BIRD POPULATIONS A journal of global avian demography and biogeography Volume 8 2007 (2005-2006) Published annually by The Institute for Bird Populations BIRD POPULATIONS A journal of global avian demography and biogeography Published by The Institute for Bird Populations Editor: DAVID G. AINLEY, H.T. Harvey & Associates, 983 University Avenue, Bldg D, Los Gatos, CA 95032; 408-458-3223; [email protected] Managing Editor: DAVID F. DESANTE, The Institute for Bird Populations, P.O. Box 1346, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956-1346; 415-663-2052; 415-663-9482 fax; [email protected] Spanish Translation of Abstracts: BORJA MILA, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid 28006, Spain; [email protected] Layout and Typesetting: PRISCILLA YOCOM, 24252 Songsparrow Lane, Corona, CA 92883 THE INSTITUTE FOR BIRD POPULATIONS A tax-exempt California nonprofit corporation established in 1989 and dedicated to fostering a global approach to research and the dissemination of information on changes in bird populations. President: STEPHEN M. ALLANKETNER, 1292 High Street #162, Eugene, OR 97401. Secretary-Treasurer: JAMES HEDDLE, 91 Brighton Road, Bolinas, CA 94924. Directors: DAVID F. DESANTE, CORDELL GREEN, and DAN TOMPKINS. All persons interested in birds are invited to join The Institute for Bird Populations. Individual membership dues are $35 per year. Institutional memberships are $50 per year; student and senior memberships are $15 per year. Please send check or money order (in U.S. dollars) payable to The Institute for Bird Populations, along with complete name, address, and email address to: The Institute for Bird Populations, P.O. Box 1346, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956-1346. All memberships and donations are fully tax-deductible as provided by law. BIRD POPULATIONS (ISSN 1074-1755) is an entirely electronic journal published annually by The Institute for Bird Populations. Copyright 2007 by The Institute for Bird Populations. BIRD POPULATIONS can be accessed free of charge at www.birdpop.org. All material in this journal may be copied for the non-commercial purpose of educational or scientific advancement without the need to seek specific permission Bird Populations is an annual journal of dynamic global avian demography and biogeography that publishes original research and review papers dealing with changes in the numbers, distributions, and ecological relationships of birds. Papers providing documentation of quantitative changes in bird populations or distributions are preferred, but papers providing baseline population or distribution information are also acceptable. Papers describing or evaluating field techniques or analytical methods for assessing population and distribution changes are also welcome. Contributions are encouraged from throughout the world from both well-known and little-studied avifaunas. Bird Populations is published in English with abstracts in Spanish, French, and German. Authors should submit three complete double-spaced copies of each manuscript, in English, to: David G. Ainley, Editor, Bird Populations, H.T. Harvey and Associates, 983 University Avenue, Bldg D, Los Gatos, CA 95032; [email protected]. Guidelines for preparing and submitting papers to Bird Populations, including the format for literature citations, are similar to those of The Condor and Studies in Avian Biology. Authors are urged to examine a recent issue of Bird Populations and follow the niceties of the journal’s style. All research papers and review articles submitted to Bird Populations are subject to peer review. Submission of accepted papers on computer-readable magnetic media (MS-Word, or WordPerfect files in MS-DOS or Macintosh format) is encouraged strongly and will be appreciated greatly. Bird Populations also prints or reprints annual reports of major avian monitoring programs from around the world. These annual reports are an important focus of the journal which is intended to serve as a yearbook on the status of the Earth’s birdlife by bringing together, under a single cover, information from many widespread localities on the annual changes in the abundance and distribution of birds. We believe that the printing or reprinting of these annual reports will draw attention, in a timely manner, to short-term population fluctuations that may turn out to be geographically widespread or that may signal the beginnings of longer-term trends. We hope that the publication of these reports will provide ornithologists with a global informational network for addressing avian population changes, will encourage an integrative global approach to avian monitoring studies, will stimulate the establishment of additional avian monitoring programs, particularly in the developing nations, and ultimately will aid in the conservation of global avian diversity. Any agency or organization from anywhere in the world conducting a long-term, relatively large-scale, standardized, avian monitoring program is invited to submit the annual (or biennial) report of that program to Bird Populations for printing or reprinting. Annual reports submitted for original printing will undergo peer review; please submit three copies of such reports. Already published annual reports submitted for reprinting will not be peer reviewed, but will be screened by the Editor when first submitted with regard to the scope and scientific merit of the monitoring program and the appropriateness of the methods and analyses; please submit one copy of such reports. Annual reports of programs included for publication will be printed or reprinted without page charges. Submission of reports on computer-readable magnetic media is encouraged and will be appreciated. BIRD POPULATIONS A journal of global avian demography and biogeography Volume 8 2007 (2005-2006) CONTENTS PATTERNS OF SEASONAL ABUNDANCE AND DIVERSITY IN THE WATERBIRD COMMUNITY OF NAL LAKE BIRD SANCTUARY, GUJARAT, INDIA J. I. Nirmal Kumar . 1 CHANGES IN THE SEASONAL ABUNDANCE OF GREATER YELLOWLEGS AT TOTTEN INLET, WASHINGTON Joseph B. Buchanan . 21 REPORTS OF MAJOR AVIAN MONITORING PROGRAMS INTRODUCTION TO THE REPORTS . 26 THE 1999-2003 SUMMARY OF THE NORTH AMERICAN BREEDING BIRD SURVEY Keith L. Pardieck and John R. Sauer . 28 THE MONITORING AVIAN PRODUCTIVITY AND SURVIVORSHIP (MAPS) PROGRAM 2002 AND 2003 REPORT David F. DeSante and Danielle R. Kaschube . 46 THE 2003 AND 2004 NORTH AMERICAN BREEDING BIRD CENSUS WITH ADDITIONS FOR 2001 AND 2002 Thomas Gardali and James D. Lowe . 116 BREEDING BIRD CENSUS: 2001 . 121 BREEDING BIRD CENSUS: 2002 . 123 BREEDING BIRD CENSUS: 2003 . 125 BREEDING BIRD CENSUS: 2004 . 136 WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO COMMON BIRD POPULATIONS? Mike Raven, David Noble and Stephen Baillie . 149 MONITORING WATERWAYS BIRDS (AND MAMMALS) John Marchant . 156 CHARTING THE SUCCESS OF UK HERONS John Marchant . 160 A POOR BREEDING SEASON — CONSTANT EFFORT SITES, 2003 Dawn Balmer and Steve Freeman . 164 LATE FINISHERS AND EARLY STARTERS David Glue . 168 FULL OF EARLY PROMISE! David Glue . 171 NEST RECORD SCHEME: LATEST RESULTS Humphrey Crick, Dave Leech and Peter Beaven . 173 WETLAND BIRD SURVEY ALERTS Ilya Maclean and Graham Austin . 177 LATEST NEWS FROM THE WEBS FRONT Mark Collier, Steve Holloway and Andy Musgrove . 181 BLACKCAP AND ROSEFINCH — GARDEN STARS David Glue . 184 RECENT CHANGES IN COMMON BIRD POPULATIONS Mike Raven and David Noble . 188 WATERWAYS SURVEYS IN 2004 John Marchant . 194 CLOSER TO HOME Mike Toms . 198 CES NOW MONITORING CETTI’S WARBLER Dawn Balmer . 202 RAS COMES OF AGE Rob Robinson, Stuart Newson and John Marchant. 206 BIRD POPULATIONS A journal of global avian demography and biogeography Volume 8 2007 (2005-2006) CONTENTS (Continued) MILD CONDITIONS BENEFIT BREEDING OWLS David Glue . 210 WHITE STORK FAILS TO DELIVER David Glue . 213 NEST RECORD SCHEME BREEDING TRENDS — LATEST RESULTS Dave Leech and Humphrey Crick . 215 WEBS ALERTS: WATERBIRD TRENDS ON PROTECTED AREAS Ilya Maclean and Graham Austin . 219 BLACK REDSTARTS BRIGHTEN WINTER BIRDTABLES David Glue . 221 NEW WILD BIRD INDICATORS FOR ENGLAND David Noble, Alex Banks and Stuart Newson. 225 EUROPEAN BIRD INDICATORS David Noble . 228 WILD BIRD INDICATORS FOR THE ENGLISH REGIONS Sarah Davis, David Noble and Andrew Joys. 230 DETERMINING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP Juliet Vickery, Dan Chamberlain and David Noble . 233 BIRD POPULATIONS A journal of global avian biogeography Volume 8 2007 (2005-2006) Bird Populations 8:1-20 © The Institute for Bird Populations 2007 PATTERNS OF SEASONAL ABUNDANCE AND DIVERSITY IN THE WATERBIRD COMMUNITY OF NAL LAKE BIRD SANCTUARY, GUJARAT, INDIA1 J. I. NIRMAL KUMAR Head & Senior Reader, P.G. Department of Environmental Sciences, Institute of Science & Technology for Advanced Studies & Research (ISTAR), Vallabh Vidyanagar – 388 120, Gujarat, India E-mail: [email protected] HIREN SONI Lecturer, Ashok and Rita Patel Institute of Integrated Study & Research in Biotechnology & Allied Sciences (ARIBAS), New Vallabh Vidyanagar – 388 121, Gujarat, India RITA N. KUMAR Head, Department of Biosciences &.