There was a FB posting of: Seen yesterday 6/24/23 at Horicon Marsh , WS Limpkin. Fall out of sorts?
Diane Roberts Highlands Ranch On Mon, Jun 26, 2023 at 5:44 PM Diana Beatty <[email protected]> wrote: > In a WhatsApp local list, Tyler Stuart asked about causes of apparent > recent Limpkin vagrancy further abroad than the species has been known to > wander. So, I tried to do some reading to see what I could find out. > > Limpkins are apparently very little studied and not much is truly is known > about them. The few studies that have occurred have apparently been only > on the Florida population. So while almost every source says they eat > apple snails almost exclusively, I do wonder if other populations were > studied they would still find such high reliance on apple snails. They > seem to prefer the snails and other mussels, but as we have seen in the > Colorado visitor, they also can eat earthworms, etc. They are not known to > breed in places where apple snails don't exist, however, according to Birds > of the World - at least so far. > > Around the end of the 1800s/early 1900s, Limpkin populations were greatly > reduced by hunting and loss of habitat due to swamp-draining by humans for > development. Loss of habitat is still a concern in Florida, but the > population rebounded from earlier lows, but since is still facing general > slow decline due to loss of habitat. There have been no formal population > studies on Limpkin population numbers so they are not actually well > understood, but some information is inferred from CBCs, etc. In spite of > pressures from humans, they are noted as being particularly tolerant of > human presence even at/near nests. > > Evidence from digs/studies at old Native American sites shows that the > current Limpkin range is reduced and that it once was breeding and in > larger population in Georgia, and possibly Mississippi and south Texas. > They are beginning to expand breeding range into southern Louisiana, > following invasion of apple snail there. The south Texas birds appear to > have been more likely to be the Caribbean subspecies instead of the Florida > one (our CO bird seems to be the Florida (speckled) variety). > > Limpkins are not known as migrators and often tend to stay where they are > born, but there are obviously some that do wander from natal grounds. It > speculated that birds may occasionally wander due to drought or food > competition and go wherever rain/habitat allows, but there have been no > studies. > > Limpkin Vagrancy in the United States and up to Nova Scotia is on the > upswing from first being noted in the 1950s. The timing of that, however, > seems to coincide with the recovery of the species from the earlier > population plummet, and their prior range and behaviors are not very well > known but instead are inferred from archaeology and a handful of written > records. We also do not seem to have a lot of information about the > subspecies that typically reside outside of the United States. Most people > believe Limpkins will continue to increase vagrancy wherever habitat/food > allows but people have only speculated at reasons such as climate change, > habitat loss, recovery from historical losses, etc., > > I wonder if Limpkin vagrancy could be a ripe topic for an ornithology > thesis project. > > Similarly, Hepatic Tanagers are another species of note here recently in > COBIRDS that seem particularly ripe for study. Birds of the World notes > that almost nothing is known - "notably reproduction, diet, and > population biology [are unknown]. Such basic information as quantitative > habitat information, vocal repertoire, incubation period, renesting, and a > description of the natal down is lacking, so this species offers much > potential for a study of life history." > > Hepatic Tanagers are believed to have expanded range in the United States > in recent years, which may be a factor in Colorado occurrences - but no one > knows why and it has not been studied- a similar story to the Limpkin > vagrancy. > > Diana Beatty > El Paso County > > > > -- > > ****** > > “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said > *Gandalf*, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for > them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is > given us.” > > > > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en > * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include > bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate > * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAM-_j9uu4yfV52ktysc5BDStLbO9Tcq7hofqzRwPrqROoN0e7w%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAM-_j9uu4yfV52ktysc5BDStLbO9Tcq7hofqzRwPrqROoN0e7w%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Diane Roberts -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CANDRecF6kNys7SHUeJ5%2BGXQ6Myj-adcyqoMStA5ijZcQ8qJ0bA%40mail.gmail.com.
