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NYC Audubon's Harbor Herons Program 35Th Annual Survey

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NYC Audubon's Harbor Herons Program 35Th Annual Survey NYC Audubon Harbor Herons Program 35th Annual Survey Wading Bird, Cormorant, and Gull Nesting Activity in 2019 Tod Winston1, Susan Elbin1 1) NYC Audubon Harbor Herons Annual Subcommittee Meeting: Greater NY/NJ Harbor Colonial Waterbirds Working Group December 10, 2019 Acknowledgements Study PI: Susan Elbin Numerous collaborators and volunteers: • Fieldwork! Molly Adams, Hugh Carola, Georgina Cullman, Monica Cuoco, Arcilia Derenzo, Ray Duffy, Susan Elbin, Mike Feller, Carla Garcia, Chris Girgenti, Stan McGuigan, Rita McMahon, Chris Nagy, John Orgera, Kaitlyn Parkins, Ellen Pehek, Beryl Perrin-Feller, Opal Perrin-Feller, Jose Ramirez-Garofalo, Don Riepe, Kellye Rosenheim, Brady Simmons, David Spawn, Alex Summers, Emilio Tobon, Alicia Williams, Tod Winston • Permits and administration! Dana Filippini, George Frame, Kathy Garofalo, Marit Larson, Joe Pane, Ellen Pehek, Dave Taft • American Littoral Society/Jamaica Bay Guardian • Hackensack Riverkeeper • Huckleberry Indians • National Park Service • NJ Audubon • NYC Parks and Recreation • USDA/APHIS • Wild Bird Fund Acknowledgements NYC Audubon’s Conservation Programs are made possible by the leadership support of the Leon Levy Foundation. Support for the Harbor Herons Nesting Surveys is provided by Elizabeth Woods and Charles Denholm, individual contributions from NYC Audubon’s major donors, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Survey Area (May 17-July 4, 2019) Current and former island nest colonies Primary mainland nest colonies # of Location Surveyed Date Observers Ownership Long Island Sound Goose Island 16 May 4 NYC DPR Huckleberry Island 16 May 4 Huckleberry Indians, Inc. East River North Brother Island 17 May 3 NYC DPR South Brother Island 17 May 10 NYC DPR Mill Rock 30 May 4 NYC DPR U Thant 30 May 4 NYC DPR Arthur Kill/Kill Van Kull Shooters Island 23 May 2 NYC DPR Prall’s Island 14 June 1 NYC DPR Isle of Meadows 7 June 2 NYC DPR Lower New York Bay Swinburne Island 20 May 4 NPS Hoffman Island 29 May 9 NPS Jamaica Bay Elders Point East Marsh Island 22 May 7 NPS Elders Point West Marsh Island 22 May 7 NPS Canarsie Pol 23 May 4 NPS Subway Island 22 May 7 NPS Little Egg Marsh Island 22 May 7 NPS Ruffle Bar 23 May 4 NPS Mainland – Far Rockaway Redfern Houses 27 May 2 NYC Housing Authority Hammel Houses 27 May 2 NYC Housing Authority Mainland – New Jersey Harmon Cove 4 July 1 Harmon Cove Wading birds of the NY/NJ Harbor Islands Out of 10 historically nesting species of long-legged waders: 7 species observed nesting on 7 of 18 surveyed islands in 2019 Black-Crowned Night-Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax Great Egret, Ardea alba Snowy Egret, Egretta thula Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron, Nyctanassa violacea Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea Tricolored Heron, Egretta tricolor Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias Green Heron, Butorides virescens Other Nesting Species Colonial Nesters Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus Herring Gull, Larus argentatus Great Black-Backed Gull, Larus marinus Common Tern, Sterna hirundo Single Nesters Waterfowl: Canada Goose, American Black Duck, Mallard, Gadwall, Mute Swan American Oystercatcher Willet Spotted Sandpiper Passerine sp. (2019: Mourning and Hooded Warbler; Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink) Methods • May 17-July 4, 2019 • 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 • Species Profiles • Island Group Trends http://www.dancingotter.ca Little Egg Marsh I. Marsh Egg Little Elders Point West Point Elders Elders Point East Point Elders Total Islands and and Islands Total North Brother I. Brother North South Brother I. Brother South Other Mainland Other Isle of Meadowsof Isle Redfern Houses Redfern Huckleberry I. Huckleberry Total Islands Total Swinburne I. Swinburne Canarsie Pol Canarsie Governors I. Governors Mill Rock I. Rock Mill Hoffman I. Hoffman Shooters I. Shooters Ruffle Bar Ruffle U Thant I. U Thant Subway I. Subway Mainland Marsh I. Marsh I. Marsh Colonies Prall's Goose I. Goose I. Waders GREG 125 0 80 0 0 0 0 26 90 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 321 321 CAEG 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 SNEG 71 0 111 0 0 0 0 63 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 270 270 BCNH 204 0 113 2 0 0 0 26 105 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 468 468 YCNH 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 61 58 7 126 LBHE 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 GLIB 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 81 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 112 112 GRHE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TRHE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 GBHE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Unid. 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 Total Active 436 0 310 2 0 0 0 118 301 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 61 58 1,186 1,305 Wader Nests DCCO 1,124 0 466 53 0 0 0 290 0 0 0 0 436 0 0 0 47 0 2,416 0 Gulls HERG 100 0 0 1 0 0 115 0 0 0 0 NA 216 Nests 0 HERG 206 247 491 352 3 2 1301 Adults GBBG 38 0 10 19 1 0 47 0 0 0 3 NA 118 Nests 0 GBBG Adults 9 9 46 146 3 3 216 Wading Bird Nesting Activity – 1982-2019 © Mike Feller Black-Crowned Night-Heron, 1982-2019 (Total Island-Nesting Pairs) Black-Crowned Night-Heron, 1982-2019 (Nesting Island Distribution) © Don Riepe Great Egret, 1982-2019 (Total Island-Nesting Pairs) Great Egret, 1982-2019 (Nesting Island Distribution) Snowy Egret, 1982-2019 (Total Island-Nesting Pairs) Snowy Egret, 1982-2019 (Nesting Island Distribution) Glossy Ibis, 1982-2019 (Total Island-Nesting Pairs) Glossy Ibis, 1982-2019 (Nesting Island Distribution) Redfern Houses, Far Rockaway, NY 61 YCNH nests YCNHs Across the Harbor in 2019 Islands: 7n • South Brother I. (4n), Hoffman I. (2n), Governors I. (1n) Mainland: 119n • Redfern Houses, Queens (61n) • Hammel Houses, Queens (40n) • Harmon Cove, NJ: (15n) • Lindenwood, Queens (2n) • Governors Island (1n) • Great Kills, S.I. (1n) • Elsewhere? Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron, 1982-2019 (Nesting Island Distribution) Other Waders in 2019 • Little Blue Heron: 4 pairs • Tricolored Heron: 0 pairs • Cattle Egret: 1 pair (first seen since 2010) • No reported Green Heron – (Bred on SI?) • No reported Great Blue Heron – (Bred in Clove Lakes Park?) Double-Crested Cormorant vs. Waders (1982-2019) © Mike Feller Other Colonial Waterbirds - 2019 # 2019 Increase or decrease since 2016 Pairs full survey Species HERG* 216 No change from 216 GBBG* 118 Decrease from 159 * Pairs determined by nest or adult count on islands excluding Jamaica Bay (see USDA report) Survey Area (18 nesting islands) Current and former island nest colonies Primary mainland nest colonies Islands of Arthur Kill and Kill Complex Kill Kull and van Kill Arthur of Islands Nesting Pairs 1000 1200 1400 1600 200 400 600 800 0 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Nesting IslandNesting 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 (1982 Waders All Trends, 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 - 2013 2018) 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Pralls I.of Meadows Shooters Swinburne Nesting Pairs 1000 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 0 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Nesting IslandNesting 1990 1991 Islands Northern Harbor 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 (1982 Waders All Trends, 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 - 2013 2018) 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Mill Mill Rock South Brother North Brother Goose Huckleberry Lower Harbor and Jamaica Bay Islands Jamaica Bay Islands Fluidity in Wader Colony Placement Over 30+ Years Elder’s Point East • USACE marsh restoration, first nesting pairs (18) in 2010 • For several years was most diverse island at 6 species of waders (SNEG, BCNH, GREG, GLIB, LBHE, TRHE) • Colony appeared to be abandoned in 2019 Elder’s Point West Marsh • USACE marsh restoration • Fourth consecutive year that wader colony is present, since small numbers of GREG and SNEG in 2007-2009 • Wader colony doubled in size; DCCO colony nearly tripled Looking Forward 1. Continue analysis of data from the New York City Audubon Harbor Heron Surveys (1986-present), adding environmental data layers 2. Monitor productivity to gain better understanding of population statuses 3. Participate in global Glossy Ibis genetics research Waterbird Survey Grid System • NPS permit received for implementation of a grid system of directionally marked posts on Hoffman Island • No Trespassing signs will be attached to selected perimeter posts • Similar plan for South Brother Island in collaboration with Parks Thank You!!!.
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