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BOHA Waterbird Monitoring Update, July 2011

Alas, another season is behind us…  We finished up our 2011 efforts with two trips on July 19^th and 26^th

Boat-based Surveys (CLT, 7/19/2011).

 

On the 19^th, we began our day with a boat-based survey in the Outer Islands.  We counted a total of 519 female Common Eider and 97 ‘distinguishable ducklings’.  (It was recently pointed out to me that ‘ducklings’, as opposed to ‘chicks’, is the preferred nomenclature for referencing juvenile eider.  I have further qualified it with ‘distinguishable’ since, by this point in the season, some ducklings are undoubtedly large enough to escape our notice and get counted as adult females.)  Anyway… in addition to 97 distinguishable ducklings, we also detected 2 adult American Oystercatchers with 1 fledged juvenile on Calf Island and another group of 2 adults and 1 fledged juvenile on Outer Brewster.  Foraging Spotted Sandpipers were noted on Green, Outer Brewster, Shag Rocks, and Little Brewster and 1 harbor seal was spotted on the Graves.   After a season counting eider ducks in Boston Harbor, some of you may be interested to know that this species has a long history of human interaction and sustainable eiderdown harvest still takes place in Canada, Iceland, and other areas of the Artic today.  The Norwegian Island of Vega was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 and has since been added to my dream travel list (see http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1143).

Fishing the Graves (CLT, 7/19/2011).

 

The Least Tern colony on Lovells Island has dispersed after what appeared to be a successful season.  The Great Black-backed Gull that nested just outside the colony still lingers in the area with one fat and healthy chick.  A carcass found nearby may have been the second chick, who was not in evidence during our visit.  One Spotted Sandpiper, acting quite territorial, was also noted nearby on Lovells. 

In addition on the 19^th, we also observed two adult American Oystercatchers with 1 fledged juvenile on Peggy’s Point on Gallops Island, but did not see any on Rainsford during a boat-based survey.  Eight Wilson’s Storm-petrels were working the water between Lovells and George’s and Spotted Sandpipers were foraging on both Gallops and Rainsford, presumably having completed their nesting efforts for the season.

Snake Island (CLT, 7/26/2011).

On the 26^th, we took advantage of the morning high tide and landed on Snake Island where we observed 10 adult American Oystercatchers and 5 fledged juveniles along with 34(!) Willets.  There were 7 adult Common Terns in the area.  We came upon one abandoned tern nest with 2 eggs and then, quite surprisingly, found 2 very young Common Tern chicks on the beach.  Although we saw terns in the area during our initial visit in late May, the end of July is quite late for nesting terns.  Black-crowned Night-herons, a Great Blue Heron, a Great Egret, Least Terns, Short-billed Dowichers, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, and European Starlings were all foraging on Snake – more evidence that the breeding season is over and fall is shortly upon us.

 

Boston Skyline form Snake Island (CLT, 7/26/2011).

During a boat-based survey of the Outer Islands on the 26th we counted 426 female Common Eider and just 21 ‘distinguishable ducklings’.  Ducklings born in May or early June should be approaching full size and are quite capable of traveling across open water to feeding sites along the mainland.  It is not at all surprising that so few young ducklings were present and very much appears to have been a successful season for eider overall.  Adult American Oystercatchers were detected on Little Calf, Calf, Green, Outer Brewster, and Shag Rocks (with a fledged juvenile?).  One Great Cormorant and 1 gray seal were observed on the Graves and a single Spotted Sandpiper on Middle Brewster.

We ended our day with a landing on Sheep Island where we spotted 9 American Oystercatchers, at least one of which was a fledged juvenile.  One adult had a yellow leg band, one letter of which was ‘K”.  An adult with code YE(CK) was banded on Sheep in 2009 and re-sighted in 2010, so it may have been the same individual again.  Also on Sheep were nesting Herring and Black-baked Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants, Glossy Ibis, Black-crowned Night Herons, Snowy Egrets, and Great Egrets.  We noted at least 7 Spotted Sandpipers, along with Least Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Semipalmated Plovers all foraging in the intertidal.

 

BOHA Waterbird Monitoring Update, 7/6/2011

A perfect summer day in Boston Harbor!  Where were days like these back in May when we needed them?

Summer in Boston Harbor (CLT, 7.6.2011).

 

 We counted a total of 117 eider chicks during a survey of the Outer Islands (down from 159 last week).  Chicks were attended by 110 females, with an additional 326 females in the area.   This means a total of 436 females detected, as compared to 443 on our June 28^thsurvey.  Pretty similar numbers! 

Gray seals hauled out on the Graves (CLT, 7.6.2011).

 

There was definitely a sense that summer had arrived.  We noted many Wilson’s Storm-petrels in the Outer Harbor, several gray seals were hauled out on the Graves, and Spotted Sandpipers were observed actively feeding in the intertidal zones of Calf,  Green, Middle, Outer, and Little Brewster.   We had several American Oystercatchers calling in flight near Calf and observed one adult on the landing beach there.  We observed 4 adults in flight along the east side of Calf later in the morning, though it was not clear if these were the same individuals or from where they were coming.  One AMOY adult was also observed on the landing beach on Middle Brewster where previously detected.    

Hardingworking volunteers (CLT, 7.6.2011).

 

The Least Tern colony on Lovells remains quite active with several chicks close to fledging.  There were approximately 35 adults attending the colony. Given the timing and the lower adult numbers (and two very fat gull chicks nearby) it seems likely that some predation has taken place, though in general the colony was still very active.  No American Oystercatchers were detected on Lovells.

Back out on a couple weeks!

BOHA Waterbird Monitoring Update: June 28, 2011

Tuesday was exactly the kind of day for which we wish!  Sunny and calm, not too hot…. Perfect!

Least Tern chick on Lovells Island (CLT, 6.28.2011).

 

The Least Tern colony on Lovells Island continues to be very active with approximately 80-85 adults attending.  We began a second complete nest count, but quickly chose to abandon the effort since many young chicks were present and we did not wish to cause unnecessary disturbance during such a critical phase of the breeding season.  The Great Black-backed Gull earlier reported to be nesting on Lovells was carefully brooding two chicks just outside the tern colony.  This is the first record I know of a nesting gull on Lovells – as Marc said earlier, ‘Nice to live close to where you eat.’  We’ll see…

Great Black-backed Gull Brood on Lovells Island (CLT, 6.28.2011).

 

A boat-based survey of the Outer Islands turned up 159 Common Eider chicks associated with 86 females.  An additional 357 females were in the area.  Compared to previous years, these numbers suggest only moderate success this season.  We also kept watch for any dead adult eiders on island beaches, but saw done.  In addition to eider chicks, we also observed a pair of territorial American Oystercatchers on Outer Brewster, and another pair with one fledged chick on Middle Brewster!  We spotted at least 3 gray seals around The Graves, several Wilson’s Storm-petrel east of the Brewsters, Spotted Sandpipers on Middle and Outer Brewster, and one immature Great Cormorant on Shag Rocks.

Common Eider females tending chicks (CLT, Green Island, 6.28.2011).

 A boat-based survey of the west side of Great Brewster resulted in one pair of territorial American Oystercatchers.  No accompanying chicks were spotted, but the fact that the adults are still on territory is encouraging.  There were also approximately 47 additional female Common Eiders in the area. 

 We finished the day with a complete boat-based survey of Rainsford Island.  No American Oystercatchers were observed, but lots of Spotted Sandpiper activity was noted and 9 additional female Common Eiders were in the area.   Back out on July 6^th!  Happy Fourth of July!

BOHA Waterbird Monitoring, 6/20/2011

Our last trip before the Summer Solstice occurred on Monday, June 20^th.  The weather was lovely with Our last trip before the Summer Solstice occurred on Monday, June 20^th.  The weather was lovely with very light winds, so we took advantage of the opportunity to conduct a boat-based survey for Common Eider chicks around the Outer Islands. We ended up with a total of 199 chicks on our regular Outer Islands circuit – and then saw five more feeding off the rocks on Lovells a bit later in the morning. 

Common Eider with chicks off Shag Rocks (CLT, 6.20.2011).

This was our first real eider crèche survey this year and numbers seem reasonable given previous years data.  For comparison, in 2010 we counted 341 chicks on 6/16 (!) and had counts of over 250 throughout the season, but in 2009 we reached our high count of 196 in early June and plummeted from there.  It will be interesting to see what we turn up next week.

 

Double-crested Cormorant nesting colony (Middle Brewster, CLT 6.20.2011).

We also observed an incubating American Oystercatcher on the landing beach on Outer Brewster and an active pair on the landing beach on Middle Brewster.  No other AMOY were observed, so the fate of those we saw on Calf, Little Calf, and Green are unknown.  Though we did not see any Great Cormorants, nesting Double-crested Cormorants remain very active feeding young.  We also observed a couple of Wilson’s Storm-petrels in the area, and at least 2 harbor seals and 4 gray seals around the Graves.   

Hauled out Harbor and Gray Seal (The Graves, CLT 6.20.2011).

 

The Least Tern colony on Lovells remains active.  We did not conduct a complete count, since we had been there only 5 days earlier, but we did check in on adult numbers and they seemed stable.

Least Tern nest on outskirts of Lovells Colony (CLT, 6.20.2011).

 

Thanks to Marc and crew for posting signage in the area. 

Lovells Island Least Tern Colony (CLT, 6.20.2011).

Killdeer chicks we had previously noted on the beach last week also seemed to be coming along fine (does anything look more ridiculous that a baby Killdeer?) 

Killdeer chick (Lovells Island, CLT 6.20.2011).

 

Susannah and Pat also observed a pair of territorial American Oystercatchers on the north side of Lovells.  Although we did not find chicks, their behavior strongly indicated they had unfledged young nearby – a first for Lovells!

 

Hard-working Volunteers!

Enjoy these long days – maybe we’ll even see the sun sometime?!?

-Carol

BOHA Waterbird Monitoring, 6/16/2011

After another bout of awful weather, we were finally able to get back to the islands on Wednesday, June 16^th.  

Least Tern Colony, Lovells Island (CLT 6.16.2011)

Our reward was 75 Least Tern nests on Lovells!  (See above – not bad real estate, huh?)  There was also a pair of Killdeer with 4 chicks on the beach nearby.  

Nesting Least Terns and Killdeer (Lovells Island, CLT, 6.16.2011)

After leaving Lovells, we headed to the tern nesting platform off Spinnaker Island, near Hull.  At first it appeared there was little activity,

No Common Terns this year? (Spinnaker Tern Platform, CLT, 6.16.2011)

but once Russ brought the boat all the way in to the piling, VIOLA!  We estimated that (approximately) 133 adult Common Terns flushed from the platform.

Common Tern Nesting Platform (Spinnaker Island, CLT, 6.16.2011)

A cruise by the beaches surrounding Prince’s Head on Peddocks turned up no American Oystercatchers this year.  However, we did count 29 nesting or brooding Great Black-backed Gulls on Hangman, along with one nesting Double-crested Cormorant – a first for me!  There was also a pair of territorial American Oystercatchers spotted on Hangman, though no chicks were observed.  We attempted a trip to the Outer Islands, but were rebuffed by rough seas.

Hopefully, we’ll have better conditions for eider chick counting when we head out tomorrow!  Also of note, you may remember that we sighted a Herring Gull with a green wing tag on Great Brewster a couple of weeks ago – the following information about that bird was provided to me by Ken Mackenzie from DCR:

 Here is some specific information on K99:Captured 2/4/11 at South Bay Center, South Boston, MA; Capture location (GPS): 42.3297805, - 71.063811; Captured using a rocket net baited with crackers and bread; Adult male herring gull; Green wing-tags: K99; Red leg band: 55; Federal leg band: 1146-31807; Released on site:  Sightings:  This is the first sighting of this gull since its capture in February.  Thank you!

 Ken would love reports of other tagged gulls, so please keep your eyes open!

 

BOHA Waterbird Monitoring Update, 6/4/2011

After a slow start to the season, we’ve had two weeks of glorious weather and finished up May with a lot to show for our efforts!

The Graves, 5.25.11 CLT.

We kicked off the season for real on Wednesday, May 25^th with a boat-based survey of the Outer Islands.  Have you ever visited the Graves on a day like this?!?  Incubating gull and cormorant numbers appear generally similar to previous years (see boat_counts_boha11.pdf, attached) – special thanks to Bob K. for observing and Pat for testing out electronic data collection with CyberTracker!  Upon reaching the Outer Islands, we were greeted by three pair of American Oystercatchers just south of Calf Island.  Based on observations during the rest of our loop, we believe that at least one pair is nesting on Calf and one pair on Middle Brewster.  The third pair may have come over from Great Brewster (see 5/26 report) or there may be a second pair on Calf.  We also spotted single adult AMOYs on intertidal rocks on Little Calf and Green Islands.  There were still lots of adult male and immature male Common Eider ‘hanging around’ and 42 eider chicks were observed in small groups around the Graves, Middle, and Outer Brewster.   (Although we missed our window to assess nesting eider this year, we will be tracking chick numbers beginning in mid-June.)  Other items of note were 2 Harbor Seals on the rocks near Green Island, a juvenile Great Cormorant also on Green, and an adult GRCO on intertidal rocks off Outer Brewster – a future nesting waterbird species perhaps?  On our way back to the dock on the 25^th, we checked out the beach on Lovells where a few Least Terns were circling, but no nesting activity was noted.  We also observed 2 AMOY feeding off Lovells and counted 14 nesting Herring Gulls and 15 nesting Great Black-backed Gulls on Gallops.

American Oystercatcher nest with two chicks on Great Brewster Island (5.26.11, CLT).

We headed back out on the 26^th, taking advantage of the high tide and starting our morning with a visit to Snake Island in Winthrop where we observed 5 pair of American Oystercatchers and 5 pair of territorial Willets.  In an effort to minimize disturbance, we did not search heavily for nests but territorial behavior was definitely apparent.  Two Least Terns and 2 Common Terns were spotted in the area, but there was no indication of nesting.  Also of note were Black-bellied Plover, White-winged Scoter, Killdeer, Ruddy Turnstones, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, and a Saltmarsh Sparrow (a species I had previously seen on Snake… though apparently Bob S. didn’t really believe me until he saw it for himself!)  A visit to Great Brewster yielded 2 additional AMOY pairs who both nested on the landing beach where one pair has been found in previous years.  The first nest held one egg and two brand new chicks being earnestly defended by their parents from interested gulls at the ready nearby.  (My advice to nesting oystercatchers is – DON’T BUILD YOUR NEST NEAR A GULL COLONY – they never seem to listen to me….) Combined gull counts on Great Brewster resulted in 108 Herring Gull nests and 9 Great Black-backed Gull nests, most of which held 3 eggs.  We also observed a Herring Gull with a green wing tag numbered 99, which appears to be a bird tagged as part of a DCR water supply study (see http://www.mass.gov/dcr/watersupply/watershed/study/index.htmfor more on this).  A loop around Spectacle on our way back in yielded a whole lot of nothing, but it does not look like mowing has taken place yet, so that is great news for nesting birds.

Carl & Susan nest searching on Great Brewster (5.26.11, CLT).

This past week we spent Tuesday, May 31^st conducting boat-based surveys in the Dorchester and Hingham areas.  It appears to be a busy year for American Oystercatchers with a single adult spotted on Slate, 1 pair on Bumpkin, 1 pair on Sarah, 1 pair (with 2 chicks!) on Button, and 2 pairs with a possible 3^rdon Sheep.  Gull and Cormorant numbers were similar to previous years:  Sarah (101 HERG, 11 GBBG, 85 DCCO), Ragged (1 HERG), Button (8 HERG, 2 GBBG), and Sheep (123 HERG, 4 GBBG, 15 DCCO).  Cormorant numbers on both Sarah and Sheep are up from previous years and Herring Gulls seem to be down, but I haven’t yet had the chance to run through all the numbers.  Also, although not our primary focus this year, wading bird colonies on Sarah and Sheep were quite active with all the expected species present.  Finally, a landing on Rainsford turned up 2 MORE pairs of AMOY, 2 nesting GBBG, 1 nesting HERG, and approximately 11 territorial Spotted Sandpipers – an extremely consistent figure, though we had little luck with nest searching in 2010. 

Sheep Island (5.31.11, CLT).

So for those of you keeping score at home, it appears we have at least 17 or 18 pairs of American Oystercatchers on territory in the islands, and we haven’t yet visited Thompson or Peddocks.  So, we are on track for consistently high numbers again in 2011!   We’ll be back out counting again the week of June 13th…  See you then!

Just a Small Piece of the Larger Puzzle–Silica

Joanna Carey is conducting her silica research at Babson Creek. Don't let the marsh's seemingly lack of fine sand particles fool you! The marsh is full of silica (L.Weisenfluh/ July 2010).

Its that time of the year again–summer time, or as I like to call it–vacation time (booyah!). After weeks of careful planning, you manage to take a few weeks off from work and head to your favorite lake house for some well needed vacation time. However, upon arrival to your lake house, you gape in horror as you see that your beloved vacationing spot has turned a murky green. That’s right–no swimming for you. In an outrage, you demand to know why your beloved vacation spot has turned a ghastly green. The answer lies in a phenomena that is known as eutrophication.

Eutrophication is the result of nutrient run-off from human industries, including fertilizer from farming activities. After fertilizing the plants, the fertilizer will find itself in some nearby lake or pond. And because these nutrients function as a food source for phytoplankton, phytoplankton will dramatically increase in numbers,  thus turning the body of water into an unhealthy green color. While the phytoplankton is flourishing, other organisms will perish due to the lack of oxygen and sunlight.

When I personally think of nutrient run-off, I have been automatically trained to relate it to nitrogen and phosphorus (the most widely studied nutrients when it comes to eutrophication). But thinking about eutrophication just in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus completely ignores the fundamentals of ecology–that is, that everything is connected. In fact, nitrogen and phosphorus are just tiny parts of the ecological equation, yet receive most of the scientific attention. Nitrogen and phosphorus must be interacting with other chemicals that receive far less scientific attention. How about… silica, or instance?

Now that's a sandy beach! A shot from back home, Point Reyes, California (L. Weisenfluh/ August 2009)

Most people know silica for its presence on beaches in the form of small quartz pieces–sand. But silica isn’t just found on beaches, but other bodies of water, such as marshes. In fact, the presence or absence of silica  is very influential in an ecosystem. Silica provides organisms with protection from desiccation and predation through its hardening capabilities. Diatoms (phytoplankton algae) use silica to maintain their cell walls; diatoms will actually bloom according to the availability of silica. Under normal circumstances, silica will be found in a 1:1 ratio with nitrogen in an ecosystem, meaning that, under this ratio both diatoms and nitrogen-feeding phytoplankton will live harmoniously in balance (relatively speaking, of course). However, when the silica to nitrogen ratio is less than one, silica concentrations will be low and not able to sustain a high diatom population, thus allowing non-silica limited algae (i.e. nitrogen-limited algae) to bloom and out compete diatoms. This results in rather nasty business for the environment, including eutrophication and red tides.

Because silica has this important regulatory role in an ecosystem, scientists are very interested in learning more about silica, hoping that it might give them some insight pertaining to eutrophication. However, we must address another concern before we can even venture to explore these implications: we have very little idea as to how silica travels through an ecosystem. Therefore, before we can even start to hash out implications of these correlations, we must determine something called a silica budget.

No, I am not talking about money. Rather, I am using the term “budget” in a purely ecological sense. When an ecological talks about a “budget”, he/she is referring to an attempt to quantify the distribution of particular elements (silica, in this case) and how it is transported throughout an ecosystem. Ecologists make budgets for all types of nutrients—nitrogen, phosphorus—and yes, even silica. Thing is, there haven’t been any attempts to make a silica budget in Northern America. That is…until now. Joanna Carey, a PhD. Candidate at Boston University is attempting to create a silica budget for a coastal wetland within Acadia National Park (Babson Creek, anyone?), with the hopes that this information can ultimately be used to infer how silica affects the biogeochemistry of an ecosystem. And just how is this accomplished? Very carefully…

Researchers take silica measurements out of the PVC contained marsh samples. Before using these PVC pipes, researchers were measuring silica over a large marsh flume. However, water was moving too fast over the flume for an accurate measurement, therefore requiring researchers to use PVC pipes as a smaller flume enclosure (L.Weisenfluh/July 2010).

In her project, she is measuring two different types of silica: dissolved silica and particulate silica. Now, before the technicality of these terms chases you away, let me explain their significances: dissolved silica is silica that has yet to be used by organisms, and therefore indicates the amount of silica that is available for biological processes. Particulate silica (i.e. biogenic silica) is silica that has been hydrated (contains water), as a result of plankton biological processes. It can be found and measured in sediment and vegetation.

One can use these particulate and dissolved silica measurements to determine a silica budget. Both of these measurements are taken as water flows into large PVC tubes (a small replica of the larger marsh) under dark conditions (as to measure silica fluxes under non-photosynthetic processes, such as respiration). Researchers sample the water within these tubes for silica, phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations every 75 minutes for 5 hours.

Joanna Carey collects vegetation samples from the marsh by giving it a "haircut". By analyzing this vegetation sample back at the lab, she will be able to determine the amount of particulate silica found inside the vegetation.

The particulate silica can also be measured by examining silica concentrations in sediment and vegetation. This is done by taking sediment cores (you essentially core the marsh’s sediment, and then analyze this sediment for silica). Once the sediment is cored and extracted for measurement, researchers insert another tube into the marsh–a tube with dialysis membranes lining the outside edges of the tube. Dialysis membranes allow the salt water of the marsh to equilibrate with the water inside the dialysis tubes. Once the two environments have equilibrated their ion concentrations, researchers collect the dialysis tubes and analyze the samples to determine silica, nitrogen and phosphorus values. Researchers also take vegetation samples (of two widespread vegetation types—Spartina patens and Spartina alterniflora) and analyze their silica content back at the lab.

We shall see what the results of her research dictate… Ms. Carey is still in the process of carrying out her field work. But until then, don’t take that sand beneath your toes for granted–its small and unseemly presence is a part of something much greater and more important… rather an entire ecosystem.

A Morning Among the Phototraps

This foggy bog is one of the many randomly selected sites that Lisa Smith has placed phototraps. Don't let the vegetation fool you; you will sink into the murky water if you step off of the plank (L.Weisenfluh/July 2010).

Steady, steady. Be graceful—like a tiger. You can do that, right? Heh—who are you kidding? You have the grace of an elephant, remember? Add it to a dose of morning grogginess, and boy, you’ve got quite a show. After all, one momentary lapse could result in a cold, muddy “Good morning!” because I wasn’t scaling an ordinary wooden beam—there be boggy waters below!

No, I hadn’t gone stir-crazy. And no—I hadn’t mistakenly entered these mysterious waters. In fact—quite the contrary. As a science communication intern, I had the opportunity to go out into the field with a graduate student from the University of Maryland at Frostberg, Lisa Smith—an opportunity which resulted in exploring a watery bog at early hours of the morning. She is currently conducting research on the wildlife species composition on the Schoodic Peninsula as a part of her Master’s Thesis. Her project is a part of a much larger scheme: researchers are hoping to install a wildlife corridor throughout the Schoodic Peninsula.

Why are such corridors needed? Habitats have become fragmented with the increased flux of people coming through the area. Roads have been built. Properties have been developed. The result is a bleak picture for wildlife: isolated in smaller habitats, they have fewer resources available—whatever it may be, whether food, mates, or territory. As a result, ecosystem health diminishes. Conservationists hope to reverse this process by putting the fragmented habitats back together through small pieces of land that re-connect the fragmented habitats—wildlife corridors.

But where to place them? That’s the tricky part and where Lisa Smith’s research comes in. She hopes to locate where and what types of animals are located throughout the Schoodic Peninsula so that wildlife corridors can be assigned appropriately. Lisa Smith randomly picked out sites (like the watery bog) to place phototraps. Phototraps are cameras that take pictures when triggered by motion or heat. In other words, these cameras will capture all instances of wildlife passing by it—everything from raccoons, bears, or porcupines. And what attracts the animals to the phototrap sites? Some good ol’ fashioned lures, of course!

But before re-setting the trap with numerous lures, the cameras need to be checked to see if they are working. After safely making it across the bog (and yes—I miraculously managed to avoid plunging to the watery depths below), Lisa Smith approaches the phototrap, opens it up, and checks for photographs. No photos on this one. The meat is gone….but where are the photos of the creature that took the meat? Is it working? She decides to re-place the camera. Next off, she needs to re-set the site with a variety of scents and bait. Mmmmm—buffet time.

Lisa Smith administers cat nip oil to the hanging feather scent lure (L.Weisenfluh/July 2010).

As Lisa Smith opens her red case of lures, a peculiar scent fills the air—a strange combination of urine, meat, and skunk. There are several types of lures that she employs to draw animals to the phototraps. First, she re-administers the hanging trap, comprised of a film canister and feather. The film canister is filled with a mixture of Vaseline and skunk spray. She sprays cat nip oil on the feather below. On the site below, she fills two old empty bullet castings with a variety of things, including beaver castor (a secretion used for scent marking). Last, but not least—a small suet of meat. And…bon appetite! Aren’t you hungry now? While the menu may not sound appetizing to the normal human being, these lures have been specifically designed to attract carnivores—animals that will be afftected by wildlife corridors through their large ranges.

After replacing the dysfunctional phototrap with a functional phototraph, we head off to the next site. Lisa Smith spends her entire day driving from site to site, re-administering lures and setting up new traps. Out of 60 traps, 50 appear to be working, leaving her with 50 lure sites throughout the Schoodic Peninsula. She leaves the traps out for ten days at a time, re-luring and checking each site on day five of each ten day period. Lisa Smith wishes to cycle these phototraps through three to four cycles of these ten day periods, hopefully giving her lots of wildlife sightings (and therefore lots of data). Personally, I am excited to see what her results may bring, and more specifically, how they will help implement successful wildlife corridors. Until then, take caution to avoid any particularly odd smelling areas while exploring the lovely Schoodic Peninsula; you could be on camera!

BOHa Waterbird Update, 8/5/2010

Great Brewster Island through the fog. (CLT, 8/5/10)

Our last trip of the season took place in the foggy haze last Thursday.  We began our day with a stop by the Least Tern colony on Lovells Island.  We saw only 4 adults and 1 fledging in the area, but Bob Kelley reported approximately 20 adults and 10 fledglings (or chicks near fledging) on August 1^st, so it looks like their second nesting effort was successful.

We were prevented for reaching Snake by an incoming LNG tanker – AGAIN!  In my eight years doing research in the islands, I have crossed paths with only 3 LNG tankers, and 2 of them happened to fall on our last two trips!  We hope the Snake oystercatchers were successful!

On a quick loop around the Outer Islands (excluding Green & the Graves) we observed numerous adult eiders and several females with still-recognizable chicks (a total of 30), so even the late nesters seem to be doing well this year.  We also encountered a pair of American Oystercatchers (AMOY) still present on Middle Brewster.  We did not see any chicks, but they still seemed to be defending the western end of the island where we’ve seen them before.  We also had 2 AMOY feeding on Shag Rocks.  We observed one immature GRCO on Little Calf, 2 gray seals and 4 Spotted Sandpipers (SPSA) feeding on Little Calf, Outer Brewster, Middle Brewster, and Shag Rocks.  Shorebird migration is well underway and Ruddy Turnstones were also observed on Outer Brewster and Shag Rocks.

We ended the day on Rainsford where we divided into 2 teams and scoured the island for AMOY and SPSA.  A pair of AMOY remain on ‘Piggery End’ near the landing beach, but no chicks were observed.  A second pair of AMOY were observed on the northeast end of the island, accompanied by one fledgling.  Two spotted sandpipers were all we could turn up on Rainsford, so it seems probable that their nesting effort has concluded for the season (without us finding a nest, I might add….)

While hard-working volunteers did all the active searching on Rainsford, I set up a dummy tern colony on the northwest end of Rainsford where Least Terns have nested historically.  I had earlier painted 37 wooden eggs to resemble least tern eggs (to the best of my limited artistic ability).  I arranged these eggs into 20 nests in what I hoped was a realistic colony construction.  I then asked my 5 intrepid volunteers to approach the ‘colony’ site and conduct a nest survey using the same methods we’ve been using all season (see http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/NETN/monitor/birds/cbbirds.cfm for more on monitoring protocols).  On the first pass, they turned up 20 out of 25 nests, for a detection rate of 80%.  This information shines new light on our efforts at the Lovells colony – is it possible that there were actually 44 nests at Lovells this year, instead of the 35 we found there???

Thanks to all the hard-working volunteers who participated in our field season this year!  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate their hard work and patience – in addition to their stimulating questions and good humor.  They have all contributed immensely to improving this project each year. (And made it a lot of fun for me!)  Till next season – Carol

Putting it back together: Schoodic to Schoodic wildlife corridor

Welcome to your new tropical abode, Gilligan. Sure, the scenery's great, but the potential wife factor is extremely lacking (L. Weisenfluh, January 2008)

Ecologically, isolation can be detrimental to a habitat. Think about it in terms of your own relocation. You move to, say, some newly discovered island off the coast of Costa Rica.

What biological processes do you need to conduct in order to live and perpetuate your genes? You need to eat. Okay, so learn to hunt wild boars (mmmm… bacon). But what happens if you over-hunt the local boar population and cannot find anything else to eat (yes, everything else is poisonous, for the sake of this argument)?

Better yet, what happens when you wish to perpetuate your fitness? Even if you have brought along your significant other, who will your children mate with? Don’t even think about inbreeding–this will seriously decrease your genetic fitness by revealing those nasty little recessive deleterious traits.

A classic anthropogenic barrier--a road (G. Weisenfluh, April 2008)

Now, make this less personal, and think about it in terms of animal populations, animal populations that have been isolated (or fragmented) due to ecological processes, such as fires or human activities (roads, cities, and so on). How do we revive ecosystems that have been fragmented? You guessed it: by putting them back together.

That’s exactly what Dr. Robert Brooks of Pennsylvania State University hopes to do in downeast Maine from Schoodic Point to Schoodic Mountain. The region in between is ecologically diverse, with a wide range of habitats– everything from coastal to terrestrial to freshwater. By connecting these habitats in the form of a wildlife corridor, animals will have more habitat to live in and move through safely–this means more movement, more mixing, more food options, mating opportunities, etc., etc., thus a healthier population.

But in order to establish this wildlife corridor, scientists must first prove that these fragmented habitats are worth connecting–that is, that they contain species that need the wildlife corridor to thrive. Scientists are currently conducting research to survey for such wildlife. This inventory and monitoring work involves setting, baiting, and checking phototraps which attract mammals and then snap their portrait when they pass in front of camera (the animal’s body heat and movement triggers the camera). After surveying the animal populations in the Schoodic area, the research team will be able to better determine whether the wildlife corridor will help reduce fragmentation and therefore improve the health of the area’s ecosystems.