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Terns & drones at Bolsa Chica | Los Angeles Times
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
Today’s Los Angeles Times has a front page article about the Elegant Tern mass abandonment of nests at Bolsa Chica, caused by a crashing drone. The birds did not return to their nests, but drones still plow the sky.
Drone wipes out generation of birds
Thousands of Elegant Terns fled Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve at the May 12 crash. | Los Angeles Times | Alex Wigglesworth | June 8 , 2021
The photo & caption below, included with the printed version of the article, contain several errors. Can you spot them?
If you see dogs or drones in protected areas where they ought not to be, call California Fish & Wildlife: CAL-TIP 888-334-2258
The Orange County bird-chat hot line carried the following important and informative message from an astute local birder, writer’s name omitted [emphasis added].
I see from the article that “the state is also hoping to work with federal authorities to ensure that airspace over the reserve and other sensitive areas is listed as restricted.” The problem is that drone operators use an FAA app that shows them where they can fly, and on the app the bird area is “green.”
I called the FAA to find out who the contact is, so I can write a letter in support of the FAA changing the online map to whatever it is when it is not green. This person told me that the contact person for getting the app map changed would be David May….FAA employees are still working from home, so the best way to reach him is by email, David.may@faa.gov.
I’m planning to write a letter saying I understand the state may be working with him or his department already, but that I also want to express my support for changing the map so that there is no ambiguity for drone operators (app says one thing, signs say another).
The following day (9-Jun-21) I received this message from DJAustin:
Sent an email to David May and he replied he had nothing to do with LAANC (Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability) but he would see what he could do to help.
UPDATE: I sent an email to David May, who replied on 6/10/21 [emphasis added]:
Thanks for reaching out and the work you do in protecting our wildlife.
I am an FAA employee and I work in the UAS Office but I am not involved in this incident. I did hear about it earlier this week however and know that it is being investigated. I am hoping the person responsible is identified and action is taken.
I did look at a VFR Sectional Chart (used by manned pilots that are not flying solely by instruments) and can see that much of Northern California along the coast has NOAA Regulated areas called National Maritime Sanctuary Designated Areas. I am not sure the history of how this was established but it might be worth pursuing. Also, do you happen to know if the Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) is a protected species (either Federal or State)? I contacted one of our lawyers who works environmental issues and want to give her as many options as possible.
I then sent David some additional info on Elegant Tern status and population.
Also on 6/10/21 from Orange County Birder Leila:
I learned it’s not an F.A.A. map, it’s an F.A.A.-approved phone app called AirMap which is what local drone operators use. My next research step will be to find out if there are other drone apps, or does pretty much everybody use AirMap.
A few highlights of the L.A. Times article:
- About 3,000 Elegant Terns abandoned nests
- 1,500 – 2,000 eggs left behind, none viable
- Current location of birds that fled is unknown
- Drone crashed 5/12/21
- Problems continue with bicyclists, dogs, dog waste, drones and car break-ins (break-ins previously reported here)
- Drones not permitted above state wildlife reserves
- Reserve supports 800 species including 300 species of birds
- 23 Special status species, including: Ridgeway’s Rail, Western Snowy Plover, California Least Tern
- Terns normally arrive in April, finish nesting & leave by August
- Bolsa Chica one of four known nesting sites for Elegant Terns
- Operator of crashed drone found and cited
- Another drone flew over manager Melissa Lobel while being interviewed by KABC-TV last Thursday
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is well known among SoCal birders for the many birds wintering there, but the big numbers show up in the spring when the terns come to nest. I believe that as many as ten species of tern have appeared there, although not all nest. Some just drop by because they see so many other terns coming and going.
Readers of our blog know that flying helicopter drones is illegal in many places—all of Malibu for starters, and State Parks as well. Yet people break these laws daily. They always claim ignorance, but when you tell them it’s illegal and they shouldn’t do it, they often tell you where to go in no uncertain terms. So it’s not just ignorance that’s at work here.
In May several drones were seen flying over the Bolsa Chica nesting area. One crashed, and authorities are tracking down the owner. Apparently this spooked the birds so badly that nests were abandoned—some reports say 1,500 nests, some say 2,000, others say 3,000—and the nesting sands are littered with broken eggshells.
Here’s a link to an AP story on the US News website:
And another on the local Daily News website, which may or may not be accessible to you.
Lastly, the New York Times from June 4.
Trimming your trees in SoCal
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
Our friendly neighboring Audubon Chapter, Los Angeles Audubon Society, has a handy booklet on tree-trimming do’s and don’t when birds are, or may be, using them for nesting or roosting. You can print your own 6-page copy for free by following the link below.
On our SMBAS blog site in the right-side column of web-links, look under “Plant Links” for “Tree-trimming in SoCal.”
Or go to https://www.laaudubon.org/resources “Urban Nature Resources,” scroll down to Bird-Friendly Tree Trimming, and select either English or Spanish.
Los Angeles County has more than 350 species of birds that live, nest, or pass through during annual migrations, and there are more than 120 species that live here year-round. Therefore, maintaining adequate green space for birds is critical. Birds are beautiful, economically important, and they are a bellwether of the health of our environment.
[Posted by Chuck Almdale, suggested by Grace Murayama]
Grace writes in:
In case anyone missed the Los Angeles Times article, in print 5/31/21, “A new state quarantine, but it’s not for that“, re: warning not to eat locally harvested shellfish ( mussels, clams, oysters, scallops), marine biotoxins, algae, domoic acid, paralytic shellfish poisoning, etc.
From the Los Angeles Times:
Officials with the Orange County Health Care Agency, the body tasked with oversight of public health programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, on Thursday announced a different kind of quarantine would be imposed through October: on mussels for human consumption.
Through Oct. 31, residents across California are being warned not to eat mussels and other potentially toxic shellfish collected by sports harvesters from coastal waters.
The reason? Harmful marine biotoxins produced by some species of microscopic algae can be absorbed by the digestive systems of mussels, clams, oysters and scallops. The consumption of affected mollusks puts humans at risk of paralytic shellfish poisoning.
Break Glass in Case of Emergency | Eileen Sorg
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
“Break Glass in case of Emergency.” Painting by Eileen Sorg
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. For me, this image embodies that sentiment and there is no doubt that this group of hummingbirds will get to their reward one way or another. — Eileen Sorg
My sister-in-law Diana received this card from her daughter; she then emailed a photo of it to us. Diana’s photo has a bit more clarity than the image above, which I found on the web. I mention this because it means Eileen Sorg’s artwork has excellent, clear detail, better than what I am able to reproduce here. I believe the above painting is done in colored pencil, as is much of her work.
This is not an advertisement. Neither SMBAS nor myself nor anyone I know is getting any commissions from this. I like Sorg’s artwork for it’s combination of attention to detail, humor, fantasy, composition, skill, and her inclusion of real, identifiable birds. I think many others will like it as well. There’s quite a selection on her website https://twodogstudio.com/. Her work is sold as either cards or large prints.
Here’s a few more:
SANTA MONICA BAY AUDUBON SOCIETY BLOG 