Spring Shorebird Migration

I spent a day along the Jersey Shore (Delaware Bay side, away from the beachgoers) in search of migratory shorebirds making their way north. In particular, I was after the rare and elusive red knot. I failed to find any, but they were at the first beach I visited just hours before I arrived. Instead, I saw sandpipers, terns, laughing gulls, some oystercatchers, and even a few ruddy turnstones. Some of these birds nest and breed in New Jersey, while others are taking advantage of the horseshoe crab spawning as an opportunity to fatten up after flying nonstop from South America on their way to other areas. I also strolled around inland and found some egrets, osprey, purple martins, swans, geese, ducks, and songbirds. There were non-birds running around too: a muskrat, snake, deer, and of course lots of bugs. The sightings kept coming after I left. I spotted a great blue heron flying overhead, and a turkey flew across the road ahead of me as I made my way back home.

Unidentified sandpipers jumping for joy

Those sandpipers have friends

Here, we see hundred of birds flying over Delaware Bay

This beach had maybe a thousand laughing gulls.
Not pictured: the noise 

Species of the Month

Wherever you live, fishing season is in full swing. This month we'll profile one of the most common game fishes, the rainbow trout. They can be found in lakes and streams almost everywhere around the world, though introduced to many of them.

Rainbow trout (State Department)

Scientific name: Oncorhynchus mykiss

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Order: Salmoniformes 

Range: Pacific coast of North America from Alaska to Mexico

Habitat: Aquatic, some also have a marine phase

Lifespan: 6-8 years average, up to 11 years
Diet: Insects, insect larvae, crustaceans, small fish, algae
Predators: Lampreys, eagles, osprey, herons, mergansers, bears, mink, river otters, seals, sea lions, other fish, humans

Fish on! (NPS)

Conservation Status: No special protection for freshwater only fish; nine populations of steelhead are listed as threatened or endangered

Steelhead (NOAA Fisheries)

Other information: Rainbow trout get their name from a colorful iridescent streak along the sides of its body. State fish and game agencies around the country raise them to stock streams and lakes for fishing season. Stocked trout remain in freshwater; some native trout along the west coast are anadromous (have a saltwater phase) and return to their birthplace to spawn and die. The anadromous trout are called steelhead. Females lay eggs in a gravel nest called a redd. Fertilized eggs hatch after a few weeks, and the hatchling remains attached to the yolk sack as a food source before leaving the redd for the wider world. Young trout tend to stick to slower, shallow water. Young steelhead remain in the stream for up to three years before heading out to sea. Due to habitat degradation and loss, several western steelhead species are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Meanwhile, introduced trout are becoming a problem in some areas. They eat and/or outcompete native fishes such as cutthroat and brook trout. They threaten genetic integrity by hybridizing with native species. They also carry a parasite responsible for whirling disease, which causes deformities that make a fish easier prey.

Steelhead (NOAA Fisheries)

This week's information comes from University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web and the US State Department, of all places.

Cave Life

This week is Cave Week, so to celebrate we're going spelunking to see what critters we can find. In addition to all sorts of whimsical formations, caves host a surprising amount of life. There are trogolobites, which live full time in caves; trogolophiles, which live in a cave but can also survive outside; and trogoloxenes, the part time cave denizens. You can encounter insects, fish, birds, mammals, plants, fungi, and others. Because there is very little natural light, many of these species are adapted to live in darkness; some don't even have eyes.

Whimsical cave formations

The first cave critter that comes to mind is a bat. Many bats roost in caves because they are cool and dark during the day, making it easier to sleep. Caves make a great place to hibernate over the winter. A constant temperature that is above freezing is an obvious plus, but it's cool enough to trigger the hibernation process. Other cave mammals include bears and jumping mice.

To the bat cave! (National Science Foundation)

Plants are a rare find in  caves because they need sunlight for photosynthesis. I saw ferns growing in a cave under a ceiling hole that opened to the surface. Much more common are fungi, which thrive in dark, damp conditions. Most important among them is Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which causes White Nose Syndrome in bats. It is devastating bat colonies across the US and Canada, and enjoys the cool temperatures while the bats hibernate.

White Nose Syndrome affecting these bats (NPS)

Cave fish are interesting little critters. Nearly all lack eyes and skin pigment. With no light to see by, there is no need to camouflage or stand out, so they are likely to be white or light colored. Unable to see their food, they find it by sensing movement in the water. What exactly do they eat? Since plants, the base of the food chain can't really live in a cave, anything in there either needs to go outside for good or eat whatever gets brought in. Cave fish eat detritus that washes in during rain events. Other critters get by on dung, the leaving of larger animals that way out.

Blind cave fish (NPS, Rick Olsen)

Cave Week runs through this weekend. Find a cave near you and check it out. Spelunk safely. Use the buddy system, carry at least three light sources, and make sure someone knows where you are going. Don't disturb any wildlife and make sure clothing and equipment are thoroughly cleaned before entering another cave. This helps prevent the spread of White Nose Syndrome.
This week's information comes from the National Park Service and National Geographic.

Species Recovery

The  Endangered Species Act of 1973 was passed to protect plants and animals that are considered at risk of extinction. The ultimate goal is to recover populations to a sustainable level. How is this achieved?
The first step is to study the situation. Without knowing why a species is in decline, it may be difficult to figure out how to save it. The end result of studying would be a recovery plan.
Recovery plans outline what needs to be done and how to go about doing it. One key component is identifying and protecting critical habitat. Without having adequate habitat there is no way to protect the species.

Rare California condor, flying in the wild again since 1996
(NPS)

There are a few ways to recover a species. The most obvious is to prohibit killing it. Putting a stop to human-caused deaths is the first step in halting population decline.
Captive breeding programs allow for populations to increase in a controlled environment, free of the hazards found in the wild. The trick is not letting the critters you're raising become accustomed to humans. In the case of whooping cranes.

A human disguised as a whooping crane teaching actual
whooping cranes raised in captivity how to be cranes
(Reedsburg Times)

Sometimes removing the entire species from the wild is necessary. This happened with California condors and black-footed ferrets, which have both since been reintroduced to the wild, and mountain caribou and red wolves, which are nearly all currently in captivity while populations recover.
Mountain caribou were rounded up last year and placed in a great outdoor holding own where they are safe from wolf attacks. Red wolves have been reintroduced a few times, but those populations failed to survive. The majority of them are living in captivity while biologists figure out what went wrong.

Red wolf (https://www.fws.gov/southeast/wildlife/mammals/red-wolf/)

Another method is translocation, where members of one population are moved to another location to establish a population there. This usually happens to reintroduce reintroduce a species to an area where it has been wiped out. Wolves at Yellowstone, and a current project bringing fishers back to the Cascades, are two examples.
Once you've started on the path to recovery, monitoring is necessary to make sure targets are being met. Is habitat adequate? Are populations increasing? If not, what needs to be done to ensure success?
Many species have been listed as threatened or endangered for decades, leading some people to believe that the Endangered Species Act doesn't work. However, populations don't increase overnight, especially to a sustainable level.  Several species have been delisted, so while recovery is a long and winding road, in the end it has proven to be successful for the most part.
This week's information comes from USFWS, another USFWS page, and the Reedsburg Times of Wisconsin.