DATES
March 22-27, 2025 + preworkshop Zoom meeting on March 19, 2025.LOCATION:
Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. US-based participants will meet at the border and caravan to lodging and survey sites. We will be visiting occupied habitats near Estero Punta Banda and other sites near Ensenada.PRICE:
$1500 USD/per person/6 days. This includes a workshop manual, ID instruction, protocol, permitting, and daily field trips to practice survey protocol in California Gnatcatcher habitat. Participants will be responsible for food and lodging. Limited shared lodging may be available. Contact Thomas Ryan directly.INSTRUCTORS:
Andrew Forde (andrew@fordebio.com) &; Thomas Ryan (tryanbio@gmail.com).SPONSORS & SIGNING UP:
The workshop is being offered by Pro Esteros A.C., a mexican NGO that has been working in Ensenada since 1988 protecting wetlands and sensitive habitats on the Baja California Peninsula and northwestern Mexico. The class is operated as a partnership between Pro Esteros A.C., The Ocean Foundation, Forde Biological, and Ryan Ecological Consulting.
DESCRIPTION AND GOALS:
This workshop is designed to provide the participant with knowledge of the field identification of the California Gnatcatcher, both by sight and sound, knowledge of its natural history, as well as identification of similar species that might regularly be encountered in Southern California’s scrub habitats. We will also cover the basics of the State and Federal laws protecting it and the process of applying for needed permits.
The workshop’s main focus will be getting participants experience conducting surveys with permitted professionals in occupied habitat and exposing them to various situations as they arise in the field. At the end of the workshop, we expect the participant to be able to proficiently identify California Gnatcatcher by sight and sound, evaluate habitat suitability for the species, and understand the laws protecting it and the permitting process. We should also be clear that we (or any other workshop operator) cannot guarantee that you will be declared a qualified observer or obtain a permit from USFWS and CDFW, but it will help the student progress in that process. If you are interested in obtaining a permit, please contact your state/regional agency permitting representatives.
The course will be held mainly on the Punta Banda Peninsula near Ensenada, in Baja California. We will be working with the Mexican non-profit Pro Esteros A.C. to better understand the distribution of California Gnatcatchers in vulnerable areas near Ensenada, while getting valuable survey time for workshop participants. Each morning, we will work in the field surveying plots on the peninsula. Participants will learn to detect the species visually and by call. We will work on survey protocol, identify breeding behaviors, and use spot mapping to determine likely nesting locations. Midday, we will have both downtime and classroom sessions about laws and permitting. We will typically break up into two groups to give each participant access to instructors. Groups will alternate with the two instructors. Classes will be taught in English, but we will have local Spanish-speaking participants working with us and will be translating. Each student will be expected to write an example USFWS 45-day survey report.
HOW TO SIGN UP:
1) Click on THE OCEAN FOUNDATION button below.
2) On The Ocean Foundation – Pro Esteros page, click on the “DONATE” button.
3) On the Donate to Pro Esteros page:
a) Fill out the Payment Information Form. VERY IMPORTANT: in the comments section, put in CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER WORKSHOP.
b) Click on the “Enter Donation in $US” and the course fee, $1500.
c) Click “One Time”, “I’m not a robot”, and “Donate Now.”
d) Finally, send an email to direccion@proesteros.com, letting us know you have completed your enrollment.
The Ocean Foundation