Last updated: March 29, 2021
Place
23 - New Homes From Old
WAYSIDE LAYOUT: Cream colored, horizontally oriented panel with a dark banner running across the top. The banner reads “Golden Gate National Recreation Area” on the left and the National Park Service logo on the right. The panel features two columns. The first column has text and an image. The second column has two rows, the first row has two images and the second row has three images. There is a faded image of Alcatraz Island from the water, in the background of the wayside.
FIRST COLUMN:
TEXT: New Homes from Old: Wildlife live among prison remnants. The overgrown piles of rubble below, near the island’s edge, are all that remain of apartments and cottages that once housed Alcatraz Prison guards and their families. Demolished after standing empty for nearly a decade following the penitentiary’s closure in 1963, the ruined structures are home to other residents now. Deer mice, California slender salamanders, and banana slugs reside here. Black-crowned night-herons nest in the tumbled housing. Pigeon guillemots’ nest in old pipes.All over the island many species of birds breed and raise their young in and on what’s left of the prison structures. Some species seek cover in the nooks and crannies of the vegetation that has spread from old garden beds. Others prefer concrete surfaces, building their nests in plain sight.
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: A gray fuzzy western gull chick, with black webbed feet, stands on a concrete surface.
CAPTION: Western gull chick. The effects of human presence on Alcatraz’s wildlife has decreas4ed since the prison closed in 1963. Seasonal closures of nesting areas and careful management of the island by the National Park Service have allowed bird colonies to thrive here. Please respect Alcatraz’s wildlife – avoid disturbing any animals you encounter.
SECOND COLUMN:
FIRST ROW:
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: Black birds sitting on their nests are scattered along cement ledges on Alcatraz Island.
CAPTION: Brandt’s cormorants (Phalacrocorax penicillatus) nesting on cement ledges. Seabirds have recolonized Alcatraz so thoroughly that the diversity of species is possibly greater than it was before the island was developed and the original avian populations were displaced.
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: Close of image of an adult Pigeon guillemot feeding their chick near an old pipe that now serves as the bird’s nest.
CAPTION: Pigeon guillemot (Cepphus columba) nesting in a metal pipe. Islands are naturally great habitat for sea birds because they are entirely surrounded by water, with food sources nearby. With increased options for cover, including vegetation that has spread from old garden beds, and planted trees, Alcatraz has become even more attractive habitat since the prison closed.
SECOND ROW:
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: A close-up photo of a small brown and white speckled bird stands on a post, mouth slightly open, as if singing.
CAPTION: This song sparrow, along with hummingbirds, house finches, and other common birds live at home on Alcatraz.
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: A close-up photo of a small, brown mouse with large ears stands on gravel.
CAPTION: Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Biologists have noted a fascinating adaptation among Alcatraz’s deer mice population: 20% have evolved fur coloring that camouflages them on cement.
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: A close-up photo of a long black, thin salamander resting on cement.
CAPTION: The California Slender salamander can occasionally be seen in shallow pools of water in the rainy season.
FIRST COLUMN:
TEXT: New Homes from Old: Wildlife live among prison remnants. The overgrown piles of rubble below, near the island’s edge, are all that remain of apartments and cottages that once housed Alcatraz Prison guards and their families. Demolished after standing empty for nearly a decade following the penitentiary’s closure in 1963, the ruined structures are home to other residents now. Deer mice, California slender salamanders, and banana slugs reside here. Black-crowned night-herons nest in the tumbled housing. Pigeon guillemots’ nest in old pipes.All over the island many species of birds breed and raise their young in and on what’s left of the prison structures. Some species seek cover in the nooks and crannies of the vegetation that has spread from old garden beds. Others prefer concrete surfaces, building their nests in plain sight.
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: A gray fuzzy western gull chick, with black webbed feet, stands on a concrete surface.
CAPTION: Western gull chick. The effects of human presence on Alcatraz’s wildlife has decreas4ed since the prison closed in 1963. Seasonal closures of nesting areas and careful management of the island by the National Park Service have allowed bird colonies to thrive here. Please respect Alcatraz’s wildlife – avoid disturbing any animals you encounter.
SECOND COLUMN:
FIRST ROW:
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: Black birds sitting on their nests are scattered along cement ledges on Alcatraz Island.
CAPTION: Brandt’s cormorants (Phalacrocorax penicillatus) nesting on cement ledges. Seabirds have recolonized Alcatraz so thoroughly that the diversity of species is possibly greater than it was before the island was developed and the original avian populations were displaced.
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: Close of image of an adult Pigeon guillemot feeding their chick near an old pipe that now serves as the bird’s nest.
CAPTION: Pigeon guillemot (Cepphus columba) nesting in a metal pipe. Islands are naturally great habitat for sea birds because they are entirely surrounded by water, with food sources nearby. With increased options for cover, including vegetation that has spread from old garden beds, and planted trees, Alcatraz has become even more attractive habitat since the prison closed.
SECOND ROW:
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: A close-up photo of a small brown and white speckled bird stands on a post, mouth slightly open, as if singing.
CAPTION: This song sparrow, along with hummingbirds, house finches, and other common birds live at home on Alcatraz.
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: A close-up photo of a small, brown mouse with large ears stands on gravel.
CAPTION: Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Biologists have noted a fascinating adaptation among Alcatraz’s deer mice population: 20% have evolved fur coloring that camouflages them on cement.
DESCRIPTION OF IMAGE: A close-up photo of a long black, thin salamander resting on cement.
CAPTION: The California Slender salamander can occasionally be seen in shallow pools of water in the rainy season.