Join us online on Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 7pm for Understanding Common Raven Behavior and Movement to Protect Western Snowy Plovers presented by Janelle Chojnacki. This meeting will be held via ZOOM. You must register for the meeting, but there is no cost to register and you do not have to be a member of the Sacramento Audubon Society.

From their twisting aerial displays, intimate partner bonding activities, and complex social behaviors, Common Ravens can be exhilarating to observe. These large, glossy black birds are native to Humboldt County’s dune ecosystems, but food subsidies from human activities have enabled them to become problematic for many other native species. One such species is the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover, a cryptic beach-nesting shorebird that breeds in Humboldt County. Ravens are the number one nest predator of Snowy Plovers, so Cal Poly Humboldt graduate student Janelle Chojnacki is using GPS units and colored leg bands to track and observe beach-going ravens in order to better understand the resources influencing these ravens’ behavior. This seminar will discuss the fascinating ecology and interactions of ravens and Snowy Plovers as well as what we can all do to sustainably enjoy both species. 

More About the Presenter

Janelle is a graduate student in Dr. Barbara Clucas’s lab at Cal Poly Humboldt and hopes to use her current research to develop solutions to mitigate the causal factors of high raven numbers and, subsequently, decrease raven predation of protected species. Before joining Cal Poly Humboldt, Janelle received her undergraduate degree in Conservation and Resource Studies from UC Berkeley then spent several years in a variety of field positions, largely ornithological, working on projects studying migratory songbird stopover ecology, the role of songbirds in dispersal of native forest seeds, long-term bird banding projects, and other wildlife positions. In addition to her graduate research, she also works for California State Parks monitoring Humboldt’s Snowy Plovers, organizes field trips for the Redwood Region Audubon Society, is treasurer of the California North Coast Chapter of The Wildlife Society, and generally enjoys being involved in the wildlife community that is so robust in her neck of the woods!

The meeting will be held via ZOOM. You must register for the meeting, but you do not need a ZOOM account to join the meeting. Registration is required due to space limitations set by Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the meeting. You will also receive email reminders about this event. Please email our Meeting Coordinator if you have any questions about the monthly speaker meetings.