Special Species Monitoring

Since 1997, the Klamath Bird Observatory and Redwood Sciences Laboratory have been developing and implementing a Black Tern (Chliodias niger surinamensis) monitoring program in the Klamath Basin. During the past eight years, we have conducted tern surveys by foot, canoe, and boat at 28 locations in and around the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges within Klamath County, Oregon. The purpose of these surveys was to observe mating and nesting behavior by terns to determine status, location, and size of nesting colonies, and to gather regional population trend data.

The Black Tern nests semi colonially in freshwater wetlands in the northern United States through central Canada (Dunn and Agro 1995). There has been a continual decline in population of the Black Tern since 1967 (Dunn and Agro 1995). They are listed as threatened or endangered in 6 states and as a species of conservation concern in an additional 18 states or provinces (Shuford 1999). Breeding Birds Surveys (BBS) and other landbird census methods do not adequately monitor these marsh-nesting birds (Dunn and Agro 1995, Shuford 1999) in the Pacific Northwest. However, BBS data analyses indicate declines in breeding populations in North America as a whole (5.6% per year; 71.8% overall) with sharper declines in the US (8.2%; 84.8%) than in Canada (4.8%; 66.1%) for the period 1966-2003 (Sauer et al. 2003).

Contact Bob Frey (541) 201-0866

Small Owl Monitoring

The Klamath Bird Observatory's Small Owl Monitoring Project's objectives are to develop effective demographic and migration monitoring methods, and to increase understanding of this difficult to study group of birds. Since 1999, we have collaborated with the US Forest Service Redwood Sciences Laboratory in developing capture and survey methods for the four small owls occurring in our region, the Flammulated Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, and Northern Pygmy-Owl. In the Klamath Province of southern Oregon and northern California, the distribution, demography, and migration movements of small owls are little-understood. Their primarily nocturnal habits, low-density occurrence, and widely diverse habitat use present special challenges to us in seeking methods to best study them.

Our methods involve using an audiolure, a recording of their vocalizations to which they are known to respond and pursue, during mist netting and survey efforts. A portable cd player is placed between two or more mist nets, which are opened while the recordings are played for two hours following sunset and two hours prior to sunrise. During these periods, biologists conduct passive surveys, listening for any small owl response to the recording.

Our partners in this project include the US Forest Service Region 5 Partners In Flight Program, the Klamath National Forest, Mendocino National Forest, Rogue River National Forest, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, Winema National Forest, the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, the Bureau of Land Management Klamath Falls Resource Area, Bureau of Land Management Medford District, Bureau of Land Management Redding District, the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument, Oregon Caves National Monument, the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Humboldt County (CA) Parks Department, and several private land owners.

	Special Species Monitoring Monitoring Black-terns Since 1997, the Klamath Bird Observatory and Redwood Sciences Laboratory have been developing and implementing a Black Tern (Chliodias niger surinamensis) monitoring program in the Klamath Basin. During the past eight years, we have conducted tern surveys by foot, canoe, and boat at 28 locations in and around the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges within Klamath County, Oregon. The purpose of these surveys was to observe mating and nesting behavior by terns to determine status, location, and size of nesting colonies, and to gather regional population trend data. The Black Tern nests semi colonially in freshwater wetlands in the northern United States through central Canada (Dunn and Agro 1995). There has been a continual decline in population of the Black Tern since 1967 (Dunn and Agro 1995). They are listed as threatened or endangered in 6 states and as a species of conservation concern in an additional 18 states or provinces (Shuford 1999). Breeding Birds Surveys (BBS) and other landbird census methods do not adequately monitor these marsh-nesting birds (Dunn and Agro 1995, Shuford 1999) in the Pacific Northwest. However, BBS data analyses indicate declines in breeding populations in North America as a whole (5.6% per year; 71.8% overall) with sharper declines in the US (8.2%; 84.8%) than in Canada (4.8%; 66.1%) for the period 1966-2003 (Sauer et al. 2003). This effort continues as part of the Partners In Flight Special Species Monitoring Program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Centennial Refuge Legacy Program. Contact Bob Frey (541) 201-0866 Small Owl Monitoring The Klamath Bird Observatory's Small Owl Monitoring Project's objectives are to develop effective demographic and migration monitoring methods, and to increase understanding of this difficult to study group of birds. Since 1999, we have collaborated with the US Forest Service Redwood Sciences Laboratory in developing capture and survey methods for the four small owls occurring in our region, the Flammulated Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, and Northern Pygmy-Owl. In the Klamath Province of southern Oregon and northern California, the distribution, demography, and migration movements of small owls are little-understood. Their primarily nocturnal habits, low-density occurrence, and widely diverse habitat use present special challenges to us in seeking methods to best study them. Our methods involve using an audiolure, a recording of their vocalizations to which they are known to respond and pursue, during mist netting and survey efforts. A portable cd player is placed between two or more mist nets, which are opened while the recordings are played for two hours following sunset and two hours prior to sunrise. During these periods, biologists conduct passive surveys, listening for any small owl response to the recording. Our partners in this project include the US Forest Service Region 5 Partners In Flight Program, the Klamath National Forest, Mendocino National Forest, Rogue River National Forest, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, Winema National Forest, the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, the Bureau of Land Management Klamath Falls Resource Area, Bureau of Land Management Medford District, Bureau of Land Management Redding District, the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument, Oregon Caves National Monument, the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Humboldt County (CA) Parks Department, and several private land owners.



Literature Cited Dunn, E.H., and D.J. Agro. 1995. Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) in The Birds of North America, No. 147 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. Sauer, J.R., J.E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2003. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2002. Version 2003.1, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. Shuford, W.D. 1999. Status assessment and conservation plan for the black tern (Chlidonias niger surinamensis) in North America. U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver, CO.
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