More than just metal: Banding provides essential information

What’s in a band?

We’re not talking about musical geniuses that sing and play in harmony, but referring to the Service’s black duck banding efforts. For decades, national wildlife refuges have worked with state partners to band and monitor black ducks. This important effort helps establish hunting seasons that maintain a healthy number of ducks within their habitat.

Black duck at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland.
Credit: Scott Nielson/USFWS

One bird, two birds. Red bird, bluebird.

Today you’re hearing from Patrick Comins, the director of bird conservation for Audubon Connecticut and  chair for the Friends of Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. Hear Patrick explain what being a conservationist means to him.

It’s 1900.

“This year, let’s try something different. Instead of hunting birds during the holiday season, let’s “hunt” birds only to identify, count and record them.”

Something like this was said by an early leader in the National Audubon Society – Frank Chapman. That year, 27 observers tallied 89 different species in 25 counts across the country. Now 113 years later, his alternative, called the Christmas Bird Count, continues to add to a long-standing data set helping scientists understand how birds and the environment are faring throughout the Northeast and beyond.

Best of 2012: 10) When one plus one can equal three

We're bringing in the new year with a look back at our milestones for 2012. Check back each day for featured events and activities from across the Northeast!

Biologists working to open 18 miles of Little Sucker Brook in Waddington, N.Y., to reconnect water for fish and other wildlife. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program led the project. Credit: USFWS

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a hefty mission - to work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. And in our rapidly changing world, there's no way we could get the job done without your help.

Best of 2012: 2) Recovering wildlife



New England cottontail at Great Bay National
Wildlife Refuge. Credit: New Hampshire Fish and Game.

We're bringing in the new year with a look back at our milestones for 2012. Check back each day for featured events and activities from across the Northeast!

Many threatened and endangered animals across the Northeast improved last year, and much of that progress is thanks to the many people working to recover and maintain healthy wildlife populations.

Bombay Hook Refuge celebrates 75 years of conservation

This post is the last in a series running all week about the work done on national wildlife refuges to help recover threatened and endangered species.  Read the Delaware News Journal's feature story this week about Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge and its 75 year  history of conserving migratory birds, wintering waterfowl and other wildlife. 

Each year, thousands of migratory birds stop at Bombay Hook during migration. Birdwatchers flock to see them. The 16,000 acre refuge along the coast of Delaware is a birding destination and an important vestige of natural coastal area along the Atlantic coast. Since 1937, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has managed the refuge for migratory birds and waterfowl, and many other animals benefit from this work. This weekend, we celebrate Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge's 75th year! 

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Tim Williams/USFWS

More posts in the National Wildlife Refuge Week series.

Acting, naturally.

De'Andre Brown, a 2012 intern, kayaking on the
Charles River in Massachusetts.
Credit: Lamar Gore/USFWS

Interning in visitor services at a national wildlife refuge doesn’t mean biological work is off the table. Hear from D'Andre Brown on his experience at the Service’s Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts, where he helped survey terns, band bats and monitor piping plover recovery. This post is part of a series running all week about the work done on national wildlife refuges to help recover threatened and endangered species.

Who knew that theatre studies and working in visitor services at a national wildlife refuge go hand in hand? I would not have thought that before spending last summer in the Career Discovery Internship Program at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.

Linking red knots from Monomoy to Cuba and beyond

THE RED KNOT

• Is a medium-sized shorebird and a candidate for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
    
• Undertakes one of the longest migrations, traveling 16,000 miles round trip from their farthest wintering grounds at the tip of South America to their Arctic breeding grounds.
   
• Flies an estimated 5,000 miles without stopping for six days, one of the longest nonstop flights in the bird world.
    
  
• Needs safe places – stopover sites – to rest and feed.

This post is part of a series running all week about the work done on national wildlife refuges to help with threatened and endangered species recovery. Today, you’re hearing from Stephanie Koch, a refuge wildlife biologist, and Susi vonOettingen, an endangered species biologist, about red knot banding and the data collection that is critical to the recovery of this species.

Furl, smear, jiggle, twinkle and fire. It’s all in a day of red knot banding.

At Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, the day began with a crisp ocean breeze as we, our coworkers, partners and volunteers, hauled several hundred pounds of field equipment to our boats. We were heading out to Minimoy Island to capture red knots, and everyone, especially first-timer Susi, was very excited!

“I was in learning mode, fumble fingers and all,” Susi said. “Then orders started to fly, and I really got lost.”

Capturing red knots is no easy task, even with a seasoned, experienced crew leader. At Monomoy Refuge, we use cannon nets, large explosive driven nets that allows us to capture a large number of birds at the same time.

Explore your national wildlife refuges!

National wildlife refuges protect important land for wildlife. They restore and enhance habitat, and they engage visitors in the Service's conservation mission. During National Wildlife Refuge Week, we’ll focus a series on how national wildlife refuges help recover threatened and endangered species and how they help accomplish the mission. Here's an introduction from Scott Kahan, northeast chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Scott Kahan (far left) at Monomoy National
Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts.

Spanning more than half a million acres, 72 national wildlife refuges are spread throughout the Northeast Region from Maine to Virginia. From the breathtaking views of forests in West Virginia to dynamic Atlantic coastal habitat communities on our eastern borders, refuges work to conserve habitat for wildlife and protect our nation’s natural resources.

While protecting our public lands ensures that we have clean air and water and healthy habitats for wildlife, these lands are here for you too. This week, October 14-20, I encourage you to get outside and explore the outdoors and celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week. You can take pictures, fish, hunt and learn about the outdoors. There is plenty to explore and a number of activities to keep you busy.

Understanding wind turbine impacts on wildlife

Today you’re hearing from Meagan Racey, who handles public affairs and media relations for Ecological Services, on her recent visit to a Vermont wind project.

Have you ever stood under a wind turbine, stared upward along an almost 300-foot pole, and been hypnotized by the rhythmic “whoosh, whoosh” of the white spinning blades slicing through a deep blue sky?

Around the world and back: The amazing feats of our feathered friends

Today you're hearing from Deb Reynolds in our Division of Migratory Birds. She has worked as their outreach coordinator for eight years, and in her free time, she likes to run and play with her girls and dogs.

Whimbrel. Credit: Lynn Schmid

I love shorebirds.

They range from the cute little fluffy piping plover chick to the greater yellowlegs and its elegant long legs. But the shorebird I am most taken with these days is the whimbrel, a gray-brown wading bird characterized by its long, curved bill.

Breaking sweat to protect W.Va.'s bats in Trout Cave

Today you're hearing from Devin Gill, an AmeriCorps volunteer with our West Virginia Field Office.

Trout Cave is one of Pendleton County’s best kept secrets.

Its large mouth beckons cavers away from a breathtaking overlook of the North Fork River as the river navigates its way through the mountains of Pendleton County. To the average passerby on U.S. Route 33, the steep trail leading to Trout Cave’s entrance is lost amidst the roadside greenery. But to cavers in the know, Trout Cave is a 200-foot, gut-busting climb up from the highway.

Early one hot July morning, employees from our West Virginia Field Office and the West Virginia DNR set out for Trout Cave with one goal in mind: to protect native bats.

Historically, Trout Cave was home to large populations of a variety of bat species. But the sizes and diversity of bat populations within the cave have declined in recent years, presumably due to increased recreational activity in the cave since the 1960’s. The once large population of little brown bats has dwindled down to only a handful. 

A week with the terns: Great Gull Island

Today you're hearing from one of the interns in our regional office, Rani Jacobson. Rani is in the Career Discovery Internship Program and will be a junior this year at Ithaca College, where she studies environmental science.

Rani Jacobson with a tern chick. Credit: Venice Wong.

After an hour of flying across the water in a fishing boat, the small Great Gull Island came into view. After docking, terns flew above us, screaming, and I could not help but feel a sinking feeling of apprehension as we were dive-bombed.

Surveying nesting American oystercatchers throughout coastal R.I.

Today, you're hearing from Pam Loring, a biological science technician in our Southern New England-New York Bight Coastal Program office. She is finishing her master of science at the University of Rhode Island, where she used satellite telemetry to study sea ducks in southern New England.

Pam holding an American oystercatcher. Credit: USFWS

Our office, the Southern New England-New York Bight Coastal Program, has monitored American oystercatchers for just over a year now as part of a collaborative effort to improve their status in the Northeast.

American oystercatchers are large, charismatic shorebirds with long orange bills that they use to shuck the shells of their favorite foods – clams, mussels, and oysters – to take advantage of nature's ultimate raw bar! During the summer breeding season, oystercatchers nest in coastal habitats, laying two or three eggs into a nest scrape on the ground decorated with bits of shell, pebbles, or shoreline wrack (the seaweed and other matter that washes up on shore).

Among shorebirds, oystercatchers provide unusually extensive parental care to their young. Fluffy young oystercatcher chicks are entirely dependent on adults to deliver them food and to eventually teach them how to find and eat shellfish with their dark, stubby bills. 

Partnering to save endangered animals: Virginia

We're so excited about the new interactive map highlighting endangered species efforts in each state across the nation. Each day we'll feature a state, partner and animal. Subscribe on the right to keep up!

It's our last state -- Virginia!

Virginia is just about as far north as you'll be able to find the red-cockaded woodpecker. In the world of North American woodpeckers, this one stands out.

Its the only woodpecker that excavates nest and roost areas in living trees. Not to mention, it's also one of just two woodpeckers protected by the Endangered Species Act (along with the ivory-billed woodpecker).

Partnering to save endangered animals: Delaware

We're so excited about the new interactive map highlighting endangered species efforts in each state across the nation. Each day we'll feature a state, partner and animal. Subscribe on the right to keep up!

And we're back! Time to feature Delaware and one of its most renowned avian visitors--the red knot. 

Back at the end of May, biologists cheered when a legendary red knot was seen in Delaware Bay. This dove-sized shorebird was tagged in 1995 in Argentina and is thought to now be around 19 years old. If an odometer tagged along with the bird, it would read over 350,000 miles, thanks to its yearly migration from Argentina to the Canadian Arctic.

Celebrate Independence Day with wildlife in mind

When people think of the Fourth of July, they often think of the red, white and blue, patriotism, apple pie, cookouts and of course – fireworks. As we celebrate our Independence with these beautiful displays of explosive colors and sounds, it is important to remember not only how much joy they bring us, but also how they affect the wildlife that live close by. 

A particular area of concern is the beach, a very popular location for partying and viewing fireworks, but also prime habitat for endangered bird species such as piping plovers and roseate terns. The unfamiliar lights and sounds erupting from the beach are perceived not as a celebration, but as a threat. 

Photo by Anita Ritenour.

Partnering to save endangered animals: Rhode Island

We're so excited about the new interactive map highlighting endangered species efforts in each state across the nation. Each day we'll feature a state, partner and animal. Subscribe on the right to keep up!

From the beginning, Avalonia Land Conservancy recognized Sandy Point Island as a treasure, a property unlike any others it owned – a sandy island enough removed from the shore to provide isolation and uniqueness while still close to home, says its former president Anne Nalwalk.

When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began to monitor the use of the island by various shorebirds, the true value of Sandy Point as a nature preserve became most apparent. Avalonia has been amazed to learn the importance of Sandy Point to shorebirds that use it for nesting, resting and staging. Read the story.

Binti Ackley, a volunteer at Sandy Point, helps tag horseshoe crabs, watch
and protect shorebird nests and chicks, and educate visitors. Credit: John Ackley

A day with the terns of Ram Island

Today you’re hearing from Brett Hillman, a biological science technician for the Service’s New England Field Office, as he recounts his work with shorebirds in Massachusetts. Brett assists the endangered species biologists and has the great pleasure of working with a wide variety of wildlife.

Before May 24, I never thought I could have so much fun and learn so much while being pooped on by hundreds of real-life Angry Birds! That all changed when I had the great pleasure of helping with some field work at a tern colony on Ram Island in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.

Which endangered animal calls your state home?

Find out what we’re doing to help. 

Today we’re excited to launch an interactive map where you can learn about efforts to protect your state’s wildlife in need. The Service developed the map to share stories of success and partnership built across America under the Endangered Species Act. 

The new, web-based interactive map has information about endangered species success
in every state. Find it at http://www.fws.gov/endangered.

Decoys lure birds to safety on Maryland's Poplar Island

The word "decoys" brings to mind images of turkey, waterfowl and other hunting. But on Poplar Island, decoys are used for a different purpose--to attract shorebirds to new places for nesting.

The last known nesting colony of common terns in Maryland is at Poplar Island's Paul S. Sarbanes Ecological Restoration Project. Common and least tern nesting sites have become rare in this part of the Chesapeake Bay because of changes in sea level, habitat availability and climate.

Chris Guy positions the decoys, which are mounted
on rebar stakes to anchor them securely in the sand
on the habitat islands. Photo credit: Ann Tihansky

 
At the site, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service created sections of habitat where the tern eggs and chicks blend safely into the background. Unfortunately, the terns were also attracted to active construction zones, complete with large trucks, bulldozers and steam rollers that put them in harm’s way.

To solve the problem, biologists Pete McGowan and Chris Guy and biotechnician Robbie Callahan from the Service’s Chesapeake Bay Field Office, are using decoys and audio recordings of active tern colonies to lure the birds away from construction zones to nest on the specially-created habitat islands.