Habitat
Information Page
There are over 700 species of birds in North America and each of them has particular preferences and requirements when it comes to their habitats. We think of songbirds like robins, bluejays, sparrows, and raptors like eagles assembling a nest of twigs high in tree branches in which to lay their eggs. Well, the Caspian Tern prefers a big flat area at sea level with no plants. The black rail’s habitat is deep in the low grasses of a marsh.
There are a number of issues that come into play when discussing habitat for birds, including migration and breeding/nesting. |
Loons like low lying nesting areas where there is no perch for raptors and other predators don't have easy access. Having to swim to a nest is a significant deterrent. Loons like to be able to see out but be hidden as they sit on their nest. Loons like to lay eggs in a protected sloping hollow nest where they can generate warmth.
BioHaven Loon nesting islands provide a safe, durable nesting place for loons. |
Swans were once nearly hunted to extinction, but now they are coming back. There are two species of swan that are native to the US: Trumpeter and Tundra. The Mute Swan is the swan of fairy tales and picturesque villages but is not native to the US so is considered an exotic species.
A Trumpeter Swan can have a wingspan of up to 8 feet. Swans mate for life and when they migrate, the family unit will stay together. Swans are primarily freshwater birds who need access to shallow water. Swans need space that is undisturbed by humans and predators. They are generally territorial. Their nests are large. |
How do I create a habitat for turtles in my backyard pond?
Turtles must be given a safe haven from predators that lurk on the shore alongside your pond. Turtles need easy sloping access into and out of the water, a shady spot, a place to sun themselves and rest, and a plentiful food source. Turtles enjoy micro environments, and they need a place to dig under and hibernate. A floating island planted with lush native foliage and flowers is a hospitable place for turtles to build nests safe from shore-bound predators and is also attractive to insects on which the turtles feed. |
Hummingbird Habitat
Hummingbirds are amazing to watch, are active pollinators, and eat nuisance bugs. Renowned for their small size, amazing energetic feats, and iridescent beauty, hummingbirds are ravenous (a hummingbird’s heart beats up to 1,260 beats per minute!) and drink up to two times their body weight per day. As they move from plant to plant, they carry pollen. |
BioHaven Floating Islands are a natural, research-backed solution for HAB Management & Mitigation. Adding BioHaven Floating Islands adds beauty and an eye-catching feature to any body of water. They are customizable for shape, size, and buoyancy, and can be designed to create habitat for fish, amphibians, ducks and other waterfowl.
Added to a midwest private pond, our floating treatment wetland becomes a preferred home for Loons. |
What is habitat destruction?Habitat destruction is when a habitat is no longer able to provide the food, cover, and elements of survival that a species needs to survive. Filling in wetlands for development is an example of habitat destruction. Dredging rivers is another. Habitat can also be destroyed by natural phenomena, such as when a hurricane washes over a barrier island or low-lying ground is routinely flooded.
Habitat destruction is a tremendous threat to biodiversity on land and in water environments. Floating island habitat gives this endangered bird (the California Clapper Rail) hope for survival. In Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland, California, the California clapper rail, a nearly-extinct species of bird threatened by rising sea levels and loss of coastal marshland, has been given a new hope by deploying floating islands to biomimic its natural habitat. |
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Though sometimes we forget, humans depend on a healthy ecosystem for our survival. Habitat destruction is the primary cause of worldwide extinction of species. Even the loss of a single species of plant or microbe may affect our wellbeing in ways we don’t yet understand. We do understand the cost of losing a pollinator habitat, a valuable part of the ecosystem for sustaining agriculture. Without honey bees to deliver pollen, for instance, much of our food chain will be disrupted.
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The large Caspian tern colony on East Sand Island at the mouth of the Columbia River consumed roughly 5-6 million young salmon and steelhead annually, limiting the success of salmon restoration efforts throughout the Columbia Basin.
Federal resource managers redistributed part of the tern colony on East Sand Island to alternative breeding sites within their historical range by constructing tern nesting habitat in Oregon and California. |
Large flat rocks were placed around the perimeter of the island to provide easy means for swimming birds to get on and off the island. Then, to attract terns to nest on the floating island, over 200 Caspian tern decoys were placed on the island, along with an audio playback system that broadcasts digital recordings of Caspian tern calls.
The second Caspian Tern relocation project, to Sheepy Lake, California, was monitored closely for several years and is reported on here. |