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 Wading Bird Nesting Activity – 1982-2014

Harbor Heron Populations, 1982‐2014 2500

GREG 2000 CAEG SNEG 1500 BCNH Pairs YCNH

1000 LBHE Nesting GLIB GRHE 500 TRHE UNID 0 ALL SP. 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 Species

Black-Crowned Night-Heron

Harbor Heron Populations, 1982‐2014 1600

1400 GREG 1200 CAEG

1000 SNEG

Pairs BCNH 800 YCNH

Nesting 600 LBHE GLIB 400 GRHE 200 TRHE

0 UNID 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 Species 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

Great Egret

Harbor Heron Populations, 1982‐2014 700

600 GREG 500 CAEG SNEG 400 Pairs YCNH 300 LBHE Nesting GLIB 200 GRHE 100 TRHE UNID 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 Species 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

Snowy Egret

Harbor Heron Populations, 1982‐2014 700

600 GREG 500 CAEG SNEG 400 Pairs YCNH 300 LBHE Nesting GLIB 200 GRHE 100 TRHE UNID 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 Species 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

Glossy Ibis

Harbor Heron Populations, 1982‐2014 700

600 GREG 500 CAEG SNEG 400 Pairs YCNH 300 LBHE Nesting GLIB 200 GRHE 100 TRHE UNID 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 Species 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 Other Species

Harbor Heron Populations, 1982‐2014 300

250

200 CAEG Pairs 150 YCNH LBHE Nesting 100 GRHE TRHE 50

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 Species

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 Wading Bird Nesting Activity – 1982-2014

Harbor Heron Populations, 1982‐2014 2500

GREG 2000 CAEG SNEG 1500 BCNH Pairs YCNH

1000 LBHE Nesting GLIB GRHE 500 TRHE UNID 0 ALL SP. 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 Species 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

Double-Crested Cormorant vs. Waders

1985‐2014 2500

2000

1500 Pairs

Waders DCCO Nesting 1000

500

0 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 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 - 2014

# Increase or decrease Increase or decrease 2014 since 2013 since 2010 Species Pairs* comprehensive survey comprehensive survey

GBBG 167 Decreased from 211 Decreased from 302

HERG 229 Decreased from 470 Decreased from 543

* Pairs determined by nest or adult count on islands excluding Jamaica Bay (see USDA report) Mill Rock – 3 acres

• 2014 Total = 96n (down from 113 in 2013) • Nesting habitat not physically damaged by Sandy U Thant – 0.75 acres

• About the same from 2008-2013 (DCCO, HERG and GBBG)

Shooter’s Island – 48 acres

• DCCO = 10n - western shore on remnants of drydocks Prall’s Island – 80 acres

• No colonial waterbird nesting activity

Isle of Meadows – 101 acres

• Not surveyed in 2013

Photos: Alexander Summers, NYC Parks - NRG Aids to navigation Raritan Bay, AK/KVK

• DCCO = 51n observed in the Kill Van Kull, Arthur Kill, northwestern Raritan Bay, and Newark Bay (stable) Huckleberry Island – 10 acres With Dave Künstler • Several nests identified but none active – 3 BCNH adults – 4 GREG adults – 1 SNEG adult • DCCO also declining

• Potential factors in decline: – Cormorant expansion, although much suitable nesting habitat remains – Human disturbance, although sanctioned access is limited – Mammalian predators (Raccoons)