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Shannon Kenney |
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Juan Sho |
Preliminary Report on Birds Doyle’s
Delight 2007
Introduction
The bird team of the 2007 Doyle’s Delight Expedition
included myself and Juan Sho of the Belize Zoo. Juan and
I brought complementary strengths to the table. My role
was to familiarize Juan with ornithological field methods
such as setting up mist-nets, proper handling techniques
and biometric data collection. His sight and vocalization
recognition, learned from a lifetime of birding in Belize,
greatly supplemented my developing knowledge of Neo-tropical
birds. Our goal was to conduct a general survey of birds
at Doyle’s Delight and compare our records with those
of previous expeditions in order to assess species diversity
and abundance in the area.
Methods
We used a two-fold approach, the first being to set up
mist-nets at three different locales in relative proximity
to the summit of Doyle’s Delight. Each locale was
representative of a different elevation – Helicopter
Landing Site (elev. 1144 m), Slope (elev. 1099m) and Valley
(elev. 1037m). We set up 5 nets in each section, spaced
200m – 300m apart, taking into consideration height,
position relative to the ridge, wind, proximity to fruiting
trees and canopy cover. The nets were set up randomly within
these parameters and GPS reading taken at each net location.
Nets were checked and cleared every hour. Data was collected
nearby the nets and the birds were subsequently released.
No banding was done on this year’s expedition. We
collected the following biometric data: body and wing molt,
wing cord, weight, age by molt, sex (by plumage, brood patch,
or cloacal protuberance), body fat, and skull pneumatization.
We also identified vegetation within a 1 meter radius of
the nets and made a note of any that fruiting trees.
In addition to netting, we spent a portion of our time
doing general observation, identifying birds by sight and/or
vocalization, adding to our checklist for the expedition.
We tried to evenly divide our twelve working days across
each of the 3 elevation sections - 2 days netting followed
by 1 day of observation. Nets were opened at 5:30am and
closed for the night by 6:00pm. Our observation days followed
the same time frame. Rain, consequently, lead to some sections
having more net/observation hours than others. A conservative
estimate would be roughly sixty-five total net hours and
thirty total observation hours.
Preliminary Discussion
One of the many highlights of the expedition was getting
to see, and even more so, hear, the montane Slate-colored
Solitaire Myadestes unicolor. We were pleased to
find that they were ubiquitous at Doyle’s Delight
– seen and heard often throughout the day. Equally
abundant was the montane Common Bush Tanager Chlorospingus
ophthalmicus. Both were netted most frequently at the
Helicopter Landing Site. It is always exciting to document
new records for an area, especially one as unique as Doyle’s
Delight. Across our netted, observed, heard survey we documented
11 new records for the area (please see checklist). The
most notable were a netted Kentucky Warbler Oporornis
formosus, observed Eye-ringed Flatbill Rhynchocyclus
brevirostris, observed Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Amazilia
tzacatl, observed Long-billed Gnatwren Ramphocaenus
melanurus and photographed (by Jan Meerman) Brown Violet-ear
Colibri delphinae. The expedition took place right
at the cusp of migration season which allowed for spotting
of some interesting migrant warblers such as the Golden-crowned
Warbler Basileuterus culcivorus, Northern Waterthrush Seiurus
noveboracensis and Black and White Warbler Mniotilta
varia. Our most successful netting area was in the
valley at the lowest 2 nets. Here we caught the highest
numbers and greatest diversity of birds than any of our
other areas. This is most likely due to a combination of
favorable variables, i.e. high canopy cover, several fruiting
trees and proximity to flowing water as these 2 conjoined
nets were placed <.5m and parallel to a small stream.
My personal favorite was being able to watch, at great
length, the intricate courtship display of the Red-capped
Manakin Pipra mentalis – something I had
never had seen, only read about. Also, the elusive behaviors
of the Tawny-throated Leaftosser Sclerurus mexicanus
and Scaly-throated Leaf Tosser Sclerurus guatemalensis.
Their camouflage made them difficult to locate, but once
your sights were on them their unusual foraging behavior
was interesting to witness.
The final report will provide thee binomial name and abundance
data for all species recorded as well GPS coordinates and
vegetation data.
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Brown
Violet-ear Colibri delphinae. Picture
by Jan Meerman
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Slate-colored
Solitaire Myadestes unicolor
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Golden-crowned
Warbler Basileuterus culicivorus
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Acknowledgments
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude and thanks
to Sharon Matola for the labor-intensive organizing of the
expedition and for so very generously inviting me to be
a part of Doyle’s Delight team. This was an opportunity
of a lifetime and an invaluable component to my pursuit
of a career in ornithology. Bo’tic (“thanks”
in K’echi Maya) to Juan Sho for sharing his extensive
birding knowledge with me which tremendously aided not only
our observation record, but the overall enjoyment of our
experience on the mountain. It was truly a collaborative
effort and I learned so much from the identification information
he imparted. A special thanks to the rest of the Doyle’s
Delight team for their bird sightings, sharing knowledge
from their disciplines and infectious enthusiasm which all
made for wonderful discussions. Many thanks to Gregorio
Sho and Raul Balona who went above and beyond as support
team to make sure everything ran smoothly. A special thanks
to BATSUB for getting us there and back safely.
See
Juan Sho's trainee report
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