| What: | News conference to describe new study of predators eating songbird eggs in the Cosumnes River Preserve. |
| When: | 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 3 |
| Where: | Cosumnes River Preserve, 30 minutes south of Sacramento |
| Who: | UC Davis wildlife biologists Andy Engilis and Desley Whisson |
| Visuals: | UC Davis scientists will walk through the forest checking live traps for animals that are eating songbird eggs; they expect to find black rats. They will also check an imitation nest where they have placed bird eggs to see if something attacked the eggs overnight; they expect to find only eggshells remaining. Still photographs taken by surveillance cameras will be displayed (and are available by e-mail); they show rats and other animals eating songbird eggs in the imitation nests. |
| Background: |
The forests of the Cosumnes River Preserve should be an ideal place for songbirds in the Central Valley to raise their young. But something is eating the bird eggs before they hatch. UC Davis researchers have been studying nesting areas in the preserve and believe they have identified the culprits: an invasion of black rats. Black rats are not native to California. They were introduced in the earliest days of European settlement. Now they are common. The rats in the preserve probably traveled into the forest from surrounding agricultural lands. UC Davis researchers have found evidence of a huge population of rats in the preserve's Tall Forest, where many species of migratory birds nest in one of the valley's few remaining remnants of riparian oak habitat. |
| Directions and Parking: |
We'll meet at 9 a.m. at one of the preserve gates and convoy to the nesting sites at 9:15 a.m. To get to the gate from Sacramento: Take I-5 south to Twin Cities Road. Travel east on Twin Cities Road to Bruceville Road. Turn right on Bruceville Road and continue until you reach a sharp right-hand bend where Bruceville Road becomes Desmond Road. Meet at the gate directly ahead of you as you travel on Bruceville Road. A map is online at http://www.cosumnes.org/detailmap.htm. |
| Notes: | Mosquitoes and poison oak are abundant. Dress for hiking through brush and wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts. Because poison-oak oils can travel on fabrics, anyone sensitive to poison oak might want to bring a change of clothing for after the field trip. We will provide insect repellent and anti-poison-oak lotion/soap for washing hands when we're done. Photographers will be carrying their gear about 100 yards from their vehicles. This media tour is being held at the very end of the nesting season and will not be repeated. |
Media Resources
Andy Engilis, Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, (530) 752-0364, aengilisjr@ucdavis.edu
Desley Whisson, Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, (530) 754-8644, dawhisson@ucdavis.edu