Virginia Tech Shorebird Program

When eggs are on the ground, things get a lot more hectic here on Demo Point, Fire Island! It was a slow start for the plovers to lay nests this year, and I wont lie, as the end of May was approaching we were starting to get  a little worried about what we would do if the birds just… didn’t lay any nests at all this year. Some other PIPL monitors along the East Coast were reporting late starts for their birds to nest as well, so at least we knew our birds weren’t the only ones running behind. Finally, on May 19th, our hopes payed off and we found our first nest! It belonged to YNH and an unbanded female who staked out a nice little territory on the bay side of the island, near the dunes.

YNH and his female’s nest at two eggs. They can be hard to spot among the shells 

Piping plovers lay clutches of four eggs, and they lay each egg about a day and a half apart. When we see that a pair of PIPLs is hanging around an area a lot and making scrapes (shallow depressions in the ground, one of which will become their future nest) we begin monitoring that area extra closely and searching for the well camouflaged eggs. When we found YNH’s nest it still only had two eggs, which is great because it means that it hadn’t been around for very long yet. It is good to find nests at fewer eggs because we like to check up on them for as long as possible, since many nests will not last all the way to hatching due to predators, weather events, or abandonment by parents.

A very nicely lined 4 egg nest

Once a nest reaches all four eggs, as YNH’s did on May 24th, the real excitement for us begins. At this point we can begin trapping on the nest, and attempt to capture the birds to weigh and measure them, and to put bands on birds that don’t have them yet. We trapped at YNH’s nest on May 27, and we were hoping to capture both parents. The way we trap is to place a mesh box propped up with a stick over the nest, and wait for one of the parents to begin incubating. Once they do we pull a string connected to the stick, causing the box to fall over the parent and the nest, trapping them inside. I know this sounds almost cartoonishly simple, but it really does work, and it is very safe for both the parents and the eggs. There are other methods of trapping as well, but this is the one we use most frequently here on Fire Island.

Taking adult birds measurements during banding

Unfortunately on this day we didn’t manage to trap YNH’s unbanded mate to band her, but we did catch YNH and got some measurements on his growth compared to last year. Since he was initially caught in 2015, he gained 3.8 grams!

Our birds here at Demo have laid 13 total nests including renestings, and we have now trapped everyone, banding a whopping 14 birds!

Missy releasing a bird after banding it

The next step after incubating the nests is hatching out chicks, so look forward to some really cute photos soon!

Howling winds, frigid water, and temperatures finally starting to creep into the 50s and 60s? That’s right; it’s Spring at Democrat Point on Fire Island! Walking the beach in these conditions may sound chilly, but imagine having to migrate there all the way from the Bahamas or Cuba! That's what the piping plovers are doing now and that is why we are happy to face the elements to see them arrive. The PIPLs are doing just what we would expect this time of year, beginning to come back to their old stomping grounds and scoping out new territories for the breeding season. Experienced plovers arrive first and often return to previous nest sites if they had successful broods there. First year adults will arrive later and try their best to figure out this whole territory and mating business for the first time.

Collecting data in our winter jackets

Our PIPLs here have alpha­numeric flags on their legs to help us identify them. This means that on one of their legs we have attached a tiny colored flag with two to three letters or numbers on it. For example: 61, 3AT, and YNH. These codes often lend themselves quite nicely to convenient nicknames, such as Bat and Backwards-Honey. We began using the alpha­numeric flags here on Fire Island three years ago in 2013, and since then we have flagged dozens of adults. We've flagged a great many more chicks too, but chick survival is low (they are an endangered species for a reason after all), and so far we've only seen a few return as adults the next year.

That’s why it was so exciting when we saw 841 again this week! Her parents were 14X and EC9, and she and her three siblings all hatched late last June. 841 was the only one of the chicks to survive long enough to become a fledgling, so we’re very glad to see she made it through the winter and came back this year as an adult! She arrived with a group of unbanded migrants, but with luck she will settle down with one of them somewhere here at Demo Point.

841 getting banded as a chick

Bat (3AT) is another bird who returned to Demo Point, but he was banded here as an adult last year. He and 0T1 or “Otis” made a nest together and two of their eggs hatched, but unfortunately the chicks only survived for two weeks and did not make it to adulthood. Bat is hanging around with an unbanded female this year and they are driving us 3atty looking for their nest! Bat is very territorial and we keep finding him well outside of his suspected nesting area, trying to chase migrating birds away.

Bat after he was banded last year

One of the migrating birds who was just passing through. This bird spends her summers in Canada; you can tell because in Canada they band their PIPLs with black flags.

It's still too early to know how the summer will turn out for these little troopers, but with a little luck and the consideration of beach going humans to avoid their roped off breeding areas, these plovers have a good shot at laying eggs and bringing their chicks up to be successful fledglings and adults!

As the end of July quickly slips away fond memories mark the culmination of a very interesting season here at Democrat Point. July and the beginning of August have been a busy time filled with invertebrate sampling (in the form of “sticky sticks’), daily chick observations, chick re-captures (at 22 days old), habitat mapping and witnessing the first bold flights of our fledglings.    

‘Ready for action’ - Butterfly nets in hand preparing for our first recapture of the year with some assistance from the eastern crew. 

Amanda and Lauren invertebrate sampling along the intertidal zone.

Unfortunately, towards the latter half of the month, we were presented with a sad few weeks in the field. Our final nest (210), due to hatch on the 17th of July, was abandoned and our two remaining chicks from nest 209 were lost to predation. The loss of 209 was particularly sad as this brood battled the odds of surviving on the busiest (highest human use) section of the beach. Throughout the season we have maintained close communication with the State Park plover monitors who witnessed the predation of one of the chicks from this brood at 20 days old. A Herring Gull snatched and swallowed whole one chick and the other has not been re-sighted since that day.  Although this is an unpleasant fate for the young plovers, it is actually very important observational data which allows us to account for the disappearance of at least one of those chicks. Since this event we have not re-sighted the second chick, and the 209 adult male has been spotted a few times alone with other migrant piping plovers along our site.

Over the last few weeks we have found ourselves lost in reflection over our time here in Democrat Point. These moments of reflection have inspired the DP technicians, Lauren Granger and Amanda Carey, to contribute to this month’s blog entry, our last as a complete crew.

“Oh, the places you’ll go!

July has been a month of exploration.

We travelled to new lands this month, both near and far, in search of piping plovers; westward to plover haven (Jones Beach) and Northeast to mysterious shifting and tidal sand bars within Fire Island Inlet.

We ventured west to explore new territory of Jones Beach inhabited by unbanded piping plovers…or so we thought! Word around the berm earlier this season was talk of banded plovers at Jones Beach. It had been reported that possible Bahama (pink flagged) and Northeast Atlantic Coast (green flagged) birds had been sighted at Jones Beach. One of these birds (V0J) was a chick from the 2014 Smith Point cohort which made us eager to set out in that direction. As we surveyed the different sections of the beach, excitedly sharing our sightings of new fresh feathery faces, we spotted an unknown snake, the size of a racer, gliding past an adult plover. We all watched the interaction from afar; anxiously and intently we spotted something even more unexpected. One of our very own banded plovers caught in the midst of it all! Low and behold we discovered GF(9TV) on Jones Beach! A little background information on 9TV - he was the male from our last nest of the season (210), and his nest was soon to hatch when his mate went missing, for reasons unknown. After he incubated his nest devotedly for 3 or so days solo and went missing himself. So, long story short it was quite a relief to have found one our missing birds!

Then we set our sails to the bay. A concurrent study through Virginia Tech is investigating the fox population on Fire Island. Matt and Caitlin, the fox crew, took us out on the water to investigate sand bars exposed during low tide within the Fire Island Inlet. We had been eyeing these exposed sand bars everyday as we crossed the Robert Moses Causeway to Democrat Point. We wondered and questioned what these sand bars were going to present to us. Matt our trusty boat caption for the day, provided us the opportunity of gaining a new perspective of Democrat Point and also discovering unknown land. The sand bars proved to be unsuitable foraging habitat for piping plovers due to the high wave action and reduce invertebrate presence. However, it made a nice change in pace from toes in the sand to gliding on the water.

Lauren. ”

Our day on the water – Caitlin, Matt, Lauren and Amanda

Not only a skilled field technician but also a gifted photographer, Amanda Carey has contributed some fantastic photographs from the season. This is the male from brood 203 (YNH) and one of his chicks who did successfully fledge. 

Following recent events here at the western end of Fire Island, it seems our season will come to an end earlier than expected.  Of our original 10 nests - 5 were abandoned before hatching, 3 nests hatched all 4 chicks, 1 nest hatched 2 chicks and the remaining nest hatched just 1 chick. Although 15 chicks hatched across our site, we only witnessed 3 reach fledgling status (observed carrying out sustained flight). This left the three of us feeling a little disheartened after what appeared to be a promising start to the season. Understanding some of the reasons for poor productivity and fledgling success is why our continued research of this species is so crucial. We are all eager to see how the story plays out next year.    

As our season draws to an end, new opportunities and horizons await for each of us. In my final posting as crew leader at Democrat Point I would like to take this opportunity to thank my two diligent technicians. Their enthusiasm, interest and hard work this summer has been unparalleled. Truly it has been a pleasure and joy working with you both! They have been an incredible support and I wish them both the best of luck in their future endeavors.

H :)

Our first chicks hatched around the beginning of June which brought new challenges and tasks for the DP crew. With bated breath we approached our first nest, 201, to find 3 beautifully fuzzy chicks causing a flurry of excitement amongst the three of us. As the weeks have rolled by nests 203, 205, 207, and 209 have all successfully hatched. Waking up and leaving early before the sunrise really pales in comparison to being outside by the ocean banding endangered piping plover chicks! As I write this we have 4 active broods that we check on daily, making at least 30 minute behavioural observations and collecting disturbance information.  

Adoring chick fans - Lousiaina (TOP), Missy (MIDDLE) and Hen (BOTTOM). We’ve really mastered the ‘selfie’ photo with our chicks!

Unfortunately, not all of our chicks here at Democratic Point have survived. By continuing to monitor our population on Fire Island we hope to understand what variables might be affecting chick survival and mortality. Daily five minute behavioural observations capture an insight into energetic costs and habitat use. For example, we record the location of the chick (moist/dry sand, wrack, or wet/dry vegetation) and every 10 seconds during that five minute period we record their behaviour (running, foraging, sitting, standing, preening, etc.). We also record disturbance or predation threats in the area. These records could include natural avian or mammalian predators or human disturbance events, such as vehicles or dogs.  

As well as undertaking chick activities, we have been busy insect sampling, conducting predator transects, and finishing up some adult trapping – getting our hands on those last few crafty, or newly arrived, individuals. As I mentioned in my previous posting, we use a variety of techniques to trap the adult birds. Our most commonly used method is the drop trap which is placed over the nest bowl while the adults are still incubating. When the adult bird comes back to incubate a string attached to a stick propping up the trap is pulled by a well hidden observer. However, we also employ other techniques, principally in cases where we have particularly prudent birds. My nemesis this year has been the adult male from nest 201. His female counterpart, GF(8L0), would dutifully return to the nest every time we went to trap while he would scarper before we had even set the trap. Eventually we decided to engage our own cunning, adaptable character and wait until the eggs hatched to use the chicks as lures to attract this male. It worked like a charm! The chicks were placed safely inside an upside down colander within a larger drop trap. The doting father’s parental instincts kicked in and, within minutes, we were able to trap him. He was quickly processed and the whole brood was safely released unscathed.  

After all that hard plover work the occasional snack and snooze break is a must!

Another successful tactic we have tried this month was one recommended by a VT alum, Dr. Jonathan Cohen. This tactic is only possible at nests which have been exclosed, which is the management plan for our site due to high predation risk. It involves wrapping the exclosure in chicken wire with just one entrance hole and a small funnel constructed opposite this entrance. We have used this method alongside our drop traps and found it to be particularly useful at nests where adults are hesitant to return to the nest, or where vegetation obscured our sight of the nest. Our trapping efforts have paid off and I can report we have 17 banded individuals (almost all breeding individuals within our western section of Fire Island).

The coming weeks will undoubtedly bring more chick escapades and the hopeful promise of fledglings.

H :)

Hello from Democratic Point on Fire Island.  We are now up and running as a fully-fledged crew. It is an incredible feeling to know that we will be working in Robert Moses State Park and western parts of Fire Island National Seashore - areas previous unexplored by the VT Shorebird Programme. Unbanded adults, undiscovered nests and undefined sub-site boundaries await!

The DP crew consists of Amanda Carey (“Missy”), Lauren Granger (“Long Tall Sally”/ “Louisiana”) and myself (Hen). I am excited to be working with a crew of enthusiastic and hardworking ladies (early morning pancakes, homemade muffins and ice cream have already played an important role in our team building exercises!). May 16th marked our first official day in the field together, and what a wet and soggy one it was. After a rainy start the clouds parted and we were able to start with our Piping Plover surveys and nest searches.

Bundled up and ready for action on our first day! (L-R: Hen, Lauren and Amanda)

Along our six mile stretch of the western end of Fire Island we have located ten Piping Plover nests. Seven of these are currently still active (being tended to and brooded by the adults). Unfortunately three of the original nests have been abandoned over the last few weeks. We are still trying to understand the precise reasons for abandonment but there are a number of factors that may cause a pair to abandon. Previous research on the Great Lakes population suggests most early season nest abandonment is attributed to adult mortality (Roche, Arnold and Cuthbert, 2010).

In other news, we have had great success in our adult trapping efforts. This has been a particularly exciting activity for the whole crew. It is fantastic to be up close and personal with these feisty birds once more and, for the DP technicians, it is their first opportunity to handle the endangered Piping Plover. Thus far we have trapped and banded 13 birds using drop box traps over the nests (just one method – more on this next time!). All the adult birds at our site were unbanded, so with the help of our adventurous and supportive Eastern crew members (Miss J. Monk and clan) we have been able to band almost the entire population of breeding pairs at DP. Being able to recognize individual birds gives us a distinct advantage and reliability in our data collection. It allows us to assign specific individuals to their territories, nests and record their individual life histories. Our banding programme and resighting efforts may also help to determine whether adult mortality really does play a role in nest abandonment, as previously observed in the Great Lakes population.

Louisiana (ABOVE) and Missy (BELOW) looking very excited following their first Piping Plover banding experiences

As the end of May wraps up we are itchingly expectant for our first nest to hatch! I think June will bring quite the excitement.  

Today on the Eastern side of Fire Island, we banded seven chicks and one adult piping plover, and it was by far the best day we've had all season.

Now you may be saying, seven chicks and one adult, no wonder it was the best day you've had! And you would be right, that is a great day no matter who you are. However, without hearing a little bit of background information, you don't truly understand how great of a day this was.

The two main plover areas of our study site are Smith Point and Cupsogue. On Smith Point, foxes have become a pretty big concern. Their populations are being subsidized by human feeding, and at least one has learned to get into the plover nest exclosures. Within one week nine of our nests were depredated. One of those occurred the night before the nest was supposed to hatch. Needless to say, we were distressed and depressed.

Hence, you can see why today was so wonderful, to have such good news after all of the terrible things that have happened recently. All of our banding today occurred in Cupsogue, and we hope to get another five chicks tomorrow! Not only that, but yesterday in Smith Point we found three new nests, two by pairs whose first nests were depredated, and one by a whole new pair! Life is returning to Smith Point, and the world is full of possibility.

Hello, Plover Lovers! My name is Julia Monk, and I’m the crew leader for the eastern portion of our Fire Island study site.  I grew up in New York City and Long Island and got my bachelor’s degree in ecology from Columbia University, so being in this area really feels like coming home.  I worked here for the VT Shorebird Program as a technician last year, and it’s been incredibly interesting seeing how things have changed or stayed the same compared to last season.

One thing that has made transitioning to a crew leader position much easier is the fact that I have the most amazing crew this season!  James Ialeggio (“Jimbo”) is our fearless boat captain, RoseErin Moylan (“RoMo”) is our awesome technician and all-round ray of sunshine, and Erica Peyton (as yet nicknameless!) is our resident Virginia Tech representative who is kicking butt in her very first field job.  Hopefully you’ll be hearing from some of them soon as they write blog posts of their own.

The crew (minus Erica!) bundled up on the boat

James about to release an adult bird after a successful  banding

RoMo bands an adult male piping plover

We can’t tell who is more excited about this release – Erica or the plover!

While we do have a brand-new crew, most of the piping plovers are seasoned Fire Island veterans. When we began our surveys in April, I was thrilled to find that my favorite plovers, JCY and P0P (known affectionately by their celebrity couple name, “Juicypop”) have returned and paired up again this season.  I banded JCY last year when she was a second-year bird, and I got to trap her and take her measurements again this year!

The charismatic couple – the female, JCY, on the left and the male, P0P, on the right

RoMo and I release “Juicypop”

Unfortunately, some things have changed from last year.  While 2014 was quite a successful breeding year for piping plovers here on Fire Island, predation has increased and we’ve already lost quite a few nests to foxes this season.  Luckily, this early in the summer piping plovers will re-nest if their first nest is lost, so hopefully our second round of nests will have more success.

This bold fox is probably full of PIPL eggs – we found it right next to a nest with missing eggs and suspicious fox tracks leading up to the nest bowl…

A brand new PIPL nest!

Not all of the changes I’ve witnessed this season are bad.  The best part of working on the seashore is how the beach is always changing, from day to day and even hour to hour.  Already this season we’ve found a 25-ft humpback whale carcass washed ashore, baby seals left on the beach while their mothers forage, and plenty of dishware to add to our kitchen.  I can’t wait to see what the beach has in store for us next!

After a long winter of planning, research, and shuffling through snow, in March I arrived at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the newest field site for piping plover research by the Virginia Tech Shorebird Program.  I was joined by Katie Walker, a 2014 alumna of the Great Plains Piping Plover and Least Tern project.  We knew barrier island field research was probably going to be a little different than research on the Missouri River. It is now two months later, and a lot has happened!

We have eight active piping plover nests, and we have begun to band the adults that incubate them. We use field-readable coded green flags placed on the bird’s upper leg.  We can read these 3-digit codes using spotting scopes in the field, and thereby identify a unique individual.  This can help us track each individual, and understand where they move and how they survive.

We also had our first piping plover nest hatch recently! We follow the chicks very closely as they grow in order to understand where they move, and what their behavior is in response to their environment.  It’s a bonus that they are so cute!

We also are monitoring killdeer and their nests in a similar manner as piping plovers.  Killdeer are close relatives of piping plovers, and often occupy and nest in piping plover habitat.  We are also banding and following killdeer chicks, to understand what factors might influence shorebird chick survival before fledging.  

A banded adult allows us to follow specific killdeer broods based on known parents.

On killdeer chicks, we place tiny radio transmitters that we can use to track their whereabouts.  In the unfortunate event of predation or other kinds of mortality, following the signal of the transmitter to its location can help us determine how that chick died.  While it’s not the happiest outcome, it provides useful data on what might influence chick survival before they are able to fly.

While a lot has happened since Katie and I have arrived in March, much more is sure to come!  Stay tuned throughout the summer as we welcome more piping plover and killdeer chicks to Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and follow their progress!

The season has started out well with a number of adult re-sightings along Fire Island National Seashore. As well as Piping Plover surveys, one of our first tasks was to sample for prey and substrate across our sub-sites. This involved collecting 200 sand cores along a section of intertidal zone at 5 different habitats. These samples were sifted in water to remove excess detritus and sand. The remaining invertebrates, plant matter, shells and large-grained sand were then bottled in a formalin solution. These bottles were labelled, packaged and will be sent back to the invertebrate taxonomists at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Although none amongst us on Fire Island would claim invertebrate taxonomist prestige, we have managed to identify some interesting little fellows within our samples such as Mole Crabs (Sand Flea/Sand Crabs), Emertia.

'Dr Dre’ and Hen taking their scientific role very seriously        

James filling the samples with formalin

 Since returning to our Piping Plover surveys we have made some interesting observations, including courtship behaviour and our first FNS single egg PIPL nest, discovered in our sub-site Old Inlet East - congratulations to the happy parents ‘6UP’ (that’s the code she carries on her flag) and her unbanded mate! I understand from my colleagues the female 6UP has quite the vivid and enigmatic romantic history – some call her the “Widow Maker”. What will the season bring for them?                

H :)

The first nest of the season!            

Hello fellow shorebird lovers, my name is Henrietta. I am returning to the United States for my second season working with the Virginia Tech Shorebird Programme and the Piping Plover. I grew up East of London, England, and began my conservation career by studying a Bachelor of Science in Ecology at the University of East Anglia. Since graduating in 2010 I have worked on a variety of conservation and ecological research projects with non-profit organisations and universities across the UK, Europe and United States. Last year I was based in Vermillion, SD, working as a technician on the Missouri River.

The fantastic VT Missouri River 2014 crew

Admittedly when I was first offered the position on Long Island Piping Plover were not the first thing that came to mind (The Hamptons? Iced tea?), but I am very excited to be taking on the role of Crew Leader at Democratic Point for the summer of 2015. I will try my very best to keep you up to date with live plover action served up straight from the field.  

Last year was my first season working with Piping Plover and Least Tern, and what a summer it was! This season I am interested to see what escapades, and challenges, arise working on Fire Island with a different population of Piping Plover. Let’s hope this year holds equal lashings of excitement, sunshine and PIPL adventures.

H :)