Photo: Gerry Ellis Audubon Coastal Bird Survey A Call for Standardized Monitoring
Outline of Topics • History of Audubon Coastal Bird Survey (ACBS) • Brief summary of 2010-2011 analysis • Update on survey protocol • Data entry and data sharing • Bird ID (plovers and some sandpipers) and counting tips
What is ACBS? • A volunteer-based bird survey that has been designed to maximize the scientific value of bird-watching data Volunteers learning survey protocols after the BP oil spill A group of Sanderlings at Grand Isle, LA
ACBS History • Dr. Mark LaSalle of Pascagoula River Audubon Center in Moss Point, MS, developed and launched ACBS in June 2010 in response to the BP oil disaster • The protocol for surveying for oiled birds was developed by Jared Wolfe and Erik Johnson, at LSU, based on U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service oil assessment standards Miche Walsh and Bart Siegel staring in disbelief at a mat of oil
Species List of Oiled Birds Sandpipers and Plovers Waders Gulls and Terns - American Oystercatcher - Great Egret - Laughing Gull - Wilson’s Plover - Great Blue Heron - Herring Gull - Semipalmated Plover - Snowy Egret - Least Tern - Black-bellied Plover - Tricolored Heron - Royal Tern - Willet - Reddish Egret - Caspian Tern - Sanderling - Cattle Egret - Sandwich Tern - Dunlin - White Ibis - Forster’s Tern - Western Sandpiper - Common Tern - Semipalmated Sandpiper - Black Skimmer - Ruddy Turnstone Other - Brown Pelican - American White Pelican - Osprey - Northern Gannet
ACBS History • By November 2010, few oiled birds were still being seen • Subsequently, the program has been transitioning into a survey for understanding coastal bird populations in space and time Birds along a beachfront at Grand Isle, LA. How many Laughing Gulls can you count?
ACBS Moving Forward • The timing of surveys have been modified to align with the International Shorebird Survey (ISS), which provides the best source of information for tracking migratory shorebird populations • Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count data have limited value for understanding some waterbird population trends – ACBS can do this!
Summary of 1 st year • 247 surveys at 24 sites! • 160 species! • >60,000 individual birds counted! Willet at Grand Isle, LA A survey team at Graveline Beach near Ocean Springs, MS (photo: Janet Wright)
Seasonal Patterns Pulse during post-breeding dispersal
Relating Bird Density to Land Use
Relating Bird Density to Land Use Land Use Ocean Springs Pascagoula Beach % Developed 22.5 95.2 % Forest 15.6 1.5 % Wetland 53.3 2.2 Do this for all 24 sites and…
ACBS Protocol Changes • Shorter intervals between surveys – Fall: 6 surveys over 10 weeks (10 Aug – 20 Oct) – Winter: 3 surveys over 5 weeks (15 Jan – 20 Feb) – Spring: 6 surveys over 10 weeks (20 Mar – 30 May) – Ideally every 10 days, on the 5’s (Aug 15, 25, Sep 5, etc.), but +/- 3 days is fine
ACBS Protocol Changes • Why shorter intervals between surveys? – Aligns with International Shorebird Survey (ISS) protocol, which provides the best data we have for tracking most shorebird populations – The Gulf Coast has historically had little ISS coverage; ACBS will fill that void – If 6 surveys can not be completed, there is still value for conducting fewer surveys
ACBS Protocol • Maintain as much consistency between surveys as possible • Best to survey during periods of low human activity, like early morning • Count all birds within ¼ mi, including the start and end of transect points – Google Earth can help you identify landmarks to estimate ¼ mi
eBird Data Entry • www.ebird.org
Sharing Your Data 1. All ACBS participants can view coverage and checklists online at http://tinyurl.com/ACBS2011 2. Area leaders are responsible for updating the spreadsheet with survey information and links. Contact Dustin, the program manager, at drenaud@audubon.org for instructions. 3. When in doubt, refer to the “Sharing Your Data” document that will be emailed to you after this presentation or is available online at http://gulfoilspill.audubon.org/audubon- coastal-bird-survey.
Target Species of Concern Black Skimmer Marbled Godwit Thomas Halverstadt Piping Plover Wilson’s Plover Snowy Plover Reddish Egret Bill Stripling Dave Patton Red Knot Sanderling American Oystercatcher Gregory Breese/USFWS
Coastal Bird ID • Go beyond field guides – LSU Bird Resource Center has Lowery (1974) seasonal graph for LA birds (similar to MS and AL) http://appl003.lsu.edu/natsci/labirdweb.nsf/$Content/Lowery+Graph/$File/Lowery+Seasonal+Graph2.pdf – eBird can produce output to look at seasonality in your area • Plumages do not necessarily follow “summer” and “winter” seasons – be familiar with all plumages at all times of year
Small Plovers Semipalmated Plover Wilson’s Plover 1. Leg color (orange or grayish/brownish?) 2. Bill shape (heavy, medium, thin?) 3. Back color (pale grayish or brown?) Richard Gibbons Bill Stripling Snowy Plover Gary Ellis Piping Plover
“Peeps”: Sanderling Become familiar with Sanderlings . They are often seen chasing waves, running to and from the shoreline with each wave. This will be the default small sandpiper on sandy beaches. In fall, they are molting from a brick red color to a sandy gray.
“Peeps”: Dunlin John B./flickr Breeding plumage distinctive Winter plumage like an overgrown Western Sandpiper (about the size of a Sanderling), but bill is extra long
Small “Peeps” Western, Semipalmated, and Least Sandpipers are smaller than Sanderlings and Dunlin, and are common on beaches and mudflats. Sanderling Western Sandpiper - Never rely on 1 character to ID - Use a suite of characters including leg color, bill shape/length, overall structure and plumage - With practice, the “hunched” foraging style of Least Sandpipers can clinch ID at great distance - If unsure, report “peep sp.”
- Adults and juveniles are different enough to compound the ID challenge - Juveniles arrive in fresh plumage , meaning the crisp edging to back and wing feathers is not worn off - Adults arrive ratty and worn . By winter, juveniles and adults look the same. Adult Juvenile Western Sandpiper - Dark legs - Bill averages longer and more curved than Semipalmated - Medium brown back Dave Patton Semipalmated Sandpiper - Dark legs - Bill averages shorter and less curved than Western - Medium brown back Bill Stripling Least Sandpiper - Yellow legs (appear dark if covered in mud) - Thin, slightly curved bill - Rich brown back - Hunch-backed when foraging, rarely lifting head up
“Peeps”: Red Knot breeding winter Gregory Breese/USFWS Gregory Breese/USFWS • Peep-like, but bulky (> Sanderling and < Willet) • About size of dowitcher, but note shorter bill and different foraging style • Beware of less common Calidris sandpipers (Stilt Sandpiper, Pectoral, Baird’s, White-rumped)
Solutions for ID Challenges • Important to have a count of all birds, even if some must be left unidentified • Use broader taxonomic groupings: – Short/Long-billed Dowitcher, Lesser/Greater Yellowlegs, Greater/Lesser Scaup sp., Western/Semipalmated Sandpiper – peep sp., tern sp., gull sp., shorebird sp., white egret sp. • Email Erik a photo (ejohnson@audubon.org)
Counting Birds CHALLENGES SOLUTIONS • There are too many! • Record as you go in a notebook or data sheet • Birds won’t hold still! • Estimate large groups, counting • They are all mixed up! by 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, or other • …I give up… (no!!) convenient groupings • Multiply ; a flock of 10 tall by 10 wide = 100 • Divide ; use percentages of a total estimate – Example: of 500 birds… 10% were Sanderlings = 50 • • 70% were Dunlin = 350 • 20% were Least Sandpipers = 100 • Do the best you can • Do the best you can http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/bird-counting-101 http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/bird-counting-201
Thank You! Contacts • Dustin Renaud, Volunteer Programs Manager – drenaud@audubon.org • Erik Johnson, Conservation Biologist* – ejohnson@audubon.org • Mark LaSalle, Director of Pascagoula River Audubon Center – mlasalle@audubon.org * Source of uncredited photographs
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