Hey all!
Ramon and Sophie, reporting all the way from The Sea Ranch, a gorgeous coastal expanse in Sonoma County. Here, we’ll stay for two weeks (and an additional 3 weeks for Ramon), conducting breeding, nesting, and behavioral surveys of the various seabirds that gather in the area. We arrived Thursday night to a lovely home on a hill overlooking the water, thanks to the generosity of Diane and Bryant Hichwa, Madrone Audobon members and local experts of the wildlife in this area.
Jim Weigand from the BLM cooking with Sophie and Ramon in the Hichwa’s kitchen.
We spent the past weekend plunging (like a Brandt’s Cormorant would) into the world of birding, receiving training from Jim Weigand, an Ecologist from the Bureau of Land Management. He, along with Diane, showed us the ropes, from spotting the elusive Black Oystercatchers with our scopes, to identifying species and mapping nests.
Sophie looking for Pelagic Cormorant nests
We’re very excited with what the coming weeks bring us and looking forward to the eggs and chicks that are soon to be seen. Also, more photos of us in action, as well as of the birds SOON!