New Research on Sage-Grouse Movements in WY

Interseasonal movements of greater sage-grouse, migratory behavior, and an assessment of the core regions concept in Wyoming

Abstract: Animals can require different habitat types throughout their annual cycles. When considering habitat prioritization, we need to explicitly consider habitat requirements throughout the annual cycle, particularly for species of conservation concern. Understanding annual habitat requirements begins with quantifying how far individuals move across landscapes between key life stages to access required habitats. We quantified individual interseasonal movements for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) using radio-telemetry spanning the majority of the species distribution in Wyoming. Sage-grouse are currently a candidate for listing under the United States Endangered Species Act and Wyoming is predicted to remain a stronghold for the species. Sage-grouse use distinct seasonal habitats throughout their annual cycle for breeding, brood rearing, and wintering. Average movement distances in Wyoming from nest sites to summer-late brood-rearing locations were 8.1 km (SE = 0.3 km; n = 828 individuals) and the average subsequent distances moved from summer sites to winter locations were 17.3 km (SE = 0.5 km; n = 607 individuals). Average nest-to-winter movements were 14.4 km (SE = 0.6 km; n  = 434 individuals). We documented remarkable variation in the extent of movement distances both within and among sites across Wyoming, with some individuals remaining year-round in the same vicinity and others moving over 50 km between life stages. Our results suggest defining any of our populations as migratory or non-migratory is inappropriate as individual strategies vary widely. We compared movement distances of birds marked using Global Positioning System (GPS) and very high frequency (VHF) radio marking techniques and found no evidence that the heavier GPS radios limited movement. Furthermore, we examined the capacity of the sage-grouse core regions concept to capture seasonal locations. As expected, we found the core regions approach, which was developed based on lek data, was generally better at capturing the nesting locations than summer or winter locations. However, across Wyoming the sage-grouse breeding core regions still contained a relatively high percentage of summer and winter locations and seem to be a reasonable surrogate for non-breeding habitat when no other information exists. We suggest that conservation efforts for greater sage-grouse implicitly incorporate seasonal habitat needs because of high variation in the amount of overlap among breeding core regions and non-breeding habitat. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.

Full Citation: Fedy, B. C., Aldridge, C. L., Doherty, K. E., O'Donnell, M., Beck, J. L., Bedrosian, B., Holloran, M. J., Johnson, G. D., Kaczor, N. W., Kirol, C. P., Mandich, C. A., Marshall, D., McKee, G., Olson, C., Swanson, C. C. and Walker, B. L. (2012), Interseasonal movements of greater sage-grouse, migratory behavior, and an assessment of the core regions concept in Wyoming. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 76: 1062–1071. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.337

Summer Bird Surveys--Volunteers Needed

NIGHTJAR SURVEYS

Nightjar season is upon us again! For those who are interested, this year’s nightjar surveys will be conducted between June 27 and July 9. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this effort, the Laramie Audubon Society is a yearly participant in a National Nightjar Survey that was initiated in 2007 by the Center for Conservation Biology. Nightjars are enigmatic, nocturnally-active birds whose populations are thought to be declining throughout North America. Wyoming has two species of nightjars: Common Nighthawk and Common Poorwill. In 2009, the LAS adopted five survey routes in the vicinity of Laramie (Sybille Canyon, Buford, Harmony, Fox Park, and Rock River). 

Surveys take no more than two hours and consist of making 10 stops along an established 9-mile route. At each stop, we count the number of nightjars heard during a 6-minute period. Brief training sessions will take place on the UWYO campus in the Student Union at 6 pm on June 25 and June 26.

Click here for more information. Contact Sophie Osborn to participate or ask questions: 307-742-6138 or e-mail her at sophie@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org.

BROWN-CAPPED ROSY-FINCH SURVEYS

Please join us for our annual survey of the Snowy Range’s rosy-finches as we hike in the beautiful Snowy Mountains. You are sure to see alpine birds, colorful wildflowers, and maybe an American pika. Pikas in the Snowies have been isolated from other pikas for hundreds of years and are thought to be a distinct subspecies. 

When:  July 21, 2012, 8:30am

Where:  Meet at the Forest Service Visitor Center, on WY 130, approximately 1-2 miles west of Centennial WY. After a brief orientation session, we will divide the group into teams and will divide up the survey routes. Survey routes occur on well-established trails.

What to expect:  Be prepared to spend the day hiking and looking for rosy-finches. The birds are not in predictable locations so considerable walking may be required. Some of the trails have fairly steep portions and the elevation can be challenging for some people. You may also spend time sitting still to search for or observe birds.

What to bring:  Binoculars and/or spotting scope, a field guide, warm clothes (including wind protection), lunch and snacks, water, and sunblock. Maps can also be useful. Bring your friends along for a great day of hiking and bird-watching in the Snowies.

Click here for more information. If you have questions, contact Sophie Osborn at 307-742-6138 or e-mail her at sophie@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org.

Birding events May 19 and 20

Bald Eagle confections sold by Laramie students in 2010.

SATURDAY -- Laramie Audubon Society and Laramie Raptor Refuge are co-sponsoring an event to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day Saturday, May 19, at Optimist Park.  Optimist Park is located on the south side of Garfield Street across from C&A Feed Store, between Cedar and Snowy Range Road.

Bird Walks will be led by Julie Hart at 8am and 10 am. Meet at north parking lot of Optimist Park. Bring binoculars and field guides and dress in layers. Be prepared to walk a mile or more along the Laramie River to spot spring migrants and locals.

Games and information tables will be stationed along the Green Belt. All ages and abilities welcome.

SUNDAY -- Hereford Ranch in Cheyenne, Sunday, May 20.  Meet at the downtown Coal Creek Coffee at 7:30 am. Shay Howlin will lead us to one of the best birding areas in southeastern Wyoming to view spring migrant songbirds.  Call 307.286.1972 to RSVP or just show up.

Birding at the Hereford Reservoirs in Cheyenne.

Plains Lakes Tour - Saturday, April 21

Join us this Saturday for a tour of the Plains Lakes. We will head to the lakes west of Laramie to view spring migrants and resident waterfowl, raptors and shorebirds. Trip leader: Shawn Billerman. Meet at the downtown (110 E Grand) Coal Creek Coffee at 8 am to carpool. Field trips are open to all levels of birders. Remember to dress in layers and bring your scope, binoculars, field guide, snacks, and water. Photo: Lake Hattie, Julie Hart.

Sage Grouse Lek Trip Saturday April 7th

Come watch the grouse strut their stuff.  Meet at 5 am at the Eppson Senior Center parking lot, Curtis & 3rd St.  We will carpool to the lek at 5:10 am sharp.  You will need a high clearance or 4WD vehicle.  It takes about an hour to drive to the lek.  Bring a scope if you have one.  It is usually very windy at the lek so dress extra warm.  We are usually back to Laramie by 7:30 or 8 am.

You can just show up at the parking lot at 5 am or earlier.  If you need more information or if you want to tell us you are coming, please call 307-760-9518. It would be nice for us to have an idea about how many people to expect. 

Alternate date in case of inclement weather or impassable roads is April 21, meeting at Eppson Senior Center parking lot at 5 am, leaving at 5:10 am sharp.

Chimney Park Tracking Trip Report

Sunday April 1 three Laramie Audubon people joined Gary Beauvais for our annual winter animal snow track trip, no really, this was the day we picked for this outing.  Up in the forest near the Chimney Park Boy Scout camp we found about 3/4s of the area still covered with old snow.  The trip this year occurred without the aid of snowshoes or skis and though we located only semi-melted tracks of moose and coyote a good time was had by all.  Discussions during our little trip ran from identifying scat, to viewing fungus that creates a furry mat under snow,  to identifying how plants had been altered by mammals (i.e. moose on willow and aspen, and red squirrel and woodpeckers on pine).  Only a single blue grouse (I know it is now a "Dusky') was observed, but chickadees and a creeper were heard. In all a very nice spring outing.

Brian Waitkus
LAS Vice-President

Bird Banding in Laramie

Alex Rose, LAS Secretary and ornithologist, has been banding House Finches and Mountain Chickadees around Laramie for a research project on migration patterns. Here are just a few photos of Alex in action in the backyard of LAS President, Tim Banks.

 Downy Woodpecker

 House Finch with unique color band combination

 Alex with a color-banded Mountain Chickadee

Alex with a Sharp-shinned Hawk

Yant's Puddle featured in Audubon Magazine

Check out the recent article on Yant's Puddle and BP's role in its drying up in Audubon Magazine by Ted Williams: This is an interesting (albeit disturbing) article in the current Audubon magazine:

http://www.audubonmagazine.org/articles/conservation/wake-bp-and-restore-wyoming-s-soda-lake

Wind Energy Forum, Oct 26

Our free program for this month will be a panel discussion with five panelists and a moderator. The panelists will be answering questions from the audience about wind energy development's potential impact on birds and wildlife. Wind energy development is just in its beginning stages here in Wyoming, and Albany and Laramie Counties have been suggested as the most desirable locations for wind farms. If you want to be informed when it's time to make public comments on potential wind farms, then you should attend this discussion.

ALL PUBLIC INVITED.

Panelists:
Karl Kosciuch, Tetra Tech Inc.
Sophie Osborn, Wyoming Outdoor Council
Erik Molvar, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance
Daly Edmunds, Audubon Wyoming
Scott Gamo, Wyoming Game & Fish

Moderator:
Elizabeth Spaulding, Ruckleshaus Institute

Wednesday, Oct. 26
6:30 pm Refreshments in the lobby
7:00-9:00 pm Panel Discussion in the auditorium
UW Berry Center, 10th St. & Lewis St.

If you would like to help us advertise this event, the poster can be downloaded here.

LAS is online!

Laramie Audubon Society is making a presence on the web! Two weeks ago we rolled out a new Facebook page where we will post events and happenings. Now we are rolling out a new blog/website. The basic pages and layout are now live. We will be adding photos and more details in the near future. If you have suggestions, please post a comment. In the meantime, share this site with your friends!

Curt Gowdy trip report

Last Saturday, Alex Rose and Shawn Billerman led a field trip to Curt Gowdy State Park. This was our first trip to the park and we were not sure where the most birdy spots were. A core group of birders attended with the highlights being an Osprey over Crystal Lake Reservoir and a group of 5 Lesser Goldfinches. Other migrants included White-crowned Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Migration is definitely slowing down. Join us for our next trip to Hutton Lakes on the 15th.