Breeding Birds Survey of Marshes of Northeast Creek and Bass Harbor, Acadia National Park, ME

Longcore, Jerry; McAuley, Daniel; Sauer, John

Project to obtain information through inventory/monitoring on the status of the breeding birds at Acadia National Park. Knowledge of natural resources within national parks is essential to the National Park Service for its personnel to manage and protect parks (Fancy 1999). The National Park Service (NPS) initiated a program designed to implement natural resource inventory and monitoring (I&M) throughout the agency in fiscal year 1991 (Williams 1999). Later the NPS was directed by congress to "undertake a program of inventory and monitoring of National Park System resources to establish baseline information and to provide information on the long-term trends in the condition of National Park System resources." under Title II of the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998. Funding for field inventories for avian and herpetological species began in 1998 (Williams 1999). Resource managers at Acadia National Park need information on the presence and abundance of breeding birds in two marshland habitats (Northeast Creek, Bass Harbor) to assist in either decision-making related to land acquisition or for management purposes (inventory and monitoring). In addition to determining the number of different avian species that breed at these two sites and at what densities, the survey method(s) must be suitable as a quantitative, long-term monitoring protocol that would be compatible to other nationwide breeding bird surveys. It is expected that we will associate the spatial distribution of breeding birds with specific habitat cover types that have been delineated on existing GIS maps for these sites. The focus of the surveys will be during the April through June breeding season, however, resource managers are also interested in information that may document the value of these two sites to migrating species during spring and fall. Special surveys may be required for raptors that initiate nesting in late winter. Because observers will be in the field during pre-dawn and post-dusk periods ancillary data on calling amphibians will be collected at appropriate sampling stations. Objectives of the survey are: (1) to determine, or reaffirm with previously collected data, the array of avian species breeding within the boundaries of the two study sites (Northeast Creek, Bass Harbor), (2) to determine the number of breeding pairs of each species at each study site, (3) to calculate densities of breeding pairs of each species by study site or habitat cover type as appropriate, (4) to document use of study sites by migratory birds in spring and fall, and (5) to determine relative numbers of each species of calling amphibian species by study site. Although this study will be considered an inventory, sampling stations will be established so that they could be used in subsequent years as monitoring stations (Fancy and Sauer 2000). To meet objectives for determining avian breeding pairs we will use the following techniques: quiet observation (QO) from elevated platforms (Longcore and Ringelman 1980), "distance sampling" with variable circular-plots (VCP)(Bucklund 1993, Fancy 1997, Fancy and Sauer 2000), broadcast calls (BC) for inconspicuous waterbirds (rails, bitterns) (Gibbs and Melvin 1993), and a late winter reconnaissance for raptors. All avian species as detected by the different methods will be entered into the NPSpecies database by the investigator, after receiving guidance from the park biologist (wildlife) and technician who manages data. Written permission from landowners will be obtained before trespass on private lands to access sampling points.

Breeding Birds Survey of Marshes of Northeast Creek and Bass Harbor, Acadia National Park, ME

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