LSNY Transactions V. 9, 1978
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<5>tV [ 115®t TRANSACTIONS OF THE LINNAEAN SOCIETY OF NEW YORK Volume IX Colonial Waterbird Group 2nd Annual Meeting October 20-23, 1978 Invited Papers New York December 1980 THE LINNAEAN SOCIETY OF NEW YORK The Linnaean Society of New York, organized in 1878, is the second oldest of existing American ornithological societies. Regular meetings of the Society are held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month from September to May (fourth Tuesday only in March), inclusive. Informal meetings are held at least once a month during June, July, and August. All meetings are open to the public and are held at the American Museum of Natural History. Persons interested in natural history are eligible for election to membership in the Society. The Society conducts field trips and maintains a circulating library for its members. It distributes free to all members a monthly News-Letter, and every few years an issue of Proceedings containing longer articles and notes of ornithological interest. At irregular intervals the Society publishes longer papers and monographs called Transactions, which members receive free or at a substantial discount. Communications should be addressed to: Secretary, Linnaean Society of New York 15 West 77th Street New York, New York 10024 The following publications may be ordered from the Secretary of the Society: The Species of Middle American Birds, by Eugene Eisenmann. Trans. Linnaean Soc. N.Y. , vol. VII, 128 pp. 1955. A list of all species known to occur from Mexico to Panama inclusive, with scientific and English names, outline of distribution, and annotated regional bibliography. Development of Behavior in Precocial Birds, by Margaret Morse Nice. Trans. Linnaean Soc. N.Y. , vol. VIII, 211 pp., including 19 illustrations, bibliography, two indices. 1962. Other publications of the Linnaean Society of New York are available from the Secretary. TRANSACTIONS OF THE LINNAEAN SOCIETY OF NEW YORK Volume IX Colonial Waterbird Group 2nd Annual Meeting October 20-23, 1978 Invited Papers New York December 1980 © 1980 The Linnaean Society of New York Contents Foreword v Acknowledgments vii The Habitats, Distribution, and Numbers of Northern Seabirds. W. R. P. Bourne 1 The Pelagic Ecology of Seabirds. R. G. B. Brown 15 Population and Colony-Site Trends of Long Island Waterbirds for Five Years in the Mid 1970s. Paul A. Buckley and Francine G. Buckley 23 Coastal Surveys—Northeast and Northwest. William H. Drury 57 Censusing Waterbird Colonies: Some Sampling Experiments. R. Michael Erwin 77 The Effects of Timing of Breeding, Dispersion of Nests, and Habitat Selection on Nesting Success of Colonial Waterbirds. Donald A. McCrimmon, Jr 87 Effects of Toxic Pollutants on Productivity in Colonial Waterbirds. Ian C. T. Nisbet 103 The Influence of Annual Variation in Rainfall and Water Levels on Nesting by Florida Populations of Wading Birds. John C. Ogden, Herbert W. Kale, II, and Stephan A. Nesbitt 115 Census Methods for Gulf Coast Waterbirds. John W. Portnoy 127 Why Are There Different Kinds of Herons? Harry F. Recher and Judy A. Recher 135 A paper by Rudolph Drent was delivered at the symposium but was not submitted for publication. iii FOREWORD The Linnaean Society of New York was that began in 1882 with an article on the ver- founded in 1878 for the study and enjoyment of tebrates of the Adirondacks by C. Hart Mer- natural history in general, and of birds in par- riam, a study of the winter range of the Fish ticular. When the Society’s centennial year ap- Crow by William Dutcher, and a review by proached, it was decided to mark its hundredth Eugene P. Bicknell of the summer birds of an anniversary by serving as host to the Colonial area of the Catskills from which he described, Waterbird Group’s second annual meeting. in the same year, Bicknell’s Thrush. The series The papers published here were invited by has continued with works by Niko Tinbergen the organizers of that meeting. Other papers, and Eugene Eisenmann, as well as Nice’s clas- volunteered for presentation at the symposium, sic Studies in the Life History of the Song have been published separately by the Colonial Sparrow (1937, 19,43). Waterbird Group. This ninth volume of Transactions testifies to The preceding volume of the Transactions of the Linnaean Society’s continuing commitment the Linnaean Society of New York was Devel- to the support of research in ornithology. opment of Behavior in Precocial Birds by Mar- Robert O. Paxton garet Morse Nice (1962), the eighth in a series President v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Centennial Committee of the Linnaean and to enjoy the excellent facilities provided by Society of New York takes this opportunity to the Museum. thank those who participated in the symposium As Chairman of the Centennial Committee, I and contributed the papers that appear in this would like to thank the Committee members as volume. The Linnaean Society of New York well as all those members of the Linnaean So- was pleased to host the second annual meeting ciety of New York who helped make the Cen- of the Colonial Waterbird Group and to sponsor tennial Year a success. We are fortunate to have the symposium as the final event of its Centen- marked a moment in the Society’s history, and nial Year. We were pleased to be able to meet wish it well as it embarks on its second century at the American Museum of Natural History of dedication to and enthusiasm for birds. Centennial Committee Robert S. Arbib Lois Heilbrun Berry Baker Lilia Hind Thomas Davis Anthony J. Lauro Robert W. Dickerman Roy Leaf Joseph DiCostanzo Mary LeCroy Susan Drennan Roger Pasquier Eugene Eisenmann Catherine Pessino Sarah Elliott Richard Sloss John Farrand, Jr. Helene Tetrault Richard E. Harrison We thank the individuals and organizations listed below for their support of the Linnaean Society Centennial year. A National Science Foundation Grant was awarded to the Linnaean Society to sponsor the symposium on Colonial Species of Waterbirds, which began the second annual meeting of the Colonial Waterbird Group, the final event of the Centennial year. The papers given at the symposium appear in this volume, and we thank the Scherman Foundation, Inc. for support for this publication. Helen Hays, Chairman Patrons Mr. Robert S. Arbib Mrs. Douglas Heilbrun Mrs. Matthew Drennan Dr. and Mrs. Allan Inglis Mr. Ralph Friedman Mr. John Kieran Mr. Gordon Gavan Mr. Anthony J. Lauro Mrs. Harvey Gaylord Mr. Roy Leaf Mr. and Mrs. Henry B. Guthrie Mrs. Mary LeCroy Mr. and Mrs. Richard Edes Harrison Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel Levine Ms. Helen Hays Ms. Eleanor T. Mattusch Vll Mr. and Mrs. Eugene T. Mudge Mr. and Mrs. William H. Phelps Mrs. C. W. Nichols, Jr. Ms. Eleanor B. Rittmaster Dr. Kenneth C. Parkes Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Sloss Dr. Robert O. Paxton Ms. Helene Tetrault Ms. Catherine Pessino Mr. G. Bernard Van Cleve Dr. and Mrs. Roger Tory Peterson Mr. and Mrs. William Wigton Donors Dr. and Mrs. Dean Amadon Miss Sheila Madden Mr. Howard P. Brokaw Ms. Jean Mailey Ms. Margaret E. Clark Dr. Richard H. Pough Mrs. Matthew Cormons Ms. Lydia C. Scalera Ms. Ema Hansen Dr. and Mrs. Richard L. Soffer Ms. Lilia Hind Dr. and Mrs. Walter R. Spofford Ms. Helen Hirschbein Ms. Charlene Talbot Mr. and Mrs. John L. Hoffman Mr. and Mrs. Barrie Wanless Mr. and Mrs. Robert Krinsky Ms. Estelle Wolf Contributors Mr. Cyrus Austin Ms. Margery Hundley Dr. Frank E. Bader Mr. Paul H. Jeheber Ms. Berry Baker Mr. E. F. Kinkead Dr. and Mrs. H. Bengelsdorf Mr. and Mrs. Allan Komfeld Dr. Frank and Mrs. Alice E. Bisk Dr. and Mrs. Michael Linshaw Mr. Thomas H. Davis Mr. Griffin Littell Mrs. Jerome Degen Ms. Marcia B. Marks Ms. Jean Dorman Mr. Karl F. Mueller Ms. Monica Eisner Ms. Carole Louise Neidich Mr. Franklin Farrel, 3rd Ms. Katharine O’Hare Mr. Walter Friton Brother Austin O’Malley F.S.C. Mr. and Mrs. Frank N. Gillette Ms. Alice Oliveri Mr. and Mrs. Robert Grant Mr. Simon Stepinoff Ms. Jill Hamilton Ms. Eileen M. Ward Mrs. Bernard J. Hamilton Mr. Marc Weinberger Ms. Dorothy Hermansdorfer Dr. Andrew B. Weir Ms. Patricia Ann Hoppee Mr. and Mrs. David Williams Foundations The National Science Foundation The Scherman Foundation, Inc. Organizations American Sponge and Chamois Company Huntington Audubon Society Buckley School John Burroughs Clubs: Darien Audubon Society Johnstown, N.Y. —New Paltz, N.Y. Great Gull Island Project Moriches Bay Audubon Society Great South Bay Audubon Society New Canaan Audubon Society Greenleaf Nature Club Overseas Service League Hudson Valley Audubon Society Puro Corporation of America viii Rockland Audubon Society World Nature Association Saw Mill River Audubon Society Yonkers Audubon Society South Shore Audubon Society Editor’s Note The members of the Editorial Committee who participated in the preparation for publication of this volume of the Transactions were Eugene Eisenmann, John Farrand, Jr., and Susan Wemert. I am grateful to them, and to Helen Hays for her helpful comments and suggestions. I would also like to express my appreciation to those who assisted in the publication of these transactions—Catherine Pessino, my predecessor as Editor, Berry Baker, Mary LeCroy, and Elinor Conklin, who transcribed the Comments at the symposium. Marc Weinberger IX THE HABITATS, DISTRIBUTION, AND NUMBERS OF NORTHERN SEABIRDS W.R.P. Bourne Department of Zoology, Aberdeen University, Scotland It is a pleasure to be asked to address one of another remarkable publication from this mu- the more original as well as lively of the seum. This upwelling is particularly marked groups formed to study waterbirds around the where the prevailing wind blows the surface world. This is especially the case when the water offshore along the lee side of land meeting commemorates the centenary of the masses (Fig.