Transcript Hummingbirds - cloudfront.net

Hummingbird Citizen Science Project
Green Hermit
The Betts Lab
Costa Rica Research!
Heliconia tortuosa
White-tipped Sicklebill
Matthew Betts
Professor at OSU
Forest Wildlife Landscape Ecology
Violet Sabrewing
Background on Project
• Project designed by a student – now in its fifth year.
• Using citizen science to understand if forest cover is
correlated with hummingbird presence and abundance.
• Students use feeders to do observations of hummingbirds
every 2-3 days and record 1) what species of hummingbird
they see and 2) how many of each individual species they
see.
• Project runs for 2 months, after which we process the data
and provide participants with a summary of the results.
Why count hummingbirds?
Decline of the Rufous Hummingbird
Since 1967 the population has dropped an estimated 1-2% each year.
Rufous Hummingbird
What do they look like?
Size: 2.7-3.5 inches long
Color:
• Named for the reddish-brown color on the
underside of wings and side of bodies; have a
white collar
• Males: Bright red throat
• Females: Greenish/gray head
MALE
Rufous Facts
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Feisty! Will chase away other hummingbirds
and even chase off chipmunks from their nest.
Migrate as far as Alaska to Mexico in the fall
and then back up in the spring – a journey of
3,900 miles.
Beat their wings 52-62 times/second.
FEMALE
http://www.allaboutbirds.org
Common Hummingbirds in the Pacific Northwest
Rufous Hummingbird: Nesting and Migration
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Female builds nest out of plant
down and spider webs,
camouflaging it with moss, lichen,
and bark.
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Lay clutch of 2-3 eggs up to 30 feet
up in maple, Douglas-fir, pine, and
birch trees, as well as in ferns and
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Incubates for 15-17 days.
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Nestling period of 15-19 days.
Migrate in a
clockwise pattern
up the coast and
down through
the Rocky
Mountains
Why Are They Declining?: Land-use Change
Cropland, urban, pasture
Grazed forest and woodland
Summer
Ag and Rangeland
Migration
Mountain Meadows
Housing Development
Forest
Cropland
Clear Cutting
Winter
Changes in distribution of pollinator habitat can affect the
hummingbird’s ability to transport pollen
Why Are They Declining?: Pesticides and Agriculture
http://www.audubon.org/sites/default/files/i
magecache/magazine_gallery_full/photos/61_rufous_hummingbird_eating_insect.jpg
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Rufous Hummingbird distribution is negatively correlated with
areas of agriculture and pesticide use.
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Pesticides are speculated to contribute to the Rufous
Hummingbird’s slow decline, along with habitat disruption and
disease.
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However, there have been very few studies of the effects of
environmental toxicants on hummingbirds.
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Pesticides kill small insects and and spiders that hummingbirds prey
on for protein.
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It was shown if a hummingbird were to ingest too much iron from a
fertilizer, it could be fatal.
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Rufous Hummingbirds were one of the most sensitive to the
intensive treatment of Oregon seral forest by herbicides in a study
by Dr. Betts.
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In summary, agriculture is speculated to have wiped out a portion
of the hummingbirds’ historic migration path and the same may be
true for bees and other pollinators.
Anna’s Hummingbird
http://www.allaboutbirds.org
Size: 10-11 cm long
Color:
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Green/gray without any orange on
body
Males: Bright pink head
Females: Green/gray head
MALE
Likely Uncommon in Sisters
FEMALE
Anna’s Range Distribution Change
1960-1970
2000-2014
~40 years later…
http://ebird.org/ebird/map/
Pollination
http://www.kidsgrowingstrong.org/Pollination
Why We Care
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Bleeding Hearts
Columbine
Desert Trumpet
Calico Bush
Columbia Lily
Scarlet Creeper
Red Fireweed
Trumpet Vine
Cardinal Flower
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Bee Balm
Carpet Bugle
Impatiens
Petunias
Salvia
Butterfly Bush
Coral Bells
Fuchsia
Larkspur
Cannas
Tree morning glories
Tree ocotillo
Manzanita
Pollination!
Conservation
• Habitat Conservation: Land management practices that
seek to conserve, protect, and restore habitat for plants and
animals.
• How can we help the Rufous Hummingbirds?
o We can try to understand why they’re declining….
The Hummingbird Citizen Science Project!
1.
Question
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2.
Hypothesis
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Record the amount of nectar in your feeder and observe the
hummingbirds you see around the feeder for 2 months
Results
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Research by student scientists!
Experiment
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There will be more hummingbirds in areas with more forest cover
Methods
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If forest cover correlated with Rufous hummingbird presence
and abundance?
The data from our observations
Conclusion
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Do our observations support our hypothesis?
Project Protocol
• Feeder – the trick to filling it and instructions for making nectar
• The datasheet
Area Description
• Conifer and Deciduous Trees
Leaves
Cone
Conifer
Leaves
• 50 meters – how many steps?
Deciduous
Trees - which is which?
Questions?