Hello From Vista, California, USA (1 Viewer)

Hello All,

Just thought I would introduce myself. My name is Chris Otahal and I live in Vista, California, USA. My main interests are habitat restoration, land conservation, and preservation of biodiversity. I currently work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - implementing the Endangered Species Act in the deserts of southern California. I have also conducted research on birds using restored creek-side habitat during migration. I have been developing a web site (listed below) which describes some of this research and also provides opportunities that you can pursue to help protect bird habitat. If you are interested in bird conservation, please stop by for a visit.

Thanks!

Welcome to the Forum, Chris!

Look forward to reading your reports and also checking out your Bird Conservation site.

:t:

Hello Chris and Welcome to the Birdforum :bounce:
We're glad to have you along. I hope that you find itmes of interest to you on the site, so feel free to contribute in the Forums.

Hello Chris! Great having you on the list! Hope we can discuss conservation problems of this part of the world (India) with you?!

Here the major problem is apathy of the government and poorly informed public.

Thanks,

K.S. Naveen

Hi,

Apathetic government and poorly informed public (present company excepted) sounds pretty familiar here in the US as well

I have found that there are a lot of people in the US who are truly interested in conservation issues once they become informed about the problems facing the environment - and ultimate themselves. One of the keys is to get the information out and provide means for the "common person on the street" to take action. These actions don't necessarily have to be huge or overly burdensome - even little things can add up when we are dealing with soooo many people!

A warm welcome to the forum, Chris!

It is exciting to be on a forum that is drawing so many wildlife knowledgable ppl. I look forward to any information on birding and conservation that you can share with a fellow Californian.** btw: I've ordered the kit for backyard birding/wildlife conservation from NWF to guide me in making my urban lot more wildlife friendly.

**I'm just up the coast from you in the city of San Buenaventura (Ventura).

^Wings^o

Hi Wings!

Thanks for the nice welcome!

The Fish and Wildlife Service has produced several on-line pamphlets which may be useful in your habitat development endevors (link below). I'm always encouraged to see people in urban areas trying to make their property more wildlife friendly - every little bit helps.


http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/pamphlet/pamplets.html


Best of luck in your efforts!

Welcome to the Forum Chris.
Sounds like you have a job that you really enjoy.
Looking forward to reading your posts and taking a look at your website.

paj :t:

Thanks Chris!

I read those pamphlets and they are very helpful! Especially, the advice on cat predators. My neighbor's have a lonely, predatory cat. Actually, she is quite sweet and has tried to adopt me since I moved here. I finally put enough chili powder down in her favorite toilet areas, but even a thorough dousing with a power hose does not prevent her from stalking the feeders for fledglings and injured birds. Her claws have been removed, so she is not that good at climbing trees, but she waits for the injured and young to pounce on.
I know what to do by law, but I am not a cat hater. It's just that I feel responsible for the birds I attract to my yard, so until I have had up to my ears, I guess I will be chasing her away every day...all day.

I had an experience with a feeder. One of those wooden ones you buy at Walmart with suet/molded seed cages on the side. I don't use those cages very often, and the other day a sparrow was caught and injured. I had to cut the bird out of the cage with wire cutters, but it didn't live for more than a few hours after I put it in a napkin lined box. I cut away both cages. A hard lesson to learn as a backyard birder.

^Wings^