Long Point Bird Observatory 2007 Field Operations Report 0 2007 FIELD OPERATIONS REPORT MARCH 2008 STUART A. MACKENZIE Long Point Bird Observatory c/o Bird Studies Canada P.O. Box 160, 115 Front Rd. Port Rowan ON, Canada. N0E 1M0. Website: http://www.birdscanada.org/longpoint; E-mail: [email protected] Long Point Bird Observatory 2007 Field Operations Report 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ........................................................................................................ 2 Migration Monitoring Program .......................................................................... 3 Spring 2007 Migration Summary ....................................................................... 4 Fall 2007 Migration Summary ............................................................................ 7 Monarch Butterfly Migration Monitoring ........................................................ 12 Tree Swallow Research ..................................................................................... 13 Vegetation Monitoring and Breeding Bird Censuses ..................................... 14 Doug Tarry Natural History Fund ................................................................... 15 Latin American Training Program ................................................................... 17 The Friends of Long Point Bird Observatory………………………………….18 Education Initiatives ........................................................................................ 19 Research Initiatives .......................................................................................... 20 Publications and Reports .................................................................................. 22 APPENDICES: 1. LPBO 2007 Band Recoveries ................................................ 23 2. LPBO 2007 Controls of Known Origin ................................. 25 3. LPBO 2007 Re-capture Summary ......................................... 26 4. LPBO 2007 Banding Summary ............................................. 27 STAFF: Landbird Programs Coordinator: Stuart Mackenzie Assistant Landbird Programs Coordinator: Fergus Nicoll Administration, Events, and Merchandise: Anne Marie Ridout Data Management and Statistics: Tara Crewe, Ellen Kempman, Denis Lepage Educational Programming: Jen Miner Facilities and Technical Support: Ron Ridout Program Management: George Finney, Audrey Heagy, Jon McCracken LPBO COMMITTEE: Dawn Burke - Chair (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources), Dave Ankney, Eric Machell (Ontario Bird Banding Association), Art Martell (ex officio), Hugh McArthur (BSC Board), Erica Nol (Trent University), Tom Nudds (University of Guelph), Jim Oliver (Norfolk County Councillor), Jeff Robinson (Canadian Wildlife Service). Long Point Bird Observatory 2007 Field Operations Report 2 INTRODUCTION Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) is the oldest bird observatory in North America, founded in 1960 by the Ontario Bird Banding Association. It began with a focus on studying and monitoring migratory birds at Long Point, Ontario, Canada. In 1967, LPBO was incorporated as an independent research institute fostering investigative studies, and promoting appreciation and conservation of birds, and other aspects of natural history at Long Point. The organization evolved and expanded its programs to become what is now Bird Studies Canada (BSC). BSC is a not-for-profit, non-government organization dedicated to advancing the understanding, appreciation and conservation of wild birds and their habitats, in Canada and elsewhere, through studies that engage the skills, enthusiasm and support of its members, volunteers, staff, and the interested public. LPBO now operates as a program of BSC. A large part of the fieldwork is carried out by enthusiastic volunteers recruited from throughout Canada and around the world. LPBO continues to conduct five long-standing projects at Long Point, Ontario: 1) Migration Monitoring Program 2) Tree Swallow Research 3) Vegetation Monitoring and Breeding Bird Censuses on Long Point 4) Latin American Training Program 5) Doug Tarry Natural History Fund – Young Ornithologist Workshop & Internship. Project Partners and Supporters: - Environment Canada / Canadian Wildlife Service–National Wildlife Research Centre - The Long Point Company - Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) - Community Fisheries and Wildlife Involvement Program - OMNR – Terrestrial Assessment Program - Transport Canada This report summarizes the LPBO program activities in 2007. View South from the Breakwater Cabin Photo: Brendan Donaghey Long Point Bird Observatory 2007 Field Operations Report 3 Migration Monitoring Program LPBO began collecting standardized data on bird migration at Long Point, Ontario in 1960. In 1986, LPBO coined the term ‘migration monitoring’ to describe the use of standardized daily counts of migrating birds as a method of monitoring populations of many migratory species. Migration monitoring is a particularly valuable method in Canada, since it enables us to monitor those species that breed in northern Canada, or other inaccessible areas, which can be difficult to assess with more conventional monitoring methods such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). For several species that are monitored by the BBS, a correlation between the migration monitoring trends and BBS trends has been demonstrated. Each spring and fall, staff and volunteers perform daily censuses, banding, and observations at each of three field stations on Long Point: Tip, Breakwater, and Old Cut (Figure 1). Only the Old Cut field station is accessible by road and is open to the public. These migration count data are used to derive daily ‘estimated totals’ (ETs) for up to 380 species of birds recorded at Long Point. This incomparable data set collected over 48 years includes more banded birds, and a longer time span, than any other non-government organization in the Western Hemisphere. Population trends are derived for 64 priority species and are available online at http://www.birdscanada.org/volunteer/cmmn. The LPBO sightings board is updated weekly at http://www.birdscanada.org/longpoint during the spring and fall seasons. Overall in 2007, LPBO banded a record 32,557 birds of 166 species bringing the grand total to 749,475 birds banded of 279 species. Banding recoveries, controls, recaptures and banding totals for all LPBO banding programs for 2007 are presented in Appendices 1, 2, 3 and 4. Record highs were set for an astounding 27 species (see Appendix 4). Figure 1. Long Point, Ontario, Canada. Long Point Bird Observatory 2007 Field Operations Report 4 SPRING 2007 MIGRATION SUMMARY One might expect that after 47 years of migration monitoring at Long Point there would be a tendency for us to grow complacent. Fortunately, Mother Nature is rarely predictable. When you combine her capriciousness and the effect it has upon migrating birds with the constantly changing cast of volunteers and visitors, there is little room for boredom at LPBO. The intricacies of continental weather systems in combination with the influence of the Great Lakes make the seasonal pilgrimage of northbound migrants very difficult to predict. With the consistently cool weather we experienced throughout the 2007 season, there was an additional degree of uncertainty as to the final result. Spring migration began in earnest in early March with the arrival of several waterfowl species along with the usual Killdeers, American Woodcocks, and large flocks of blackbirds. Tundra Swans appeared in large numbers around mid-March and lingered by the thousands despite the frozen Inner Bay and marshes. Joining them were five species of geese which, along with a flock of Brant in May, completed the sextet of geese known to occur in Ontario. Migration monitoring officially began at the Old Cut field station on April 1 and at the Tip and Breakwater on the 11th and 17th respectively. Staff and volunteer assistants dusted off the equipment and placed the nets in preparation for the anticipated migratory rush. While warm south winds during the last week of March allowed many early season migrants to appear in large numbers, over-eager swallows and assistants had their dreams dashed by the miserably cool weather in the first half of April. Prevailing northeast winds produced few migrants, though 500 Common Loons along with 400 Horned and 2 Red- necked grebes flying past the Tip on the 16th were notable exceptions. Warbler numbers remained very low throughout April. Indeed, the first warbler to appear was at the Tip on the 17th. Remarkably, it was a stunning male Prothonotary, the earliest one ever seen at Long Point. An even more astounding record was a young Whooping Crane that flew past observers standing on the dyke at Old Cut on the evening of the 13th. While this individual was undoubtedly part of the eastern North American re-introduction flock, it was, nevertheless, the first Whooping Crane that anyone had laid eyes on at Long Point since 1898! Winds briefly switched to the south in the third week of April allowing thousands of backlogged migrants to fall on Long Point. A total of 839 birds were banded on the 22nd followed by 625 on the 23rd. Numbers on the 22nd were comprised mainly of early season migrants such as Brown Creeper, kinglet, Hermit Thrush, and White-throated Sparrow. By the 23rd, the mix was more typical of mid-April, with new arrivals including House Wren and Blue- headed Vireo. A return to northeast winds quickly subdued this initial rush until the 28th when the majority