Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship At the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project

2006 Field Season Progress Report

Submitted to: Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project, PEI Model Forest Network Partnership, Holland College's Wildlife Conservation Technology

Submitted by: Dwaine Oakley

April 2, 2007

red-breasted nuthatch.

purple finch.

ruffed grouse track.

Acknowledgements

I would first like to gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the PEI Model Forest Network Partnership Ltd. to this valuable environmental project. Next without the continued support of the staff of the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project the MAPS station in Orwell would probably not exist. So I would like to extend a special thanks to Gary Schneider, Jennifer Roma and Eric Edwards who volunteered their time either to help extract and band birds that were caught in the mist nets or to bring school children out to the banding site so they could get firsthand experience of the natural world close-up. Lastly I would like to thank Ben Hoteling and those students of Holland College's Wildlife Conservation Technology Program (WCT) who helped in the setup and dismantling of the banding station in the 2006 season. Also without the use of the banding equipment from Holland College's WCT program the project would not be possible. Thanks again.

Project Overview

It well documented that bird populations have been in major decline across North America since the last half century. "A quarter of all bird species in the United States have declined in population since the 1970s, according to a report issued by the National Audubon Society". Declining bird populations are as a result of many factors with the major ones being deforestation of both breeding and wintering habitat and the depletion of food sources.

The program of Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) was created in 1989 by The Institute for Bird Populations. The program was started in order to fill a void left by other avian monitoring projects (e.g. Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Counts) which only provide a census of populations at different times of the year unlike MAPS which provides data on demographic parameters and deals with the productivity and survivorship of landbirds in a local area. MAPS is a cooperative effort among bird banders who either belong to public or private organizations across Canada, Mexico and the continental United States to provide long-term data on populations of over a hundred targeted bird species at multiple spatial scales.

On Prince Edward Island our forests are very fragmented due mainly to our agricultural practices in this Province so the establishment of a MAPS station in Orwell area is a very worthwhile that collects valuable information on breeding birds in our geographic area. This is the fourth of the proposed five year study to look at avian productivity and survivorship within the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project.

Introduction

The 2006 field season for the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) at the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project site started on May 31st this year which was the first day suggested for station operation within the Northeast region according to the MAPS procedures. This was the fourth consecutive year of conducting an inventory of breeding birds for this site in Orwell. This was done with the use of mist nets for capturing and banding birds as well as recording all bird species seen or heard by individuals that were not captured.

Before starting the 2006 banding season net lanes were cleared of any debris that may have accumulated since last summer so that the nets could be opened without getting tangled. Then the banding station tent was erected in a central location to the net locations. Lastly the banding equipment was checked over for any problems.

Methodology

Ten standardized 10-12 meter mist nets were setup in the exact locations as the previous three years on the woodlot in order to capture and re-capture adults that had returned or were new to the study area and to catch the offspring that were born that summer. These locations were already predetermined in the first two years of operation for the most opportunistic placement for catching birds efficiently within the study area. The nets were operational for one day out of every ten day period from May 31st to August 17th. At the end of each sampling session mist nets were collapsed and tied to the poles in order to prevent accidental capture of birds. Birds captured were then processed by banding them, if not already banded, then by taking a series of measurements such as bill, tail and wing lengths. All banding data was then sent to the bird banding office in Ottawa, Ontario via a summary report after entering the data into a program called band manager.

Each day an avian species list was made of all the birds that were either seen or heard in the study area. These observations were helpful in determining whether a bird species was breeding in the study area even though it was not captured in the mist nets.

Results

The species list was very similar to the previous three years but with 15 more species recorded this year that were not listed last year namely, Bald Eagle, Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl, Common Raven, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Magnolia Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Purple Finch, Evening Grosbeak, Chipping Sparrow, Mourning Dove, and Semipalmated Plover (Table 1). Only 61.5% or 16 of a possible 26 breeding songbird species within the study area were caught in the nets which could be attributed to adults avoiding nets early in the breeding season, birds being closer to the canopy and flying over the nets or not having the nets not close enough to a bird's territory. This figure helps to strengthen the need for a visual and auditory census during banding at a MAPS station.

Table 1:  Breeding status of all birds seen or heard within the 2006 MAPS season.

Breeder
Bald Eagle	
Barred Owl	
* Ruby-throated Hummingbird	
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker	
Northern Flicker	
* Eastern Wood Pewee	
* Least Flycatcher	
* Blue-headed Vireo
* Red-eyed Vireo	
American Crow	
* Black-capped Chickadee	
Red-breasted Nuthatch	
* Brown Creeper
Golden-crowned Kinglet	
* Swainson's Thrush	
* Hermit Thrush	
* American Robin	
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler	
Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler	
* Black-throated Green Warbler	
* Blackburnian Warbler	
* Black-and-white Warbler 
* Ovenbird	
* Dark-eyed Junco	
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	
* Common Grackle	

Probable Breeder
Mourning Dove	
Great Horned Owl	
Blue Jay	
Common Raven	
Chipping Sparrow

Local
Cedar Waxwing	
Purple Finch	
American Goldfinch	
Evening Grosbeak

Migrant
Semipalmated Plover	
Cape May Warbler

* Species that were caught in mist nets.

During the ten banding sessions carried out there were 79 birds caught in the mist nets during the 2006 season which is down from last years high of 90 birds but still higher than the stations first two years of operation (Table 2). Of the birds captured there was an even split between those banded this year 39 and those recaptured from this years and previous years banding which was also 39. Of the 39 recaptures 26 were from previous years of banding. There was only one bird that was captured in the nets that was not banded and that was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird because a special permit is needed to band hummingbirds.

Once again the Ovenbird was the most captured species at the Macphail MAPS station with 17 individuals followed closely by Hermit Thrush with 11 birds caught. This could be explained in that both species prefer the understory of forests and build their nests on the ground. The only bird species that was banded this year that had not been banded in the study area before was a female Blackburnian Warbler. The male Blackburnian could be heard singing on the path leading to the banding station most mornings early in the breeding season. On an interesting note not one woodpecker was caught in the nets this year out of the four woodpecker species that frequent the study area. The other two species which failed to be caught this year that were caught in previous years were the Red-breasted Nuthatch and the Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Table 2:  Totals of all species captured in mist nets over the four year study period.

Family	Species	Total 2006	Total 2005	Total 2004	Total 2003	Banded
2006	Recaptured
2006	Not Banded
2006
Trochilidae	Ruby-throated Hummingbird	1	2	5	4	0	0	1
Paridae	Black-capped Chickadee	3	2	2	2	1	2	0
Sittidae	Red-breasted Nuthatch	0	2	2	1	0	0	0
Cethiidae	Brown Creeper	5	3	3	3	4	1	0
Turdidae	Hermit Thrush	11	12	1	6	7	4	0
Turdidae	Swainson's Thrush	8	7	2	3	3	5	0
 Turdidae	American Robin	6	8	1	8	2	4	0
Tyrannidae	Eastern Wood Pewee	1	2	5	2	1	0	0
Vireonidae	Red-eyed Vireo	4	3	12	5	0	4	0
Vireonidae	Blue-headed Vireo	3	2	4	0	1	2	0
Parulidae	Ovenbird	17	23	14	6	8	9	0
Parulidae	Black-throated Green Warbler	9	7	7	9	4	5	0
Parulidae	Blackburnian Warbler	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
Parulidae	Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler 	0	2	6	0	0	0	0
Picidae	Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	0	2	3	0	0	0	0
Picidae	Northern Flicker	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Tyrannidae	Least Flycatcher	6	3	0	1	4	2	0
Parulidae	Black-and-white Warbler	1	1	0	0	1	0	0
Picidae	Hairy Woodpecker	0	4	0	3	0	0	0
Picidae	Downy Woodpecker	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Emberizidae	Northern Junco	2	3	1	1	1	1	0
Icteridae 	Common Grackle	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
Totals		79 90 69 54 39 39 1

This banding season was no different compared to those of previous seasons when it came to catching and banding hatch year birds. There were only five juveniles banded this year consisting of only two Hermit Thrushes on July 25th, an Ovenbird and Hermit Thrush on August 4th and another Hermit Thrush on August 17th. This raises reason for concern since part of the MAPS program relies on the bird species productivity. One answer to the lack of juveniles being caught is thought to be as a result of adults getting caught in the mist nets early in the breeding season and avoiding the location of the nets later on in the season when they are raising their young. Another reason for the low capture rates of juveniles may be due to the high canopy of the Macphail site. Many of the hardwood species tower well over the mist nets.

On a positive note however there was a great return of adults to the Macphail MAPS site with 26 recaptured birds that were banded in previous years (Table 3). Recaptures composed of 50% of the captured birds this year. All but one of the recaptured birds was banded at the Macphail site. A Blue-headed Vireo that was captured on June 22nd was banded by an American bander and there was no information available on the bird's age. With such a great return of adults to this breeding area the survivorship aspect of the MAPS program is good and there does not seem to be any reason for concern.

Table 3:  Survivorship- recaptured birds at Macphail MAPS station in 2006.

Band Number	Species	Date Recaptured
	Date First Banded	Age at First Capture
1851-93198	Blue-headed Vireo	June 14, 2006	07-05-05	AHY-U
1831-93113	Blue-headed Vireo	June 22, 2006	NO INFO	issued to an American bander
1831-31931	Red-eyed Vireo	June 14, 2006	06-08-04	AHY-F
1851-93189	Red-eyed Vireo	July 5, 2006	07-14-05	AHY-F
1831-31889	Black-capped Chickadee	June 22, 2006	06-09-03	SY-M
2370-60870	Black-capped Chickadee	September 6, 2006	06-24-05	AHY-F
2330-65903	Brown Creeper	July 25, 2006	06-19-05	AHY-M
1961-81913	Swainson's Thrush	June 14, 2006	06-06-05	SY-M
1961-81942	Swainson's Thrush	June 22, 2006	NO INFO	OUT TO 10542
1961-81943	Swainson's Thrush	July 5, 2006	NO INFO	OUT TO 10542
1961-81919	Hermit Thrush	May 31, 2006	06-25-05	ASY-F
1961-81914	Hermit Thrush	June 14, 2006	06-06-05	ASY-M
1861-34771	Hermit Thrush	June 14, 2006	06-17-03	AHY-M
1961-81947	Hermit Thrush	July 11, 2006	NO INFO	OUT TO 10542
1152-42912	American Robin	June 14, 2006	06-09-03	SY-M
1152-42966	American Robin	July 5, 2006	NO INFO	OUT TO 10542
2300-67506	Black-throated Green Warbler	May 31, 2006	06-09-03	ASY-M
2300-65904	Black-throated Green Warbler	May 31, 2006	08-16-04	HY-U
2300-65917	Black-throated Green Warbler	June 22, 2006	08-16-04	HY-U
2300-65918	Black-throated Green Warbler	June 22, 2006	08-16-04	HY-U
1831-31923	Ovenbird	June 14, 2006	06-08-04	AHY-M
1831-32000	Ovenbird	June 14, 2006	06-06-05	AHY-M
1851-93199	Ovenbird	June 14, 2006	06-24-05	AHY-F
1851-93112	Ovenbird	June 22, 2006	NO INFO	OUT TO 10542
1851-93116	Ovenbird	August 25, 2006	NO INFO	OUT TO 10542
1831-31999	Ovenbird	September 6, 2006	06-06-05	AHY-M

The age structure of the breeding bird population at the Macphail site was broken down into several categories from hatch year birds to after third year birds. With the capture of so many adults this year it was easy to determine that there are some birds that are over three years old and have been breeding at this site since the beginning of the MAPS station in 2003. For six birds in the unknown category it can be determined that those birds are of at least two years of age since they are birds that were banded in years previous to this season but the information has not been submitted yet. The only concern as mentioned earlier is the lack of captured juveniles. More study is needed to determine the true cause of this.

Table 4: Age breakdown for all four banding years.

Study year	Unknown	HY	AHY	SY	ASY	TY	ATY
2003	2	1	6	13	17	0	0
2004	2	2	8	10	25	1	0
2005	3	5	3	23	30	1	0
2006	7	5	23	3	8	1	6

HY=Hatch Year, AHY=After Hatch Year, SY=Second Year, ASY=After Second Year, TY=Third Year, 
ATY=After Third Year

Summary and Recommendations

In summary the project was successful in obtaining another field seasons worth of breeding bird data for the Macphail MAPS study area. In my first year with this project I have gained invaluable information on the breeding birds in this area and even more confidence in banding and identifying songbirds. Under the MAPS protocol five consecutive years of data is needed to begin true analyses of the breeding bird status of a particular MAPS station. With this I would recommend and give my full support to keep this project running so it can obtain as many years worth of breeding bird data as possible for the MAPS project as a whole. The information collected in this study area will help give researches baseline data for breeding birds in a fragmented landscape like the Island.

The bottom line is that the Macphail banding station takes considerable effort to run and without the in-kind support from volunteers and the financial support of funding groups it would not be possible.