Birds of the Us-Mexico Borderlands: Distribution, Ecology, and Conservation
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BIRDS OF THE US-MEXICO BORDERLANDS Ruth et al. Studies in Avian Biology No. 37 BIRDS OF THE US-MEXICO BORDERLANDS: DISTRIBUTION, ECOLOGY, AND CONSERVATION JANET RUTH, TIM BRUSH, AND DAVID KRUEPER ASSOCIATE EDITORS The Cooper Ornithological Society thanks the following agencies for supporting the publication of this volume: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Pronatura, Mexico. Studies in Avian Biology No. 37 A Publication of the Cooper Ornithological Society BIRDS OF THE US-MEXICO BORDERLANDS: DISTRIBUTION, ECOLOGY, AND CONSERVATION Janet M. Ruth, Timothy Brush, and David J. Krueper Associate Editors Studies in Avian Biology No. 37 A PUBLICATION OF THE COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY Front cover photographs, clockwise from upper left: San Pedro River, Arizona by David J. Krueper, Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) by David J. Krueper, San Rafael Valley grasslands, Arizona by Janet Ruth, Arizona Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum ammolegus) by Rick Bowers, Chisos Mountains from the Rio Grande Valley, Texas by Roland Wauer, Mangrove Yellow Warbler (probably Dendroica petechia oraria) by Scarlet Colley, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona by John and Karen Hollingsworth, Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris) by David J. Krueper, Cave Creek Canyon and Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona by Helen Snyder, Tufted Flycatcher (Mitrephanes phaeocercus) byTony Godfrey, Cienega de Santa Clara, Colorado River delta, Sonora, Mexico by Carlos Valdes, Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) by Lee Baines, Chihuahuan Desert, Arizona by Janet M. Ruth, Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) by George Jameson. Center: relief map of the US–Mexico borderlands. Source: The National Map, USGS, http://www.nationalmap.gov. STUDIES IN AVIAN BIOLOGY Edited by Carl D. Marti 1310 East Jefferson Street Boise, ID 83712 Studies in Avian Biology is a series of works too long for The Condor, published at irregular intervals by the Cooper Ornithological Society. Manuscripts for consideration should be submitted to the editor. Style and format should follow those of previous issues. Price $20.00. To order this and other SAB volumes, please go to the Cooper Ornithological Society website: http://cooper.org. Permission to Copy The Cooper Ornithological Society hereby grants permission to copy chapters (in whole or in part) appearing in Studies in Avian Biology for personal use, or educational use within one’s home institution, without payment, provided that the copied material bears the statement “©2008 The Cooper Ornithological Society” and the full citation, including names of all authors. Authors may post copies of their chapters on their personal or institutional website, except that whole issues of Studies in Avian Biology may not be posted on websites. Any use not specifi cally granted here, and any use of Studies in Avian Biology articles or portions thereof for advertising, republication, or commercial uses, requires prior consent from the editor. ISBN: 978-0-943610-84-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008935582 Printed at Cadmus Professional Communications, Ephrata, Pennsylvania 17522 Issued: September 2008 Copyright © by the Cooper Ornithological Society 2008 ii CONTENTS LIST OF AUTHORS ............................................................................................................ PREFACE...................................Janet M. Ruth, Timothy Brush, and David J. Krueper v CHANGES IN DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE Additions to the Breeding Avifauna of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas...... ..........................................................................................................Timothy Brush 1 Avifaunal Changes in Big Bend National Park, Texas..........Roland H. Wauer and Mark Flippo 20 Distribution and Status of Breeding Landbirds in Northern Sonora Mexico........... ........................................................................................................Aaron D. Flesch 28 The Distribution and Status of Royal Terns on The Pacifi c Coast of Southern California and Baja California, Mexico .............................. Charles T. Collins and Eduardo Palacios 46 POPULATION TRENDS AND ECOLOGY OF RIPARIAN AND WETLAND BIRDS Habitat Use of Wintering Bird Communities in Sonora, Mexico: The Importance of Riparian Habitats............................................José Fernando Villaseñor-Gómez 53 Population Trends of Yuma Clapper Rails in the Colorado River Delta, Mexico ... ......................................Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta, Juan José Rivera-Díaz, Helena Iturribarría-Rojas, Alejandra Calvo-Fonseca 69 Densities, Species Richness and Habitat Relationships of the Avian Community in the Colorado River, Mexico...........................................Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta, Helena Iturribarría-Rojas, Enrique Zamora- Hernández, Alejandra Calvo-Fonseca 74 POPULATION TRENDS AND ECOLOGY OF GRASSLAND BIRDS Infl uence of Desertifi cation on Site Occupancy by Grassland and Shrubland Birds During the Non-Breeding Period in the Northern Chihuahuan Desert................ ................................M. Sofi a Agudelo, Martha J. Desmond, and Leigh Murray 84 Winter Diets and Seed Selection of Granivorous Birds in Southwestern New Mexico ......Martha J. Desmond, Cesar Mendez-Gonzalez, and Laurie B. Abbott 101 iii Distribution and Abundance of Breeding Arizona Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum ammolegus) in The Southwestern United States: Past, Present, and Future..............................................................................Janet M. Ruth 113 NEW TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS AND BIRD CONSERVATION PLANNING Seasonal Passerine Migratory Movements over the Arid Southwest ....................... .................................... Rodney K. Felix Jr., Robert H. Diehl, and Janet M. Ruth 126 Applied Conservation Planning and Implementation in the US-Mexico Borderlands ..................................................................................... David Mehlman 138 LITERATURE CITED ......................................................................................................... 146 iv LIST OF AUTHORS LAURIE B. ABBOTT OSVEL HINOJOSA-HUERTA Department of Animal and Range Sciences Pronatura Noroeste P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I Avenida Jalisco 903 New Mexico State University San Luis Río Colorado Las Cruces, NM 88003 Sonora, México 83440 M. SOFIA AGUDELO HELENA ITURRIBARRÍA-ROJAS Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Pronatura Noroeste Ecology Avenida Jalisco 903 P.O. Box 30003, MSC 4901 San Luis Río Colorado New Mexico State University Sonora, México 83440 Las Cruces, NM 88003 DAVID J. KRUEPER TIMOTHY BRUSH U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (MBO) Department of Biology P.O. Box 1306 University of Texas-Pan American Albuquerque, NM 87103 1201 West University Drive Edinburg, TX 78539 DAVID MEHLMAN ALEJANDRA CALVO-FONSECA The Nature Conservancy Pronatura Noroeste 1303 Rio Grande Boulevard NW, Suite 5 Avenida Jalisco 903 Albuquerque, NM 87107 San Luis Río Colorado Sonora, México 83440 CESAR MENDEZ-GONZALEZ Department of Animal and Range Sciences CHARLES T. COLLINS P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I and Department of Biological Sciences Department of Fish, Wildlife and California State University Conservation Ecology Long Beach, CA 90840 P.O. Box 30003, MSC 4901 New Mexico State University MARTHA J. DESMOND Las Cruces, NM 88003 Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology LEIGH MURRAY P.O. Box 30003, MSC 4901 University Statistics Center New Mexico State University P.O. Box 30001, MSC 3CQ Las Cruces, NM 88003 New Mexico State University Las Cruces, NM 88003 ROBERT H. DIEHL Department of Biological Sciences EDUARDO PALACIOS Box 5018 Departmento de Biologia Conservacion University of Southern Mississippi Centro de Investigación Científi ca y de Educación Hattiesburg, MS 39406 Superior de Ensenada (CICESE) Unidad La Paz. Mirafl ores 334 Fracc. Bellavista RODNEY FELIX, JR. La Paz, BCS, México 23050 Department of Biological Sciences Box 5018 University of Southern Mississippi JUAN JOSÉ RIVERA-DÍAZ Hattiesburg, MS 39406 Pronatura Noroeste Avenida Jalisco 903 San Luis Río Colorado AARON D. FLESCH School of Natural Resources Sonora, México 83440 University of Arizona 325 Biological Sciences East JANET M. RUTH Tucson Arizona 85721 U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center MARK FLIPPO Arid Lands Field Station Big Bend National Park Service Biology Department P.O. Box 129 University of New Mexico Big Bend National Park, TX 79834 Albuquerque, NM 87131 v JOSÉ FERNANDO VILLASEÑOR-GÓMEZ ENRIQUE ZAMORA-HERNÁNDEZ Luís de Velasco # 155 Pronatura Noroeste Morelia, Michoacán Avenida Jalisco 903 México 58000 San Luis Río Colorado Sonora, México 83440 ROLAND H. WAUER 315 Padre Lane Victoria, TX 77905 vi Studies in Avian Biology No. 37:1–9 PREFACE JANET M. RUTH, TIMOTHY BRUSH, AND DAVID J. KRUEPER The concept for this volume began as a GEOGRAPHY AND HUMAN POPULATION scientifi c symposium at the North American Ornithological Conference (NAOC) in Veracruz, The US–Mexico borderlands region, stretch- Mexico in October 2006. The symposium ing from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacifi c was entitled “Avian Distributional Change, Ocean, includes southern portions of Texas, Anthropogenic Challenges, and Recent Avian New Mexico, Arizona, and California in the US Research and Technological Advances within and northern portions of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, the US–Mexico Border Region,” and was co- Nuevo León, Chihuahua, Sonora, and Baja chaired by two of us (DJK and TB) along with California