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The Abundance and Migration of Shorebirds at Two Puget Sound Estuaries

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The Abundance and Migration of Shorebirds at Two Puget Sound Estuaries THE ABUNDANCE AND MIGRATION OF SHOREBIRDS AT TWO PUGET SOUND ESTUARIES JOSEPH B. BUCHANAN, CascadiaResearch Collective, 2181/2 W. Fourth Avenue, Olympia, Washington98501 The timingand magnitudeof shorebirdmigration has been documented at severalareas along the Pacificcoast of North America, primarilyCalifornia (Recher 1966, Page et al. 1979) and Washington (Widrig 1979, Herman and Bulger 1981). Few studiesin this region have been conductedaway from the outer coast.In Washington,only Van Velzen (1973) has described shorebirdmigration at noncoastalsites. Because of the dearthof information on shorebirdabundance and migrationin thisregion (but see seasonalsum- maries in American Birds), I here provide informationon the year-round abundanceand migrationtiming of shorebirdsat two small estuariesin the south Puget Sound of westernWashington. STUDY AREA AND METHODS The two studysites, Eld Inlet and TottenInlet (KennedyCreek delta), are adjacent inlets 7 km apart at the south end of Puget Sound in western Washington(Figure 1). Both inletsare relativelysmall, having tidal flats of ca. 600 ha exposedat Mean Lower Low Water. A smallsalt marsh (ca. 3 ha) is presentat Totten Inlet, but saltmarsh is virtually absent at Eld Inlet, where the largestcontiguous salt marsh covers only 30 m2. The tidal flatsat Eld Inlet are deeplycut by distributaryand creekchannels, whereas the tidalflats at Totten Inlet exhibit less relief. Whether this difference produces differencesin the mobilityof sedimentor in the stratificationof grainsizes sufficient to influence the distributionand abundance of invertebratesis unknown (see Ferns 1983, Hicklin and Smith 1984). Brennan et al. (1985) and Buchanan (in press) described the sites further. I visitedEld Inlet on 293 daysbetween July 1980 and March 1983, Totten Inlet on 196 days between April 1980 and March 1988. A summary of my field effort at each site is presentedin Table 1. Shorebirdswere counted im- mediately before or after roostingperiods, increasingthe likelihoodof ac- curate counts. When shorebirds were abundant (> 1000 birds), their numbers were estimated by hundreds; otherwise, birds were estimated by tens or counted individually. SPECIES ACCOUNTS Black-belliedPlover (Pluvialissquatarola). This specieswas noted only twice at Eld Inlet (Table 2). It was common at Totten Inlet (Table 3), where populations each winter remained fairly stable, although there was con- siderablevariation in numbersfrom year to year (Table 4; see Discussion below). Spring migrantsbegan to arrive in the third week of March, and the peak of springpassage occurred late in April. Small numbersof birdswere occasionallyobserved during summer; birds in winter plumage present in Western Birds 19:69-78, 1988 69 SHOREBIRDS AT PUGET SOUND June and early July presumablyspent the summer south of the breeding grounds(see Loftin 1962). There was no distinctpeak in the fall migration, and numbersin fall were never higherthan the eventualwinter population. Widrig (1979), reportingon shorebirdmigration at LeadbetterPoint on the outer coastof Washington,noted a distinctpeak in autumn migration(early August) but not in spring migration. Similarly, Herman and Bulger (1981) did not detect any peaks between 25 April and 14 May at Grays Harbor, Washington. SemipalmatedPlover (Charadriussernipalrnatus). This wasan uncommon speciesat the two studysites, neither of which has the sandytide flatsthis sp.eciesseems to prefer. Spring migrantswere noted between26 April and 13 May. Autumn migration spanned the period 18 July through 13 September. Killdeer (C. uociferus).This locally nestingspecies was recorded in all months. The high number of birds recorded in late summer at both sites o 1 2 124 ø 122 ø 120 ø 118 ø • WASHINGTON S•ud••,••' Figure 1. Locationof the two studysites in westernWashington. 7O SHOREBIRDS AT PUGET SOUND reflectedthe presenceof largenumbers of juveniles.I noted littleevidence of springmigration at either site; however,fall migrationpeaked in October. American Avocet (Recurvirostraamericana). On 24 August 1981 a male (sexdetermination based on bill shape; see Prater et al. 1977) stillshowing a tinge of rust on its head and neck was observedat Eld Inlet. This was prob- ably the samebird observedat Totten Inlet on 3 September1981 (M. Finger pets. comm.). This speciesis rare in westernWashington. GreaterYellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca). This specieswas commonand conspicuousin autumn, winter, and springat both sites.Peaks in both spring and autumn migrationwere noted, with peak numbersoccurring in April and September(see Buchananin press). Individualsoccasionally seen during June presumablyspent the summermonths south of the breedinggrounds. Winter populationsvaried from year to year (Table 4). LesserYellowlegs (T. flavipes).This specieswas rarely encountered,and all recordsexcept one are from autumn. The singlespring sighting was of an individualat Eld Inlet on 11 April 1981. At Eld Inlet a singlebird was ob- servedon 3 August 1981, and I saw up to 4 birdsin late September1980. Two birdswere presentfrom 14 Augustto 13 Septemberin 1986 at Totten Inlet. SpottedSandpiper (Actit:is macularia). Seen in all monthsexcept June at Eld Inlet, where it was uncommonbut regular;rarely seen at Totten Inlet be- tween May and November. No distinctmigratory peaks were noted, althoughthe specieswas most common from Septemberthrough January at Eld Inlet. The SpottedSandpiper nests in westernWashington (Jewett et al. 1953). Whimbrel(Numenius phaeopus). A singlebird observed on 21 May 1982 on oysterbeds at Eld Inlet was the only one recordedduring this study. This speciesis uncommon in south Puget Sound. Ruddy Turnstone(Arenaria interpres). Three birdson 6 May and one on 9 May 1987 at Totten Inlet are thisstudy's only recordsand apparentlythe first of this specieswest of Tacoma in south Puget Sound (W. Tweit pets. comm.). Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri). An uncommon winter resident and abundantmigrant at Totten Inlet (seeTables 3 and 4). It was absentduring two of three wintersat Eld Inlet. The peak of springmigration occurred late in Table 1 Average Number of Visits Each Month to Eld Inlet, 1980-1983, and to Totten Inlet, 1980-1988 Eld Totten Eld Totten Month Inlet Inlet Month Inlet Inlet Jan 8.3 2.8 Jul 9.0 2.0 Feb 7.7 2.5 Aug 9.3 2.3 Mar 12.7 3.0 Sep 8.0 1.5 Apr 13.0 3.4 Oct 6.7 1.5 May 7.0 1 4 Nov 11.7 1.8 Jun 2.5 1.0 Dec 9.3 1.5 71 • u'• c,,i •. o ½'G o • • ,• o o c• • o (30 C• 0 ,-• 0 0 ,-• ',.ID • 0 0 ['.,. •3 ["-. • 0 • 0 • • 0•00 • ,-• u3 0 • •{D • 0 0 0 •-• Cq 0 o (30 0 u3 u3 0 C• ,-• • • 0 o E E x 73 SHOREBIRDS AT PUGET SOUND April and was brief; I have no recordsafter 13 May. This patternof abun- dance during springin Washingtonhas been noted by others (Van Velzen 1973, Widrig 1979, Herman and Bulger 1981). My earliestrecord for autumn migrantswas on 2 July 1986. Autumn migrationtypically exhibited two peaks, the first in mid to late August and the second in mid to late September.This is similarto the patternnoted by Widrig (1979), althoughat LeadbetterPoint, Widrig observeda substantialpeak of postbreedingadults in late June and early July. Most fall migrantsin Puget Sound are juveniles. In south Puget Sound the autumn migrationof Western Sandpipersoccurs during a period of relativelylow diurnal low tides and is largelycompleted one monthbefore the firstlarge flocks of Dunlinsarrive. This migration timing is probably dictated largely by differing breeding schedulesand seasonal availabilityof prey in the Arctic (Holmes 1972), althoughthe availabilityof habitat and prey during migration (Schneiderand Harrington 1981) and reduced competition with other sandpipers(Recher 1966) have been sug- gestedas timing mechanisms. Least Sandpiper (C. minutilla). This specieswas more common in autumn than in spring and appeared to be slightlymore common at Totten Inlet. Spring migrantswere observedbetween 24 April and 7 May, while autumn migrationspanned a much greater period (6 July-22 September). Dunlin (C. alpina). Exceptduring early fall and brieflyin spring,this was the mostabundant species at bothstudy sites. During winter this species con- stituted>95% of all shorebirds,regardless of the yearly variation in its population(Table 4; seeDiscussion below). Populations generally fluctuated very little within a singlewinter. If a gradual northward movement of birds from Californiaoccurs during winter, as suggestedby Holmes (1966) and Widrig (1979), it is not evidentin southPuget Sound until after mid-March. Table 4 Yearly variationin Peak Wintera Countsof Black-belliedPlovers, Greater Yellowlegs, Western Sandpipers, and Dunlins at Totten Inlet, 1980-1988 Black- bellied Greater Western Plover Yellowlegs Sandpiper Dunlin 1980-81 68 16 132 2400 1981-82 65 12 100 4100 1982-83 67 19 87 2450 L983-84 68 7 50 2030 1984-85 104 13 110 4400 1985-86 103 8 8 2550 1986-87 99 15 120 2650 1987-88 102 19 180 4130 c.v.(%) b 22.2 33.2 53.0 30.7 "December,January, February. bCoefficientof variation= standarddeviation/mean. 74 SHOREBIRDS AT PUGET SOUND Table S Comparisonof SpeciesRichness at Eld Inlet, Totten Inlet, and Leadbetter Pointø Eld Totten Leadbetter Month Inlet Inlet Point Jan 5 6 8 Feb 5 5 8 Mar 5 6 10 Apr 9 8 19 May 8 11 22 Jun 2 4 16 Jul 6 8 20 Aug 8 11 26 Sep 5 9 27 Oct 8 8 17 Nov 6 7 11 Dec 5 7 10 •From Widrig (1979). The peak of springmigration occurred late in April in all years, and passage was completedby 8 May. This timinghas been documentedby others(Van Velzen 1973, Widrig 1979, Herman and Bulger 1981). A protracted southwardmovement of juvenileson the outer coastduring November has been hypothesized(Buchanan et al. 1986). A brief passageof up to 2100 birdsduring November 1982 at Eld Inlet suggestsan occasionallate autumn movementthrough Puget Sound. The earliestautumn migrantsW•re ob- served on 17 October in 1982 and 1983. This is in contrast to arrival dates at LeadbetterPoint, where Widrig (1979) recorded this speciesthroughout summerand early fall; however, the timingat my studysites coincides with the arrival of the first large Dunlin flocks at LeadbetterPoint. Stilt Sandpiper(l•icropalama himantopus). A juvenilewas observed at Eld Inlet on 6 October1980, for the only recordduring this study.
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