Not In My Roost

Many colonies are sensitive to even minor disruptions during breeding: In one 2008 incident documented by scientists, a single kayak within 100 feet of the island flushed approximately 600 birds from their nests or roosting spots. Mark Welther makes his case for the seemingly innocuous America's Cup Race's potential threats to Bay Area bird life, and worries that they racing boats and the people who love them get too close to Alcatraz, nesting ground for rare birds. Sadly for his cause, Welther, the Executive Director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society, uses old data, like "1800 spectator boats" for an event that so far, seems to have elicited nothing but yawns. But hey, his lawyer is Aaron Peskin. [Via HuffPo, and previously at Curbed SF. Pigeon Guillemot, Photo Credit Gregg Thompson via Bird Web]