Live stream set up in Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve will
help experts study the snowy plover and California
By Anthony Clark Carpio
March 20, 2013 | 3:34 p.m.
He didn't expect to be staring at his computer screen for
hours on end, but Brian Pavloff caught himself doing just that.
Pavloff, president of Variable Speed Solutions in Huntington Beach
"I never watch webcams in any length. And then after
this project, all of a sudden I find it sitting next to me at night and I can't
look away and I'm constantly going back to it," he said. "It's gotten
to the point where my wife is telling me, 'Get off the webcam!' And I tell her
that I'm only looking at birds."
The birds he's looking at are the western snowy plover and
in a month's time, he will be also be looking at the California
And for the first time, these birds will be under the
careful watch of a camera, recording all of their nesting habits until the
summer. The footage will then be used by researchers and universities to come
up with better ways to help these birds get off the endangered species list,
said Jayson Ruth, a board member of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust.
"It's fabulous for people all over the world that are
interested in these endangered birds," said Mayor Connie Boardman, who is
also a board member of the land trust.
Ruth, who is also a science teacher at Huntington Beach
High School, has spearheaded this project from the beginning and after seven
months has seen it go from an idea to reality.
"It's the first of its kind. Nobody's ever filmed
long-term studies of the plovers or the terns," Ruth said. "It's not
just a nest camera; it's really a nest site. We're filming an entire colony. We
have the remote capability to film the nesting sites. We can zoom in on a nest
when they form."
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