Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Coastal Breeding Bird Monitoring: 2010 Field Season Summary
Trocki CL. 2011. Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Coastal Breeding Bird Monitoring: 2010 Field Season Summary. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/NETN/NRTR—2011/459. National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science. Fort Collins, Colorado
In 2002, Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (BOHA) was designated as a Massachusetts Important Bird Area (IBA) because it provides habitat for a significant number of colonial-nesting waterbirds, including Least Terns (Sterna antillarum) and Common Terns (Sterna hirundo), which are both listed as species of special concern in the State of Massachusetts (Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program 2007). BOHA also provides habitat for breeding wading birds including Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) and Black-crowned Night-Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) which are, respectively, species of high and moderate continental conservation concern (Kushlan et al. 2002). American Oystercatchers (Haematopus palliates) have expanded their range northward into Massachusetts and now have a substantial breeding population in the Boston Harbor Islands (Paton et al. 2005). The North American population of American Oystercatchers is listed as a high priority shorebird species with high conservation concern in the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan (2004). In addition, eiders, cormorants, several other wading and shorebird species, and gulls regularly nest on the islands. Although much is known about the spatial distribution and abundance of breeding birds in Massachusetts (Veit and Petersen 1993), less has been published on the avifauna of the Boston Harbor Islands. Although not part of a consistent monitoring program until recently, periodic records of breeding waterbirds on the islands do exist (see Andrews 1990, Hatch 1984, Blodget and Livingston 1996, Parsons et al. 2001, Hatch 2001 and Nove 2001)....
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Trocki, Carol
- Date of Issue
- 2011-06
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science
- Units
- BOHA , NETN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Birds, Boston Harbor Islands, coastal breeding, NETN, Northeast Temperate Network, Trocki, x#annualReports, x#coastalBird, x#NETN, x#publications
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Intertidal Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Birds