Jean Iron's report for the period 14 - 19 August 2008 by satellite
phone from Akimiski Island in James Bay. She is a volunteer surveying
shorebirds for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and
Trent University under the direction of Research Scientist Ken
Abraham. Akimiski is the largest island in James Bay with an area of
3208 sq km based on Landsat imagery (Andrew Jano, retired OMNR, pers.
comm.). Note that this figure is larger than published figures
because it includes coastal mudflats and intertidal marshes, both are
substantial along the north and east shore. Akimiski is Nunavut's
deep south, only other large island in James Bay is Charlton, which
is 105 km farther south. Nunavut's northernmost land is Ellesmere
Island close to the North Pole. Akimiski is part of Nunavut and not
adjacent Ontario because the Act of Parliament establishing Nunavut
(which was part of Northwest Territories until 1999) included in the
new territory all of the islands in Hudson Bay, James Bay and Ungava
Bay. Nunavut is the largest jurisdiction in size and it has the
smallest population of Canada's 10 provinces and 3 northern territories.
This post includes recent information on the probable overall decline
of shorebirds in North America.
Corrections: (1) The 200,000 Semiplamated Sandpipers reported under
Shorebird Population Estimates in previous report # 4 was a typo. It
is 2,000,000. (2) I apologize to Bridget Olson, Wildlife Biologist
from Utah who is studying Marbled Godwits using satellite
transmitters, for spelling her surname with an e in previous reports.
New bird for Nunavut: Jim Richards, co-author of the Nunavut bird
checklist, tells me that the 2 juvenile Wilson's Phalaropes
photographed on 13 August on Akimiski Island and reported in previous
report # 4 is the first documented record for Nunavut. Jim is
preparing a major revision to the checklist and hopes to have it
ready to go to press at the end of August. It will be published by
the Canadian Wildlife Service. If you know of unusual or new birds
for Nunavut, please email Jim Richards at jmr DOT naturepix AT rogers.com
Shorebird Banding and Lice: 8 species of shorebirds banded to date by
a crew led by Ben Walters. Two juvenile Hudsonian Godwits caught
together on 15 Aug showed strong sexual dimorphism in size and bill
length. Males are smaller and have shorter bills. Assistant Professor
David Beresford of Trent is studying the lice found on the
shorebirds. They are not sucking lice; rather they are chewing lice
that eat feathers and dead skin. Recent strong winds with gusts to 70
km/hr and Polar Bears are restricting banding. Forecast for next few
days is sunny and above seasonal temperatures.
Recent Observations: Shorebird are listed in checklist order: Note
turnover from adults to juveniles this past week for several species.
Recent tides have been very high because of strong north winds and a
full moon.
Black-bellied Plover: 9 molting adults on 16 Aug, 17 adults on 17th,
24 adults on 18th. Juveniles still near the breeding grounds.
American Golden-Plover: 4 molting adults on 16 Aug, 17 on 18 Aug.
Juveniles still near the breeding grounds.
Semipalmated Plover: 30 adults and 3 juveniles on 15 Aug, 20 adults
and 7 juveniles on 18th. The low proportion of juveniles is a puzzle.
Most are likely farther north near the breeding grounds. They should
be moving soon.
Greater Yellowlegs: 27 on 18 Aug, molting adults are still more
common, about 60%.
Lesser Yellowlegs: 49 (including 1 molting adult) on 16 Aug, 26
juveniles on 17 and 18th.
Spotted Sandpiper: A juvenile banded on 15 Aug.
Whimbrel: First juvenile on 13 Aug, 9 unaged on 15th, 10 unaged birds
included 1 adult and 2 juveniles on 16th, 11 unaged and 1 adult on
17th, 7 unaged and 1 adult on 18th. Whimbrels are wary and hidden in
low vegetation feeding on berries making them difficult to see and
age before they flush. This is the crossover period when both adults
and juveniles present, but the percentages of the age classes are
difficult to determine. Whimbrel can be aged if seen well. When
comparing worn adults and fresh juveniles, note that adults have
plainer less contrasting wing coverts and tertials; whereas these
feathers on fresh juveniles are heavily and distinctly checkered with white.
Hudsonian Godwit: 44 on 17 Aug, 15 on 18th included 11 juveniles.
Proportion of juveniles is increasing as they move south into James
Bay to fatten for the long, usually non-stop, flight to South America.
Marbled Godwit: 1 juvenile on 16 and 17 Aug. 1 unaged on 18th. Most
adults have now departed James Bay. The first report of a Marbled
Godwit in the James Bay area was one on 29 August 1860 near Moose
Factory east of Moosonee (Todd 1963).
Ruddy Turnstone: 18 (included 3 adults) on Aug 16, 52 mostly
juveniles on 17th, 70 on 18th included 7 adults. They were flipping
small stones and seaweed.
Red Knot: 85 on 18 Aug, most were adults with body molt well
advanced. None had coloured leg flags. Some were either adults in
full basic plumage or juveniles, but could not be aged because of
distance. Most juveniles are still near the breeding grounds.
Sanderling: 1 unaged on 17 Aug, 5 unaged on 18th because of distance.
Semipalmated Sandpiper: Very few adults. 2000 on 16 Aug (< 1%
adults), 2100 on 17th, 1520 on 18th.
Least Sandpiper: 1 juvenile on 16 Aug, 6 juveniles on 17th. Least is
an inshore sandpiper, not a bird Akimiski's broad tidal flats.
White-rumped Sandpiper: First juvenile photographed on 19 Aug, most
juveniles still farther north near breeding grounds. The timing of
juvenile migration and numbers for James Bay not known. 2500 adults
on both 17 and 18 Aug with body molt well advanced. Wing and tail
molt of adults offset until they reach wintering grounds.
Pectoral Sandpiper: 50 on 17 Aug, 28 on 18th, all non-molting adults.
Adult Pectorals undergo their complete annual prebasic molt
(body/wings/tail) after migration on the wintering grounds.
Dunlin: 54 mainly molting adults in various stages of molt on 18 Aug.
Some may have been juveniles, but Jean was not certain because of distance.
Short-billed Dowitcher: 4 juveniles on 17 Aug. Adults are now well
south of breeding grounds.
SHOREBIRD POPULATION TRENDS: Are shorebirds declining? Bart et al.
(2007) discussed shorebird population trends. They analyzed long-term
shorebird data from two survey regions: the North Atlantic and
Midwest USA regions. The North Atlantic region showed an overall
decline of 2.17% per year (P = 0.004). Among 30 species, 73% showed
declines, 9 species declined significantly and none increased
significantly. The Midwest region showed no clear evidence of an
overall decline in 29 species. The authors stated, "The finding that
trends were quite different in the North Atlantic and Midwest regions
makes us reluctant to calculate rangewide trend estimates."
In the North Atlantic Region, three possible causes for the decline
in total numbers were evaluated: 1. Movement hypothesis: that the
timing of migration changed and caused the decline was not supported
by the data; another aspect of the movements hypothesis is that
shorebirds moved through faster in recent years, but this could not
be evaluated with existing data. 2. Change in detection hypothesis:
no evidence was found for a net shift of shorebirds from surveyed to
non-surveyed sites. 3. Population change hypothesis: this hypothesis
says that "the reduction in total numbers recorded is due to a
reduction in size of the breeding population." The authors state,
"While results are mixed for some species, the overall picture
indicates a disproportionate number of declines across many shorebird
species in North America...particularly in eastern Canada and the
northeastern United States". They say that a decline in shorebird
numbers is supported by surveys in other areas such as the Ontario
Shorebird Survey, checklist programs in Quebec, Breeding Bird Surveys
in the USA and Canada, aerial surveys in North and South America, and
counts during research projects in western Canada and surveys on the
Arctic breeding grounds.
Conclusion: The shorebird decline in the North Atlantic region
appears to be caused by declines in population size, but the authors
cannot exclude the hypothesis that declines were due to a changes in
movements during migration, such as passing through the region more
quickly. They state that, "An urgent need exists for more long-term
data sets, especially from northern breeding grounds and from western
North America...".
Other Birds: Canada Geese and Whimbrels actively eating
Bufflaloberries (Shepherdia canadensis), adult Parasitic Jaeger on 19
Aug, Great Blue Heron, Northern Harrier, Tree Swallow on 19 Aug, 3
Gray Jays behind camp on 19 Aug, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped
Warbler, "Western" Palm Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Lincoln's
Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, 3 Common
Redpolls on 19 Aug, White-winged Crossbill.
Polar Bears: A big male and a female with 3 cubs are interrupting
surveyors, banding and Trent Masters student Lisa Pollock's important
shorebird study. Polar Bears are also eating the abundant
Bufflaloberries based on remains in their droppings.
Wildflowers: Jean loves Akimiski's subarctic remoteness and beauty.
It is now bright with an abundance of Arctic Daisy (Chrysanthermum
arcticum), Marsh Ragwort (Senecio congestus), Northern Grass of
Parnassus (Parnassia palustris), pinkish purple Beach Pea (Lathyrus
japonicus), and pale purple Northern Gentians (Gentianella amarella).
Scientific and common plant names from the "Flora of the Hudson Bay
Lowland and its Postglacial Origins" by John L. Riley, published in
2003 by the National Research Council of Canada, 236 pages.
Note last remaining sea ice in Hudson Bay close to Manitoba and Ontario.
http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims_gif/DATA/cursnow_usa.gif
Literature Cited: Bart, J., Brown, S., Harrington, B., and R.I.G.
Morrison. 2007. Survey Trends of North American Shorebirds: Declines
or Shifting Populations? Journal of Avian Biology 38(1): 73-82.
We thank Ken Abraham and Andrew Jano for helpful comments and
information. Next report in a few days.
Ron Pittaway (for Jean Iron)
Minden and Toronto ON
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