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Secretive Marshbird Abundance, Distribution and Habitat Use in Nebraska

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Secretive Marshbird Abundance, Distribution and Habitat Use in Nebraska SECRETIVE MARSHBIRD ABUNDANCE, DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT USE IN NEBRASKA Lauren Dinan, Joel Jorgensen, and Mary Bomberger Brown WHAT IS A MARSHBIRD? MARSHBIRDS WHAT IS A SECRETIVE MARSHBIRD? SECRETIVE MARSHBIRDS WHY IS THIS STUDY IMPORTANT? 1. POOR INFORMATION • A number of species are difficult to detect during traditional surveys – Nocturnal Species – Highly Secretive Species • Very little information about these species 1. POOR INFORMATION IN THE RWB • Past bird observations are limited • Recent studies focus on waterfowl and migratory birds • Very little info on secretive marshbirds • Secretive marshbirds were likely more common breeders in the past 2. EVALUATING AT- RISK SPECIES STATUS • Black Rail – Current State Status: Uncertain – Only a handful of records – Help inform future ESA listing decision • King Rail – Current State Status : Uncertain – Known to occur in eastern and central Nebraska – Declining range-wide – NNLP: Tier II At-risk Species – High Conservation Priority 3. INFORM HARVEST DECISIONS • Virginia Rail, Sora, and American Coot • Seasons and bag limits are set with virtually no information • Seasons and bag limits are liberal but hunting pressure is traditionally light Species Season Dates Bag/Possession Limits Virginia Rail Sept. 1 - Nov. 9, 2016 10/30 Sora Sept. 1 - Nov. 9, 2016 10/30 American Coot Same as Duck Season 15/45 4. RESTORATION AND MANAGEMENT • The lack of information is troublesome • Decisions are constantly being made • These decisions have implications for secretive marshbirds • RWB Example – Wetlands/landscape have changed dramatically and continues to change today – A number of RWB wetlands have been restored 4. RESTORATION AND MANAGEMENT • Information from this project will help: – Improve future decisions – Evaluate past decisions and successes • Focus has traditionally been on waterfowl and migratory bird use • Breeding bird communities provide broader insight into the overall functionality of wetlands OBJECTIVES 1. Estimate species occupancy and/or density in Nebraska’s major wetland complexes 2. Evaluate the influence of local and landscape level variables on secretive marshbird breeding species 3. Develop a long-term monitoring plan for Nebraska’s secretive marshbirds and wetland breeding bird species FOCAL REGIONS FOCUS SPECIES Code Common Name Scientific Name VIRA1 Virginia Rail Rallus limicola KIRA* King Rail Rallus elegans BLRA Black Rail Laterallus jamaicensis SORA1 Sora Porzana carolina AMBI American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus LEBI Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis COGA Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata PBGR Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps 1 AMCO American Coot Fulica americana * NNLP Tier I & Tier II at-risk species 1 Game species in Nebraska ADDITIONAL SPECIES Code Common Name Scientific Name EAGRAlpha CodeEared Grebe Common NamePodiceps Scientific nigricollis Name CAEGVIRA Cattle EgretVirginia Rail BubulcusRallus ibis limicola BCNH*KIRA* Black-crownedKing Night Rail -Heron NycticoraxRallus nycticorax elegans WFIB*BLRA White-facedBlack Ibis Rail PlegadisLaterallus chihi jamaicensis GLIBSORA Glossy Ibis Sora PlegadisPorzana falcinellus carolina SACRAMBI Sandhill CraneAmerican Bittern Grus canadensisBotaurus lentiginosus BNST*LEBI Black-neckedLeast Stilt Bittern HimantopusIxobrychus mexicanus exilis WISN*COMO1 Wilson’s SnipeCommon MoorhenGallinago Gallinula delicata galeata FOTE*PBGR Forster’s TernPied -billed Grebe Sterna forsteriPodilymbus podiceps BLTE*AMCO Black Tern American Coot ChlidoniasFulica niger americana *NNLP Tier II at-risk species MAWR Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris YHBL Yellow-headed Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus GTGR Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus * NNLP Tier I & Tier II at-risk species 1 Game species in Nebraska COORDINATION PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATORS: RWBJV NGPC & UNL collaborator NGPC Ducks WMAs USFWS NWRs Unlimited (Crescent Lake & Valentine) USFWS RWB Lower Platte WMD (WPAs) South NRD SITE SELECTION • Surveyed sites with public access • National Wetlands Inventory – Palustrine Wetlands – Lacustrine Wetlands • Randomly selected wetlands • Randomly assigned survey points (>400m apart) • RWB pre-survey site visit • Did not survey completely dry wetlands SURVEY METHODS • Survey Approaches 1. Call-broadcast Point Counts → focused on secretive marshbirds 2. Opportunistic Observations → focused on all wetland birds • Survey Windows: – Window 1 → 15 May – 13 June – Window 2 → 14 June – 10 July • Survey Period: – Morning → 30 minutes before sunrise to 3 hours after – Evening → 3 hours before sunset to 30 minutes after SURVEY METHODS • At each site record: • At each point record: – Wetland Complex – Location Description – Survey Site – Background Noise Level – Cover-to-Water Ratio – Sky Condition – Interspersion – Water Condition, Depth, – Dominant Vegetation and Clarity – Temp. and Wind Speed CALL BROADCAST SURVEYS Time Activity Description 5:00 5 minute point count in silence (verbal statement at each minute) 6:00 30 seconds Black Rail calls, 30 seconds silence 7:00 30 seconds Least Bittern calls, 30 seconds silence 8:00 30 seconds Sora calls, 30 seconds silence 9:00 30 seconds Virginia Rail calls , 30 seconds silence 10:00 30 seconds King Rail calls, 30 seconds silence 11:00 30 seconds American Bittern calls, 30 seconds silence 12:00 30 seconds Common Gallinule calls, 30 seconds silence 13:00 30 seconds American Coot calls, 30 seconds silence 14:00 30 seconds Pied-billed Grebe calls, 30 seconds silence (“stop”) Total Time = 14 minutes YEAR #1 PRELIMINARY RESULTS • Total Wetlands Surveyed = 54 WETLAND COMPLEX WETLAND LOCATION – RWB = 22 – CLNWR = 8 wetlands – Sandhills = 25 – VNWR = 12 wetlands – ESW = 4 – WMAs = 25 wetlands – Others = 3 – WPAs = 8 wetlands – – NRD = 1 wetland • Points Surveyed • Survey Effort – Window 1 = 214 – 1 Party – Window 2 = 177 – 2 individuals RWB WETLANDS # of Wetlands Surveyed - Window 1 = 22 - Window 2 = 15 # of Points Surveyed - Window 1 = 105 - Window 2 = 81 # of Marshbird Detections - Window 1 = 240 - Window 2 = 147 RWB WETLANDS Site Name Complex Type # of Points Kissinger Basin WMA RWB WMA 7 Bluebill WMA RWB WMA 1 Rauscher WMA RWB WMA 5 Sandpiper WMA RWB WMA 2 Hansen WPA RWB WPA 5 Moger WPA RWB WPA 2 Pintail WMA RWB WMA 8 Sac.-Wilcox WMA RWB WMA 14 Harvard WPA RWB WPA 13 Kirkpatrick Basin North WMA RWB WMA 4 Kirkpatrick Basin South WMA RWB WMA 2 Straightwater WMA RWB WMA 3 Shypoke WMA RWB WMA 2 Mallard Haven WPA RWB WPA 8 Greenwing WMA RWB WMA 2 Sora WMA RWB WMA 3 Massie WPA RWB WPA 11 Real WPA RWB WPA 3 County Line WPA RWB WPA 5 Hidden Marsh WMA RWB WMA 1 Heron WPA RWB WPA 3 Greenhead WMA RWB WMA 2 YEAR #1 PRELIMINARY RESULTS Black Rail – Harvard WPA – June 15th – Responded to Black Rail, Virginia Rail, King Rail, American Bittern, American Coot, and Pied-billed Grebe calls King Rail – Cottonwood/Steverson WMA – June 8th – Responded to King Rail call – Unexpected in Sandhills YEAR #1 PRELIMINARY RESULTS Least Bittern Wetland Complex # of Detections # of Detections (May 15th – June 13th) (June 14th – July 10th) Sandhills Wetlands 12 12 Rainwater Basin Wetlands 1 3 Eastern Saline Wetlands 0 0 Additional Sites 0 0 TOTAL 13 15 Photo by USFWS YEAR #1 PRELIMINARY RESULTS American Bittern Wetland Complex # of Detections # of Detections (May 15th – June 13th) (June 14th – July 10th) Sandhills Wetlands 72 15 Rainwater Basin Wetlands 38 24 Eastern Saline Wetlands 0 0 Additional Sites 0 0 TOTAL 110 39 YEAR #1 PRELIMINARY RESULTS Sora Wetland Complex # of Detections # of Detections (May 15th – June 13th) (June 14th – July 10th) Sandhills Wetlands 16 6 Rainwater Basin Wetlands 40 12 Eastern Saline Wetlands 1 0 Additional Sites 3 0 TOTAL 60 18 Photo by Scalder Photography YEAR #1 PRELIMINARY RESULTS Virginia Rail Wetland Complex # of Detections # of Detections (May 15th – June 13th) (June 14th – July 10th) Sandhills Wetlands 27 49 Rainwater Basin Wetlands 0 8 Eastern Saline Wetlands 0 1 Additional Sites 1 0 TOTAL 28 58 Photo by Kenneth Kearney YEAR #1 PRELIMINARY RESULTS NEXT STEPS 1. One more year of field work 2. Year two data entry 3. Extensive data analysis and summarization ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Eric Bruster and Cody McGregor for conducting the first year of field work for this project and to Leandra Walters for assisting with data entry for this project. Thanks to NGPC Wildlife Division staff and WMA managers, Marlin French and Brian DeVries at CLNWR, Juancarlos Giese and Melvin Nenneman at VNWR, John Denton and Tim Horst with Ducks Unlimited, Andy Bishop and Dana Varner with RWBJV, and all others that helped in make this project a success. QUESTIONS SANDHILLS WETLANDS Site Name Complex Type # of Points Dewey Lake Sandhills VNWR 12 North Marsh Lake Sandhills VNWR 6 Cottonwood/Steverson WMA Sandhills WMA 4 McKeel Lake Sandhills VNWR 2 Unk 14 Sandhills VNWR 1 Unk 15 Sandhills VNWR 1 Willow Lake Sandhills VNWR 3 Hackberry Lake Sandhills VNWR 15 Pony Lake Sandhills VNWR 5 Little Hay Lake Sandhills VNWR 1 Unk 17 Sandhills VNWR 1 Pelican Lake Sandhills VNWR 1 Duck Lake Sandhills VNWR 1 Hackberry Lake Sandhills CLNWR 5 Island Lake Sandhills CLNWR 10 Goose Lake Sandhills CLNWR 5 Gimlet Lake Sandhills CLNWR 2 Crane Lake Sandhills CLNWR 4 Smith Lake Sandhills CLNWR 4 Unk 4 Sandhills CLNWR 1 Unk 5 Sandhills CLNWR 1 Yellowthroat WMA Sandhills WMA 4 Fry Lake WMA Sandhills WMA 3 Avocet WMA Sandhills WMA 1 DeFair WMA Sandhills WMA 2 ESW & OTHERS Site Name Complex Type # of Points Arbor Lake ESW WMA 1 Whitehead Weland ESW NRD 2 Jacksinn (East) WMA ESW WMA 8 Little Salt Fork Complex ESW WMA 5 Fleisbach WMA Other WMA 5 Don Dwarak WMA Other WMA 2 Wilkinson WMA Other WMA 1 RWB WETLANDS Site Name Complex Type # of Points Kissinger Basin WMA RWB WMA 7 Bluebill WMA RWB WMA 1 Rauscher WMA RWB WMA 5 Sandpiper WMA RWB WMA 2 Hansen WPA RWB WPA 5 Moger WPA RWB WPA 2 Pintail WMA RWB WMA 8 Sac.-Wilcox WMA RWB WMA 14 Harvard WPA RWB WPA 13 Kirkpatrick Basin North WMA RWB WMA 4 Kirkpatrick Basin South WMA RWB WMA 2 Straightwater WMA RWB WMA 3 Shypoke WMA RWB WMA 2 Mallard Haven WPA RWB WPA 8 Greenwing WMA RWB WMA 2 Sora WMA RWB WMA 3 Massie WPA RWB WPA 11 Real WPA RWB WPA 3 County Line WPA RWB WPA 5 Hidden Marsh WMA RWB WMA 1 Heron WPA RWB WPA 3 Greenhead WMA RWB WMA 2 .
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