Species Status Assessment Class: Birds Family: Troglodytidae Scientific Name: Cistothorus platensis Common Name: Sedge wren Species synopsis: Previously known as the short-billed marsh wren, the sedge wren is an inhabitant of wet meadows, hay fields, and marshes. This wren’s use of ephemeral habitats drives its tendency to abandon areas as they become too wet or too dry and move to new areas. Within a season, sedge wrens may raise one brood in May and June and then move to a southern or northeastern part of the range to raise a second brood in July and August. This pattern can make detection and monitoring by traditional methods unreliable. Little is known of the life history or demographics of this species. In the Prairie Pothole region, where sedge wren is most abundant, Breeding Bird Survey data show increasing long-term and short-term trends: 5.6% increase per year from 1966 to 2010 and 1.0% increase per year from 2000 to 2010. Significant declining trends were noted in the Northeast beginning in the 1950s due to destruction of wetlands. In response to this decline, sedge wren is now listed as Endangered in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. It is listed as Threatened in New York. In New York, where it is at the far eastern edge of its range, sedge wren was historically a sparse nester and it remains so today. Since the mid-1980s, sedge wren occupancy in New York has increased by 26% as documented by the second Breeding Bird Atlas, though McGowan (2008) cautions that this species may have been overlooked during the first Atlas. Breeding occurs primarily on the Great Lakes Plain and a consistently-breeding population appears to be establishing itself in St. Lawrence and Jefferson Counties. As a species far outside of its main range, however, sedge wren can be expected to remain uncommon in New York (McGowan 2008). I. Status a. Current and Legal Protected Status i. Federal _____Not Listed________________________ Candidate? __No____ ii. New York _____Threatened; SGCN__________________________________________ 1 b. Natural Heritage Program Rank i. Global _____G5_____________________________________________________________ ii. New York _____S3B_____________________ Tracked by NYNHP? __Yes___ Other Rank: USFWS – Birds of Concern Partners in Flight – Regional Concern Species of Northeast Regional Conservation Concern (Therres 1999) IUCN Red List Category: LC - Least concern Status Discussion: Sedge wren is a rare to uncommon local breeder and migrant in New York. Sedge wren is ranked as Critically Imperiled in every northeastern state except New York, where it is ranked as Vulnerable. It is ranked as Apparently Secure in Ontario and as Imperiled in Quebec. II. Abundance and Distribution Trends a. North America i. Abundance _____ declining __X__ increasing _____stable _____unknown ii. Distribution: _____ declining _____increasing _____stable __X__ unknown Time frame considered: ____2000-2010________________________________________ 2 b. Regional i. Abundance _____ declining _____increasing __X__ stable _____ unknown ii. Distribution: _____ declining _____increasing __X__ stable _____ unknown Regional Unit Considered: _____Eastern BBS_________________________________ Time Frame Considered: _______2000-2010___________________________________ c. Adjacent States and Provinces CONNECTICUT Not Present __________ No data ________ i. Abundance _____ declining _____increasing _____stable __X__ unknown ii. Distribution: _____ declining _____increasing _____stable __X__ unknown Time frame considered: ____Rare and sporadic since 1960s_____________________ Listing Status: ______________Endangered______________________ SGCN? __Yes_____ MASSACHUSETTS Not Present __________ No data ________ i. Abundance _____ declining _____increasing _____stable __X__ unknown ii. Distribution: _____ declining __X__ increasing _____stable _____unknown Time frame considered: __10 breeding season occurrences since 1980_______ Listing Status: _______________Endangered______________________ SGCN? __Yes___ 3 NEW JERSEY Not Present __________ No data ________ i. Abundance _____ declining _____increasing _____stable __X__ unknown ii. Distribution: _____ declining _____increasing _____stable __X__ unknown Time frame considered: ___”very rare breeder”__________________________________ Listing Status: _____________Endangered______________________ SGCN? __Yes_____ ONTARIO Not Present __________ No data ________ i. Abundance _____ declining __X__ increasing _____stable _____unknown ii. Distribution: _____ declining __X__ increasing _____stable _____unknown Time frame considered: ____1981-85 to 2001-05_______________________________ Listing Status: ______________Not Listed____________________________________________ PENNSYLVANIA Not Present __________ No data ________ i. Abundance _____ declining _____increasing _____stable __X__ unknown ii. Distribution: __X__ declining _____increasing _____ stable _____unknown Time frame considered: ____Since 1980s_________________________________________ Listing Status: ______________Endangered______________________ SGCN? __Yes____ 4 QUEBEC Not Present __________ No data ________ i. Abundance __X__ declining _____increasing _____stable _____unknown ii. Distribution: __X__ declining _____increasing _____stable _____unknown Time frame considered: ____1984-89 to 2012____________________________________ Listing Status: _______________Not Listed____________________________________________ VERMONT Not Present __________ No data ________ i. Abundance _____ declining _____increasing __X__ stable _____unknown ii. Distribution: _____ declining _____increasing __X__ stable _____unknown Time frame considered: ____1976-81 to 2003-07_______________________________ Listing Status: ______________Endangered______________________ SGCN? __Yes____ d. NEW YORK No data ________ i. Abundance _____ declining __ __ increasing _____stable __X__unknown ii. Distribution: _____ declining __ __ increasing __X__stable _____unknown Time frame considered: _____1980-85 to 2000-05________________________________ Monitoring in New York. New York’s Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) monitors grassland birds at eight Grassland Focus Areas in the state. Sedge wren is one of the focal species in point counts that are conducted annually. 5 Trends Discussion: Breeding Bird Survey data for North America show a non-significant increasing trend of 1.8% per year for 1966-2010 and 0.9% per year for 2000-2010. Trends in the Prairie Pothole region, where sedge wrens are most abundant, are increasing by 5.6% per year for 1966-2010 and by 1.0% per year for 2000-2010. BBS data in New York and the Northeast are too sparse for meaningful analysis. Since the 1950s, Christmas bird counts and Breeding Bird Survey data have revealed alarming declines of sedge wren in the Northeast, the result of filling and dredging of wetland habitats, and the spread of invasive Phragmites. Figure 1. Range of the sedge wren in North America (Birds of North America Online 2013). 6 Figure 2. Sedge wren occurrence in New York State during the second Breeding Bird Atlas (McGowan and Corwin 2008). Figure 3. Change in sedge wren occurrence in New York State between the first Breeding Bird Atlas and the second Breeding Bird Atlas (McGowan and Corwin 2008). 7 Figure 4. Conservation status of the sedge wren in North America (NatureServe 2012). 8 III. New York Rarity, if known: Historic # of Animals # of Locations % of State prior to 1970 __________ __________ __________ prior to 1980 __________ __________ __________ prior to 1990 __________ _57 blocks_ ____1%___ Details of historic occurrence: The first Breeding Bird Atlas (1980-85) documented occupancy in 57 survey blocks statewide (1%). Current # of Animals # of Locations % of State __________ _72 blocks__ ____1%____ Details of current occurrence: The second Breeding Bird Atlas (2000-05) documented occupancy in 72 survey blocks statewide (1%), an increase of 26%. New York’s Contribution to Species North American Range: % of NA Range in New York Classification of New York Range __X___ 0-5% _____ Core _____ 6-10% __X___ Peripheral _____ 11-25% _____ Disjunct _____ 26-50% Distance to core population: _____ >50% ___________ 9 IV. Primary Habitat or Community Type: 1. Old Field Managed Grasslands 2. Wet meadow/Shrub Swamp 3. Pasture/Hay 4. Open Alkaline Peatlands 5. Open Acidic Peatlands Habitat or Community Type Trend in New York: __X__ Declining _____Stable _____ Increasing _____Unknown Time frame of decline/increase: _____Since late 1800s________________________________ Habitat Specialist? __X___ Yes ______ No Indicator Species? ______ Yes __X___ No Habitat Discussion: Sedge wrens breed in a variety of wetlands with dense tall sedges and grasses, avoiding areas with standing water and cattails. Such areas include wet meadows, hayfields, marshes, upland edges of ponds, and sphagnum bogs. In the Northeast where breeding occurs later in the summer than in the Prairie Pothole region, sedge wrens use permanently wet marshes with tussocks (Bagg and Eliot 1937). 10 V. New York Species Demographics and Life History __X__ Breeder in New York __X__ Summer Resident _____ Winter Resident _____ Anadromous _____ Non-breeder in New York _____ Summer Resident _____ Winter Resident _____ Catadromous _____ Migratory only _____Unknown Species Demographics and Life History Discussion: Sedge wrens are nomadic, breeding in the Prairie Pothole region in May and June, and then moving to southern and northeastern areas of its range before breeding again in