All Blog Posts (37)

The native vegetation is increasing in the restoration plots where burrowing seabirds nest!  See the green bars showing native cover increasing from less than 5% to 60% in 2012.…

By Alayne Meeks

(with Ryan Carle and Jessie Beck from the Oikonos West Cliff Restoration crew)   

A displaying Brand'ts Cormorant. During the breeding season their skin on their throats (termed the "gular pouch) turns electric…

The entrance of a clay Rhinoceros Auklet nest module surrounded by American Dunegrass. Photo: ©Oikonos

The seabird breeding season is wrapping up at Año Nuevo Island--gull chicks are flying to the mainland, auklet chicks are silently leaving their…

The newest breeding bird species on Año Nuevo Island is the Canada Goose!

Sometimes habitat restoration attracts unexpected fans. We restored native plants to Año Nuevo Island in 2010, which seems to have caught the eyes of a pair of pioneering Canada Geese! The intention of the…

Today during Rhinoceros Auklet monitoring at Año Nuevo Island, biologist Jessie Beck spotted a Red-tailed Tropicbird!  Jon Felis was able to take some great photos, shown here. …

2009-2011 Report Highlights: Auklet Monitoring

Above…

2009-2011 Año Nuevo Island Restoration and Monitoring Report Highlights…

It’s been a while since we’ve updated the blog, and plenty has happened in that time. Many chicks from this past summer have fledged, leaving their nests, burrows and modules behind. Although this happens every year, nonetheless it is special occasion every season.  I…

"A plan was hatched..."

Watch an inspiring webisode about the restoration and first looks at the project's success.

Thank you to all the partners, volunteers and students who worked so hard on the restoration.  It has paid off!

Thank you Peck Ewer and Lloyd Fales for producing a beautiful video for us.  And the talented…

The breeding season at Año Nuevo Island is underway!

As I write, Rhinoceros Auklets and Cassin's Auklets are incubating their one egg of the season. Rhinoceros Auklets only lay one egg per year, choosing evolutionarily to put great effort into the survival of one chick a year and the longevity of adult birds. Cozy in its underground burrow, the chick avoids the many dangers of the above-ground world, such as predation and nasty weather.

Cassin's Auklets also…

Last fall we built the "Habitat Ridge" on Año Nuevo Island, and the eucalyptus log structure is certainly living up to its name by providing protection for the island's new plants and the sensitive soil of auklet burrows.

It's been fun this spring, however, to observe how the Habitat Ridge is…

Photo: ©…

As the winds pick up along the Central Califorian Coast and the days grow longer, the first signs of spring are beginning to show, here on Año Nuevo Island. Due to the abundance of rain this season, the soil-stabilizing barley grass continues to give the restoration area a green and lush appearance, while…

It's a new year, and in some ways Año Nuevo Island looks like a new island. It's green!

I hitched a ride yesterday…

This fall marked the fruition of years of dedicated work and planning by many people for the common goal of restoring seabird habitat on Año Nuevo Island. Big things happened-- a landing craft came and transported literally tons of materials and plants to the island, a beautiful habitat ridge was built out of a disorderly pile of eucalyptus logs, thousands of native…

Image: Sophie Webb