California restoration prioritizes bird habitat
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California crews working at Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve removed over 900,000 pounds of debris from 40 acres of recently acquired land, but deliberately left standing old telephone poles to provide nesting sites for purple martins.
The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District completed the project after discovering the birds, which had been thought locally extinct in Santa Clara County, were nesting in holes within similar poles on nearby Mount Umunhum.
Western purple martins, unlike their eastern counterparts, prefer natural cavities for nests, and competition with European starlings had threatened their population. Midpen staff initially tried attracting the birds with nest boxes, but the design failed to draw nesting pairs at Sierra Azul. They then created hollowed wooden poles mimicking natural tree cavities, which successfully attracted purple martins in 2022.
The restoration also included removing hazardous materials like lead and asbestos, regrading the land, and reseeding with native plants to restore the area's natural drainage and vegetation.
Ayden Sabharwal, Midpen Capital Project Manager, stated the district aims “to work in a way that supports the ecological well-being of the land.” The restored properties will also connect to the future Umunhum-to-the-Sea regional trail, and Midpen intends to continue monitoring the purple martin population and collaborating with other agencies to improve their habitat.
