07 Crevice Nester Productivity Protocol v1.4
Contents
1. 4 0 4 8 Meters Figure D7 Map showing nest box location including bearing and distances m between boxes within Village B Ulakaia colony St George Island GPS locations are given for Box 3 in datum NAD27 different from other coordinates in this protocol which are in datum WGS84 7 37 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at St George Island Least Auklet Nest Box Locations St George Pribilof Islands Village C 35 N 56 58764 W 169 54965 Bearing degrees magnetic and 5 9 m distance meters between pairs of points are given Latitude longitude are in NAD 27 Alaska Datum 4 0 4 8 Meters Figure D8 Map showing nest box location including bearing and distances m between boxes within Village C Ulakaia colony St George Island GPS locations are given for Box 45 in datum NAD27 different from other coordinates in this protocol which are in datum WGS84 7 38 Protocol Revision History Log Protocol Revision History Log Revision Chandas made New Date g version April 2015 Clarified sample sizes 1 4 April 2014 Changed font to Arial added revision history log replaced revision date with version on first page added protocol 1 3 to first page changed number format of tables and figures in island attachment ordered island attachments alphabetically changed page number format to include protocol made minor grammatical edits added matrix for auklet puffin identification Figure 5 a2. m 33 E n p e a S ou a i x v A s m pifale hintts j w esse 252 3 Ex ci A S D 5 ia hs 71 3p 32 33 P Zo quor M D B n6 2 osx 4X Y o is E brc l I HE zu lio a M e E x P b uet j aa Figure D1 Map of Ulakaia Ridge colony location on St George Island 7 31 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at St George Island Ulakaia Ridge Colony General locations of auklet plots View from north Yellow survival plot Red productivity nests Blue artificial nest boxes Figure D2 View of Ulakaia Ridge colony St George Island from the north the approach from town 7 32 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at St George Island Trailhead to Ulakaia Auklet Colony N 56 59926 W 169 54727 Datum WGS84 trail ends when you reach tundra at top of first ridge Figure D3 Trailhead to Ulakaia Ridge colony St George Island Walk straight south by compass or GPS from here to the colony 7 33 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at St George Island Checking nest boxes Figure D4 Artificial nest boxes for least auklets at the Ulakaia Ridge colony St George Island 7 34 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at St George Island Least Auklet Nest Box Locations St George Pribilof Islands Alaska Established November 2003 Village C D A Village B Ld e s i LE Village A En N 56 58764 ae W 169 54965 5 9
3. A psittacula and A pygmaea often nest in areas similar to those used by least and crested auklets although not as densely Parakeet auklets may use a greater variety of habitat types including earthen burrows and more vegetated areas of the talus compared to the other auklet species and are often found alone in loose colonies on lower cliffs just above the beach Horned puffin nest sites may be more variable but typically include larger rock crevices in talus slopes and cliffs and among beach boulders Tufted puffins primarily nest in soil burrows but will also use crevices in talus slopes among beach boulders and in sea cliffs Bedard 1969 Knudtson and Byrd 1982 Hipfner and Byrd 1993 Piatt and Kitaysky 2002a b Timing of breeding varies across sites with later phenology at higher latitudes In the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands auklets generally lay eggs from late May to mid June hatch from mid June to mid July and fledge from late July to mid August see island specific attachments for details at each monitoring site In mixed auklet colonies whiskered auklets may hatch earliest followed in turn by least crested and finally parakeet auklets Puffins breed later than auklets with egg laying in late June or early July hatching from mid July to early August and fledging in late August through September Both parents share incubation and feeding with one off feeding while the other incubates or broods the chick Length of breeding pe
4. Burrow large gt 14 cm Figure 5 Clues for identifying crevice nesting auklet and puffin species Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Aiktak Island Attachment A Aiktak Island specifics includes Figure A1 PROCEDURE DETAILS SPECIFIC TO AIKTAK Horned puffins are the only crevice nesting seabirds monitored for productivity and phenology at Aiktak Island Several hundred horned puffins nest at Aiktak Highest concentrations occur where suitable nesting habitat is most abundant specifically Petrel Valley Cove Pleasure Cove Arch s Cove and the coves adjacent to Four Sisters Monitor any accessible nest sites you find for productivity and phenology In past years most nests were located in crevices among the beach boulders of Petrel Valley Cove with a few also in Pleasure Cove and around Four Sisters Figure A1 You will not be able to find 70 100 crevices to monitor so just do as many as you can you can use past years sample sizes in the summary report as a guide Begin searching for nests in mid July mid incubation Use previous years maps to check old nests and search for new ones Horned puffins may be especially susceptible to disturbance and high rates of egg abandonment have been noted on Aiktak in past years so please use care to be as quiet and unobtrusive as possible Be aware that noise will reverberate loudly through rocks to the birds nesting beneath as you walk overhead or crawl about At the end of t
5. bird has no egg or chick this code means a site is confirmed empty other than the adult bird there is no need to combine B and N codes into BN For kittiwakes used between the time a nest is constructed and the first egg is laid or after egg s or chick s is lost Adult bird occupying a site with no egg or chick visible Used when the observer cannot see the entire nest contents to be sure whether there is an egg achick or nothing Adult bird with an egg Egg present with no adult Use numbers and or to indicate more than one e g E2 at least two eggs Use standardized modifiers to describe special egg status e g Ed dead egg Adult bird with chick Chick present with no adult Use numbers and or to indicate more than one e g C2 at least two chicks Use standardized modifiers to describe special egg status e g Cd dead chick Nest site with nothing clearly visible Seldom used only when the observer is not sure of the nest contents e g cliff nest site obscured by fog or other birds crevice nest site offering a poor incomplete view etc If an observer records U many times especially at crucial times hatch and fledge the nest site may not be included in analysis Empty nest site Used when an egg or chick that was in the nest has been lost and no adult is present For kittiwakes this code indicates that a nest structure from the current year is physically present either b
6. cll pl epee cows e a cs sul 11 Jun 18Jun 24Jun 30Jun 3Jul 7Jul 13Jul 20Jul 24Jul 28Jul 4Aug 8 Aug BE BE BE BE BC BC BC BC BC BC N N l ta al earl Uncertainty Period Uncertainty Period Around Hatch Around Fledge From the length of the chick period and the uncertainty periods we determine the minimum and maximum possible age for the chick when it was last seen a chick was at least as old as the length of the chick period itself and could possibly have been as old as the chick period both uncertainty periods This information is then compared against fledging age conventions see Table 1 to determine if the chick failed fledged or if the nest should be discarded due to too much uncertainty If a chick would have been too young to fledge even at its maximum potential age chick period uncertainty it is called 7 5 Crevice nester productivity and phenology failed If a chick would have been old enough to fledge even at its minimum age chick period it is called fledged If the chick would have fledged or failed based on the length of the uncertainty period it is considered unknown fate and discarded from the sample In general the larger the uncertainty period the more likely a nest will be discarded because the chick s fate cannot be determined Therefore large check intervals and or many BU U statuses around hatch and fledge dates can cause a nest to be discarded from analysis Keep this in mind when collecting data e g
7. fails we keep track of what stage this happens egg or chick period Determination of the fate of eggs and chicks is not always straightforward because we visit nests only every 4 7 days As a result it is necessary to adopt some conventions for consistency in interpretation Unless you actually saw the chick departing the nest fledging is determined arbitrarily based on the age of the chick on the last date you saw it This is determined by calculating the egg period chick period and uncertainty periods for every nest The egg period is the number of days from the first definite observation of an egg to the last definite observation of an egg The chick period is from the first definite observation of a chick to the last definite observation of a chick There are some rules about what is and isn t allowed to be within the egg and chick periods but in short the data should make logical sense for example an egg in the middle of a chick period would indicate a problem with the data and the nest site would be discarded The uncertainty period accounts for both the visit interval and any visits with unknown statuses e g BU s around hatch and fledge events Example 1 Egg Period Chick Period 11 Jun 18Jun 24Jun 30Jun 3Jul 7Jul 13Jul 20Jul 24Jul 28Jul 4Aug 8Aug BE BE BE BU BC BC BC BC BU BU N N Uncertainty Period Uncertainty Period Around Hatch Around Fledge Example 2 Egg Period Chick Period eaaa
8. keep check intervals short and take the extra seconds to look extra hard for chicks around expected hatch or fledge dates A practical note for auklets and puffins however you WILL get BU codes and there is often nothing you can do about it Some birds will sit tight on their eggs newly hatched chicks no matter what you do and unlike kittiwake or murre productivity where you can sit for an hour waiting for a bird to move we keep nest checks as brief as possible to limit disturbance to the breeding birds In fact it is ironic that the best a stealthy data ninja who sneaks up on birds without disturbing them may actually end up with more BU codes than someone who bumbles all over the rocks creating lots of noise making birds move off their eggs or chicks Never under any circumstances purposefully disturb a bird physically or by making noise to see the nest contents If hatch is expected you can take an extra moment to look particularly hard in that nest for clues using the tips listed above but in the end if the bird doesn t move then you have to move on to the next nest and hope for a better nest status on the next check Monitoring more than the target sample size of 70 to 100 nests will help make up for the inevitable loss of a number of your nests to unknown fate uncertainty After determining a fate of each nest the database will calculate summary statistics using all nests with a known fate not including any nests excluded manually by th
9. m M t 15 h pe 2 N 56 58769 W 169 54892 N 56 58763 5 6m W 169 54875 5 4m b b b b Survival plot blind approximate location b Survival plot stakes Nest boxes 60 Meters 20 0 20 40 _ r n mnt Figure D5 Map showing overview of nest box locations Village A B C in relation to least auklet survival plot and blind at Ulakaia colony St George Island 7 35 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at St George Island Least Auklet Nest Box Locations St George Pribilof Islands Village A Bearing degrees magnetic and N 56 58763 distance meters between pairs of t D ogg om 169 54875 points are given Latitude longitude 54m are in NAD 27 Alaska Datum 4 0 4 8 Meters Figure D6 Map showing nest box location including bearing and distances m between boxes within Village A Ulakaia colony St George Island GPS locations are given for Box 8 in datum NAD27 different from other coordinates in this protocol which are in datum WGS84 7 36 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at St George Island Least Auklet Nest Box Locations St George Pribilof Islands Village B D 14 is 260 26 4 2 A 23 22 x 3 1 3 1 M60 gr N28 27 1 5o eu 32546 12 0 9 29 85 47 1 4 m N 56 58769 W 169 54892 4 P 5 6m 50 330 3 00 22 230 Bearing degrees magnetic and 2 6 2 0 distance meters between pairs of points are given Latitude longitude Q are in NAD 27 Alaska Datum
10. parakeet auklets and horned puffins nest on St George Island but productivity monitoring is conducted only on least auklets due to availability of accessible nest sites Approximately half of the least auklets breeding on the island nest in a large inland colony on Ulakaia Ridge about 1 km from the sea The colony is approximately 1 km long and is used exclusively by least auklets containing about 90 000 birds Renner and Renner 2010 The remaining least auklets on the island nest in scattered pockets in the sea cliffs and beach boulders around much of the island perimeter Rubble from recent construction on the southern harbor has also created additional new habitat for least auklets on St George All productivity monitoring occurs at the Ulakaia colony Figures D1 3 Arctic foxes are common predators at the Ulakaia colony and are frequently observed catching birds throughout the season Large groups of auklets will flush from the colony surface as a fox comes through but birds usually return relatively quickly Aerial predators at Ulakaia are relatively rare there are occasionally snowy owls but no gulls which prey heavily at many auklet colonies in the Aleutian Islands The local community is permitted to harvest eggs for subsistence at the colony and the degree to which this happens varies from year to year PROCEDURE DETAILS SPECIFIC TO ST GEORGE In the Pribilof Islands egg laying generally occurs from late May until late June hatching be
11. should help you schedule and prioritize your data collection efforts in the field The intent is not to reproduce the detailed documentation for the database and analysis process Phenology Dates for chick hatching and fledging are calculated using the midpoint dates The hatch date is the midpoint between the last time an egg was confirmed to be present and the first time a chick 74 Crevice nester productivity and phenology was confirmed to be present if there was no midpoint i e an even number of days between visits we use the even Julian date closest to the midpoint Not all nest sites are included in phenology calculations we require a confirmed egg and then a confirmed chick less than 7 days apart for that site to be used Because of this try to project when each nest is expected to hatch and focus extra attention on getting known statuses with short visit intervals around those times Occasionally we record data that give us more exact information on hatching and fledging dates If you observe an event occurring e g the actual hatching and fledging during your visit we use the day of the observation as the date the event occurred and not the midpoint between observations Similarly if a pipped egg is observed we assume it will hatch the following day if a wet chick is seen we assume it hatched that day Productivity Reproductive success is calculated as the number of known fate nest sites that fledged a chick If a nest
12. BU Bird Unknown record any supplementary evidence of freshly hatched eggshells BUsh or sounds of chick calling BUcall see list of standardized code modifiers These do not provide enough evidence of a chick to determine hatch dates but may be used by the database in analysis to help determine the overall fate of the nest in some cases It is particularly important to minimize unknown nest status codes around expected hatching or fledging dates In other words it is important to see the nest contents the check before and after a chick hatches and fledges and to reduce the visit interval as much as possible at those times If your colony has multiple auklet puffin species you may not be able to identify the species on the first check e g an unattended egg or a brief view of the bird s butt without seeing enough identifying characteristics Continue to monitor the nest leave the species column in your data book blank for now and fill in the appropriate species when it is determined if species is never determined use the species code to denote unknown species see Figure 5 for some species identification hints and see Data Entry Protocol for species codes End of Season At the end of the season when chicks have fledged and auklets have departed the colony e Mark nests more permanently for future years You will need to paint any new nests you found in the current year and probably repaint nests from previous years including old nest
13. Crevice nester productivity and phenology Wildlife Inventory Plan Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Protocol 7 Version 1 4 Parameter Productivity and phenology Species Least crested whiskered and parakeet auklets horned puffin and sometimes tufted puffin PURPOSE To estimate annual productivity and phenology of crevice nesting auklets and puffins and to detect between year differences of 0 2 fledglings pair power 90 at 0 1 level of significance Seabird reproductive parameters can serve as indicators of change in the marine ecosystem Cairns 1987 Montevecchi 1993 Auklets are the most abundant plankton feeding seabirds in the Bering Sea and puffins are important nearshore piscivores in the region making them potentially valuable indicator species of marine resources in the Bering Sea BREEDING BIOLOGY Auklets Aethia sp and horned puffins Fratercula corniculata and sometimes tufted puffins F cirrhata are colonial crevice nesting seabirds that breed on remote islands throughout the Aleutian Islands and the Bering Sea Least and crested auklets A pusilla and A cristatella occur together on many islands often in dense colonies Birds nest predominantly in crevices formed by old lava flows and talus slopes adjacent to the sea although they will also nest in crevices in cliff faces In mixed colonies crested auklets tend to use larger boulders and crevices than least auklets Parakeet and whiskered auklets
14. Williams 1993 Whiskered auklet Aethia pygmaea No 76 in The Birds of North America A Poole Ed Ithaca Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cairns D K 1987 Seabirds as indicators of marine food supplies Biological Oceanography 5 261 271 7 6 Crevice nester productivity and phenology Hipfner J M and G V Byrd 1993 Breeding biology of the parakeet auklet compared to other crevice nesting species at Buldir Island Alaska Colonial Waterbirds 16 128 138 Jones I L 1993a Least auklet Aethia pusilla No 69 in The Birds of North America A Poole Ed Ithaca Cornell Lab of Ornithology Jones I L 1993b Crested auklet Aethia cristatella No 70 in The Birds of North America A Poole Ed Ithaca Cornell Lab of Ornithology Jones I L N B Konyukhov J C Williams and G V Byrd 2001 Parakeet auklet Aethia psittacula No 594 in The Birds of North America A Poole Ed Ithaca Cornell Lab of Ornithology Knudtson E P and G V Byrd 1982 Breeding biology of crested least and whiskered auklets on Buldir Island Alaska Condor 84 197 202 Konyukhov N B and V A Zubakin 1994 Paradoxes of the whiskered auklet Aethia pygmaea Il Return of juveniles to a colony Beringian Seabird Bulletin 2 60 63 Montevecchi W A 1993 Birds as indicators of change in marine prey stocks Pp 217 266 in Birds as Monitors of Environmental Change R W Furness and D J Greenwood Eds London Chapman and Hall Piatt J F and A S Kit
15. a hatching event that results in a wet chick simply use Co to indicate hatch and not Cow Cwo Newly hatched wet chick observed indicates chick hatched that day but hatching event was not actually observed Chick actually observed dead not simply disappeared from nest Chick actually observed in the act of flying or jumping for murres from the nest very rare Presence of fresh eggshell fragments in the nest Used ONLY with Bird Unknown or Unknown status codes BUsh or Ush to give more information about potential hatch there is no need to use with known status codes such as C or N Presence of fresh poop in or at the entrance of the nest Used ONLY with Unknown status code Upoop to give more information about potential presence of a chick there is no need to use with known status codes such as C or N Chick heard calling but not actually observed Used ONLY with Bird Unknown or Unknown status codes BUcall or Ucall to give more information about potential presence of a chick not appropriate to use with known status codes such as C or N Crevice nester productivity and phenology Standardized Productivity Codes Important Rules to Follow Use capital letters for basic productivity codes and lowercase letters for modifiers Do not use superscripts or subscripts for any modifiers Do not put spaces between any characters Use numbers to indicate quantities of birds eggs or chicks greater than one do NOT use 1 to indicate s
16. algae and lichen off rocks before paining them paint pens Rite in the Rain notebook two pencils maps of crevice locations Additional equipment needed for painting at end of season Acrylic paint with brushes or popsicle sticks for applying paint flags sharpies Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Buldir Island 9S o lt gt S Main Talus MC LEAU HOPU Now CRAU TUPU ao WHAU Northwest Ridge WHAU PAAU E a HOPU T ERE o TUPU gt S UY m tie N r NS Kiss f M fern f S w N og 7 A Y e NM Sume MOUNTAIN Np N N So e ROUND MOUNTAIN i A SENS i iiec Bottle Hill PAAU HOPU Peregrine Point Seale 25 000 PAAU CONTOUR INTERVAL 500 FT Figure B1 Map of crevice nester plot locations on Buldir Island The dashed line indicates the approximate route to Spike Camp 7 20 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Buldir Island L Super Upper East S OMA CEN Annex E IAS o NINE Li Lower West qj mR wee Tokittiwake Lane a As nad od a T Eu pater Figure B2 View of Main Talus Buldir Island showing the approximate boundaries of auklet crevice plots 7 21 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Buldir Island A Ae To Main Camp Figure B3 View of Northwest Ridge crevice plots Buldir Island from the north 7 22 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Buldir Island Figure B4 View of Bott
17. ay chile ob bork of colony mo p j H 4 4 sad the Sea rd Figure 3 Example of map showing locations of nesting crevices used for monitoring productivity and chronology of crevice nesting auklets and puffins Crevice nester productivity and phenology Buldig 2010 m Nest Pet Spp be tja vhs aeo Ufo E 73 p 2 24 Fs amp 3 2 Jui 12 Main Taks LEAU Bu BE BY bu BE L7 lc ucc N smg te BE sce e ele ara 13 m w Bu Bv Bv BE Bv BC p Bv v Bv Bv gu v m 2 BE EM eee ee BY 2 erea v B bu Ae By 6E Lce3t Av BY By xe aj LEAU V Bv Bv v Bv 42 Hopu Bv Bu Bv Bv E Bv bye amp v Bv by d Hopy Bu by By gy beAu BEB LE 250 BE BE BE amp BE BE ec 250 4 By by BU BE By BE e IAB A Bv BE BE Bv bv bv Bv zq tea g BE By ev By jie VES RE E amp BE Bv Ed BE Bv bv By BE lev v v Bv By BY ar u Buy By BE BE bv se ES sc Bu Bv L Bv BE BE e Uvvu V Bv 8U AP Tw A Ce e L d i Figure 4 Example of data notebook page for recording crevice nesting auklet and puffin productivity data 7 14 Crevice nester productivity and phenology Breast Variable while with flacking i ed aT Q Blonde tufts
18. aysky 2002a Horned puffin Fratercula corniculata No 603 in The Birds of North America A Poole Ed Ithaca Cornell Lab of Ornithology Piatt J F and A S Kitaysky 2002b Tufted puffin Fratercula cirrhata No 708 in The Birds of North America A Poole Ed Ithaca Cornell Lab of Ornithology Renner H M and M Renner 2010 Counting the countless estimating the number of least auklets attending the colony at St George Island Alaska Western Birds 41 168 173 Thompson N J H Renner J H Reynolds and P D Sampson 2010 Long term monitoring of seabirds on the Alaska Maritime NWR a statistical review and analysis of productivity and hatch timing for black legged kittiwake murre and least auklet colonies on Buldir Island Unpublished report University of Washington Zubakin V A and N B Konyukhov 2001 Breeding biology of the whiskered auklet Aethia pygmaea Postnesting period Biological Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences 28 31 39 7 7 BU BE BC NC Crevice nester productivity and phenology Standardized Productivity Codes List of Productivity Codes CREVICE NESTERS Always use CAPITAL LETTERS for productivity codes See list of Important Rules to Follow for more details on correct use Bird Bird w Unknown Bird w Egg Egg Bird w Chick Chick Unknown Nest Not Checked Adult bird occupying a nest site with no egg or chick present Used when the observer is sure the
19. characterized by steep slopes with considerably more soil and vegetation than Main Talus This is a good area for monitoring whiskered and parakeet auklets and with some extra effort both species of puffin can be found here as well The south side of the island has two more plots Bottle Hill Figure B4 is located just east of the cabin at Spike Camp Like Main Talus and Northwest Ridge this plot is divided to facilitate searching and monitoring The main species followed in these sub plots are parakeet auklets and horned puffins with higher numbers of puffins in the upper plot Farther along the trail to the west of the cabin near the base of Peregrine Point is a small plot where parakeet auklet crevices can be found A large section of the bluff eroded during the winter of 2010 so there are less marked crevices than in previous years but some persistent searching may yield a larger sample size Hand drawn maps indicating the locations of previously marked and monitored crevices and the route through each plot are available in the Auklet Puffins Petrels Maps binder as well as on the camp laptop These should be kept up to date throughout each season PROCEDURE DETAILS SPECIFIC TO BULDIR Whiskered auklets are generally the first of the crevice nesters to begin laying least and crested auklets are next while parakeet auklets and puffins tend to be the latest to initiate laying Try to focus search efforts to reflect these differences in phenology i
20. dded information on calculations of H and associated summary values for puffins May 2013 Aiktak and Chowiet attachments added 1 2 May 2012 Buldir attachment added 1 1 May 2011 Protocol developed in standardized format from historic protocols includes St George attachment 1 0 7 39
21. e modifiers For eggs record if you see an old egg clearly from last year Ely a broken crushed or 7 3 Crevice nester productivity and phenology otherwise dead egg Ed an egg ejected from the nest Ej or an egg pipping just before hatch Ep Similarly for chicks record if you see a chick in the actual act of hatching Co a chick still wet from having recently hatched Cw or dead chick Cd You must literally see the chick to record the presence of a chick hearing it alone or seeing eggshells membranes is not enough If it is close to predicted hatch or if you see fresh eggshells or hear chick sounds scrutinize the nest extra carefully for a potential chick Look for down poking up under the adult s wing or for tiny feet or bills sticking out If you suspect a chick but the adult simply won t show you what it s hiding here are some tips to aid you in seeing the chick e Focus your flashlight on the back of the adult a chick will sometimes react to the light and move its head up for you to see or sometimes it will wriggle enough that you can see the movement or the adult will move enough for you to see the chick itself e Look at the adult s wings sometimes they will shake or vibrate when the adult is brooding a chick and you can eventually see the chick underneath In particular look for a small bill sticking out from the top or sides of the adult s wing If you still cannot see an egg or chick and have to record
22. e data collector or discarded by the database due to poor quality unknown fate etc For crevice nesting auklets and puffins the database will calculate e Nest sites with eggs B number of nest sites containing any eggs e Nest sites with chick D number of nest sites containing any chicks e Nest sites with chicks fledged F number of nest sites that fledged chicks From the above values the following summary parameters are generated e Nesting success D B e Fledging success F D e Reproductive success F B For horned and tufted puffins some additional summary values will be calculated Puffin chicks often do not fledge before field crews leave islands at the end of the summer so we also calculate a maximum potential reproductive success that includes all chicks still present at last check even those too young to be called fledged and thus excluded from conventional analysis For this the database will also calculate e Nest sites w young chicks still present H number of nest sites containing chicks too young to determine if fledged or failed From that the following summary parameters are generated e Max potential nesting success D H B H e Max potential fledging success F H D H e Max potential reproductive success F H B H Literature Cited B dard J 1969 The nesting of the crested least and parakeet auklets on St Lawrence Island Alaska Condor 71 386 398 Byrd G V and J C
23. efore eggs are laid or after the nest fails Used between the previous and current check when a site was not checked e g it was skipped on purpose or could not be found on that date This code does not have to be used at the very beginning or end of the season before checks begin or after checks end for a particular nest Crevice nester productivity and phenology Standardized Productivity Codes List of Modifiers Always use lowercase letters for modifiers See list of Important Rules to Follow for more details on correct use Modifiers to egg status codes Eo Egg lay observed Ep Egg pipped Ed Egg dead Ej Egg ejected Ely Egg last year Observer sees egg being laid used only when event was actually observed not simply suspected lay Hole in egg sometimes chick bill poking through hatch date determined to be following day Egg is obviously damaged or broken Egg once in a nest ejected outside the nest cup Egg assumed to be from last year from appearance or other evidence Modifiers to chick status codes Co Chick hatch Cw Chick wet Cd Chick dead Cf Chick fledged Additional clues to nest fate sh eggshells poop poop call chick calling Observer sees chick hatch used only when event was actually observed not for pipping observed eggs observations of newly hatched wet chicks or other reasons leading to suspected probable hatch Do not combine Co modifier with Cw see below if you observe
24. eregrine Point plot searches can begin in the second week of June and then be checked every four to six days afterward Don t actively search for HOPU and TUPU crevices before 15 June but mark and monitor those you find incidentally prior to that date Specific Requirements for Buldir Dates Early June Search for crevices at Northwest Ridge and Main Talus Mid June Search for crevices at Bottle Hill and Peregrine Point Early June to late August Check nests every 4 7 days until chicks fledge 4 day intervals around peak hatch and fledge dates 7 day intervals otherwise Late August paint and map nests for the next year Optimal sample sizes 70 100 not realistic at Buldir due to work load so aim for WHAU CRAU LEAU 60 PAAU 50 HOPU TUPU 40 50 Time of day Ideally when auklets are not socializing and when not disruptive to other research activities primarily pertains to LEAU and CRAU at Main Talus Weather Overcast dry days are ideal but auklet productivity can be done in any weather conditions Take extra care when rocks and vegetated slopes are wet because they can be dangerously slippery On bright sunny days your eyes take a long time to adjust to dark crevices and it can be difficult to see dark chicks against dark rocks Equipment needed Fanny pack knee pads two bright flashlights ALWAYS have a spare preferably with lanyards to prevent them from getting lost down crevices spare batteries small wire brush for cleaning
25. f them seem to nest in dirt cliffs that are inaccessible so it s important to put in extra effort at Lower Bottle Hill and Peregrine Point Puffin targets are hard to hit but every plot can yield at least a few sites Never stop searching for or checking potential puffin sites as they may start late and seemingly unattended eggs may hatch Upper Bottle Hill is likely to have the most horned puffin sites that can be monitored Crevice checks can be conducted at any time of day but it is best to work around the schedule of the birds as well as that of other researchers Since peak surface activity on Main Talus occurs in the 7 18 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Buldir Island morning this is the best time for capture banding and resighting efforts Therefore it is best to conduct crevice searches and checks in the afternoons when disturbance will be kept to a minimum The first searches of Northwest Ridge and Main Talus should be done in early June Keep searching new portions of each area and continue until you find your desired sample size Five days after finding your first nest recheck all crevices and start your regular check routine You can check Northwest Ridge in the morning and search Main Talus in the afternoon Initially these checks will take a long time perhaps over multiple days as you become familiar with your plots and find your desired sample size but will be less time consuming as the season progresses Bottle Hill and P
26. ged if they disappear at or after that date chicks disappearing before that date are considered failed Some of these fledge age conventions are currently under review by AMNWR biologists and may change in the future Species Incubation Chick fledge age period convention Least auklet 30 d 25d Crested auklet 34 d 26 d Parakeet auklet 30 d 29 d Whiskered auklet 30 d 32d Horned puffin 40 d 34 d Tufted puffin 45 d 38 d PROCEDURE Data collection Auklet and horned puffin reproductive performance is monitored by viewing individually numbered crevices at 4 7 day intervals depending on the time of the breeding season Use flashlights to determine nest contents as quickly and unobtrusively as possible Most tufted puffin reproductive success is monitored by following nests in soil burrows described in a separate burrow nesting protocol but any tufted puffins found in rock crevices can be monitored following this crevice nesting protocol described here Begin searching rock crevices for eggs in early to mid June depends on site and species see island specific details for more information Check any marked nests you can find from previous years and look for additional new nests Our sample size goal is 70 minimum to 100 ideal nests with known fate at the end of the season a sample of 70 is needed to estimate productivity each year at an acceptable level of power a sample of 100 is needed to compare productivity among years and si
27. gins in early July and fledging usually takes place in August with most young fledging by late August Late snow cover can delay phenology at the Ulakaia colony in some years Begin searching for nests in mid June if few birds are found in nests from previous years it may be too early so wait another week before trying again Aim for a sample of 100 nests with known fate at the end of the season begin by monitoring an extra 20 to 30 because it is not possible to obtain known fates for all crevices If you have trouble finding enough nest sites or if work load is too high talk to the unit biologist about reducing the sample to 70 known fate nests Due to fox predation at the Ulakaia colony auklets nest deeper in the rocks than at some other sites without mammalian predators and good quality nest sites can be difficult to find For this reason finding good quality nest sites marked in previous years may be particularly important Therefore careful mapping of nest locations and painting at end of the season are especially crucial It may also be helpful to mark nests with flags in addition to painting on the rocks to help future field crews find them Artificial nest boxes Fifty one artificial nest boxes were installed in fall 2003 at the Ulakaia Ridge colony Figure D4 These boxes should be monitored IN ADDITION TO the normal sample size 70 100 of natural crevices Nest boxes are scattered in three clusters within the area where productiv
28. he season paint nests well for next year and update any maps Because good quality horned puffin nests are so few on Aiktak every potential one for future years counts so try to document it for next year s crew well In some years horned puffin chick growth is measured at Aiktak This is only worth doing if you have at least five crevices that you think you can access for chick growth measurements If so refer to the Tufted Puffin Productivity Protocol for puffin chick growth instructions Specific Requirements for Aiktak Dates Mid July Search for crevices Mid July to late August Check nests every 4 7 days until chicks fledge 4 day intervals around peak hatch and fledge dates 7 day intervals otherwise Late August Paint and map nests for the next year Optimal sample sizes As many as you can 70 100 is not realistic at Aiktak Time of day Any time Weather Any weather Take extra care when rocks and vegetated slopes are wet because they can be dangerously slippery On bright sunny days your eyes take a long time to adjust to dark crevices and it can be difficult to see dark chicks against dark rocks Equipment needed Fanny pack knee pads two bright flashlights ALWAYS have a spare preferably with lanyards to prevent them from getting lost down crevices spare batteries small wire brush for cleaning algae and lichen off rocks before paining them paint pens Rite in the Rain notebook two pencils maps of crevice locati
29. icles there either get someone to drop you off or walk the whole way Young kids from town are often curious about where you re going when heading off into the tundra and will sometimes attempt to follow you to the colony While it is great to educate them with the biology that the refuge is doing on their island you should not let them tag along to Ulakaia Ridge Few kids in town hike much around the island off the road system so they can get lost easily when trying to find their way back to town on their own Even though it may seem that kids roam free unsupervised never take children anywhere without first speaking to their parents As with other places on St George foxes are present at the auklet colony and will happily mark anything you leave on the ground away from your direct supervision Never walk away from your pack or anything else even for a short time unless you are prepared for foxes to pee on it Specific Requirements for St George Dates Mid June Search for crevices Mid June to late August Check nests every 4 7 days until chicks fledge 4 day intervals around peak hatch and fledge dates 7 day intervals otherwise Late August Paint and map nests for the next year clean out nest boxes Optimal sample size 100 minimum 70 Time of day Ideally when auklets are not socializing at Ulakaia colony peak socialization in recent years has been between 10am 3pm getting later throughout the season Weather Overcast dry da
30. ier number plus sign e g BEp2 for adult bird with at least two pipped eggs BE2Cd for adult bird with two eggs and one dead chick B2E Cd for two adult birds with at least one egg and one dead chick Crevice nester productivity and phenology Label nest sites with a conspicuous number Because there is an infinity of ways to look into a crevice use 3 dots to help orient yourself when re checking the site When you position yourself correctly the nest Viewed from this angle the dots don t contents should be clearly visible in the center form a triangle and the nest is not visible of the equilateral triangle formed by the 3 dots RIGHT A successful crevice check usually entails some degree of contortion in order to position oneself correctly and block out interfering daylight Figure 1 Diagram showing techniques for marking and viewing nest sites in crevices 7 11 Crevice nester productivity and phenology a Ly adito EOM ae Figure 2 Examples of crevice nesting breeding sites in talus rock fall areas in the Bering Sea 7 12 to the sea oet ed je evt cvi e st lesk tn sonm UE e enig ao ro k t9 pant on Fine Crevice nester productivity and phenology Also Sarcolsost exhemeby visible bandina plor tuchi between Soumyhogea Rocke a the Pyramid pt hymd He flot 0d bending rock Creo in U 99 Avkler Feodoctie ey Cras used 1996 1999 P svereqoe Cl
31. ilitate getting down amidst the rocks and contorting your body into weird angles wear kneepads and carry your supplies in a small fanny pack as a backpack will severely limit your mobility if you must carry more gear such as extra clothes stash your backpack in one place while checking a group of nests and then move it as you move to another part of the colony rather than wearing it on your back 7 2 Crevice nester productivity and phenology Mark and number nests with waterproof paint pens initially which is fast and unobtrusive and should last the summer An effective way to mark a crevice is to paint its number in a conspicuous place and then at the entrance put three painted dots at the corners of an equilateral triangle the center of which affords the best view of the site Figure 1 and 2 This will help you check the crevice quickly and efficiently on future visits Be sure to scrape away all moss or algae off rock faces with a wire brush before applying paint or it will wash away be quick and superficial on the initial visit to avoid scaring birds you will do this more thoroughly at the end of the season Draw maps of nest locations Figure 3 To minimize time spent looking for the nest chamber on subsequent visits it may be helpful to make a few notes outlining the best way to position yourself and which direction to look once your face is in among the rocks During initial nest searches and all re checks during the season atte
32. ill find a hot spot or two As time allows search out new areas Horned puffins For horned puffins begin searching for nests in late June gt 20 June some may be located earlier during searching for parakeet auklets and attempt to monitor at least 30 nest sites in good years up to 50 nests have been monitored Whenever possible limit searching and subsequent re checks to times when puffins are not attending the surface of the colony Horned puffins nest on most coasts around the entire island In past years the highest concentration of horned puffins was found in the West Rough area as well as Landing Cove and Mini Main Smaller numbers have been found at Constant Colony and South Bay On Chowiet horned puffin nests are often found in large rock crevices but they are sometimes found in dirt burrows near rock piles and they can also be found in deep caverns under large boulders on coastal cliffs Refer to crevice maps in plot photos notebook for locations of historical horned puffin nest locations These areas should be checked as well as the surrounding areas to find new crevices Tufted puffins For tufted puffins begin searching for nests in late June gt 20 June and attempt to monitor at least 30 nest sites in good year gt 40 nests have been monitored Whenever possible limit searching and subsequent re checks to times when puffins are not attending the surface of the colony Small numbers of tufted puffins nests have been fou
33. in your efforts to determine whether or not an egg has hatched Try not to illuminate a crevice with your flashlight for more than a second or two Afterwards depart swiftly and quietly much as a stealthy data ninja would do Auklets do not exhibit reliable incubating or brooding postures so if you see an adult bird but cannot see an egg or chick you must record the nest status as BU Bird Unknown Birds sometimes run into a crevice at your approach and then hunker down as if incubating so if no egg is ever seen you must at least see the bird on two consecutive visits to assume the presence of an egg and include it as an active nest in your sample If you find an unattended egg and it doesn t look like a leftover from last year continue to monitor it However if you never see a bird attending it exclude the nest from your sample by manually excluding the nest as an inactive nest in the productivity data entry database choose inactive nest from the drop down box in the exclude for productivity field If it never hatches you won t know if it failed or if it was an abandoned egg from the year before If it does hatch it is likely the chick will hide in the same place the adult was hiding every time you checked the egg resulting in a crevice with unknown fate If you see an egg or a chick there are a few cases when you will need to record additional modifiers that provide more detailed information about the nest status list of standardized cod
34. ingle numbers Numbers should always go AFTER the code that the number describes e g B2E means two adult birds with a single egg BE2 means a single adult bird with two eggs Use a plus sign when you can see at least some but not all nest contents in multiple egg clutches As with numbers the plus sign should always go AFTER the letter code and when more than one also after the number that is being described e g BE means an adult bird and at least one egg were observed but entire nest contents could not be seen to determine if there was anything more BE2 means an adult bird and at least two eggs were observed but entire nest contents could not be seen to determine if there was anything more Some codes and modifiers can be combined when appropriate as long as order see below is maintained For instance with multiple egg species if one egg hatches before another so that there is an adult bird present with both an egg and a check enter BEC The specific order in which these codes and modifiers are used is VERY IMPORTANT The codes BEC and BCE or BE2 and BE 2 may mean the same thing to us but they are NOT the same to the computer database Follow these rules for the correct order of codes and modifiers 1 Always write codes in the order of adult egg chick e g BE and not EB 2 When adding modifiers numbers letters or symbols that give more information always follow the order of main productivity code letter modif
35. ites in good years up to 50 nests have been monitored In past years the highest concentration of parakeet auklets were found in the West Rough area and then east of Landing Cove in a large talus pile called Mini Main see drawn crevice maps in plot photos notebook Small numbers have been located in Landing Cove Constant Colony and South Bay However note that South Bay is Chowiet s main tufted puffin monitoring area Great care needs to be taken when searching for parakeet auklets at South Bay during puffin peak egg laying early to mid June It s best to search South Bay as early in the season as possible for parakeet auklets then wait for the puffin searching period overlap with puffin egg laying may be unavoidable but try to keep it to a minimum Parakeet auklets often nest deep within the talus on Chowiet In the Landing Cove area predation on nesting adults and chicks by arctic ground squirrels has been recorded over several years and may be a contributing factor in their nest selection Talus piles not directly associated with heavy vegetation and soil talus piles at the base of cliffs or in large rocky areas should be sought out and thoroughly searched such as at Mini Main and West Rough s western point Some areas may have many birds flying in and out of the rocks with large rafts attending directly offshore but in your search you may not find a single crevice western end of South Beach Keep trying and eventually you w
36. ity crevices are located see Figures D2 D5 8 Check all nest boxes for the first time when you begin looking for crevices and continue checking boxes throughout the season following the protocol described above After you have determined laying has finished e g no new eggs found for two checks you can stop checking empty nest boxes for the remainder of the season All boxes are numbered with engraved metal plates tagged to the box Because these numbers are often covered by the rock that holds the lid closed you may find it helpful to mark the box number on this rock with a paint pen At the end of the season clean out any unhatched eggs to avoid confusion next season To check a nest box carefully remove the rocks holding down the lid taking care not to knock the box or make much noise to minimize disturbance to the box inhabitants The lids of the boxes are hinged with one half opening while the other half is nailed shut crouch down by the side that opens and lift the lid just enough to shine a flashlight through and view the contents Afterwards gently close the lid and replace the rock on the lid With foxes patrolling the colony it is CRITICAL to replace the top rock securely to prevent nest predation Before moving on to the next nest double check that the rock covers the lid of the nest box completely and firmly without rocking or allowing any sort of potential entry into the box 7 29 Crevice nester productivity and phenology a
37. le Hill plots from the cabin at Spike Camp Buldir Island The dashed line indicates the trail to Main Camp 7 23 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Chowiet Island Attachment C Chowiet Island specifics includes Figures C1 4 PROCEDURE DETAILS SPECIFIC TO CHOWIET Crevice nesting seabirds monitored for productivity and phenology at Chowiet Island consist of parakeet auklets and horned puffins and some tufted puffins tufted puffins are primarily burrow nesters Highest concentrations occur where suitable nesting habitat is most abundant Figure C1 specifically within Chowiet Bay in areas referred to as Landing Cove Figure C2 Mini Main Constant Colony and West Rough Figures C3 4 as well as at South Bay Monitor any accessible nest sites you find for productivity and phenology You will not be able to find 70 100 crevices of each species to monitor so just do as many as you can hopefully at least 30 You will need to search in more than one area for each species Horned and tufted puffins may be especially susceptible to disturbance and high rates of egg abandonment have been noted on Chowiet in past years so please use care to be as quiet and unobtrusive as possible Be aware that noise will reverberate loudly through rocks to the birds nesting beneath as you walk overhead or crawl about Parakeet auklets For parakeet auklets begin searching for nests in late May to early June and attempt to monitor at least 30 nest s
38. mpt to determine the status of all nest sites and record it in a field notebook using the appropriate standardized code see standardized code list and Figure 4 Record only what you saw and be sure to use the standardized codes exactly as instructed Weird and unpredictable things can happen during observations and you may feel tempted to describe every detail and feel limited by the standardized list of codes and modifiers available However lengthy text explanations and comments tend to cause confusion later and cannot be interpreted by the database used to summarize the data Choose a code then and there and stick with it as the field biologist you are the only person who can make a decision about what you saw that day If you absolutely must record additional information about a nest you can enter text in the comments section of the productivity data entry database but keep in mind that this text is not used in any data summary so it should not contain any information pertinent to how the reproductive success data should be interpreted Before leaving each nest check to see that your recorded status makes sense based on what you saw last time e g if you had a chick last visit you shouldn t have an egg this visit Data strings that don t make sense will have to be discarded If you decide a particular nest site is problematic and should be tossed e g grass grew during the season and obscured your view or you aren t certain of the species do
39. n order to reach sample size goals For instance checks for whiskered auklets should begin within the first few days of June while searching for new puffin sites can continue well into July Keep in mind that in areas such as Northwest Ridge where later nesting parakeet auklets and puffins nest in addition to earlier nesting whiskered auklets some crevices that are unused during early checks may become active later on Buldir has the most crevice nesting species monitored for productivity at AMNWRAR sites so the ideal goal of 70 100 nests for crevice nesting species isn t practical here in most years The following table provides some general guidelines of sample size goals and number of nests to start with since a number of crevices end up being excluded from analysis because the fate is impossible to determine you need to start with a larger number of sites to achieve the target sample size this table is based on rough percentages of known fate crevices in past years to assist in achieving adequate sample sizes WHAU CRAU LEAU PAAU HOPU TUPU Goal 60 60 60 50 40 50 Start with 65 70 80 90 80 90 55 60 60 80 Sample sizes for least and crested auklets at Main Talus are the easiest to attain with a good search effort capable of yielding about 100 crevices for each species Whiskered auklet sample size should be attainable through thorough searching of both Northwest Ridge and Main Talus Parakeet auklets can be more challenging since the majority o
40. n t erase the data from your field notebook and electronic productivity data entry database but simply mark it as exclude from analysis in both places and indicate your reasons in the comments section for that nest in the database see Database User s Manual At the end of the day or at the very least before you take your data notebook into the field again enter the day s plot data in the productivity data entry database see Database User s Manual Check nests every 7 days throughout the breeding season except around expected hatching and fledging periods when intervals should be decreased to every 4 days to obtain more precise hatch and fledge dates It is important to continue visiting a crevice even after the chick has reached minimum fledging age in order to ensure the chick fledged and did not die in the nest and to calculate fledge dates and length of nestling period Once a chick is gone check the nest at least one more time to ensure the nest is indeed empty and the chick wasn t hiding somewhere e g you end up with two N codes in a row To minimize disturbance to other birds across the colony try to stick to a regular route when checking crevices To maintain optimal data integrity and to minimize the amount of time spent searching for exact nest chambers amidst painted dots and thus lessen disturbance to birds itis best for one person to check the same nests throughout the entire season Never purposefully disturb an auklet
41. nd in rock crevice areas of West Rough and Landing Cove The majority of tufted puffin nests are found at South Bay within the gull colony as burrows see separate Tufted Puffin Productivity Protocol Refer to crevice maps in plot photos notebook for locations of historical tufted puffin nest locations These areas should be checked as well as the surrounding areas to find new nests 7 24 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Chowiet Island At the end of the season paint nests well for next year and update any maps Because good quality crevice nests are so few on Chowiet every potential one for future years counts so try to document it for next year s crew well Specific Requirements for Chowiet Dates Late May to early June Search for PAAU crevices Late June gt 20 June Search for HOPU and TUPU crevices June to early September Check nests every 4 7 days until chicks fledge 4 day intervals around peak hatch and fledge dates 7 day intervals otherwise Late August to early September Paint and map nests for the next year Optimal sample sizes As many as you can try for at least 30 of each species 70 100 is not realistic at Chowiet Time of day Any time Weather Any weather Ideally when auklets and puffins are not socializing on surface of colonies Take extra care when rocks and vegetated slopes are wet because they can be dangerously slippery On bright sunny days your eyes take a long time to adjust to dark c
42. ons Additional equipment needed for painting at end of season Acrylic paint with brushes or popsicle sticks for applying paint Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Aiktak Island Four Sisters Pleasure g Cove ice Petrel Valley Cove Figure A1 Map showing past concentrations of horned puffin nests at Aiktak Island Locations are not exclusive feel free to search for horned puffin nests elsewhere along the coast Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Buldir Island Attachment B Buldir Island specifics includes Figures B1 4 BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION OF BULDIR ISLAND STUDY AREAS Least crested parakeet and whiskered auklets as well as both horned and tufted puffins nest extensively on Buldir Island Despite their wide dispersal across the island there are four main areas where monitoring is conducted Figure B1 Main Talus Figure B2 is the largest crevice nester monitoring plot and is about a 20 30 minute hike east from Main Camp along the north beach It is divided into five sub plots Lower West Lower East Upper Super Upper and Puffin Annex These areas are comprised of large fields of massive boulders and least crested and whiskered auklets and both species of puffin can be found within these plots Northwest Ridge Figure B3 is another plot located fairly close to Main Camp It is divided into east and west halves and is accessed from the north beach to the west of camp These hillside plots are
43. revices and it can be difficult to see dark chicks against dark rocks Equipment needed Fanny pack knee pads two bright flashlights ALWAYS have a spare preferably with lanyards to prevent them from getting lost down crevices spare batteries small wire brush for cleaning algae and lichen off rocks before paining them paint pens Rite in the Rain notebook two pencils maps of crevice locations Additional equipment needed for painting at end of season Acrylic paint with brushes or popsicle sticks for applying paint 7 25 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Chowiet Island Updated 2005 by side sapore at Anon Lame A o Chowtet Island PS l Mile Contour Interval 100 Feet Figure C1 Map of crevice nester locations on Chowiet Island 7 26 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Chowiet Island PAAU HOPU amp TUPU monitoring areas Figure C2 Photo of crevice nester areas in Landing Cove on Chowiet Island 7 27 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at Chowiet Island Figure C3 Trail to West Rough from cabin on Chowiet Island West Rough PAAU HOPU amp TUPU monitoring area Figure C4 Photo of crevice nester area at West Rough on Chowiet Island 7 28 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at St George Island Attachment D St George Island specifics includes Figures D1 8 BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION OF ST GEORGE STUDY AREA Least crested and
44. riod for each species is listed in Table 1 Chicks of some species notably crested and whiskered auklets often stay in crevices long after they are old enough to fly Once chicks fledge most adults leave the colony for the season Byrd and Williams 1993 Jones 1993a b Jones et al 2002 Piatt and Kitaysky 2002a b Whiskered auklets are unique among the other species in that both adults and fledglings often return to the colony at night for a month or more after fledging visiting nesting crevices and sleeping on the surface of the colony Konyukhov and Zubakin 1994 Zubakin and Konyukhov 2001 During the breeding season auklets and puffins congregate and socialize to varying degrees above their nesting sites during a daily activity period Timing and duration of activity periods vary dramatically between sites but in general least and crested auklets and puffins are diurnal although a peak of activity may occur in the evening or just before dusk Parakeet auklets have less defined activity periods and may occur on the surface at all times although activity generally peaks at dusk Whiskered 7 1 Crevice nester productivity and phenology auklets are almost solely nocturnal Byrd and Williams 1993 Jones 1993a b Jones et al 2002 Piatt and Kitaysky 2002a b Table 1 Average incubation period lengths and minimum chick fledge age conventions for auklets and puffins Chick fledge age conventions are the ages at which chicks are assumed fled
45. s that were not occupied in the current year but appear to be good quality sites Do not bother permanently painting poor quality nests that did not yield a known fate if you wouldn t monitor a nest again chances are someone else won t want to either With a wire brush scape away moss lichen and algae off rock face where you plan to paint to prevent paint from washing away remember to scrape where you will be painting dots too Then paint dots and a nest number with red acrylic paint Paint can be applied with short stiff paint brushes or popsicle sticks It is important not to glob on paint heavily as it will take longer to dry and flake off more easily over the winter Try to paint only on dry days paint that does not cure properly will not last the winter e Update final map on the computer or hard copy and ensure a clean copy is printed and ready to go for next year Data analysis Since 2010 calculations for productivity and phenology parameters for these species have been automated in an Access database Data should be entered and proofed as soon as possible each day after returning from the field see Data Entry Protocol Proofed data will be uploaded into the database for analysis at the end of the season The below analysis summary is included to help you to understand how your codes will be interpreted by the database This should give you an idea of what constitutes good data vs data that have to be discarded which
46. t St George Island For now we are analyzing and presenting data from artificial nest boxes separately from natural crevices To allow the database to distinguish between natural crevices and artificial nest boxes enter Nest boxes in the Plot column of the datasheet for artificial boxes and Ulakaia for any natural crevices This will be able to separate the two in the database output Special considerations for Ulakaia colony at St George The Ulakaia Ridge colony is about a half hour hike over the tundra from washhouse on a clear day you can see the ridge from town To get to the trailhead from the Washhouse or Cottage C go behind the health clinic cross the empty lot with the large standing pole used for the grease for the 4 of July cross the boardwalk made of pallets and head for the last arch of houses before the tundra begins The trailhead is located in between two houses Figure D3 The trail deteriorates once you get up over the first ridge so it isn t the end of the world if you aren t able to find the trailhead and some people make their own trails Simply walk straight south towards Ulakaia Ridge and look for flags and painted rocks you can use the coordinates for the least auklet blind N 56 58652 W 169 55038 in WGS84 to orient to the productivity area see Figure D2 In some past years crews have driven up to the Conex by the water tower and walked from there but the community asks that we do not leave veh
47. tes Thompson et al 2010 Because it is not possible to obtain known fates for all crevices you should begin by monitoring an extra 20 to 30 nests Note due to differences in population size nest accessibility and work load 70 may not be possible for all species at each site Refer to island specific attachments for sample size goals for each site Reuse of nests from one year to the next may vary across sites and years so the number of new nests you need to find will depend on how many old nests are active in a given year When searching for and subsequently re checking nests throughout the season move stealthily through the talus to avoid scaring birds off their eggs even the lightest footstep vibrates and reverberates down through the rocks in the crevices below To minimize disturbance limit your activity to times when auklets are not attending the surface of the colony whenever possible and do not search an area more than once a day You will have to contort yourself into awkward positions in order to get your face far enough into the entrance of a crevice to see its entire contents Figure 1 Try to select only those crevices for which you can see the entire chamber If there is anywhere for the chick to hide you may be unable to determine the fate of that chick and the crevice will have to be excluded from analysis hint if the adult bird can escape out of view when you check a nest a chick will probably be able do so too To fac
48. ys are ideal but auklet productivity can be done in any weather conditions Take extra care when rocks are wet because they can be dangerously slippery On bright sunny days your eyes take a long time to adjust to dark crevices and it can be difficult to see dark chicks against dark rocks Equipment needed Fanny pack knee pads two bright flashlights ALWAYS have a spare preferably with lanyards to prevent them from getting lost down crevices spare bulbs and batteries small wire brush for cleaning algae and lichen off rocks before painting them paint pens Rite in the Rain notebook two pencils maps of crevice locations Additional equipment needed for painting at end of season Acrylic paint with brushes or popsicle sticks for applying paint flags sharpies 7 30 Crevice nester productivity and phenology at St George Island x pi x JJ w IN aa Li TS 32 TN x zO d Ulakaia Ridge J 1 NY SM i Mi E m n I A v EN auklet colony p pere ne n N gt E LI 5 x A e h a 2 XA Wat at pM S IA re OTN au M 2 me 58 X M INQUE i is ABE e S 53 n lo Fee NN v ROL He prr D A Ww La s 197 ome A a ONT Er tb 7 1 M nm s Toleto Pty Q2 Tolstoi e EAE a Me M l s pe f A ig Klod Am 19 20 T j TAG aA s y fh ZAPADNI B e Sa al x 1 No moo E r c a baci ai E EN 33 p gt o a
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