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<br />Soil Investigations for Data Collection in the Delta <br />Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration 67 <br /> <br />California Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris actia) <br />California Horned Lark is a CDFW Watch List species. This songbird has a pale, <br />yellow face and throat, a black bib, pale breast and belly, a broad black stripe <br />under the eye, a black tail with white outer feathers, and black tufts on top of its <br />head resembling horns (Beason 1995). The year-round range of the California <br />Horned Lark encompasses the majority of the state west of the Cascade-Sierra <br />Nevada Crest (CDFW 1990d) The species inhabits open grassland and <br />cultivated lands such as alfalfa, fallow fields, and pastures dominated by sparse, <br />low herbaceous vegetation or widely scattered low shrubs. California Horned <br />Lark forages on seeds and insects and nest in hollows on the ground. Breeding <br />occurs from March through July, with peak activity in May (CDFW 1990d). <br /> <br />California Horned Lark is considered to have a moderate potential to occur within <br />the Study Area due to the presence of suitable habitat and known occurrences <br />within one to two miles of several Impact Areas within Contra Costa County. <br />Implementation of Mitigation Measures MM BIO-1, MM BIO-7 and MM BIO-8 will <br />reduce potential impacts to California Horned Lark to: Less than Significant with <br />Mitigation Incorporated. <br /> <br />Yellow-Breasted Chat (Icteria virens) <br /> <br />Yellow-breasted Chat is a California Species of Special Concern and a USFWS <br />Bird of Conservation Concern. Yellow-breasted Chat is a medium-sized warbler <br />with a long tail, large head, yellow breast plumage, gray back, and white stripes <br />above and below the eye. The species winters in Mexico and Central America <br />and is patchily distributed across North America south of Canada during breeding <br />season; within the Central Valley, chats are found in the Sacramento-San <br />Joaquin Delta. Habitat includes riparian thickets near water with a dense <br />understory layer, including willow, blackberry, and wild grape (USFWS 2019d). <br />Yellow-breasted Chat forages primarily on spiders and insects but will also take <br />fruits and berries. Nests are built low in dense vegetation and breeding occurs <br />from late April through early August (Comrack 2008). <br /> <br />Yellow-breasted Chat has been observed in riparian thickets and in-channel <br />islands throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, thus the species has a <br />high potential to occur within the Study Area. Implementation of Mitigation <br />Measures MM AES-1, MM BIO-1 and MM BIO-8 would reduce impacts to <br />Yellow-breasted Chat to: Less than Significant with Mitigation Incorporated. <br /> <br />Merlin (Falco columbarius) <br />Merlin is a California Department of Fish and Wildlife Watch List species (CDFW <br />1999d). Merlin is a small, dark-colored falcon with sharply pointed wings, broad <br />chest and medium-length tail. This species has a broad geographical range