A Natural Areas Inventory of the - Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory ...

The old-growth floodplain forest was censused during spring and early summer of 2002 and 2003
for canopy warblers, including two listed in Kansas as SINCs: cerulean warbler (Dendroica
cerulea (Wilson) and yellow-throated warbler (Dendroica dominica (Linnaeus)). A strip-census
method (Emlen 1984) was used following a route discussed in Schukman (1996). The walking
route was covered from approximately 0700–1100h on days without rain or strong winds. The
route followed a circuit beginning at the south end of the River Trail, proceeding north on this
trail to a point approximately due east of the great blue heron rookery, then following trails
southwest into the Pecan-Hackberry Floodplain Forest, eventually returning to the River Trail at
the South Weston MAPS station. Locations of all canopy warblers that were detected were
recorded on maps of the route. Surveys were conducted on 5 and 26 May 2002 and on 24 April,
25 May, and 13 June 2003.
In addition, point count surveys of birds in three floodplain forest types were conducted from 5–
14 June 2003. All species detected by sight or vocalization 1) within a 50-m (164-ft) fixedradius
distance and 2) at unlimited distance were recorded for a period of 10 minutes (Ralph et
al. 1993). In each forest type (Pecan-Hackberry Floodplain Forest, and early-successional and
mid-successional Cottonwood-Sycamore Floodplain Forest) 13 point-counts were conducted at
250 m (820 ft) or greater intervals along randomly placed transects (Figure 3.3). Censuses were
conducted between 0600–1000h on days with light wind and no rain. All counts were made by
W. H. Busby.
Bat Surveys
A survey of the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis Miller & G.M. Allen) was conducted in 2002 and
2003 by L. Robbins (Appendix D). This study yielded information about six species of summerresident
bats on FLMR.
Herpetological Surveys
A survey of snakes was conducted in 2003 by H. Guarisco (Appendix E). Surveys for northern
spring peeper and other anurans were not conducted because drought conditions failed to fill
temporary breeding pools with water. Other herpetological records were obtained during general
field surveys by W. H. Busby, a Kansas Herpetological Society field trip to FLMR on 11 October
2002 (Collins 2003), and examination of specimens in the FLMR Entomology Office (Pest
Control) (Appendix E).
3.3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
During this study, sites throughout the undeveloped portions of FLMR were surveyed for rare
animals, involving an estimated 434-person-hours of field work (Table 3.2). Following on-site
assessments of potential habitat for the species listed in Table 3.1, field surveys were conducted
for the following species: Indiana bat, southern flying squirrel, eastern chipmunk (Tamias
striatus (Linnaeus), great egret (Ardea alba (Linnaeus)), red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus
Gmelin), broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus (Vieillot)), cerulean warbler, yellow-throated
NATURAL AREAS INVENTORY OF FT. LEAVENWORTH II 48