photo: gerry ellis audubon coastal bird survey · 2019-12-14 · outline of topics • history of...
TRANSCRIPT
Audubon Coastal Bird Survey
A Call for Standardized Monitoring
Photo: Gerry Ellis
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 spillA 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 standardsMiche Walsh and Bart Siegel staring in
disbelief at a mat of oil
Species List of Oiled Birds
Sandpipers and Plovers- American Oystercatcher
- Wilson’s Plover
- Semipalmated Plover
- Black-bellied Plover
- Willet
- Sanderling
- Dunlin
- Western Sandpiper
- Semipalmated Sandpiper
- Ruddy Turnstone
Waders- Great Egret
- Great Blue Heron
- Snowy Egret
- Tricolored Heron
- Reddish Egret
- Cattle Egret
- White Ibis
Gulls and Terns- Laughing Gull
- Herring Gull
- Least Tern
- Royal Tern
- Caspian Tern
- Sandwich Tern
- Forster’s Tern
- Common Tern
- Black Skimmer
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 1st year
• 247 surveys at 24 sites!
• 160 species!
• >60,000 individual birds counted!
A survey team at Graveline Beach near
Ocean Springs, MS (photo: Janet Wright)
Willet at Grand Isle, LA
Seasonal PatternsPulse 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
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 [email protected] 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.
Sharing Your Data
Target Species of Concern
Dave Patton
Reddish Egret
American Oystercatcher
Marbled Godwit
Piping Plover
Black Skimmer
Snowy PloverWilson’s Plover
Sanderling
Red Knot
Bill Stripling
Gregory Breese/USFWS
Thomas Halverstadt
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
Richard Gibbons
Piping Plover
Wilson’s Plover
Snowy Plover
Semipalmated Plover
1. Leg color (orange or
grayish/brownish?)
2. Bill shape (heavy,
medium, thin?)
3. Back color (pale
grayish or brown?)
Small Plovers
Bill StriplingGary Ellis
“Peeps”: SanderlingBecome 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
Breeding plumage distinctive Winter plumage like an overgrown
Western Sandpiper (about the size of
a Sanderling), but bill is extra long
John B./flickr
Small “Peeps”
Sanderling
Western Sandpiper
Western, Semipalmated, and Least Sandpipers
are smaller than Sanderlings and Dunlin, and
are common on beaches and mudflats.
- 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.”
Western Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
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
- Dark legs
- Bill averages shorter and less curved than
Western
- Medium brown back
- Dark legs
- Bill averages longer and more curved than
Semipalmated
- Medium brown back
- 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
Bill Stripling
Dave Patton
“Peeps”: Red Knot
breeding winter
• 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)
Gregory Breese/USFWS Gregory Breese/USFWS
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 ([email protected])
Counting Birds
CHALLENGES• There are too many!
• Birds won’t hold still!
• They are all mixed up!
• …I give up… (no!!)
SOLUTIONS• Record as you go in a notebook
or data sheet
• Estimate large groups, counting by 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, or other 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
• Erik Johnson, Conservation Biologist*
• Mark LaSalle, Director of Pascagoula River
Audubon Center
* Source of uncredited photographs