WildResearch Nightjar Survey 2016 Annual Report Final...WildResearch Nightjar Survey Annual Report...

WildResearch Nightjar Survey 2016 Annual Report

ReportpreparedbyEllyKnight,WildResearchNightjarSurveyProgramManager,M.Sc,P.Biol.

January2017

TheWildResearchNightjarSurveyisaprogramundernon-profitorganization,WildResearch.

WildResearch’smissionistobuild,train,andeducateacommunitythatcontributestoconservationscience.

FundingfortheWildResearchNightjarSurveyin2015wasgenerouslyprovidedbytheTDFriendsoftheEnvironmentFoundation,theCanadaSummerJobsprogram,andtheNature

TrustofBritishColumbiaBrink/McLeanGrasslandConservationFund.

In-kindsupportfortheWildResearchNightjarSurveyin2015wasprovidedbyBirdStudiesCanada,theCommunityMappingNetwork,andmanyothernaturalist

organizationsacrossCanada.

TheWildResearchNightjarSurveyismadepossiblebythededicatedCitizenScientistswhogenerouslydonatetheirtimetosurveyforand

reportonthesecrypticbirds.

ThankyoutoallWildResearchNightjarSurveyvolunteers!

Table of Contents 1. BACKGROUND................................................................................................................2

FamilyCaprimulgidae:Nightjars................................................................................................2WhySurveyNightjars?...............................................................................................................2ProgramObjectives...................................................................................................................3ProgramBackground.................................................................................................................42016Expansion.........................................................................................................................4

2. WildResearchNIGHTJARSURVEYMETHODS...................................................................4SurveyProtocol.........................................................................................................................4SurveyLocations........................................................................................................................5

3. SUMMARYOF2016........................................................................................................5VolunteerEffort.........................................................................................................................5CommonNighthawk..................................................................................................................6CommonPoorwill......................................................................................................................7RegionalUpdates......................................................................................................................8RouteSpotlight........................................................................................................................12CitizenScientistSpotlight:.......................................................................................................13

4. ROADSIDEBIASINCOMMONNIGHTHAWKDETECTABILITY...........................................15Methods..................................................................................................................................16Results.....................................................................................................................................17Discussion...............................................................................................................................18

5. OTHERACCOMPLISHMENTSIN2016..............................................................................19NightjarAtlas..........................................................................................................................19CanadianNightjarSurveyProtocol..........................................................................................19RevisitingProgramObjectives.................................................................................................20AutonomousRecordingUnit(ARU)Surveys.............................................................................20CommonNighthawksinBritishColumbia’sGrasslands............................................................20AppreciationProject................................................................................................................21

6. FUTUREPLANS...............................................................................................................21RouteAssessment...................................................................................................................21DataSharing............................................................................................................................21SurveyMethodComparison....................................................................................................22

WildResearchNightjarSurveyAnnualReport(2016) 1

Executive Summary TheWildResearchNightjarSurveyisavolunteer-runcitizenscienceprogramthatconductsnocturnalroadsidesurveysforthreehighlyunderstudiedspeciesofconservationconcern:theCommonNighthawk,theCommonPoorwill,andtheEasternWhip-poor-will.Allthreespeciesbelongtothenightjarfamily,whichisagroupofcrypticmigratorybirdsthatforageforflyinginsectsatnight.AllthreespeciesareunderstudiedbecausetheirnocturnalhabitsprecludetheirdetectionduringothersurveyprogramsliketheBreedingBirdSurvey.Datathatareavailablefornightjarsindicatethattheirpopulationsareindecline.TheCommonNighthawkandEasternWhip-poor-willarebothlistedasThreatenedunderCanada’sSpeciesatRiskActduetotheseperceiveddeclines.TheCommonPoorwillhasbeenassessedasDataDeficient by the Committee on the Status of EndangeredWildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)becausesufficientsurveyshavenotbeencompleted.Citizensciencesurveysareanidealwaytostudynightjarsandcontributetotheirconservationbecausetheycanefficientlycollectreliabledataoveralargegeographicextent.The 2016 focus of theWildResearch Nightjar Survey, previously named the BC NightjarSurvey,wasalargeprogramexpansiontofivenewprovincesandterritoriesacrossCanada.Thankstotheeffortsofregionalcoordinatorsandcitizenscientists,nightjarsurveyswereconductedinBritishColumbia,Alberta,Saskatchewan,theYukon,theNorthwestTerritories,andNewBrunswickin2016.In2016,270citizenscientistssurveyedandsubmitteddatafor2,066surveystationsalong192routes.Volunteersreportedobservationsof1,142CommonNighthawksand45CommonPoorwills.NoEasternWhip-poor-willswerereportedin2016.Volunteers conducted surveys using the new standardized Canadian Nightjar SurveyProtocol,whichWildResearchhelpedtodraftduringseveralworkinggroupmeetingswithahostofothernon-profit,academic,andgovernmentalinstitutions.The2016surveyseasonwasgreatlyfacilitatedbythelaunchofthenewNightjarAtlasontheCommunityMappingNetwork.Inadditiontothe2016programexpansion,wecontinuedourcommitmenttoeducationandresearch.Over50volunteersattendedoneofsixorientationsessionsacrossCanadatolearnaboutthenewsurveyprotocolandnightjarconservation.TwoundergraduatestudentsattheUniversityofAlbertastartedindependentresearchprojectsusingWildResearchNightjarSurveydata.Thefirststudentcompletedananalysisofnightjardetectability,includingourfinalyearofouracousticrecordingdatafromroadsideandoff-roadlocations.Thesecondstudent isworking on a habitat and populationmodelling project for British Columbia’sgrasslands.Wearepreparingour2016dataforuploadtotheNatureCountsdataportalforpublic access, and are pleased to contribute the entire dataset to a national CommonNighthawkdatabaseforconservationandrecoveryplanningpurposes.Lookingto2017,weplantocontinuesurveyingatallsixofourregions.SurveyroutesinBritish Columbiawill be reassessed and routes that have been surveyed for three yearswithoutanightjardetectionwillberemovedfromtheregularlistofavailablesurveyroutes.Wewill also continueworking to improve theNightjarAtlas, particularly the data entryportal,sothatwecancontinuetoincreasethecapacityoftheprogramandourvolunteers.


1. BACKGROUND

Family Caprimulgidae: Nightjars Nightjars are a familyof crypticbirds that forage for flying insects atnight.Due to theirfeedinghabits,nightjarsbelongtoalargerguildofbirdscalledtheaerialinsectivores.Manyofthesespeciesarehighlymigratory,spendingtheirwintersasfarsouthasArgentina.Thesebeautifulbirdshavelongpointedwingsforflight,andarehighlycamouflagedbecausetheyroostduringthedayandnestontheground.InCanada,therearethreespeciesofnightjars:theCommonNighthawk(Chordeliesminor),theCommonPoorwill(Phalaenoptilusnuttallii),andtheEasternWhip-poor-will(Caprimulgusvociferus).

ACommonNighthawkroostsonarockybluff.Photocredit:DwayneGaschermann.

Why Survey Nightjars? Relatively little is knownabout thepopulation trendsofnightjarsdue to theirnocturnalhabits and cryptic nature; however, steep population declines of other aerial insectivorespecieshavebeendetectedacrossNorthAmerica.Althoughnightjarspeciesareoftenmissedbyotherbird surveyprograms,availabledata indicate thatmanynightjarpopulations inCanada are also in decline. The Common Nighthawk and Eastern Whip-poor-will arefederally listed as Threatenedunder Canada’sSpecies at Risk Actdue to these perceiveddeclines.TheCommonPoorwillhasbeenassessedasDataDeficientbyCOSEWICbecausesufficientsurveyshavenotbeencompleted.NocturnalroadsidecitizensciencesurveysareanidealmethodtostudynightjarsinCanadaandcontribute to conservation.Thenocturnalnatureof thesebirds requires that surveystationsmustbeaccessibleforsurveyorsafety.Travellingbycarallowssurveyorstotravel


quicklybetweenstationsthatarefarenoughaparttoensurethatbirdsarenotcountedtwice.Citizen science surveyors allow for survey coverage of large geographic areas, which isimportantbecausenightjarsare foundacrossCanada.Data collectedby citizen scientistsduringnocturnalroadsidesurveyswillallowforanalysesofhabitatassociations,long-termpopulation monitoring, distribution and abundance mapping, and environmentalassessment of these cryptic birds. Lastly, citizen scientists contribute invaluable localknowledgetotheprojectincludingincidentalnightjarreportsandinformationaboutrouteaccessibilityandlocalhabitat.

ACommonPoorwillroostsatnight.Photocredit:AlanBurger.

Program Objectives The goal of the WildResearch Nightjar survey is to contribute to the conservation andrecoveryofnightjarsinCanada.Toachievethisgoal,theprogramhasseveralmulti-speciesobjectivesandonesingle-speciesobjectiveperspecies.

Multi-species Objectives

• CollectbaselineinventorydataonnightjarpopulationsinCanada.• DeterminebestsurveymethodsfornightjarsinCanadaandcomparetootherexisting

monitoringprograms.• RaiseawarenessonnightjarconservationandbiologyinCanada.


Single-species Objectives

• CommonNighthawk:investigatehabitatassociationsinCanada.• CommonPoorwill:determinetheextentofthespeciesrangeinBritishColumbia,

Alberta,andSaskatchewan.• EasternWhip-poor-will: survey thehistoric range in Saskatchewan to confirma

rangecontraction.

Program Background TheWildResearch Nightjar Survey began in south central British Columbia in 2010 andexpanded to the rest of the province in 2014. The first four years of the programwereconductedintheOkanaganregiontotargetanareawhereCommonNighthawkandCommonPoorwillareabundant.Surveyscollectedfrom2010to2013followedastandardizedsurveyprotocoldesignedbytheNightjarSurveyNetworkintheUnitedStates.In2014,theprogramwasexpandedtosurveyfortheCommonNighthawkacrosstheirrangeinBritishColumbia.Also in 2014, the BC Nightjar Survey protocol was revised to create separate protocolsreflectingthetwospeciesvaryingrangesandlifehistories.SurveysacrossBritishColumbiacontinuedin2015,withseveraltrialsurveysalsoconductedinAlbertaandSaskatchewan.

2016 Expansion 2016 saw a major expansion of the WildResearch Nightjar Survey. New chapters werelaunched in Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, the Yukon, and the NorthwestTerritoriesundertheexpertsupervisionofsixRegionalCoordinators.Theexpansionwasalsomadepossiblebytwomajoraccomplishments.First,theNightjarAtlashostedbytheCommunityMappingNetworkallowedforautomatedroutesign-uptoeasetheworkloadofvolunteer coordination. Second, a new standardized Canada Nightjar Survey Protocolensuredthatallcitizensciencenightjarsurveyorsacrossthecountrywouldfollowthesamesurveymethods.

2. WILDRESEARCH NIGHTJAR SURVEY METHODS

Survey Protocol Roadsidesurveys,beginningatdusk,areusedtosurveyCanada’sthreenightjarspecies.Eachsurveyrouteisaseriesof12surveystationsalongapublicroad,whicharespacedatleast1.6kmapart.Ateachsurveystation,asix-minutepassivepointcountisconductedwithanunlimited radius. In otherwords, the citizen scientist listens quietly for sixminutes andrecordseachnightjardetected.Informationonwindspeed,cloudcover,carspassing,andmoonvisibilityisalsocollectedateachsurveystation.EachrouteissampledonceayearbetweenJune15andJuly15.InareaswhereCommonPoorwillsorEasternWhip-poor-willsoccur,volunteersareencouragedtosurveywithinoneweekofthefullmoonwhenthesebirds call most frequently. Surveys start at 30 minutes before sunset and requireapproximately2hourstocomplete.


Forfurtherdetails,pleasevisittheWildResearchwebsiteforcopiesoftheCanadianNightjarSurveyProtocol:

http://wildresearch.ca/resources/nightjar-survey/

Survey Locations PertheCanadianNightjarSurveyProtocol,theWildResearchNightjarSurveyusesBreedingBirdSurvey(BBS)routesbecausetheseroutesarerandomlyselectedandwillallowustocomparetheCanadianNightjarSurveyProtocoltotheBBSforlong-termtrendmonitoring.TheWildResearch Nightjar Survey also incorporates survey routes from other previousnightjarsurveys,randomlyselectedroutesinBritishColumbiathatwereselectedearlierintheprogram’shistory,somesubjectivelyplacedroutesbasedontheoccurrenceofnightjars,andsomeroutesinlocationswhereEasternWhip-poor-willhavebeenhistoricallydetected.

3. SUMMARY OF 2016 TheWildResearchNightjarSurveysawsomebigchangesin2016,withanexpansiontofivenew provinces and territories in Canada! We welcomed new volunteers and RegionalCoordinatorstotheprograminAlberta,Saskatchewan, theYukon,NorthwestTerritories,andNewBrunswick.TheprogramalsosawthelaunchofthenewNightjarAtlas,wherewehadsomesuccessesandsomelessonslearnedforupcomingyears.Finally,themanylessonslearnedaboutsurveymethodsfromthepreviousyearsoftheBCNightjarSurveywereusedtoinformthedevelopmentofanew,standardizedCanadianNightjarSurveyProtocol,whichvolunteersfollowedin2016.

Volunteer Effort In2016,citizenscientistssurveyedandsubmitteddatafor192routes(Table1,Figure1).Surveyswerecompletedby139volunteersand131assistants,foratotalof270volunteersin2016!Intotal,volunteerscontributedover384surveyhoursinadditiontotimerequiredtoreconnaissanceroutesandcompletedataentryforatotalofover1000volunteerhours.Table1.NumberofWildResearchNightjarSurveyroutes,stationsandobserversperyearsince2010.

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 TotalRoutessurveyed 3 3 16 29 141 154 192 538Stationssurveyed 19 33 156 301 1,716 1,837 2,066 6,128Observers 2 2 10 20 73 99 139 345


Figure1.NightjarSurveystationssurveyedin2016.The number of routes surveyed in 2016 was higher than in any other year due to theexpansionoftheprogram.AcrossCanada,therewere38surveysconductedinAlberta,96inBritishColumbia,15inSaskatchewan,24intheYukon,6intheNorthwestTerritories,and13inNewBrunswick.

Common Nighthawk CommonNighthawksweredetectedat127ofthe192routessurveyed(66%),andat546ofthe2,066stationssurveyed(26%). Intotal,1,142CommonNighthawksweredetected in2016.ThemeannumberofCommonNighthawksperstationwas0.5acrossallstations,and2.1atstationswheretheyweredetected(Figure2).

Figure2.Frequencyofmeannumberofnightjarsdetectedpersurveyroutein2016.


Common nighthawkswere detected across all regions surveyed in 2016 (Figure 3). Thehighestnumberofnighthawksperstationandroutewere11and81,respectively,bothinnorth eastern Alberta. Relatively high abundances were also detected along routes insouthernandcentralBritishColumbia,southernSaskatchewan,andtheYukon.

Figure2.AbundanceofCommonNighthawksdetectedatstationssurveyedin2016.

Common Poorwill In total, 45 Common Poorwills were detected in 2016. The mean number of CommonPoorwillsperstationwas1.6atstationswheretheyweredetected(Figure2).ThemaximumnumberofCommonPoorwillsdetectedatastationwas6alongtheFraserRiverincentralBritishColumbia(Figure5).

Figure5.AbundanceofCommonPoorwillsdetectedonroutessurveyedin2016.


True to their range, CommonPoorwillsweredetectedonly centralBritishColumbia andsoutheasternSaskatchewan(Figure5).NoCommonPoorwillsweredetectedinAlbertain2016.Asinpreviousyears,citizenscientistsrecordedparticularlyhighabundancesinthesouthernmostareaofcentralBritishColumbia(OkanaganValley).

Eastern Whip-poor-will NoEasternWhip-poor-willsweredetectedduringthe2016WildResearchNightjarySurvey;however,therewasonlyoneroutesurveyedwithintheareawhereEasternWhip-poor-willsmightoccur.

Regional Updates

British Columbia

ByPaulPreston,BritishColumbiaRegionalCoordinator

AnothersuccessfulyearfortheWildResearchNightjarSurveyinBritishColumbia!Wehad91 routes covered this year all across the province from Atlin to Oliver and (almost)everywhere in between. We had excellent coverage in Southwestern British Columbiaincluding outstanding volunteerparticipation on Vancouver Island.Also as per usual we had a goodamount of coverage in theThompson-Okanaganregion.Ofthe91 routes that were surveyed thisyear, 73 of them picked up eitherCommon Nighthawks or CommonPoorwills during the surveywhichisanexcellentdetectionrate.Volunteers were very helpful andpatientthisyearinhelpinguswithourtransitionfrom6-stationroutesto 12-station routes as well inpicking up routes thatwere newlyaddedormodifiedfor2016.Thankyou to all our volunteers this yearfor being excellent citizen-scientists!

Citizen scientists at the 2016 orientation in Oliver,BritishColumbia


Alberta

ByEllyKnight,AlbertaRegionalCoordinator

FollowingayearofAlbertatrialsurveysin2015, the WildResearch Nightjar Surveyexploded onto the scene in 2016, thanksentirely to the citizen science communityinAlberta.Wehostedtwoorientations in2016:oneinEdmontonandoneinCalgary.Bothorientationswereagreattime,well-attended, and we even saw severalCommon Nighthawks booming at closerangeattheEdmontonorientation!Volunteers completed 38 surveys inAlbertathisyear!Mostofthesurveyswerecompleted from Edmonton south to theinternational border, with particularvolunteereffort inandaroundEdmontonand Calgary. Common Nighthawks weredetectedat18of the38routessurveyed,for a total of 145 nighthawks in all. NoCommon Poorwills were detected inAlberta this year, despite two surveys inareaswherethespecieshasbeendetectedin the past. This year, Alberta held therecordformostnightjarsdetected,with81birdsalongaroute throughanold forestfirenorthofFortMcMurray!Inadditiontothe immensesurveyeffort,we were honoured by a warm welcomefromthecitizenscienceandnaturalistcommunityinAlbertathisyear.ThesurveyseasoninAlberta would not have been possible without far-and-wide advertisement of the newprogrambymanyorganizationsincludingtheEdmontonNatureClub,NatureAlberta,theBoreal Centre for Bird Conservation, Beaverhill Bird Observatory, the Alberta Society ofProfessionalBiologists,PrairieBirder,andmore.SpecialthanksaswelltotheTDFriendsofthe Environment Foundation for providing funding for the launch of the WildResearchNightjar Survey in Alberta. And finally, a huge thanks to our 2016 Nightjar BiologistAlessandraHood,whocoordinatedtheAlbertavolunteers,ledtheorientations,puttogetheraneworientationvideo,andgenerallykeptthingsrunningthissummer.

Saskatchewan

ByGabrielFoley,SaskatchewanRegionalCoordinator

TheexpansionofWildResearch’snightjarsurveysintoSaskatchewanhasstartedoffwell!FifteenroutesweresurveyedinSaskatchewanin2016byfourteenvolunteers.Oftheroutes

CitizenscientistsspotaboomingCommonNighthawk at the 2016 Edmontonorientation.


surveyed, half had nightjars detected on them. Routes had an average of 3.3 nightjarsdetected per survey and a total of 47 Common Nighthawks and 2 Common Poorwillsdetected. Across Canada, 1,078 nighthawks and 48 poorwills were found. This meansSaskatchewanhad4%ofboththeCommonNighthawksandtheCommonPoorwillsfoundacrossCanadausingthesesurveys.ThenorthernmostlocationsurveyedinSaskatchewan,JayjayLake(175kmnortheastofPrinceAlbert),hadthemaximumnightjardetectionswith14nighthawks,whilePleasantdale,nearSaskatoon,hadtheminimumwithasingleCommonNighthawkdetected.Thefoursouthwestern-mostrouteshad31CommonNightjars,andnotsurprisinglythisincludesbothoftheprovince’sCommonPoorwilldetections.Manythankstothevolunteerswhocollectedthesedata!

Yukon

ByAndreaSidler,YukonRegionalCoordinator

TheYukon’sfirstWildResearchsurveyseasonwasa great success. 14 surveyors braved a blusterysummer and traveled to the far reaches of theterritorytosurveyatotalof23nighthawksurveyroutes. Common Nighthawks (the Yukon’s onlynightjar) were detected on 17/23 routes with atotal of 158 observed throughout the surveyseason. The highest countwas the Little SalmonRiverroutewith29CommonNighthawksdetected– wow! Volunteers also provided valuable helpwith modifying routes by scouting new surveystopsandcollectingwaypointstoestablishsafeandaccessibleroutesforupcomingyears.

DespitetheYukon’slimitedroadnetwork,surveyors covered a huge amount ofground.RoutesbeganjustSouthofWatsonLake and reached North to Dawson City,with some even nearing the Alaskanborder. Common Nighthawk populationson the routes near Dawson City, whichstraddles the northern extent of theirrange, will be particularly interesting toobserve as the climate changes over thecoming years. Overall, we surveyed abroadvarietyofhabitatsrangingfromthecharred landscape of the recent LittleSalmon burn to deciduous aspen standsandoldgrowthforests.The long-lasting sunsets of the Northtreated surveyors to many spectaculardisplays of reds and shimmering golds

descendingovermountaintops,colorsreflectingoffstilllakes.Inadditiontotheaerialshows

SunsetnearSimpsonLake,YT

Female nighthawk performing a predatordistractiondisplaytoprotectheryoungchicksbyLittleSalmon


putonbyCommonNighthawks,thewaddling-walkofthe North American Porcupine was a common, andalwayswelcome,sightonsurveys.Onevolunteerwaseven fortunate enough to witness two young bullmoosepracticingtheiradultskillsinaplay-wrestlingmatch!!I was lucky to have met with most of the Yukon’svolunteers in person this summer and feel veryfortunatetobeworkingwithsuchanenthusiasticandknowledgeable group of people. Thank you all formakingthe2016seasonsuchasuccess!

A big thank you also goes out to the WhitehorseCanadianWildlifeServiceofficeforcontributingtheirdatatothisproject.Aswell,totheYukonBirdClub,theYukonConservationSocietyandtheYukonWildlifePreservefortheirsupportwithspreadingthewordaboutthisprogram.

New Brunswick

ByVirginia&AlexNoble-Dalton,NewBrunswickRegionalCoordinators

Weare thrilledwith the successes of the inaugural season of theWildResearchNightjarSurveyinNewBrunswick.Thispastyear,anorientationsessionwasheldinHampton,NewBrunswickonSaturday,June11th.Therewasasmallgroupofattendeesbutahighamountofenthusiasmforthenightjarsurveyprogram.Duringtheorientation,atonepracticesurveystation,10CommonNighthawkswerevisuallyidentifiedflyingoverhead,fourofwhichwereactivelycalling.Overall, a total of 13 survey routes weresurveyed in New Brunswick in 2016 (withinterest in an additional 6 routes) – themajority being in the southern half of theprovince with the exception of routes nearShippaganandMountCarletonProvincialPark,NB.Duringthesurveys,atotalof10CommonNighthawks were observed, 4 of which wererecorded to be wing booming. The highestoccurrencesof CommonNighthawkswereontheMcDougallLakeandNepisiguitroutes,eachwith three individuals. The surveys alsorecorded occurrences of Chimney Swifts andWilson’s Snipes. Anecdotally, therewere alsotwo different reports of Eastern Whip-Poor-Wills in the province and 8 more reports of Common Nighthawk occurrences. We lookforwardtobuildingonthegroundworkandmomentumlaidduringthe2016surveyseasonfornextyear’sWildResearchNightjarSurvey.Inparticular,wearehopingtohavethesurveyinstructions translated to French,which should aid in targeting the largely francophonepopulation of Northern New Brunswick. Finally, a big thank you goes out to the New

Brandon getting up close to anighthawk

The train station in McAdam, NewBrunswick where Chimney Swifts wererecorded


BrunswickNaturalistclubsandallwhohelpedusadvertiseournewprogram.Inparticular,wewould like to thank theSaint JohnNaturalistsClub,FrederictonNatureClub,ClubdeNaturalistesdelaPeninsulaAcadienneandCBCRadio’sShift.

Route Spotlight ByAlessandraHood,2016WildResearchNightjarSurveyBiologist

Working as the 2016 WildResearch NightjarSurveyBiologistwasanamazingexperienceandgreat introduction to fieldwork. Iwas excitedandnervoustodofieldworkforthefirsttimeinplacesIhaveneverbeenandwithweatherthatcould get up to 40°C. My nerves quicklysubsidedwhileworkingwithPaulPreston,theBritish Columbia Regional Coordinator, whowasagreatmixofeasygoingandhard-working!DuringourtimeinthefieldweattemptedmanysurveyroutesaroundLillooet,Lynott,Ashcroft,andOkanagan Falls.Whilemost surveyswereunsuccessfuldue towind, the fewwecompletedwereamazing!It’shardtopickonefavoriterouteorexperiencefromthissummer.AllthelocationswereplacesIhaveneverbeenandeachhaditsowngoodmoments!TheEdmonton,ABOrientationinBruderheimwas the first survey I had everdone andmy first time seeing aCommonNighthawkinperson.Afterhearingmanyrecordingofnighthawks, itwasanexcitingandmemorable moment finally hearing one in person! The Oliver survey was also verymemorable.The survey startedoff slowbutended inmy firstup-closeencounterwithaCommonPoorwillfeedingonmoths,aswellasmultiplecallinginthedistance!ThefirsttimeIwitnessedawingboomupcloseoccurredduringafailedattemptatasurveynearOkanaganFalls.Atthefirststationweencounteredanighthawkflyingincirclesperformingmultiplewingboomswithothernighthawksabitinthedistance!Unfortunately,theroadbecametoo

unstableandwewerenotabletocontinuethesurvey.MyfavoriteroutewouldhavetobetheLillooet-Lynott route. The route followed acliffsidethroughaforestedareawithabeautifulview for most of the stations.We saw lots ofwildlifeincludingdeerandfrogsalongtheroute,andatmanystationshadbats feedingdirectlyaboveus!Thisroutealsohadanabundanceofboth nightjars, with Common Poorwills andNighthawks heard at almost all the stations!Overallwedidn’t have to endure any extremeheat andwere able to exploremany differentplacescoveringahugerangeofecosystems!

WeyerhauserroutewherePaulandAlessandradetectednightjars

WhiteLakeroute,ahotspotforCommonPoorwills


Citizen Scientist Spotlight: ByDavidWilde,WildResearchNightjarSurveyCitizenScientist

IhadthemostserendipitousmeetingwithDr.MarkBrighamearlylastsummerashewasconductingCommonNighthawkresearchattheOkanaganFallsCampground.Foraweekhissmallteamsampled&releasedCommonNnighthawkscapturedinthemistnetssetacrosstherivereachnight,aswelldoing invaluablepublicoutreach, invitingthepublictocomelearn&participateinthefun.Afterdeeplyenjoyinganintimateexperiencewithafemalenighthawkwhodecidedthatthewarmthandcomfortofmyhandwasfarmoredesirablethanfollowingthehandreleaseprotocolandtakingflight,Iwasnicknamed"TheNighthawkWhisperer".Iwashooked!Iassistedeverynightthatweek,mesmerizedatthewitnessingofthisincrediblyunusualandhigh-numbered(~400)nighthawkfeedingeventforthedurationofthesurvey.Dr.BrighamsuggestedIcontactPaulPrestonifIwasinterestedinparticipatinginanightjarsurveyforWildResearchasacitizenvolunteer.Iwassoexcitedtovolunteerinscientificconservationwork, that I immediately went to the local public library to gather as much CommonNighthawkandCommonPoor-willinformation&callrecordingsasIcould,andthensignedupfor2surveysonline,beforeevenreturninghometoLakeCountryfrommycampingtrip!Iprintedoffthedatasheets&protocols,thenraceduptoCanadianTireinPentictonforagoodheadlamp,grabbedmycompass&altimeter,andprayedthatanexperiencedbirdingfriend might have a GPS unit I could borrow. A trip to the local dollar store bought athermometer,logbooks,clipboard,&allthesuppliesIwouldneedforthejourney.Itwasavery long3daywaitas theorientationwasstillbeingorganizedby theBritishColumbiaCoordinator,PaulPreston,fortheOliver-Osooyosarea.

ImetPaulandseveralothervolunteersfortheorientationandwemadeafewstopsonalocalroutetobecomefamiliarwiththenightjarsamplingprotocol.IwasquitefamiliarwithCommonNighthawkaftermypreviousweek longexperience,buthadneverseenand/or

PaulPreston(centreright)withnightjarsurveycitizenscientistsinBC.


heardaconfirmedcallfromaCommonPoorwillbefore.PaulcockedhisearswhilewewerestoppedataknownCOPOareaandindicateditscallanddirection.Hewasabletohearitat~100meters. Iwasunabletohear ituntil itwasabout50metersaway,andnoticedthisexperienceofhearingabilitywasalsosharedbytheoldermembersinthegroup.SoIdecidedIwouldusemycellphone&audiorecordallmysurveystops,re-examiningtherecordingswiththeaidofcomputersoftwareatalaterdate,inordertodoublecheckandconfirmmycalldata.The first survey I chosewas aroute that Iwasquite familiarwith from having traveled itmany times at night as anamateurastronomerattendingan annual summer star partythere over the years. ThesurveyupMountKobauprovedto be as exciting as it wasexhausting! Trying to organizeand fold my large frame intoand out of a very small sportscar that I am far too large for,with an extremely bad back,plugthecellphonebackintothecigarette lighter to keep itcharged so I could follow mysmallpre-savedkmlroutewithGoogleMapsonit,watchthespeedometertocoordinatewiththe1.6kmcountatthesametime,keepaneyeontheroadasIracelikethedevil-withonly4inchesofclearanceinthecar-upthemountainavoidingrocks&cliff-likedrop-offswiththelightofdayquicklyfading- inonly4minutes-reallytestedmyskill-set!Butthereisabsolutely nothing that compares with the experience of being all alone, high up on awildernessmountainat6000ft.,intheduskylightofneardarkness,breathinginthecoolpine,fir,andsagescentedairoftheinteriordesert-thenhearingthehauntinglonelycallsofanoccasionalowl-whilelisteningintentlyforthe'peents',the'booms',andthe'poor-will-oh'ofourlivelynocturnalnightjarfriends.Thisisdefinitelya2-personendeavor-butdon'tletthatstopyou.Feelingmoreconfidentaftercompletingmy2ndsurvey,andconfirmingmyobservational&datatakingabilitiesbyplayingbackthesurveyrecordingsfrommycellphonethroughmycarstereoatfullvolume,I decided to book 3 more survey routes, and GPS in a new 6th route I knew from pastobservationshadmanynighthawksonit,IcalledonmyexperiencedbirdingfriendJudytocomeandbemyassistantfora2-surveyadventure.Iamabeginningbirder,soitwasnicetohaveanexperiencedfriendalongtohelpout.

SunsetoverMountKobau.


Our first survey togethertook us up to a 6200 ftplateausurroundedbynottodistant peeks in the utterwilderness close to 80kmfromthenearestpavedroad!We only heard onenighthawkcallonthissurvey(off survey time, of course),but it was a great learningexperience observing themixed burn areas& variousstagesofforestregrowth,aswell aswhat little avian lifewasupthereconsideringtheinsect populations. It wassuch a fantastic andstimulating learningexperience doing citizenscience,inthenameofconservation,thattherestofmyentiresummerwasquitefocusedonobservingandphotographingnighthawks!Alongwithenjoying thezenofphotographingmanybirds,insects,butterflies,mushroomsandwildflowersinmyoutdoorjourneys,Ialsodiscoveredanighthawknestwitheggsandwasveryprivilegedtoobservesomerareand&superexcitinginter-speciesbehavior!Youcanfindmorepictures&thestoriesdescribingmyexperiencesinmuchmoredetailonmyblogathttps://wildebynature.com.Here’s tohopingweallhaveagreatyearofnightjar surveying&birding thisyear, I canhardlywait!

4. ROADSIDE BIAS IN COMMON NIGHTHAWK DETECTABILITY In2015and2016,WildResearchdeployedautonomousrecordingunits(ARUs)atroadsidelocationsandoff-roadlocationstostudywhethercitizensciencenighthawkdetectionsareaffectedby the locationof the surveysat roadsides.Theprojectwasmadepossiblewithfunding from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, the Pacific ConservationAssistance Fund, and the Nature Trust of British Columbia, with ARU data collectioncompleted by Virginia Noble, Azim Shariff, Paul Preston, and Alessandra Hood. Acousticrecordings produced by the ARUs were processed and the data was analyzed byundergraduatestudentsattheUniversityofAlbertaasindependentresearchprojects.Belowisareportfromoneofthosestudentsonthepreliminaryresultsoftheproject.ByDhakshayiniBoopalan,UniversityofAlberta

Roadside disturbances such as collisions, traffic noise, light and pollutionmay influenceCommon Nighthawk behavior, thereby affecting the number of nightjars detected byroadside surveys. Since roadside surveys are quite invaluable in monitoring Common

JudyMcGeemakingusdinnerbeforeoursurveybeganintheCascadesat6200ft


Nighthawk it was important to test for this bias. We used autonomous recording units(ARUs) to test if road disturbances, such as car activity, affected Common Nighthawkbehavior during dawn and dusk. Assuming that road disturbances would decline withincreaseddistancefromtheroad,weexpectedCommonNighthawkpresenceandactivitytobereducedaton-roadlocationsandhigheratoff-roadlocations.

Methods ARUsweredeployedin2015and2016at38pairsofon-roadandoff-roadWildResearchNightjar Survey stations (Figure 1.). On-road stationswere along the road edge and thepairedhabitatoff-roadstationswere300maway.ARUsweresettorecordfor10minutesevery20minutesfromtwohoursbeforesunsettoonehouraftersunsetfor1to3days.

Figure1.Pairedon-roadandoff-roadstationsinSouthCentralBritishColumbia,CanadawhereARUswereplacedtoestimateeffectofroadsonCommonNighthawkactivity.


Data were analyzed using Songscope software (Wildlife Acoustics Inc.). In Songscope, arecognizer was created and used to detect Common Nighthawk calls (“peents”). Theseoutputswerevisuallyvalidatedbyatrainedobservertodifferentiatebetweentruepositivesfrom false positives (i.e., peents from other similar noises). The number of vehicles perrecordingwasassessedusingbioacousticssoftware,Audacity.Within each 10-minute recording, Common Nighthawk activity was measured by twoparameters: presence and calling rate. Presencewas defined as the detection of a singlepeent.Callingratewasdefinedasthenumberof“peents”perrecording.Weanalyzedtheeffectofstationtype(onoroffroad),timerelativetosunset(“sunsettime”),andthenumberofcarsperrecordingonpresenceandcallingrateusinggeneralized linearmixedmodels(GLMM) inR3.3.2 (Rcore team2016).Fourmainmodelswere created - global controlmodels,onroadandoffroadcomparisonmodels,carseffectmodelsandinteractionmodelsbetweencarsandstationtype.TheglobalcontrolmodelslookedattheeffectsofsunsettimeonCommonNighthawkpresenceandcallingrateatbothstationtypes.On-roadandoff-roadcomparisonmodelslookedathowstationtypeaffectedCommonNighthawkactivity.ThecareffectsmodellookedattheeffectofcarsonCommonNighthawkpresenceandcallingrateattheon-roadstations.Theinteractionmodelstestedtheinteractionbetweenstationtypeandnumberofcars.Eachmodelincludedstationasarandomeffecttoaccountforanyvariationduetosamplinglocation.

Results AltogetherweobservedCommonNighthawkpresencein13.8%ofthetotalrecordings.ThehighestCommonNighthawkcallingratewas270peentsperrecording.Thehighestnumberofcarswas44perrecording.GLMMcontrolmodelresultsindicatedthatsunsettimehadasignificanteffectonCommonNighthawk presence and calling rate (P = 0.04).When cars were excluded, station type(on/offroad)wasfoundtohavenosignificanteffectonCommonNighthawkpresenceandcallingrate.TherewasasignificantinteractioneffectbetweenthenumberofcarsandstationtypeonCommonNighthawkcallingratebutnotpresence.Lookingattheeffectofcarsaton-roadstationsonly,we found that thenumberof carshada significantnegativeeffectonCommonNighthawk calling rate (P = 0.004), but not presence (Figure 2). Therewas norelationshipbetweenthenumberofcarsandCommonNighthawkcallingrateorpresenceatoff-roadstations(Figure2).


Figure2.ThenumberofCommonNighthawkcallsdetectedrelativetocarsperten-minuteARUrecording.

Discussion Bothstationtypes(onvsoffroad)andtimerelativetosunsethadastrongeffectonCommonNighthawkactivity.ThiswasexpectedsinceCommonNighthawksarecrepuscularspecies.Our findings showed a correlationbetweenCommonNighthawkactivity andhours aftersunset, suggesting that sunset is an important variable to consider when monitoringCommon Nighthawk activity. No difference in Common Nighthawk activity was seenbetweenthepairedstationswhencarswereexcludedfromthemodels.Theoff-roadstationswereselectedbykeepinghabitattypesimilartotheon-roadstation,so intheabsenceofcars,we expected CommonNighthawk activity to be similar at both stations if CommonNighthawkswerenotavoidingordrawntothepresenceoftheroaditself.Whentheeffectofcarswasaddedtothemodels,thelowercallingratedetectedaton-roadstationsis likelyattributedtoavoidanceoftheselocationsduetoroadtrafficdisturbance.AnotherpossibleexplanationisthatCommonNighthawkwereinfactpresentbutwerenotdetectedbythecomputerrecognizerduetosoundmaskingbytraffic.Roaddisturbanceencompassesseveral factorssuchas trafficvolume, trafficnoise, trafficmortality,pollution,andlightdisturbance.Anyofthesefactorscouldattributetoanegativeeffectof roadsonCommonNighthawkdetections.NowthatweknowthatroadshaveaneffectonCommonNighthawkactivity, it is importanttofindtheexactcauseandeffect inordertohaveabetterunderstandingoftheirpopulationandhabitatpreferences.andtotakeappropriateprecautionswhileconductingroadsidesurveys.


5. OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2016 The2016yearwas ahuge leap for theWildResearchNightjar Survey. In addition to theprogramexpansiontofivenewregionsinCanada,theprogramhadmanyothersuccesses.

Nightjar Atlas In 2016, we launched the WildResearch Nightjar Atlas, thanks to funding for capacitybuildingfromMECandhostingbytheCommunityMappingNetwork.Thegoalsoftheatlaswereto1)helpautomatetheroutesign-upprocesstoeasetheworkloadofourcoordinatorsandreducehumansign-uperror,and2)provideanonlinedataentryportal.Theatlasisalsointendedasaportalforuserstoaccesstheirdata,althougheditingcapabilitiesareyettobebuiltin.Basedonfeedbackandasurveycompletedbyvolunteersattheendoftheseason,theatlasmetgoal#1ofreducingtheroutesign-upprocess.Nearlyall192routessurveyedin 2016 were signed up through the atlas, with relative ease! The data entry portal isundergoingsomeeditsforthe2017surveyseason,however,asmanyvolunteershadtroublewiththeformatandbugsofthedataentryforms.Severalotheraspectswillreceiveabitofafaceliftforthe2017seasonaswell.Overall,wearehappywiththeincreaseincapacitytheAtlashasprovidedourcoordinators,andgratefulforthepatienceofourcitizenscientistsasweworkthroughthesegrowingpains–thankyou!

Canadian Nightjar Survey Protocol Over the winter of 2015-2016, WildResearch participated in a series of working groupmeetings with other non-profit organizations and Environment Canada to draft a newstandardizedCanadianNightjarSurveyProtocol to facilitatenationalconservationeffortsfor species recovery. The existing WildResearch data from 2010 – 2015 was greatly

CommonNighthawkinflight.Credit:AnneC.Brigham


informativeinthedevelopmentofthenewprotocol.TheagreementuponanddevelopmentofsuchanationalprotocolmeansthatallcitizensciencenightjarsurveyscollectedinCanadawillbecollectedusingthesamemethodsandcanbeintegratedforconservationanalyses.All2016WildResearchNightjarSurveyswereconductedusingtheCanadianNightjarSurveyProtocol.

Revisiting Program Objectives FollowingtheadoptionoftheCanadianNightjarSurveyProtocol,werevisitedandupdatedtheWildResearchNightjarSurveyprojectobjectivestoensuretheyareinlinewiththenewprotocol objectives. We summarized the existing objectives and developed several newobjectives,foratotalofthreemulti-speciesobjectivesandonesingle-speciesobjectiveforeach nightjar species in Canada. The new objectives go beyond benefits of the nightjardatasettoincluderaisingawarenessonnightjarbiologyandconservation.WealsocreatedanewEasternWhip-poor-willobjective,as this is the firstyearwe’veconductedsurveyswithinthewhip-poor-willrange.

Autonomous Recording Unit (ARU) Surveys Thanks to funding from theNatureTrust of British Columbia,WildResearchwas able tocomplete collection of autonomous recording unit (ARU) data across central BritishColumbiatoanswerquestionsaboutnightjardetectability.ARUscollectacousticdataonapre-determinedscheduleandcanbeusedtostudywildlifeviatheiracousticbehaviouroverlongerperiodsoftimethanusinghumanobservers.ARUsweredeployedatWildResearchNightjarSurveystationsatthesideoftheroadandinpairedhabitatapproximately300maway to study whether there is a bias in the number of nightjars detected by roadsidesurveys.Followingthesurveyseason,thedatawereanalyzedbyundergraduatestudentsattheUniversityofAlberta(seeSection4forasummaryofanalyses).

Common Nighthawks in British Columbia’s Grasslands Undergraduatestudentandformer2016NightjarBiologist,AlessandraHood,iscurrentlyusing2014–2016WildResearchNightjarSurveydatafromcentralBritishColumbiatostudyCommon Nighthawk habitat associations in British Columbia’s grasslands. For herundergraduate thesis, Alessandra is using the territorial wingboom of the nighthawk tostudythelocalandlandscapecharacteristicsthatexplainwherenighthawksareandhowmanythereare.Thefinalgoal fortheprojectwillbetoestimatetheCommonNighthawkpopulation for British Columbia’s grassland areas, as part of a project funding by theBrink/McLean Grassland Conservation Fund. We look forward to sharing Alessandra’sresultsinthe2017AnnualReport!


Appreciation Project Toletallour2016citizenscientistsknowhowmuchwevaluetheircontributions,wemadeavarietyofnightjarbuttonsandsentonetoeachvolunteerwithathank-younote.Thanksagainforallyourcontributions!

Nightjarbuttonstosaythankstoour2016volunteers!

6. FUTURE PLANS In the long-term,wewill continueworking towardsourmulti-species and single-speciesobjectives.WewillcontinuetoencouragetheuseofourdatabystudentsandresearchersacrossCanada,andcontinuetoworktowardspublishingourfindingsinscientificjournalstoshareourknowledgewithstakeholdersandthepublic.

Route Assessment Beginningin2017,surveyrouteswillbereassessedtotransitiontheprogramfromhabitatobjectives to long-termmonitoring objectives. Routes that have been surveyed for threeyearswithoutanightjardetectionwillberemovedfromtheregularlistofavailableroutestoa “zero” route list.Thesezerorouteswillbesurveyedonceevery fiveyears toensuremonitoringiscapableofdocumentingrangeexpansions.ReassessmentofsurveyroutesforBritishColumbiawillbeginin2017,andin2019forotherregions.

Data Sharing We are pleased to share that the entire WildResearch Nightjar Survey dataset will beintegratedwithothersurveydataacrossCanadaintoanationalCommonNighthawkdatasetforSpeciesatRiskconservationplanning.


Survey Method Comparison After several years of additional data collection, we plan to compare the WildResearchNightjarSurveydatasettotheBreedingBirdSurvey(BBS)datasettoassessthevalueoftheprogram for long-term trendmonitoring. The adoption of theBBS route frameworkwillallowforapairedcomparisonofthecrepuscularnightjarsurveytothedawnBBS.

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