Date: 5/6/25 6:20 am From: Ziemba, Linda <linda_ziemba...> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Shorebird Habitat at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge in 2025
Hi Everybody,
The following provides our plans for shorebird habitat in public viewing areas at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge this year. Please keep in mind that these plans are weather, staffing, and funding dependent so subject to change.
Regarding weather, large rainfall events can have short-term impacts on refuge habitats. Sometimes heavy rains flood all our mudflats too much for shorebirds. In that scenario, it’s likely the rain also flooded previously dry farm fields, potentially creating shorebird habitat in those locations. Try checking off-refuge in that situation and revisiting the refuge after the water levels have gone back down.
Regarding staffing and funding, we have less staff this year because of government efficiency. We are also spending more time assisting other refuges who have fewer employees than we do. Providing waterbird habitat is our highest biological priority at Montezuma so we spend a lot of time on it and providing shorebird habitat is particularly labor intensive.
Northbound Shorebird Migration
* Hope to have habitat available in the Main Pool through May
* May be some habitat in the Visitor Center Wetland, but it is quickly becoming too vegetated for most species.
Southbound Shorebird Migration
* Will monitor several units for nesting marsh birds to inform drawdown decisions
* Considerations will be taken for nesting and fledging black terns and other nesting species
* Will try to stagger units or parts of units with mudflats from late June to November to address fast-changing habitat conditions
Possible Units Early Part of Migration (i.e., late June/July)
* May’s Point Pool
* Puddler Marsh
* Visitor Center Wetland*
* Benning Marsh
* Laurue’s Lagoon
* Eaton Marsh
* Seneca Flats
*To provide shorebird habitat in the Visitor Center Wetland, we need to mow and disc, then pump in water. Locations in the unit where we disc are dependent on the distribution of the invasive plants flowering rush and Phragmites (which are spread by discing), the availability of staff time and equipment, and the weather – we can’t get equipment into the unit if there has been too much precipitation.
Knox-Marsellus Marsh
* Expect to begin drawing down for shorebirds in August
* Cannot draw down earlier due to water needs for invasive water chestnut control
* We could use your help in hand-pulling this invasive plant. Contact me if you'd like to help.
Guided Programs
* No guided shorebird walks this year due to operational constraints
* Will reconsider on a year-by-year basis moving forward
* Contact Andrea at <Andrea_VanBeusichem...><mailto:<Andrea_VanBeusichem...> with questions about public use programs
Bird Sightings Reporting
* Record bird sightings separately for each impoundment along the Wildlife Drive and separately for Knox-Marsellus vs Puddler Marshes
* If you don’t want to enter it into ebird that way, please email me your separate lists for the separate units.
* We use these data to supplement weekly counts conducted by volunteers to inform management decisions.
Thank you for your support of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex!
Linda Ziemba
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Linda Chorba Ziemba
Wildlife Biologist
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
3395 US Route 20 East
Seneca Falls, NY 13148
315-406-0052
<linda_ziemba...>
The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the U.S. for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Please expect potentially longer response times due to reductions in force to increase workforce efficiency. Your patience is appreciated.
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