Yellow-Billed Cuckoo Distribution, Abundance, and Habitat Use on the Lower Colorado River and Tributaries
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Yellow-billed Cuckoo Distribution, Abundance, and Habitat Use on the Lower Colorado River and Tributaries 2012 Annual Report March 2013 Yellow-billed Cuckoo Distribution, Abundance, and Habitat Use on the Lower Colorado River and Tributaries 2012 Annual Report Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Steering Committee Members Federal Participant Group California Participant Group Bureau of Reclamation California Department of Fish and Game U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service City of Needles National Park Service Coachella Valley Water District Bureau of Land Management Colorado River Board of California Bureau of Indian Affairs Bard Water District Western Area Power Administration Imperial Irrigation District Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Palo Verde Irrigation District Arizona Participant Group San Diego County Water Authority Southern California Edison Company Arizona Department of Water Resources Southern California Public Power Authority Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern Arizona Game and Fish Department California Arizona Power Authority Central Arizona Water Conservation District Cibola Valley Irrigation and Drainage District Nevada Participant Group City of Bullhead City City of Lake Havasu City Colorado River Commission of Nevada City of Mesa Nevada Department of Wildlife City of Somerton Southern Nevada Water Authority City of Yuma Colorado River Commission Power Users Electrical District No. 3, Pinal County, Arizona Basic Water Company Golden Shores Water Conservation District Mohave County Water Authority Mohave Valley Irrigation and Drainage District Native American Participant Group Mohave Water Conservation District North Gila Valley Irrigation and Drainage District Hualapai Tribe Town of Fredonia Colorado River Indian Tribes Town of Thatcher Chemehuevi Indian Tribe Town of Wickenburg Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District Unit “B” Irrigation and Drainage District Conservation Participant Group Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District Yuma County Water Users’ Association Ducks Unlimited Yuma Irrigation District Lower Colorado River RC&D Area, Inc. Yuma Mesa Irrigation and Drainage District The Nature Conservancy Other Interested Parties Participant Group QuadState County Government Coalition Desert Wildlife Unlimited March 2013 March 2013 Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Yellow-billed Cuckoo Distribution, Abundance and Habitat Use on the Lower Colorado River and Tributaries 2012 Annual Report Prepared by: Shannon E. McNeil, Diane Tracy, John R. Stanek, and Jenna E. Stanek Southern Sierra Research Station PO Box 1316, Weldon, CA 93283 Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado Region Boulder City, Nevada http://www.LCR MSCP.gov March 2013 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ANOVA analysis of variance BLM Bureau of Land Management BP brood patch BWRNWR Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge CDFG California Department of Fish and Game CI confidence interval cm centimeter(s) COB confirmed CP cloacal protuberance CVCA Cibola Valley Conservation Area DBH diameter breast height ESA Endangered Species Act g gram(s) GPS Global Positioning System ha hectare(s) KDE kernel density estimate km kilometer(s) LCR lower Colorado River LCR MSCP Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program m meter(s) MCP minimum convex polygon mHz megahertz NWR National Wildlife Refuge POS possible PRB probable PVER Palo Verde Ecological Reserve Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation RH relative humidity SD standard deviation SRA State Recreation Area USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service WMA Wildlife Management Area YBCU yellow-billed cuckoo Symbols ° degrees °C degrees Celsius °F degrees Fahrenheit % percent CONTENTS Page Executive Summary .............................................................................................. vii Introduction and Project Background .................................................................... ix Yellow-billed Cuckoo History and Biology ................................................. ix Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program ........................x Objectives ..................................................................................................... xi Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Methods....................................................................................................................1 Study Area and Survey Site Selection ............................................................1 Presence-Absence Surveys .............................................................................3 Survey Detection Probability and Habitat Use ...............................................6 Results ......................................................................................................................9 Presence-Absence Surveys .............................................................................9 Survey Detection Probability and Habitat Use .............................................12 Discussion ..............................................................................................................14 Introduction ............................................................................................................17 Methods.........................................................................................................17 Results ....................................................................................................................19 Site Territory Estimates ................................................................................19 Survey Area Territories per Hectare .............................................................28 Discussion ..............................................................................................................28 Introduction ............................................................................................................33 Methods..................................................................................................................33 Results ....................................................................................................................35 Discussion ..............................................................................................................38 Introduction ............................................................................................................41 Methods..................................................................................................................42 Mist Netting ..................................................................................................42 Color Banding ...............................................................................................42 Re-sights .......................................................................................................43 Telemetry ......................................................................................................43 Results ....................................................................................................................44 Mist Netting ..................................................................................................44 Color Banding and Re-sights ........................................................................45 Telemetry ......................................................................................................49 Discussion ..............................................................................................................52 Introduction ............................................................................................................57 Methods.........................................................................................................57 Data Analysis ................................................................................................58 Results ...........................................................................................................60 Discussion ..............................................................................................................64 i Acknowledgements ................................................................................................67 Literature Cited ......................................................................................................69 Tables Table Page 1-1 Northern (Reaches 1–3) yellow-billed cuckoo survey sites, 2012 ........... 4 1-2 Southern (Reach 4-6) yellow-billed cuckoo survey sites, 2012 ............... 5 1-3 LCR YBCU survey period dates, 2012..................................................... 5 1-4 Summary of definitions for study area, river reach, survey area, survey site, and survey point .................................................................. 7 1-5 Summary of definitions for habitat use estimation terms ......................... 8 1-6 LCR YBCU survey detections for Reach 1 (Pahranagat NWR and Overton Wildlife Management Area) sites, 2012 ........................... 9 1-7 LCR YBCU survey detections for Reach 3 (Havasu NWR) sites, 2012........................................................................................................ 9 1-8 LCR YBCU survey detections for Reach 3 (Bill Williams River NWR) sites,