Thanks Brent. I wonder how much of this is sampling bias. Short grass habitat
is in short supply and they definitely are fond of turf farms, but I've seen
equally impressive numbers in wetland areas and plowed fields along the Gulf
coast. Turf farms are disproportionately sampled for "grasspipers" and
understandably so given the ease with which difficult to find species are
encountered at these locations. It would be interesting to have a directed
shorebird migration survey wherein observers sampled working wetlands, ag
lands, and natural habitats. Is that what is planned for Buff-breasted
Sandpipers?
Richard Gibbons
Houston, Texas
On Jul 24, 2015, at 8:53 AM, Brent Ortego <brentortego@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
Saw my first Buff-breasted of the season on turf at Dacosta this morning.
This is a species that much is not known. Researchers from South America,
U.S. and Canada will be conducting research on this species in the next
couple of years to determine a population estimate.
I summarized Buff-breasted Sandpiper EBIRD data for Texas recently as part of
this work. 25% of the reports for this species are on turf and they support
76% of the birds. EBIRD sites with highest numbers have been in the Dallas
area, and many places from College Station to the Coast. Most will migrate
through in August and September.
Brent OrtegoTexas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentVictoria, TX
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