Intern Contributes to Bay Area Waterbird Research

By Waterbird Intern Sarah Cantwell

My experience at SFBBO for the last five months has been one I will never forget. It was my first time in California and my first time working with birds along the Pacific Flyaway. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed counting birds with SFBBO and getting the chance to experience seeing the sheer abundance of birds in the area.

​As a Waterbird Intern, I’ve accomplished many tasks to benefit other staff at SFBBO, volunteers, and future waterbird interns. Along with monitoring waterbird use in the South Bay’s salt ponds, I designed a new system for monitoring historic colonial waterbird nesting sites, contributed to the annual salt pond report, and participated in the annual shorebird survey. Most recently, I’ve worked on a project to help answer the question “How can island design help promote breeding colonies of declining waterbirds, ...

such as stilts, avocets, and terns, while simultaneously deterring predatory gulls from nesting?” This project will compare characteristics of islands that are used for nesting by each species. The results will be used to develop guidelines for island design in the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. As for my future, I will be saying goodbye to the West Coast and heading back east to work with endangered marsh birds in their breeding habitat. 
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Sara Cantwell was an intern in SFBBO's Waterbird Program. She completed her B.S. in Wildlife and Conservation Biology at the University of New Hampshire. She has a passion for birds and has always been interested in helping conserve wildlife and all natural resources. She spent the last couple of years working with threatened loons and other waterbirds in the Northeast and worked closely with other wildlife species in California.