The California Ricelands Waterbird Foundation (Foundation), is happy to announce the upcoming enrollment period for the Fall Bid4Birds habitat program. 

The Bid4Birds Program focuses on extending the flooding period in rice fields for the benefit of waterbirds, particularly shorebirds. While the standard winter flooding period is beneficial for many migrating waterbirds on the Pacific Flyway, there are a variety of species that arrive in the late summer or early fall when most rice fields and marshes are dry. Providing flooded habitat is especially critical this year given the current extreme drought conditions throughout the state. 

In the fall, Bid4Birds provides incentive payments for growers to implement shallow flooding on their rice fields for 3-4 weeks between July 15 and October 1. The Foundation solicits participants through an auction in which growers submit bids based on an assessment of their costs to provide this critical habitat. The Bid4Birds Habitat Selection Committee, including representatives from Audubon California, California Rice Commission, Point Blue Conservation Science and The Nature Conservancy will assess bids in a standardized way using data on when and where birds need the habitat most.

Bids can be submitted through the Foundation website from June 6 to June 22, 2022. 

If you have any questions about the program or would like to learn more, please visit the Bid4Birds webpage or contact Julia Barfield from The Nature Conservancy at (916) 449-2852 or jbarfield@tnc.org.