Monitoring meadow birds at restoration sites along the Little Truckee River Helen Loffland ? Rodney Siegel ? Bob Wilkerson The Institute for Bird Populations, PO Box 1346, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

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Monitoring meadow birds at restoration sites
along the Little Truckee RiverHelen Loffland ?
Rodney Siegel ? Bob WilkersonThe Institute for
Bird Populations, PO Box 1346, Point Reyes
Station, CA 94956
Perazzo Meadows
ABSTRACT We developed a monitoring protocol to
assess how bird populations respond to meadow
restoration activities. During summer 2010 we
conducted pre-restoration bird surveys at 28
meadows proposed for restoration and 32 reference
meadows in the Sierra Nevada. Study sites were
identified in collaboration with public and
private land managers. Monitoring visits included
point count surveys, broadcast surveys, area
searches, and vegetation and soil moisture
assessments. Here we describes results of the
pre-restoration monitoring completed at one
restoration/reference pair of meadows on the
Tahoe National Forest. Results of these surveys
provide baseline information for assessing the
effects of restoration activities completed in
late fall 2010 on bird populations at the Perazzo
Middle Meadow site along the Little Truckee River.

• WHY MONITOR MEADOW BIRDS?
• Montane meadows in the Sierra Nevada form
  ecological islands that provide abundant water,
  food, and cover for birds and other wildlife.
• At many Sierra meadows, human activities have
  altered meadow hydrology, changing meadow plant
  communities, often diminishing habitat quality
  for native birds.
• Throughout the Sierra Nevada, many public and
  private land managers are now restoring or
  enhancing meadow habitats often by addressing
  the historical management legacies that have led
  to poorly watered meadows.
• One way to assess the success of meadow
  restoration is to monitor the responses of bird
  populations that inhabit the meadow. Birds can
  respond rapidly and dramatically to meadow
  restoration often exhibiting population
  increases or even colonization of new sites
  within as little as one year after restoration
  efforts are implemented.

STUDY AREA
Both the restoration site at Perazzo Middle
Meadow (above left) and the paired reference site
at Little Truckee below Stampede Reservoir (above
right) occur along the Little Truckee River which
flows east from the Sierra Nevada Crest. Magenta
circles indicate bird survey stations, which 250
m apart.

• METHODS
• BACI (Before, After, Control, Impact) monitoring
  scheme, in which restoration sites were paired
  with reference sites where no restoration
  activities are imminent.
• 2 survey visits per season, between May 20 July
  15
• Surveys conducted pre- and post-restoration
• Surveys include 7-min point counts, area
  searches, and rapid vegetation assessments
• Methods followed
• Loffland et al. 2011
• (see image at right
• full protocol available at
• http//www.birdpop.org/
• Sierra/sierra_meadows.htm)

POINT COUNT AREA SEARCH RESULTS All species
detected. Focal species indicated in bold text.
RESULTS (from Perazzo Middle Meadow and its
associated reference site only)
Species Perazzo Middle Meadow Little Truckee Below Stampede Res.
Canada Goose   X
Mallard X X
Cinnamon Teal X  
Northern Pintail X  
Green-winged Teal X  
Common Merganser X X
Mountain Quail X X
California Quail   X
Turkey Vulture   X
Osprey X X
Red-tailed Hawk X X
American Kestrel   X
Virginia Rail X  
Killdeer X  
Spotted Sandpiper X X
Wilson's Snipe X  
California Gull   X
Mourning Dove   X
Calliope Hummingbird X  
Rufous Hummingbird X  
Belted Kingfisher   X
Williamson's Sapsucker X  
Red-breasted Sapsucker X X
Hairy Woodpecker X  
Northern Flicker X X
Pileated Woodpecker X  
Olive-sided Flycatcher X X
Western Wood-Pewee X X
Willow Flycatcher X  
Dusky Flycatcher X  
Warbling Vireo X X
Steller's Jay X X
Clark's Nutcracker X X
Common Raven X X
Horned Lark   X
Tree Swallow X X
Northern Rough-winged Swallow X X
Cliff Swallow   X
Mountain Chickadee X X
Red-breasted Nuthatch X X
White-breasted Nuthatch X  
Brown Creeper X X
House Wren X X
Western Bluebird X  
Townsend's Solitaire X X
Hermit Thrush X  
American Robin X X
European Starling X X
Orange-crowned Warbler   X
Nashville Warbler X X
Yellow Warbler X X
Yellow-rumped Warbler X X
MacGillivray's Warbler X X
Wilson's Warbler X X
Western Tanager X  
Green-tailed Towhee X X
Spotted Towhee X  
Chipping Sparrow X X
Brewer's Sparrow   X
Vesper Sparrow X X
Savannah Sparrow X X
Fox Sparrow   X
Song Sparrow X X
Lincoln's Sparrow X X
White-crowned Sparrow X X
Dark-eyed Junco X X
Black-headed Grosbeak X  
Red-winged Blackbird X X
Brewer's Blackbird X X
Brown-headed Cowbird X X
Cassin's Finch X  
Pine Siskin X  
Lesser Goldfinch X X
Evening Grosbeak X  
POINT COUNT RESULTS focal species detection
rates (Avg. no. birds station)
POINT COUNT AREA SEARCH RESULTS No. species
detected using each method.
Meadow Name No. Species Detected - Area Searches No. Species Detected - Point Counts No. Species Detected Only During Area Searches No. Species - Both Methods Combined
Perazzo Middle Meadow 52 55 8 63
Little Truckee below Stampede Res. 43 49 3 52
MacGillivrays Warbler
MEADOW FOCAL SPECIES We identified Focal Species
for assessment and analysis that are likely to
respond to meadow restoration and that require a
variety of meadow habitats, including riparian
shrubs, open grassland, emergent vegetation, and
gravel bars   Virginia Rail Yellow
Warbler Sora MacGillivrays Warbler Sandhill
Crane Common Yellowthroat Spotted
Sandpiper Wilsons Warbler Wilsons
Snipe Yellow-breasted Chat Red-breasted
Sapsucker Song Sparrow Willow Flycatcher Lincolns
Sparrow Warbling Vireo White-crowned
Sparrow Swainsons Thrush Brown-headed Cowbird
VEGETATION RESULTS Average vegetative and water
cover characteristics for 50-m plots surrounding
survey stations at each meadow. aRestoration
sites indicated in bold text. bMean and standard
error averaged over four 50-m radius quadrants at
each survey station.
Meadow Namea Measureb Percent Cover Percent Cover Percent Cover Percent Cover Percent Cover Percent Cover Percent Cover Percent Cover Percent Cover
Meadow Namea Measureb Trees Snags Riparian Shrubs Sagebrush Non-Woody Vegetation Bare Ground Gravel Bar Flowing Water Standing Water
Perazzo Middle Meadow Mean 3.66 0.14 21.39 6.59 74.05 1.67 0.84 7.30 4.17
Perazzo Middle Meadow (S.E.) 1.42 0.06 3.97 2.20 6.23 0.46 0.23 2.44 1.29
Little Truckee below Stampede Res. Mean 2.65 0.10 13.40 46.58 51.44 10.71 7.04 2.33 0.58
Little Truckee below Stampede Res. (S.E.) 1.01 0.07 2.34 6.11 6.25 2.25 1.86 1.00 0.42
CONCLUSIONS Monitoring bird populations at
restoration and reference sites before and after
restoration will reveal how species respond to
restoration, and how responses vary by type of
restoration, locality, and time since
restoration. Such results are needed to document
successful restoration, and to further hone
restoration methods through adaptive management.
Willow Flycatcher