Rare songbird fights back from brink of extinction and found to be thriving in habitat used by Navy for bomb practice

• Numbers of the rare San Clemente Island loggerhead shrike thriving
• The endangered songbird had been threatened with extinction
• But a US Navy investment programme has helped it bounce back

By STUART WOLEDGE

PUBLISHED: 09:50, 12 August 2013 | UPDATED: 09:58, 12 August 2013

One of North America's rarest birds has fought back from the brink of extinction and is enjoying a renaissance - on a rocky outcrop used by the US Navy as a firing range.

The San Clemente Island loggerhead shrike is thriving on the rocky outcrop off the Californian coast, known as the 'boom box'.

In the 90s its numbers had dwindled to just seven breeding pairs, but now there are believed to be 70 on the island.

It is a remarkable success story given the black, grey and white songbird shares its home with an area that is regularly bombed by US Navy battleships.

The Navy itself has claimed credit for the shrikes survival after it launched a $3-million-a-year captive breeding programme to protect the threatened species, according to a report in the Telegraph.

Continued

NAVY TO RESTORE DUNE HABITAT FOR RARE BIRDS

By U-T San Diego 12:01 A.M.MARCH 5, 2013Updated9:42 P.M.MARCH 4, 2013

CORONADO — The Navy aims to restore nine acres of dune habitat along Silver Strand Highway during the next three years to improve habitat for two species of sensitive shorebirds.

The areas targeted for replanting supported 669 nests of federally endangered California Least Terns and 53 nests of federally threatened Western Snowy Plover in 2012, said Tiffany Shepherd, wildlife biologist for the Coronado Naval Base.

The dune restoration will include removing invasive ice plant and planting native dune flora, including sand verbena, beach bur, beach evening primrose and beach morning glory, Shepherd said.

Removing ice plant and restoring native flowers will open up space where terns and plovers can place their camouflaged eggs in small nest scrapes in the sand. Those actions are also expected to stabilize the dunes.

The entire Coronado Naval Base supported 1,078 tern nests and 146 plover nests last year, making it one of the last remaining dune ecosystems in the region.

Throughout Southern California coastal dunes have been lost to urbanization, leaving sensitive animal and plant species dependent on vanishing habitat, she said.

“Removing invasive species from the site and planting native species will protect and enhance the biodiversity of an ecosystem that already supports many native species, including several threatened and endangered species,” Shepherd said.

The work is being done under a cooperative agreement between the Navy and San Diego State University’s Soil Ecology and Restoration Group.

The dune restoration will include installation of drip-irrigation systems, protective cones and wire cages for 12 to 18 months to prevent animals from eating the new plants.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/mar/05/tp-navy-to-restore-dune-habitat-for-rare-birds/