Satellites reveal bird habitat loss in California
Tuesday, March 28, 2017 - 10:02
in Earth & Climate
Reduced seasonal flooding of wetlands and farm fields in California's Sacramento Valley threatens a key stopover site for migratory shorebirds, a new study shows. Landsat satellite images reveal that flooded habitat is most limited during peak spring migration when the birds urgently need resting and feeding sites. Near the peak of migration, an area of seasonally flooded land twice the size of Washington, D.C. has been lost since 1983.