Seventy new Swainson's Warbler (SWWA) territories were located in 2002 that did not overlap with territories from 2001. These new territories allowed the testing of our manager's habitat model (4 habitat variables that are easily measured, see abstract below). In addition, 6 old territories were resurveyed from 2001, for which a GPS map of singing location in that year had not been completed. Of the 76 SWWAs located, territorial data of 59 birds were collected using GPS to locate a 50 x 50 m plot for vegetative/structural measurements. Two of these territories were the same birds (mapped twice by separate persons), so the final total to test the model was 57 SWWA territories. SWWA territories where distributed in the same areas as in 2001 with 18 in the north section of the refuge, 16 in the north area off the refuge, 10 in the central area of the refuge, and 13 in the southeastern corner of the refuge. Fifty five random areas in the same vicinities (stratified random) were located and it was verified that these areas were unoccupied by SWWA. Cane stems, non-cane stems (shrub understory), litter depth, and water coverage in all of the SWWA and random plots were measured. These data will be used to test the SWWA habitat model we developed in 2001. Data for 2001 will be presented in two different posters at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Review in August and at the Georgia Ornithological Society (GOS) Meeting in October. In addition, the following paper will be presented at the North American Ornithological Conference in New Orleans during late September:

Density and habitat use of a Swainson's Warbler breeding population at Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. J. MICHAEL MEYERS, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Univ. Georgia, Athens, GA; ELIZABETH A. WRIGHT, Warnell School of Forest Resources, Univ. Georgia, Athens, GA.

Contact: Dr J Michael Meyers (706) 542-1882

Bocetti Attends Kirtland's Warbler Recovery Team Meeting; Serves as Chair of Research Committee

Dr. Carol I. Bocetti spent July 24th and 25th attending the summer meeting of the Kirtland’s Warbler Recovery Team at Kirtland Community College in Roscommon, MI. Dr. Bocetti is an appointed member of the Team, and serves as chair of the Research Committee. The Recovery Team is engaged in extremely important discussions related to Recovery Plan revision, habitat management planning, and partnership development with Bahamian and Canadian governments. Also, a training program for Bahamian students is underway. Dr. Bocetti plays an active role in Recovery Team decisions, representing science throughout the process. Active partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Michigan Department of Military Affairs, and The Bahamas Ministry of Agriculture. Dr. Bocetti also assisted with the 2002 Kirtland’s Warbler singing male census during June. The final tally for the census was 1050 singing males in Michigan! This is the second year that the count was above the recovery goal of 1000 breeding pairs!

Bruce Peterjohn of the Breeding Bird Survey was contacted by a reporter from the Boston Globe newspaper requesting information regarding the current status and expansion of Turkey Vultures in Massachusetts and New England. The reporter asked a number of questions about the population trends for this species from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and was directed to the appropriate portion of the BBS website for retrieval of the relevant trend estimates for Turkey Vultures. All of the reporter's related questions about Turkey Vulture populations and their general biology were answered. In addition, the reporter was provided with the name of a biologist who is actively studying this species.

Contact: Bruce Peterjohn 301.497.5841

Authors: T. Peter Lowe and Daniel D. Day

Citation: Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Volume 43(3) 2002.

Abstract: Concentrations of 14 metals were studied in the soft tissues of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and sediments from 16 Great Lakes embayments and riverine environments. Samples were collected in 1993 and 1994 during the early and late autumn period when the body mass of mussels is least affected by reproductive activities. There was a significant difference in geometric mean concentrations of all metals, except Cu, in mussels sampled from different sites and there was a significant difference in the geometric mean concentrations of all metals but Cd, Mn and Zn between years. The higher metal concentrations in mussels from this study were generally similar to those in mussels from contaminated European and US locations and those with lower concentrations were similar to those from uncontaminated European and US locations. Geometric mean sediment concentrations of all metals differed significantly among sites. Sediment concentrations of metals from some sites were above EPA guidelines for moderately polluted harbor sediments. Sites where zebra mussels had higher concentrations of Al, Cr, and V tended to be the same sites as those where sediment concentrations of these metals were also higher. However, there was not a significant statistical relationship between concentrations of metals in zebra mussels and sediments except for Mg.

Contact: Dr Peter Lowe 301.497.5705

Sauer and Link Publish Article Entitled "Using Christmas Bird Count Data in Analysis of Population Change"

Authors: Sauer, J. R., and W. A. Link.

Citation: American Birds, The 102nd Christmas Bird Count. National Audubon Society, New York; Pages 10-14. 2002.

Abstract: The scientific credibility of Christmas Bird Count (CBC) results depend on the development and implementation of appropriate methods of statistical analysis. The key to any successful analysis of CBC data is to begin with a careful review of how the limitations of the data are likely to influence the results of the analysis, then to choose methods of analysis that accommodate as much as possible the limitations of the survey. For our analyses of CBC data, we develop a flexible model for effort adjustment and use information from the data to guide the selection of the best model. We include geographic structuring to accommodate the regional variation in number of samples, use a model that allows for overdispersed poisson data appropriate for counts, and employ empirical Bayes procedures to accommodate differences in quality of information in regional summaries. This generalized linear model approach is very flexible, and can be applied to a variety of studies focused on factors influencing wintering bird populations. In particular, the model can be easily modified to contain covariates, allowing for assessment of associations between CBC counts and winter weather, disturbance, and a variety of other environmental factors. These new survey analysis methods have added value in that they provide insights into changes in survey design that can enhance the value of the information. The CBC has been extremely successful as a tool for increasing public interest in birding and bird conservation. Use of the information for bird conservation creates new demands on quality of information, and it is important to maintain a dialogue between users of the information, information needs for the analyses, and survey coordinators and participants. Our work as survey analysts emphasizes the value and limitations of existing data, and provides some indications of what features of the survey could be modified to make the survey a more reliable source of bird population data. Surveys only remain useful if they adapt to current needs, while still maintaining consistency with historical goals.

Contact: Dr John R. Sauer 301-497-5662

HiLites Contact: B.H. Powell, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 301-497-5782

See Previous HiLites:

August 31, 2000
September 21, 2000
September 28, 2000
October 5, 2000
October 16, 2000
October 30, 2000
November 8, 2000
November 16, 2000
November 22, 2000
November 30, 2000
January 4, 2001
March 15, 2001
March 22, 2001
March 29, 2001
April 5, 2001
April 12, 2001
May 17, 2001
May 24, 2001
June 6, 2001
June 21, 2001
August 27, 2001

September 12, 2001
September 26, 2001
October 31, 2001
November 29, 2001
January 21, 2002
February 11, 2002
February 19, 2002
February 26, 2002
March 4, 2002
March 18, 2002
April 1, 2002
April 8, 2002
April 15, 2002
May 1, 2002
May 7, 2002
May 13, 2002
May 30, 2002
June 19, 2002
July 10, 2002
July 15, 2002
July 25, 2002