Appendix C

Foraging Guilds Bird Forage Guilds

Forage Common Name Food Habits General Comments Guild American Wigeon Vegetation, snails, beetles, crickets. Dominantly vegetarian (eg. eelgrass and algae) Eurasian Wigeon Vegetation, eelgrass Gadwall Leaves, stems and tubers of aquatic plants. Eats some small fishes and aquatic invertebrates Green-winged Teal Feeds on seeds and aquatic invertebrates (eg. Mollusks, aquatic insects, seeds) Primarily eat vegetation - Blue-winged Teal Vegetative parts of aquatic plants as well as seeds. Also consumes aquatic invertebrates. Sometimes eat small fishes Mallard Eats seeds, rootlets and tubers of aquatic plants, insects, mollusks, amphibians, small fishes (mostly vegetation). and aquatic invertebrates Northern Pintail Mostly vegetation. Feed on seeds and nutlets of aquatic plants, amphipods and other invertebrates. American Coot Submergent vegetation in open water. Leaves, seeds and roots of aquatic plants. Some animal food. Hooded Merganser Small fishes, crayfishes and other crustaceans obtained by diving underwater. Northern Shoveler Seeds of sedges, bulrushes, sawgrass, etc. Also eats mollusks, aquatic insects and crustaceans. Bufflehead Eats aquatic insects, crustaceans, mollusks, crustaceans, snails, amphipods, small fishes and some aquatic plants. Surf Scoter Mainly invertebrates, mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic insects with some aquatic plants in summer. Barrow's Goldeneye Mollusks (especially blue mussels), some seastars, and marine worms. Dives for mussels and invertebrates . Black Scoter Mollusks comprise a majority of the diet; the blue mussel. Also eats crustaceans, some fishes and plant foods. Eat mostly aquatic insects, Common Goldeneye Aquatic insects, crustaceans and aquatic plants. crustaceans, animal food. Common Merganser Eats mainly fishes, also amphibians, crustaceans, mollusks and other invertebrates. Sometimes eat aquatic Greater Scaup Mollusks and in some areas eats seeds leaves, stems of plants. vegetation but minimal Diving Ducks Diving Harlequin Duck Mostly benthic aquatic invertebrates, mostly crustaceans and mollusks, also insects and a few small fishes. Long-tailed Duck Crustaceans, fishes and their eggs, mollusks, and aquatic insects. Aquatic plants (roots, leaves, buds, seeds). Mysis spp., Onisimus spp., and biva White Winged Scouter Mostly animal food, eats mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects and fishes. Killdeer Small invertebrates. Pacific Golden-Plover Primarily feeds on insects. Also eats some small mollusks and crustaceans. Black-bellied Plover Marine worms, insects, mollusks, crustaceans. Black Oystercatcher Mollusks, probes sand for marine worms. Semipalmated Plover Marine worms, small mollusks and crustaceans, insects eggs and larvae. Dunlin Larvae of flies and mosquitoes, crustaceans, marine worms, mollusks, and insects. Red Knot Mainly mollusks, eggs of crabs and horseshoe crab, insects, some seeds and small fishes. Marbled Godwit Mollusks, crustaceans, worms, insects. Feed mostly on invertebrates, Red Phalarope Insects, crustaceans, larval fishes and small jelly fishes. mollusks, crustaceans, fishes,

ShorebirdsGreater Yellowlegs Small fishes, Ducks Dabbling insects and their larvae, snails, crabs, worms and tadpoles. worms Long-billed Dowitcher Insects and their larvae, mollusks, crustaceans, marine worms, spiders and seeds of aquatic plants. Spotted Sandpiper Small invertebrates. Western Sandpiper Aquatic insects, also eats mollusks, worms, crustaceans and algae. Least Sandpiper Small insects, crustaceans, mollusks, and worms. Wilson's Phalarope Insects, mosquitoes and crane flies. On salt flats may feed on alkali flies, brine shrimp, seeds of aquatic plants. Rock Sandpiper Crustaceans, small mollusks, insects and worms. Black Turnstone Slugs, mollusks, and crustaceans. Seaweeds for small marine animals, may also eat berries but primarily aquatic invertebrates. Common Snipe Earthworms, insect larvae, small crustaceans, and molluscs. Plant fibers and grit are also consumed. Bird Forage Guilds

Forage Common Name Food Habits General Comments Guild Bonaparte's Gull Primarily insects and fishes, also crustaceans and marine worms and scavenges. California Gull Insects, mice. Glaucous-winged Gull Fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, garbage and carrion. Herring Gull Various animals and garbage. Fishes, mollusks, crustaceans Mew Gull Fishes, Crustaceans and mollusks, scavenges in harbours.

Gulls and garbage Ring-billed Gull Animals and plant material and garbage. Western Gull Fish crustaceans, mollusks, worms, garbage. Thayer's Gull Fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, marine worms, carrion and garbage. Ross's Gull Beetles, gnats and other insects. Common Loon Piscivorous - any prey they can see, yellow perch, flounder, rock cod, minnows, crustaceans… Horned Grebe Invertivore, Piscivore - mainly small fishes, crustaceans and aquatic insects; also amphibians and leeches. Red-breasted Merganser Invertivore, Piscivore -mostly fishes plus some crustaceans. Insects important to young. Common Murre Mostly fish diet. Eat mainly fishes; some also Pelagic Cormorant Feeds on fishes; also consumes crabs, shrimps, marine worms, and amphipods. eat crustaceans, aquatic Brandt's Cormorant Feeds on small fishes and squid; also feeds on crabs and shrimps. insects, mollusks Pigeon Guillemot Mainly on small fishes; also includes mollusks, crustaceans, and marine worms. Red-necked Grebe Mainly on small fishes; also eats aquatic and land insects, crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic worms, tadpoles. Red-throated Loon Mainly fishes; also eats shrimps, snails, aquatic insects and some aquatic plants. Piscivorous Diving Birds Pied-billed Grebe Eats mainly fishes, crustaceans, insects; also amphibians, other invertebrates. Brant Goose Mainly eelgrass, saltmarsh grass, sea lettuce; also forage on grains in fields. Primarily eat marsh Canada Goose Marsh grasses, sprouts of winter wheat, clover, cattails, bulrushes, algae; also eats mollusks and small crustaceans. vegetation; eat grains during Snow Goose Eats grains; uproots sedges, marsh grasses, and aquatic plants (eats stem, rhizomes, roots, bulbs). Swans Geese/ Geese/ food shortage Trumpeter Swan Aquatic vegetation. Young eat aquatic insects and crustaceans and in 5 weeks feed on aquatic plants. Some grazing. DABBLING DUCKS

American Wigeon (Anas americana) • Feeds on leaves, stems, buds, and some seeds of pondweeds, wigeon grass, grasses, and sedges. Forges in shallow water and grazes in fields. May also some snails, beetles, and crickets (Terres, 1980). • Study in Boundary Bay - Zostera japonica comprises a large single percentage of the diet. Leaves most important to widgeon (Baldwin & Lovvorn, 1994). • Wigeon are almost exclusively vegetarian. On estuaries, wigeon consume aquatic plans such as eelgrass (Zostera spp.) and algae (Entraomorpha sp.). Over the years, changes in availability of items may have lead to changes in wigeon feeding habits. Inland pasture is now more important that either mudflats or salt marshes for European Wigeon in Britian. In the Fraser delta it appears that the agricultural areas provide a greater feeding opportunity for wigeon between October and January, than do the marshes (Duynstee, 1992).

Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope) • Feed on intertidal Zostera beds in Northern Europe (Fox, 1996). • Prefer open feeding sites, such as agricultural areas and hayfields. Graze on P. trivialis leaf tips. (Jacobsen, 1992). • Wigeon are almost exclusively vegetarian. On estuaries, wigeon consume aquatic plants such as eelgrass (Zostera spp.) and algae (Enteromorpha sp.). Over the years, changes in availability of these marsh plants may have lead to changes in wigeon feeding habits. Inland pasture in now more important that either mudflats or saltmarshes for European Wigeon in Britian. In the Fraser delta it appears that the agricultural areas provide a greater feeding opportunity for wigeon between October and January, than do the marshes (Duynstee, 1992).

Gadwall (Anas strepera) • Feeds on leaves, stems, and tubers of aquatic plants. Also eats algae and seeds of sedges and grasses. Occasionally grazes in pastures and grain fields; may feed on acorns. Eats some small fishes and aquatic invertebrates (e.g., insects, crustaceans). Aquatic invertebrates comprise about half the diet in spring and summer; eats green portions of aquatic plants in non-nesting season; feeds generally in water 15-66 cm deep (Ringelman 1990). Juveniles initially eat equal amount of animal and plant food; plant food begins to dominate after 2 weeks (Ringelman, 1990). • They are considered herbivorous, except during spring when some aquatic invertebrates are consumed. Gadwall was documented to consume the following invertebrates: insects (caddis flies, beetles, true flies, midges), crustaceans (fairy shrimps, water fleas). • Spring and Summer – filamentous algae, widgeongrass, musckgrass, sago pondweed, elodea, fairy shrimp, seed shrimp, water fleas, midges, beetle larvae. Fall and Winter – Filamentous algae, dwarf spikerush, widgeongrass, spiked watermilfoil, baby pondweed, seed shrimp, fragrant flatsedge, redroot sedge.

Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) • Eats aquatic plants; seeds of sedges, smartweeds, pondweeds, and grasses; aquatic insects, mollusks, crustaceans and tadpoles. In fall waste grain. Also eats berries, grapes, acorns. Dabbles in shallow water, also forages on land. • Study in Boundary Bay – Amphipods, primarily Corophium insidiosum were the greatest fraction of the green-winged teal diet. (Baldwin and Lovvorn, 1994). • Green-winged teal prefer feeding on mudflats where they forage primarily for seeds and invertebrates. Teal were feeding on meiofauna concentrated in the water just above the sediment surface. Some esophai contents of green-winged teal include: Cyprideis salebrosa, C. gelica, Candona verretensis, Ostracoda, Harpacticoid copepoda, Nematoda, Pinnixa sp, Chironomidae, Odonata. (Gaston, 1992). • Green-winged Teal forage both on land and in freshwater. In summer, these ducks forage on aquatic invertebrates, tadpoles and seed of emergent and aquatic vegetation. The fall diet is composed of grains, grasses, seeds and plant shoots. Young birds consume primarily insects. When on land, these teal forage by gleaning seeds, grains and insects from the ground and vegetation as they walk. By "dabbling," (floating on the water's surface and abruptly pivoting headfirst and downward into the water while raising their hindquarters above water) these ducks are able to reach submerged aquatic plants and animals on the muddy bottom. • Out of this study the types of invertebrates eaten by mallards include the following, Chironomid midges, water beetles (Coleoptera) (such as Dytiscid beetles, Hyrdrophilid beetles), water bugs (Hemiptera) (such as corixid water boatmen) and Amphipods (Amphipods) (such as gammarid scuds and seed shrimp) (Batzer, 1993).

Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) • Omnivorous; feeds mainly in shallowly flooded wetlands. Feeds on vegetative parts of aquatic plants (algae, duckweeds, pondweeds, etc.) as well as seeds (sedges, pondweeds, grasses, etc.). Also consumes large amounts of aquatic invertebrates, which are especially important in the breeding season and in the diet of the young (Gammonley and Fredrickson, 1995). • They are omnivorous and usually feed in portions of wetlands that are flooded less than 8 inches deep. During breeding, aquatic invertebrates provide most of the protein and minerals required for egg production. Snails, midge, and mosquito larvae and adults, fairy shimp, beetles, amphipods and isopods are important for spring migration and breeding. As seasonal wetlands dry over the summer, teal move to semipermanent wetlands to feed. During postbreeding period, snails, midge and mosquito larva, water fleas, and amphipods are consumed. Seeds and aquatic vegetation comprised 43% of the diet (Gammonley, 1995). • Blue-winged teal was documented to consume the following invertebrates: snails, insects (caddis flies, beetles, true flies, midges), crustaceans (fairy shrimps, clam shrimps, scuds), and annelids.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) • Eats seeds, rootlets, and tubers of aquatic plants, seeds of swamp and river bottom trees, acorns, cultivated grains, insects, mollusks, amphibians, small fishes, fish eggs; adults eat mostly vegetable material, young initially eat mainly invertebrates. Foraging opportunities optimal where water depth less than 40 cm (Allen, 1986). • Study in Boundary Bay corresponded to the upper limit of Zostera japonica. Some feeding occurred at all tide height ranges but was too infrequent to be included. Zostera japonica comprised the larges single percentage of the diet from wigeon, pintails, mallards and brant. The rhizomes were most important to the mallards. Mallards also relied heavily on amphipods and other invertebrates, of which the most important by mass were the gastropod Nassarius mendicus, the bivalves Macoma balthica and Mya arenaria, the amphipods Eogammarus confervicolus and Ampithoe spp., the isopod Idotea resecata, and the decapod Crangon alaskensis. (Baldwin and Lovvorn, 1994). • Chironomid midge larvae predominated in mallard diets. The amphipod Eogammarus confervicolus as the only other invertebrate that was consumed commonly by mallards. Ostracods, water beetles, and water boatmen were each consumed by mallards. Out of this study the types of invertebrates eaten by mallards include the following, Chironomid midges, water beetles (Coleoptera) (such as Dytiscid beetles, Hyrdrophilid beetles), water bugs (Hemiptera) (such as corixid water boatmen) and Amphipods (Amphipods) (such as gammarid scuds and seed shrimp) (Batzer, 1993). • The food of the mallard is largely vegetable material procured in the water or on the land. In the water, the bird feeds on emergent weeds and the tuberose roots of plants that grow in shallows. On land it turns to grain, other seeds, and green stuff. Animal matter is also taken. This is made up of molluscs, small crustaceans and insects and their larvae. • Mallards preferred similar foods to pintails but were notably different in their lower intake of invertebrate material from the agricultural lands and a higher intake of vegetable material. Also ate clams, snails, and small unidentified crustaceans. Potato and starchy material were also found in the samples. (Hirst, 1981). • Mallard was documented to consume the following invertebrates: snails, insects (caddis flies, beetles, true flies, midges), crustaceans (fairy shrimps, clam shrimps, water fleas, scuds), and annelids (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1988).

Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) • Eats various plants and animals, depending on availability. Feeds on seeds and nutlets of aquatic plants (sedges, grasses, pondweeds, smartweeds); also eats mollusks, crabs, minnows, worms, fairy shrimp, and aquatic insects. Animal foods important to females during prelaying and laying periods. Diet of juveniles includes mostly insects (Suchy and Anderson, 1987). Dabbles for food; may also feed on waste grain in fields and marine animals on tidal flats. • Study in Boundary Bay corresponded to the upper limit of Zostera japonica. Some feeding occurred at all tide height ranges but was too infrequent to be included. Zostera japonica comprised the larges single percentage of the diet from wigeon, pintails, mallards and brant. The seeds were most important to the pintails. Pintails also rely heavily on amphipods and other invertebrates, of which the most important by mass were the gastropod Nassarius mendicus, the bivalves Macoma balthica and Mya arenaria, the amphipods Eogammarus confervicolus and Ampithoe spp., the isopod Idotea resecata, and the decapod Crangon alaskensis. (Baldwin and Lovvorn, 1994). • Seeds found in pintail samples were predominantly smartweed (Polygonum spp.) with occasional seeds from blackberry (Rubus sp.), pondweed (Potamogeton sp.) sedges (Carex sp.) and grasses. Also ate clams, snails, and small unidentified crustaceans. Potato and starchy material were also found in the samples (Hirst, 1981). • Northern Pintails forage in both freshwater and on land. Ninety percent of their diet is composed of vegetation, including seeds, aquatic plants, sedges and grains. In freshwater, they primarily feed upon the leafy parts of aquatic plants, aquatic insects, tadpoles, snails and other aquatic invertebrates by picking food from the surface of freshwater shallows (ponds and marshes). By dabbling these ducks are able to reach submerged aquatic plants and animals on the muddy bottom. On land, these ducks graze like geese on grasses, grains and seeds of open fields. • Northern pintail was documented to consume the following invertebrates: snails, insects (caddis flies, beetles, true flies, midges), crustaceans (fairy shrimps, clam shrimps, water fleas, scuds), and annelids.

American Coot (Fulica Americana) • Eats seeds, roots, and other plant material, insects, snails, small fishes, tadpoles, and other small organism; feeds on land and in water (at surface, by tipping up, and by diving) (Terres, 1980). • Feeds on submergent vegetation in open water. Feed primarily in marshes, including temporary ponds. They feed largely in open water but require emergent vegetation in order to nest. Forages primarily on leaves, seeds and roots of aquatic vegetation eg. Pondweed (Potamogeton sp.), water milfoil (Myriophyllum sp.) the seeds of bur reed (Sparganium sp.) and algae. Coots also eat wild celery, grain and some animal food: fish, tadpoles, snails, worms, water bugs and other aquatic insects, and crustaceans. Animal food, especially emerging insects, is important food for young coots. (Lang, 1991). • Dabbles like a duck, with head below water surface, or dives expertly in water 10 - 25 feet deep for leaves, fronds, seeds, and roots of aquatic plants; sometimes eats wild celery uprooted by canvasbacks and other ducks; eats small fishes, tadpoles, snails, worms, water bugs and other aquatic insects; sometimes eats eggs of other marsh birds. (http://www.saltgrassflats.com/birds/american_coot.html).

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) • Eats mostly small fishes, crayfishes and other crustaceans, and aquatic insects obtained by diving underwater (Palmer, 1976).

Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) • Opportunistic forager. Eats seeds of sedges, bulrushes, saw grass, pondweeds, smartweeds, algae, duckweeds, etc; also mollusks, aquatic insects, and crustaceans. In Manitoba, males and females ate primarily aquatic invertebrates during prelaying and laying periods (Ankney and Afteon 1988). Aquatic invertebrates (e.g., water boatmen) may dominate winter diet in some areas. Usually dabbles at water surface. • Northern shoveler was documented to consume the following invertebrates: snails, insects (caddis flies, beetles, true flies, midges), crustaceans (fairy shrimps, clam shrimps, water fleas).

SHOREBIRDS

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferous) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Feeds on small invertebrates on ground surface, sometimes in shallow water (Terres 1980).

Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Feeds primarily on insects (grasshoppers, crickets, grubs of beetles, caterpillars, cutworms, wireworms, etc.). Also eats some small mollusks and crustaceans. Terrestrial Habitat- Alpine, Cropland/hedgerow, Grassland/herbaceous, Tundra; Tidal flat/shore (Estuarine Habitat); Riparian, Temporary pool (Palustrine habitat) (www.natureserve.org).

Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) • In tidal sand and mud flats and in salt marshes feeds on: marine worms, insects, mollusks, crustaceans. In plowed fields, wet meadows and pastures searches for adult insects and larvae, earthworms, some seeds and berries (Terres, 1980).

Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) • Estuarine Habitat(s): Tidal flat/shore. Terrestrial Habitat(s): Bare rock/talus/scree. Invertivore-Feeds on mollusks (e.g., pries open mussels and limpets), probes sand for marine worms (www.natureserve.org).

Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. In coastal areas forages often in intertidal sand or mud for marine worms, small mollusks and crustaceans, insect eggs and larvae. In inland areas consumes large numbers of grasshoppers and earthworms (Terres, 1980).

Dunlin (Calidris alpine) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. During the breeding season feeds primarily on larvae of flies and mosquitoes. During the rest of the year feeds on crustaceans, marine worms, mollusks, and insects. Migrants in spring in south-central Alaska relied heavly on clams, Macoma balthica (Senner et al., 1989). Consumes large numbers of horseshoe crab eggs in spring at Delaware Bay (Castro and Myers 1993). Runs around feeding areas probing mud and sand with bill.

Red Knot (Calidris canutus) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Eats mainly mollusks, eggs of crab and horseshoe crab, insects, some seeds and small fishes; pecks and snatches at sand or mud, or probes. Horseshoe crab eggs are an important source of food for north-bound migrants at Delaware Bay (Botton et al., 1994).

Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Probes in mud and tidal flats for mollusks, crustaceans, and worms; eats grasshoppers and other insects on prairies and meadows; also eats tubers and seeds of pondweeds, sedges, and muskgrass (Terres, 1980).

Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Feeds on insects and crustaceans; also eats larval fishes and small jellyfishes. Obtains food from ocean surface, wet tundra, and marine littoral zone. In northern Bering Sea in spring, forages opportunistically in littoral zone (Haney and Stone, 1988); littoral foraging also by juveniles in fall in Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) • Estuarine Habitat(s): Herbaceous wetland, Lagoon, Tidal flat/shore. Riverine Habitat(s): Low gradient. Lacustrine Habitat(s): Shallow water. Palustrine Habitat(s): Bog/fen, herbaceous wetland, Riparian Terrestrial Habitat(s): Grassland/herbaceous, Woodland - Conifer, Woodland - Mixed Adult Food Habits: Carnivore, Invertivore, Piscivore Immature Food Habits: Carnivore, Invertivore, Piscivore • Feeds on small fishes, insects and their larvae, snails, crabs, worms, and tadpoles. Wades through water and pecks at food with bill or skims surface with lower mandible. (www.natureserve.org).

Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) • Nonbreeding: marshes, shores of ponds and lakes, mudflats and flooded fields, primarily in freshwater situations (AOU, 1983). Nests on the ground in tundra and wet meadows, usually in marshes or grassy areas with scattered shrubs and trees near open fresh water. Adult Food Habits: Invertivore Immature Food Habits: Invertivore • Forages shallow fresh water and mud bars, probing into mud with bill. Feeds on insects and their larvae, mollusks, crustaceans, marine worms, spiders, and seeds of aquatic plants (bulrushes, pondweeds, sedges, etc.) (www.natureserve.org).

Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Eats mainly small invertebrates obtained from surface or by probing along shores or some distance inland if insects are abundant there (Cogswell, 1977).

Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) • Nonbreeding: mudflats, beaches, shores of lakes and ponds, shallow lagoons, artificial salt ponds, and flooded fields; various coastal habitats with flat or gently sloping muddy, sandy, or gravelly shores; less often inland at pond edges, rain pools, wet fields (Stiles and Skutch, 1989). Breeds coastally on sedge-dwarf tundra, on hummocks surrounded by marsh. Nests on the ground in a shallow depression, lined with leaves, lichen, and other plant material. Strong tendency to nest in same area in successive years. • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Feeds primarily on aquatic insects; also eats mollusks, worms, and crustaceans. Runs along edge of water snatching up prey from wet mud (Senner et al., 1989)

Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Eats small insects, crustaceans, mollusks, and worms obtained from surface of shallow water, mud, or ground, or by probing into mud (Terres 1980).

Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) • Breeds on lake shores, mudflats, salt marshes, freshwater marshes, alkaline ponds; rarely along seacoasts; stages on salt lakes (Colwell and Jehl, 1994). Also at sewage ponds; rarely reported at sea. • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Eats insects (larvae and adults), especially mosquitoes and crane flies. On salt flats may feed on alkali flies, brine shrimps, seeds of aquatic plants. Feeds as it walks along muddy shores, wades in shallow water, or swims in whirls (www.natureserve.org).

Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Forages along rocky shores feeding on crustaceans, small mollusks, insects, and worms. Also eats algae, seeds, and berries (www.natureserve.org).

Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)

• Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Feeds along rocky coasts on slugs, mollusks, and crustaceans. Inspects seaweeds for small marine animals. May also eat berries (Bent, 1929). Diet: Primarily: Aquatic Invertebrates (Gregory Gough. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. http://www.mbr- pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i2300id.html).

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) • Foraging - Snipe forage by probing in wet organic soils on uplands, wetlands, and in shallow water (Mueller, 1999; Johnsgard, 1981). Accordingly, vegetation that is sparse, short or patchy is favored. They take earthworms, insect larvae, small crustaceans, and molluscs (Tuck, 1969; Fritzell, 1979). Plant fibers and grit are also consumed, but the plant material seems incidental to the way they feed. Small invertebrates pulled from deep within the substrates are consumed (Baron and Acorn, 1997).

DIVING DUCKS

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) • In fresh water feeds on aquatic insects, snails, amphipods, small fishes, and some aquatic plants. In salt water eats crustaceans, molluscs, fishes, and some aquatic plants. Often feeds in small groups, diving or watching for danger (www.natureserve.org). • Bufflehead feed by diving in open shallow water, usually less than 3 m deep. Their diet consists mainly of aquatic invertebrates, including insects (larvae of damselfly, dragonfly, mayflies and midge, and water boatmen), crustaceans (shrimps, crabs, amphipods, isopods), molluscs (snails and clams), and sometimes small fish or fish eggs. During winter, they often feed during both day and night (SDJV, 2004). • Eats mainly invertebrates; mollusks (especially blue mussel and other bivalves), crustaceans and aquatic insects. In summer also some plant food (pondweeds, wild celery, muskgrass and seeds of sedges and bulrushes). May dive to depths of 2-9 m and stay under water 19-32 seconds (Terres, 1980).

Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)

• Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Eats mainly invertebrates; mollusks (especially blue mussel and other bivalves), crustaceans and aquatic insects. In summer also some plant food (pondweeds, wild celery, muskgrass and seeds of sedges and bulrushes). May dive to depths of 2-9 m and stay under water 19-32 seconds (Terres, 1980). Eats almost exclusively aquatic invertebrates, fish and lesser quantities of green plant matter (Terres, 1980) (http://www.mbr- pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i1660id.html).

Barrow’s Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica)

• Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. In fresh water it forages for aquatic insects, crustaceans, some plant food, small fishes, and fish eggs. In salt water feeds on mollusks (especially blue mussels), some seastars, and marine worms, etc. (www.natureserve.org). Dives for mussels and find other tasty invertebrate morsels by rolling over pebbles underwater (Baron and Acorn, 1997).

Black Scoter (Melanitta nigra)

• Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Except for inland habitats, mollusks comprise a majority of the diet; the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) often is a major food (Bellrose, 1976). It also eats crustaceans, some fishes and plant foods, the latter being most important in inland habitats. Usually feeds in protected areas where water is no more than 25 ft deep.

Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) • In inland areas during the summer and fall, feeds on aquatic insects, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Along coastal wintering grounds feeds largely on crustaceans, mollusks, small fishes, and some plant material (Bellrose, 1976).

Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) • Eats mainly fishes obtained by diving underwater; also amphibians, crustaceans, mollusks, and other invertebrates. Young initially feed on insects, caught mostly underwater (Palmer 1976).

Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) • Feeds on aquatic plants and animals. Coastally mollusks (clams, scallops, mussels, etc.) comprise a significant portion of the diet. In other areas eats seeds, leaves, stems of plants (sedges, pondweeds, muskgrass, wild celery, etc.) (www.natureserve.org).

Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) • Diet is almost exclusively benthic aquatic invertebrates; feeds primarily on crustaceans and mollusks, also insects, and a few small fishes (Bellrose, 1976); marine diet also includes roe. Dives for food in strong currents.

Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis)

• Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. Feeds mainly on animal food; eats crustaceans, fishes and their eggs, mollusks, and aquatic insects. Also eats a variety of aquatic plants (roots, leaves, buds, seeds). May dive very deep to obtain food (Bellrose, 1976). Euphyllopods appear to be an especially important food source for ducklings. Individuals in summer molting flocks feed in nearshore waters on Mysis spp., Onisimus spp., and bivalve mollusks (Johnson and Herter, 1989).

White Winged Scouter (Melanitta fusca) • About 90% of adult diet is animal food; eats mollusks (especially blue mussel), crustaceans, some aquatic insects and fishes (Terres, 1980). During summer also eats some plant food; pondweeds, bur reeds, etc. May forage to 12 m deep.

GULLS

Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Feeds primarily on insects and fishes in lakes and bays; also eats crustaceans and marine worms and scavenges (Bent, 1921). July-December diet off New Brunswick: fishes, euphausiids, insects, polychaetes, amphipods; opportunistic feeder (Braune, 1989). Young are fed insects gleaned from water surface or from water plants (Johnson and Herter, 1989). Feeds on insects and marine invertebrates frequently in areas where prey concentrated by currents, waterfalls, glaciers, and other natural features (Johnson and Herter 1989).

California Gull (Larus californicus) • Adult Food Habits: Carnivore, Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Carnivore, Invertivore, Piscivore. In inland areas, feeds on insects (crickets, grasshoppers, cutworms) and mice. At Mono Lake, California, recently fledged gulls fed mainly on, and apparently preferred, alkali flies (Elphick and Rubega 1995).

Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Surface feeder, scavenger. Fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, garbage and carrion (www.natureserve.org).

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) • Adult Food Habits: Carnivore, Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Carnivore, Invertivore, Piscivore. Feeds opportunistically mostly on various animals and garbage. Often a scavenger around bays and harbors. In Ohio, Belant et al. (1993) found that nearby landfills were unimportant as a food source to a nesting population; diet of adults and young was dominated by fishes. Mew Gull (Larus canus) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Along the coast feeds on fishes, crustaceans, and mollusks. Also scavenges in harbors. Inland follows farmers plowing fields and feeds on worms and insect larvae (www.natureserve.org).

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) • Adult Food Habits: Carnivore, Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Carnivore, Invertivore, Piscivore. Feeds opportunistically on various animals and plant material (and garbage), usually obtained from land or water surface; sometimes catches flying insects and pulls fruits from shrubs and trees (www.natureserve.org).

Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) • Adult Food Habits: Carnivore, Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Carnivore, Invertivore, Piscivore. Eats fish, crustaceans, mollusks, worms, garbage. Catches food, scavenges after ships, or pirates fish from pelicans, cormorants, and other birds. May feed at garbage dumps or along beaches. Sometimes eats eggs and young of other birds (e.g., murres; Spear, 1993).

Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Feeds on fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, marine worms, carrion, and garbage. Feeds on the surface of the water, along beaches, around harbors and boats (www.natureserve.org).

Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore. On Arctic breeding grounds eats beetles, gnats, and other insects; at sea, possibly marine crustaceans (e.g., euphausiids) and other animals of plankton (Bent, 1921; Terres, 1980).

PISCIVOROUS DIVING BIRDS

Common Loon (Gavia immer) • Adult Food Habits: Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Piscivore. Dives from surface, feeds mainly on fishes; also amphibians and various invertebrates (Terres, 1980). If nesting on small lake, may use adjacent lake for supplementary foraging (Johnsgard, 1987). In Ontario, loons attempting to raise chick on fishless acidic lake fed chick benthic algae and possibly benthic invertebrates but flew to other lakes to feed themselves (Alvo et al., 1988). Feeds usually in waters less than 5 m deep. Primarily piscivorous, but are opportunistic and will eat any suitable prey they can readily see and capture (McIntyre, 1988). Their primary food on breeding lakes is yellow perch (Perca flavescens), followed by other shallow, warm water fish and minnows (Cyprinidae) (Olson and Marshall, 1952; Palmer, 1962; Barr, 1973; McIntyre, 1986). Salmonids are taken on lakes that have low populations of other fish species (McIntyre 1988). On the Great Lakes, alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) appear to be the most common prey item (McIntyre, 1988). Crustaceans, especially crayfish (Decapoda), are commonly taken, and plant material is occasionally eaten (Palmer, 1962; McIntyre, 1988). On lakes without fish, loons have been reported feeding on molluscs, insects, amphipods and amphibians (Munro, 1945; Parker 1985). Young have a diversified diet consisting primarily of small fish and minnows, aquatic insects and crayfish (McIntyre 1988). Winter foods are reported to include flounder (Pleuronectoidei), rock cod (Gadus morhua), herring (Clupea spp.), menhaden (Brevoortia patronus), sea trout (Salmo spp.), sculpin (Leptocottus armatus), and crabs (Palmer, 1962; McIntyre, 1988).

Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Diet mainly small fishes, crustaceans and aquatic insects; also amphibians and leeches; aquatic insects predominate in summer, crustaceans and fishes in winter. Forages by diving in shallow water, often near emergent vegetation; also picks food from surface or from vegetation (Terres, 1980; Johnsgard, 1987).

Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Eats mostly fishes plus some crustaceans; insects are important to young (Palmer, 1976). Dives underwater to forage.

Common Murre (Uria aalge) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Mysids and shrimp dominate winter diet in Alaska, mostly fish and some squid off California, mostly capelin off Newfoundland (Sanger, 1987). Young fed herring, capelin, sprat, sandlance (Bradstreet and Brown, 1985). Dives from surface to at least 180 m (Piatt and Nettleship, 1985).

Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Feeds on fishes, especially nonschooling, cryptic, demersal or epibenthic forms of rocky reefs (Johnsgard, 1993; Robertson, 1974; Ainley et al., 1981); also consumes crabs, shrimps, marine worms, and amphipods (Terres, 1980). Diver; forages individually, primarily along rocky shorelines, sometimes over flat sand or mud bottoms.

Brandt's Cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Feeds on small saltwater fishes, especially those at or near the bottom but also those throughout the water column (schooling and nonschooling species), and squid; primarily on fishes of no commercial value. Also feeds on crabs and shrimps. In the north, feeds more often over sand or mud bottoms than does the pelagic cormorant (Johnsgard, 1993).

Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba) • Adult Food Habits: Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Piscivore. Diet mainly small fishes (e.g., blennies, sculpins, sand launce, smelt, etc.); generally inshore benthic species; also includes mollusks, crustaceans, and marine worms. Forages underwater. Off southern British Columbia, foraging birds occurred mainly in areas where water depth was 10-20 m (Clowater and Burger, 1994).

Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) • Adult Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Invertivore, Piscivore. Feeds on small fish, where available, but also eats aquatic and land insects, crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic worms, tadpoles, salamander eggs and some vegetable matter. Eats feathers. Dives under water and forages on or near bottom (www.natureserve.org)

Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) • Adult Food Habits: Piscivore. Immature Food Habits: Piscivore. Diet mainly fishes; also eats shrimps, snails, aquatic insects and some aquatic plants. When feeding young, often leaves nesting area to obtain fishes from larger lake or marine waters (Reimchen and Douglas, 1984). Forages in shallow water. Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) • Dives from surface; eats mainly fishes, crustaceans, insects; also amphibians, other invertebrates, and some plant material (Terres, 1980). Forages mainly by short dives in shallow water. Wetmore (1924) analyzed stomach contents of 174 pied- billed grebes collected during different seasons from localities throughout North America. The diet was dominated by fish (24% by volume, including catfish, eels, perch, sunfish, suckers, carp, and minnows), crustaceans (31%), and insects (46%). Most crustaceans taken were crayfish, and insect food was predominantly Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), Heteroptera (bugs), and Coleoptera (beetles). • A strong seasonal shift in diet was observed; fish were important foods during the nonbreeding season, but were relatively unimportant during nesting. Odonates, only 8% of the overall annual diet, constituted 34% of the diet during July and August. Palmer (1962) reported that grebes fed principally on leeches during the breeding season in South Carolina. Stomachs from Pennsylvania contained fish, frogs, aquatic insects, especially beetles, and aquatic plants (Warren, 1890). Feather-eating is an unusual aspect of the diet. Wetmore (1924) observed feathers in 52% of the 174 stomachs he examined, and adults sometimes feed feathers to their chicks (Ehrlich et al., 1988).

GEESE AND SWANS

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) • Adult Food Habits: Granivore, Herbivore. Immature Food Habits: Granivore, Herbivore. Grazes on marsh grasses, sprouts of winter wheat (spring), grain (fall); eats clover, cattails, bulrushes, algae, pond- weed, and other plants. Feeds in shallows, marshes, fields. Also eats mollusks and small crustaceans (Terres, 1980). Subspecies B. c. occidentalis of west coastal North America: exogenous sources of lipid and protein are important to energy and nutrient requirements of nesting geese (Bromley and Jarvis, 1993).

Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) • Adult Food Habits: Granivore, Herbivore. Immature Food Habits: Granivore, Herbivore. • Browses on grasses; eats grains; uproots sedges, marsh grasses, and aquatic plants (eats stem, rhizomes, roots, bulbs). During initial part of breeding period uses nutritional reserves accumulated in winter and in staging areas (www.natureserve.org).

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) • Adult Food Habits: Herbivore, Invertivore. Immature Food Habits: Herbivore, Invertivore. • Adults feed mostly on aquatic vegetation; young first eat aquatic insects and crustaceans but in 5 weeks begin feeding on aquatic plants. Also may graze in fields (McKelvey and Verbeek, 1988). Prefers shallow, slow-moving water for feeding.

Brant Goose (Branta barnicla) • Feeds on eelgrass. During winter and spring migration, brant feed primarily on native marine and salt marsh vegetation, including sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca), saltmarsh grass (Spartina spp.), and eelgrass (Zostera marina) (Penkala, 1975; Buchsbaum et al., 1986). Brant also forage on agricultural lands (Charman, 1979; St. Joseph, 1979) and even on roadsides and suburban lawns during periods of food shortage (Nelson, 1978).

REFERENCES

Ainley, David, G., Daniel W. Anderson and Paul R. Kelly. 1981. Feeding ecology of marine comorants in southwestern North America. Condor 83:120-131. Allen, A. W. 1986. Habitat suitability index models: mallard (winter habitat, Lower Mississippi Valley). U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(10.132). 37 pp. American Ornithologist’s Union. 1983. Checklist of North American birds. Fifth ed. Amer. Ornith. Union, Baltimore, 691 pp. Alvo, R., D. J. T. Hussell, and M. Berril. 1988. The breeding success of common loons (Gavia immer) in relation to alkalinity and other lake characteristics in Ontario. Can. J. Zool. 66:746-752. Ankney, C. D., and A. D. Afteon. 1988. Bioenergetics of breeding northern shovelers: diet, nutrient reserves, clutch size, and incubation. Condor 90:459-472. Baldwin, J. and J. Lovvorn, 1994. Habitats and tidal accessibility of the marine foods of dabbling ducks and brant in Boundary Bay, British Columbia. Marine Biology, 120: 627- 638. Barr, J. F. 1973. Feeding biology of the common loon (Gavia immer) in oligotrophic lakes of the Canadian shield. University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Ph.D. dissertation. Baron, N. and J. Acorn. 1997. Birds of Coastal British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Lone Pine Publishing. Vancouver. Batzer, D., M. McGee, V. Resh, and R. Smith. 1993. Characteristics of invertebrates consumed by mallards and prey response to wetland flooding schedules. Wetlands, 13(1): 41-49. Belant, J. L., et al. 1993. Importance of landfills to nesting herring gulls. Condor 95:817-830. Bellrose, F.C. 1976. Ducks, geese and swans of North America. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA. www.natureserve.org. Bent, A.C. 1929. Life histories of North American shorebirds (Part II). U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 146. Washington, D.C. Bent, A.C. 1921. Life histories of North American gulls and terns. U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 113. Washington, D.C. Botton, M. L., R. E. Loveland, and T. R. Jacobsen. 1994. Site selection by migratory shorebirds in Delaware Bay, and its relationship to beach characteristics and abundance of horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs. Auk 111:605-616. Bradstreet, M. S. W., and R. G. B. Brown. 1985. Feeding ecology of the Atlantic Alcidae. Pages 263-318 In: Nettleship, D. N., and T. R. Birkhead, eds. The Atlantic Alcidae. Academic Press, N.Y. Braune, B. M. 1989. Autumn migration and comments on the breeding range of Bonaparte's gull, Larus philadelphia, in eastern North America. Can. Field-Nat. 103:524-530. Bromley, Robert G. and Robert L. Jarvis 1993. The energetics of migration and reproduction of dusky Canada geese. Condor (95):193-210. Buchsbaum, R., J. Wilson, & I. Valiela. 1986. Digestibility of plant constituents by Canada Geese and Atlantic Brant. Ecology 67: 386-393. Canadian Wildlife Service. 1973. Mallard. Environment Canada Wildlife Service. Castro, G., and J. P. Myers. 1993. Shorebird predation on eggs of horseshoe crabs during spring stopover on Delaware Bay. Auk 110:927-930. Charman, K. 1979. The seasonal pattern of food utilization by Branta bernicla on the coast of southeast England. Pp. 64-76 in Proc. First Tech. Meeting on Western Palearctic Migratory Bird Management (M. Smart, Ed.). Int. Waterfowl Res. Bur., Slimbridge, England. Clowater, J. S., and A. E. Burger. 1994. The diving behaviour of pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba) off southern Vancouver Island. Can. J. Zool. 72:863-872. Cowell, M.A., and J.R. Jehl, Jr. 1994. Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor). In: A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The Birds of North America, No. 83. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. 20 pp. Cogswell, H. L. 1977. Water birds of California. Univ. California Press, Berkeley. 399 pp. Cramp, S. (editor). 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa; the Birds of the Western Paleartic. Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England. 722 pp. Duynstee, T. 1992. An investigation into field grazing by Wigeon in Delta, British Columbia. A pilot study conducted by the Greenfields Project. North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Elphick, C. S., and M. A. Rubega. 1995. Prey choices and foraging efficiency of recently fledged California gulls at Mono Lake, California. Great Basin Naturalist 55:363-367. Fjeldsa, J. 1975. Grebes. Villadsen and Christensen, Hvidovre, Denmark. 64 pp. Forbush, E. H. 1925. Birds of Massachusetts and other New England states. Part 1: Water birds, marsh birds and shore birds. Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, Boston, Massachusetts. 486 pp. Fox, A. 1996. Zostera exploitation by Brent Geese and Wigeon on the Exe Estuary, southern England. Fritzell, E.K., G.A. Swanson and M.I. Meyer. 1979. Fall foods of migrant common snipe in North Dakota. J. Wildl. Manage. 43(1):253-257. Gammonley, J. and L. Fredrickson. 1995. Life History and Management of the Blue-winged Teal. US. Department of the Interior National Biological Service. Waterfowl Management Handbook. Section 13.1.8 Gaston, G. 1992. Green-winged teal inject Epibenthic meiofauna. Estuaries: 15(2): 227-229. Haney, J. C., and A. E. Stone. 1988. Littoral foraging by red phalaropes during spring in the northern Bering Sea. Condor 90:723-726. Hirst, S. and C. Easthope. 1981. Use of agricultural lands by waterfowl in southwestern British Columbia. Journal of Wildlife Management, 45(2): 454-462. Jacobsen, O. 1992. Factors affecting selection of nitrogen-fertilized grassland areas by breeding. Ornis Scandinavica 23: 121-131. Johnson, S. R. and D. R. Herter. 1989. The birds of the Beaufort Sea. BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., Anchorage, Alaska. 372 pp Johnsgard, P. A. 1993. Cormorants, darters, and pelicans of the world. Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C. xiv + 445 pp. Johnsgard, P. A. 1987. Diving birds of North America. Univ. Nebraska Press, Lincoln. xii + 292 pp. Johnsgard, P.A. 1981. The plovers, sandpipers and snipes of the world. University of Nebraska Press. Lincoln. 493 pp. Johnson, S. R. and D. R. Herter. 1989. The Birds of the Beaufort Sea. BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., Anchorage, Alaska. 372 pp. Lang, A. 1991. Status of the American Coot, Fulica Americana in Canada. The Canadian Field Naturalist, 105: 530-541 McIntyre, J. W. 1986. Common loon. Pages 679-95 In: R. L. Di Silvestro (editor). Audubon Wildlife Report 1986. National Audubon Society, New York, New York. McIntyre, J. W. 1988. The common loon: spirit of northern lakes. Univ. Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. x + 200 pp. McIntyre, J. W. 1988. The rise and fall of a loon lake. Pages 17-8 in P. I. V. Strong (editor). 1987 Conference on Common Loon Research and Management. North American Loon Fund, Meredith, New Hampshire. McKelvey, R. W., and N. A. M. Verbeek. 1988. Habitat use, behaviour and management of trumpeter swans, Cygnus buccinator, wintering at Comox, British Columbia. Canadian Field-Nat. 102:434-441. Mueller, H. 1999. Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago. In: A. Poole and F. Gill, (eds.) The Birds of North America, No. 112. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C Munro, J. A. 1945. Observations of the loon in the Cariboo Parklands, British Columbia. Auk 62:38-49. Nelson, H. K. 1978. Effects of the severe winter of 1976-1977 on waterfowl. Proc. Int. Waterfowl Symp. 3: 39-44. Olson, S. T., and W. H. Marshall. 1952. The common loon in Minnesota. Minnesota Mus. Nat. Hist., Occas. Paper No. 5, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Palmer, R. S., editor. 1976. Handbook of North American birds. Vol. 3. Waterfowl (concluded). Eiders, wood ducks, diving ducks, mergansers, stifftails. Yale Univ. Press, New Haven. 560 pp Palmer, R. S. (editor). 1962. Handbook of North American birds. Vol. 1. Loons through flamingos. Yale University Press, New Haven. 567 pp. Parker, K. E. 1985. Foraging and reproduction of the common loon (Gavia immer) on acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, New York. College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, New York. M.S. thesis. Penkala, J. M. 1975. Winter food habits and body weights of Atlantic Brant. Proc. Annu. Conf. Northeast, See. Wildl. Soc. 32: 151-169. Piatt, J. F., and D. N. Nettleship. 1985. Diving depths of four alcids. Auk 102:293-297. Reimchen, T. E., and S. Douglas. 1984. Feeding schedule and daily food consumption in red- throated loons (Gavia stellata) over the prefledging period. Auk 101:593-599. Ringelman, J. K. 1990. Life history traits and management of the gadwall. U.S. Fish & Wildl. Serv., Fish and Wildlife Leaflet 13.1.2. 6 pp. Ringelman, J. 1988. Invertebrate Response to Wetland Management. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Waterfowl Management Handbook, 13.1.2 Robertson, I. 1974. The food of nesting double-crested and pelagic cormorants at Mandarte Island, British Columbia, with notes on feeding ecology. Condor 76:346-348. St. Joseph, A. K. M. 1979. The development of inland feeding by Branta bernicla bernicla in southeastern England. Pp. 132-145 in Proc. First Tech. Meeting on Western Palearctic Migratory Bird Management (M. Smart, Ed.). Int. Water-fowl Res. Bur., Slimbridge, England. Sanger, G. A. 1987. Winter diets of common murres and marbled murrelets in Kachemack Bay, Alaska. Condor 89:426- 430. Sea Duck Joint Venture (SDJV), 2004. Sea Duck Information Series Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola). Senner, S. E., D. W. Norton, and G. C. West. 1989. Feeding ecology of western sandpipers, Calidris mauri, and dunlins, C. alpina, during spring migration at Hartney Bay, Alaska. Can. Field-Nat. 103:372-379. Spear, L. B. 1993. Dynamics and effect of western gulls feeding in a colony of guillemots and Brandt's cormorants. J. Anim. Ecol. 62:399-414. Stiles, F., A. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Comstock Publishing Associates. Suchy, W. J., and S. H. Anderson. 1987. Habitat suitability index models: northern pintail. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(10.145). 23 pp. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. Tuck, L.M. 1969. Some aspects of the biology of the common snipe. Transactions of the Northeast Section of the Wildlife Society, 26th Northeast Fish & Wildlife Conference 9-12 Feb.1969. Pp. 141-151. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1988. Invertebrate Response to Wetland Management. Waterfowl Management Handbook, 13.3.1 Warren, B. H. 1890. Report on the birds of Pennsylvania. 2nd Edition. Pennsylvania State Board Agric., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 434 pp. Wetmore, A. 1924. Food and economic relations of North American grebes. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biol. Surv, Rep. Bull. No. 1196. WEB PAGES

• www.natureserve.org • http://www.ducks.org/waterfowling/gallery/index.asp?duck=73 • http://www.nps.gov/yuch/Expanded/key_resources/birds/species_descriptions/gwte_desc ription.htm • http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1999/ecomanag/foraging/food.htm#a • http://www.saltgrassflats.com/birds/american_coot.html • http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i2300id.html

Appendix D

List of Potential Rare Species List of Rare Waterbirds Potentially Occurring Species within the Study Area

Status Likely Occurrence in Study Latin Name Common Name COSEWIC Status (October 2004) Provincial Status Addressed in Area Report Recurvirostra americana *American Avocet - RED Migrant NO Bartramia longicauda *Upland Sandpiper - RED Migrant NO Limosa haemastica Hudsonian Godwit - RED Migrant NO Sterna forsteri *Forster's Tern Data Deficient (1996) RED Migrant NO Uria aalge Common Murre - RED Migrant YES Uria lomvia *Thick-billed Murre - RED Migrant NO Brachyramphus marmoratus Marbled Murrelet Threatened (NOV 2000) RED Migrant YES Fratercula corniculata *Horned Puffin - RED Migrant NO Aechmophorus occidentalis Western Grebe - RED Overwinter, Migrant YES Phoebastria albatrus Short-tailed Albatross Threatened (NOV 2003) RED Accidental NO Puffinus creatopus Pink-footed Shearwater RED Accidental NO Pelecanus erythrorhynchos American White Pelican Not At Risk (1987) RED Migrant NO Phalacrocorax auritus Double-crested Cormorant Not At Risk (1987) RED All Year YES Phalacrocorax penicillatus Brandt's Cormorant - RED All Year YES Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus Pelagic Cormorant, pelagicus subspecies - RED All Year YES Botaurus lentiginosus American Bittern - BLUE Breeder YES Ardea herodias fannini Great Blue Heron, fannini subspecies Special Concern (1997) BLUE All Year YES Butorides virescens Green Heron - BLUE Migrant NO Branta canadensis leucopareia Canada Goose, leucopareia subspecies - BLUE Migrant, Winter NO Branta canadensis occidentalis Canada Goose, occidentalis subspecies - BLUE Migrant, Winter NO Clangula hyemalis Long-tailed Duck - BLUE Overwinter, Migrant YES Melanitta perspicillata Surf Scoter - BLUE Overwinter, Migrant YES Grus canadensis Sandhill Crane Not At Risk (1979) G. canadensis BLUE Migrant NO Pluvialis dominica American Golden-Plover - BLUE Migrant NO Heteroscelus incanus Wandering Tattler - BLUE Migrant NO Numenius americanus Long-billed Curlew Special Concern (NOV 2002) BLUE Migrant NO Limnodromus griseus Short-billed Dowitcher - BLUE Migrant NO Phalaropus lobatus Red-necked Phalarope - BLUE Migrant NO Larus californicus California Gull - BLUE Overwinter, Migrant YES Rhodostethia rosea Ross's Gull Threatened - Accidental YES Sterna caspia Caspian Tern Not At Risk (1999) BLUE Summer non breeder, Migrant YES Synthliboramphus antiquus Ancient Murrelet Special Concern (1993) BLUE Accidental NO Ptychoramphus aleuticus *Cassin's Auklet - BLUE Accidental NO Fratercula cirrhata *Tufted Puffin - BLUE Accidental NO

Threatened - A species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed. Special Concern - A species with characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events. Not at Risk - A species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk. Data Deficient - A species for which there is insufficient scientific information to support status designation. Red - Species, populations or communities at high risk of extinction or extirpation. Blue - Species vulnerable to human activity or natural events. *': Considered a rare sighting by the Vancouver Natural History Society's Rare Bird Alert and requires a sighting confirmation. They request that a'Rare Bird Report Form' be filled out if this bird is observed in the lower mainland. (http://www.naturalhistory.bc.ca/VNHS/Birding/ReportDates/BirdingRareBirdReportDateFrame.htm).

Appendix E

Graphs Graph 1 Annual Distribution of Caspian Tern in the Study Area

800

N = 1,584 707 700

600

500

400 335 266 300 Number of Individuals Number

200 147 115 100

6 8 0 April May June July August September October Month Note: Caspian tern is only present in the lower mainland during the months of approximately May through September and migrates south for the winter. Graph 2 Annual Distribution of Great Blue Heron in the Study Area

3000

N = 12,093 2,753

2500

2000 1,841 1,695

1,488 1500

1,138

Number of Individuals Number 1000 933

660 641 408 500

167 168 201

0 July May April June March August January October February November December September Month Graph 3 Annual Distribution of Pelagic Cormorant Heron in the Study Area

250 234 N = 575

200

150

100

Number of Individuals Number 74 60

50 31 32 34 34 23 19 17 17

0 0 July May April June March August January October

February Month November December September Note: The "0", recorded in July is attributed to no survey performed from the tip of the Roberts Bank causeway due to security access issues (Table 3.3-1). Graph 4 Annual Distribution of Double-crested Cormorant in the Study Area

900 N = 3,878 820 800 779

700

602 600

500 445

400 352

Number of Individuals 300 229 175 192 200

96 100 72 60 56

0 July May April June March August January October February November December September Month Graph 5 Annual Distribution of Western Grebe in the Study Area

450

N = 1,003 400 381

350

300

250

200

150 Number of Individuals 150 120 125

100 86 75

50 28 17 21 000 0 July May April June March August January October February November December September Month Graph 6 Annual Distribution of Dabbling Ducks in the Study Area

140000

N = 497,145

120000 117,646

100000 87,560 82,850 80000

60000

No. of Individuals 49,217 42,329 42,014 35,128 40000

21,351 12,449 20000

4,275 1,799 527 0 July May April June March August January October February November December September Month Graph 7 Annual Distribution of Shorebirds in the Study Area

200000 N = 518,057 181,478 180000

160000

140000

120000 101,934 100000 84,430 80000

Number of Individuals Number 62,127 60000

40000

18,866 12,206 20,270 20,059 20000 8,861 5,246 1,527 1,051 0 Jan Feb July May April June March August October November December September Month Graph 8 Annual Distribution of Diving Ducks in the Study Area

7000 N = 44,327 6,497

5,940 6000 5,408 5,295 5,336

5000 4,631 4,414

4000 3,608

3000 2,479 Number of Individuals Number

2000

1000 409 272 38 0 July May April June March August January October February November December September Month Graph 9 Annual Distribution of Gulls in the Study Area

16000

N = 92,961 13,388 14000

12000 10,644 10,730 10,060 9,887 10000 9,717

8000

5,525 6000 5,269

Number of Individuals Number 4,983 5,042

4,046 3,670 4000

2000

0 July May April June March August January October February November December September Month Graph 10 Annual Distribution of Piscivorous Birds in the Study Area

9000 N = 47,508 8000 7,651

7000 6,294 5,616 6000 5,467

5000

4000 3,246 3,228 3,080 3,202 2,726 Number of Individuals Number 2,875 3000 2,225 1,898 2000

1000

0 July May April June March August January October February November December September Month Graph 11 Annual Distribution of Geese and Swans in the Study Area

12000 11,360 N = 33,229

10000

8000

6,376 6,139 6000

Number of Individuals Number 4000 3,073 2,581

2000 1,019 1,155 607 419 378 100 22 0 July May April June March August January October February November December September Month