August 18 - Today I checked Motor Island, most of the upper Niagara River and Tifft Nature Preserve for Great Egrets and was 100% unsuccessful. In fact I believe in all August I have had only one (at Motor Island). This is very unusual. In passed summers you could expect a dozen at Tifft and on the Niagara River between Motor Island and the source. This year the NYSDEC on five days between May 5 and June 14 spent about 20.5 hours "shooting time" on Motor Island (where the Grea Egrets breed) and shot 250 .22 caliber bullet, and 265 12 gauge bullets to "control" Double-crested Cormorants on Motor Island. (See the details at the end of this post.) It appears that for some of the Great Egrets this resulted in abandonment of their nests and a largely unsuccessful attempt to establish a new colony on the Niagara River at Niagara Falls above the Horseshoe Falls late in the breeding season. The lack of Great Egrets in traditional foraging and areas this year near the upper two-thirds of the Niagara River attests to the trauma that these birds suffered. Passed numbers (as well as some banding evidence) also suggest that migration birds from other colonies to the west, such as the Georgian Bay colonies, also have used this area of the river as a staging area. Since Great Egrets are a gregarious bird these migrant Great Egrets seem to be bypassing the river also. At Tifft I did find a Carolina Wren (I believe the first there this year.) as well as two Common Gallinules, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and the Osprey visited the nesting platform.
NYSDEC Region 9 2011 Cormorant Control on Motor Island, Niagara River May 5, 2011 Staff: (Wildlife Biologist, Biologist I, Grade 18) (Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8) (Sr. Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 12) (Seasonal Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8) (Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8) (Sr.Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 12) Time Shooting: 07:30-12:00 Cormorants Culled: 147 May 10, 2011 Staff: (Wildlife Biologist, Biologist I, Grade 18) (Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8) (Sr. Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 12) (Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8 (Seasonal Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8) (Biologist Ecologist, Grade 23) Time Shooting: 08:30-12:30 Cormorants Culled: 35 May 18,2011 Staff: Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8) (Sr. Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 12) (Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8 (Seasonal Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8) (Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8) Time Shooting: 09: 15-11 :00, 11 :30-13:30 Cormorants Culled: 72 May 25,2011 Staff: Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8) (Sr. Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 12) (Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8 (Seasonal Fish and Wildlife Technician, Grade 8) Volunteer: Tilne Shooting: 08:40-10:30, 11 :00-13:00 Cormorants Culled: 45 **************************************************************************** ********************************* Ammunition used during this control effort: Aguila, .22 SSS Sniper Subsonic, 60 grains. 50 per box, used 5 boxes Federal T Steel, 12 gauge, 3", T shot, 25 per box, used 7 boxes Federal Premium, 12 ga, 3 inches, 1 1/8 oz shot, BB, 10 per box, metro subsonic, used 9 boxes -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
