Audubon Canyon Ranch's Main Preserves: Bouverie Preserve, Glen Ellen, CA Martin Griffin Preserve, Stinson Beach, CA Cypress Grove Preserve, Marshall, CA Modini Mayacamas Preserves, Healdsburg, CA
As the winter solstice approaches and darkness creeps ever closer to the outer edge of afternoon, I find myself complaining like an 8-year-old, “It’s time to go in already?” And then a great horned owl hoots, and I am stopped dead in my tracks.
I listen patiently and, sure enough, a female owl hoots back, audibly higher in pitch.
ACR's scientific contribution to the State of the [SF] Estuary Report, completed in October by a collaboration of scientists working with the San Francisco Estuary Partnership revealed a stabilized-to-increasing trend in North Bay Heron and Egret nesting densities, possibly due to improvements in wetlands. North Bay colonies are part of larger SF Estuary Report, which covers 33 indicators of ecosystem health.
Read the full report here: http://ebooks.sfei.org/soter2015/files/54.html
When our wildlife researchers captured a picture of a black bear at Bouverie Preserve back in August, we thought it might be an anomaly. But a second, larger, bear showed up just two weeks ago at the same spot! According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, these are the southernmost documented sightings of black bears from the Mayacamas Range. The bears were photographed by one of six motion-sensor cameras installed on the Bouverie Preserve as part of ACR’s wildlife corridor monitoring program.
The Bouverie Preserve is centrally located within a 5 mile wide wildlife corridor that links Sonoma Mountain with the Mayacamas Range. Staff at the Bouverie Preserve has been monitoring cameras for four years to understand and enhance wildlife movement between patches of...
Our wildlife cameras documented a single lion moving back and forth between the Apple Orchard Trail and the Rim Trail and Cougar Pond multiple times last week (the photo, above, is her at Cougar Pond on October 8 around 6 pm). Assuming it is the same cat (which we think it is), it takes her about 30 minutes to get from Cougar Pond to the end of the Apple Orchard Trail.
Why is she on the move?
Frequent regular movements like this can be a sign that the cat is feeding on a deer kill somewhere. When they are feeding regularly, they need to drink a lot so it is possible that she is traveling between her kill site and the creek to drink.
For the first time in 53 years, Audubon Canyon Ranch (ACR) has unveiled a new Brand and Communications Plan designed to increase the public’s understanding of our mission, and the impact we make in our communities. This messaging and new brand reflect ACR’s revitalized vision which recognizes that efforts to improve the health of our planet require a multidisciplinary approach that is broad in scope and scale and includes conservation, education, and science. ACR knows that critical environmental issues go beyond the borders of its sanctuaries, and we have a unique capacity to address many of these challenges. The Brand and Communications Plan strengthens our message, makes it clearer and more concise, and does so in a professional, relevant, and contemporary manner.
Most...
Mounted cameras on three of ACR's preserves-Modini Mayacamas, Bouverie and Martin Griffin-take photos of wildlife passing by. The photos provide a glimpse into the resident and migratory wildlife that call our preserves home.
Data from these cameras offer valuable insight to ACR science and education staff. Among them are trends in wildlife use and the opportunity for docents to talk with students about how we can share the land.
This video is a collection of our favorite shots collected over the past few years.
Many thanks to ACR volunteer and wildlife enthusiast Ginny Fifield for producing this film.
ACR has a 53 year history of leadership in regional conservation and a commitment to “Conservation in Action.” This includes our efforts to address the major impacts that are expected from Climate Change over the coming decades; e.g. higher than average temperatures, an increase in the severity of storms and drought, sea level rise, and a changing ecological landscape. With our increasing attention to these impacts and our leadership role in building community awareness of regional conservation concerns, ACR is well positioned to make key contributions that can promote broad cultural change needed to reduce carbon emissions. As the most significant environmental issue of our time that will impact both natural and human communities, we all need to pull together to find solutions that...
On a small but biologically valuable shoreline property in Inverness, our Conservation Science and Stewardship Teams are restoring transitional habitat for the largest tidal wetland area on Tomales Bay.
Once fully restored, the property will extend the adjacent habitat values of Shields Marsh, a publicly accessible, four-acre ACR preserve adjoining the State of California's Tomales Bay Ecological Reserve and just bayward of the Giacomini Wetlands Restoration site. In addition, Shields Marsh is one of the many survey stations around Tomales Bay from which we have been tracking baywide shorebird use since 1989.
Characterized by dense vegetation on the upper terraces, brackish and salt marshes, and the open waters of the bay, this generous land donation by Helen McLaren...
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Photo credit: Ray Peterson
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Martin Griffin Photos
Martin Griffin Videos
Modini Mayacamas Photos
Modini Mayacamas Videos