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Home My WebLink AboutCUP 01-22; ZONE 19 PARK; FOCUSED CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER SURVEY RESULTS; 2003-01-06897 P&D Environmental ¾ A Division of P&D Consultants RIO SAN DIEGO PIAZA JAN 113 isi 8954 RIO SAN DIEGO DRIVE fWINING DEPARlur11y .:3 SUITE 610 • ...,. !!Ool SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA 92108 January 6, 2003 Ms. Elaine Blackburn CITY OF CARLSBAD 1635 Faraday Avenue Carlsbad, CA 92008 SUBJECT: ZONE 19 COMMUNITY PARK CityOf 619/291-1475 Clrlsball 619/291-1476 FAX www.pdconsultants.com Focused California Gnatcatcher Survey Results Dear Elaine, Protocol surveys were conducted by P&D Environmental biologists for the California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica) at the Zone 19 Community Park site in Carlsbad, California. The surveys conformed to general protocol established for the gnatcatcher by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), per the latest revision of July 1997. A total of three site visits were conducted at the site, two by Doug Willick and one by Gilberto Ruiz, on the dates of December 18 and 26, 2002, and January 2, 2003. Mr. Willick and Mr. Ruiz are individually permitted by USFWS to conduct presence/absence surveys for the California gnatcatcher (CAGN). Surveys employed the use of taped gnatcatcher vocalizations, consistent with survey protocol. Weather conditions during the site visits were considered favorable for the detection of this species. As the project site itself has been recently under agricultural production, it is currently disturbed and does not contain coastal sage scrub habitat considered suitable for the CAGN. The survey, therefore, focused on native scrub vegetation in areas adjacent to the site. As documented in greater detail in previous reports, the native vegetation adjacent to the site primarily consists of maritime chaparral. In general, the southern and eastern limits of the project site are developed and include non-native, landscaped vegetation. No CAGNs were detected visually or aurally on the December 18 or January 2 site visit. One CAGN, however, was identified on the December 26 visit, in chaparral vegetation bordering the northern edge of the site. This bird was initially detected when its calls were heard shortly after playing CAGN vocalizations from the recorder. Soon after the vocal identification was made, a gnatcatcher was briefly seen at this location. The observation in itself was not considered conclusive, due to the brevity of the observation and the bird's partial concealment in vegetation. However, the identification was based on the vocalizations that were heard, which included the "mew" call that is distinctive to this species. The bird did not apparently remain in the area for any length of time, as no additional CAGN vocalizations or observations were made. During the January 2 2003 , survey, a single blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) was foraging in dense vegetation along the northern edge of the site, approximately 200 to 300 feet ~ PINZ 19/Park/CAGN-Survey-Ltr.doc ( 175508) AN AECOM COMPANY Ms. Elaine Blackburn City of Carlsbad January 6, 2003 Page 2 east of the December 26 CAGN location. This bird was well seen and carefully identified by its diagnostic plumage details (e.g., clean white underparts and entirely white outer rectrices) and vocalizations. It is the opinion of the P&D biologists conducting this survey that the vegetation surrounding the project site, including distances out at least 500 to 750 feet from the site, would not likely support breeding pairs of the CAGN. The vegetation in the vicinity of the December 26 CAGN identification consists of chaparral habitat dominated by chamise, as well as several coast live oaks. Although coastal sage scrub (CSS) plant species are occasionally present in the chaparral surrounding the project site, these are fairly rare and generally consist of black sage. California sagebrush and buckwheat, CSS species most preferred by CAGN, is extremely scarce to absent in this general area. Although the structure of the chaparral plant community surrounding the project site is occasionally not quite as arborescent as other types of chaparral, it is still taller and much denser than CSS associations typically occupied by the CAGN. Due to the density of the vegetation, for example, it was extremely difficult to nearly impossible in many areas to traverse through the habitat, except in the rare instances where small game trails were present. This vegetative structure, as well as the species composition, is not typical of habitat occupied by the CAGN in southern California. Based on the lack of habitat that would be considered suitable to support resident, breeding pairs of the California gnatcatcher in the vicinity of the project site (including out at least 500 to 750 feet), it is our opinion that the CAGN recorded on December 26 represents a dispersing or transient individual. The inability to relocate this bird on other surveys would further support this conclusion. Finally, there may be a low possibility that a bird could had been drawn in by the tape-recorded vocalizations from an extreme distance. After surveying the outlying native plant communities from the higher vantage points on the site, no suitable CAGN habitat of any extent could be seen within at least a half mile. Small patches of vegetation dominated by CSS species were seen about 500 to 600 feet to the west (approximately a 1/2 acre in total) and about 750 feet to the north (1/2 to one acre in total), although these were surrounded by either dense chaparral or developed areas. Sincerely, P&D ENVIRONMENTAL ~~ Betty Dehaney, CEP Director of Environmental Services cc: John Cahill -City of Carlsbad John Martin -USFWS P/NZI 9/Park/CAGN-Survey-Ltr.doc (175508) r Open Space A ◄ ► 1inch = 133 feet -P&D Environmental Services __ ....... __ _ ',, I Open Space --~ •-., . er--'•J :.--___ ••. ·-0 PoinsetfiaL ane ®pen Space Residential 200 400 Habitat Types D Coastal Sage Scrub -Disturbed D Southern Maritime Chaparral L] Southern Maritime Chaparral -Disturbed Southern Maritime Chaparral/ Scrub Oak Chaparral Oak Woodland D Non-Native Grassland D Agriculture D Landscape D Ruderal D Disturbed ~ Del Mar Manzanita - - - -Park Disturbance Footprint • ■ Coastal California Gnatcatcher (single Male May 2002) Coastal California Gnatcatcher (single Male Dec. 2002) Carlsbad Zone 19 Community Park Habitat Map and Park Development Area Appendix A.1