When the Gnatcatcher Turns Up, Developer Turns His Plans Around

The discovery of a rare songbird in Moorpark’s brushy hillside sage may not have been developer Mike Greynald’s worst nightmare, but it didn’t exactly make his day.

Since the 1995 sightings of two pairs of coastal California gnatcatchers--the first confirmed in Ventura County since the 1920s--Greynald has scrapped his initial blueprint for a 445-acre residential community in north Moorpark.

Now he plans to set aside nearly one-quarter of the property, 100 acres, to remain as coastal sage scrub, the rapidly diminishing habitat where gnatcatchers thrive. The bird preserve had been destined for 60 homes and a church, school or other institution, he said.

Greynald, a general partner in Calabasas-based Morrison Homes, still hopes to put 583 houses on the rest of the parcel, nearly the same number as before. But he said those upscale homes will probably cost more and be more closely clustered because of the gnatcatcher set-aside and the expense of reconfiguring the project.

Although Greynald and other Moorpark-area developers are less than thrilled with the prospect of building around a flourishing flock of sweet-voiced birds, biologists have hailed the discovery as another sign that the gnatcatcher is finally making a comeback.

The bird--found only in Southern California and northern Baja California--is on a federal list of threatened species and is considered a “species of concern” by the state because two-thirds of its sage scrub habitat has been lost to development.

But a recent federal study indicates that California gnatcatchers are increasing and that there are now about 2,900 pairs in the Southland, up from about 2,560 when the bird was first listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act four years ago.

The recent discovery of gnatcatchers in Moorpark, Sylmar and Pasadena suggests that the birds may be moving up the coast. Previously, they had been spotted no farther north than the Whittier and Montebello hills in southeastern Los Angeles County.

“It’s encouraging that the species still exists here, where there is a fair amount of habitat remaining, so there’s a little more cushion against the prospects of extinction,” said biologist Kate Symonds of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Ventura.

That habitat--marked by sage, buckwheat, coyote bush and beavertail cactus and known as soft chaparral--is found over thousands of hillside acres from Simi Valley to the city of Ventura, she said.

“But it’s difficult to say if there is a real increase in gnatcatchers,” Symonds added. “The question is: Is this really happening, or do we just find more because we’re doing more biological surveys on development sites that reach more into their hillside habitat?”

Indeed, on a recent afternoon, Symonds could not roust the elusive gnatcatcher on Greynald’s property, despite the biologist’s persistent call of “pish, pish, pish”--the sound of an avian intruder that usually prompts gnatcatchers to respond in alarm.

There were, for all to see, Cooper’s and red-tailed hawks, vultures and the rufous-sided towhee, a robin-sized bird with rust-colored sides. But no sign of the small grayish gnatcatchers.

Regardless, Ventura County is dealing with its first sightings in 73 years of this tiny bird with a song as sweet as a kitten’s mew and a sound similar to it.

In other jurisdictions, principally Orange and San Diego counties, “gnatcatcher wars” stalled projects for several years until agreements in the last two years created preserves of tens of thousands of acres to protect the sage habitat where the birds nest almost exclusively.

Even though their feathers blend into the gray-green sage, the birds can often be detected by their telltale song, Symonds said. “That’s their characteristic sound during the breeding season,” she said. “Birds are much more vocal then. They’re attracting mates and defending their nests against scrub jays.”

Surveys of nearby properties where large developments are planned--including the huge 3,221-home Messenger project--have turned up no more gnatcatchers, said Moorpark community development director Nelson Miller.

But scientists say that Happy Camp Canyon, near Greynald’s Morrison-Fountainwood-Agoura project, and the mountainous area between Moorpark and the Santa Clara River have plenty of sage habitat that could sustain the insect-eating birds.

If more gnatcatchers are found, builders can follow Greynald’s example on how to react.

“In today’s world, we have an environmental checklist of things we have to do, just like we’ve always done for things like schools and roads,” he said.

First, he ordered more biological studies to confirm the extent of the bird’s population. Next he worked with Symonds to draft a plan to preserve its habitat.

Then Greynald went back to the drawing board and changed his proposal.

In setting up the gnatcatcher preserve, Greynald is part of a trend in which developers donate land or money to save threatened plants or wildlife found on building sites.

Miller, the Moorpark planner, said he has worked with such habitat banks to save birds, turtles and rats in Riverside and San Diego counties.

In Moorpark, Greynald joins two other developers who are setting aside land. Even with such preserves, however, Symonds said much is unknown about whether threatened species will flourish and spread to other areas. That is especially true for preserves surrounded by development, as will be the case in Greynald’s project.

On Greynald’s site, natural ravines will be left clear to give the birds direct ground access to Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park, she said. But when a planned freeway connector is built, it could block that corridor.

Symonds is also concerned that nearby landowners might purposely destroy sage habitat on their property to keep the gnatcatcher away.

“We met recently with a nearby landowner considering development of his parcel,” Symonds said. “And I noticed that a section adjacent to Mike Greynald’s property had been graded and the habitat cleared.”

Just when Greynald will go forward with his plan is unclear, although Miller said he thinks it will be submitted for review in two or three months.

Greynald refused any such predictions. “I’m not a betting man on this project any more,” he said. “Everything changes by the day.”