1 Utilizing Vocalizations to Survey, Identify and Monitor Eastern Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis) on Long Island, New York By Andria L McMaugh Masters of Natural Resources, Oregon State University, 2019 2 Abstract The Eastern black rail (laterallus jamaicanesis) is the smallest of the rail species and facing catastrophic decline throughout its home range. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the black rail population has decreased as much as 90%, leading to its proposed Federal listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (2018). Due to its potential change in listing status, it is important to get accurate population estimates for the black rail and to establish survey methods to detect absence/presence of this mysterious species. To that end, this project documents my work initiated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on a pilot study to determine the presence of black rail at a historic breeding site at Gilgo State Park, Oak Beach, NY. Initiated in 2017, the first year of the study consisted of determining survey routes, ground truthing the survey route and working out the logistics of accessing the marsh. In 2018, the department launched and conducted its first call-response black rail survey, recording a positive detection for the species. This was the first detection of black rails on Long Island since the 2nd Breeding Bird Atlas was conducted between 2000-2005, during which time one bird was heard calling from the marsh (McGowan and Corwin, 2008). This call-response survey protocol was repeated in 2019 with the addition of an acoustic element and vegetation surveys to determine associations with vegetative habitats. The project has yielded positive detection of the black rail at Oak Beach, NY, which has subsequently been analyzed for variables of tide cycle and moon phase and factors that may limit presence of black rails at Oak Beach (availability of quality habitat, presence of predators, and natural range limitations.) By creating a working survey method, researchers can work together in determining where black rails are present and take the necessary steps to protect them and their habitats. 3 Submitted to the College of Forestry, Oregon State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Natural Resources ____________________________________________ Samuel S. Chan, Major Advisor ____________________________________________ Janean Creighton ____________________________________________ Badege Bishaw, Committee Members 4 Acknowledgements I would like to first thank Chip Hamilton for making me part of this exciting project and encouraging my love of marsh birds and professional growth. Without him, this idea would have remained just an idea. I would also like to thank Jessica Ermak and Adrianna Cappello for their work and dedication to this project and helping to make it come to life during its various stages. Without their hard work and positivity, this project would not have been possible. Thank you to my advisor, Dr. Samuel Chan who provided me guidance every step of the way in taking a few ideas and helping me turn them into this capstone project. His knowledge has been invaluable in this journey. I would also like to thank Dr. Janean Creighton and Dr. Badege Bishaw for the dedication of their time and knowledge as members of my graduate committee. Thank you to Ms. Julie Lundgren of New York Natural Heritage for sharing her love and knowledge of the marsh on our vegetation surveys which have provided so much insight on our marsh habitat. And finally, thank you to Celia Neumann, Maria Maragni and Timothy Sexton for their overwhelming support of my academic degree and patience during this project and journey. Thank you for always believing in me, and thinking of me during my nights out on the marsh. 5 Table Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ 4 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Threats to Marsh Birds ......................................................................................................................... 9 Survey Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 13 Methods ................................................................................................................................................... 14 Survey Site ......................................................................................................................................... 14 Call-Response Surveys .................................................................................................................. 16 Acoustic Surveys .............................................................................................................................. 20 Vegetation Surveys ......................................................................................................................... 23 Results ............................................................................................................................................ 24 Results & Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 27 Engagement and communication plan ........................................................................................ 33 Future Work Plan and Conclusion ................................................................................................ 36 Works Cited: .......................................................................................................................................... 39 6 Introduction The Eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis) is a sparrow sized marsh bird measuring between 10-15 centimeters in length and weighing about 35 grams, making it the smallest rail in North America (Figure 1)(Eddleman et al. 1994). Historically it has a wide breeding range, including the coastal regions of North America from Texas in the southwest to Massachusetts in the northeast (Figure 2). Within its range, black rails primarily inhabit tidal and fresh water marshes, preferring to nest in the marsh-upland interface. They generally prefer shallower water compared to other rail species to feed and breed in, nesting in Spartina patens and Spartina alterniflora (Watkins 2007). Egg laying and incubation occur primarily between May and August but can be as early as March and April (Watts 2016). Adult females lay 1 egg per day, with an average clutch size of 7 (Legare and Eddleman 2001, cited in USFW 2019). Eggs are incubated for 17-20 days, with both birds helping with incubation and brood rearing. Figure 1: Adult black rail, photo taken by Sara Dzielski, Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s MacCaulay Library. 7 Black rails are nocturnal and highly secretive, preferring to walk or run rather than fly. They feed on aquatic invertebrates and seeds but are considered somewhat opportunistic (Eddelmen et. al 1994). Historically speaking, it is believed that black rails have always been rare in New York State, which is at the Northern edge of their breeding range (McGowan and Corwin 2008). Black rails were first documented in New York in 1870 in Yates County, and first on Long Island in 1884. In subsequent years, black rails were positively identified at various barrier islands of Long Island, with most discoveries located in Oak Beach. Prior to the present survey, the last positive identification for black rail on Long Island was a bird heard in Amagansett, NY in 2009, documented on the online database for bird observations, ebird1. 1 https://ebird.org/home 8 Figure 2: Range map, taken from eBird1 data. Overall, the Northern population of black rails has faced a catastrophic decline, estimated at 9.2% overall (Watts 2016). This is based on a study area of approximately 450km, ranging from Massachusetts to New Jersey, surveyed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and again in between 2014 and 2016 (Watts 2016). The black rail has been listed as endangered in New York State and a proposal stands to list it as threatened under the Endangered Species Act as of September, 2018. It has a Natural Heritage ranking of S12(critically imperiled.) According to the United 2 A ranking of S1 according to New York Natural Heritage Foundation indicates a species that is” Critically imperiled in the nation or state/province because of extreme rarity (often 5 or fewer occurrences) or because of some factor(s) such as very steep declines making it especially vulnerable to extirpation from the state/province.” (New York Natural Heritage Foundation, https://guides.nynhp.org/definitions/) 9 States Fish and Wildlife Service, it is estimated that between only 355 and 815 breeding pairs of black rails exist along the Atlantic Coast, between New Jersey and the Gulf Coast of Florida (USFW 2018). Additionally, black rails are among the 139 focal species that U.S. Fish & Wildlife is focusing on as management priorities (Conway 2011). With the status of the black rail as it is, it is imperative to identify locations where they still breed in addition to developing sound survey protocol to help identify these secretive marsh birds. During the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s 2018 black rail survey, staff