CNDDB News Blog

The Spotted Owl Observations Database Management Framework (PDF) is now available. It provides information on key database topics including:

• Database contents
• Database limitations
• Activity center information
• Addressing data issues
• Contributing Data
• Barred Owl Observations Database

The framework may be updated to reflect future changes to spotted owl management or regulatory guidelines. Substantial updates will be announced here on the CNDDB News page.
 

Here's what's new since January:

Number of Element Occurrences in Current Distribution: 92,390
Number of Element Occurrences Added Since Last Distribution: 250
Number of Source Documents Added: 1,950

Species we’ve been working on:

Botany

• Anemone multifida var. multifida (cut-leaf anemone)
• Ayenia compacta (California ayenia)
• Brodiaea filifolia (thread-leaved brodiaea)
• Centromadia parryi ssp. australis (southern tarplant)
• Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum (salt marsh bird's-beak)
• Chorizanthe xanti var. leucotheca (white-bracted spineflower)
• Cymopterus multinervatus (purple-nerve cymopterus)
• Dodecahema leptoceras (slender-horned spineflower)
• Eriastrum densifolium ssp. sanctorum (Santa Ana River woollystar)
• Euphorbia ocellata ssp. rattanii (Stony Creek spurge)
• Fremontodendron mexicanum (Mexican flannelbush)
• Lessingia micradenia var. glabrata (smooth lessingia)
• Lewisia cotyledon var. howellii (Howell's lewisia)
• Penstemon sudans (Susanville beardtongue)
• Streptanthus albidus ssp. peramoenus (most beautiful jewelflower)

Zoology

• Callophrys mossii bayensis (San Bruno elfin butterfly)
• Callophrys mossii marinensis (Marin elfin butterfly)
• Cottus klamathensis klamathensis (Upper Klamath marbled sculpin)
• Cottus klamathensis polyporus (Lower Klamath marbled sculpin)
• Rana boylii (foothill yellow-legged frog)
• Spea hammondii (western spadefoot)

We’ve also released an updated Special Plants List – find out what’s been added and download a new copy. We’ll be updating the animals next – stay tuned!

The Spotted Owl Observations Database (SPOWDB) got a makeover! We have updated the SPOWDB’s symbology, i.e. how the data is shown on the map. Formerly, the mapped data showed positive observations (detections), negative observations (surveys with no detections), and activity centers. Now, in addition to positive and negative observations, you can see which points represent nests, young, and pairs. These changes took place automatically in the BIOS Viewer. If you would like to use the new symbology in ArcMap, be sure to use the Spotted Owl Observations layer files that come with the monthly download.

There are also two new fields in the SPOWDB: Highest Use and Symbology. The Highest Use field reads the Nest, Young, Pair, and Number fields and reports the most significant value for each record. For example, if a pair was detected at a nest, the Highest Use field will read "Nest." If a non-nesting pair was detected, the Highest Use field will read "Pair." The Symbology field is populated with the activity center information in the TypeObs field: activity center, abandoned, and not valid. If these values are not present in the TypeObs field then the Highest Use value will be used to populate the Symbology field. Additional information on the new fields and their values can be found in the Spotted Owl Observations metadata.

Be sure to open up the attribute table to see additional information for each record such as date, time, accuracy, and comments.

Questions? Please contact the Spotted Owl Database Manager at owlobs@wildlife.ca.gov.