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Birds of Sonoran Desert Xeric Thorn Woodlands & Mojave Wilderness

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Birds of Sonoran Desert Xeric Thorn Woodlands & Mojave Wilderness Birds of Sonoran Desert Xeric Thorn Woodlands & Mojave Wilderness Integrity Assessment 2012 Progress Report Chris McCreedy PRBO Conservation Science 3820 Cypress Drive, No. 11 Petaluma, CA 94954 PRBO Contribution No. 1914 December 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4 SUMMARY 5 BACKGROUND 6 CHAPTER 1: PATTERNS OF BIRD SPECIES COMPOSITION, RICHNESS, AND ABUNDANCE 8 1.1 METHODS 1.1.1 Point Count Censuses 8 1.1.2 California Natural Diversity Database 9 1.1.3 Breeding Status 9 1.1.4 Point Count Vegetation Assessments 10 1.1.5 Statistical Analyses and Definitions 10 1.1.6 Off-Highway Vehicle Use Assessments 11 1.2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 1.2.1 Species of Concern 12 1.2.2 Breeding Confirmations of Listed Species 13 Bell’s Vireo 13 Bendire’s Thrasher 13 Long-eared Owl 14 Gila Woodpecker 14 Lawrence’s Goldfinch 15 1.2.3 Species of Concern Documented at New Study Sites Initiated in 2012 15 Corn Spring 15 Palen-McCoy Wilderness 15 Mojave Wilderness Areas 16 1.2.4 Precipitation 17 1.2.5 Breeding Species Diversity, Richness, and Abundance 20 1.2.6 Migrant Species Diversity, Richness, and Abundance 24 1.2.7 Mojave Wilderness Surveys: A Lack of Data 25 1.2.8 Patterns of Off-Highway Vehicle Use 25 2 CHAPTER 2: MONITORING RECOMMENDATIONS 27 LITERATURE CITED 29 APPENDIX A Point Count Station Locations 31 APPENDIX B Plant Species Encountered During Habitat Assessments 43 APPENDIX C Bird Species Encountered and Breeding Statuses 45 San Bernardino County Sites 45 Riverside County Sites 48 New Riverside County Sites established in 2012 52 Imperial County Sites 54 Mojave Wilderness Points established in 2012 57 Cover photograph: Chris McCreedy 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful for the financial and logistical support of the OHMVR Division of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Arizona Bird Conservation Initiative, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, BLM California and Arizona State Offices, the BLM El Centro, Lake Havasu, Palm Springs/South Coast, Needles, Tucson and Phoenix field offices, the Arizona Department of Game and Fish, and the staff, board and members of PRBO Conservation Science. Christine Bates, Daniel Steward, Jim Weigand, Thomas Bickauskas, and Francisco Mendoza (BLM) assisted with site selections. Alicia Rabas (BLM) assisted with plant identification, and provided housing for crew members surveying the Havasu NWR. Willow Dressel (BLM) piloted our crew to points in Topock Gorge. Charles Jason Tinant (BLM) assisted with nest searching, plant identification and vegetation assessments, and unfettered enthusiasm. Tom Johnson, Matt Sabatine, Len Warren (2012); Cassidy Grattan, Elizabeth Donadio, Emily Strelow, Andrew Tillinghast, Alex Wang, Paul Taillie, Alicia Young (2010);Colin Woolley, Rob Klotz, Caanan Cowles, Kim Kreitinger, Justin Hite (2009); Kelly Iknayan, Michelle Gibson, and Caroline Ailanathus (2008); Karl Bardon and Eileen Mueller (2007); Branden Wilson (2006); Jora Rehm-Lorber (2005); Stuart Johnson and Cali Crampton (University of Nevada-Reno) nest searched Chemehuevi nest plots (2004). Stella Moss, Ryan Carle, Colin Woolley, Sean Fitzgerald, and Kelly Iknayan (2008), John Felis, Courtenay Ray, Emily Morris, Scott Davies, Adrian Skok, and Tana Ellis (2007); Roy Churchwell, Tana Ellis, Alissa Fogg, and Justin Hite (2006); Justin Hite, Branden Wilson, Kristie Nelson, Dan Barton, Viola Toniolo (2005); Cliff Cordy, Alison Petersen, Mark Fogg (2004), Daniel Stewart (BLM) conducted point count surveys and vegetation assessments. Sacha Heath, Robert Meese, Geoffrey Geupel and Jim Weigand provided helpful comments on reports and feedback on study design and implementation. This is PRBO Contribution 1914. 4 SUMMARY In 2012 PRBO Conservation Science completed a ninth consecutive season of bird and off-road vehicle (OHV) trail surveys in the xeric thorn woodlands of southeastern California’s Sonoran Desert. We surveyed thirteen core study sites (393 points, 2,777 hectares) in eastern San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial Counties and four new sites (89 points, 629 ha) in eastern Riverside County. These study sites are located on lands managed by the Needles, Lake Havasu City, Palm Springs, and El Centro BLM Field Offices and the Metropolitan Water District. In addition, we established and surveyed 195 Mojave Desert points (1,378 ha) to assess the condition of BLM-managed wilderness edges in northeastern San Bernardino County. In total, we conducted point count surveys at 677 points in 2012, covering roughly 4,784 hectares of Sonoran and Mojave Desert habitats (Figure 1). Results include: . Drought: The Lower Colorado River Valley/southeastern California region received, on average, less than 50% of its average winter precipitation in 2012. We have previously found positive correlation between winter precipitation and bird abundance and diversity (McCreedy 2011). Following this pattern, we found low bird abundance and diversity at many of our core study sites in 2012. Bird abundance at several sites approached lows following the severe droughts of 2006 and 2007. Spotty geographic distribution of winter precipitation: Regional winter rainfall patterns have historically been relatively simple to assess during our study. In general, the northern half of the Lower Colorado River Valley has tended to receive more winter precipitation than the valley’s southern half, and we have found winter drought condition to be relatively uniform throughout the entire region during each year of our work. Yet in 2012, we found small-scale but dramatic local differences in drought condition, even within single transects. Bird abundance and diversity estimates for 2012 would have been lower if not for these small pockets of isolated but higher rainfall. Patterns in OHV-use: As a whole, we found OHV trail density to increase across the entire study area from 2010, approaching trail density highs recorded in 2007. We recorded our greatest increases in trail density at Picacho Wash, Milpitas Wash, and Upper Chemehuevi Wash. As in previous years, we found evidence of illegal OHV use in signed areas to be common, though we recorded decreases in trail density both at the Riverside Mountains and Palo Verde Mountains Wilderness Areas from levels found in 2010. Discoveries at new Sonoran Desert sites in Riverside County: We found State Endangered Elf Owls and Gila Woodpeckers present at Corn Spring. This is the only remaining site in California where Elf Owls are still suspected to breed. We detected Curve-billed Thrashers and Pyrrhuloxia (only Riverside County’s fourth and third records, respectively) at the Palen-McCoy Wilderness. In spite of the season’s drought conditions, we established breeding statuses for a number of species, expanding known breeding distributions of California Species of Special Concern such as Crissal Thrasher and Lucy’s Warbler. New Mojave Desert sites in northeastern San Bernardino County: New sites included points in the Kingston Range, Mesquite, Stateline, and North Mesquite Mountains Wilderness areas. Drought conditions here were as severe (if not more so) as those experienced at Sonoran Desert sites. Bird abundance was very low, and we did not detect breeding for any species due to the dry conditions. However, we documented the presence of State Endangered Gilded Flickers at Mesquite Wilderness points. In addition, we noted 15 – 20 pairs of Le Conte’s Thrashers (a species of management concern) at Kingston, Mesquite, and North Mesquite Mountains sites. 5 BACKGROUND PRBO Conservation Science has conducted nine years of bird and vegetation surveys using point count methodology across Sonoran Desert wash habitats in southeastern California, beginning in 2003. In addition, PRBO has completed five years of territory mapping, nest and vegetation monitoring, at Chemehuevi Wash in eastern San Bernardino County The purpose of the Xeric Thorn Woodland and Mojave Wilderness Integrity Assessment studies are to: Provide the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) with baseline demographic data on both breeding and migrant bird populations that rely on Mojave Desert wilderness and on Sonoran Desert thorn woodlands Examine potential conflicts between off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation and both breeding and migrant bird populations that rely on Mojave Desert wilderness and Sonoran Desert thorn woodlands. Provide the BLM with recommendations on best management practices in order to maintain and even increase breeding and migrant bird populations that rely on these habitats. Assess other (e.g. non-recreation) variables that may affect breeding and migrant bird populations in southeastern California, including feral burro overgrazing, Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism, and habitat associations. Provide management recommendations for BLM, California Department of Fish and Game, and other land management agencies. Further expand and refine these recommendations as we build sample sizes for more complex analyses. Point count surveys in California began in the pilot season of 2003, when PRBO surveyed 144 points established by the BLM State Office and Needles Field Office. PRBO and the BLM added several hundred more points to the study in 2004, and additional points in 2005, 2007 and 2012 (in California and also in Arizona, via Arizona-based funding sources). In total, PRBO has conducted point count surveys at 1,409 stations at least twice during the 2003-2012 study, documenting bird presence, relative abundance, and species richness. These 1,409 stations were established across 46 sites in San Diego, Imperial, Riverside, San
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