Field notes #4 Slow Start

Summary of the first month of the wading bird study:

The progress for this project to date has been slow. The field counts depend on two main factors for success: times that low tide corresponds with daylight hours; and rain. We have been unlucky with both variables.  If you were quick to want an analysis of the data so far, indications are pointing to this location (John D. MacArthur State Park) as being negligible as an important feeding ground for wading birds; at least this year due to higher tides. This is a long term study and the tides and daylight seem to be shifting as we move closer to spring. This will hopefully yield better results.

Personal experience at this particular sight over many years would indicate a much higher count of birds. Stay tuned to see if this has changed as our project progresses into spring and summer months.

The following is a brief summary so far. Remember we are only looking for foraging birds on the mud flats; not necessarily a total count of wading birds in the area. We are averaging one survey per month so far. (You can revisit past blog postings to get more detailed accounts of species counted)

December Survey: 18 total wading birds

Jan Survey: 19 total wading birds

                Two surveys were cancelled due to darkness

                One survey was cancelled due to severe storms in the area

Here is a picture of the lens we are using out in the field [Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR] . It is heavy for fieldwork, but very good.

Lions Are Now Protected Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

There is an interesting article on the WWF blog talking about lion conservation. Lions were placed on the US endangered Species list. Will this help save them in Africa? Read their blog post by following the link below...

Later this month, on January 22, 2016, lions will officially be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. But how much power do our laws have in regulating other nations’ conservation policies? ©Eric Rock

http://goodnature.nathab.com/lions-are-now-protected-under-the-u-s-endangered-species-act-but-will-it-help-conserve-them-in-africa/ 

Some history and facts of wading birds in the Florida Everglades

Field notes #3

Wading Bird Survey # 1816; Field Note # 3

Date: 1/08/2016

Survey start: 12:06 pm        Survey End: 3:10 pm

Official low tide: 1:01 pm

Conditions: overcast and cool with scattered sprinkles; 90% cloud cover; 72°

Water monitoring: pH 7.14        salinity 1.023 PPT

Bird Counts (LWC)
	Count	Behavior observed	Disturbance
Great Egret	8	F,R	0
Great Blue Heron	5	F,R	H
Little blue Heron	1	F,R	H
White Ibis	1	F	0
*F=foraging	R= roosting/resting	FO = fly over

Bird Counts (Dubois Park)
(Test Survey – new location)	Count	Behavior observed	Disturbance
Great Egret	1	F	0
Great Blue Heron	1	F	0
Little Blue Heron	1	F	0
Snowy Egret	1	F	0
*F=foraging	R= roosting/resting	FO = fly over

Our official start to our wading bird study began on Friday! Waders packed, and equipment ready we headed out to the John D. MacArthur State Park to start our first survey of the Lake Worth Cove. Low tide was to officially begin at 1:01 pm, so we made sure to arrive one hour in advance. After setting up, we realized that the tide was still pretty high, and there were few birds to be seen. The group agreed that it might be best to arrive only 15 minutes prior to the start of low tide. Could the higher tides be linked to El Nino? You can read about that here.

With the tides on the higher side, not as many wading birds come to forage. It will be interesting to see if Spring tides are lower and bring higher birds counts. Our set up spot was ideal, and we took shelter under an overhang on the boardwalk inside the John D. MacArthur State Park. It was just starting to spit rain, when the team observed an Anhinga bird scooping up a fish right in front of us, and held it in its mouth before swallowing it whole! It truly was a National Geographic moment, but unfortunately, our camera girl is still getting the hang of focusing our super high tech camera, and she missed the money shot. Next time.

We roamed the boardwalk for a bit trying out different spots. On occasion, a local or a tourist would stop to ask us what we were doing. We gave a brief overview of how there is typically an increase in wading birds who come to feed with the low tide and the presence of sandflats, and of course the impact of climate change on rising sea levels.  (Gotta include a school lesson before the real fun starts.)

And now on to the fun part! It was finally time to go inland and start our wading. Our intern stayed on shore to test the water for salinity and Ph and to keep a lookout in case we got stuck. We not so gracefully pulled on our waders and off we went. Wading is hard work! As someone who had never waded, I immediately felt winded. Mucking through the mud is tough, and we soon realized that if we stood still for too long we were stuck. Like, seriously stuck. The mud felt like quicksand sucking us deeper and deeper. It was a little unsettling at first as we fought to maintain our balance (while shrieking), but still tons of fun. Another thing we quickly realized is, that upon getting wet, our waders would shrink and form a suction cup to our skin, and then as we moved out of the water, the waders would immediately expand and loosen up. So cool.

Getting waders off is no easy feat. Thank goodness for interns! The research assistant had to sit down and hold out her legs while the intern tugged at her boots. Flashback to removing skinny jeans in the 90’s.  Poor intern certainly earned his brownie points for the day.

All in all, it was a productive day. After finishing our wading stint, we scoped out other possible survey spots at Dubois Park. Within the first few minutes, we had already seen a Great Egret, a Great Blue Heron, and Snowy Egret with yellow legs and webbed feet feeding on the rocks. Close to him was a beautiful Little Blue Heron, also foraging for food. Jackpot!

Notes: After much discussion, the group decided that we will continue to survey the Lake Worth Cove for the remainder of the Spring and Summer semesters. Starting in the fall semester, a rotation will begin of three additional survey sites, one per month, we will do tests of the new survey sites over the summer.

Blog post by Leah Plocharczyk, Research Assistant

Field notes #2 Pilot Survey number 2

Summary of second test survey: 

Sigh. Sometimes field work can be frustrating. We were on Holiday break , but decided to go out on the weekend to test out our new wading theory [to get a full count of species behind the mangrove islands in the study area].

Tide tables checked. Time confirmed. Meet at the study site....NOT LOW TIDE. Tip of the day. Don't believe everything you read on the internet!! Our tide table schedule was off about 1.5 hours, so there was no low tide.

The survey was cancelled. We did remain on site and enjoy the pelicans and osprey feeding and the tremendous amount of bait in the area. We did see one Great Egret (Ardea alba) foraging along the mangrove tree island.

So back to the lab we went and redid all the tide charts using NOAA/NOS/CO-OPS tide predictions. Hopefully those will be accurate.

We have adjusted our survey times to one hour before actual low tide, in case the charts are off. Staff are awaiting the arrival of their hip waders so we don't get too icky in the mud flats.

Our official designated start to the project begins Jan 8. So stay tuned. In the mean time, enjoy the photo of a pelican!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican#/media/File:Pelecanus_Occidentalis_KW_1.JPG