Spring 2005 Banding Summary (15 April - 15 June)

About 350,000 birds have been banded at Manomet to date. The spring and fall migration banding program started here at the (then) Ernst House porch in the fall of 1966. We are thus in our 40th year of data collection and education programs at this site. This spring we continued to run 50 mist nets on the same dates and in the same locations as the previous years, giving us an unparalleled comparison of range expansions and contractions, yearly variation of migration, and long-term population change. Click here to read the full summary.

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Southeastern Massachusetts Natural Resources Atlas

Manomet is pleased to announce the availability of our newly updated Southeastern Massachusetts Natural Resources Atlas: A Regional Guide to Biodiversity; the only book dedicated to the natural and cultural history of Southeastern Massachusetts. For the first time, information on the region's natural resources, infrastructure, and land use are available in a single reference. Through the use of maps, photographs, and text, the Atlas creates a visual overview of Southeastern Massachusetts. These images are complemented by a wealth of information specific to the region, such as local wildlife, changes in land use, natural communities, and the ways in which watersheds link us together. Copies of the Atlas have been provided to municipalities, government officials, libraries, and non-profit organizations throughout the region to inform and inspire proactive conservation. Read more about our Southeastern Massachusetts Natural Resources Atlas

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Journey to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with Manomet's Conservation Sciences Magazine

Manomet's new issue of Conservation Sciences magazine explores the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the few remaining unspoiled places on earth. In addition to this special feature and its stunning images by nationally renowned photographer Subhankar Banerjee, the publication covers Manomet programs working to conserve the natural world for the benefit of wildlife and human populations.

Read the lead story, "Where Life Begins - The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."

Request your free copy of this issue.

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Make Every Day Earth Day

It seems only fitting that in honor of Earth Day, we all give something back to the place that has given us all so much. And not just one day, April 22, but every day of the year. Here are some simple things that you can feel good about doing and that will make the Earth an even better place to live.

• Get outside and explore: Enjoy the peace and serenity of an open space in your community.
• Take pride in your commitment to the environment: By caring about the environment you are promoting the importance of environmentalism as a mainstream societal value. This is ultimately how we will affect true change for the Earth.
• Learn to identify 10 simple native species: Knowing how to identify plants and animals that are native to your area is a simple way to connect with nature that will inspire you to care about the environment.
• Conserve water, heat and electricity. Turn off water, lights, and heat when possible. By using less water and energy, you will also save on your utility bills.
• Practice organic gardening: Use native plants when you landscape and consider alternatives to chemical pesticides.
• Teach children a healthy respect for the natural world: Kids learn best by following your example. Practice responsible environmentalism that will carry over into the next generation.
• Shop Smart: Show your support for businesses that practice environmental stewardship. Purchase products that are environmentally friendly.
• Drive less: Help reduce our country’s demand for oil and reduce green house gas emissions by walking or cycling to do errands, carpooling or using public transportation when possible.

Brought to you by Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, a conservation organization with local roots and a global reach. A special thank you to our distributing vendors for their commitment to the environment.

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Support Manomet's Spring Appeal

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Community Based Forestry

As the name suggests, community-based forestry means a community of people coming together to maintain or enhance the values of its forestland. The idea originated in developing countries and has been gaining momentum in the US over the last decade. Behind its popularity is the notion that communities have shared values for their forests: economic, recreational, and environmental. “Participating in community-based forestry helps people to identify those values, and by working together, they can better maintain them,” says Manomet senior scientist John Hagan. Cooperation and collaboration to meld together mixed values and objectives requires leadership and a broad understanding of the communities’ goals. “Every place has its own socioeconomic parameters,” says Hagan. Seeing the opportunity for community-based forestry in Maine, in April Manomet hosted another Forest Ecosystem Information Exchange, which explored possibilities and evaluated examples. Over 110 small wood lot owners and forest managers attended this program held in Portland Maine. Learn more about Manomet's Forest Conservation program.

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Bird Tracks

Over the past three decades, spring and fall migratory bird banding at Manomet has documented the decline of dozens of migratory bird species. Avian Conservation director Trevor Lloyd-Evans and co-author Jonathan L. Atwood detail the results of their research in “32 Years of Changes in Passerine Numbers During Spring and Fall Migrations in Coastal Massachusetts” - a report in the quarterly journal of ornithology, The Wilson Bulletin (2004 Vol. 116, No 1).

The article points out that far more species are declining than are increasing. “The longevity of Manomet’s study helps because we have built up a large set of data over the decades,” says Lloyd-Evans. “It provides the basic science needed for conservation: where mortality happens, where birds breed and over-winter, and how they get there. Banding tells us when populations increase, and gives us indications of a particularly good or bad breeding season.” Manomet’s banding results correspond with findings documented in the national Breeding Bird Survey (BBS).



FAQ’s
Since Manomet began as the “Manomet Bird Observatory” in 1969, scientists have documented the comings and goings of land birds during the fall and spring migrations to and from New England. To date we have captured and banded 226,900 birds, including 159 species. Manomet’s is the oldest long-term record of migratory birds that exists in North America. It enables us to spot trends and changes in bird behavior, and is a valuable contribution to avian ecology. Banding education sessions are conducted by volunteers and staff, and are open by appointment to any one or group interested in observing this ongoing hands-on bird research.

What is bird banding? Banding is capturing birds, attaching a light aluminum band to their leg, and releasing them. The band is imprinted with a string of numbers and the federal banding office address. This information is entered into Manomet’s banding database and is also reported to Washington to inform anyone finding the bird.

How do scientists capture birds? You don’t have to be crafty to catch birds. At Manomet we stretch nets, but it can also be done by trapping, firing a rocket-net, going to a nest and picking out a chick, or simply walking down the beach and picking up a young tern or a plover that is still too young to fly. But ] Can I do this at home? All banding is carefully regulated. You need a federal permit, and in many states, a state permit as well. Banders have to be trained by other licensed banders before getting their federal permit.

Why is Banding important?
1. Banding is the best tool researchers have for tracking where birds breed, where they spend the non-breeding season, and how they get there. Banding contributes to national and international efforts to conserve birds and their habitats.
2. To find out how long they live. We can access long-term records and near term information (i.e., about this season’s migrants) that enables us to monitor population numbers. Once banded, a bird is marked as an individual. This allows researchers to see how bird densities and populations change because we know we’re not looking at the same bird every time. If we want to know how many catbirds there are in an area, it’s a better index if they are banded because a) birds move a lot and b) catbirds of all ages and sexes look alike!
3. A band lets us see if the same individual bird comes back to the same area, or if wintering birds return to the same winter territory or breeding territory. We need to know what habitat birds require at either end of their migration. Some New England species return to the same wintering territory: Wood Thrush, Kentucky Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler.

Who bands birds? According to the joint US and Canada North American Banding scheme headquartered at US Geological Survey in Patuxent, MD, about 1.5 million birds are banded by the NA banding scheme each year. Banding is an international research technique involving thousands of people on every continent in the world. Four long-term centers have been collecting migration data continuously since the 60’s, including Manomet, where banding has been ongoing since 1966.
1. Point Reyes Bird Observatory, California
2. Long Point Bird Observatory, Ontario, Canada (north side of Lake Erie)
3.Powdermill Nature Reserve, PA – the research station for the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.
4.Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Massachusetts.

Some helpful definitions:
Neotropical migrant:Birds that breed in North America then fly to their winter homes in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, or South America.
Breeding Bird Survey: Long term volunteer survey of all bird species during breeding season, run by US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Christmas Bird Count: long term volunteer survey of resident birds in wintertime intended to give a snapshot of bird at that time.

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Lichens Useful as Biodiversity Indicators in NE Forests

Certain lichens and mosses have been discovered to be very useful as biodiversity indicators in northern New England. In response to the rising concern over loss of certain forest types across the industrially managed forest landscape, the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences has been scrambling to develop ways to easily identify forest stands with high ecological value. Most specifically, they have been looking at the characteristics of late-successional forest stands—patches of woods that for whatever reason were by-passed during the last cutting cycle and have now reached an age of 100+ years. Curiously, there are quite a few of these late-successional forest stands across northern New England, but they are rapidly being cut to make way for faster growing, higher-valued trees.

Manomet scientists, John Hagan and Andy Whitman, have developed an “L-S Index” – a rapid assessment tool which foresters could apply to assess late-successional value of stands within their managed lands. Besides the number of big old trees along a certain gradient, key indicators include the presence of specific lichens and mosses, including Lobaria pulmonaria, associated with older trees. The assessment tool takes 30 minutes to apply, and yields a score of 1 to 10, with 10 equaling old growth. Any score over 7 indicates that the stand has a substantial late-successional ecological value, and that the harvest plans should ideally be re-evaluated.

For more information about this L-S index, or other biodiversity indicators, contact Manomet’s Maine office: www.manometmaine.org.

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WHSRN Meeting at Manomet Focuses on Panama's "Hemispheric" Site

The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network was created in 1985 to address shorebird conservation needs on an enormous scale. It is a voluntary, non-regulatory coalition that identifies and promotes conservation of crucial sites for shorebirds, no matter whether they are used in the breeding, migratory, or “winter” season. The Network is governed by a Hemispheric Council, with a Coordinating Office operated as a program of Manomet. WHSRN brings together science, communities and organizations by protecting critically important shorebird species and the habitat they depend on. Sixty sites from throughout the hemisphere are now included. WHSRN works to conserve these "sites" which are distantly separated, vital stopover areas that form critical links in the migration chain throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Manomet recently hosted a WHSRN planning meeting which was mainly focused on the nomination and dedication of the Upper Bay of Panama as a WHSRN "hemispheric" site. The group also discussed the Copper River Migratory Bird Initiative (CRMBI) and the Waterbird Council. Attending the meetings were Rosabel Miró and Karl Kaufmann, Panama Audubon Society; Jim Chu, U.S. Forest Service; Garry Donovan, Canadian Wildlife Service; and a number of Manomet staff, including Charles Duncan, director of the Coordinating Office of WHSRN at Manomet.

During her visit to Manomet, Rosabel Miró, president of Panama Audubon Society, gave a seminar on "Saving Panama's Shorebirds." The Panama Audubon Society is one of the most important and influential organizations working to protect the extraordinary biodiversity of Panama.

Observing the mist netting operation at Manomet. Left to right – Rosabel Miró, Panama Audubon Society; Garry Donaldson, Canadian Wildlife Service; Jim Chu, U.S. Forest Service; Charles Duncan, WHSRN.

Charles Duncan introducing Rosabel Miró at seminar she presented on Panama’s efforts to preserve Migratory shorebirds. Miró discussed birding in Panama and what the Panama Audubon Society is doing to protect migratory shorebirds.

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Manomet Hosts One-Day Conference on “Community-based Forestry”

Manomet is hosting a one-day conference on “Community-based Forestry,” which will be held on Monday, April 4, 2005 in Portland, Maine. The purpose of this conference is to introduce the concept of community-based forestry, and to explore opportunities for putting this concept to work in Maine. Mary Mitsos from the National Forest Foundation will provide an overview of community-based forestry, with examples from around the U.S. David Byrnn of the Vermont Family Forest will explain how he set up a community-based forestry project in Vermont. U.S. Congressman Tom Allen, a small woodlot owner in Maine, will offer opening remarks.

Click here for more information, including a detailed program and registration page.

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Birds in the Balance: Long-term Study Reveals Declines, Helps Prioritize Conservation Efforts

If you spot a Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), linger a while in your observation of it. Take in the reddish brown of its topsides, the long tail, curved bill, and yellow eye. If you spot a Brown Thrasher you are lucky, for the species is in serious decline. Over the past three decades, spring and fall migratory bird banding at Manomet has documented this decline and that of dozens of other species. In a report in the quarterly journal of ornithology, The Wilson Bulletin (2004 Vol. 116, No 1), Avian Conservation Director Trevor Lloyd-Evans and co-author Jonathan L. Atwood detail the results of that research.

“32 Years of Changes in Passerine Numbers During Spring and Fall Migrations in Coastal Masschusetts” is not a happy story: There are far more species in decline than on the increase. Manomet’s banding results correspond with findings documented in the national Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) as well as a study published in the American Ornithological Union’s journal, The Auk.

“The broad indication is that species are not going extinct,” says Lloyd-Evans. “But we have good indices. One is BBS and one is our migration counts. This information helps channel and prioritize land acquisition and conservation efforts for all involved.”

Manomet’s report groups species that are in the steepest decline into two categories. In group one are birds that winter south of New England in central and southern North America. It includes ground-nesters as well as Field Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Purple Finch, Brown Creeper, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Brown Thrasher. Lloyd-Evans attributes much of their decline to changes in habitat where these species occur, such as clearing out scrub and shrub land, more intensive forestry and the attendant elimination of undergrowth, and rapid development of coastal areas.

Neotropical migrants form the second grouping. “Particularly the Wood Thrush—it’s a rain forest dweller,” says Lloyd-Evans. “If there’s less rain forest, they have to compete with other Wood Thrushes for territory, maybe half to one acre each. As rain forest disappears in Haiti or Costa Rica, that puts winter habitat for forest dwellers at a premium.” Other Neotropical migrant species in steep decline include Bay Breasted Warbler, American Redstart, Scarlet Tanager, Veery, Tennessee Warbler, Cape May Warbler, and the Least and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers.

After identifying which species are in decline, the challenge turns to reversing the trend. A key focus, says Lloyd-Evans, is protecting habitats in breeding and wintering territories and along migration routes. For some species, events in non-breeding areas, such as Brazilian rain forests, are beyond our immediate control. “Habitat protection is something we can do at almost any scale, with improvements at the back yard level to large-scale conservation on wildlife refuges,” says Lloyd-Evans. Now in the 39th year of spring and fall banding, Manomet will continue to keep track of the movements and fluctuations in North America’s migrating songbirds.

Wood Thrush

Photo credit: Lang Elliott, NatureSound Studio, www.naturesound.com

In recent years, the Wood Thrush, like many other Neotropical migrants, has undergone an alarming population decline.

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Support Manomet's Annual Appeal

December 2004 Dear Friend: We hope you enjoyed reading about Manomet’s work in our latest email update, the Nature Report. The support of individuals like you is helping Manomet stay the course for science-based conservation; only by staying with our issues are we able to make meaningful discoveries and to earn the credibility necessary to effect positive environmental change. Your gift to Manomet will help us: Keep field crews on the ground in Northern New England to provide scientific support to the many landowners making daily decisions about our 26 million acre Northern Forest—decisions that affect the quality of our water, the biodiversity of our forests, and the abundance of our wildlife. Solve a decade-long mystery on declining waterbird populations leading to an important discovery of the pervasive impacts of pesticides on wildlife. Lead a study to understand which habitats within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (proposed for oil drilling) are most important for breeding shorebirds. Play a leadership role in collaborative fisheries research and management, working elbow-to-elbow with fishermen to develop fishing techniques and gear that reduce wasteful bycatch by as much as 95%. Sponsor WHSRN, a community-based wetland stewardship program that protects over 20 million acres used by shorebirds during their migrations. We hope you take pride in the diverse body of conservation work ongoing at Manomet. Every year we depend on contributions like yours. We send our sincere appreciation for your past support and hope that you will give as generously as you can this year.

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Reflections on a Season of Banding: Fall 2004 at Manomet

About 350,000 birds have been banded at Manomet to date. The spring and fall migration banding program started here at the (then) Ernst House porch in the fall of 1966. We are thus in our 39th year of data collection and education programs at this site. This fall banding season, August 15 through November 15, we continued to run 50 mist nets on the same dates and in the same locations as the previous years, giving us an unparalleled comparison of range expansions and contractions, yearly variation of migration, survival and long-term population change.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)
June, 2003. Naugatuck. © AJ Hand

Formal education programs for over 460 people were based on migration banding, local ecology and conservation biology. Onsite programs have had a wide diversity of audiences this fall. Recent groups included members, schools, universities, government employees, and adults from a local community. Informal presentations included those given to members, visiting scientists, visiting birders, and people who just walk in!

The Numbers:

New Bandings - 2,056
Repeat Captures - 1,142
TOTAL HANDLED - 3,198

The fall 2004 banding season featured about the average number of birds captured in the last 10 years; an improvement over the two most recent fall seasons. This follows an above average spring, so it seems that at least some species (notably catbirds) had a productive breeding season. Neotropical migrants, however, were noticeably few and far between as a group, continuing the observed long-term trends. Migration was also interrupted in this region by four of the hurricane/tropical storms that seemed to progress up the coast from Florida this season. Our busiest days were 30 Sep. (155 captures, 107 new bandings), 13 Oct. (151 captures), 27 Sep. (123), 25 Aug. (111), 21 Sep. (97), and 24 Aug. (96). Only five species were banded in greater numbers this fall when compared with the last 10 years (Mourning Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Northern Parula). For the first time in our 39 years, we banded more Tufted Titmice than chickadees; a milepost in the changing avifauna of Massachusetts. The most abundant new bandings were led by Manomet’s own favorite species, the Gray Catbird.

Gray Catbird (as usual!) - (650)
American Robin - (104)
Tufted Titmouse - (243)
White-throated Sparrow - (81)
Myrtle Warbler - (122)
Slate-colored Junco - (63)
Black-capped Chickadee - (107)
Red-eyed Vireo - (58)

An impressive total of 650 new catbirds this season was higher than any fall since 1980. We banded 23 warbler species, including a Connecticut Warbler and a Tennessee Warbler. Other exciting captures for Manomet included two Yellow-billed Cuckoos, a Philadelphia Vireo and an Indigo Bunting. We recorded several notable recaptures from previous seasons: a Gray Catbird banded 23 August 2000 (4 years old); a White-throated Sparrow, banded 17 April 2002 (at least 3 years old); a Black-capped Chickadee banded 17 April 2002 (at least 3 years old); a Gray Catbird banded 20 August 2001 (3 years old); and a Tufted Titmouse banded 29 August 2001 (3 years old).

Many, many thanks to all the volunteers who helped make the fall migration banding and education season of 2004 such a success. We are also greatly indebted to Manomet members and several foundations for financial support of these programs. Starr Nicely (Boone, NC) and Ben Flemer (Waitsfield, VT) were the lead banders this fall, assisted by Ann Graham (Oakland, CA), John Siekierski (Waterville, OH) and Ian Ausprey (Whiting, ME).

Trevor Lloyd-Evans (MA & UK)

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Manomet on the History Channel

Manomet’s Marine Fisheries Conservation work will be spotlighted in an upcoming segment of Modern Marvels, a regular feature of the History Channel, which will air at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, December 22. Included in this segment called “Commercial Fishing,” is an interview with Manomet’s Director of Marine Fisheries Conservation, Dr. Chris Glass.

About the Segment:
Battered and fried or simply raw - seafood is a popular dish, no matter how you serve it. Americans consume more than 5-billion pounds yearly, an order that takes more than a fishing rod to fill and worries conservationists. We follow the fish, the fishermen, and the science trying to preserve fisheries for future generations--from ancient ships on the Nile to a modern technologically sophisticated factory trawler on the Bering Sea to the University of New Hampshire's open-ocean aquaculture research project. And we witness a wide variety of fishing methods--from gillnetting and longlining to lobster trapping. Hop aboard and sail through time and around the globe as we explore the harsh conditions of life at sea and experience firsthand one of history's deadliest jobs. Brace yourself and feel the ice-cold, salt spray on your face as we explore commercial fishing!

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Sustainability of the Marine Environment is Focus of Manomet’s Marine Fisheries Conservation Program

Animal rights activist groups have recently launched campaigns which attempt to depict commercial fishing as cruel and seek to convince consumers to stop buying fish. As part of these campaigns, groups have been quoting the work of numerous scientists, including Dr. Chris Glass, Director of Manomet's Marine Conservation Program.

Dr. Glass’ work, which suggests that fish possess intelligence and are able to adapt to conditions within their environment, was part of a study intended to explore interactions of fish with fishing gears.

This study was conducted completely independently from advocacy groups and was funded by a European Union initiative. The conclusions drawn by animal activist groups do not reflect the original intent of the study nor Dr. Glass’ stand on issues of treatment of animals.

Manomet maintains that protein from the sea is a vital part of human life, economically, culturally and nutritionally. We will continue to work toward the sustainability of marine resources and the responsible harvest of resources from the sea. Manomet's mission is to conserve the natural world for the benefit of wildlife and human populations. Through research and collaboration, Manomet builds science-based, cooperative solutions to environmental problems.

Read the article: Crafty Haddock Learn to Swim Through Fishing Nets, in the September 2004 issue of the ICES/CIEM Newsletter.

Learn more about Manomet’s Marine Fisheries Conservation program.

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Manomet Scientist to Discuss Arctic Refuge Shorebird Expedition

Students for Sustainability at Cape Cod Community College (CCCC) will host Stephen Brown, Director of Shorebird Conservation at Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, on Tuesday, November 30, 6:30 p.m. for a special presentation on his recent shorebird research expedition to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Dr. Brown will share insights into the impact of oil drilling on shorebirds in the Refuge, climate change, and other sustainability issues. This event is free and open to the public, and will take place at CCCC, Lecture Hall A. For directions to CCCC, West Barnstable, MA, visit http://www.capecod.edu/. For more info, contact sbrady@capecod.edu.

Learn more about Manomet’s research project in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Shorebirds need your help. Click here to support Manomet’s shorebird conservation research projects.

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WHSRN Director Speaks at NAWMP Signing

Charles Duncan, Director of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) Coordinating Office at Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, was a presenter at the recent signing of the reauthorization of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). Duncan was invited to participate in this important ceremony by Paul Schmidt, Assistant Director, Migratory Birds and State Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

At the ceremony, held in New Gloucester, Maine, Interior Secretary Gale Norton reaffirmed the United States' commitment to international waterfowl conservation efforts by signing an update to the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. The plan is a public-private approach to manage waterfowl in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Partners have invested more than $2.2 billion to protect, restore or enhance more than 8 million acres of habitat in the plan's history. "The plan put in place an innovative science-based, partnership driven approach to international bird conservation," Norton said. "Partners updated some of the scientific processes and priority analysis but the landmark approach they developed only 20 years ago to manage continental waterfowl is just as vital today. Wildlife managers use the plan's design to launch a new era in wildlife conservation, one based on partnerships to conserve shared natural resources."

With final approval from the Canadian and Mexican environmental ministries, the 2004 North American Waterfowl Management Plan -- Strengthening the Biological Foundations will guide the three countries in waterfowl conservation. The plan calls on the partners to manage sustainable landscapes, consult and cooperate with partners and use strong biological foundations to make decisions.

In his remarks, Duncan spoke about the need for shorebird conservation to be undertaken at an enormous geographic scale and through voluntary partnerships of governments--including First Nations, NGOs and the private sector. “NAWMP has been a guiding force in the creation of the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan, and the Joint Ventures created under NAWMP have become ‘all-bird’,” he said. Duncan commented that WHSRN is undertaking both species-based and site-based planning to build the biological basis for conservation action--again reflecting the lead of NAWMP and its partners.

Duncan mentioned a few of the many projects that the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) has funded that have benefited shorebirds, and closed with the recent success story at Río Gallegos, Argentina where the town council there approved a new protected area right next to the city, in part because of its importance for migratory shorebirds and because it has been proposed as a WHSRN Site of International Importance.

WHSRN was created in 1985 to address shorebird conservation needs on an enormous scale. It is a voluntary, non-regulatory coalition that identifies and promotes conservation of crucial sites for shorebirds, no matter whether they are used in the breeding, migratory, or “winter” season. The Network is governed by a Hemispheric Council, with a Coordinating Office operated as a program of Manomet. WHSRN brings together science, communities and organizations by protecting critically important shorebird species and the habitat they depend on. Fifty-seven sites from throughout the hemisphere are now included. WHSRN works to conserve these "sites" which are distantly separated, vital stopover areas that form critical links in the migration chain throughout the Western Hemisphere.

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This event is generously sponsored by Swarovski Optik.

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Manomet and Patagonia-Boston Present

Since 1990, Manomet has been studying the impact of pesticides on wildlife that live in and around agricultural settings. Manomet’s Director of Manomet’s Wildlife & Agriculture Program Katharine Parsons led this long-term study, and has recently concluded research on the chronic, sub-lethal impacts of pesticides on wildlife, raising important questions about how our rural landscape is managed.

Agricultural lands play a critical role in habitat conservation, since nearly half the land of the continental U.S. is farmed or ranched. Pesticide exposure is one of the most important factors negatively affecting wildlife using these lands.

Manomet’s research has documented altered nervous system functions in a wide variety of wildlife species that feed in and downstream from agricultural settings. Some of these animals have experienced population declines of up to 30% during the last 20 years.

Through on-the-ground science, training, and habitat management, Manomet is collaborating with farmers to reduce toxic exposures, which have been estimated at one billion birds in the U.S. alone each year.

Please join us to learn more about Manomet’s significant scientific breakthrough and its important role in changing the way we farm.

Seating is limited. To reserve your space, please call Manomet at (508) 224-6521 before August 3. For directions to the Patagonia-Boston store, visit www.patagonia.com.

A sampling of organically-grown foods and coffee will immediately follow, compliments of Whole Foods Market.

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Manomet Names Director of Major Hemispheric Shorebird Network Initiative

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Wind Birds Celebrated at Manomet Event

At the conclusion of Peter Matthiessen’s talk, Dr. Stephen Brown, director of Manomet’s Shorebird Conservation Program, discussed the role of collaborative science and education in the conservation of shorebirds and their habitat with a particular emphasis on the Arctic Refuge where he is leading a study project focused on nesting shorebirds in Refuge’s coastal plain.

A special feature of the event was an exhibit of artwork by acclaimed wildlife artist Robert Verity Clem (artist of The Shorebirds of North America).

During the event, Swarovski Optik was presented with a plaque recognizing the company’s sponsorship of A Journey With the Wind Birds, and its platinum-level business membership with Manomet.

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Arctic Shorebird Conservation Explored at Patagonia-Boston Program

For more information about how your business can support Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, contact Rob Kluin at 508-224-6521 or rkluin@manomet.org.

29th. Plymouth Christmas Count
December 31, 2002

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Owl Expert to Speak in Belmont, MA

Owls, shorebirds, and their mysterious, threatened arctic world will be discussed at a special benefit program hosted by Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, and sponsored by Natural New England magazine, on Thursday, November 21, 7:00 p.m. at the Belmont Hill Club, Belmont, MA. Denver Holt, founder and president of the Owl Research Institute and the Ninepipes Wildlife Research and Education Center in Montana is the featured speaker. His research on Snowy Owls will be featured this fall on the National Geographic Explorer television program and as the cover story of the December 2002 issue of National Geographic Magazine.

Denver Holt is a recognized conservation leader and sought-after speaker whose work and life story inspire many. Since 1978, his particular focus has been researching owls and their ecology. He has published extensively, including species accounts for Birds of North America and The Handbook of the Birds of the World. His work with owls has taken place in Alaska, Massachusetts, Montana and Central America, and has been acknowledged on ABC, CBS, NBC, and featured on CNN Science News, Audubon’s Up-Close Series, Disney, PBS’s Bird Watch, and David Attenborough’s Life of Birds, among others. Holt, who grew up in Belmont and has family in the area, is a dynamic speaker with a fascinating story to share about his work and why he became a wildlife researcher.

Stephen Brown, director of Manomet’s Shorebird Conservation Program, will share insights into conservation issues surrounding the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) where he is currently doing research. Dr. Brown is a leading ornithologist, whose work has been focused on major shorebird conservation initiatives, including the US Shorebird Plan for which he was national coordinator, and a special project in ANWR. Dr. Brown was the 2000-2001 recipient of The Joan Benson Baker Fellowship for Avian Research and Conservation at Manomet.

A live Snowy Owl will make a guest appearance at this event, and an original photo of a Snowy Owl with her chick, taken by Mark Wilson and featured recently in Martha Stewart Living magazines, will be the door prize. The suggested contribution for the program is $40 per person and seats are limited. Reservations are required. A dessert reception will follow the speaker program. Call 508-224-6521 before November 14 for reservations. Proceeds benefit the research projects of The Owl Research Institute and Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.

The Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences’ (www.manomet.org) mission is to conserve natural resources for the benefit of wildlife and human populations. The Owl Research Institute (www.owlinstitute.org), founded in 1988, engages in scientific research on wildlife (primarily owls and small mammals), their ecology, natural history, prey, and habitat relationships. Natural New England magazine (www.naturalne.com), published quarterly, focuses on the science and beauty of nature in the northeast.

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Bird-guide Authors Cite a Larger Role. Education Can Help Preserve Species, Habitats.

Boston Globe, Thursday, September 26, 2002.

By Robert Knox, Globe Correspondent

Plymouth – When the 200-plus people attending last weekend’s Manomet Field Guide Event were asked how many owned at least five bird identification books, almost everyone’s hand flew up.

Knowledgeable bird-watchers, a category nearly all those attending the Sunday event belong to, are serious about their field guides. But the authors and illustrators who create the guides are equally serious about reaching beyond the ‘in group” of devoted birders to the larger society, which they say needs to know more about nature in order to protect it.

The authors of seven popular field guides who took part in the event at the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences discussed the impulses behind their own work and the connection of field guides to the future of birds.

“We’re the first generation that’s going to have to face the question of how many of these species are going to be around,” said David Sibley, author of The Sibley Guide to Birds and The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior.

The authors and illustrators discussed how bird guides introduce people to nature, how to make guides accessible to beginners, and how to use them as both science teaching tools and as popular influences to help save the natural environments birds depend on.

“Field guides are a tool of conservation science,” offering a direct link to the natural environment, said Manomet Center employee Karen Grey. And the field guide event, bringing the “stars” of the birding community to Manomet, was clearly a treat for the nonprofit organization’s membership, Grey acknowledged.

But just as the one-time “Manomet Bird Observatory” has become a conservation science center, with a $4 million annual budget, birders say bird-watching has to grow out of its image as an eccentric pastime and play a bigger role in preserving species and their habitats.

“We are living in the golden age of the field guide,” said John Kricher, a Manomet board member and field guide author. While the Audubon and Peterson field guides for birds have deeper roots, he said, the last two decades have seen the emergence of talented authors and illustrators such as Sibley, artist Jim Coe, Nobel Proctor (who completed the final Peterson guide after author Roger Tory Peterson’s death), Don and Lillian Stokes, Herb Raffaele, and Peter Alden, all of whom spoke at Sunday’s event.

But a golden age for guides has not been a great era for birds. As Linda Leddy, president of the Manomet Center said, “People who have watched birds for a couple of decades know there are not as many today.”

Concord resident Alden, principal author of the National Audubon Society Regional Field Guide series, encouraged bird lovers to become naturalists.

In his early years as a birder, Alden said, he would have regarded the identification of a rare plant species as a distraction from adding another sighting to this life list. “But birders can’t step on an endangered wildflower while they look for a rare bird,” Alden told his audience. He urged birders to make it their business to learn to identify plants and other natural species as they do birds.

Alden, who worked with Environmental Affairs Secretary Robert Durand to create the state’s annual Biodiversity Day, which encourages people to appreciate nature in their backyards, called Proctor a national hero for identifying 1,000 species in a single day. “He should be on the front page of The New York Times,” Alden said.

To the same end, Alden said, schools should reverse their emphasis on teaching “long ago and far away. They teach the far away, not the right here, right now.”

He said he attended a science teachers’ convention at which all the programs were on “microbiology . . . nothing you can see on a nature walk.” Elementary schools, he said, concentrate on dinosaurs. “You should not be able to get out of fourth grade without knowing 100 animals and 100 plants that are found in your own county,” Alden proposed.

Don and Lillian Stokes, authors of “Stokes Field Guide to Birds,” brought birding to the masses with their public TV show, “Stokes at Home.”

Lillian Stokes said in creating their guide, she and her husband asked themselves what beginners needed to know to get into birding. Accessibility was the key to her, and they organized birds in a “user friendly guide” by color and behavioral characteristics to tap into the reality of how beginners first perceive birds.

Under the picture of the bird, she said, they put its “feeding behavior—when it eats, what and how it eats it,” because when a bird is seen, that’s probably what it’s doing.

The Stokes guide also includes the species’ “conservation status.” Many species are declining at a rate of 2 percent or more a year. “The words birding and conservation have to become synonyms,” Lillian Stokes said.

Herb Raffaele, author of A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies and A Guide to the Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, has created bird field guides for places where there are few ornithologists. The absence of nature guides in Third World countries, Raffaele said, is connected to the lack of organized conservation efforts.

“We wouldn’t be where we are for conservation in North America if it wasn’t for field guides,” he said.

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Photo Highlights From Manomet's Field Guide Event

Click on the image to see the full size Photo Montage.

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Focus on the Field Guide at Manomet Brings Best-Selling Authors and Birders Together for Milestone Event

Seven of the country’s best-selling birding field guide authors met Sunday, September 22, at Manomet to share insights about their work. The discussion gave the audience an inside look at how the authors try to better serve readers, and how the combination of prior guides, new technologies, and the growing sales of field guides combine to improve new books.

Noble Proctor, a longtime friend of Roger Tory Peterson (before his death, Peterson asked Proctor to complete the fifth edition of Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America,) set the tone. He recounted that Peterson, “father” of the modern field guide, always took time to encourage new authors and praised new guides’ features.

David Sibley, whose The Sibley Guide to Birds and The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior are current sales leaders, said the insights of Peterson and other pioneers simplified his work, and that field guides’ booming sales meant he got a large enough advance to live on for six years. Sibley also said that his book’s design, emphasizing patterns of behavior and physiology that divide bird species, would have been impossible before the latest advances in digital composition.

The speakers represented significantly different approaches to field guides. At one extreme is Sibley’s use of paintings and emphasis on finer and finer distinctions between species for advanced birders, while Don and Lillian Stokes’ goal is reaching the most casual of birdwatchers with their Stokes Field Guide to Birds, relying on the latest digital photos. It assumes no knowledge of birds’ names, plumage and bill shape, and starting with the simplest of all distinctions – indexes them first on the basis of their dominant color. “We really sat down to analyze systematically, what does the beginner wish for, and how can you reach the largest number of people, said Lillian Stokes.”

Jim Coe said he painted birds in landscapes for his Golden Field Guide because, “I thought that incorporating elements of the landscape, would make more of a connection with the reader. It would be something you'd want to look back with and recall the experience.” Herb Raffaele, who is chief of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of International Conservation, moonlights doing comprehensive reference volumes such as A Guide to the Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands rather than portable guides. Raffaele said Haiti plans to use bird illustrations from one of his books rather than political or historical figures on the country’s new currency.

Peter Alden, principal author of the National Audubon Society Regional Field Guide series, brought down the house with a series of quips, including saying that he was the first birder to claim a “lifelist” of more than 4,000 birds – “Why not? It’s a liar’s sport: no rules and no umpires!” Alden, who conceived and organized Massachusetts’ statewide biodiversity days movement, addressed the public school science curricula, saying they spend too much time on extinct dinosaurs yet don’t study the ecosystem in the school’s backyard. He said children should know at least 100 plants and animals that are common in their own neighborhoods before leaving fourth grade. In the same vein, Alden said he is working on new field guides that would just concentrate on a given locale and place birds in the context of all flora and fauna in that area.

For all their differing perspectives, the field guide authors were united in their concern over growing threats to biodiversity and the need to transform birdwatchers into conservation activists. Manomet President Linda Leddy, in her opening remarks, summarized that concern by saying that “we need to make the conversion from those who care about birds to making sure those birds will be there for our grandchildren.”

Focus on the Field Guide was held to benefit the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, whose mission is to conserve natural resources for the benefit of wildlife and human populations. Swarovski Optik was the leading sponsor of the event.

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Southeastern Massachusetts Biodiversity Atlas Is Now Online!

The Southeastern Massachusetts Biodiversity Atlas is now available on our web-site. Click here to go there now.

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Radio Segment: Cooperative Research in Maine's Northern Forests

Click here to listen to a radio segment on "Cooperative Research in Maine's Northern Forests."

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Celebrating International Migratory Bird Day and WHSRN’s Hemispheric Lifeline for Shorebirds.

May 8, 2004 is International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) throughout the Americas. As this day of celebration draws near, it offers us a chance to reflect on the awe-inspiring migration of shorebirds--and the critically important network of individuals who help in their conservation throughout their range. Many shorebirds--sandpipers, plovers, oystercatchers and others--embark on journeys lasting up to 70 hours nonstop while covering 2,000 miles at a time. It is an extraordinary feat for a bird weighing only ounces. It can only be done with available habitat and abundant food sources--and that requires a network of humans dedicated to assuring that each shorebird stopover site is cared for.

When International Migratory Bird Day arrives each year, we think of WHSRN--the first conservation network of its kind answering to the needs of these remarkable birds. WHSRN (Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network) now includes fifty-seven critically important shorebird sites from Alaska to Argentina, with many more to join. Each site is unique, yet universal, as it becomes a part of this innovative, broad scale network.

On May 8th we will celebrate the awe-inspiring marathon champions of the natural world; we will ruminate over estimates showing that more than one-fourth of the 74 kinds of shorebirds in the Western Hemisphere may be suffering serious declines (2001, U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan); and we will give thanks to the committed and far-flung individuals working to help these vulnerable birds throughout the hemisphere. Within the WHSRN network, we find scientists identifying and ranking threats, educators creating and disseminating conservation information, and site community leaders helping foster links and building awareness (for just a few examples). As a network, WHSRN strives to stimulate and collectively achieve accomplishments which each site would have trouble undertaking on its own.

Click here to learn more about the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.

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International Shorebird News

Visit Shorebirdworld.org to view the latest news from the International Shorebird Surveys (ISS). Having fostered some 80,000 census counts at over 1200 locations in 47 states of the U.S., with additional counts from Central and South America too, the ISS works to chart and document shorebird migration requirements throughout the Western Hemisphere. Because shorebirds make remarkable flights from South American wintering grounds to breeding grounds in the arctic, documenting their migrations requires a large information-gathering network that spans all of the Americas. The ISS is an ongoing, volunteer-based monitoring program in which more than 900 cooperators have contributed information over a span of 29 years and running. ISS data are used principally for conservation and management initiatives by agencies such as the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service as well as dozens of state agencies.

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Manomet "Excels" According to Charity Navigator's Highest Rating

Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences was recently awarded a "4-Star" rating by Charity Navigator, America's premier independent evaluator of charities. Charity Navigator's Executive Director, Trent Stamp, congratulated Manomet for achieving this second consecutive evaluation. "Receiving four out of four possible stars indicates that your organization excels, as compared to other charities in America, in the area of strong fiscal management," said Stamp. "This consistency in your rating is an exceptional feat, especially given the economic challenges all charities have had to face in the last year."

Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences was one of only five charitable organizations in the state of Massachusetts to be awarded four stars within the Environmental Protection and Conservation category.

Charity Navigator works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by providing information to charitable givers on over twenty-five hundred charities and by evaluating the financial health of each of these charities. The evaluations are widely used by making them easy to understand and freely available to the public. By guiding intelligent giving, Charity Navigator aims to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace, in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome the nation's most persistent challenges.

Charity Navigator's method of applying an objective, data-driven analysis to the charitable sector has been profiled and celebrated by The New York Times, Business Week, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. It has become the site of choice for accessing information needed to make smart giving choices.

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Managing Wetlands for Waterbirds: Integrated Approaches is a special publication of the Waterbird Society (Volume 25:2) edited by Manomet staff members Katharine Parsons, Stephen Brown, Helen Czech, and by R. Michael Erwin, a waterbird biologist with USGS and the University of Virginia. The volume 1) evaluates science-based knowledge of wetland and waterbird management techniques, 2) presents specific case studies of successes and failures in attempts to manage for multiple species of waterbirds, and 3) identifies areas in need of further management research.

Nearly a decade ago, eminent wetland scientists Laubhan and Fredrickson provided wildlife biologists and managers with a conceptual framework for furthering the objectives of integrated wetland management. These ideas largely sought to expand the scope of traditional wetland habitat management to include benefits to non-game waterbirds in addition to waterfowl. The authors proposed terminology, identified opportunities for research and management, and provided an impetus for the development of multi-species strategies and techniques.

In the ensuing years, significant gains were made in knowledge and in the development of new approaches for wildlife management. Large-scale conservation plans for waterfowl, shorebirds, colonial waterbirds, and land birds are being facilitated by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, which calls upon wetland managers to "deliver the full spectrum of bird conservation". Importantly, researchers and conservationists worked outside the wildlife management realm to identify ways to optimize habitat for waterbirds, and resolve conflicts, in wetlands used for commercial and agricultural purposes. This decade of activity is bearing fruit for waterbird management and conservation in the 21st century.

The publication had its genesis in a symposium entitled "Managing Wetlands for Waterbirds: Multi-species Approaches" held at the 24th annual meeting of the Waterbird Society in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Most of the papers contained in the proceedings were presented at the symposium. The volume contains a series of papers that elaborate the concepts outlined by Laubhan and Fredrickson a decade ago. They report on new research conducted in North American east coast estuaries, in agricultural wetlands of the northern Great Plains and lower Mississippi River valley, and in salt ponds and tidal marshes of the California coast. Study sites include many of the most productive and biologically rich waterbird habitats on the continent.

These collected papers provide wildlife managers and scientists with practical information for integrating waterbird conservation in existing wetland management plans and contexts. Most of the research conducted to inform integrated wetland management has taken place in manipulated wetland systems (i.e., waterfowl impoundments, agricultural wetlands, commercial salt ponds). The operation of these systems ensures that infrastructure (e.g., tide gate) and experience exist to provide a foundation upon which new management ideas may be tested. In a practical sense, these managed wetland systems and the long tradition of managing wetlands to benefit waterfowl (which function as a conservation "umbrella" taxon for many non-game waterbirds) offer resource managers significant opportunities to develop new strategies to benefit diverse waterbird taxa explicitly.

Through the discussion of numerous, on-the-ground examples of integrated wetland management, this volume identifies successful approaches and challenges not yet met. A recurring theme is the importance of establishing a multi-dimensional framework that includes multiple spatial scales, temporal variability, and habitat requirements of diverse taxa. Management plans should incorporate strong connections between research, management and monitoring to promote implementation strategies that are both evaluative and adaptive. Equally important is recognition of the many societal interests accommodated in the use of wetland resources, and the imperative of developing a collaborative approach to optimizing multiple objectives.

The volume is available from Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences for $15 (includes shipping and handling). To request a copy, call (508) 224-6521 or email ldamon@manomet.org.

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WHSRN Receives Funding From NFWF to Support Critical Shorebird Sites

Moreover, at their meeting on June 15, NFWF's Board of Directors expressed especial enthusiasm for participating in WHSRN because of its international structure, the urgency of taking action on many declining shorebird populations, and the broad participation of so many public and private groups throughout the Hemisphere.
The activities proposed in the grant request derive immediately from the four goals identified in WHSRN’s 2004-2008 Strategic Plan. While NFWF's available funding at this round only allowed direct funding of those activities described above (which come under the goals of "Best Science" and "Conservation Action"), it was agreed that the additional two goals ("Building involved and informed human communities," and "Building the strongest Network possible") are equally worthy.  The Coordinating Office and NFWF staff will collaborate to raise additional funds from corporate, government, and private sources for all of the goals. 

“We are very grateful to NFWF for this support and look forward to a productive and continuing relation with the Foundation to advance the cause of shorebird conservation across the Americas,” said Charles Duncan, Director of the Coordinating Office of WHSRN.

WHRSN was created in 1985 to address shorebird conservation needs on an enormous scale. It is a voluntary, non-regulatory coalition that identifies and promotes conservation of crucial sites for shorebirds, no matter whether they are used in the breeding, migratory, or “winter” season. The Network is governed by a Hemispheric Council, with a Coordinating Office operated as a program of Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences. To learn more about WHSRN, click here.

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Manomet Scientist Leads Fisheries Bycatch Panel Discussion

Chris Glass, Manomet's Director of Marine Fisheries Conservation, led a panel discussion at a recent Northeast Regional Bycatch Workshop held in Wakefield, MA. The workshop was organized by the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Regional Office (NERO) and co-sponsored by NERO and NOAA Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Sea Grant in cooperation with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, New England Fishery Management Council, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The panel discussion led by Dr. Glass focused on strategic planning for preventing the taking of unwanted marine fish and mammals in conventional fishing gear used along the eastern seaboard. Bycatch has been a hot topic among fisheries managers in recent months with the implementation of Amendment 13 in the works. Panelists included local fishermen and scientists discussing the importance of selective gear to reduce bycatch in the Northeast. Importance was placed on the use of collaborative research between biologists and industry members to further gear technology and the collection of biological data with a hope of coming up with a workable solution to the bycatch issue. Such a solution was deemed to be something that both regulatory officials and industry members can live with.

The Northeast Regional Bycatch Workshop provided an opportunity for constituents with an interest in fishing issues to share ideas about developing improved measures to reduce or eliminate bycatch of both fish and protected species. Participants discussed and recommended priorities and solutions regarding science and research, data and monitoring, management, and gear technology that will be identified and incorporated in an updated version of the Northeast Region Bycatch Implementation Plan to be released later in 2004.

Manomet's marine program has been committed to solving bycatch reduction problems since 1994 when scientists analyzed 10,000 commercial tows of boats working in waters from Virginia to Maine and found that 43% of the overall catch was discarded. On the heels of these findings, Manomet began working on solutions by conducting a variety of experiments on commercial vessels in mid-Atlantic and New England waters to design selective gear that will catch mostly target fish, letting other species or juvenile fish escape. This partnership is being guided by commercial and recreational fishers, conservation groups, international bycatch reduction teams, and government and local organizations from throughout New England.

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Reflections on a Season of Banding: The 39^th Spring

Manomet operates one of North America’s oldest and most extensive landbird banding programs. Our work in this area has fueled a number of important conservation programs for conserving migratory birds and their habitats. Following is a summary of our Spring 2004 banding season, which concluded on June 15.

The Spring 2004 season of banding at Manomet has been the best spring for number of captures since 1995. However, since long-term data shows that most bird populations remain in a steady decline, we attribute this nine-year high to strong westerly winds, which pushed an abundant assortment of migrants to New England.

Kentucky Warbler

Oporornis formosus

This photo is copyrighted by Robert Royse and cannot be used for any purpose other than web viewing without prior permission.

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They’ll Wear it Well: Scientists Take Patagonia Gear Into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

A day in the life of a Manomet scientist on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s remote North Slope is as long as it is intense. It’s life on the go, constantly, with more to do than there are hours to get it all done. The weather is unpredictable. It’s fieldwork in the truest sense of the word. And it’s the kind of work where clothing can indeed make all the difference.

That’s why there was a sigh of relief when Patagonia’s Boston store donated gear to Manomet’s Arctic Refuge shorebird study team for their expedition to the Arctic Refuge. Now in their third, and final, year of this research project, the team has come to appreciate having the proper gear to get the job done. “We’ve pretty much experienced all kinds of weather and know, without a doubt, that clothing is a major consideration for our work in the refuge,” says Stephen Brown, Manomet’s Director of Shorebird Research and Conservation, who is leading the research effort. “We have come to appreciate Patagonia’s product because it works great in the extreme conditions we face in the field.”

Manomet scientists are scrambling to understand the gauntlet of natural and human induced perils shorebirds encounter along their migration routes. Their goal is to work with land managers around the hemisphere to stem the decline of these birds, which seem to be all but disappearing.

One of the most difficult, but important places for Manomet to study shorebirds is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This area, which is being eyed for oil drilling is home to 14 breeding shorebird species, six of which face serious threats to their survival. Patagonia, Inc., based in Ventura, California, designs, markets, and distributes outdoor clothing and gear. The company donates one percent of sales to environmental protection and restoration, and environmentalism is at core of the company’s mission and operations.

“Patagonia is very glad to support the work that Manomet is doing to protect shorebirds,” says Jason Fuller, Patagonia Boston’s Environmental Representative. “This work is urgently needed.”

Photo Credit: Robin Chan Photography.

Arctic-Ready: Patagonia helps Manomet scientists gear up for their expedition to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Pictured here, from right, are Jason Fuller, Patagonia Enviro-Rep; Manomet Shorebird Research Assistant, Metta McGarvey; Senior Shorebird Scientist Stephen Brown; and Research Assistant Robin Hunnewell.

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The Science of Saving Shorebirds: How will Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to Oil Drilling Impact Breeding Shorebirds?

A team of Manomet Shorebird Conservation and Research scientists has departed to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) where they will conduct their final field season of research on the Arctic Refuge’s remote North Slope. For the past three years, Manomet has been working there to document how opening the Refuge to oil development would affect shorebirds. Manomet is particularly concerned because shorebirds concentrate on ANWR’s coastal plain, where drilling has been proposed. Manomet is taking a leadership role in one of the most hotly debated environmental topics of the last four years.

Although there have been some studies about the effects of oil drilling on mammals like caribou and polar bears, there is limited reliable scientific information on the effects on birds—and almost none on shorebirds, many species of which are in serious decline. Seven of the 14 species of shorebirds that breed on the coastal plain are listed as species of high conservation concern, including American Golden-Plover, Whimbrel, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Buff-Breasted Sandpiper, Dunlin (arctic subspecies), and Red-Necked Phalarope. Working in cooperation with research, government, industry, and conservation groups, Manomet’s project is focused on developing habitat protection and management protocols on the North Slope. This year, Manomet will complete a survey of the entire coastal plain for nesting shorebirds. This has never been attempted by any other organization before. “We are excited by the opportunity to make this important contribution, determining how many shorebirds use the vast coastal plain of the Refuge as their nesting area,” says Manomet’s Director of Shorebird Research & Conservation, Stephen Brown, who is leading the fieldwork in the Refuge.

The Manomet Arctic Refuge research team’s specific goal for 2004 is to determine, based on sound science, the potential relationship between critical habitats for shorebirds and the likely footprint of oil development across the entire coastal plain. They will do this by using fieldwork, satellite images, and geographic information system analysis to identify critical nesting habitats for shorebirds and other waterbirds. This information will allow them to describe the impacts to bird populations that would result from disturbance of the coastal plain habitats where development is proposed. Finding a correlation between the locations for oil development and nesting sites will add a powerful new piece of evidence to the arguments to secure ANWR’s protection.

Manomet provides information, research results, and technical assistance to a broad variety of organizations that are working to prevent oil development in ANWR. Groups that have expressed enthusiasm for adding the conservation of shorebirds to their ANWR campaigns include Alaska Audubon, The National Wildlife Federation, The Wilderness Society, the Alaska Wilderness League, and the Alaska Coalition.

In addition, there are an estimated 20-70 million birders in the United States, many of whom are not directly involved in efforts to protect the Refuge because they are unaware of its value for breeding birds. Manomet’s goal is to bring greater focus on the importance of the coastal plain and inspire birders to get involved in efforts to protect the Refuge. Manomet will create a new book called Arctic Wings: Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with Subhankar Banerjee that will be a companion to his Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land. Subhankar Banerjee will participate in some of Manomet’s field expedition this year, taking photos for this new book. Other book collaborators include renowned photographer Arthur Morris and noted bird artist/naturalist David Sibley.

Please check back with The Nature Report for periodic e-updates, direct from the field.

To learn more about this project visit www.shorebirdworld.org. If you would like to support this project, click here.

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Saving Forests: Manomet Develops Biodiversity Indicators Tool.

Manomet's Forest Conservation Program scientists Andy Whitman and John Hagan have developed a new interactive web-based tool for selecting biodiversity indicators for sustainable forestry. 'Biodiversity,' as commonly defined, is simply too complex to fully measure or monitor. The only practical solution is to use indicators. In theory, good indicators are relatively simple to measure and correlate with many other elements of biodiversity so that they too do not have to be measured. All sustainable forestry programs use indicators as the measures of success.

However, selecting good indicators is a tricky process. The web-based tool Manomet has developed helps users select good indicators that match values they wish to track in a forest ecosystem. The tool might be used by foresters, policy makers, or environmental groups seeking to select good biodiversity indicators. By using the web, users gain a much better understanding of what makes a good indicator. More importantly, if they implement the indicators, sustainability will be tracked more accurately.

Development of the web tool was made possible by a grant from the National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry, which is funding a series of related projects around the U.S.

Hagan and Whitman will be running several indicator selection workshops in different regions of the U.S. over the next 12 months, a follow up project to the web-based tool. To test the web-tool yourself, click here.

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Likely Record-Setting Recovery of Shorebird Banded 20 Years Ago. May 20, 2004 - A shorebird that turned up near Jacksonville, Florida last Friday is creating a buzz in the international ornithological community. The bird, which had been banded 20 years earlier in Lagoa do Peixe in southern Brazil, is very likely the oldest Red Knot on record.

Shorebirds are hemispheric globetrotters whose long-distance and far-flung migrations present enormous challenges to the researchers who study them. By placing small, unobtrusive bands in different color combinations on the legs of birds, scientists are able to identify and track individual birds. This allows scientists to determine migration routes, population dynamics, and survival rates of birds.

“Absolutely amazing” were the words of Brian Harrington, a senior scientist at Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences (www.manomet.org), who led the research team that first banded the bird in Brazil more than 20 years ago. According to Harrington, Patrick and Doris Leary discovered the banded bird while conducting shorebird surveys from Florida’s Bird Islands to Fort George Inlet. The Learys reported sighting a knot with “a strange gray-colored marker” to Harrington by email, who was able to confirm through photos that this bird was one banded by his team in 1984. At the time of banding the bird was already an adult, so Harrington has been able to conclude that the bird is at least 21 years old.

This bird has “clocked” almost 400,000 migration miles over the course of its lifetime. “It is a champion migrant,” Harrington said, noting that even though this species is known for its remarkable flights, this particular bird has an exceptional story. “By its 13th birthday, this Red Knot, weighing only about 4.5 ounces, had migrated a distance equal to the moon and back.”

The fuel for migration flights of knots typically is accumulated as fat at migration stopover locations, the most famous of which include San Antonio Oeste in Argentina, Lagoa do Peixe in Brazil, and Delaware Bay in the United States. Each year an individual knot will gain and lose an amount of fat roughly three to four times greater than its body weight. Put in terms of a hundred and fifty pound human being, the marked knot from Florida likely had gained and lost 300 pounds of fat a year, or 6,300 pounds over the last 21 years!

Harrington, who authored the book, The Flight of the Red Knot, published in 1996, chose to study knots because of their extraordinary migrations (between the southern tip of South America and the Arctic Circle), and because knots would well-illustrate many of the conservation issues he wanted to document--such as their requirement for essential migration stopover locations like Delaware Bay.

Individuals like Pat and Doris Leary play an important role in shorebird conservation. They volunteer to collect the kinds of information that researchers and conservationists need for sound conservation planning. In the Florida case, the Learys have been searching for knots marked with plastic bands in Argentina, Chile and the United States, and sharing their findings with Manomet and other shorebird research projects managed by the states of Georgia, Delaware and New Jersey, and facilitated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

”It gives us great joy to provide this ‘gift’ of data to one who has dedicated a lifetime to the study and conservation of Red Knots,” said the Learys in the spirited exchange of email they’ve had with Harrington since the sighting. “We know how rewarding such distant news can be when seeking insight into a marked bird. We also value the long-distance relationships we have developed with so many researchers and we are always pleased to contribute toward the greater knowledge of all species.”

As one of the nation's oldest independent environmental research organizations, Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences conducts original research on natural systems and wildlife. Manomet uses science to bring people together and guide them in the development of practical strategies that improve conditions for wildlife, habitats and people.

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Silent Spring

Half of New England’s land bird species are significantly decreasing in number, according to data from 32 years of spring and fall banding at Manomet (1970-2001). Wood thrush is the overall loss leader; in general the declines are the most severe for forest-dwelling neotropical migrants such as Red-eyed Vireo, Tennessee Warbler, American Redstart, and Scarlet Tanager.

Wood Thrush

Photo credit: Lang Elliott, NatureSound Studio, www.naturesound.com

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How Old is an Old Forest?

For a forest to develop the diverse mix of species characteristics of old forest, it needs to have some trees that are 100 years old. The youngest tree Manomet found with the lichen Lobaria pulmonaria was 95. “This suggests that trees of this age are needed if you want to retain this and other similar species,” says Manomet Forest Conservation Scientist Andy Whitman.

To learn more about Manomet’s Forest Conservation program, click here.

Photograph copyright Stephen/Sylvia Sharnoff

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Costs of Sprawl

For every $1 in taxes that a residential property in Massachusetts brings in, it costs $1.10 in education and services, while commercial and industrial property costs only $.48. From a purely fiscal standpoint, the biggest value is land that is kept as farm, forest, and open space. For every $1 in tax revenue, these properties cost only $.42 in services.

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