Scientists are learning how noise affects Bay Area wildlife as they work to conserve wetland birds amid a roaring urban soundscape

"You become really aware of the noise when you get away from it for a little bit, said LaBarbera, a science director at the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory. The Bay Area is a permanent or temporary home for 250 different species of resident and migratory birds. Noise can affect their stress response, interfere with their ability to listen for predators and prey, and alter their vocalizations."

"Ornithologist Katie LaBarbera arrives at the Coyote Creek Field Station in Alviso about 45 minutes before sunrise peak time for bird activity. The early part of LaBarbera's Sunday shift is peacefully spent capturing, banding and releasing birds in what they call a little oasis of trees. But around 9:00 am every week, their team of volunteers hears a cacophony of car horns from I-880, less than half a mile to the east."

An ornithologist arrives at the Coyote Creek Field Station about 45 minutes before sunrise to capture, band and release birds in an oasis of trees. Volunteer work begins peacefully but is regularly interrupted around 9:00 am by loud car horns from nearby I-880. The Bay Area hosts roughly 250 resident and migratory bird species. Anthropogenic noise can elevate stress responses, hinder birds' ability to detect predators and prey, and change their vocalizations. Traffic and airplane noise create an unavoidable acoustic backdrop that complicates conservation efforts. Long-term research found fewer birds at sites with active compressor noise.

Read at www.mercurynews.com