Seabird Restoration:
Restore Seabirds to Baja California Pacific Islands (Coronado and Todos Santos Islands)

Background

The goal of this action is to restore seabird populations on Coronado and Todos Santos Islands in Mexico. These islands are oceanographically considered part of the Southern California Bight. To maximize restoration efforts on these islands, which are in close proximity to each other, a combined 5-year restoration action is proposed.

Restoration actions will include using social attraction techniques (including decoys and vocalizations), improving nesting opportunities with artificial nests, shielding lights, and reducing human disturbance. The target species for restoration on these islands are Brandt’s cormorants, double-crested cormorants, California brown pelicans, western gulls, Cassin’s auklets, ashy storm-petrels, and Xantus’s murrelets. Eggshell thinning and/or elevated levels of DDTs were documented in the eggs of these species in the Southern California Bight. This action will also directly benefit pelagic cormorants and black storm-petrels.

Recent eradication efforts have been undertaken on Coronado and Todos Santos Islands to remove non-native fauna and restore the island ecosystem. The success of these efforts provides a unique opportunity to facilitate seabird recolonization and recovery on these islands.

The estimated cost of this restoration action is approximately $1 million.