Type: protocol

Article abstract: In 2006 and 2007, I developed methods in conjunction with Milan Mitrovich, then of the Nature Reserve of Orange County (NROC), and Will Miller of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to map and characterize cactus resources in and around the NROC’s coastal reserve, and to survey for Cactus Wrens in areas judged to comprise potentially suitable nesting habitat. For the current volunteer-based effort, playback of digital recordings of Cactus Wrens will not be allowed by the California Department of Fish & Game, so the methods have been modified accordingly. In addition to mapping the boundaries of cactus scrub, these methods identify different types of scrub and document habitat composition at each site, thereby allowing reserve managers to build models of habitat suitability for the Cactus Wren by correlating the species’ presence with relevant habitat features.