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NYC Audubon Harbor Herons Program 30Th Annual Survey Wading Bird, Cormorant, and Gull Nesting Activity in 2014

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NYC Audubon Harbor Herons Program 30Th Annual Survey Wading Bird, Cormorant, and Gull Nesting Activity in 2014 NYC Audubon Harbor Herons Program 30th Annual Survey Wading Bird, Cormorant, and Gull Nesting Activity in 2014 Tod Winston1, Susan Elbin1, and Elizabeth Craig1,2 1) NYC Audubon & 2) Cornell University Harbor Herons Annual Subcommittee Meeting: Greater NY/NJ Harbor Colonial waterbirds Working Group December 11, 2014 Acknowledgements Our recently retired survey leader! Liz Craig Our commander-in-chief: Susan Elbin Numerous collaborators and volunteers: • Fieldwork! Abigal Atkins, Steven Ball, Annie Barry, Stephan Beffre, Robert Blair, Ardith Bondi, John Burke, Liz Craig, Marisa Dedominicis, Greg Elbin, Mike Feller, Josué Garcia, Stefan Guelly, Tom Heinimann, Darren Klein, Debra Kriensky, Dave Künstler, Andrew Maas, Dave Manry, Ritamary McMahon, Adriana Palmer, Kaitlyn Parkins, Tyler Parlato, Ellen Pehek. Joanna Peluso, Peter Post, Jim Reed, Don Riepe, Erica Santana, Susan Stanley, Alex Summers, Andrew Turk • Permits and administration! George Frame, Dave Taft, Jessica Browning, Kathy Garofalo, Ellen Pehek, Hanem Abouelezz, Susan Stanley, Marit Larson, Nate McVay, Joe Pane • NYC Parks and Recreation • National Park Service • NJ Audubon • Huckleberry Indians • American Littoral Society/Jamaica Bay Guardian Survey Area May 19-28, 2014 Wading birds of NY/NJ Harbor 10 species of long-legged waders: 7 observed in 2014 Great Blue Heron, Area herodias Great Egret, Ardea alba Snowy Egret, Egretta thula Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea Tricolored Heron, Egretta tricolor Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis Green Heron, Butorides virescens Black-Crowned Night-Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron, Nyctanassa violacea Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus Other nesting species Colonial nesters Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus Herring Gull, Larus argentatus Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus Single nesters Waterfowl: Canada Goose, Mute Swan, American Black Duck, Mallard, Gadwall American Oystercatcher Passerine sp. Methods • May 19-28, 2014 • Travel to islands by boat • Conduct ground surveys of nesting birds using 1-3 teams of surveyors – One person to record data – One person to observe nest content – One person to navigate through colony • When possible, we identify each nest to species, and record nest content and nesting substrate Results • By Species • Highlights by Island http://www.dancingotter.ca Nesting Pairs 1000 1500 2000 2500 500 Wading Bird Nesting Activity – BirdNesting Wading 1982-2014 0 Species 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Harbor 1991 1992 1993 1994 Heron 1995 1996 1997 Populations, 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1982 2004 2005 ‐ 2014 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 ALL UNID TRHE GRHE GLIB LBHE YCNH BCNH SNEG CAEG GREG SP. Nesting Pairs 1000 1200 1400 1600 200 400 600 800 0 Species 1982 1985 1986 Black-Crowned Night-Heron Black-Crowned 1987 1988 1989 1990 Harbor 1991 1992 1993 Heron 1994 1995 1996 1997 Populations, 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1982 2004 2005 ‐ 2014 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 UNID TRHE GRHE GLIB LBHE YCNH BCNH SNEG CAEG GREG Black-crowned Night-Heron Nesting Island Trends, BCNH 1000 900 800 Little Egg 700 Elders E. 600 Subway Pairs Canarsie 500 Goose Nesting 400 Huckleberry Hoffman 300 Mill Rock South Brother 200 100 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Nesting Pairs 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 Species 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Harbor 1991 1992 1993 Great Egret Great 1994 Heron 1995 1996 1997 Populations, 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1982 2004 2005 ‐ 2014 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 UNID TRHE GRHE GLIB LBHE YCNH SNEG CAEG GREG Great Egret Nesting Island Trends, GREG 600 500 Little Egg 400 Elders E. Subway Pairs Canarsie 300 Goose Nesting Huckleberry Hoffman 200 Mill Rock South Brother 100 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Nesting Pairs 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 Species 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Harbor 1991 1992 1993 Snowy Egret 1994 Heron 1995 1996 1997 Populations, 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1982 2004 2005 ‐ 2014 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 UNID TRHE GRHE GLIB LBHE YCNH SNEG CAEG GREG Snowy Egret Nesting Island Trends, SNEG 350 300 250 Little Egg Elders E. Subway 200 Pairs Canarsie Goose Nesting 150 Huckleberry Hoffman Mill Rock 100 South Brother 50 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Nesting Pairs 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 Species 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Harbor 1991 1992 1993 Heron 1994 Glossy Ibis 1995 1996 1997 Populations, 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1982 2004 2005 ‐ 2014 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 UNID TRHE GRHE GLIB LBHE YCNH SNEG CAEG GREG Glossy Ibis Nesting Island Trends, GLIB 400 350 300 250 Elders E. Subway Pairs 200 Canarsie Goose Nesting Hoffman 150 South Brother 100 50 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Other Waders in 2014 • Little Blue Heron: 10n • Tricolored Heron: 2n • No Cattle Egret • No Green Heron • No Great Blue Heron Nesting Pairs 100 150 200 250 300 50 0 Species 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Harbor 1991 1992 1993 Species Other 1994 Heron 1995 1996 1997 Populations, 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1982 2004 2005 ‐ 2014 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 TRHE GRHE LBHE YCNH CAEG Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron Nesting Island Trends, YCNH 70 60 50 Red Fern 40 Subway Pairs Canarsie Goose Nesting 30 Hoffman Mill Rock South Brother 20 10 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Nesting Pairs 1000 1500 2000 2500 500 Wading Bird Nesting Activity – BirdNesting Wading 1982-2014 0 Species 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Harbor 1991 1992 1993 1994 Heron 1995 1996 1997 Populations, 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 1982 2004 2005 ‐ 2014 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 ALL UNID TRHE GRHE GLIB LBHE YCNH BCNH SNEG CAEG GREG SP. All Wading Birds Nesting Island Trends, All Waders 2500 Pralls Shooters 2000 I. of Meadows South Brother North Brother 1500 Little Egg Title Elders E. Axis Subway 1000 Canarsie Goose 500 Huckleberry Hoffman Mill Rock 0 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Nesting Pairs 1000 1500 2000 2500 Double-Crested Cormorant vs. Waders Cormorantvs. Double-Crested 500 0 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1985 1998 1999 2000 ‐ 2014 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 DCCO Waders Double-Crested Cormorant Nesting Island Trends, DCCO 1800 1600 1400 Elders W. 1200 U‐Thant Swinburne 1000 Elders E. Pairs Canarsie 800 Goose Nesting Huckleberry 600 Hoffman Mill Rock 400 South Brother 200 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Goose Island – 1 acre With Dave Künstler • Total =0 active nests observed in 2014, after 2013 count of 87 nests, almost all predated • Evidence of rats (being treated by Parks) • Evidence of human disturbance • New signage North Brother – 19 acres • Again no evidence of colonial waterbird nesting activity • Empty since only 15n counted in 2007, down from high of 277 in 1995) South Brother – 12 acres • Second largest wading bird colony in 2014 • Total = 399 (+40% from 2013) • Birds doing well, despite disturbance of nesting substrate by Hurricane Sandy (numbers actually up from 2011, pre- Sandy) • Cormorant numbers down 35% from 2013 • 10 YCNH nesting in cormorant colony! Hoffman Island – 10 acres • Largest wading bird colony from 2009-2014 • Total = 589n (on upswing since 2012, but still down from pre-Sandy high of 824 in 2011) • Wading birds and cormorants both increased since 2013, despite damage by Hurricane Sandy Swinburne Island – 4 acres • DCCO numbers stable despite severe damage by Sandy • 317n in 2014, up from 272 pre-Sandy (2011) • More DCCO nesting on the ground Canarsie Pol – 220 acres • One of the most diverse and largest colonies in NY Harbor from 1999-2011 • Total = 0 pairs (- from 497 in 2010) • A proportion of birds from CP likely moved to other JB islands like Subway and Elder’s point marsh • Predators (mammal and avian) likely played a major role in collapse as they have at other colonies in Jamaica Bay and beyond (Huckleberry, Goose, and others?) Subway Island – 40 acres • Total = 307 pairs (- from 373 in 2013, but trend still positive on this new but vulnerable colony, established in 2007) • Tied with Elders East as second most diverse island, with 5 wader species nesting Elder’s Point East Marsh • Total = 106n (+ from 63 in 2013) • Cormorants = 179n ( ~ from 180 in 2013) • 5 species of waders, including TRHE (2n) • USACE – marsh restoration Challenges • Habitat – bittersweet, porcelainberry, kudzu – attractive nest structure vs long-term degradation of nesting habitat – South Brother is a good example – Storms ! • Asian Longhorned Beetle – 2007: confirmed on Prall’s Is in March & ~3,500 host trees removed in April, an additional 8,000 at Old Place & Saw Mill, SI – Preferred wading bird nesting trees overlap w/ ALB host trees Kenneth Law USDA-APHIS • Predation – Mammals (Ruffle Bar, CP, Huckleberry, & Goose) – Birds (owls, fish crows, etc.) • Human disturbance • Decreasing # of viable islands? Challenges in methodology 1. Develop a repeatable method for surveying impenetrable/sensitive habitats – Canarsie Pol – Hoffman and South Brother (grid system) 2. Implement a habitat assessment protocol 3. Monitor productivity to gain better understanding of population statuses 4. Monitor gull population Redfern Houses, Far Rockaway, NY 41 YCNH nests -stable in recent years Thank you!!! Other Colonial Waterbirds
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