Riparian landbird monitoring in Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore: Progress report for 2021–2023

Dettling, Mark; Mahoney, Michael; Humple, Diana

doi:10.36967/2305750

Point Blue Conservation Science (hereafter Point Blue) conducted landbird monitoring from 16 August 2021 through 15 August 2023 in predominantly riparian habitat found in Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This monitoring was on behalf of the National Park Service’s (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. Progress reports, like this one, are intended to document the survey efforts and to provide a basic summary of the data collected. This progress report deviates slightly from the structure of previous progress reports by summarizing two years of data collection instead of one, as outlined in the protocol. The NPS provided additional funding to Point Blue for mist netting and point count surveys in fall 2021 through summer 2022 to complement the standard point count surveys called for by the program protocol. As a consequence, data from the entire fall 2021 through summer 2023 time frame are fully summarized in this report. Point Blue staff conducted monitoring at 15 study sites within the parks using one or both of two methods: point counts and constant-effort mist netting. We report on point count surveys that were conducted during the peak landbird breeding season (May–June) of 2022 and 2023 and mist netting (and associated bird banding) that was conducted in fall 2021 through summer 2023. Staff conduct monitoring at the entire suite of point count sites every third year, which was the 2023 breeding season. Additionally, staff conduct monitoring annually at a subset of core sites (mist netting and point counts) as part of Point Blue’s Palomarin Field Station network of intensive monitoring sites and as a complement to the I&M Program. Staff conducted surveys in fall 2021 through summer 2022 only at these core sites. Of the 126 bird species detected between fall 2021 and summer 2023, 32 are California Partners in Flight Focal Species (CalPIF 2000, CalPIF 2002a, CalPIF 2002b, CalPIF 2004, CalPIF 2009, RHJV 2004), six are California Bird Species of Special Concern (Shuford and Gardali 2008), and one is listed as Threatened by the State of California (CNDDB 2023). Public outreach, via in-person and virtual demonstrations, is an important component of Point Blue’s mist-netting programs. As we navigated reopening to public visitation following COVID-19 restrictions, over 700 members of the public viewed mist netting in person at the study sites as part of organized groups during this two-year period.

Riparian landbird monitoring in Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore: Progress report for 2021–2023

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