Replicating a historic survey from 30 years in the past, the Intermountain West Shorebird Survey is a five-year effort to rely shorebirds at greater than 200 wetland websites throughout 11 states within the Intermountain West. This system goals to higher perceive shorebirds and their distribution throughout wetlands, how that distribution has modified over the previous three many years, and the way the wetlands themselves have modified. Throughout peak migration—a one-to-two-week interval within the spring and fall—a community of volunteers, together with state and federal company biologists, are on the bottom, recognizing scopes and binoculars in hand, counting shorebirds.
After months of group and planning, surveyors went out throughout these 200+ websites to seize information from fall migration from August 9th by means of August twenty second, 2024. This can be a photograph diary from two of these survey groups: one on Nice Salt Lake, the place over 100 members surveyed nearly your entire lake and its wetlands in a single “Large Day” and the opposite at Salton Sea, the place surveyors cut up their survey between three days.
Survey Website One: Nice Salt Lake
Survey Staff One:
- Max Malmquist, Engagement Supervisor for Nationwide Audubon Society’s Saline Lakes Program and Lead Coordinator of the Intermountain West Shorebird Surveys
- Mike Malmquist, Retired, bird-lover, supportive father, says he’s getting too outdated for these dang surveys
Thursday, August 8, 2024
Tooele County, 6:45 p.m.
Max and Mike drop off a automobile on the finish of their survey route, an unbroken 9-mile stretch of shoreline with restricted entry that covers parts of Nice Salt Lake’s south shore in each Salt Lake and Tooele Counties. They publish indicators on the public entry gate, a well-liked location for goal taking pictures, informing shooters that the shorebird surveys shall be underway the next day and to not shoot towards the lake.
Friday, August 9, 2024
Salt Lake Metropolis; 4:40 a.m.
BEEP BEEP—alarm goes off.
Salt Lake Metropolis; 5:55 a.m.
Max begins his journey to the survey website, selecting up his dad Mike on the best way.
After a thirty-minute drive, they arrive on the entrance gate to Nice Salt Lake State Park and Marina.
One other 2 miles of driving and so they arrive at Black Rock Historic Website.
Nice Salt Lake is among the largest survey websites, with over 100 volunteers unfold throughout 1700 sq. miles of the lake and its related wetlands. With such an expansive space, survey groups journey on foot, by automotive, and by airboat.
Nice Salt Lake; 6:30 a.m.
Gear up: water, sunscreen, snacks, binoculars, muck boots, bug spray, and recognizing scopes.
Surveyors should put together for lengthy days with persistent climate comparable to heavy rain, sizzling temperatures, and protracted bugs.
Nice Salt Lake; 6:45 a.m.
Dawn.
The survey begins as Max and Mike set out on their route throughout the South Shore of Nice Salt Lake. Counting begins practically instantly.
Nice Salt Lake; 6:45-9:45 a.m.
Max and Mike transfer by means of their first survey space.
Important sighting occasion: a file new excessive rely for Max and Mike on their route of Snowy Plovers on the south shore of Great Salt Lake.
Nice Salt Lake; 10:45 a.m.
Midpoint within the day. Snack time.
Temperatures have already reached 96 levels Fahrenheit. To deal with the warmth, the surveyors periodically drench bandanas in water to make use of evaporative cooling.
Snowy Plovers proceed to be the numerous sighting of the day, together with 79 chicks which can be 2 weeks of age or youthful. Max remembers how troublesome it was to rely such a excessive variety of Snowy Plovers as they’re cryptic and mix in, making them extraordinarily straightforward to overlook. Totally scanning the Nice Salt Lake lakebed and playa to get essentially the most correct rely as doable takes lots of focus and vitality.
Nice Salt Lake; 10:45-2:45 p.m.
Max and Mike transfer by means of their second 4.5 mile survey space. At this level, they’ve counted 430 Snowy Plovers and over 5,000 Wilson’s Phalaropes in Gilbert Bay. Different vital sightings embody Baird’s Sandpipers, a Semipalmated Plover and a Sanderling. Retaining a working tally of shorebirds will be troublesome so the 2 should keep in fixed communication as they rely to make sure accuracy and no duplication.
Nice Salt Lake; 2:45-3:45 p.m.
After strolling practically 9 miles by means of their first two survey areas, Max and Mike get to their automobile they left the night earlier than to survey their third and fourth, remaining survey websites for the day. The final two websites are small and will be counted with a stationary scan with a recognizing scope from a parked automobile.
Nice Salt Lake; 3:45 p.m.
Finish of survey.
Salt Lake Metropolis; 4:45 p.m.
Max and Mike arrive again residence the place they finalize information sheets with climate, website circumstances, and whole shorebird counts.
Survey Website Two: Salton Sea
Survey Staff Two:
- Camila Bautista, Audubon California’s Desert and Salton Sea Program Supervisor
- Mark Dettling, Avian Ecologist for Level Blue Conservation Science
Salton Sea is 35 miles lengthy and 15 miles extensive and damaged into 19 main survey sections, with subsections inside every of these, i.e.: Phase 1A, 1B, 1C, and so on. One of many challenges Camila faces in every survey is discovering surveyors to take part. In comparison with Nice Salt Lake’s 100 volunteers, together with Camila there are simply 14 surveyors overlaying all of Salton Sea.
A majority of the Salton Sea is surveyed by each the USA Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Division of Fish and Wildlife by airboat. Segments identified for prime chicken density which can be accessible by foot are reserved for foot groups.
Foot surveys can show troublesome as they’re exhausting to entry by automotive and there are sometimes spots alongside the playa which can be too muddy to stroll by means of. Camila and her crew run foot surveys in areas identified to be protected and accessible.
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Palm Springs; 6:45 p.m.
Camila drives from Palm Springs to her Mother’s’ home in Coachella, half-hour nearer to the survey website to save lots of time within the morning.
Wednesday, August 14, 2024 (Survey Segments 14A-14C)
Coachella; 4:00 a.m.
Beep, beep—after simply 4 hours of sleep, the alarm goes off. With temperatures forecasted to succeed in 113 levels Fahrenheit, it’s time to pack the gear, together with loads of solar safety: rubber boots, binoculars, recognizing scope, loads of further water, solar gear, lengthy sleeves, and even solar gloves.
Coachella; 5:00 a.m.
Camila begins her 45-minute journey to fulfill the opposite surveyors at Bombay Seashore.
Bombay Seashore, Salton Sea; 5:45 a.m.
Camila meets all the different surveyors at Bombay Seashore to carpool to the far finish of the survey website to make sure the survey runs one-way. After a 10-minute drive, they arrive at Niland Marina round 6 a.m. and collect their issues to set out for the day.
Salton Sea, 14A; 6:05 a.m.
Camila, Mark Dettling, Miguel Aldana, and Pamela Taylor stroll the shoreline and cease on the first survey level. Because the solar begins to rise, the crew begins their first subsegment of the day, 14A, at 6:17 a.m.
The crew wraps up the primary subsegment at 7:04 a.m.
Salton Sea, 14B; 7:05 a.m.
The crew strikes on to Phase 14B, which runs from 7:04 a.m. by means of 8:30 a.m.
Salton Sea, 14C; 8:30 a.m.
The crew strikes on to Phase 14C, the ultimate section of the day, which runs from 8:30 a.m. by means of 9:50 a.m.
At nearly 10:00 a.m., the crew wraps up the day after recognizing hundreds of Least and Western Sandpipers, plenty of Snowy Plovers, Black Necked Stilts, and a handful of Marbled Godwits, Dowitchers, Wilson’s and Pink-Necked Phalaropes, Willet, and Sanderling.
Ending early is essential, as temperatures attain 111 levels Fahrenheit later within the day.
Thursday, August 15, 2024 (Survey Phase 10A & 15A-15B)
Coachella; 4:00 a.m.
Beep, beep—alarm goes off, time to begin one other day.
Coachella; 4:45 a.m.
With an extended drive forward, Camila hits the street earlier to succeed in survey section 10A, a small wetland section on the very southern finish of Salton Sea. This space runs adjoining to an ongoing restoration run by California State referred to as the Species Conservation Habitat Mission. It additionally runs close to agricultural water inflows from farms, leading to a bigger presence of birds.
Salton Sea; 5:45 a.m.
After assembly at Poe Highway, an extended grime street that provides surveys the closest entry to Phase 10A, the groups start their stroll.
Salton Sea; 7:00 a.m.
The crew finishes surveying section 10A. Regardless of being a shorter survey, they counted lots of birds. Important sightings included counting many Black Necked Stilts and Least/Western Sandpipers, in addition to hundreds of Pink-Necked Phalarope.
Camila and her crew additionally noticed some Semi-Palmated Plovers, Higher Yellow Legs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Dowitchers, Wilson’s Phalaropes, and Stilt Sandpipers.
Salton Sea; 7:50 a.m.
After strolling again to her automotive, Camila units off again to the Bombay Seashore Space for the ultimate surveys of the day: Segments 15A and 15B.
Salton Sea; 8:55 a.m.
Armed with their gear as soon as extra, the crew units off to begin surveying Phase 15 A, which takes them till about 9:30 a.m.
Salton Sea; 9:30 a.m.
The crew begins the ultimate survey section of the day: Phase 15B.
Each this section and the earlier one are far much less dense for chicken rely. With that stated, Camila’s crew did see many Least and Western Sandpipers, a handful of Snowy Plovers, Black Necked Stilts, Semipalmated Plover, and Willets.
After the 4-to-5-mile journey, with hotter temperatures than the day earlier than, Camila’s fatigue hits and she or he’s glad to name it a day.
Max and Camila’s experiences are simply two examples of the over 200 surveys carried out by an unimaginable community of volunteers and biologists. Surveys such because the Intermountain West Shorebird Surveys are solely doable because of the numerous volunteers who spend, at instances grueling, days out within the area preserving intense focus to make sure essentially the most correct illustration of birds. The info they acquire will inform administration of the wetlands these shorebirds want and assist to prioritize sustaining meals, habitat, and assets for all shorebirds and different species that rely on these wetlands.
Wish to become involved?
To enroll as a volunteer at Nice Salt Lake contact Max Malmquist at max.malmquist@audubon.org.
To enroll as a volunteer at Salton Sea contact Camila Bautista at camila.bautista@audubon.org.
It’s also possible to go to the brand new Intermountain West Shorebird Survey Web site to be taught extra and take a look at volunteer assets: https://www.imwss.org/
