Annual Report of Bird Monitoring in Costa Rica

SubmittedtoCanoPalmaResearchstation

December2009
PabloElizondo1,C.JohnRalph2,PabloHerrera2andJaredWolfe2 1PartnersinFlightCostaRica.INBioParque,HerediaCostaRica.(506)88344858 2USDAForestService,RedwoodSciencesLaboratory 1700BayviewDr.,Arcata,California95521,U.S.A.,7078252992

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Introduction
Birdmonitoringhasmaderemarkableprogressoverthepastyear,2008 2009,inCostaRica,withtheincreasinglyactivepartnershipsinresearch, managementevaluation,education,andtrainingunderthegeneral auspicesofPartnersinFlight(CompaerosenVuelo).PartnersinFlight (PIF)isacooperativeinitiativecomposedofmanycomponentsand partnersworkingtogethertowardstheconservationofbirds.Oneofthe importantentitiesofthisinitiativeisLaMNA(theLandbirdMonitoring NetworkoftheAmericas).ThemainpurposesofthisNetworkaretobringtogetherpeoplemonitoring birdsintheAmericas,increasecommunicationamongbiologistsandresearchers,facilitateresearch,and preserveandpromulgatedatafromloss,andmakeitavailableinusefulmodestomanagersandbiologists. GrowingfromtheTortugueroIntegratedBirdMonitoringProgram(TIBMP),wehaveexpandedintoa cooperativenetworkofbirdmonitoringstationsinCostaRicatofacilitatethecollectionofavianhabitat, demographic,andpopulationdata,andtoprovidetrainingtobiologists,andtheuseofbirdmonitoringas anoutreachtooltoprimaryandsecondaryschools.Duringthepastyear,ourprogramhadsignificant expansiontoincludebothlocalandnationalinitiatives,includingcollaboratingwithseveralother monitoringstationsinthecountry,bothexistingandnewmonitoringlocations,andtheestablishmentof severalinnovative,excitingprograms. WehavemaintainedourcollaborationswithlocalpartnersintheTortugueroarea,includingtheCaribbean ConservationCorporation,localschools,ParqueNacionalTortuguero,CaoPalmaResearchStation (CanadianOrganizationforTropicalEducationandRainforestConservation),CostaRicaExpeditions,and manyothers.PabloElizondocontinuestospearheadourendeavorsbycoordinatingeffortsinCostaRica. PabloalsoservesasthePartnersinFlightCoordinatorforCostaRicaandtheCommunicationsDirectorof theAsociacionOrnitologicadeCostaRica,bothcomplementingthegoalsofourefforts.

TortugueroIntegratedBirdMonitoringProgram
Duringthispastyear,ourfifteenth,wecontinuedtoimproveourcapacitytomonitorNeotropicalmigrant andresidentbirdpopulationsnearthepuebloofTortuguero,whilemakingsignificant advancesinourresearch,trainingandoutreachobjectives.Withthecriticalhelpof theU.S.ForestServicesInternationalPrograms,wewereabletocontinueour operations,thelongestrunningconstanteffortmistnettingandbirdmonitoringstudy inLatinAmerica.Thissupportwillbecriticaltothecontinuityoftheoperations.This season,(August2008throughJune2009),wewereabletocollectdataformorethan ninemonths(Appendix1)atourfivemonitoringstations,centeredattheCaribbeanConservation
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CorporationsJohnH.PhippsBiologicalFieldStationnearTortuguero.Ateachofthefivestations,we utilizedavarietyofmethodsincludingconstanteffortmistnetting,areasearchcensuses,migrationcounts, andvegetationsampling. Also,aspartofourprogramweprovidedtrainingandfield experiencefortwentysixinternsfromeightcountries(Table

Intern Andres Carvajal, shows how to feed a Hummingbird at Cano Palma Station

1.

Name AdamBeeler AndresCarvajal CatalinaGonzales CeciliaSansonetti CharlotteFoale ClareAtkinson DaniloMora DarylLoth DeannaWilliams DonnelDulay IreneKoulouris JaredWolfe JoseGutierrez JuliaNelson KatieCowan MarcBrousskey MarceloAraya MarkGrantham OrlandoCardenas OscarCanon PabloElizondo PamLoring PetraKranzfelder RicardoSarmiento ValerieRumm VitekJirinec
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Country UnitedStates Colombia Colombia CostaRica CostaRica UnitedKingdom CostaRica CostaRica UnitedStates Philippines UnitedStates UnitedStates CostaRica UnitedStates UnitedStates CostaRica CostaRica UnitedKingdom ElSalvador Colombia CostaRica UnitedStates Germany Colombia CostaRica CzechRepublic

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Table1.VolunteersandinternswiththeTortugueroIntegratedBirdMonitoringProgramfromAugust2008 throughJune2009. WehavehadthreemeetingswithTortugueroNationalParkmanagersthisyear,includingMr.Eduardo Chamorro,GeneralManagerofthePark,whomwereachedagreementontheneedandthemethodsfor implementingandusingourdatatowardsconservationpolicydesignwithinthePark.

AnalysesandProducts
AtourofficesinHerediaandintheU.S.(inArcataandAshland),wehavemadesubstantialprogressinthe analysesofTortugueroandotherCostaRicandatapertainingtoresidentandmigratoryspecies;theseana lyseslookatpopulationanddemographictrends,andwillbecombinedwithlargerdatasetsavailablefrom ourpartnersattheSanVitoBirdClubandagrowingnetworkofotherstationsinthecountry.Theseana lyses,andthedatabehindthem,arebeingsupplied toINBioforitsnationalreportonbiodiversity,used bytheCostaRicanCongressandothermanagersto makeconservationdecisionspertainingtothepro tectionandmanagementofmanyspeciesandhabi tats. ThroughourdatasharingpartnershipswiththeCen troAgronmicoTropicaldeInvestigacinyEnseanza (CATIE),wehaveincorporatedourdataintopredic
White-collared Manakin, Manacus candei, banded in Tortuguero

tivedistributionmodels,andarecurrentlydevelopingaconservationstrategyfortheCorredorBiologico CordilleraVolcanicaCentralTalamanca(CBVCT).Thisprojectwillensurethelongtermconservationofha bitatusedbyresidentandmigrantbirds.Itwillalsoimplementaneducationalprogrambasedonbirdcon servationforthecommunitiesofthecorridor. ThespatialandtemporalbreadthofdataderivedfromourmonitoringeffortsinTortuguerohasledtosev eralrecentmajoracademicachievements.Forexample,WolfeandRalph(2009)examinedrelationships betweenmigrantconditionandElNioduringspringmigrationinTortuguero.Theirstudywasbasedon correlatinganElNioSouthernOscillationindexwithbodyconditionmetricsofNearcticNeotropicmigrant birdspeciesduringstopover,overa10yearperiod,inTortuguero.Theirstudywasthefirstofitskindto reportcorrelationsbetweenElNioandchangesinconditionofmultiplemigrantspecies.Thestudysug geststhattheElNioSouthernOscillationcyclemay influencechangesinmigrantweightandcondition; suchinteractionsappeartolikelyultimatelyaffect demographicsofsomemigrants.

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Aerial view of Tortuguero

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Wolfe(2009)beganthearduousprocessofquantifyingmigrantdietarypatternsduringspringstopoverin Tortuguero.Thestudyofmigrationstopoverecologyhaspreviouslylargelybeenrestrictedtotemperate latitudes.Thenovelnatureoftheseresults,coupledwithournewlydiscoveredchangesinmigranthealth relativetoclimaticconditions,hasledtotheinitiationofseveralotherrecentlycompletedresearchefforts basedonTortuguerodata.Theseprojectsfocusedonmodelingstopoverhabitatuseandresourceutiliza tionduringfallmigration,withresultingmanuscriptstobesubmittedwithintheyear. Mostimportantly,Tortugueroremainsoneofthefewresearchendeavorsdedicatedtomonitoringmigrant populationsduringmigratoryandoverwinteringperiodsinCentralAmerica,whilealsoprovidinginforma tionpertainingtothelittlestudiedresidentavifauna.Forexample,severalrecentresearcharticles,derived fromTortuguerobandingdata,havesubstantiallyincreasedourknowledgeofresidentbirdmoltpatterns, molttiming,andmoltextent(RyderandWolfe2009,Wolfeetal.2009).Besidespublishingmethodology facilitatingtheaccurateagecategorizationofCostaRicanlandbirdsfromplumageandmoltpatterns,Wolfe etal.(2009)documentedapparentpatternsofmigrantandresidentlandbirdcompetitionleadingtothe asynchronoustimingofresidentbirdmoltinTortu guero.Theseimportantfindingsultimatelyledtoour creationofanovelplumagecyclebasedageingsys temwhichmayrevolutionizethewaytropicalfield ornithologistsclassifybirdage(Wolfeetal.inpress). Inadditiontomanyscientificarticlesoverthepast year,TIBMPassociateshavefrequentlyattendand presentedpapersandpostersatprofessional meetings.Since2008,twotalkshavebeengivenat
Chesnut-backed and Bicolored antbirds.

theXIICongressoftheMesoamericanSocietyforBiologyandConservationinElSalvador(MSBC),onetalk attheWesternSectionmeetingoftheWildlifeSociety(TWS)inCalifornia,onetalkfortheRedwoodRegion AudubonSocietyinCalifornia,andatalkattheAmericanOrnithologistsUnion(AOU)meetingin Philadelphia. ThepowerofpartnershipwithINBio Perhapsourmostfarreachingachievementoftheyearwasprogresstowardsestablishmentofacooper ativeagreementbetweentheInstitutoNacionaldeBiodiversidad (INBiotheNationalInstituteofBiodiversity),andtheU.S.Forest Service.Whencom plete,thisagreement willformalizeourmu tualsupportofour
Outreach at INBio

programoutlinedin thisAnnualReport
5 Interns at INBio

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withINBio,andinstitutionalizeourprogramsinCostaRica.INBiowillprovidefullofficespace,Internet andaphoneline,aswellascooperationoftheirspecialistsincludingcomputerequipmentsupport,GIS, amongothers.Thispartnershiphasalreadyresultedinthedevelopmentofourwebsite(avescr.org)into amoreinteractivevehicleforoutreach.Theyhavecommittedasectionwithintheirservertobackupour dataanddocumentsandwilllikelybeabletohostaLaMNAnodeforthecountry. WiththehelpofINBioandtheAOCR,weorganizedthefirstmetropolitanbirdfestivalduringJuly4 5ofthisyear.Theeventhadamassiveresponsefromthepublic,includingatotalof1,150participants. Wedevelopedactivitiessuchasbirdwalks,demonstrationofbirdmonitoring,facepainting,talks,videos, productdisplays,andmuchmore.Theresponseincludedtheattendanceofseveralmediaoutletswhich subsequentlygeneratedseveralnewspaperarticlesandexposureonTV.Welookforwardtoorganizing thesetypesofoutreachactivitiesagaininthenearfuture. WiththeINBiopartnership,wehavebeguntoprovidetrainingopportunitieswithinINBioparque (INBioParkalargenaturalareaattheedgeofSanJose)whereweareprovidinghandsontraininginbird researchandmonitoringstudentsandbiologists..StationoperationwasstartedonAugustof2008byPab loElizondo,AlvaroHerrera(INBio),andJimLewis(INBio);withthehelpoffivevolunteersandfiveem ployees,andithasbeenoperatedatleastmonthlyforthepastyear.Thankstothepopularityofthe project,therearenow10volunteersandawaitinglistofaround17thatwill havetheopportunityfortraininginthefuture,asfundingbecomesavailablein thecomingyear.Volunteersreceiveaonedayintroductiontobanding,fol lowedbytrainingsessionsbyNorthAmericanBandingCouncil(NABC)certified banders.Sincetheprogramrunsafewtimesamonth(dependingonthesea son)volunteersexperiencealargeportionofthelifecycleofbirds.Theconve nientlocationtothecapitalandlargestcityinthecountry,reducestransporta
Outreach at INBio

tionandfoodcostsforthevolunteers,andimprovesthelearningcurveallowing themtoexperiencehandsontechniques,withoutthenecessityoftravelingto

remotelocations.Italsoprovidesexcellentopportunityfordemonstrationsandcommunicationwithmany entitiesinthecountry. Name AlejandroCalvo AlvaroHerrera AlvaroSauma CeciliaSansonetti FelipeQuiros GudrumSchweinle IvanRuiz JemimaEspinoza JimLewis
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Country CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica
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JorgeLeiton MarcelaUgalde MarceloAraya MelisaRodriguez OlmanAlvarado PabloElizondo PaulaCalderon PauloAraya

CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica CostaRica

Table2.VolunteersoftheBanding,TrainingandEducationstationatINBioProgramfromAugust2008 throughAugust2009.

CostaRicaBirdObservatory
Weareinthefinalstagesofnegotiationstoestablishthefirstofficialbirdobservatoryinthecountry, theCostaRicaBirdObservatory,locatedintheCerro delaMuerte.Thisagreementallowsustouseahouse forinternaccommodationsandasabandinglab. Includedintheagreementisthededicationof160ha offorestedpropertyforscientificandmonitoring purposes.Thefarmisroughlyhalfprimaryforest,20 percentsecondaryforest,and30percentpasture.Itis adjacenttoLosQuetzalesNationalParkandTapanti NationalPark.Thisagreementallowsustousethe houseandfarmforatleast15years,andconductspecificstudiesonitsinteresting,yetlittleknown, tropicalandmigrantavifauna.WearegratefultotheElizondoFamily andvariouscooperatorsforthisgroundbreakingeffort. Sponsorshiphasbeengarneredfromvariouscooperatorsformonitoring expertise,methods,andmaterials.Weareforminganonprofit researchandeducationalfoundationdedicatedtothelongterm monitoringofCostaRicanbirds.Wearecurrentlyseekingadditional fundingtoprovideequipmentandupgradestothehouse.Wehave scheduledthebeginningofbandingoperationsfortheendof September,withvolunteersfromourbandingstationatINBio,andwe
Large-footed Finch, Pezopetes capitalis at the Costa Rica Bird Observatory

plantohavevolunteersandresearcherspermanentlyworkingatthe stationbyearlynextyear.

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CostaRicaBandingNetwork
WecontinuetoworkwithourcollaboratorsinordertoexpandtheCostaRicaBirdBandingNet work(ReddeAnilladoresdeAvesdeCostaRica),with majorhelpfromtheSmithRichardsonFoundation.Thus far,wehaveachievedgreatprogressthroughourpart nershipwithPorzanaLtdintheU.K.,wehavebegunto distributebirdbandsthroughoutCostaRica,starting withtheinitial30,000bands.Recoveriescanthenbe reportedtoourwebsite(www.avescr.org).Alongwith theavailabilityofresidentbandsforcurrentandnew bandingstations,wehavealsodevelopedacomputer basedbandmanagementapplicationfordistributingthe bands,whichfacilitatesthedocumentationandmonitor ingofbanddistribution.Currently,stationmanagersarebeingcontactedinordertocompletethestation registrationprocess.Todate,threestations:SanVito(inthesouthernpartofthecountry),CATIE(atTur rialba),andKekoldi(onthesouthernCaribbeancoast)havecompletedtheregistrationprocessandhave beenissuednetworkbands.ThebirdsthattheybandundertheauspicesoftheNetworkwillbereported withfulldata,andavaialbeforarchivepurposes,tothedonororganization,andwiththeirpermission,to otherresearchers.Asdescribedpreviously,ourbandreportingandcoordinationwebsite,www.avescr.org, isfullyfunctionalandiscurrentlyourprimaryNetworkcommunicationtool,thankstothecollaborative effortwithINBio

Datarescueandarchive
ManydatasetsinCostaRicaremainindangerofbeinglost.Thisincludesbothsystematicobserva tions(suchascensusandbanding),aswellascomprehensivecheckliststhatresidentandvisignbirders havetakeninthecountry.Wearemakingprogressinretrivingandarchivingsuchvaluable,irreplacemable data. Forexample,overthepastseveralyears,weestablishedadialogwithDr.GaryStiles,attheUn iversidadNacionalinColombia.Dr.Stileshadtheopportunitytogeneratesomeimportantbandingdata frommigrantandresidentbirdsinthe1970sandlate80satwhatwasthenanundevelopedpartofthe campusoftheUniversityofCostaRica.Withhishelp,wehavebeenabletogetcopiesofthedataonNeo tropicalmigrants,andstartinginOctober,aninternfromtheUniversidadNacionaldeCostaRica,willbe enteringthedataintoourdatabase.Thesedatawillprovideanimportantbaselineforcomparisonswith ourcurrentanalyses. Additionally,theSanVitoBirdClub(SVBC)hasalsocontributedtheirdatatotheNetwork.Todate, theyhaveprovideduswithhardandelectroniccopiesoftheirdatathatweareintheprocessofuploading toourservers.TheClubhasbeenastrongpartner,andtheybelieveintheideaofcombiningdatasetsand
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resourceswiththeNetworkinordertopromotesciencebasedconservation.Todate,PabloElizondohas workedwithSVBConoutreachactivitiesincludingorganizinganInternationalMigratoryBirdDayactivityat theWilsonBotanicalGarden,andatthreebirdbandingtrainingsessionswhichincludedtalksandhandson demonstrations. Similarly,MariaMaglianessi,oneofourinternsfrom2004,whooperatedabandingstationforfour yearsinPaloVerdeNationalPark,hasalsojoinedtheNetwork.SheisintheprocessofjoiningLaMNAand willcontributeherinterestingdatasettotheNetworkdatabaseshortly.

NorthAmericaBandCouncilTrainerforCostaRica
InordertoensurethatNetworkstationsoperateusingthemostrecentand ethicalbandingtechniques,wehaveprovidedanopportunitytotrainandtestfor NABCCertification. Forexample,duringafourweekperiodthispastspringPabloElizondo workedwiththeU.S.ForestServicesRedwoodSciencesLaboratoryandKlamath BirdObservatorystaffsinArcata,CaliforniaandAshland,Oregon,andobtainedhisNABCTrainersCertifica tion.HeisthefirstCentralAmericantohavethiscertificationandwebelievethiswillimprovethequality ofdatacollectedinCostaRica,aswellasfacilitateournetworkbuildingandtrainingcapacity.

InternationalUnionforConservationofNature
SinceJuly2009,ourCostaRicaprogramhasbeenpartofthe committeefocusedonupdatingtheInternationalUnionfor ConservationofNature(IUCN)RedListofbirdspeciesforCostaRica. Thiscommitteewillorganizeanationaltwodayworkshopwith experts,toanalyzeeachspeciesandevaluatethepopulationstatus andthreatswithinCostaRica.TheeventwilltakeplaceatINBio aroundtheendofNovemberofthisyear.ThelastmeetingwasheldattheNationalMuseum,withthe participationofmembersoftheAsociacinOrnitolgicadeCostaRica,MinisteriodeAmbienteEnergay Telecomunicaciones(MINAET),ProgramadeMonitoreoEcolgicoTerrestredelasreasProtegidas (PROMECCR),MuseoNacionaldeCostaRica,andUniversidadNacionaldeCostaRica.

BelizeWorkshop
Wearepleasedthatthreeofourinterns:MariamarGutierrezfromNicaragua,andPabloElizondoand OscarRamirezfromCostaRica,aretakingtheleadinorganizingadataanalysisworkshopinBelize,October 2225ofthisyear.TheworkshopwillempowerandstrengthenthePartnersinFlightMesoamericas migratorybirdconservationeffortsthroughstatisticalanalysisandscientificwritingtraining.Thecourse willincludetopicsofbasicdataanalysisandmanagement,aswellastheuseofcurrentdatatoolsfromour LaMNAapplications.TheworkshopwillallowthebirdconservationnetworkinMesoamericatoexchange dataamongcountries,andengageinregionaleffortssuchasLaMNAandMesoAmericaPartnersInFlight.
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Manythankstoallourpartnersandfundingagenciesincluding:TheCaribbeanConservationCorporation, USForestServicesInternationalPrograms,PacificSouthwestResearchStationsRedwoodSciences Laboratory,CostaRicaExpeditions,PartnersinFlight,NationalInstituteofBiodiversity(INBio), INBioparque,PorzanaLtd(andTheWetlandTrust),KlamathBirdObservatory,HumboldtStateUniversity, CATIE,AsociacionOrnitologicadeCostaRica,TheSmithRichardsonFoundation,ConnecticutAudubon Society,andthoseindividualswhohavesupportedus. SpecialthankstoMinisteriodeAmbiente,EnergiayTelecomunicaciones(MINAET)forgrantingusthe respectiveresearchpermits.

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LiteratureCited
Ryder,T.B.,andJ.D.Wolfe.2009.Thecurrentstateofknowledgeonmoltandplumagesequencesin selectedNeotropicalbirdfamilies:areview.OrnitologiaNeotropical20:118. Wolfe,J.D.,T.B.RyderandP.Pyle.Usingmoltcyclestocategorizeageintropicalbirds:anintegrativesys tem.Inreview.JournalofFieldOrnithology. Wolfe,J.D.2009.DietofsomespringmigrantlandbirdsontheCaribbeancoastofCostaRica.Journalof CaribbeanOrnithology22:3740. Wolfe,J.D.,andC.J.Ralph.2009.CorrelationsbetweenElNioSouthernOscillationandChangesin NearcticNeotropicMigrantConditioninCentralAmerica.TheAuk.Inpress. Wolfe,J.D.,andP.Elizondo.ProyectodeMonitoreoIntegradodeAvesdeTortuguero:AnlisisyResultados Preliminares.Zeledonia.Inpress. Wolfe,J.D.,P.Pyle,andC.J.Ralph.2009.BreedingSeasons,MoltPatterns,andGenderandAgeCriteriafor SelectedNortheasternCostaRicanResidentLandbirds.TheWilsonJournalofOrnithology121:556 567.

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Appendix1.NumberofbirdscapturedinTortuguero,CostaRicafrom1 September2008to26June2009.

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Appendix2.NumberofbirdscapturedinINBio,CostaRicafrom1 August2008to30August2009.

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