In my opinion, observer bias may be responsible for the October peak. I suspect
optimal dispersal north from tropical breeding grounds may actually be prior to
Sep15 but birders are reticent to bird in summer, especially mid-August till
cool fronts pass in October in spite of that period being a wonderful time for
rare tropical dispersers and migrants.
Fred Collins, Director
Kleb Woods Nature Center
20303 Draper Road,Tomball TX 77377
281-357-5324
Harris County Precinct 3
Steve Radack Commissioner
www.pct3.com<http://www.pct3.com/>
From: Tim White <timwhite1057@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2018 1:39 PM
To: Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3) <FCollins@xxxxxxxx>
Cc: dawgler@xxxxxxxxx; David Sarkozi <david@xxxxxxxxxxx>; 1 Texbirds
(texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [texbirds] Re: Brown Booby Search
All:
In November 2017, the National Park Service reported the first record of brown
boobies nesting on Santa Barbara Island in the Channel Islands off of
California. Several other breeding pairs on other Channel Islands have also
been discovered. They theorized that the expansion of their range coincides
with shifts in oceanic conditions with warmer waters and changes in prey
availability associated with El Nino events.
This population dispersal up the California coast appears to likely be
emigration of a population seeking suitable habitat. If the report on the
increase nesting populations on Arrecife Alacranes is indicative of the Gulf of
Mexico brown boobies, this might be signaling a population dispersal up the
Texas coast in the not too distant future.
However, it seems to me that the majority of reported brown boobies in Texas
and elsewhere inland over the past 5 years, are sightings of individual birds.
This makes me think that the occurrence may be due to some physical phenomenon,
such as tropical weather fronts, dips in the jet stream or some other changing
weather patterns directing the birds north from the southern Gulf. It would be
interesting to see if there is a correlation to the sightings inland to
atmospheric events occurring around the same time.
It could also just be an artifact of eBird itself. Does the increase usage of
the software to report random sightings over the past decade make it appear
that the frequency is increasing? When it fact it has remained stable but
because of a lack of reporting to a centralized database it isn’t easily
apparent.
Regardless of why, it is an interesting occurrence to monitor.
Tim
On Thu, Jul 19, 2018 at 11:36 AM, Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)
<FCollins@xxxxxxxx<mailto:FCollins@xxxxxxxx>> wrote:
The following numbers are from:
STATUS OF SEABIRD NESTING POPULATIONS
ON ARRECIFE ALACRANES, GULF OF MEXICO
THOR E. MORALES-VERA1, F. DANIEL RUZ-ROSADO2, ENRIQUETA VELARDE2, & EDWARD O.
KEITH3†
This is the closest breeding area to Texas. It was surveyed in 1986 and again
in 2009
Brown Booby went from 10 pair to 80 pair. Red-footed went from one pair to 13.
Masked Booby dropped from 2536 to 1615 pairs. If the increase continued from
2009 through this nesting season it could account for all the birds appearing
in Texas.
I think David has a splendid idea.
Fred Collins, Director
Kleb Woods Nature Center
20303 Draper Road,Tomball TX
77377<https://maps.google.com/?q=20303+Draper+Road,Tomball+TX+77377+%0D%0A+281&entry=gmail&source=g>
281<https://maps.google.com/?q=20303+Draper+Road,Tomball+TX+77377+%0D%0A+281&entry=gmail&source=g>-357-5324
Harris County Precinct 3
Steve Radack Commissioner
www.pct3.com<http://www.pct3.com/>
From: texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> On Behalf
Of Dennis Shepler
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2018 4:24 PM
To: David Sarkozi <david@xxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:david@xxxxxxxxxxx>>; 1 Texbirds
(texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>)
<texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Subject: [texbirds] Re: Brown Booby Search
Davey et al
I would like to know what is happening to the south regarding water temps, food
source availability/population trends, number of fledged young, nest habitat
dynamics, amount of plastics/microplastics in feeding areas, etc. Boobies are
here but what are the causes of the inordinate dispersal of boobies. From what
population(s) are the birds we are finding. If anyone has that info, it would
be nice to peruse. Determining the dispersal throughout Texas would be an
interesting endeavor and I would join David, and others, in that effort in
October.
Shepler
On Wed, Jul 18, 2018 at 2:59 PM Dennis Shepler
<dawgler@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:dawgler@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Davey et al
I would like to know what is happening to the south regarding water temps, food
source availability/population trends, number of fledged young, nest habitat
dynamics, amount of plastics/microplastics in feeding areas, etc. Boobies are
here but what are the causes of the inordinate dispersal of boobies. From what
population(s) are the birds we are finding. If anyone has that info, it would
be nice to peruse. Determining the dispersal throughout Texas would be an
interesting endeavor and I would join David, and others, in that effort in
October.
Shepler
On Wed, Jul 18, 2018 at 2:48 PM Dennis Shepler
<dawgler@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:dawgler@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
interested in joining the search. my participation will be based on my health
conditions at the time of the census/search. I will contact you as we approach
the date. If you are on the 9/22 pelagic, I will there (I hope).
Billy D. Dawgler
On Wed, Jul 18, 2018 at 2:32 PM David Sarkozi
<david@xxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:david@xxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Would you be interested in participating in a Brown Booby search on the weekend
of October 13-14, 2018? The explosion of Brown Booby records in Texas
fascinates me. By month I took a look at the last 5 years plus 2018 so far and
found there are about 99 reports in eBird. Tallying these by month shows the
majority of records come from October (12 records). Records from Scurry, Wise,
Tarrant, and Camp county show Brown Boobies are possible on almost any large
body of water in the state. Records in Nebraska and Iowa suggest that even Lake
Meredith in the panhandle could possibly host a bird. There are a number of
lakes that get scant attention from birders. I propose we organize a search of
as many lakes and bays as possible that weekend and see how many if any Texas
birders can find.
--
David Sarkozi
Houston, TX
(713) 412-4409 twitter ID dsarkozi
--
W. Dennis Shepler
--
W. Dennis Shepler
--
W. Dennis Shepler
