abstracts of oral and poster presentations - Pacific Seabird Group

indexes to bird numbers. Birds were counted to 400 m offshore on 590 km of shore with nets deployed within 1
km and on 953 km of shore with no nets deployed. For all diving birds, birds/km were counted in waters
without nets and 4.6 birds/km were counted in areas with nets.
DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF WINTERING WATERBIRDS IN MID-ATLANTIC WATERS TO
12 NAUTICAL MILES OFFSHORE: CONSERVATION AND MONITORING IMPLICATIONS
Doug Forsell 1 (doug_forsell@fws.gov) and Mark D. Koneff 2 ; 1 USFWS, Chesapeake Bay Field Office,
Annapolis MD USA; 2 USFWS, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Owings, MD USA
We have only a limited knowledge of bird distribution and abundance beyond 500 m from shore in most
mid-Atlantic waters. Marine birds face numerous hazards, including gillnet fisheries, oil spills, and overfishing
of forage fishes. A relatively new impact on marine-bird habitats is sand mining for beach replacement. Due to
large variability in bird usage of shoals and our limited understanding of their ecological linkages, we are unable
to predict the impacts of sand mining. Another possible new impact is the proposed construction of thousands
of large wind turbines in over thirty sites on continental shelf waters of the northeastern US. The winter
distribution of most marine birds is strongly linked to their food resources. By understanding the feeding
ecology of birds and the abundance of their food resources, we can identify critical offshore habitats. We
suspect that large spring concentrations of scoters may be feeding on eggs or larvae of fish, such as menhaden,
in preparation for migration. We recently completed winter aerial surveys in waters to 12 mi offshore from
Virginia through northern New Jersey. Black Scoters, Surf Scoters, Northern Gannets, Common Loons, Redthroated
Loons, and large gulls were the most abundant wintering birds. All bird groups were found to be more
abundant over shoal waters than non-shoal waters.
LACK OF PROTECTION FOR MIGRATORY MARINE BIRDS FROM THE EFFECTS OF OFFSHORE OIL
AND GAS ACTIVITIES ON THE GRAND BANKS, NEWFOUNDLAND
G. S. Fraser 1 (gsfraser@yorku.ca), J. R. Russell 2 , and W. von Zharen 3 ; 1 Faculty of Environmental Studies, York
University, Toronto, ON CANADA; 2 Alder Institute, Tors Cove, NF CANADA; 3 Department of Marine
Sciences, Texas A&M University, Galveston, TX USA
Migratory species defy national boundaries and require international efforts for their protection.
Because protection of migratory species requires international collaboration, it is important that nations sign and
integrate the precepts of treaties designed to protect these species. We examine Canada’s role in protecting
migratory marine birds on the Grand Banks, Newfoundland. Specifically, we outline how migratory birds are
placed at risk from offshore oil and gas activities, briefly discuss the treaties in place to protect them, and outline
recommendations to assist Canada in adopting more effective stewardship of migratory birds and stronger
leadership in setting the standard for international cooperation.
ARE FLIGHT-LINE COUNTS USEFUL FOR ESTIMATING NUMBERS OF NESTING WADING BIRDS
A FIELD TEST
Peter C. Frederick 1 (pcf@mail.ifas.ufl.edu), Ann F. Paul 2 , Richard T. Paul 2 , and Bruce B. Ackerman 2 ; 1 Dept.
of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA; 2 Audubon of Florida,
Tampa, FL USA
Resource managers need a rapid, non-invasive technique to census wading bird colonies. Direct counts
are preferred but often are problematic, due to visibility bias, errors in nest identification, high manpower
investment, and unacceptable disturbance effects. An alternative is to estimate colony size from the rates of
birds arriving and departing the colony from observation points outside the colony (flight-line method). We
measured flight rates of Great Egrets at five colonies in Florida where we could also obtain accurate counts of
nests. We found a slightly positive, nonsignificant correlation between numbers of nesting Great Egrets and
flight rate (r 2 = 0.055, n = 20 days). However, using only the data from the two colonies in Tampa Bay, a highly
significant correlation was found (r 2 = 0.903). At the most synchronous colony (Seahorse Key), we found large
effects of year, time of day, date, and nesting stage on flight rate. The flight-line method provides reliable
information on species composition and nesting phenology. The level of accuracy in estimating numbers of
nests may vary by location, year, stage of nesting, and time of day. Utility of this technique is probably greatest