We thank Anya Tyson for stepping in to organize the Nature Mapping volunteers and to compile the data for 2013. She kept the project afloat for the year. Below is Anya s report. Snake River Float Project Summary of Observations 2013 During our fourth season of the Snake River Float Project, we made a few changes to protocol of previous years. First, we got off to a late start (May 28th instead of April), and ended early (the end of September, while previous year s projects have floated through October). Additionally, participants did not Nature Map the entirety of their numerous sightings, focusing instead on accurate spatial data collection for certain species while keeping a more coarse tally per species for many of the more common bird sightings. Species that were always Nature Mapped included Bald Eagles, American White Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, Long-billed Curlew. An informal database of all sightings, including those without specific locations, was maintained to provide this yearly summary. Quick Stats: Total # of Species Seen: 72 bird 5 mammal Total # of Observers: 14 (8 Nature Mappers and assisting friends) Greatest # of Bird Species seen on a float: 42 (on May 28th) Maximum # of Bald Eagles seen on a float: 16 (on September 29th) Minimum # of Bald Eagles seen on a float: 5 (on June 9th) Most Frequently Seen Bird: Spotted Sandpiper (185 sightings) 2nd Most Frequent: Common Merganser (168 sightings) 3rd Most Frequent: Yellow Warbler (145 sightings) Exciting Sightings: Long-billed Curlew (8/4/2013), 3 Ring-billed Gulls (9/1/2013), Lesser Yellowlegs (9/29/2013)
Total Bird Observations for the 2013 Season Species No. Observed Canada Goose 98 American Widgeon 2 Mallard 41 Cinnamon Teal 5 Green-winged Teal 35 Gadwall 3 Barrow's Goldeneye 4 Common Goldeneye 31 Common Merganser 168 Long-billed Curlew 1 American White Pelican 63 Double-crested Cormorant 5 Great Blue Heron 12 Killdeer 83 Spotted Sandpiper 185 Wilson's Snipe 4 Lesser Yellowlegs 1 Ring-billed Gull 3 Belted Kingfisher 26 Turkey Vulture 11 Osprey 28 Bald Eagle 84 Red-tailed Hawk 12 American Kestral 4 Sharp-Shinned Hawk 2 American Robin 97 Common Raven 42 Black-billed Magpie 29 Clark's Nutcracker 8 American Crow 34 Cliff Swallow 39 Barn Swallow 7 Tree Swallow 124 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 9 Bank Swallow 20 Yellow Warbler 145
Species No. Observed Yellow-rumped Warbler 32 Orange-crowned Warbler 4 Wilson's Warbler 1 MacGilliveray's Warbler 1 Song Sparrow 53 Dark-eyed Junco 3 Vesper Sparrow 17 Chipping Sparrow 2 Green-tailed Towhee 6 Brewer's Blackbird 35 Red-winged Blackbird 6 Common Grackle 1 Brown-headed Cowbird 20 Pine Siskin 15 Cassin's Finch 1 American Goldfinch 9 Black-headed Grosbeak 3 Black-capped Chickadee 19 Red-breasted Nuthatch 3 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 7 House Wren 3 Gray Catbird 2 Broad-tailed Hummingbird 8 Calliope Hummingbird 1 Northern Flicker 25 Western Wood-Pewee 40 Willow Flycatcher 1 Dusky Flycatcher 4 Warbling Vireo 1 Cedar Waxwing 58 Mourning Dove 2 Downy Woodpecker 2 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Hammond's Flycatcher 1 American Dipper 4 American Pipit 2
Total Mammal Species Observed for 2013 Season Moose 2 Marmot 1 Least Chipmunk 2 Beaver 2 Long-tailed Weasel 1 No amphibians were recorded for the 2013 season. 18 16 14 12 8 6 4 2 0 Bald Eagles Seen by Float Date 2013 16 12 8 7 6 5 5/28/13 6/9/13 6/23/13 7/7/13 8/4/13 8/18/13 9/1/13 9/15/13 9/29/13 In general, more eagles were seen in the early summer and early fall when non-resident birds were perhaps more likely to be moving through the area. These migrants supplement the populations of our summer-resident eagles. Spring and Fall Migration Timing As float trips continued into September 2013, we may have gathered evidence to better understand the windows of departure for some of our local migratory birds. For example, the majority of Spotted Sandpipers, the most frequently detected bird in 2013 seem to have left our area by September 15. Twenty-five Spotties were detected on the September 1 st float whereas only 2 and then 5 were detected on the September 15 th and September 29 th floats respectively.
American White Pelicans were observed in large numbers (33) on the first float of the 2013 season (May 28 th ). They were likely on their way to nesting areas in Yellowstone. Sixteen pelicans were seen on the following float (June 9 th ) and after this float date the maximum number seen was six on June 23 rd. After the float on August 18 th, there were no more American White Pelicans detected for the season. How do the spring and fall migratory routes of pelicans differ in their use of the Snake River Corridor? Cosmic Relevance: Present Questions, Future Questions The Snake River Float Project, like many citizen science projects, does not represent a rigorously proofed and infallible data set. Nevertheless, we can gain valuable insight into the population trends and migratory timing of the birds that utilize the Snake simply by looking at the largely accurate presence and absence data collected by our participants. Will we be able to compare and contrast the arrival and departure of our avian visitors based on yearly weather trends such as a late spring vs. a mild winter? How about larger climatic trends such as arrival dates in 20 vs. those of 2020? Thank you to all past and future participants that might allow us to get at questions like these! Your float observations are also crucial in providing specific locations of animals along a section of river dominated by private land. When these sightings are entered into the Nature Mapping database, this information becomes accessible to land managers and possibly even policy makers. Wyoming Game and Fish Department values these sightings that they could otherwise not attain, and our data is directly put to use to make their own data sets more robust. Do you have any questions about where, when and how often we saw a specific bird species? Please let me know any such questions of other concerns! Anya Tyson, anyamtyson@gmail.com, 719-231-2450