Siletz Bay BCS number: 47-29 ***NOTE: We were unable to determine all necessary information for this site description. If you would like to contribute the needed information to this description, please contact the Klamath Bird Observatory at kbo@klamathbird.org. Site description author(s) Daphne E. Swope, Research and Monitoring Team, Klamath Bird Observatory Primary contact for this site Shawn W. Stephensen, Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge. Telephone: 541-867-4550, e-mail: shawn_stephensen@fws.gov Site location (UTM) Datum: NAD 83, Zone: 10, Easting: 419469, Northing: 4972348 General description Site description includes the surrounding areas of Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge and Siletz estuary, totaling an area of 480 ha (National Audubon Society 2010). Boundaries and ownership Boundaries: Siletz Bay and estuary is located on the north-central Oregon coast, about 4 miles south of Lincoln City, northern Lincoln County (National Audubon Society 2010). Ownership: Federal/FWS - National Wildlife Refuge, State/ Other (National Audubon Society 2010). See Figure 1. Water levels Siletz Bay and its associated estuary experience two daily high (and two low) tides. The mean tidal range is highest from October thru April and lowest from July thru September. See Figure 3 for the seasonal variation in mean tidal range. Description updated 03/03/2010 1
Focal species use and timing An abundant and diverse gull fauna will be present with occasional spectacular displays of more than ten thousand individuals (LCVCB n.d.). Focal Group/Species Wintering Breeding Migration Secretive Marsh Bird Group Present 2 Present 1 Colonial Nesting Bird Group Present 2 Present 1 Present 1,2 Migrating Shorebird Group Present 2 Present 1,2 Present 1,2 Ground-based Waterbird Group Present 2 Present 1,2 American Bittern American White Pelican Barrow s Goldeneye Black Tern Black-crowned Night Heron Black-necked Stilt Bufflehead Present 2 * 3 Present 1,2 California Gull * 3 * 3 Present 1,2 Caspian Tern * 3 * 3 Present 1 Clark's Grebe Common Loon Dusky Canada Goose * 3 * 3 * 3 Eared Grebe Forster's Tern Franklin s Gull Great Blue Heron Present 2 Present 1,2 Present 1,2 Greater Sandhill Crane Green Heron * 3 Present 2 * 3 Least Bittern Lesser Sandhill Crane Long-billed Curlew Pied-billed Grebe Red-necked Grebe * 3 * 3 * 3 Snowy Egret Sora Upland Sandpiper Virginia Rail Present 2 Western Grebe Present 1 Western Snowy Plover White-faced Ibis Yellow Rail 1. ebird (2010). Data based on Siletz Bay NWR. 2. Birdnotes (2010). Data based on Siletz Bay and Siletz Bay NWR. 3. LCVCB (n.d.). *General presence timing unknown. Description updated 03/03/2010 2
Location of Type 1 and 2 habitat within the site Habitats within the site include water/open water/estuaries and water/open water/mudflat or littoral, salt marsh, brackish marsh, tidal sloughs, and coniferous and deciduous forestland (National Audubon Society 2010, USFWS 2009). See Figure 2 for distribution of habitat types. Functional Group Type 1 Habitat Type 2 Habitat Ground Based Aquatic Birds Water/open water Secretive Marsh Birds Marsh Water/open water Colonial Nesters Water/open water Migrating Shorebirds Mudflat Water/open water Access to Type 1 and Type 2 habitats - A 1 2 mile (0.8 km) nature trail that follows the south end of the bay provides excellent viewing of both bay and land species. The trail head is found at the Marketplace at Salishan, approximately 3 miles south of Lincoln City (LCVCB n.d.). - [Siletz Bay Park Kiosk/Mo s Restaurant], found at SW 51st and Highway 101 offers views of the northern end of the bay, sand spit [ ] river mouth, and sandy beach (LCVCB n.d.). - Siletz Bay Refuge is closed to public use, except during special events (USFWS 2009). See Figure 1. - Audibility/visibility of focal species Describe any issues that would diminish the detectability of birds. e.g secretive marsh birds are difficult to detect due to hwy noise. Conservation issues Conservation measures taken, in progress, or proposed A 100-acre tidal marsh restoration project was completed on Millport Slough. It involved breaching 220 feet of dike, removing two dikes totaling 9,300 feet and filling 1,200 feet of artificial ditches (USFWS 2009). Past and current surveys Brown pelican daily non-breeding surveys in December 2008 by Phil Pickering, OBOL (National Audubon Society 2010). Potential survey methods Description: (describe survey methods that are appropriate for your site and recommend the best means in which to complete them considering the limitations and history above. Include information on suggested standardized or specialized protocols) Description updated 03/03/2010 3
Selection bias: (Discuss the potential for selection bias when designing a survey in the future, especially when sub-sample of the site will be studied. Point out how bias could be introduced and recommend ways to prevent this) Measurement error and bias: Potential pilot studies Description updated 03/03/2010 4
Literature cited Birdnotes. Birdnotes.net website. Available at http://www.birdnotes.net. Accessed March 03, 2010. ebird. 2010. ebird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. Version 2. ebird, Ithaca, New York. Available at http://www.ebird.org. Accessed March 03, 2010. Lincoln City Visitor and Convention Bureau (LCVCB). n.d. Lincoln City Birding: The Best Place on the Central Oregon Coast to Watch Birds. Lincoln City, Oregon. http://www.oregoncoast.org/contact-media/brochures/birdingguide.pdf. Accessed March 03, 2010. National Audubon Society. 2010. Important Bird Areas in the U.S. Available at http://www.audubon.org/bird/iba. Accessed March 03, 2010. National Ocean and Atomspheric Administration (NOAA). 2005. 2010 NOAA Tide Predictions: Taft, Siletz Bay. Available at: http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov. Accessed March 03, 2010. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). 1978. Habitat map of the Siltetz Bay Estuary. Estuary Inventory Project, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2:2.. http://digitalcollections.library.oregonstate.edu/u?/miscmaps,26. Accessed February 10, 2010. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2009. Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Newport, OR. http://www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/siletzbay. Accessed March 03, 2010. Description updated 03/03/2010 5
Figure 1: USFWS (2009) map of Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge lands. Description updated 03/03/2010 6
Figure 2: Habitat map of Siletz Bay and surrounding areas; Edited by D. Swope (2010) - colored to improve readability, simplified habitat types and replaced legend. See ODFW (1978) for original map. Description updated 03/03/2010 7
Figure 3: Seasonal variation in the mean tidal range at the Taft station at Siletz Bay, based on NOAA (2005) predictions. Measurements are in feet referenced to Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW). Seasonal Variation in Mean Tidal Range at Siletz Bay 5 4 Mean Tidal Range 3 2 1 0 J F M A M J J A S O N D -1 Description updated 03/03/2010 8