The
CONSERVATIONChronicle
A MANOMET CENTER FOR CONSERVATION SCIENCES PUBLICATION
JUNE 2014
PHOTO: BRADFORD WINN
IN THE FIELD Researchers Race to Recover Geotagged Semipalmated Sandpipers By Haley Jordan
I
n early June, two Manomet research teams left for field sites in the Arctic to conduct shorebird demographics research and try to recover geolocators placed on Semipalmated Sandpipers last year. Manomet researchers are conducting field work at two sites: Coats Island in Canada’s Hudson Bay, which is the largest uninhabited island south of the Arctic Circle in the Western Hemisphere, and the Canning River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Many long-distance migrant shorebird species return to the same areas to breed
each year, making the birds’ Arctic breeding grounds the only place to reliably study individuals from year to year. The Semipalmated Sandpiper—a small shorebird that breeds in the Arctic and winters in northeastern South America—has experienced dramatic population declines in recent decades. “Semipalmated Sandpiper populations have declined by about 80 percent in core wintering areas according to surveys by the New Jersey Audubon Society, without a correspondent decline, as far as we can tell, in some Arctic populations,” said Stephen Brown, director of Manomet’s Shorebird Recovery Program. “We don’t know if the
species is declining rangewide, or just in some areas, and we need to understand where and why the declines are occurring so that we can work effectively at reversing them.” The devices weigh only two hundredths of an ounce and are equipped with light sensors that use the time of day to track each bird’s migration. If recovered, the geolocators will provide a wealth of information about where the birds are wintering and their migratory patterns. Researchers placed 192 geolocators on Semipalmated Sandpipers at eight Arctic Shorebird Demographics Network (ASDN) field sites during the 2013 field season. The ASDN is an international continued on page 2
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Spring Landbird Banding Season Summary
Clear Water Carbon Fund Plants 1,800 Trees
Monica Iglecia Joins Manomet Shorebird Recovery Team
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collaboration of 17 partners working at 16 field sites across the North American and Russian Arctic to determine the causes behind shorebird population declines. The project is led by Manomet, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Kansas State University. During the 2013 field season, Manomet researchers placed 35 geolocators on Semipalmated Sandpipers on Coats Island and 29 on birds at the Canning River. In the past week, the researchers have already recovered three geolocators—two at the Canning River and one on Coats Island. “The ultimate success of this project depends on our ability to recapture the birds and remove the geolocators,” said Manomet’s Shiloh Schulte, who is part of the Coats Island research team. “So the pressure is on.” The Coats Island team will remain in the field until July 3, and the Canning River team until July 16. “The information that can be retrieved from the geolocators is like gold,” Brown said. “Recovering even a few of the units will provide critical new information about where these birds are wintering and which migratory paths they are taking. More importantly, it will help us get at the real objective—to fully understand the population trends and wintering habits of this species so that we can help its populations recover.”
“The information that can be retrieved from the geolocators is like gold. Recovering even a few of the units will provide critical new information about where these birds are wintering and which migratory paths they are taking.” Below: The 2014 Coats Island shorebird research team. Clockwise from top left: Brad Winn, Scott Flemming, Sarah Neima, Shiloh Schulte, and Karissa Reischke. Bottom of page: A Semipalmated Sandpiper chick photographed by Manomet researcher Ian Davies at the Canning River research site in Alaska.
PHOTO: BRADFORD WINN
The Manomet researchers will be sending updates and photos via satellite phone throughout the course of the field season. Follow the progress of our scientists and learn about what life is like at an Arctic shorebird research camp on the dedicated blog: www.shorebirdscience.org.
PHOTO: IAN DAVIES
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Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences | June 2014
A RARE CATCH: This Summer Tanager was caught at the Manomet banding lab during the spring season. The last time our lab saw this species was 1992.
PHOTO: HALEY JORDAN
AT THE LAB Spring Landbird Banding Season Sees Above Average Numbers and Species Diversity By Liza LePage
M
anomet’s landbird banders handled a total of 1,966 birds of 72 different species throughout the course of the spring banding season. “Thanks to three significant migration days in May, the number of birds we captured this season was slightly above average for the decade in terms of captures per unit effort and diversity of species captured,” said Manomet’s Banding Director Trevor Lloyd-Evans. Some of the most unusual catches this season were the first Summer Tanager that Manomet has caught since 1994, the second and third Orange-crowned Warblers that Manomet has caught since 1970, and Manomet’s first ever White-throated Sparrow and Slate-colored Junco hybrid. The banders also recaptured 123 birds from previous seasons which provided valuable information about the age structure,
stop-over ecology, and breeding patterns of birds that breed in or migrate through Manomet. The most notable recaptures this spring included a 7-year-old Song Sparrow and a 7-year-old Common Yellowthroat, both of which were found in breeding condition. Manomet’s banders also had 214 Gray Catbird captures and 164 recaptures this spring, more than doubling the total captures of any other species. Catbirds are often the most abundant bird caught at the banding lab, but the recaptures this season could provide additional information about the species’ migration patterns. Two of the Catbirds recaptured this spring had been previously banded elsewhere, but the banding lab is still waiting to recover more information about who banded them. The lab did discover, however, that a Catbird banded at Manomet on June 13, 2013 was recaptured this spring on March 15 in
Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences | June 2014
Smoaks, South Carolina. continued with season summary on page 4
Below: Sasha Munters was one of this season’s four dedicated landbird banders. Bird Outline: This Canada Warbler was photographed at the banding lab by bander Grace Alloy-Relihan.
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A group of visiting students from Manomet Elementary learn about the bird banding process.
PHOTO: HALEY JORDAN
Spring Landbird Banding Season in Short: A Summary by Trevor Lloyd-Evans New Bandings: 1,180 Repeat Captures: 786 Total Handled: 1,966 birds of 72 species Our busiest days were 8th May (184 captures, 131 new bandings), 27th May (175 captures) and 12th May (154 captures). When compared with the previous ten springs, 11 species were banded in record high or high equal numbers; five record lows (or low =). Unusual captures were the first spring Summer Tanager since 4th June 1992, the second and third spring Orange-crowned Warblers since 1970, one Kentucky Warbler and our first hybrid White-throated Sparrow x Slate-colored Junco. The most abundant new bandings in spring 2014 were: Gray Catbird (214) Common Grackle (56) White-throated Sparrow (110) Red-winged Blackbird (51) Magnolia Warbler (107) Swamp Sparrow (49) Common Yellowthroat (88) American Redstart (48) Notable recaptures this spring (123 from previous seasons) included a 7-year-old Song Sparrow and a Common Yellowthroat. We also recaptured one 6-year-old catbird, eight 5-year-olds (Common Grackle, Yellow Warbler and catbirds), and two 4-year-olds. We have yet to hear who banded two foreign recoveries (catbirds), but did hear that a catbird (of course) that we banded 6th June 2013 was found in Smoaks, Colleton County, South Carolina on 15th March 2014. Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped make the spring 2014 migration banding and
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education season such a success. We are also greatly indebted for recent financial support of these programs to Manomet members and the following sources: Charles Stanhope Adams Nature Research Foundation Brewster Research Endowment Fund Rosalie Cheney Fiske & John Fiske Educational Fund Jean K. Colvin Endowment Fund William Drury Memorial Fund Ruth Graves Ernst Memorial Fund Helen Haber Memorial Fund Burr Hardon Intern Fund Melita Seipp Howland Conservation Science Endowment John P. Droege Scholarship Fund Dorr Foundation Malcolm Oakes Memorial Fund Dorothy Stebbins Bowles & Chester Bowles Endowment Makepeace Neighborhood Fund Massachusetts Cultural Council Mattie VandenBoom and Grace AlloyRelihan were the indefatigable staff banders and teachers this spring, with timely assistance by interns Lauren diBiccari and Sasha Munters. A huge thanks goes out to this incredible team of banders for their hard work and dedication this season. ď Ž
Photos on right from top to bottom: Mourning Warbler (Grace Alloy-Relihan), Banding Director Trevor Lloyd-Evans with a Northern Flicker (Haley Jordan), 7-year-old Song Sparrow (Haley Jordan), Kentucky Warbler (Haley Jordan).
Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences | June 2014
Clear Water Carbon Fund Helps Plant 1,800 Trees to Restore Maine Sand Pit
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n early June, volunteers planted 1,800 trees to restore a retired sand pit in Harrison, Maine, called Moon Valley to create wetlands and establish native vegetation. Manomet’s Clear Water Carbon Fund (CWCF) partnered with the Western Foothills Land Trust, Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program, and the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership on the 14acre project. The goal of the collaboration was to improve wildlife habitat at the abandoned sand pit and protect the water quality of the Crooked River, which was given the highest classification by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for having outstanding water quality, aquatic habitat, and scenic and recreational value. The Crooked River supports a healthy native Brook Trout fishery and is highly valued for its fly fishing opportunities. The CWCF is a program that works with community groups to plant trees along deforested river banks in New England, protecting clean water and wildlife habitat while absorbing
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Funding for the CWCF comes from individuals and businessespurchasing trees to protect water quality in their own communities. At Moon Valley, the CWCF provided funding for 800 riparian and upland trees, and Manomet Program Manager Ethel Wilkerson oversaw the planting process to ensure that each tree was planted in the correct location using the proper planting techniques. The project brought in over nine tons of soil and other organic materials to create wetlands and nourish the vegetation and trees that will inhabit the site. Volunteers spread a variety of specialty wetland grass seed and straw mulch across the site before planting 1,800 bare root trees which were selected for their adaptation to wetland, riparian, and upland environments. “The restoration of Moon Valley brought together funds and expertise from a number of different organizations and volunteers to complete this important habitat improvement project,” Wilkerson said. “What was once a barren and abandoned parcel now has a complex of wetlands and 1,800 new trees that will provide wildlife habitat, improve air and water quality, and sequester carbon for years to come. I am proud that Manomet
and the Clear Water Carbon Fund were able to be a part of this restoration project.” Planting volunteers included a large group of homeschooled students and their parents, a high school biology class, members of the Western Foothills Land Trust, and Manomet staff members and their families. “I was overjoyed to plant trees in the company of a family of ducks that was nesting near a pond that did not exist prior to this project,” said Lee Dassler, Executive Director of the Western Foothills Land Trust and the brainchild of the Moon Valley restoration project. Over the past two years, the CWCF has planted thousands of trees along rivers in Maine and Vermont. Additional 2014 plantings have occurred in the White River watershed in Vermont and in the Androscoggin River watershed in Maine.
PHOTO: ETHEL WILKERSON
By Haley Jordan
Meet Monica Iglecia By Haley Jordan
W
etland and shorebird specialist Monica Iglecia joined Manomet this month as the new assistant director of the Shorebird Habitats Project. “I am excited to join the Shorebird Recovery Program at Manomet,” Iglecia said. “I have been impressed by the quality of the conservation work led by Manomet and I am thrilled to work alongside this impressive team dedicated to the future of shorebird populations.” Iglecia will be working with Shorebird Habitats Project Director Brad Winn to increase the capacity of both public and privately-owned wetlands to benefit shorebirds throughout North America. She will be working with national wildlife refuges, state wildlife management agencies, farmers, and private organizations to incorporate shorebird habitat needs into current wetland management practices. In August, Iglecia will co-lead a shorebird ecology, conservation, and management workshop in New Brunswick, Canada.
Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences | June 2014
Iglecia has been working on bird conservation for over a decade and has extensive experience collaborating with a variety of stakeholders on conservation projects. She most recently served as a conservation project director at Audubon California, where she led their Bird Friendly Farming Initiative. She worked with farmers, industry, public agencies, and other conservation partners to enhance the value of agricultural lands and managed wetlands to achieve large-scale conservation impact for shorebirds in California’s Central Valley. She also led a diverse array of shorebird conservation projects, including research focused on interviewing wetland managers to assess current practices and future capacity to manage habitat for shorebirds. “With her experience and expertise, Monica will be instrumental in getting land management techniques that benefit shorebirds into practice across the country,” Winn said. “With her passion for wildlife and wetland conservation, she will quickly become an integral part of Manomet’s shorebird recovery team.”
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