| Summary: | Efforts in 2013 represented the 18th year of restoration and associated monitoring of central California seabird colonies by the Common Murre Restoration Project (CMRP). This project was initiated in 1996 in an effort to restore breeding colonies of seabirds, especially Common Murres (Uria aalge), harmed by the 1986 Apex Houston, 1998 Command and extended Luckenbach oil spills, as well as gill net fishing, human disturbance, and other factors. From 1995 to 2005, the primary goals were to restore the previously extirpated Devil’s Slide Rock colony using social attraction techniques, and to assess restoration needs at additional central California colonies. Since 2005, efforts have been directed towards surveillance and assessment of human disturbance at central California Common Murre colonies. Additionally, the outcome of initial recolonization efforts at Devil’s Slide Rock continues to be monitored. This data informs outreach, education and regulatory efforts by the Seabird Protection Network (coordinated by the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary) and allows for assessment of the success of those efforts. The goal of the Seabird Protection Network is to restore central California seabird breeding colonies primarily through reduction of human disturbance. In this report, we summarize seabird monitoring results from the 2014 breeding season including human disturbance, productivity, relative population sizes, and other data. At Point Reyes Headlands (PRH), the combined aircraft and watercraft detection rate was less than the baseline mean (average of 2005-2006, including aircraft, watercraft, and other), and less than in 2012. The combined disturbance rate at PRH was less than the baseline mean, but greater than in 2012 – driven by five agitation events caused by helicopters. Detection and disturbance rates at Drakes Bay Colony Complex (DBCC) were also less than the baseline mean, with no observed disturbance events. Devil’s Slide Rock and Mainland (DSRM) continued to have the greatest combined ...
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