As wind energy companies assess the waters of California for possible future sites for deep-water wind energy infrastructure, understanding the potential impacts on marine seabirds is important. Ashy storm petrels, which breed in the Farallones and northern Channel Islands, and Leach’s storm petrels, which breed from the Channel Islands south into Baja California, may be particularly vulnerable to collisions or displacement.
A 2024 grant from the Farallon Islands to the California Institute of Environmental Studies (CIES) supported a pilot study to place short-term GPS tags on at least 10 ashy storm petrels at Santa Cruz Island, within the Channel Islands National Park in California. Data collected from this project will allow researchers to accurately track the movements of storm petrels and make assessments about at-sea behavior during periods of foraging, transit flights, and resting.
- Year of Grant: 2024
- Amount: $14,459.60
- Grantee: California Institute of Environmental Studies
Ashy storm-petrel nesting in sea cave, Santa Cruz Island. Credit: W. McIver.
Photo at top: Ashy Storm-petrel Oceanodroma homochroa. Credit: , Creative Commons License.