Birds

The Le Conte’s Thrasher [(Toxostoma lecontei)is an uncommon resident of sparse landscapes within the San Joaquin Valley, Kern River basin, Owens Valley, Mojave Desert, and the Lower Colorado River Valley subdivision of the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States. This species is listed as a Bird of Conservation Concern by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and as a Wildlife Species of Concern by the Arizona Game and Fish and California Fish and Game Departments

Great Basin Avian Species-At-Risk And Invasive Species Management Through Multi-Agency Monitoring And Coordination Final Report 2012 Phase I and II, Project number: 10–102

This project proposes to use the inactive north/south runway at McEntire ANG Station as an experimental area to determine the success of two different methods of restoring native grassland communities in the clear zone. Other areas situated on McEntire can act as control areas. This project documented the occurrence (diversity and abundance) of birds using the abandoned airfield sections of McEntire ANG Station in the breeding and wintering seasons.

Great Basin Avian Species-At-Risk And Invasive Species Management Partnership Final Report – Phase 3 March 2013 Project Number: 10–102

Cerulean Warbler Occurrence Atlas for Military Installations - Final Report, December 2011 (Legacy 10-429). The Cerulean Warbler Occurrence Atlas for Military Installations will evaluate the CERW status on all Department of Defense (DoD) lands with appropriate habitat that fall within the species’ breeding range (plus a 100-mile buffer). This will allow the DoD to manage proactively for CERW and to forge partnerships with state-level entities concerned with rare neotropical migrants, such as Important Bird Area programs and natural resource agencies. This report details the 2nd year or a 3 year effort.

Le Conte’s Thrasher (Toxostoma lecontei) Occupancy and Distribution: Barry M. Goldwater Range and Yuma Proving Ground in Southwestern Arizona - Year One Final Report, September 2012 (Legacy 10-343). Le Conte’s Thrasher is an uncommon permanent resident of sparsely vegetated landscapes within the San Joaquin Valley, Kern River basin, Owens Valley, Mojave Desert, and the Lower Colorado River Valley subdivision of the Sonoran Desert biotic community in the southwestern United States. This species is listed as a Bird of Conservation Concern by US Fish and Wildlife and is a ranked species by CA and AZ. Anthropogenic disturbances within the distribution of the Le Conte’s thrasher (e.g., military training, recreational activity, habitat fragmentation, etc.) have the potential to cause direct mortality and reduce habitat quality through impacts to vegetation structure and soil characteristics. While impacts to habitat on active military training areas can be substantial, these ranges provide important refuges for thrashers and their habitat.

This document summarizes the goals and achievements of the Department of Defense Partners in Flight Program for 2010.

This document details the final year of monitoring avian species using acoustic technologies, which provides effective means to 1) refine DoD abilities to detect species of concern, and 2) provide a tool for generating baseline data necessary for producing inventories on DoD installations in an efficient and cost effective manner. Report describes the efforts, results, and details the methodology with BMPs and recommendations.

The purpose of this project is to interview remaining early team members and partners of the Kirtland Warbler Working Group, to gather the papers, pictures and videos that document the history of the team's recovery planning process, and to summarize and archive these items to share with the conservation community, present and future.

Grasslands associated with airfields in the eastern U.S. frequently support breeding populations of grassland birds that are of conservation concern, but can also support bird species that are potentially hazardous to aircraft operations. A better knowledge of how various species respond to management actions in airfield grasslands will have benefits for both conservation and air safety. To address this need, this project studied the relationships among avian habitat use, grassland habitat management, vegetation structure, and landscape characteristics on three military airfields: Westover Air Reserve Base (WARB) in Massachusetts, the Lakehurst section of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (Lakehurst) in New Jersey, and Patuxent River Naval Air Station (PRNAS) in Maryland. This report includes detailed findings and maps.

This project analyzes climate-change impacts on bird distributions on DoD lands in California, emphasizing threatened, endangered, and at-risk species (TER-S) and species of special concern, assesses changes in broad vegetation types, evaluates how changes vary regionally and among installations, determines the effects of changes in land use (housing development) on bird distributions in areas surrounding installations, tests the effectiveness of assessments of species vulnerability to climate change, and summarizes the findings that may help to inform forward-looking environmental management on DoD installations.

Pinyon-juniper woodlands cover approximately 40 million hectares of the western US and represent the dominant woody vegetation and most biodiverse terrestrial habitats on at least six Department of Defense (DoD)installations. Pinyon-juniper habitats on DoD installations are currently threatened by drought, insects, disease, and fire, all of which can be exacerbated by climate change. As part of a four-year study, this project investigated pinyon-juniper habitat use by Gray Vireos and Pinyon Jays. The Year 1 report focused on landscape-scale habitat use; this report includes results for the nest (both species) and territory (Gray Vireo)/colony (Pinyon Jay) scales. This document includes a set of management recommendations.

This project examined the ecology of Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus) nesting on military lands in Alaska. The goal was to contribute to a range-wide understanding of the species' resource requirements and to help identify the factors contributing to the Rusty Blackbird's chronic and range-wide decline. This study was designed to assess the value of military lands in Alaska to this species within a range-wide perspective and was therefore closely coordinated with other studies throughout the species' global range which includes Alaska, Canada, and the continental U.S.

Burrowing Owl populations have declined throughout the Western U.S. and Canada, and they have been extirpated from the periphery of their breeding range. Despite these declines, they appear to be increasing in other areas. This project seeks an explanation for this paradox. That is, breeding populations might be redistributing themselves rather than declining. This report details the findings of this 5 year effort. This work provides a landscape-scale view of movements among Burrowing Owl populations which will allow conservation managers to direct their efforts appropriately. This information is vital to supporting the military mission because it will help identify the management role of DoD for conserving this species in the U.S., potentially help prevent further listing efforts for a species that is still rather common on DoD installations, and document movement patterns of a bird that breeds on many DoD installations in the region.

This document summarizes the goals and achievements of the Department of Defense Partners in Flight Program for 2009.

Introduced rats are known to dramatically affect island biodiversity. On Wake Island, a U.S. Air Force installation in the tropical Pacific, rats predate seabirds and may have extirpated several seabird species from the island. Rats may impact a range of other biota and ecological processes on Wake. The Wake Island eradication provides a valuable opportunity to document ecological changes on such an island by monitoring various taxa before and after the operation. This report contains a Work Plan, Monitoring Protocol, and Sampling Designs for Seabird Monitoring, Shorebird Monitoring, Sea Turtle Monitoring, Vegetation Sampling, Arthropod Sampling, and Rodent Population Monitoring on Wake Island. The protocols and results described in the above reports, if replicated post eradication, can provide valuable documentation of ecological changes on Wake Island resulting from rat removal. These documented changes can then be used to generate predictions about ecological responses to potential rat eradications on other tropical islands on which the Department of Defense (DoD) has a management stake.

The Cerulean Warbler (CERW, Dendroica cerulea) is a small wood-warbler that nests and forages in the upper canopy of mature forests. Current information indicates that CERW are declining. The Cerulean Warbler Occurrence Atlas for military installations will evaluate the CERW status on all DoD lands with appropriate habitat that fall within the species breeding range (plus a 100-mile buffer). This will allow DoD to manage proactively for CERW and to forge partnerships with state-level entities concerned with rare Neotropical migrants, such as Important Bird Areas programs and natural resource agencies. The long-term goal of all CERW management activities is to support the population and to prevent the federal listing of the CERW under the Endangered Species Act. This report details the first year efforts for this project.

Range-wide declines among Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus) have been documented for 15 years and are now tantamount to an 87 percent reduction in population size. However, it has not been until recent years that studies have sought to quantify the species resource requirements or understand the reasons for its alarming decline. This report details the accomplishments on this multi-year project that studies this declining species.

Throughout their range, pinyon-juniper habitats are threatened by drought, insects, disease, and fire, all of which can be exacerbated by climate change, and several pinyon-juniper animal species have been classified as Species-at-Risk (SAR). This project investigates habitat use at multiple scales (landscape, territory/colony, and nest) by two pinyon-juniper SAR, Gray Vireo and Pinyon Jay, at three DoD installations in New Mexico. This study of habitat use by two at-risk species that differ in seasonal movements, social structure, and foraging habits, viewed at multiple scales and several installations, will provide a broad perspective on the management of pinyon-juniper woodlands. This report covers the first year of the project, in which focuses on landscape-scale habitat use.

The purpose of this study was to obtain a general picture of grassland bird reproductive success on regional military airfields, and to examine possible factors that may be affecting productivity. Of particular interest was the examination of the effects of mowing and vegetation structure on nest survival of grasshopper sparrows and eastern meadowlarks, species of conservation concern in the region.

During the third year of this project, the main objectives were to increase the species recordings, improve the reliability of the biodiversity monitoring stations (hardware), improve the species identification component of the project website (software), and provide training to a number of installations. This report details how this project met these objectives for the year.

Since the early 1990s, the use of translocations as a management strategy has served to expedite RCW recovery throughout their range. The objective of this project was to expand translocation efforts regionally by providing additional staffing resources (i.e., translocation biologists) and expanding translocation efforts into South and North Carolina. This report details the monitoring of 100 RCW groups, banding efforts, roost cavity, and the trapping and translocation of subadult RCWs from the pool of 100 groups monitored.

Grasslands associated with airfields in the eastern U.S. frequently support breeding populations of regionally important grassland birds, but can also support bird species that are potentially hazardous to aircraft operations. A better knowledge of how various species respond to management actions in airfield grasslands will have benefits for both conservation and air safety. To address this need, we studied the relationships among avian habitat use, grassland habitat management, vegetation, and landscape characteristics on three military airfields: Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station (New Jersey, LNAES), Westover Air Reserve Base (Massachusetts, WARB), and Patuxent River Naval Air Station (Maryland, PRNAS).

This study evaluated the value of military installations in Alaska to breeding Rusty Blackbirds in terms of providing breeding habitats associated with high nesting abundance, reproductive success, and adult survival, and low incidence of diseases and contaminants.

The goal of the first year of this ongoing project was to expand our current avian monitoring program on Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station (NJ), Westover Air Reserve Base (MA) and Patuxent River Naval Air Station (MD) to include demographic parameters for breeding grassland birds (i.e., reproductive success). The current study was designed to provide a clearer picture of the bird-habitat dynamics on these installations, with specific objectives in Year 1 to: (1) obtain nesting success measures for the target species, (2) relate nesting success to habitat characteristics, and (3) relate nesting success to restoration/enhancement and BASH management history. Results presented within this report should be treated as preliminary. Additional data will be collected in spring 2010 to enhance sample size and strengthen inferences about the relationships among management, habitat structure and grassland bird productivity.

Some populations of Burrowing Owls have declined to the decree that listed may be a possibility. Burrowing Owls breed and/or overwinter on dozens of DoD installations throughout the western U.S. and, hence, any changes in their status may affect the military mission.

The objective of this research project was to assess the value of riparian woodlands to the health and persistence of avian communities in the desert southwest. Specifically, to quantify the extent to which both surface water and the health of riparian vegetation influence the abundance and diversity of riparian birds. Ultimately models were developed to allow resource managers on military lands to better predict the effects of future ground water withdrawal and surface water depletion on riparian bird communities along the San Pedro River and elsewhere in the southwestern U.S.

The Department of Defense is subject to several rules and regulations establishing responsibilities for monitoring migratory birds. The Sikes Act requires all military installations with significant natural resources to prepare and implement Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans (INRMPs). The management and conservation of migratory birds is addressed in installation INRMPs. By following these procedures, DoD can minimize the possibility for a proposed action to unintentionally take migratory birds at a level that would violate any of the migratory bird treaties and potentially impact mission activities. In addition, implementing conservation and monitoring programs for migratory birds supports the ecosystem integrity necessary to sustain DoD's natural resources for the military mission.

Native grasses are important for many species of migratory birds and other wildlife because their clumpy growth form provides structural cover for nesting, brood rearing, and foraging. Over the last century, most of these areas have been replaced with nonnative grasses, agricultural crops, forest cover, and urban/suburban development. Throughout North America, efforts are underway to restore native grasslands and other essential habitats for migratory birds through private-public partnerships. As part of a Partnership pilot project, two hundred and twenty acres of nonnative pasture on Redstone Arsenal, AL were converted to native warm season grasses (NWSG) that would benefit priority grassland bird species such as Dickcissels, Grasshopper Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Prairie Warblers, Northern Bob-white Quail, Loggerhead Shrikes, and Eastern Meadowlarks. This report details the project, and discusses management considerations applicable to others considering NWSG restoration.

This document details a multi-year project for the development of an innovative acoustic and internet monitoring network that provides tools to monitor migratory activity by species, to contribute towards more accurate population estimates for these species, and to provide information for more accurate environmental risk assessments (for Migratory Bird Treaty Act, MBTA, and Endangered Species Act, ESA) and Integrated Natural Resource Management Plans (INRMPs).

The goals of the project were to evaluate the value of military installations in Alaska to breeding Rusty Blackbirds by determining habitats with high breeding occurrence, nest abundance, and reproductive success. Also evaluated were the incidence of disease, parasites, and contaminants within the population.

(Legacy 07-381) This study examined the effects of vegetation structure and management regimes on the abundance and distribution of birds on military airfields. It focused on how airfield mowing practices affect habitat use by both high-risk species and species of conservation concern. This first year of the study included; 1) How are birds distributed across each site during the migratory and breeding periods? 2) How are avian relative density or species-specific occupancy related to vegetation characteristics on each site? 3) How are avian relative density or species-specific occupancy related to past management practices? 4) Are patterns of avian activity near runways and approach zones nonrandom with respect season or time of day? and 5) are there avian activity hot spots on individual bases that could pose higher risk?. The report contains detailed maps.

Grassland birds have undergone widespread decline throughout North America during the past several decades. A large number of exotic plant species, including grasses, have been introduced in North America, but most research on the effects of these invasions on birds has been limited to breeding birds, primarily those in northern latitudes. Research on the effects of exotic grasses on birds in winter has been extremely limited. This is the first study in southern Texas to examine and compare winter bird responses to native and exotic grasslands. This study was conducted during a period of six years (2003-2009) on United States Navy facilities in southern Texas including Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi, Naval Air Station-Kingsville, Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Waldron, Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Orange Grove, and Escondido Ranch, all of which contained examples of native grasslands, exotic grasslands, or both.

Two Department of Defense installations, Camp Navajo Army Depot and Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station are located approximately 10 miles west of Flagstaff, Arizona. This study focused on determining the effects of forest thinning on Cordilleran and Olive-sided Flycatchers, and other bird species as to inform proper management to prevent further listing of wildlife residing on DOD properties. The report provides management recommendations to guide the conservation efforts for these priority bird species within the project area, while preserving the military mission for both installations.

Patterns of Avian Migration in California: An analysis and comparison of results from NEXRAD Doppler Weather Radar and Multiple Mist-net Stations

This report details progress during 2005-2006 on project that seeks to locate Burrowing Owl nests on Department of Defense installations throughout the western U.S., determine the migratory linkages and connectivity of Burrowing Owl populations on DoD installations and adjacent lands, Determine where Burrowing Owls nesting on DoD installations and adjacent lands spend the winter, and estimate the extent to which individual owls move among populations, both among DoD installations and between DoD installations and lands managed by other entities.

This report details the project Objectives that include locating Burrowing Owl nests on DoD installations throughout the western U.S., determine the migratory linkages and connectivity of Burrowing Owl populations on DoD installations and adjacent lands, determine where Burrowing Owls nesting on DoD installations and adjacent lands spend the winter, estimate the extent to which individual owls move among populations, and bring together a wide assortment of national and international partners to identify migratory linkages and prevent further population declines and listing efforts. This work will provide a landscape level view of movements among Burrowing Owl populations which will allow conservation managers to direct their efforts appropriately.

September 2006. This document reports on enhancements to a species-landscape model that predicts effects of landscape change on a suite of adult and young birds in the eastern and central U.S. Findings will be used as the basis for subsequent management guidelines for installations in that region of the U.S.

November 15, 2006. This report reviews data from 46 MAPS monitoring stations that have operated in the past or are still operating (in 2006) using non-Legacy funding sources. These data showed effective demographic monitoring of 34 landbird species at 27 of the 46 stations located on DoD installations. Seven of the 34 species are listed in the Partners in Flight North American Landbird Conservation Plan as Species of Continental Importance (SCI). The goal of this analysis was to report demographic parameter values for as many species as possible, compare them to other regional- or continental-scale estimates, and recommend future monitoring efforts.

December 2006. This report details methods and protocols for trapping, tagging, measuring, monitoring and reporting on Burrowing Owls in the southwest. Includes diagrams and sample data monitoring sheets.

This report details a project by Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology to develop digital autonomous recording units (ARUs) that record mp3 and binary (BIN) sound files for periods of up to 6 weeks in duration. Also examined are ARU reliability, applicability to tasks, and recording quality. This report includes results of testing over 27,000 hours of data in fall 2005 and spring 2006. The document also outlines problems and constraints encountered in developing and applying hardware and software technologies.

Meant to serve as a companion to Shorebird Management Manual, by Douglas L. Helmers, this useful guidebook will assist Department of Defense resource managers in identifying important shorebird management opportunities by providing (1) information on migration timing of various habitat guilds, and (2) information on the relative abundance of different species of shorebirds in different regions of the country during spring and autumn migrations. Contains numerous graphs, maps and beautiful photos.

Protect significant biological systems (tallgrass prairie) and species (emphasis on grassland birds), and establish programs for the restoration and rehabilitation of altered or degraded habitats near Fort Riley

The goals of the project were to evaluate the value of military installations in Alaska to breeding Rusty Blackbirds by determining habitats with high breeding occurrence, nest abundance, and reproductive success. Also evaluated were the incidence of disease, parasites, and contaminants within the population.

This document summarizes a project that investigated the source of DDE/DDT contamination on the wintering grounds of the White-faced Ibis in California and Mexico and verified that nesting sites on NAS Fallon, NV were not the sources of contamination.

This project generates a Prediction of Occurrence model using survey data for Le Conte’s Thrashers obtained within an occupancy modeling framework on Barry M. Goldwater Range and Yuma Proving Ground in southwestern Arizona during the breeding season (January-June) 2011 and 2012.

The objectives of this project is to determine the dispersal patterns of juveniles, map the minimum habitat patch size used by nesting LCTH, and Provide specific habitat management recommendations that would aid in maintaining the long-term persistence of the Le-Conte's Thrasher.

This project assessed the relative abundance of Cerulean Warblers and the spatial characteristics of territories in relation to the landscape during the breeding season at NSA Crane.

Fact Sheet: Tracing the Geographic Origin of Migratory Birds Breeding on DoD Lands Using Stable Isotopes (Legacy 10-427).

Fact Sheet: Status and Distribution of Le Conte's Thrasher (Toxostoma lecontei) - a species at-risk on three southwestern military installations (Legacy 10-343).

This fact sheet summarizes the activities and accomplishments of the DoD Partners in Flight program for fiscal year 2007.

The goals of the project were to evaluate the value of military installations in Alaska to breeding Rusty Blackbirds by determining habitats with high breeding occurrence, nest abundance, and reproductive success. Also evaluated were the incidence of disease, parasites, and contaminants within the population.

This 2 page fact sheet details the accomplishments of the DoD Partners in Flight Program for 2006 in such areas as Conserving Birds and their Habitats, Partnerships and Leadership, Accomplishments and Recognition, Migratory Bird Legislation, and Getting the Word Out.

This document summarizes a project that gathered information on declining BCC Neotropical land birds to ultimately develop land management recommendations for DoD lands in the southeastern U.S. This Legacy-funded project utilized the Monitoring of Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program to provide critical demographic data on 100+ species in the eastern and central US, which will be the basis for subsequent landscape management strategies to be employed in DoD installations in that region.

This document summarizes a project dealing with the removal and eradication of feral cats on Wake Atoll (Marshall Islands, Micronesia) in order to preserve the indigenous birds whose numbers were declining due to heavy predation by numerous feral cats.

The DoD Partners in Flight Program has identified nearly 100 bird species that occur on DoD lands and are at risk of becoming listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act if current populations trends continue. The purpose of this list is to help DoD resource managers better prioritize monitoring and management efforts on those species (and their habitats)having the highest potential to impact the military mission should they become Federally listed.

This survey protocol describes a broadcast survey technique, contains background information, photos, and a survey form that will assist in conducting surveys. This protocol can be applied to other DoD installations (e.g., Naval Air Facility El Centro, Fort Irwin, China Lake and Twenty-nine Palms, CA) and surrounding land where the species may occur.

This presentation details the goals methods and findings of a study on the decline of the Rusty Blackbird.

This 13 slide presentation presents the hypothesis that this species is redistributing populations in the southwest rather than declining and outlines the methods that will be employed during the course of the project to gather data to corroborate or disprove this hypothesis.

This 2 page publication summarizes the objectives, goals, benefits, and those involved in this 4 year project that studies burrowing owls, a species at risk in the southwest.

This 2 page publication summarizes the objectives, goals, benefits, and those involved in this 4 year project that studies burrowing owls, a species at risk in the southwest.

CREATED BY THE UTAH LEGACY RAPTOR PROJECT 2011

This memorandum from the Office of the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health) provides guidance for all installation managers on Management Actions to Protect Bald Eagles after Delisting and provides additional information in the attached Bald Eagle Recovery Questions and Answers, publication from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

This poster details this multiyear project that results in detail spatial and temporal mapping of migrating osprey along the eastern seaboard, which will aid installations in avoiding collisions with this species.

A poster presentation detailing this Legacy-funded effort and presented at the 2007 Sustaining Military Readiness Conference in Orlando FL.

Bird Strike Hazards and Mitigation Strategies for Military Rotary-wing Aircraft - Final Report, December 2012 (Legacy 11-944). To date, there were very few available analyses of wildlife strike hazards to civil helicopters. Although rotary-wing aircraft operations comprise important mission components of all Military Services, no assessment of wildlife strikes to military rotary-wing aircraft has been conducted. Thus, a comprehensive analysis of wildlife strikes to rotary-wing aircraft among all Military Services was needed to provide an understanding of the nature and extent of this issue. This report's objectives were to (1) acquire wildlife strike data for military rotary-wing aircraft and civil helicopters, (2) conduct a comprehensive analysis of data available from all Military Services regarding wildlife strikes with rotary-wing aircraft, (3) compare military rotary-wing wildlife strikes to those with civil helicopters, and (4) provide recommendations for aircrews, flight and mission planners, aircraft engineers, and airfield managers to reduce the frequency and negative impacts of wildlife strikes to military flight operations.

The goal of the first year of this ongoing project was to expand our current avian monitoring program on Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station (NJ), Westover Air Reserve Base (MA) and Patuxent River Naval Air Station (MD) to include demographic parameters for breeding grassland birds (i.e., reproductive success). The current study was designed to provide a clearer picture of the bird-habitat dynamics on these installations, with specific objectives in Year 1 to: (1) obtain nesting success measures for the target species, (2) relate nesting success to habitat characteristics, and (3) relate nesting success to restoration/enhancement and BASH management history. Results presented within this report should be treated as preliminary. Additional data will be collected in spring 2010 to enhance sample size and strengthen inferences about the relationships among management, habitat structure and grassland bird productivity.

This presentation describes the materials, procedure, application, and results of Osprey captured and marked as part of the Assessing BASH Risk Potential of Migrating and Breeding Osprey in the Mid-Atlantic Chesapeake Bay Region project. This is a collaborative multi-agency effort where breeding adults and nestlings were live-captured, fitted with satellite transmitters, and released from nest locations surrounding Langley Air Force Base in the Back River on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay of Virginia.

This poster summarizes the purpose, methods and first years result of this project which tracks osprey from Langley AFB, VA with the ultimate goal to reduce Bird Air Strike Hazard (BASH). This poster was presented at the 2007 Sustaining Military Readiness Conference in Orlando, FL.