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Utilizing Vocalizations to Survey, Identify and Monitor Eastern Black (Laterallus jamaicensis) on ,

By Andria L McMaugh

Masters of Natural Resources, Oregon State University, 2019

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Abstract

The Eastern (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 , 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 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.

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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 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.

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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

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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 positively identified at least one black rail present in the study site at Oak Beach, New York. This is part of their historical breeding habitat. 2019 studies will focus on repeating this discovery, with hopes of identifying a breeding pair.

Threats to Marsh Birds Marsh birds, the black rail included, are important indicators for a multitude of environmental factors. These factors include environmental pollutants, changes in hydrology and sea level rise, and overall health of the marsh with reference to stability and vegetation types. Marsh birds are a group of water birds that include rails, bitterns, grebes, snipe and gallinule. They typically live in dense, emergent wetlands and are known for their elusive nature (New York State Department of Environmental

Conservation 2019). Rail species have specialized feeding and nesting behaviors, which are affected by the tide, vegetation, and human disturbance. In addition, marsh birds in 10 general are at the top of marsh food webs, making them more susceptible to contaminants that may bio accumulate in marshes (Ogden, 2014). Marsh systems have low diversity but high-productivity, making these specialized birds sensitive to even small changes in their habitat including changes of hydrology and vegetation structure.

This is because marsh birds rely heavily on tide cycles and vegetation structure for feeding and nesting.

Rails utilize habitat dominated by vegetation to provide them with places to hide. They rarely fly, and feed upon the water’s surface. This makes rails susceptible to additional contaminants such as oil spills or pollution from run-off. Likewise, rails are sensitive to large scale environmental pressures like global warming and subsequent sea level rise, which can impact the health of coastal salt-marshes.

Factors that affect marsh health impact many bird populations, including black rails. In a study by Peteet et. al (2018), researchers found that marsh health is at risk due to urbanization pressures combined with sea level rise. Peteet et. al studied two New

York marshes in Jamaica Bay, finding an overall loss of mineral sediment. Sediment is important to marsh structure because it traps nutrients in the marsh, which are essential for the growth of vegetation (Loaiza 2008). A loss of sediment makes it more difficult for vegetation to take root, which reduces marsh stability making it more susceptible to erosion and or flooding. In a similar study of 14 marshes in New York and

Connecticut, researchers found that not only is there a decrease or mineral sediment, 11 but declining relative marsh elevations as well (Hill 2015). Declining elevations make marshes more susceptible to flooding, reducing habitat for marsh birds to nest in.

Habitat loss greatly affects marsh bird populations across the United States, as emergent wetlands have steadily decreased since the early 1900’s (Tiner 1984.)

According to Dahl (2013), aerial coverage of wetlands declined by 21% between 1950 and 2004, negatively impacting the variety of taxa that live in these systems. Broad-scale submergence is a problem, turning pools and pannes3 into open water that is not conducive to marsh dwelling species. Broad scale submergence reduces feeding and nesting habitat, as pools and pannes often contain food sources for marsh birds such as mosquito larva or minnows. Additionally, most marsh vegetation is not adapted to continual submersion and if submerged repeatedly, will die off. Vegetation is important to marsh structure, helping to stabilize it as well as providing places for marsh birds to nest in and find cover from predators. Therefore, a loss of marsh vegetation negatively affects the stability of the marsh, and marsh birds.

Salt marshes are resilient to several natural disturbances, including seasonal changes and severe weather. Ice sheets combined with tidal action can work to cut grass stems when pushed up into the marsh and deposit debris. Debris and sediment are also deposited on the marsh during daily tide cycles, and especially during severe

3 Salt pools and salt pannes are water retaining depressions in the marsh, that are void of vegetation and often have a silt bottom. While pools generally will hold water during summer months, pannes do not 12 weather such as hurricanes (Niering and Warren, 1980). Salt marshes are normally resilient to these natural, regular disturbances, but these natural disturbances can be exacerbated by human impacts from which marshes cannot always rebound.

Human impacts to marsh bring with them multiple consequences, including physical loss of land from development and an increase in predators such as raccoons, feral cats and rats (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2019).

Visitors to nearby communities and beaches can also serve to attract predators, especially during summer months when traffic is high and garbage cans are frequently full. Unfortunately, no data currently exists on the predator populations at the Oak

Beach site.

The encroachment of invasive species, mainly Phragmites australis, also contributes to overall habitat loss in high-marsh systems. Historically, phragmites is thought to have been a normal part of some high-marsh systems, with its spread limited by salinity levels and by other dominant vegetation (Orson 1999). However, with human development and growth, it has rapidly spread, especially around urban centers

(Chambers 2012). According to Bart et al. (2006), Phragmites usually establishes in wetlands subject to human disturbance, which is characteristic of our study site at Oak

Beach. Like most invasive species, Phragmites australis is highly adaptable. It has a high tolerance for flooding, efficient use of nutrients and a high growth rate (Chambers

2012). Stands can quickly establish, choking out and displacing native vegetation like 13

Spartina alterinflora and Spartina patens, in which many marsh birds, including black rails, nest (Windham and Meyerson 2003).

Furthermore, in wetlands dominated by Phragmites, researchers have found that bird diversity is negatively affected by its presence (Benoit et al. 1999). Benoit et al. found that compared to salt-marshes dominated by short grasses like spartina, salt- marshes dominated by Phragmites had fewer long-legged waders. Furthermore, passerines including seaside sparrows and saltmarsh sparrows were also negatively correlated with the presence of Phragmites. Notably, Virginia rails, which prefer tall woody vegetation, still preferred cattail marshes over those dominated by Phragmites

(Benoit et al. 1999). This suggests that rails choose specific vegetation, rather than an overall vegetation type.

However small stands of phragmites do have positive impacts in marshes and can help remove nitrogen pollution from surface waters, as seen in a study by Gonzalez-

Alcaraz et al. (2012). The goal is to make sure stands of invasive phragmites are controlled, which can be accomplished by herbicide application if necessary (Blossey

2016). Prescribed fire is also suggested as a means of controlling Phragmites, by itself or in conjunction with herbicide application to remove dead stands (Clark 1998).

Survey Objectives The objectives for the black rail survey are two-fold: 1) to identify if black rails 14 are present at the historic Oak Beach site by using call-response surveys, and 2) to test the survey protocol to see if call-response surveys would work to elicit responses from black rails. Because black rails are candidates for listing under the Endangered Species

Act, it is important to get population estimates to track changes over time. In addition, knowing where black rails are nesting and breeding is essential if future habitats are to be identified and protected. If successful, this method could be used across Long Island in historic breeding locations to determine absence/presence of black rails.

Methods Survey Site The survey site was a 2.3-mile stretch of marsh in Oak Beach, consisting of high and low marsh habitat. According to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental

Services, the low marsh habitat exists on the seaward side of the marsh, is regularly flooded by tides, and consists primarily of Spartina alterniflora (2014.) High marsh habitat on the other hand, exists between the low marsh and upland edge of the marsh, consists primarily of Spartina patens, and generally is only flooded during very high tides. The Oak Beach location was chosen because it is listed as the only site for black rail in the current Breeding Bird Atlas (McGowan and Corwin 2008). Oak Beach is in the southwestern part of Long Island, on the Jones Beach barrier island. It has the Great

South Bay to the north (marshland) and the Atlantic Ocean (Gilgo Beach State Park) to the south (beach front) (Figure 3). There is a small community located on Oak Beach island, which is accessible only by boat. The marsh itself is New York State Parks property, with permission granted to New York State Department of Environmental 15

Conservation for the purpose of the survey. The barrier island itself is severely fragmented by Ocean Parkway, a 6 lane 15.59-mile parkway that connects Jones Beach to the mainland at (Figure 4). Ocean Parkway divides the barrier island into beach front to the south, and marsh to the north.

Figure 3: 2018 black rail survey area, indicated in the south end of the map by a yellow area. This is the same area was used for the 2019 surveys, on the barrier island of Jones Beach island.

Historically, the first inhabitants of Oak Beach established the community in the late nineteenth century upon building a Coast Guard station. The building was constructed in 1872 as the headquarters for the U.S. Lifesaving Service, which eventually became the U.S. Coast Guard. It was used until 1945. Prior to that, the only structures were small shacks used by hunters. Oak Beach was primarily a summer community until the 1950’s when highways like Ocean Parkway made it more accessible 16 to the mainland.

Direct access to the marsh is not available to members of the public for safety reasons and to preserve the integrity of the marsh and the rare species found there.

Members of the public can access nearby Gilgo Beach (located on the south/ocean side of the road) for recreational purposes including fishing and nature watching. It is accessible only via 4-wheel drive vehicles and is managed for various endangered species including piping plovers (Chadrius melodus) and sea beach amaranth

(Amaranthus pumilus).

Figure 4: Map of the Jones barrier island Ocean Parkway, marked in red.

Call-Response Surveys The call-response method used was based on Courtney Conway’s Standardized

North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Protocol (2011). This same protocol is used on 17 other New York State marsh bird survey, surveying for secretive marsh birds including

Virginia rail (Rallus limicola), American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), sora ( carolina), and purple gallinule (Porphyrula martinica). The standardized protocol was created to document absence/presence of marsh birds and use this information to estimate density, evaluate population trends, inform management actions and document wetland conditions that affect marsh birds (Conway 2011). By using a standardized method, researchers can compare results with one another and better evaluate population trends over time. Call-response methods have proven to be most successful in detecting elusive marsh birds by eliciting a response from birds who are generally hidden from visual point-count surveys (Allen et al. 2004).

The survey points consist of seven locations that are 400 meters apart, based on

Conway’s suggested 6-8 points and 400 meter spacing. The purpose of the 400-meter spacing is to make sure birds from previous or later points aren’t responding to the broadcasts from other points, and avoid double counting. The points are labeled BLRA1 through BLRA7, using “BLRA,” the species code for the black rail (Laterallus jamaicanesis)(Figure 5). The points were selected due to their proximity to the high marsh/upland interface and placed in the high marsh, dominated by Spartina alterniflora. Points were also based on the access and exit points in the marsh, and while chosen for their proximity to the high marsh, somewhat random in their exact placement. Point 2 was consistently not surveyed due to the lack of suitable habitat, that was discovered after it was chosen. 18

Figure 5: Survey site with points placed.

For survey purposes, surveyors accessed the marsh by climbing down the boardwalk at the Cedar Beach Marina (Figure 5). The survey takes place entirely on the marsh, and surveyors exit the site via the vehicle parking lot for Oak Island. For most of the survey site, there is dense upland vegetation between the marsh and the roadside

(Figure 6). This makes it difficult to access individual points without starting at the beginning or end points of the survey. Likewise, the tide cycle is important for survey purposes, and to get off the marsh safely. High tide cycles can make water too deep to exit the marsh on the eastern end of the survey. Since the marsh is so difficult to access, limited data exists on the natural history of it. 19

Figure 6: Survey site photo, note the dense vegetation in the background, at the end of the marsh. This creates a dense upland barrier between the marsh and roadway.

Using an MP3 player and small speaker, surveyors spent a total of 10 minutes at each sampling location, with 4 minutes of passive listening, 4 minutes of black rail playbacks, and 2 minutes of Virginia rail playbacks. Two different black rail calls are used: the typical kik-kik-ker and a growl call. The churt call was not included, however it may be added in subsequent years. In a study by Legare et al, researchers noted that male and female black rails tended to respond to different call types. Males responded to the kik-kik-ker and the growl most of the type (45% and 46% respectively) and females responded to a churt 65% of the time (Legare et al. 1999). By varying the call types, the call-responses are not limited to responses by only male or female birds.

The calls are played at 80 decibels from a speaker placed as close to the ground as possible, often hanging on low branches to keep it dry. This approximates the 20 location that black rails would naturally be calling from. Surveyors stand at least 2 meters from the speaker, to allow them to hear the call-backs over the broadcasted call.

Virginia rail calls are included in the survey as well for several reasons. In marsh bird study conducted by Allen et al., researchers determined that many responses were not species specific, i.e. birds were not necessarily responding to their own species call, but to calls in general (2014). Playing Virginia rail calls not only serves to help elicit responses from black rails, but also acts as a control since Virginia rails are present at the site. At each point, surveyors record survey point number, time, temperature, weather conditions and wind speed/direction.

Surveys are split into 4 different windows based on breeding behavior and are conducted at least ten days apart. Surveys take place between 10PM and 3AM, when black rails are most likely to be calling. The windows are:

1 Window 1: May 1-15 2 Window 2: May 16-31 3 Window 3: June 1-15 4 Window 4: June 15-30

Acoustic Surveys As outlined, traditional survey methods are laborious and time intensive.

Because of this, an acoustic recording survey was developed in addition to the call play back methods discussed above to determine absence/presence of black rails. This 21 method is based on the acoustic surveys used to detect northern long-eared bats

(Myotis septentrionalis). To do this, a Song Meter SM4 recorder was placed in the marsh, between survey points 3 and 4 (Figure 7). The Song Meter was programmed to record at sunset and 2 hours afterwards, and 2 hours before sunrise for 2 to 3 days. The files are then manually listened to, recording any instances of black rails calling.

In partnership with Cornell, RavenPro software was also being tested to help with the process of analyzing acoustic data. While this was not a goal of our study, the hope is that it will make it easier to analyze acoustics for black rail calls. The RavenPro software will eventually filter out the spectrogram for the black rail so that the file doesn’t have to be manually listened to (Figure 8). This will allow researchers to quickly analyze acoustic files for absence/presence of black rails and avoid the laborious process of manually listening to the acoustic files. Eventually, acoustic surveys can help supplement labor-intensive marsh bird surveys to collect more data.

While acoustic surveys can never completely replace call-response surveys done by human observers, they can provide a greater spectrum of data, especially during tide cycles when access to the marsh is difficult. 22

Figure 7: Detector deployed at survey site. This detector was deployed between July 15th and July 17th.

Figure 8: Acoustic black rail calls being analyzed in RavenPro software.

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Vegetation Surveys In partnership with NY Natural Heritage Foundation, a set of vegetation surveys were conducted at the survey site. Using methodology developed by the Saltmarsh

Habitat and Avian Research Program (SHARP), a team measured vegetative cover, approximate height of vegetation, and recorded the number of species in each of the survey plots. Plots were based on the original black rail survey point locations at Oak

Beach, to discover if rails were using a particular type of habitat over others. Vegetation measurements were conducted on August 7th, 2019 between 11:06am and 1:12pm. This time window was based on the incoming tide, which limited the amount of time that could be spent on the marsh.

To measure vegetation types, several methods were used. First, a 100 meter transect was laid out using measuring tape. Transects emanated at the black rail survey points. Throughout the transect, we recorded vegetation types at several locations along the line: 0m, 11m, 22m, 33m, 45m, 56m, 78m, 89m and 100m. In addition, using the same starting point, we used measuring tape to lay out a 50m radius (Figure 12).

With this radius measured, we visualized circular plots and estimated vegetative cover in these plots (Figure 9). The percent of habitat type within each circle was divided into

10 categories: low marsh, high marsh, salt marsh terrestrial border, brackish terrestrial border, invasive species, pannes, pools and creeks, open water, upland, wrack and dead snags. At each point, vegetation was recorded, as well as any standing water, algae, 24 bare ground, wrack4 and rock. Measurements were taken at black rail survey points 3-7

(BLRA 3- BLRA7) with points 1 and 2 omitted because of the rising tide.

Figure 9: Completed vegetation data sheet with cover types.

Results Cover classes at our survey locations consisted of high marsh, low marsh, pannes, pools and creeks, and eelgrass wrack.

The dominant vegetation consisted of Spartina alterniflora in both the tall and short forms, and Spartina patens (Figure 10). In addition, Disthichilis spicata, Limomium

4 Organic material that washes up on shore, mostly eelgrass 25

(sea lavender) and Salicornia ambigua were also present in small quantities in the marsh.

Species BLRA 7 BLRA 6 BLRA 5 BLRA 4 BLRA 3 Total Spartina alterniflora- tall 1 1 4 1 6 13 Spartina alterniflora- short 8 7 6 4 25 Spartina patens 3 1 1 5 Disthichilis spicata 1 1 Salicornia ambigua 1 1 1 3 Phragmites australis 1 1 Standing Water 1 3 4 Algae 0 Bare ground 0 Wrack (eelgrass) 0 Rock 0 Figure 10: Vegetation types in survey plots, based on a 100m transect line.

Figure 11: Stand of phragmites found at the study site.

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The invasive plant Phragmites australis was found at 2 of the 5 sites, in cover classes of 0.5 (<1%) and 3 (11-25%) (Figure 11). Stands present were small, and interspersed with S. Patens and S. alterniflora.

Black rail survey point number 3 (BLRA3) was of particular interest, since it is the point where black rails have been detected in both 2018 and 2019. Although the sample was small, BLRA3 had a conspicuous difference in vegetation. While other survey points were dominated by short grasses (S. patens, S. alterniflora (short), and Disthichilis),

BLRA3 was dominated by tall S. alterniflora. This suggests that black rails may prefer the taller grass for cover. Future surveys can expand on this small sample, using multiple areas near the survey points to see if it holds true.

During the vegetative surveys, several rare species were also documented, including Seaside dragonlets (Erythrodiplax berenice), a coastal dragonfly living in saltmarshes, and classified as rare by the New York Natural Heritage Program.

The seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus) was also observed. Seaside sparrows are a species of special concern in New York State and like rails, are very affected by the loss of wetlands. Additional species observed were red-winged blackbirds, marsh wrens, glossy ibis, tree sparrows and common terns. 27

Figure 12: Surveyors A. McMaugh and C. Hamilton recording vegetation along a survey transect line.

Results & Discussion During the 3 years of survey, black rails were detected at the Oak Beach site in

2/3 years, with the first year’s survey conducted during the daytime. 2018 had 2 positive detections, while 2019 had one positive detection (Figure 13). Both positive detections occurred at survey point 3. As noted in the vegetative surveys, this survey point had the tall form of S. alterniflora, suggesting that black rails prefer this vegetation type over the short form that dominates the other survey points. Taller vegetation provides more cover for black rails when they are calling, and more protection for potential nests. 28

Detection of Black Rails at Oak Beach 6

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4

3

2 BLRA - Black Rail VIRA - Virginia Rail

1 Number Number of Detections

0 6 7 3 4 5 6 7 3 4 5 6 7 2017 2018 2019 Survey Year and Point Number

Figure 13: Number of detections of black rail and Virginia rail by year and survey point. Note, all positive detections for black rail occur at survey point 3.

Tides seem to play an important part in rail identification, as rails tend to call and feed during the middle of tide cycles (Lehmicke et al.). High tides limit foraging opportunities for rails, while low tides leave them susceptible to predators like herons or owls. In addition, low tides can often draw rails to mud flats to feed, which would mean they would likely not be detecting at inland marsh locations. This held true for our

2018 and 2019 black rail surveys, during which all positive identifications occurred during the flood or rising tide cycle, in between low and high tide.

Positive detections for black rails occurred when the moon was between 43% and 57% full (Figure 15). This also corresponds with the three highest detections of

Virginia rails at our study site. Since moon phase can affect tides, moon may also impact when birds are foraging. Full moons and new moons create higher than average or 29 spring tides, limited foraging opportunities for black rails. Another hypothesis is that black rails call more frequently between the new and full moons. Since nest incubation lasts between 17 and 20 days, establishing a nest between spring tides can limit potential flooding. Finally, full moon may make black rails more susceptible to avian predators, such as great-horned owls, so they may avoid calling when the moon is full.

While we surveyed 3 times in both 2018 and 2019, 2018 has 2 positive detections compared to 2019’s 1 positive detection. An explanation for this could be related to when the surveys took place. 2019 surveys took place much earlier than 2018 surveys (Figure 14). Positive detections all occurred after June 9th. This suggests that black rails either are not yet at the site or are not yet calling in earlier survey windows.

2018 Surveys 2019 Surveys

May 17: Absent May 9: Absent

June 7: Present May 20: Absent

June 19: Present July 7: Present

Figure 14: Absence/presence of black rails at survey sites in 2018 and 2019.

In some cases, not all windows could be surveyed due to weather conditions or insufficient staff. In future years, acoustic surveys can take the place of and compliment physical ground surveys in cases where staffing is an issue, to more efficiently survey for black rails, and other secretive marsh birds. Being close to the Ocean Parkway, there is often steady traffic noise as well as visitors camping at nearby campgrounds. Debris 30 occasionally washes up on the marsh in the form of mylar balloons, plastic chairs, and a small boat.

Moon Phase for Positive Rail Detections 7 6 5 4 3 BLRA - Black Rail 2 VIRA - Virginia Rail

Number Number of Detections 1 0 0.075 0.43 0.44 0.28 0.57 0.95 2018 2019 Moon Lighting (%)

Figure 15: Positive detections of black rail (blue) and Virgina rail (red) in reference to moon lighting (% lighting.) Data is separated by year: 2018 and 2019.

One of the questions researchers have is whether black rails seem to be limited by a lack of suitable habitat. Comparing the Oak Beach site to other marshes across Long

Island, there is plenty of suitable high-marsh habitat in which black rails could nest and breed. These coastal salt marshes exist in the Peconic Bay and along the southern shores of Long Island (New York Natural Heritage 2019). Therefore, it is hypothesized that perhaps black rails aren’t breeding on Long Island is due to a lack of birds, and not habitat. Fragmentation of the habitat could be one such cause, as the barrier island is separated severely by Ocean Parkway and internally, it is fragmented by mosquito or grid ditching. In a study by Quesnelle et al. (2013), fragmentation decreased the amount of habitat available for the species studied, which included Virginia rail, sora, and least 31 bitterns. Furthermore, habitat fragmentation degrades habitat, which leaves it open for invasive species or generalist species to take over et al. (Correll 2016). According to a study conducted by Correll et al. (2016), the more specialized a species is, the less likely it is to endure in an ecosystem over time. Black rails are very habitat specific, and according to Correll’s model, are not predicted to persist over time as marsh habitat is lost and generalist species like red winged black birds (Agelaius phoeniceus) start to take over.

In addition to the fragmentation, steady traffic and traffic noise could deter birds. Since black rails are migratory in this part of their range, they may choose to nest elsewhere to do these factors. According to the New York State Department of

Environmental Conservation, the core range of black rails is consists of New Jersey south along the coast to Florida (2019). Furthermore, historic breeding records never document a plethora of birds, and consist of one or two birds at a site or one nest at a location (Watts 2016). This supports the idea that black rails were never abundant on

Long Island to begin with.

In addition to fragmenting the habitat, Ocean Parkway also allows people to access nearby ocean beaches. The influx of people during busy summer months (when black rails are breeding) not only brings more traffic, but garbage which attracts more predators such as raccoons, foxes, and feral cats. While data does not exist for predator populations at Oak Beach, a study by Alicia Protus examined predator populations at nearby Jones Beach, revealing that both raccoons and foxes preyed on the ground- 32 nesting piping plover (Charadrius melodus) nests most frequently between 0000 and

0600 (2016). Being nocturnal, this coincides with when black rails are most actively feeding and calling. Future surveys at Oak Beach could include camera-trap surveys to get an idea of what predators are using this marsh and when they are most active.

The survey site itself is owned by New York State Parks, and access to the marsh itself is prohibited to members of the public. This protects the habitat from most forms of direct human disturbance, i.e. people actively using the marsh for recreation. While some debris washes up on the marsh, there has been no evidence of routine human activity on the study site.

Potential Drivers of Rail Success Potential Impacts Available Habitat • Fragmentation of habitat degrades it, making less available • Invasive species (Phragmites) reduce native vegetation for black rails • Quality of the habitat is impacted by steady traffic noise Population Size • New York is the northern edge of black rail’s range, and black rails have been scare to begin with • A lack of birds limits breeding potential Presence of Predators • Nocturnal predator activity suggests they are most active with black rails are calling • Since black rails are ground nesters, mammalian predators can impact breeding success by preying on eggs and chicks Figure 16: Table summarizing potential drivers and their impacts on black rail success

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Engagement and communication plan Throughout the course of the New York State black rail survey program, a partnership was developed with New York State Parks. Information from our 2017-2019 has been continually shared with State Parks via conference calls. Although they have not been able to send staff to our physical surveys, State Parks along with New York

Natural Heritage Foundation have been very supportive of the surveys. In addition, they have secured funding to purchase several more acoustic detectors, to be deployed during the 2020 surveys.

Results of the 2019 will be formally shared with our partners at New York State

Parks, New York State Natural Heritage Foundation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife at 2020

Audubon Saltmarsh workshop. We hope to convey what we have learned regarding the presence of black rails in New York State, and share our survey protocols with participants, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife, New York Audubon, Seatuck Environmental

Association and New York State Parks, in hopes of scheduling surveys for additional sites for 2020 and identify staff or volunteer opportunities for this labor intensive surveys.

The 2018 black rail survey was shared at the Bureau of Wildlife meeting, held in

Syracuse, NY in February of 2019. The survey was shared in the form of an academic poster during an informal poster session, during which time bureau members from across New York State had an opportunity to ask questions and provide insight on the data collected (Figure 17). This generated a great deal of interest from other regions in 34 which surveys could be expanded. Additionally, since New York State has a secretive marsh bird survey in place, this data could be analyzed for elements of tide and moon phase. While these surveys do not survey for black rail, information about other rail species may provide insight into black rail behavior.

Figure 17: Poster being shared at the New York State Bureau of Wildlife meeting.

Results will be shared internally within the New York State Department of

Environmental Conservation during the winter migratory game bird team meeting, with hopes of establishing a survey in other regions of the state. This will be done via a web conference, or at the in-person team meeting. 35

Results of the survey will be shared very carefully with the public for several reasons. Primarily, the rarity of the black rail makes it a target for recreational birders.

Publicizing the location and results of these surveys would make the black rail found at

Oak Beach and the site itself a target. The site itself contains rare plants and species discovered during black rail surveys and subsequent vegetation surveys, which could be negatively impacted by an influx of people to the site. In addition to the sensitivity of the species and survey site, it is also dangerous and difficult to access the marsh. While

New York State may only have a few black rails, our final goal is to protect these remaining birds with the hope that they may continue to breed on Long Island.

To that end, the development of educational programs is essential to the future of the species as well other of the highly specialized marsh birds. The New York State

Department of Environmental Education’s Environmental Education department regularly presents in school programs to grades K-12 in addition to scout and teacher education programs. While there is not presently a program that focuses on marshes and wetlands, such a program could be developed to help educate the public on the importance of preserving and enhancing wetlands. Such a program could also be presented at local Audubon societies to help offset the potential harassment of protected species by avid birders in addition to recruiting potential volunteers for future survey efforts.

In addition, the development of a citizen science program would to compile 36 information from recreational birders. For example, Nightjar Network6 is a citizen science effort run by the Center for Conservation Biology that provides members of the public with instructions, data sheets and pre-made survey routes. Creating a similar program with marsh birds can give managers useful data in determining population trends across their range. This way agencies can work with recreational birders, and not against them.

The project proposal was sent to New York Sea Grant in an attempt to secure funding for future projects. While Sea Grant was not accepting out of cycle grant requests. Sea Grant did provide contact information for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, specifically for their Bioacoustics program to provide guidance on the Raven bioacoustics’ software and/or to identify partnerships to help analyze the acoustic data.

Future Work Plan and Conclusion

The detection of a black rail at Oak Beach, NY has been an exciting discovery for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and especially for the researchers involved. Not only has the first black rail been documented on Long Island since 2008 but call-response survey methods have been tested with positive results.

This is important because while it may only be a single bird, it gives researchers a baseline to compare subsequent years of survey. In addition, it also shows that call-

6 http://www.nightjars.org 37 response surveys are effective at surveying for black rail on Long Island and at the Oak

Beach site and therefore, can be used at additional study sites during future surveys.

For the 2020 survey year, a main goal is to create additional survey sites with the help of State Parks staff and volunteers and staff from New York Natural Heritage

Foundation. Additional survey sights include Napeague State Park, Amagansett and Long

Beach, New York. Amagansett is of interest due to a record of a black rail east of this area in 2009 (Watts 2016). The deployment of acoustic detectors and subsequent analysis of this data will play a larger role in future surveys, as technicians work through

RavenPro software during its beta testing process.

Based on the data from this year’s surveys, moon phase seemed to play a role in when marsh birds were calling. Moon lighting was between 43% and 57% when black rails were positively detected. To look for trends, 2020 surveys can try to encompass a broader range of moon phases and tide cycles to see if it effects black rails. Additionally, it would be of interest to test the hypothesis if call frequency is correlated with moon phase to avoid nesting during spring tides.

Based on the 2018 and 2019 data, survey windows should be shifted to accommodate when black rails are calling (Figure 14). Previous surveys ran from May 1 through June 30, with birds only being positively detected after June 6. 2020 surveys can start May 15 and run through the end of July to get a better idea of how early and late 38 black rails start calling during their breeding season. This might yield more positive detections, which would make it easier to analyze for additional variables of moon phase and tide.

The detection of a black rail at Oak Beach, NY has been an exciting discovery for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and especially for the researchers involved. Not only has the first black rail been documented on Long Island since 2008, but call-response survey methods have been tested with positive results.

This is important because while it may only be a single bird, it gives researchers a baseline to compare subsequent years of survey. In addition, it also shows that call- response surveys are effective at surveying for black rail on Long Island and at the Oak

Beach site and therefore, can be used at additional study sites during future surveys.

With the black rail’s species status up for discussion on a federal level, establishing these survey methods and baselines for the species’ population are essential in working to protect these mysterious birds, their habitat, and their future.

39

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Cover Photo: courtesy of the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture