Guam Kingfishers Gone Wild! It's Not Easy (And
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CONSERVATION & RESEARCH UPDATES FROM THE NATIONAL AVIARY SPRING 2017 HUMAN IMPACTS ANIMAL PROGRAMS It’s Not Easy Guam Kingfishers Gone Wild! (and sometimes it’s Readying birds for reintroduction messy) Being Green! by Travis Henderson, Senior Aviculturist by Jenny Walsh, Green Team Coordinator he successful reintroduction into native Thabitat of birds that originate from zoos is one of the greatest goals conservationists face. But one of the biggest obstacles that may need to be overcome is getting those birds to hunt and eat natural prey, especially when they may have never had the opportunity to hunt in the wild! Do predators lose that innate ability? Guam Kingfishers(Todiramphus cinnamominus) are a well-known example of an avian species substantially affected negatively by humans through the introduction of the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) to Guam from Australia. pre-deceased vertebrate prey. This raises a This efficient arboreal predator quickly serious question: do zoo-bred birds retain became invasive in a setting where none of the instinctive prey-hunting behaviors the native avifauna had evolved defenses needed for survival? onservation at the National Aviary is against a snake predator, and where the At the National Aviary, we have been Cnot just about long days in the field snakes themselves had virtually no natural working closely with this species in an off- monitoring bird populations, assessing predators. In just a few decades, several exhibit breeding center. Two of our pairs habitat characteristics, or even enticing endemic birds disappeared, and others had together produced a total of four chicks in endangered birds at the Aviary to breed. declined to the point of imminent extinction. 2016, and we have subsequently focused on We also strive to make our own living By 1985, this dire situation necessitated a project to assess whether these birds can environment as sustainable as possible, drastic action: biologists captured every still capture live prey. As classic sit-and- and to set a good example for our visitors, single remaining wild kingfisher in an effort wait predators, Guam Kingfishers observe through our in-house Green Team. to prevent extinction of the species. the world around them and keep a sharp The National Aviary’s Green Team is For 30 years, the Guam Kingfisher eye out for any potential prey. They attack made up of devoted staff members from has been carefully managed and bred suitable prey by diving at it and capturing it various departments who develop and in accredited zoological organizations in their beak’s. Before swallowing it whole, support sustainability initiatives throughout selected to participate in a Species Survival they subdue their prey by striking it against the National Aviary. The Green Team was Program®. Participants in this program look a branch or the ground. founded under the idea that the Aviary forward to the day that offspring of the few To find out if the hunting instinct and is an institution that is focused on saving remaining wild-caught birds will be able to skills persist even in zoo-reared kingfishers, species, and saving species requires be reintroduced into the wild on a snake- we ensured that our Guam Kingfishers’ the protection of habitats through the free island near Guam — perhaps as soon habitat replicated their natural living space, conservation of natural resources. Together as 2018. Under zoological care, kingfishers including a simulated natural forest floor of we hope to show our visitors that each of that are three or four generations removed leaves, mulch, rocks, branches and natural us can practice conservation in small but from their wild ancestors subsist largely food. Guam Kingfishers eat green anoles meaningful ways every day. on inactive prey, such as mealworms and (Anolis carolinensis), a reptile species that is continued on page 6 continued on page 6 PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SAN VITO BIRD CLUB VITO OF THE SAN COURTESY PHOTO 2 FROM THE EDITOR Zoos are S.A.F.E. Places any National Aviary members and regular readers of FlightPaths will certainly be aware of the Mimportance of zoos as a repository for many threatened and endangered species. These birds, and many other animals, too, are maintained under Species Survival Plans®, whereby collaborating zoos agree to cooperatively manage species in order to insure the greatest possible genetic variability. Such variability is required for healthy zoo populations and greatly increases the chances for success when The National Aviary inspires reintroductions are made to the wild. respect for nature through an Reintroducing birds from zoos back into the wild is a major conservation goal of the National appreciation of birds. Aviary, which has been achieved for a number of species. For example, Andean Condors hatched at the National Aviary have been returned to the mountains of Colombia, and we have laid the groundwork Editor for future condor chicks hatched here to be released into the Ecuadorian wilds. In addition, we Steven Latta, Ph.D. Director, Conservation and Field Research have hatched and raised some 25 birds for the Guam Rail reintroduction program, one of the largest [email protected] contributions by any zoo. And in this issue, you will read about our innovative techniques to assess the natural hunting behaviors of our Guam Kingfishers — a critical step before returning these predators to Managing Editor their rightful place in a natural ecosystem. Robert Mulvihill, M.Sc. Ornithologist We are a supporter of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s Saving Animals From Extinction [email protected] (SAFE) efforts, which include building capacity to increase direct conservation spending, as well as saving species through research work in the field. At the National Aviary we work to conserve many Allegheny Commons West other species not found in our collection, but which are of real conservation significance in the wild. 700 Arch Street Pittsburgh, PA 15212-5248 After all, our goal is to identify, stabilize, and reverse declining populations before they become 412-323-7235 threatened to the point of needing to be saved by zoos. Our research, monitoring and education programs support conservation at local, national and international levels. Many of these efforts focus on the need to understand how growing human populations and resource consumption affect birds and their habitats. Birds are among the best indicators of these crucial impacts and true sentinels for problems that human communities face. For example, if birds bioaccumulate heavy metals found in aquatic habitats, humans participating in the same food web may also face grave dangers originating from similar sources. Long-term monitoring also serves conservation objectives as seen in our efforts to understand Printed on recycled paper population trends of species occurring in threatened habitats of the Caribbean, tropical forests and the FSC and post-consumer mark here high Andes of Ecuador. As highlighted in this issue, results of our monitoring efforts in the Dominican Republic — one of only two long-term data sets from the Caribbean region — may be critically important for documenting population declines of Neotropical migratory birds and for devising ways to address those declines. www.aviary.org Of course, all of our research and monitoring efforts would be of little value without using them to Follow us on Twitter: @National_Aviary inform education programs for National Aviary members, the broader public and the next generation Facebook.com/NationalAviary of conservationists. As Trisha O’Neill writes, from exhibitry to grade-school programs to internships for young professionals, our education programming illustrates and reinforces the strides that zoos like the National Aviary are making toward saving wild birds in their natural habitats all around the world. Steven Latta, Ph.D. Director, Conservation and Field Research SPRING 2017 | 3 PARTNERING FOR CONSERVATION Bird Monitoring in Latin America: Some Better News for a Change by Steven Latta ot far from the Caribbean Sea, amid On-site training is a major emphasis of our whose take-home messages are all-too-often Ncoastal thorn scrub forest barely shading monitoring efforts. Opportunities to learn how discouraging. a dog-tooth limestone floor, I work to gently to use mist nets are rare in many countries Similar encouraging news has come from extract a delicate Cape May Warbler from and, as anyone who has held a bird in the a recent analysis of our 10-year monitoring a mist net. I am coordinating another year hand can attest, there is nothing like it for dataset from southern Costa Rica. Here, of monitoring of overwintering Neotropical turning an interest in birds into a passion for independent studies of changes in land use migratory birds, as well as resident and the cause of their conservation! Many of our have noted the decline of human impacts in endemic species in the border region of the monitoring and banding interns have gone on the region. A decline in agricultural activities, Dominican Republic (DR) and Haiti that I first to study biology or ornithology, or to become in particular, has led to reforestation in the visited in 1994. key leaders in natural resource management region containing our study plots. Although Monitoring bird populations using mist agencies in their home countries. the habitat of our long-term monitoring plots netting is a proven tool for measuring changes Our monitoring programs in the DR build within forests did not change substantially, in bird populations. With the right study upon and extend similar efforts by colleagues we recorded more forest-loving species and design, it can even help us to understand in nearby Puerto Rico, where precipitous fewer species typical of disturbed habitats what factors may be contributing to changes declines in both overwintering migratory and scrub, suggesting that increases in forest that we observe. Furthermore, monitoring birds and permanent resident birds have been availability at the landscape level can have often opens the door to focal studies on the documented.