Black Rail Status on Atlantic Coast and 2014 North Carolina Survey

Michael Wilson

Center for Conservation Biology

College of William and Mary

& Virginia Commonwealth University

Black Rail is the most imperiled bird of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts • Retraction of breeding range

• Loss of breeding sites • Reduction of individuals at historical strongholds • Rapid loss over the past 15 years • Populations have reached dangerously low levels • May be extirpated in several regions in our lifetime

David Allen Sibley

) California Black Rail (L. j. coturniculus)

Eastern Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis)

Eastern Black Rail Range

State Breeding Population Trend

State Protection Status

Connecticut Likely Extirpated Endangered

New York Possibly Extirpated Endangered

Delaware Declining Endangered

Pennsylvania Unknown None

New Jersey Declining Endangered

Maryland Declining Endangered

Virginia Declining Endangered

North Carolina Declining Special Concern

South Carolina Unknown None

Georgia Unknown None

Florida Declining None

Texas Possibly Declining None

Eastern Black Rail Conservation & Management Working Group

1) Status Assessment 2) Conservation Action Plan

Center for Conservation Biology

College of William and Mary

& Virginia Commonwealth University

Eastern Black Rail Conservation & Management Working Group

Eastern Black Rail Range

DE 25-50

NJ 25-50

MD 200-250

VA 20-50

Workshop Population Estimate

Atlantic and Gulf Coast

Northeast 270-400 pairs

Southeast 675-1970

Atlantic/Gulf 945-2,370 (3,620)

NC 50-100 (500)

SC 100-200 (400)

GA 25-50 (100)

FL 200-500 (1,500)

AL 0-10

MS 0-10

LA 0-100

TX 300-1000

0-10 for most midwest states

New Jersey

Delaware

New York

Chesapeake Bay

DE

Atlantic Ocean

Chesapeake Bay & Region Black Rail Survey 2007 & 2008

Maryland - 101 survey points (D. Brinker and J. McCann – MD DNR)

Virginia - 328 survey points (Center for Conservation Biology)

Survey Point

Shared Protocol • Long broadcast call-response • Night surveys • Boat and Road access • Pts surveyed 2-3 times

Chesapeake Bay & Region Black Rail Survey 2007 & 2008

Maryland Detections 12 / 101 pts (12 %) Virginia Detections 12 / 328 pts (4 %)

DE

Occupied Point

Empty Point

F = (1-p)N

additional 5- pts could be occupied

DE DE

75 / 218 pts (34 %) 12 / 101 pts (12 %)

Black Rail Detection Black Rail Detection

Black Rail only detected at 9 of 75 pts between surveys = 88 % loss

1992 2007

Maryland Survey

1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s0

10

20

30

40

50

Bla

ck

Ra

il Co

un

t

Mean Min-Max

Thanks to Lynn Davidson, MD DNR

Black Rail Counts Elliot Island, MD – Maryland Birdlife

South Carolina

Georgia

Pine Island

Roanoke Island

Alligator NWR

Dare Bombing Range

Pea Island

Pungo River (Crabtree Bay)

Bay River (Hobucken)

Cedar Island, Back Creek, N. River

Bogue Sound

Topsail Beach

Wilmington

Powell 1980 reports up to 80 heard in Carteret County (1973)

David Lee 1999

Inland Populations

Smooth Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) Black needlerush (Juncus romerianus)

Saltmeadow Hay (Spartina patens) Saltgrass (Distichilis spicata)

Saltbush (Baccharis hamilfolia) Marsh Elder (Iva frutescens)

Modified from Tiner 1984

Stunted Pine & Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

Maryland

E2EM1P – Estuarine, emergent, persistent, irregularly flooded (10 sites)

E2EM1P6 – oligohaline (1 site)

E2EM1Nd – regularly flooded, partially drained/ditched (1 site)

Habitat Descriptions

Percent Habitat Cover

Location Saltmarsh cordgrass

Black Needlerush

Salt-Meadow Hay-Saltgrass Saltbush

smartrush-bulrush

Saxis 15 40 13 4 15 Michael’s Marsh 25 40 10 10

Muddy Creek 5 80 10 5 Guil. Creek 5 60 30 5 Cal’s Hammock 2 45 45 8

Willis Gut 8 45 8 35

~average 10 52 19 11 --

Virginia habitat cover

Saxis Wildlife Management Area, Virginia

Black Rail Location

Black Rail Location

Black Rail Location

Black Rails only occupying a small fraction of available habitat & found in fewer areas than before • Habitat changes • Demographic changes

Habitat Loss and Degradation

T. Dahl 2006

Other

Ponds

Urbanization Coastal Water

R. Tiner 1985

Modified from Tiner 1984

Sea Level Rise Nest

Predators

Saxis

Big Marsh

Metompkin

Island

Saxis

Big Marsh

Metompkin

Island

Current Year 2100

Black Rail Habitat & Sea Level Rise

- 51 %

- 90 % - 99 %

Barriers to Marsh Transgression

• Topography

• Swamp Forest Soil Subsidence

• Shoreline Armoring

Urban development, Seawalls

• Phragmites

Nest Predators

Predation Pressure on Beach Nesting Birds Timeline Virginia Barrier Islands Late 1970-2010 1) Increase in Nest Predator Populations Raccoon and Fox 2) Waterbird Population Loss Loss of Colonies Reduction Size of Colonies Piping Plover Declines 3) Predator Control 4) Positive Bird Response

1) Vegetation Change Analysis

2) High Marsh Nesting Success

3) Mapping tidal height and penetration

Management Solutions for Black Rails

• Protect areas to allow marsh migration

• Predator Control (??)

• Freshwater Impoundments

• More Compatible Management – burning, water levels

• Mosquito Control Changes

Curb Open Marsh Water Management (OMWM)

Examine Larvicide and Adulticide

Survey & Monitoring 2014 & 2015

• Population Census

• On the Marsh Protocol

CCB

Chesapeake Bay & Region Black Rail Survey 2007 & 2008

Maryland Detections 12 / 101 pts (12 %) Virginia Detections 12 / 328 pts (4 %)

DE

Occupied Point

Empty Point

F = (1-p)N

additional 5- pts could be occupied

Survey & Monitoring

• Population Census (2014 & 2015)

• Sampling (future)

Survey Breadth

Occupied Pts

2014

2020

2025 Occupied Pts

Random sample of unoccupied

Random sample of unoccupied

Survey Protocol

Where: Accessible High Marsh (boat and road access)

How: “The Maryland Protocol”

nocturnal – 1h after sunset and 1hr prior to sunrise

10min

~90 decibel volume

Minimum 3 visits

Mid April thru Mid May

Intensive Sites on Public Lands

derive population estimates

obtain better estimates of detection rates

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Silence Silence BLRA BLRA BLRA BLRA Silence VIRA VIRA Silence

BLRA 1 1 1 1

BLRA 1 1 1 1 1

100-150 pts in 2014

100 pts in 2015

Pine Island

Roanoke Island

Alligator NWR

Dare Bombing Range

Pea Island

Pungo River (Crabtree Bay)

Bay River (Hobucken)

Cedar Island, Back Creek, N. River

Bogue Sound

Topsail Beach

Wilmington

Powell 1980 reports up to 80 heard in Carteret County (1973)

Curritick Sound – Pine Island

2002

Detected at 1 of 25 Points

on Southeastern Shore of Ablemarle-Pamlico

Peninsula

Hobucken Marshes, Jones Bay, Pamlico Co.

Back Creek, Carteret County

Carteret County: Cedar Island – Piney Island – Jarret Bay

DE 25-50

NJ 25-50

MD 200-250

VA 20-50

Workshop Population Estimate

Atlantic and Gulf Coast

Northeast 270-400 pairs

Southeast 675-1970

Atlantic/Gulf 945-2,370 (3,620)

NC 50-100 (500)

SC 100-200 (400)

GA 25-50 (100)

FL 200-500 (1,500)

AL 0-10

MS 0-10

LA 0-100

TX 300-1,000

0-10 for most midwest states