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Buffalo River Wildlife Survey Report Body FINAL 2012 Terrestrial Vertebrate Wildlife Survey of the Lower Buffalo River March 15, 2013 A Wildlife Survey of the Lower Buffalo River Area of Concern, Buffalo, Erie County, New York Prepared For: Buffalo-Niagara Riverkeeper 1250 Niagara St., Buffalo, NY 14213 Prepared By: Applied Ecological Services, Inc. 10 Balligomingo Road, 3rd Floor Conshohocken, PA 19428 and Conservation Connects P.O. Box 358, Alexander, NY 14005 1 FINAL 2012 Terrestrial Vertebrate Wildlife Survey of the Lower Buffalo River March 15, 2013 Table of Contents 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5 1.1 Project Background …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 1.2 Project Area …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6 1.3 Quality Assurance Project Plan ...…………………………………………………………………………….. 6 2. Methods and Materials …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7 2.1 Survey Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7 Habitat ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7 Avifauna ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8 Herpetofauna ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8 Mammals ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8 General ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9 2.2 Materials …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11 3. Results ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11 3.1 Habitat Characterization ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11 a. Old Field …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13 b. Forests/Woodlands ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 15 c. Wetlands ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16 d. Disturbed/Urban ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 17 3.2 Avifauna ……………………………………………………………………..……………………………………………. 18 3.3 Herpetofauna …………………………………………………………………..……………………………………… 21 3.4 Mammals …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 26 3.5 Other/Anecdotal ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 32 4. Discussion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 34 4.1 Habitat …………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………. 34 4.2 Avifauna …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35 4.3 Herpetofauna ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 38 4.4 Mammals …………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 39 5. Recommendations …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 41 6. Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 43 7. Referenced Literature ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 44 8. Appendices …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 47 Appendix I - Site Maps ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 48 Appendix II – Quality Assurance Project Plan ………………………………………………………………. 56 Appendix III – Survey Data Sheets ………………………………………………………………………………… 98 Appendix IV - NYSDEC Small Mammal Trapping Permit ………………………………………………… 103 Appendix V – Survey Effort Spreadsheet ………………………………………………………………………. 109 Appendix VI – Total Bird Species List ……………………………………………………………………………… 111 Appendix VII – Bat Survey Supplemental Report …………………………………………………………… 117 Appendix VIII - Original Data Sheets ………………………………………………………………………………. 132 Appendix IX – Bi-Monthly Reports ……………………………………………………………………………….. 371 Appendix X – Other ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 410 Appendix XI – Comments and Responses from Draft Final Review ……………………………….. 460 2 FINAL 2012 Terrestrial Vertebrate Wildlife Survey of the Lower Buffalo River March 15, 2013 Figures Figure 1. Photograph of short grass meadow habitat at Riverbend ………………………………. 13 Figure 2. Photograph of a gleaning barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) over tall grass meadow habitat at Katherine Peninsula ……….…………………………………………………… 14 Figure 3. Photograph of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in successional forest habitat at Porkpie …….……………………………………………………………………………… 14 Figure 4. Photograph of adult male Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperii) within the riparian forest habitat at Bailey Woods ….…………………………………………………………. 15 Figure 5. Photograph of a male rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) within an open woodland at the Riverbend site ……………………………………….……….. 15 Figure 6. Photograph of Buffalo River from Smith Street Park ………………………………….……. 16 Figure 7. Photograph of Smith Street Pond ……………………………………….…………………….…….. 16 Figure 8. Photograph of a northern brown snake (Storeria d. dekayi) found in an isolated wetland at Riverbend ……..…………………………………………………………….…….. 17 Figure 9. Photograph of an abandoned loading dock on Miami Street ………………………….. 17 Figure 10. Photograph of an adult ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) at BUF101………… 18 Figure 11. Photograph of a territorial yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia) within the Bailey Woods riparian forest..………………………………………………………………………..….. 18 Figure 12. Graph of Avifaunal Abundance per Location within AOC ……………………………….. 20 Figure 13. Graph of Avifaunal Abundance per Location within Entire Site ……………….…….. 20 Figure 14. Graph of Avifaunal Richness per Location ……………………………………………………… 21 Figure 15. Graph of Reptile Abundance per Species Observed ……………………………………….. 22 Figure 16. Graph of Amphibian Abundance per Species Observed …………………………………. 23 Figure 17. Photograph of a neonate shorthead garter snake (Thamnophis brachystoma) from an isolated wetland at Riverbend …………………..…………………………………………. 24 Figure 18. Graph of Herpetofaunal Distribution by TCS Area ………………………….………….….. 24 Figure 19. Graph of Relative Abundance of Herpetofauna per TCS by Assemblage ……….. 25 Figure 20. Photograph of an adult eastern garter snake (Thamnophis s. sirtalis) from under a discarded board at Riverbend …………………………………………………………….... 25 Figure 21. Photograph of a painted turtle (Chrysemys p. picta) at Smith Street Pond ….... 26 Figure 22. Photograph of a Peromyscus sp. trapped in a Sherman live trap at Riverbend.. 27 Figure 23. Graph of Distribution of Small Mammals Captured in Trapping Arrays ………….. 27 Figure 24. Graph of Total Bats Observed per Location …………………………………………….…….. 29 Figure 25. Graph of Bats Species Abundance per Location …………………………………………….. 30 Figure 26. Graph of Bat Species Distribution per Site …………………………………………………….. 30 Figure 27. Sonogram of a hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) call from BUF516 …………….……… 31 Figure 28. Sonogram of an eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) call from BUF519 ………….. 31 Figure 29. A female black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) at Riverbend …………………………. 32 Figure 30. Photograph of a snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca) at BUF 101 ……………………..….. 37 Figure 31. Migrating mergansers along coastal Lake Erie ………………………………………………. 37 3 FINAL 2012 Terrestrial Vertebrate Wildlife Survey of the Lower Buffalo River March 15, 2013 Tables Table 1. Point Count Site Locations and Dominant Habitat Types …………………………………. 12 Table 2. NY State Protected/Listed Avifauna Observed ………………………………………………… 19 Table 3. Herpetofauna Species Observed ……………………………………………………………………… 22 Table 4. NY State Protected/Listed Herpetofauna Observed ………………………………………… 23 Table 5. Total Mammal Species Observed …………………………………………………………………….. 26 Table 6. Anecdotal Invertebrate Observations ……………………………………………………………… 33 Table 7. Comparison of Observed Breeding and Migratory Bird Diversity in the Study Area vs. Reference Area vs. Regional Potential by Habitat Type ……………………………………… 35 Table 8. Proposed Target Avifauna per Habitat Type for Gauging Ecosystem Health …….. 36 4 FINAL 2012 Terrestrial Vertebrate Wildlife Survey of the Lower Buffalo River March 15, 2013 1. INTRODUCTION The Buffalo River flows east-west through western New York prior to emptying into Lake Erie. As a major river system with a direct hydrologic and physical connection to the Great Lakes, its historic value as a rich natural resource for humans is well documented (Daloglu et al 2012, Sierszen et al 2012, Trebitz et al 2009). The great Seneca Nation of American Indians thrived in this landscape for centuries hunting, fishing, and gathering by seasonally moving through large tracts of riparian forest, managed meadows, expansive freshwater wetlands, and both riverine and lacustrine aquatic environments as seasonal harvest would dictate (Ganter 2009, Drewes and Silbernagel 2012, Ellis et al 2011). Shortly following European settlement in the late 1700’s, extensive logging, livestock management, and new agricultural practices imposed new ecological stressors to this environment and altered the socio- ecological system (Hristov 2012, Ireland and Booth 2012, Vadeboncoeur et al 2012). Robust industrial growth beginning in the late 1800’s resulted in the re-shaping of the river’s banks and significant, sustained deleterious impacts to both the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems within the Lower Buffalo River. As a bustling metropolis, residential housing developments abut industrial development, leaving little space which is not graded, paved, or bulkheaded within the historic bounds of the Lower Buffalo River and its adjacent habitats. The decline of industrial manufacturing in the AOC has left numerous industrial sites abandoned which are now available for re-colonization by plants and animals to various degrees, generating an urban ecology setting. Under these conditions the Lower Buffalo River ecosystem exists today. 1.1. Project Background The primary objective of this project is to develop a baseline assessment of the current abundance, diversity, and relative distribution of three vertebrate faunal assemblages (herpetofauna, avifauna, and mammals) within the Lower Buffalo River Area of Concern (AOC). The data collected, survey design and methods will aid in valuing ongoing and future efforts to improve ecosystem health within the AOC via comparative analysis. The Buffalo River AOC, along with 42 other designated AOCs,
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