Point Reyes Bird Observatory and the US Fish and Wildlife Service aim to have the buildings on the Farallon Islands as self sufficient as possible. There are two buildings in use; one houses the resident scientists, and the other is used for office and laboratory space. Because there is no fresh water on the island, drinking water was shipped from … Read More
San Jorge Islands rat removal – 2000
The San Jorge Islands are in the northern part of the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. They consist of three islands each infested by Black Rats, Rattus rattus, which prey on seabird eggs and nestlings. In addition to ridding the island of rats and restoring bird populations, this project was scientifically important for its comparison of three different rodenticides. The islands of northwest … Read More
GPS System – 2000
The Farallon Islands Foundation made a grant to the Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) to purchase a Global Positioning System (GPS) and training in their use for four PRBO researchers. The GPS will be used on the Farallon and Año Nuevo Islands. This system, which is accurate to within 1 meter, increased accuracy in the mapping of nest locations, shark … Read More
Scrap and Trash Cleanup on Southeast Farallon Island – 2000
Increasingly, the Foundation gets involved in projects that involve more than one organization and sometimes several, such as removal of the scrap and trash from the SE Farallon Island. Many people contributed to the accumulation of debris over the years, including egg gatherers, the US Coast Guard, light house keepers and others. But wind, salt, waves and metal erosion soon … Read More
Nesting Boxes for Auklets on the Farallon Islands – 2000
The Cassin’s Auklet is a burrow and crevice-nesting seabird of the Pacific Coast. With a declining population and nesting range, it is a candidate for California’s Species of Special Concern list. About 80% of California’s Cassin’s Auklets breed on the Farallon Islands. Mated pairs lay only one egg per year. Point Reyes Bird Observatory (now Point Blue) has studied breeding … Read More