Restoring, protecting Ormond Beach’s native birds and dunes

Wildlife and beaches




 

 

Spending time at the beach is a time-honored American tradition. Whether ocean or a lake, we enjoy beach and water play, often with our best canine friend.

Problem is, some of the activities we enjoy endanger local wildlife. When dogs at the beach chase birds, the birds expend energy needed for migration, and nesting birds may abandon their young.

Fortunately, one of our local beaches provides a relatively safe place for wildlife and will soon become even better.

Ormond Beach, near Oxnard, will soon benefit from the most significant wetland restoration project in southern California. Restoration will make a portion of the Ventura County coast comparable to the way it was prior to development: a complex of dunes, lakes, lagoons, and salt and freshwater marshes, rich in biodiversity and resilient to climate fluctuations.

While most coastal ecosystems have been degraded or converted to human uses, a remnant remains at Ormond Beach. It is one of the few areas in southern California with an intact dunetransition zone–marsh system.

Over 200 migratory bird species have been reported there, and more shorebird species use Ormond Beach than any other site in Ventura County. It is a critical rest stop along the Pacific Flyway, the atmospheric highway many birds follow between nesting grounds in the Arctic and wintering homes in central and South America and has earned Audubon’s designation as an Important Bird Area of Global Significance.

Recognizing this, in June, the City of Oxnard adopted an ordinance ramping up environmental protections for Ormond Beach, as part of the restoration plan.

The ordinance prohibits activities known to harm wildlife and habitat. Dogs, horses and other domestic animals are prohibited, as are camping, bonfires and dune modification. Violators are subject to citation and fines of up to $500.

Among the many species that depend on Ormond Beach and its rare dune habitat, two in particular are iconic: the western snowy plover and the California least tern. This month, both species are valiantly defending their vulnerable young.

The process began in March when they instinctively constructed nests above the surf line, exposed to potential harm from dogs or off-road vehicles. Later chicks come, and are even more vulnerable to these dangers. If adults are frightened and the threat to life deemed severe enough, the tern or plover might abandon their nest, or become separated from their chicks.

During most of the thousands of years these birds have made local beaches their home, humans were not present, so they have not had the opportunity to adapt to our interference. For these creatures to survive, people must allow them space and quiet throughout their spring and summer nesting season.

Ormond Beach is the least developed beach in Ventura County and very important, if not critical, to their survival.

These creatures, along with many others, depend on an undisturbed dune habitat. Coincidentally, humans also benefit from a healthy dune ecosystem because it can absorb large waves and protect developed areas from sea level rise. These species and the ecosystem sustaining them have been the focus of the Ventura Audubon Society’s Shorebird Recovery Program.

Education is the key to protecting and preserving important wildlife areas. People Audubon encounters often have no idea that these tiny birds are nesting behind the delicate fences erected more as a warning than as a barrier.

Working with California state parks, Audubon supports a program training stewardship volunteers to help educate beachgoers on all the beaches where nests are found.

Audubon has also forged a relationship with Cal State Channel Islands and its environmental science and resource management program to provide stewardship training to students, who in turn provide service hours at Ormond Beach.

Also offered is Audubon Adventures, a classroom program for grades three through eight. It introduces young people, their families and their teachers to the fundamental principles by which the natural world functions. Ventura Audubon can help fund the program in local schools.

You can keep your “eye on the environment” by contacting the Ventura Audubon Society for more information on programs.

On the net: Learn more at www.venturaaudubon.org or email info@venturaaudubon.org.

Bruce Schoppe is president of the Ventura Audubon Society. Cynthia Hartley is a VAS Shorebird Recovery Project biologist, Ormond Beach.


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