Nest Searching in Spring

   It has been a few months since our last blog entry. Since early 2015 we have been preparing for the field season by writing grant proposals, hiring field assistants, ordering the new transmitters, and planning for the fieldwork ahead.
   We are expanding the study this spring to include nest sites up in the Delaware State Forest of Pocono region (http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/delaware/) to compare with the Hawk Mountain/Appalachian area nests and southeastern Piedmont area nest sites. To help us determine where pairs of Broadwings were in the large, contiguous forest near the Delaware Water Gap, we mapped locations of birds found in the Breeding Bird Atlas and more recently reported in eBird and then picked out sites where we thought we would see the birds upon their return from spring migration. In mid-April along with the three field assistants, eight volunteers, and Laurie and I we started visiting possible territories and mapping locations where birds were seen. By late April we had several possible nest structures identified.
   It is now May 13th and we have a total of 8 confirmed nest sites; 4 in the Delaware State Forest, 3 in the southeast, 1 at Hawk Mountain. The last week and a half have been a little frustrating as we watch possible nests and search areas where we know the birds are located but are finding birds being very quiet and elusive. We will continue to search over next few weeks in hopes of finding another 4 to 6 nests to include in the study.

Viewing spot, with the nest in the distance

Confirmed nest in the Pocono Region

Female on the nest near Hawk Mountain

A second confirmed nest in the Delaware State Forest

Female incubating in French Creek State Park

                                                                                                                                                      







One reason we suspect things are more challenging this year is that some birds appear to have returned later than usual. Abbo, our one satellite-tagged adult, did not return to her nesting territory until May 6th.  She was moving northward on schedule but in April was stalled in northern Mexico and southern Texas during a unrelenting week of torrential rain and storms.  After that subsided weather continued to be unsettled and she moved slowly from Texas to Alabama and Mississippi. Once she hit the Appalachians in Georgia, her pace accelerated, arriving in Pennsylvania on May 4th.

Abbo's movements during Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 migration

Abbo's movements since she returned to New Ringgold (yellow = more accurate locations)

  Since her arrival we have had sightings of three Broadwings flying together and sightings of lone birds but not definitive sightings of Abbo. We know she is in the forest near her former nest site still and moving around quite a bit.  We are hopeful she will settle down and nest soon.

  Check back next week to learn more about our fantastic field assistants!

Abbo in South America

   As the only bird of four to continue transmitting (we are hoping at least America or Hawkeye's transmitters will pop back on during spring migration), Abbo's journey during the wintering period has been quite interesting to watch. Some of you may remember from the earlier Facebook/ Blog posts that Abbo arrived in South America around October 23rd when she crossed over from Panama into Colombia. Once in Colombia she flew down the center of Colombia, through Peru and then into Brazil during the first week of November. 

   Around November 13th she made her way into the Mapinguari National Park and stayed close to the Madeira River. The Madeira River flows through about a quarter of the Brazilian Amazon and is one of the Amazon's largest (approximately 3,250 kilometers or 2,020 miles long) and most important tributaries (http://www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/madeira-river). 

   Abbo continued moving east until November 22nd when she decided to follow a river south and then looped back north in the first two weeks of December. The signal of Abbo's transmitter went in and out a few times in December but by the 1st of January she had crossed into the State of Amazonas, right outside of Juruena National Park. The Juruena National Park is Brazil's third largest national park, spanning over 1.9 million-hectares (4.7 million-acres)!!! Not only is this national park providing wintering habitat for our Abbo but it is also providing habitat and protecting other species like the endangered jaguar, giant otter and harpy eagle! How cool!
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   Interestingly, Abbo continued northwest on January 7th  and around the 11th found herself passing through Nascentes do Lago Jari National Park and continued moving west on January 19th.  Just a few days later, Abbo continued north almost retracing her southbound journey and as of February 7th, she moved north towards the border of northeastern Peru.

   The data we have received from the last 4 months of Abbo's journey include her route and the direction of her movements as well as the possible importance national parks and protected habitat play during the wintering period. We are very excited to increase our sample size of tagged adult Broadwings and hope that we can provide more concrete data on the locations and routes used by Broadwings when they enter South America.  

We are still seeking sponsors or donors to our 2015 field work where we hope to tag up to eight more Broadwings.  Information on making donations is on the Broadwing page of Hawk Mountain website, www.hawkmountain.org.  Thank you for your continued interest in our Broadwing adventures!

  

The Adventure of Finding America!

 The adventure of finding America, the Broad-winged Hawk who rested for a few weeks in the El Ocote Biosphere Reserve

                                           By Alberto Martínez-­‐Fernández
 

The adventure begins when for a few days I followed the last signals that America sent to the web page, where for several days I had been following her journey south.

Since October 23, I had been in contact with Laurie, and we  both thought it would be interesting to know the habitat where America had spent a few days and where we had received the last signal.

As I know various regions of Chiapas, I decided that I could go in search. So I contacted people in the area, in particular, the people in the El Ocote Biosphere Reserve where the last signals came from. They said they could help but not for a couple of days, and I didn’t have time. Meanwhile, I had reached out to friends you had worked with local communities in the area, and this was successful. It is important to keep in contact with local people because they know how to move on the mountain, they know the paths and if you show them a map and say, “I want to go here,” it is almost 100% certain that they will get you there.

So I contacted Señor Maximiiano in the town of Francisco I. Madero, the most remote community in the region. Sr. Max knows the area like the back of his hand. Considering there were only two days, I left very early in the morning, arrived at his house, and told him and his family what I was looking for, showing him the maps, photos and information, in the hope that I could gain his help.

First day, road survey, looking for last signal and BW

I talked about the Broad­‐winged Hawks that had been banded, and about four Broadwings that were carrying   transmitters   from   Pennsylvania.  We   talked   about   bird   migration,  and   especially   about raptors. He found this information new and interesting, although he and his neighbors knew about the birds that sail across the sky year after year. They watch them with astonishment, and call these birds Azajuanes: the birds that bring the rainy season (presumably because they coincide with the rainy season in the region). With help from the maps and the last signals that America sent to the satellite, I explained the reason I wanted to tour the region—to take photos, learn   about   the  vegetation and, deep in my heart, to be able to see America alive with the radio on her back. When I explained this part about the little radio on America’s back, they laughed incredulously. However, seeing the maps, the birds and the photos they could see that the technology was very advanced.

Once we had talked about the adventure I wanted to undertake, Sr. Maximiliano said he was recovering from an illness and that his son would accompany me, even though he was very interested in coming along. But in the end, Sr. Maximiliano, with help from one of his adopted children, agreed to lead the journey.

That first day, I decided that doing a road survey would allow me to cover part of the region and give me sufficient area to search the skies and the vegetation. Luckily, the climate was in our favor 100% whereas the previous days and weeks had been rainy, and when there wasn’t rain, cloudy.

 
Sr. Max, his son and I, drove along the dirt road, making various stops in strategic locations to watch for raptors. By looking for fragments of good vegetation, and also with the help of the GPS, I found the point closest to where America had arrived.

While  I  was  driving,  on  one  side  of  a fenced    rangeland    we    saw    a    Broad‐ winged  Hawk  which  cruised  in  front  of the    car    and    landed    in    the    dense vegetation  of  a  canyon.  The  bird  had prey  in  its  talons.  We  quickly  got  out and  began  to  search  for  it,  and  I  hoped to be able to see America with the radio on  her  back.  I  saw  the  bird  well,  and  it appeared to be an adult. We were close for  about  20  minutes,  but  lost  it  in  the canyon’s wild vegetation. 

N 16.83978 W 093.74771 942 MSNM

After   seeing   the   Broad‐winged   Hawk, we continued to drive in search of other sites and more raptors. At another vista we  saw  seven  raptors  (one  American  Kestrel,  two  Red‐tailed  Hawks,  one  Broad‐winged  Hawk  and three Turkey Vultures). The men who accompanied me were amazed to see the differences among the various  species.  We  continued  along  the  whole  dirt  road,  making  stops  and  searching  more  sites, encountering  a  Grey  Hawk,  as  well  as  more  Broad‐winged  Hawks,  Red‐tails,  Turkey  Vultures  and American Kestrels. 

The road brought us back to Francisco I. Madero. We looked for a place to sleep and plan the next day. Don Maximiliano was key to the logistics. Using   maps, GPS images and local reference points, as well as what we had seen the first day, we came up with a plan: Our objective was to arrive at one of the two points which America had marked on the map. 

N 16.84430 W 093.75798 1041 MSNM

The first day concluded when closed the circuit in Francisco I. Madero. We went through different types of fragmentation, pastures, areas with large ferns, crops, secondary vegetation, vegetation fragments preserved even with a very dense vegetation, sweetgum forest fragments. Throughout the course several migratory raptors were observed. Mr. Max commented that many birds cross this region in October. 

Second Day

 From: Sr. Maximilano House  

N 16.89182 W 093.72742 722 MSNM 

To: BW last signal N 16.89931W 093.79683 1036 MSNM

The plan for the second  day was a real adventure for me as I was unfamiliar with this part of the El Ocote Biosphere Reserve, and moreover, because it wasn’t to be in the car. We were going to travel by mule. Accompanied by two teenagers, we would travel three  hours to a small ranch halfway up the mountain, and go from there on foot to the point on the map.


At 5:30 am, Sr. Max  and his son prepared the mules, his wife made the food we would take along, and I gathered my camera equipment, binoculars, GPS and batteries for the trip. We had a breakfast of eggs, beans and delicious coffee before we left, as it was to be a long trip.

That morning was a little cold, with dense fog that would not allow us to see more than 500 meters. I didn’t think it was a good day to go out.

During the trip, we passed through various types of vegetation, and I could see that the people from the community had fragmented the forest for farming and grazing. People had plantations of coffee and citrus. In the fragments of wild vegetation you could see the vegetation zones well defined, with a understory in some very dense parts, with trees more than 30 meters high. In fragments of secondary vegetation, the trees were 20 meters high. The fragments were not large, but created a corridor from one to the other.

  

In this second day was observed that the vegetation is in better condition. There is less fragmentation than the region of the first day. Here the fragments are more conserved, but also areas with coffee and citrus cultivation was observed. As you can see in the picture below, the conserved areas have large ferns, very dense undergrowth. With this type of vegetation and weather conditions from last week was very difficult for the battery could be charged. 

The trip was long, but finally we arrived at a cabin where people were tending cattle and working the land to grow corn and a little coffee. As there were three families living here, I needed to explain  who I was, what I did, and the reason for my journey. I asked for permission to enter their land and I explained everything about the project, as I had to Maximiliano, in order to gain their confidence, tie up our mules, and continue on foot.

Start walking! Walking two kilometers through an open area, then entered a forest fragment where I could see very tall trees 30 to 40 meters (with secondary vegetation mixed with original forest), with plants in stratum under which you can only see in this type of forest.

This fragment is part of a corridor along a ridge. The walk through the fragment was a mile and then went out to a pasture where people have cows. This area is part of the end of the road, this mountain there where it ends and begins depression to the Pacific coast.

Ranch People were afraid for my visit, apparently this area is in conflict over land rights. However They are happy to know that the mountains are used by migratory birds. Within the personal interest is to start a training birding for the people of this community. They are very interested, we must remember that they are living day to day in the field and are close to the birds. 
                                                                  

On this last point, we were watching several migratory  raptors (RT, BW, PG, TV,) bat falcons, Grey Hawk.

    

 The distance between the last point where we reach the point of the last signal America was just under 600 meters. Try to keep to the exact point but the vegetation was too dense. Using GPS could locate the latest signs that gave America, and most came from the mountain range.

BW last signal:N 16.88964

W 093.78779 1014 MSNM

 In the photo to the left, you can see right a river (this river is called the river or sale is also known as barrel sale) of this point came the first signs of America. On this side America arriving (west side).

  

In  the  picture  below  the  type  of  vegetation  along  the  ridge,  we  can  see  that  this is conserved.

The next image´s shows the vegetation that can be seen from the last point. It is part of the lower area.

 The photo on the left was taken on another expedition in the Biosphere Reserve Ocote. Just to give an idea of the type of vegetation that dominates along the canyon.

The photo below is of the view from the ridge where America last signals were recorded. Photo taken from the main road (Cintalapa, Chiapas).

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary for sharing the information and be part of this adventure. Thanks to the local people of Francisco I Madero by support at all times.

Thanks Laurie G.