Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship at the MacPhail Wood's Ecological Forestry Project

2004 Field Season Progress Report

Submitted To: Island Sustainable Forest Partnership LTD MacPhail Wood's Ecological Forestry Project

Submitted By: Donna Martin

July 30, 2005

Acknowledgments

On behalf of myself and Holland College's Renewable Resource Management Technology Program, we would like to thank the Island Sustainable Forest Partnership LTD, the Canadian Wildlife Service, the Natural History Society and the MacPhail Wood's Ecological Forestry Project for both their monetary and in-kind support. Without their interest and support this project would not have been possible. We would also like to send out a special thanks to Gary Schneider and his staff who helped with the set up and running of this project, along with Dan Kennedy, Fiep Debie, Chris Martin and Margie Loo for their interest and help volunteering with this year's project. Everyone's help was much appreciated, thank you all.

Project Background and Justification

Effective protection and management of forest songbirds requires knowledge of bird responses to landscape patterns and information of breeding success within these landscapes. Previous research has documented the negative impacts of forest fragmentation on avian productivity particularly in highly agricultural landscapes. However, the influence of land use practices in PEI on avian populations and how fragmentation by agriculture and silverculture practices affects both breeding success and species composition of this area is basically unknown.

Forest managers are coming under increasing pressure to look at more ecological sustainable forestry practices along with maintaining biodiversity of an area. Determining the number, projected gain or loss and trends of forest dependent species can reflect biodiversity. Data collected can also identify the invasion of exotic species or the loss of native species, which certainly can have negative effects on natural forest processes such as pollination and food chain relationships. Part of our project maintains an avian species list along with forest plant inventories and records changes over time. The maintenance of these species lists for this area can therefore be used as a useful measure of biodiversity.

It has been long documented that migratory birds show strong site fidelity, returning to the same areas in subsequent years to breed and carry out their breeding cycles. By banding birds during the breeding season useful information can be gathered on both reproductive success and survival rates of forest birds. This information can provide useful indicators to where the cause of declines in general may lie. Consequently, if reproduction declines but survival stays the same, the problem most likely can be attributed to the breeding area, but when survival rates decline it can lie either in the breeding ground or the wintering areas depending on where the extra mortalities are occurring.

Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS ), is a co-ordinated long term program whose goal is to provide long term data on landbird populations. MAPS detects, identifies the cause of, and develops management plans to reverse declines in specific species of birds based on this long term data. MAPS is an integrated program of standardized constant effort mist-netting and banding of breeding birds which looks at analyzing capture-recapture data on sex and age specific annual survivorship and recruitment, along with analyzing adult to juvenile ratios to determine annual productivity.

This is the second year of a proposed 5 year co-operative study set up to collect long term data on avian productivity and survivorship on the MacPhail Wood's Property. The objectives of this study is to provide annual indices and estimates of adult population size, productivity, adult survivorship and recruitment into the adult population for selective species found within this study area, along with increasing conservation awareness through presentations and volunteer participation.

Introduction

In June of 2004, the Monitoring of Avian Productivity and Survivorship program got started by moving equipment from Cameron Island Migration Station over to MacPhail Wood's Ecological Forestry Project. An inventory of breeding songbirds was conducted by using mist nets and recording observations of birds during the breeding season. Net lanes were cleared and mist nets set up with banding starting on June 6 and ending on August 5, 2004. More than 200 volunteer hours were committed to this project.

Methods, were the same as last year's protocols with banding data going to the Institute of Bird Populations, and Canadian Wildlife Service Banding Office and a report being compiled to record data over the long term

Results

A breeding list again was maintained, which recorded all birds seen or heard in the area,(Table 1) along with banding and recording of all net captures (Table 2). It was interesting to note that no Blackburnian Warblers, were heard this year and both the Swainson's and Hermit thrushes were recorded at a later date compared to last years study. Overall, the breeding list did not change with the exception of the Rose breasted Grosbeak, Black Throated Blue Warbler and the Red Winged Blackbird, all believed to be flybys last year. Also worth noting was a Barred Owl heard this year early one morning. These birds are known to breed with the MacPhail's Property, but not necessarily within our study area. It is worthy to note that only a small percentage of birds recorded as present within this study area are captured from year to year.

Table 1. All birds seen or heard and recorded as probable breeders within the 2004 study period.

Black Capped Chickadee	
Hermit Thrush	
Yellow Shafted Flicker	
Oven Bird	
Common Grackle
Boreal Chickadee	
Swainson's Thrush	
Hairy Woodpecker
Black Throated
Green Warbler	
American Goldfinch
Red Breasted 
Nutchatch	
Blue Headed Vireo	
Downy Woodpecker	
Magnolia Warbler	
Barred Owl
Brown Creeper	
Red Eyed Vireo	
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker	
Black and White Warbler	
Starling
American Raven	
Eastern Wood Pewee	
Slate Colored Junco	
Parula Warbler	
Ruby Throated Hummingbird
American Robin	
Least Flycatcher	
Blue Jay	
Yellow Rumped Warbler	
American Crow

This year, 37 new birds were captured and banded over the seven banding periods allotted for our study area, with an additional 7 birds either released or escaped from nets (Figure 2). An additional 11 birds were captured and recorded as returns from the previous year, along with 10 same season recaptures and 4 same season birds that were recaptured twice. This put our total birds captured over the entire study period at 69 birds. This represents an increase of 18% over the previous year's captures. Capture success was based on 420 net hours and calculated at .15 birds/net hour. No mortalities were recorded.

Table 2. All birds captured in nets 2004 banding period
Family	Species	 Total Captured	Banded	Unbanded	Recaptured 	Mortalities
Trochilidae	Ruby Throated Hummingbird	5		5		
Paridae	Black Capped Chickadee	        2	2			
Sittidae	Red Breasted Nuthatch	2			2	
Cethiidae	Brown Creeper	        3	1		2	
Turdidae	Hermit Thrush	        1	1			
Turdidae	Swainson's Thrush	2	1		1	
Turdidae	American Robin	        1			1	
Tyrannidae	Eastern Wood Pewee	5	4		1	
Vireonidae	Red Eyed Vireo	       12	6		6	
Vireonidae	Blue Headed Vireo	4	3		1	
Parulidae	Ovenbird	       14	8		6	
Parulidae	Black Throated Green Warbler	7	3	1	3	
Parulidae	Yellow Rumped Warbler	6	5		1	
Picidae	Yellow Bellied Sapsucker	3	2		1	
Picidae	Northern Flicker	        1	1			
Emberizidae	Northern Junco	        1		1		
Totals		                       69	37	7	25	

Captures consisted of 16 species of 10 families. Capture rates averaged 9.8 birds per session but capture rates were extremely variable by capture dates. This is consistent with other stations and captures drop off after the second or third capture session (Figure 1).Bird species were fairly consistent with last years specie's captured. Both Hairy woodpecker and least flycatcher were absent from this years captures but both were observed and heard in the study area. Total captures were slightly higher in 2004 compared to 2003.

Building on experience gained during the first year, more effort was put into observing bird species and breeding behavior along with locating active nesting sites. Approximately 30 species have been identified as probable breeders in this study area with approximately 16 species being captured in mist nets and sampled in this area.

One of the major components of the MAPS program is the recording of previously banded birds. Recaptures of adult birds banded during the same season provides conformation of local breeding, while returns from previous seasons is used to determine species survivorship. Returns in 2004 represented 35% of the total recaptures with 11 returns from 2003 (Table 3). As we know birds show strong site fidelity, returning to the same area to breed, tracking returns from year to year will give us valuable insight into the survivorship of bird species returning to this area to breed. Overall, total recaptures of 25 birds, represent 36 % of our total captures for 2004. Of note, under the Maps Protocol, recaptures include all birds captured more than once on the same day along with returns from previous years. Totals represent captures rather than individual species.

Table 3 Percent of recaptures per species for the 2004 study period

Species	2004  (Returns)	2003( New Birds Banded	% of Returns
Red Breasted Nuthatch	1	       1	100%
Ovenbird	        2	       5	40 %
American Robin	        1	       7	14 %
Brown Creeper	        1	       3	33%
Red Eyed Vireo	        3	       4	75 %
Black Throated Green	1	       6	16 %
Eastern Wood Pewee	1	       2	50 %
Swainson's Thrush	1	       3	33%

Totals   8 Species	11 returns	31 New Banded	35 % returns

Birds were sexed and aged using methodology from both the Maps protocol and Pyle's guide to Sexing and Aging North American Passerines. This year, 37 new birds were banded along with 11 returns. Sexing ratio's were based on 15 males, 22 females and 11 birds undetermined. As a certain number of birds within a given breeding area are considered floaters that do not breed, some of the birds captured did not show strong sex characteristics and therefore could not be sexed with confidence. Of the 11 birds that were not sexed, 2 escaped before being sexed, but 9 did not show strong breeding characteristics for their species.

37 new birds banded in 2004 along with the 11 returns represented the age structure of captured birds. Using aging criteria based on plumage and molt limits from Pyles, birds captured were 2 Hatch Year (Hy), 10 Second year(SY), 25 After Second Year (ASY), 8 After Hatch Year (AHY) and 1 Third Year(TY), along with two undetermined as they escaped. Again we see low juvenile captures, although viable nests were found during the study period. Age ratio for adults to juvenile is 23:1.

Table 4. Age structure of banded birds during the 2003 and 2004 study period

Study year	Undetermined	HY	AHY	SY	ASY	TY
2003	2	1	6	13	17	0
2004	2	2	8	10	25	1

Recommendations

Although considerable effort is required to operate the maps station, it is believed to be a very worthwhile project. The MAPS station offered excellent opportunities for volunteers to become efficient at handlind, extracting, banding and identifying birds species by both sight and sound. It also offered a great learning opportunity for young children utilizing the Summer Environmental Camp offered at MacPhail's to learn about conservation methods and the reason why we need to do avian research. They enjoyed a great opportunity to see birds up close in a great learning environment. It is strongly recommended that this project run for the minimum of 5 years recommended by the Institute of bird populations.