You can pick up a free copy in any Gainesville area Publix or open the digital version on the web here:
http://goo.gl/lKqI9w
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Swallow-tailed Kite exhibit and research covered in Our Town Magazine
Our Town Magazine, a publication covering north central Florida, has included a piece on ARCI and the Swallow-tailed Kite exhibit currently at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
You can pick up a free copy in any Gainesville area Publix or open the digital version on the web here:
http://goo.gl/lKqI9w
You can pick up a free copy in any Gainesville area Publix or open the digital version on the web here:
http://goo.gl/lKqI9w
Friday, November 15, 2013
ARCI's research on Magnificent Frigatebirds featured in BirdWatching Magazine
Learn more about ARCI's research on Magnificent Frigatebirds in the pages of BirdWatching Magazine. "Always around but never close: Why researchers are in a hurry to learn the many secrets of the Magnificent Frigatebird", by Mark Hedden
Check out this new article in BirdWatching on a bird so distinct and memorable, yet so threatened in its U.S. wintering roosts and single, declining breeding colony. Learn how ARCI and our collaborator, USFWS wildlife biologist Tom Wilmers, are working to uncover new knowledge on frigatebirds' movements, habits, and dwindling populations.
"The hope is that solving a few of the Magnificent Frigatebird's mysteries might bring about a way to protect them."
Find a portion of the article online here: http://goo.gl/FivisT
Friday, October 4, 2013
Art joins science in an exhibit on Swallow-tailed Kites
A Swallow-tailed Kite's 10,000 mile journey: A black and white odyssey
Art joins science to reveal the wonders and perils of the Swallow-tailed Kite's migration in a six-month installation at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida. The paintings, poetry, and
photography of Margo McKnight, Chris Cock, and Jim Gray bring to life ARCI’s exciting discoveries about the year-round ecology of this alluring raptor.
Since 1996, ARCI has studied the Swallow-tailed Kite's 10,000 mile journey between the lowlands of the southeastern U.S. and the humid plains of Brazil. Long ocean crossings, hazardous weather, and threats to their habitats make this a treacherous trip. This exhibit of bold colors, striking photos, and poignant words conveys the strength and fragility of a bird that will spend days on the wing to out-wit a storm, yet can only watch from above as humans destroy the diverse landscapes they have inhabited for centuries of changing seasons.
Dates: October 12, 2013 - April 13, 3014
Location: Florida Museum of Natural History
University of Florida Cultural Plaza
3215 Hull Rd.
Gainesville, Florida 32611
Hours: Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm, Sun 1pm - 5pm
Tel: (352) 846-2000
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Unprecendented view of White-crowned Pigeon movements
First satellite telemetry data received from White-crowned Pigeons
For the first time ever, we can study the movements of White-crowned Pigeons through satellite tracking technology. ARCI is partnering with many Caribbean partners in this range-wide study. We have been receiving excellent telemetry data from the two White-crowned Pigeons we recently fitted with 5-gram satellite transmitters in the lower Florida Keys. These transmitters, made by Microwave Telemetry, Inc., are the smallest of their kind.
Cudjoe and West
Cudjoe and West are the first White-crowned Pigeons to be tracked by satellite.
Cudjoe was tagged on 18 August 2013 on Cudjoe Key. For nearly a month, she made daily foraging trips that included the island’s southeast corner and several small nearby islands—an area less than two miles wide. Recently, however, Cudjoe started ranging farther east to Summerland Key. Does this indicate that migration is about to begin?
West was tagged on 4 September 2013 on Stock Island at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden. His movements also covered several adjacent islands within an area similar in size to Cudjoe’s activity range. Like Cudjoe, West has made longer daily excursions in recent days.
Partners and Supporters
This project, funded by the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges Complex (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), is a collaboration with the Refuge’s Senior Wildlife Biologist Tom Wilmers and part of a range-wide study with many Caribbean partners. We thank Refuge Manager Nancy Finley for her critical support; and the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, Deb Curlee, Jim Platt and Bev and Mike Welber for providing access and assistance.
For the first time ever, we can study the movements of White-crowned Pigeons through satellite tracking technology. ARCI is partnering with many Caribbean partners in this range-wide study. We have been receiving excellent telemetry data from the two White-crowned Pigeons we recently fitted with 5-gram satellite transmitters in the lower Florida Keys. These transmitters, made by Microwave Telemetry, Inc., are the smallest of their kind.
Cudjoe and West
Cudjoe and West are the first White-crowned Pigeons to be tracked by satellite.Cudjoe was tagged on 18 August 2013 on Cudjoe Key. For nearly a month, she made daily foraging trips that included the island’s southeast corner and several small nearby islands—an area less than two miles wide. Recently, however, Cudjoe started ranging farther east to Summerland Key. Does this indicate that migration is about to begin?
West was tagged on 4 September 2013 on Stock Island at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden. His movements also covered several adjacent islands within an area similar in size to Cudjoe’s activity range. Like Cudjoe, West has made longer daily excursions in recent days.
Partners and Supporters
This project, funded by the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges Complex (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), is a collaboration with the Refuge’s Senior Wildlife Biologist Tom Wilmers and part of a range-wide study with many Caribbean partners. We thank Refuge Manager Nancy Finley for her critical support; and the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, Deb Curlee, Jim Platt and Bev and Mike Welber for providing access and assistance.
 |
| Movements of satellite-tracked White-crowned Pigeons in the lower Florida Keys. |
Friday, September 20, 2013
White-crowned Pigeons successfully tagged in the Florida Keys
White-crowned Pigeon project begins
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| A solar-powered transmitter is attached to a light harness made of teflon ribbon. |
Every national population of this vulnerable species, which occurs only in extreme southern Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean Basin, is threatened due to poaching, poorly managed hunting, or loss of essential habitat. This newly-funded project, with enthusiastic partners in at least eight island nations, will use satellite telemetry to track migrations, determine seasonal habitats, and assess local threats to White-crowned Pigeons. Each individual we mark provides valuable information for the conservation of this sensitive species.
A vital part of this effort is teaching the public and policy makers the importance of a science-based, cooperative strategy for saving this highly mobile and popular species, which is the primary seed disperser for the highly threatened West Indian hardwood forest community.
Success at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden
At 8:14 a.m., on 4 September 2013, the field crew successfully trapped and tagged an adult White-crowned Pigeon (the third of the season) at the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, and outfitted the bird with a light satellite transmitter. The bird was released less than 30 minutes later and flew off strongly and landed in a nearby Jamaica Dogwood tree in the gardens where it rested for over an hour. The team also caught a juvenile bird on August 2nd, and being too young to tag, was banded with a USFWS aluminum band.
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| A tagged bird is ready for release. |
We'd especially like to thank Misha McRae, executive director of the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Gardens, for graciously welcoming our project and personally assisting us as we sought a place to set our mist nets. Thanks to Jessica Padilla for her volunteer help, Barrie Byron for taking photos of us while we had our hands full with the juvenile bird and of course Gwen Filosa for the positive article she wrote up in the Key West Citizen on Monday.
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| The field crew works at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Gardens where one adult White-crowned Pigeon was outfitted with a 5-gram, solar-powered satellite transmitter. This particular model, made my Microwave Telemetry, is the lightest satellite transmitter available for tracking birds to date. Click here for more information about this technology. |
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Site undergoing maintenance
Please bear with us as we work on the latest website improvements. You will find these pages, under the "Outreach" heading, currently under construction:
We welcome you to contact us should you find any broken links or missing pages at arci@arcinst.org
- Education
- Scientific Advising
We welcome you to contact us should you find any broken links or missing pages at arci@arcinst.org
Monday, June 24, 2013
ARCI comments on early feeding aggregations of Swallow-tailed Kites
On Monday, May 27th, birders reported seeing up to 150 Swallow-tailed
Kites in foraging flocks north of Dade City, Florida. Bob Stalnaker, of
the Seminole Audubon Society, contacted Dr. Meyer of ARCI to ask why
they would be seeing possible pre-migration feeding flocks in May
instead of June when they usually form.
ARCI's satellite tracking study of 13 Swallow-tailed Kites revealed unusually deleterious wind patterns this year during the kites' 2013 northbound migration. This resulted in several mortalities, late arrivals, and below average nesting effort, which could lead to larger and earlier foraging aggregations.
Following is Dr. Meyer's full statement regarding the large number of Swallow-tailed Kites observed foraging in west central Florida.
"For many years, large flocks of Swallow-tailed Kites have been reported by birders and wildlife managers from mid-June through July. These previously-observed flocks, consisting of both adult and hatch-year kites preying mainly on insects, have regularly gathered in the same open areas within and between years. Some (including Harry Robinson and Brian Ahern) have suggested that this year’s May appearance of flocking adults might indicate high local nesting concentrations, unusually early nesting, unusually high nest-failure rates, or some combination thereof. I believe these explanations are unlikely.
As with other Swallow-tailed Kite breeding-season behaviors, these feeding flocks have always occurred during the same period each year, between fledging (which peaks in early June) and the formation of pre-migration communal roosts (which peak in late July). In addition, ARCI’s monitoring of nests and pre-migration roosts since 1988 has not revealed any changes in the year-to-year timing of fledging and roost development (consistent with predictions of others for long-distance migrants facing climate change), nor have we documented early nesting or unusually high failure rates this year.
One possible explanation for this year’s early feeding aggregations is the pattern of winds during March 2013 when Swallow-tailed Kites (and many other species, obviously) were trying to migrate northward over the Gulf of Mexico. Up to that point, ARCI (with colleague Jennifer Coulson) had been satellite-tracking 13 adult Swallow-tailed Kites tagged in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana (www.arcinst.org; Research; Tracking studies). As always since this study began in 1996, we were collecting wind data (NOAA) during the kites’ trans-Gulf flights. In March, however, we noted a very unusual three-week series of large high-pressure systems that produced nearly continuous northerly winds from the southeastern U.S. to the northern Yucatan Peninsula, where the kites stage before their challenging over-water flight. A few of the kites made it safely to the U.S. Gulf coast before this began, but most waited for the infrequent spells when the strongest headwinds briefly abated, only to encounter stronger, more persistent northerlies once over the Gulf. Given that we were monitoring 13 birds, there are many stories within this story, but the net effect was that three tagged kites (two from Florida, one from South Carolina) did not survive because their lengthy, convoluted flight paths failed to reach the U.S. coast in time (we have learned that this species’ over-water limit is about four days). Of the 10 that survived, three have not attempted to nest – a higher proportion than usual. Their late arrival may have resulted in loss of their previous territory or mate, or their preferred mate may not have survived migration and there was not sufficient time to pair with another. Of the seven that did attempt to nest, at least three started unusually late.
In all, based on our sample of 13 marked birds and the uncommon weather, it seems likely that nesting effort would have been below average this year. This could help explain the early feeding aggregations of adults. A possible contributing factor is that summer insect abundance might be peaking earlier due to climate change. However, this in itself would not hasten formation of post-breeding feeding aggregations without earlier nesting and/or higher failure rates, neither of which is occurring. This is only speculation; I do not know if climate-related shifts in regional insect abundance have been documented.
In a related post, Patrick Leary suggested that post-fledging counts of long- versus short-tailed kites (presumably adult versus hatch year) might be useful for monitoring productivity. This method, along with guidance on aging based on plumage (complicated by some molting adults having symmetrically short tails) and a caution about the timing of southbound migration relative to age (adults leave earlier, causing the age ratio to shift continuously over time), was presented in a report to Florida Fish and Wildlife: Meyer, K. D. 1998. Communal roosts of American Swallow-tailed Kite in Florida… (available at ARCI’s website: www.arcinst.org; Publications). While systematic and repeated photographic counts at large pre-migration roosts that control for gradually decreasing ratios of adults to juveniles might support statistically valid estimates of annual productivity, less rigorous efforts likely will not.
ARCI's satellite tracking study of 13 Swallow-tailed Kites revealed unusually deleterious wind patterns this year during the kites' 2013 northbound migration. This resulted in several mortalities, late arrivals, and below average nesting effort, which could lead to larger and earlier foraging aggregations.
Following is Dr. Meyer's full statement regarding the large number of Swallow-tailed Kites observed foraging in west central Florida.
"For many years, large flocks of Swallow-tailed Kites have been reported by birders and wildlife managers from mid-June through July. These previously-observed flocks, consisting of both adult and hatch-year kites preying mainly on insects, have regularly gathered in the same open areas within and between years. Some (including Harry Robinson and Brian Ahern) have suggested that this year’s May appearance of flocking adults might indicate high local nesting concentrations, unusually early nesting, unusually high nest-failure rates, or some combination thereof. I believe these explanations are unlikely.
As with other Swallow-tailed Kite breeding-season behaviors, these feeding flocks have always occurred during the same period each year, between fledging (which peaks in early June) and the formation of pre-migration communal roosts (which peak in late July). In addition, ARCI’s monitoring of nests and pre-migration roosts since 1988 has not revealed any changes in the year-to-year timing of fledging and roost development (consistent with predictions of others for long-distance migrants facing climate change), nor have we documented early nesting or unusually high failure rates this year.
One possible explanation for this year’s early feeding aggregations is the pattern of winds during March 2013 when Swallow-tailed Kites (and many other species, obviously) were trying to migrate northward over the Gulf of Mexico. Up to that point, ARCI (with colleague Jennifer Coulson) had been satellite-tracking 13 adult Swallow-tailed Kites tagged in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana (www.arcinst.org; Research; Tracking studies). As always since this study began in 1996, we were collecting wind data (NOAA) during the kites’ trans-Gulf flights. In March, however, we noted a very unusual three-week series of large high-pressure systems that produced nearly continuous northerly winds from the southeastern U.S. to the northern Yucatan Peninsula, where the kites stage before their challenging over-water flight. A few of the kites made it safely to the U.S. Gulf coast before this began, but most waited for the infrequent spells when the strongest headwinds briefly abated, only to encounter stronger, more persistent northerlies once over the Gulf. Given that we were monitoring 13 birds, there are many stories within this story, but the net effect was that three tagged kites (two from Florida, one from South Carolina) did not survive because their lengthy, convoluted flight paths failed to reach the U.S. coast in time (we have learned that this species’ over-water limit is about four days). Of the 10 that survived, three have not attempted to nest – a higher proportion than usual. Their late arrival may have resulted in loss of their previous territory or mate, or their preferred mate may not have survived migration and there was not sufficient time to pair with another. Of the seven that did attempt to nest, at least three started unusually late.
In all, based on our sample of 13 marked birds and the uncommon weather, it seems likely that nesting effort would have been below average this year. This could help explain the early feeding aggregations of adults. A possible contributing factor is that summer insect abundance might be peaking earlier due to climate change. However, this in itself would not hasten formation of post-breeding feeding aggregations without earlier nesting and/or higher failure rates, neither of which is occurring. This is only speculation; I do not know if climate-related shifts in regional insect abundance have been documented.
In a related post, Patrick Leary suggested that post-fledging counts of long- versus short-tailed kites (presumably adult versus hatch year) might be useful for monitoring productivity. This method, along with guidance on aging based on plumage (complicated by some molting adults having symmetrically short tails) and a caution about the timing of southbound migration relative to age (adults leave earlier, causing the age ratio to shift continuously over time), was presented in a report to Florida Fish and Wildlife: Meyer, K. D. 1998. Communal roosts of American Swallow-tailed Kite in Florida… (available at ARCI’s website: www.arcinst.org; Publications). While systematic and repeated photographic counts at large pre-migration roosts that control for gradually decreasing ratios of adults to juveniles might support statistically valid estimates of annual productivity, less rigorous efforts likely will not.
Please feel free to share this information with attribution to Avian Research and Conservation Institute and its website, www.arcinst.org.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kenneth D. Meyer, PhDExecutive Director, Avian Research and Conservation Institute
Associate Professor (adjunct), Wildlife
Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida"
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