area were extending their active daytime (as measured by call frequency) by up to 51 minutes on average. Some species fared worse, with variables including eye size, nesting behavior, and migration paths found to be factors in the overall impact of excessive artificial light exposure. The result can lead to chronic exhaustion for a number of birds.

The negative impacts of all this light affect captive birds as well. One of the most profound moments I’ve ever experienced in interacting with a non-human animal involved a cockatoo who was upset about being left in a cage with a bright overhead lamp. The bird’s caregiver had neglected to darken the room before going to bed. It was about 1:30 a.m., and I was the last person awake in the house. When the bird began screeching, I went to check on him and noticed the light. I shut if off, and the cockatoo exclaimed in clear English, “Thank you!”

Now that the year is drawing to a close and holiday festivities are ramping up, perhaps this is the time to reconsider your choice of decorations. Many of us enjoy the visual spectacle of a well-adorned house or front yard, sparkling with hundreds of tiny lights. But for a bird, this type of display is just adding to an unnaturally lit sky during the season of maximum darkness. Disorientation and injury can and will occur. “It’s just a light switch away,” Brent Pease, co-author of the study in Science told the Washington Post, “We’re optimistic about darkening the night again.