Gillian Martin

CCI delivers new teaching tools to future environmental educators

CCI delivers new teaching tools to future environmental educators

Recently the Department of Environmental Education at Pitzer College in Claremont, California welcomed a little help from the Cavity Conservation Initiative (CCI) in developing a 5th grade level program about the habitat value of dead trees—an often overlooked topic.  You see, students in Paul Faulstich’s Theory and Practice in Environmental Education class have an opportunity […]

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Fallen trees in streams can have surprising benefits

Fallen trees in streams can have surprising benefits

Most of us don’t give much thought to a fallen tree in a stream, but on a closer look, nature often has delightful secrets to reveal.   Thanks to a short blog titled, When a tree falls in a stream there’s always something to make use of it, by Anne Jefferson Ph.D, we get a […]

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The remains of a mystery cavity-nester

The remains of a mystery cavity-nester

There’s nothing as exhilarating as a discovery that poses a mystery. In an oak woodland in Orange County, CA we recently discovered this deceased immature bird among nesting material in a fallen tree cavity.  Its long, heavy bill suggests a woodpecker, but as a rule woodpeckers use only wood chips not vegetation in their excavated […]

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Dismembered dead trees “donated” for education

Dismembered dead trees “donated” for education

Have you ever considered that fallen, dead trees might be able to donate their old parts for education?  Indeed they can, i.e. with the help of a chain saw and a friend. The Cavity Conservation Initiative has been searching for bits and pieces of dead wood that show signs of wildlife use.  Senior Park Ranger, […]

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Will Jeri Lewis inspire you?

Will Jeri Lewis inspire you?

Wherever she lives, Jeri Lewis takes her passion for conservation with her.  Our Wildlife Tree signs mark her movement from Arizona to southern and now the central coast of California.  Imagine her good fortune!  The oak studded hills of Arroyo Grande are her back yard!  But to Jeri, good fortune is also opportunity.  She has […]

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A young birder comforts dogs with stories about birds and discovers another need

A young birder comforts dogs with stories about birds and discovers another need

We never know what little ray of hope may show up at our booth when we participate in an outdoor nature event.   Recently at Riley Park in Orange County, California one appeared in the eager, smiling face of Lara, a 5th grader.  She’s kept in touch ever since.  Here’s a photo of her in […]

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A young man continues to help birds

A young man continues to help birds

Give your heart a lift by learning about young Dessi Sieburth, resident of Southern California.   We last wrote about him in 2015.  He is now fifteen and we felt it time for an update, particularly since he has just published an article about his work. Open this link to read it: http://losangelesaudubon.org/western-tanager-section/volume-84-category/vol-84-no-2-nov-dec-2017/young-birders-the-western-bluebird-conservation-project  These photos bare […]

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Outhouses trap owls!   Here’s the foul story.

Outhouses trap owls! Here’s the foul story.

Some human structures provide birds with enticing places to conceal their nests.  Unfortunately tree-hole nesting birds that have historically raised their families in cavities in dead trees are drawn to round, cylinder-type structures on rooftops or embedded upright in the ground.  These places are deadly to birds.  By steadily removing dead trees from the landscape […]

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How to doom a Robin’s nestlings without trying

How to doom a Robin’s nestlings without trying

The answer to this question has recently been learned (or possibly re-learned) by Artistic Maintenance of El Toro, California.  Its client, the Homeowner’s Association of Saint Michel of Newport Coast, and their property management company, First Service Residential, can likely now provide the answer as well.  In mid-July, two active bird nests were lost to […]

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Unravelling a mystery in a woodpecker’s cavity

Unravelling a mystery in a woodpecker’s cavity

When photographer, Peggy Honda, recently sent us this photo of a Downy nestling we found it startling!  Look closely!  The countless specks on the tree and inside the cavity are ants! Naturally we became anxious.  Earlier photos Peggy sent us confirm that the ants were not present when their parents first occupied the cavity (at least not […]

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