Date: 4/24/24 3:01 pm From: Jack Rogers via groups.io <jack...> Subject: [labird] SEG Environmental Chandeleur Islands Trip 23 April 2024
LaBird I hope you all have been having a birdy spring! Hopefully we get one more front before the end of the month--these south winds have been killing me! I wanted to write to talk about the crazy day on the Chandeleurs that we had yesterday. As part of an ongoing survey by SEG Environmental, we bird the island once a month looking to assess the numbers of several target species (Red Knot, Chandeleur Gull, Wilson's/Piping/Snowy Plovers, etc.). I think that we have all been most excited for the April survey, and it definitely lived up to expectations.
For those that have not had the pleasure of visiting the Chandeleurs, it is an amazing place. Most (I would estimate over 90%) of the island's vegetation is Saltmarsh Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora); in some of the slightly higher elevation areas, there is also Phragmites and Groundsel as well. Matt Conn and I surveyed the northern tip of Chandeleur Island, which has almost no vegetation except for Spartina. The birding was nothing short of excellent-we had 81 species (+1 Chandeleur Gull), which I think is pretty great considering there is only 1 tree in that section (a 6 ft tall Mangrove). There were about 7 small mounds in the saltmarsh that had small groundsel bushes or Phragmites stands. Each bush or stand of Phragmites was astoundingly full of migrants. Take a look at our eBird checklist here <https://ebird.org/checklist/S170012706> for the full rundown. My personal highlight was the best Black-billed Cuckoo looks I can ask for! I know several other groups had great birds as well: Cape May Warbler (x2), Yellow Rail (!!), and Blackpoll Warblers were seen by other surveyors on their more southerly transects.
I was most interested by the incredible density of Cuckoos compared to smaller migrants (e.g. warblers, buntings, etc). The only thing I can think of is that there is really nothing for cuckoos to eat on the islands: there is no fruit, no insects much larger than saltmarsh moths or horseflies, nothing that Cuckoos could theoretically refuel themselves with after a trans-Gulf flight. Whereas there are plenty of tiny insects (aphids, mosquitos, miniscule beetles and saltmarsh flies) for warblers to eat, and plenty of seeds for INBUs etc. I also found the ratio of Yellow- to Black-billed Cuckoos interesting. I believe that Matt and I had a 100% detection rate of Cuckoos within our section, and am pretty positive in a 100% correct identification rate as well. I have always thought that my lack of mainland BB Cuckoos was a detection error, but now I am wondering if it is more of a disparity in population sizes.
I wrote this in my eBird comments, but this was really one of the most exciting days of birding in my life. Small groundsel bushes (2 feet high with a diameter of 18 inches) were holding ridiculous totals of birds such as one that held 7 Y-b Cuckoos, 3 Catbirds, 2 Ovenbirds, 1 Swainson's Thrush, and 2 Yellow Warblers. An absolutely incredible experience, and just wanted to share that with you all. Thanks for reading this monologue and good birding to y'all, Jack Rogers
