By Annie Jacobs
Volunteer Services Coordinator
Delaware Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program
6/19/2006
The Delaware Shorebird Project extends our special thanks to all 2006 Volunteers!!
The 2006 Field Season has officially drawn to a close. The deer flies are biting, the temperatures are climbing, and the international and domestic volunteers have all returned home. Most importantly, the shorebirds have nearly all departed and are now in northern climes preparing to breed a new generation.
Overall, the season went smoothly with mostly calm, mild weather; abundant crab spawning; and shorebirds feeding and putting on weight for their departure and breeding season. We had 13 successful canon net catches in addition to a few small whoosh net and walk-in trap catches (see catch totals below).
Currently, less than 150 red knot remain in Delaware, with a high proportion of juvenile birds who will not breed this year - but who will make the arduous journey any way, perhaps as a “trial run”. Meanwhile, in the Arctic, male knots dig a scrape in the ground that will serve as a nest for about four oval light-colored eggs. After 21-22 days, the eggs will hatch precocial chicks that are quickly active and able to feed themselves, and who respond to their parents’ alarm calls by freezing when danger threatens. Adult knots will pick up and begin returning southward in mid-July, while their offspring will wait until August to – astoundingly -- chart their own way along an unfamiliar route on their very first migration.
COMING SOON! An official season summary, full volunteer and sponsor recognition, and a 2006 Shorebird Photo Gallery. Also, visit this site frequently for news, updates and volunteer opportunities with the Shorebird Project.
DATE | LOCATION | METHOD | REKN | RUTU | SAND | SBDO | DUNL | SESA | OTHER | GRAND TOTAL |
| 10-May-06 | Mispillion/ | cannon | | 13 | 126 | | 1 | | | 140 |
| oprey beach |
| 14-May-06 | Mispillion/ back beach | cannon | 46 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 48 | | | 117 |
| 15-May-06 | Port Mahon | cannon | | 40 | 1 | | 1 | | 2 LESA | 44 |
| 16-May-06 | Slaughter | Walk in trap | | | | | | 21 | | 21 |
| 17-May-06 | Slaughter | Walk in trap | | | | | | 1 | | 1 |
| 18-May-06 | South Bowers | cannon | 1 | 112 | | 1 | | 1 | 1 WILLIT | 116 |
| 20-May-06 | Slaughter | Walk in trap | | | | | | 3 | | 3 |
| 21-May-06 | Slaughter | Whoosh net | | | | | | 55 | 1 SPSA, 1 WRSA, 1 LESA | 58 |
| 22-May-06 | Mispillion/ | cannon | 40 | 43 | 2 | 60 | 40 | 25 | 1WRSA | 211 |
| osprey beach |
| 24-May-06 | Mispillion/ | cannon | 85 | 67 | | | 17 | 12 | | 181 |
| osprey beach |
| 25-May-06 | Slaughter | whoosh | | | | | | 43 | | 43 |
| 26-May-06 | Slaughter | whoosh | | | | | | 92 | | 92 |
| 28-May-06 | Mispillion/ | cannon | 50 | 11 | 1 | 45 | 38 | 306 | | 451 |
| shell beach |
| 29-May-06 | Slaughter | cannon | 13 | 80 | | 1 | | | | 94 |
| 31-May-06 | Mispillion/ | cannon | 98 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 127 | 1 WRSA | 341 |
| back beach |
| 3-Jun-06 | Brockhambridge | cannon | 69 | 59 | 22 | | | 1 | | 101 |
| 5-Jun-06 | Slaughter | cannon | | | | | | 210 | | 210 |
| 6-Jun-06 | Mispillion/ | cannon | 52 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 103 | 1 BBPL 2 BNST, 1 WRSA | 183 |
| back beach |
| | | | | | | | TOTAL BIRDS BANDED: | 2407 |
6/2/06
Last Saturday, May 27th, seemed to be the peak day for red knot in Mispillion Harbor -- the knot "Mecca" of Delaware. That day, the sandy islands were crawling with birds, and our relighting teams were literally surrounded by thousands of gorging red breasted knots, noting pages full of flagged bird relighting. By Sunday, the beaches were a bit more sparse with smaller flocks of knot, suggesting that a departure to the Arctic breeding grounds had occurred. Today there are about 450 knot in the Harbor, with others scattered along the Bayshore.
| 
Annie Jacobs
|
Some of us witnessed departures of dunlin and black bellied plovers; the birds would chatter to each other and flock higher than usual, and then whisk off straight up the Mispillion River. It seems shorebirds tend to depart for migration at night, perhaps so that they can align their migration path with the stars, or possibly to leave after a full day of feeding. There are secrets that we may never know about the birds' phenomenal ability to migrate on a decided pathway year after year.
In any case they are moving on, leaving us with a bittersweet feeling; our "friends" have left us, but more importantly they have left in good time to arrive at their breeding grounds, select territories, build nests and hatch young. As early as mid to late July they will begin filtering back through Delaware, returning to their southern grounds, reliving the cycle, and we will be poised and ready for yet another shorebird season next spring.
For now, we process feather samples, enter data, survey the remaining birds and start to put together the data that was collected this past month. We will try to catch a sample of knot at Brokenbridge Gut, as late-season data is critical to our search for answers about the birds' stop-over duration, survivorship and use of the Bay. And we hope that the remaining birds take advantage of abundant horseshoe crab spawning and fatten up for the final leg in their northern migration.
Soon the harbor will be relatively silent, hot, full of biting flies, and the Mispillion boat launch with summer traffic. And the spotting scopes will go away for a few short months until fall migration surveys begin...
5/18/06
We've had two catch attempts and two successful catches since the last update. The successes were a red knot catch in Misipillion Harbor on May 14 and a turnstone catch at Port Mahon on May 15.
In the Harbor we caught on a rising tide and processed 46 knot, 14 tunstone, 48 dunlin, seven short billed dowitchers, two sanderling and one semipalmated sandpiper.
The Mahon catch included 40 turnstone, one dunlin, one sanderling and two least sandpipers, caught on a rising tide and processed on the edge of Port Mahon road in the sand. We finished processing the birds just around high tide and looked down at the shoreline to see masses of spawning horseshoe crabs twisting in the rolling tide. Indeed, a mild winter and warm water temperatures seem to have induced heavy horseshoe crab spawning activity, providing good egg availability to the shorebirds.
And yet, the numbers of migratory shorebirds in Delaware are somewhat low at this point in the season. Even the 1,500 that were in the Harbor have evaded us for the last few days. Are they spread out in places we haven't discovered? Did they move on out of the Harbor to another location? We aren't certain at the moment, but we are actively scanning along the bayshore for them. But the month is young, and our luck should change suddenly...one of these days!
Till next time,
Annie
5/13/06
We have succeeded in our first catch of the season! It happened on Wednesday, May 10th, on Osprey Beach in Misipillion Harbor! It was an afternoon catch on the rising tide, and we managed to get the net off between the occasional wake of a passing boat and the birds' flighty movements.
We banded, flagged, weighed, assessed plumage and molt, measured wing, culmen and bill length -- and released 126 sanderling, 13 ruddy turnstone and one dunlin -- just in time to arrive out of the harbor before nightfall. The setting sun and gusty late-day wind sent us back to the Research Headquarters chilly- but happy!
Red knot are arriving in the Bay, just on schedule, and a few hundred seemed to appear today to feed along Misipillion Harbor islands. Our resighting efforts pick up as the numbers of birds build, in the Harbor and at other locations such as Port Mahon.
And the sun has set on another full day of shorebird season.
Annie
