Monitoring meadow birds at restoration sites along the Little Truckee RiverHelen Loffland ● Rodney Siegel ● Bob WilkersonThe Institute for Bird Populations, PO Box 1346, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

ABSTRACTWe developed a monitoring protocol to assess how bird populations respond to meadow restoration activities. During summer 2010 we conducted pre-restoration bird surveys at 28 meadows proposed for restoration and 32 reference meadows in the Sierra Nevada. Study sites were identified in collaboration with public and private land managers. Monitoring visits included point count surveys, broadcast surveys, area searches, and vegetation and soil moisture assessments. Here we describes results of the pre-restoration monitoring completed at one restoration/reference pair of meadows on the Tahoe National Forest. Results of these surveys provide baseline information for assessing the effects of restoration activities completed in late fall 2010 on bird populations at the Perazzo Middle Meadow site along the Little Truckee River.

WHY MONITOR MEADOW BIRDS?

• Montane meadows in the Sierra Nevada form ecological islands that provide abundant water, food, and cover for birds and other wildlife.

• At many Sierra meadows, human activities have altered meadow hydrology, changing meadow plant communities, often diminishing habitat quality for native birds.

• Throughout the Sierra Nevada, many public and private land managers are now restoring or enhancing meadow habitats – often by addressing the historical management legacies that have led to poorly watered meadows.

• One way to assess the success of meadow restoration is to monitor the responses of bird populations that inhabit the meadow. Birds can respond rapidly and dramatically to meadow restoration – often exhibiting population increases or even colonization of new sites within as little as one year after restoration efforts are implemented.

METHODS

• BACI (Before, After, Control, Impact) monitoring scheme, in which restoration sites were paired with reference sites where no restoration activities are imminent.

• 2 survey visits per season, between May 20 – July 15

• Surveys conducted pre- and post-restoration

• Surveys include 7-min point counts, area searches, and rapid vegetation assessments

• Methods followed Loffland et al. 2011 (see image at right; full protocol available at http://www.birdpop.org/ Sierra/sierra_meadows.htm)

Both the restoration site at Perazzo Middle Meadow (above left) and the paired reference site at Little Truckee below Stampede Reservoir (above right) occur along the Little Truckee River which flows east from the Sierra Nevada Crest. Magenta circles indicate bird survey stations, which 250 m apart.

MEADOW FOCAL SPECIESWe identified Focal Species for assessment and analysis that are likely to respond to meadow restoration and that require a variety of meadow habitats, including riparian shrubs, open grassland, emergent vegetation, and gravel bars:

Virginia Rail Yellow WarblerSora MacGillivray’s WarblerSandhill Crane Common YellowthroatSpotted Sandpiper Wilson’s WarblerWilson’s Snipe Yellow-breasted ChatRed-breasted Sapsucker Song SparrowWillow Flycatcher Lincoln’s SparrowWarbling Vireo White-crowned SparrowSwainson’s Thrush Brown-headed Cowbird

Meadow Namea Measureb

Percent Cover

Trees SnagsRiparianShrubs Sagebrush

Non-WoodyVegetation

Bare Ground

Gravel Bar

FlowingWater

StandingWater

Perazzo Middle Meadow

Mean 3.66 0.14 21.39 6.59 74.05 1.67 0.84 7.30 4.17(S.E.) 1.42 0.06 3.97 2.20 6.23 0.46 0.23 2.44 1.29

Little Truckee below Stampede Res.

Mean 2.65 0.10 13.40 46.58 51.44 10.71 7.04 2.33 0.58(S.E.) 1.01 0.07 2.34 6.11 6.25 2.25 1.86 1.00 0.42

VEGETATION RESULTS: Average vegetative and water cover characteristics for 50-m plots surrounding survey stations at each meadow. aRestoration sites indicated in bold text. bMean and standard error averaged over four 50-m radius quadrants at each survey station.

POINT COUNT RESULTS: focal species detection rates (Avg. no. birds station)

POINT COUNT & AREA SEARCH RESULTS: All species detected. Focal species indicated in bold text.

Meadow Name

No. Species Detected-

Area Searches

No. Species Detected

-Point Counts

No. SpeciesDetected Only

During Area Searches

No. Species -

Both Methods Combined

Perazzo Middle Meadow 52 55 8 63Little Truckee below Stampede Res. 43 49 3 52

POINT COUNT & AREA SEARCH RESULTS: No. species detected using each method.

Perazzo Meadows

STUDY AREA

RESULTS (from Perazzo Middle Meadow and its associated reference site only)

CONCLUSIONS Monitoring bird populations at restoration and reference sites before and after restoration will reveal how species respond to restoration, and how responses vary by type of restoration, locality, and time since restoration. Such results are needed to document successful restoration, and to further hone restoration methods through adaptive management.

Willow Flycatcher

MacGillivray’s Warbler