Traversing Chile for Godwits

While our main study areas for catching and resighting godwits were the bays and estuaries around Castro, another part of the project involved traveling to sights all over the island of Chiloe and around Puerto Montt where godwits spend the winter. This was part of an effort to figure out where the godwits were, how many there were at these locations, as well as to try and find some more banded individuals, especially ones that Nate had banded in Alaska the summer before. This was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip since it involved seeing more of the countryside, and some other cool birds. Our mission was to survey locations north of Castro on the island of Chiloe, as well as sights on the mainland around Puerto Montt.

Before we began doing our godwit surveys, we had to have a little fun. Before leaving Chiloe, we went to the Puñihuil Penguinera, a famous penguin colony known for harboring both Magellanic (Spheniscus magellanicus) and Humboldt Penguins (S. humboldti).

Views of and around the Puñihuil Penguinera.

Magellanic (above) and Humboldt Penguins (below) in the penguin breeding colony off of Chiloe

One of the coolest "geese" in the world... the Kelp Goose (Chloephaga hybrida). Above, three young birds. Below, an adult female with a Humboldt Penguin staring on.

Some other cool sightings around the Puñihuil Penguinera included, but were not limited to: Red-legged Cormorants (Phalacrocorax gaimardi) (above); Marine Otter (Lontra felina) (second); Flightless Steamer Duck female and chicks (third); and Blackish Oystercatcher (Haematopodus ater) (below)

Before leaving the island of Chiloe, we saw some beautiful scenery on the island...

...and some awesome birds to boot...

Out of focus picture of a Thorn-tailed Rayadito, an awesome Furnariid that is a cross between a Brown Creeper and a chickadee in behavior

Black-necked Swans (Cygnus melancoryphus)

A pair of Ausral Pygmy Owls (Glaucidium nanum)

The ever present Chimango Caracara (Milvago chimango), the crow of Chile (above), and the Southern Caracara (Caracara plancus) (below)

A flock of several thousand Hudsonian Godwits

Black-faced Ibis (Theristicus melanopis), an ever present, and noisy addition to the Chilean avifauna

Slender-billed Parakeets (Enicognathus leptorhynchus), one of the most awesome birds around Chiloe

A cute family group of Flightless Steamer Ducks

Black-chinned Siskin (Spinus barbata)

Chilean Flamingos (Phoenicoptera chilensis)

Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) - these birds, while superficially very similar to swans, but may not be closely related to swans

By far, the most stunning place for godwits was a place called Chamisa, which was a huge mudflat on the outskirts of Puerto Montt. This is a location that on a normal year holds roughly 6,000 godwits, and ~1,000 Whimbrels. This year, however was special, and Nate and I counted roughly 9,000 godwits! We are not entirely sure why this was, but it was incredible to see so many godwits in one place.

The extensive mudlfats at Chamisa, with many algae collectors.

A large flock of hundreds of Hudsonian Godwits

A large feeding flock of Hudsonian Godwits, Surfbirds, and gulls.

When we were done with our godwit surveys, we had one full day to ourselves. Never having been to South America, I wanted to see as many different habitats as possible, as well as a chance to see a Magellanic Woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus). That meant getting up in elevation and into some good forest. We decided to go to Parque Nacional Puyehue, in the foothills of the Andes. We chose this particular site because it had easy access to high elevation habitats. Needless to say , it was an amazing place, with many cool birds, but no big woodpeckers.

A fast flowing mountain stream... that can only mean one thing...

...Torrent Ducks (Merganetta armata)!!!!

The inside of an old, volcano crater

Dark-faced Ground Tyrant (Muscisaxicola maclovianus), a bird more like a thrush or pipit than a flycatcher

Bar-winged Cinclodes (Cinclodes fuscus)

A view of the Andes from the top of a volcano

All in all, my trip to Chile was amazing, and I certainly learned a lot. I hope you've enjoyed my posts about my trip. It was an incredible opportunity, and awesome to see and study Hudsonian Godwits on their wintering grounds.

Shorebird Banding

To avoid picture overload in the cannon netting post, I’ve decided to put a bunch of pictures of banding godwits and Whimbrels in a separate post. Enjoy!

A series of godwit flags prior to putting them out on birds. We used up all of these flags in a single catch, and then some. Prior to each catch, we always made sure we had at least 200 flags ready, just in case it was a big catch.

The first thing that we do after we've caught a bird is put the standard aluminum band on their right leg.

The next step is to attach the color band and the alpha flag. The flag goes on the left leg of the bird. In these photos, a godwit (top) and a Whimbrel (bottom) get their respective flags. The flags are glued shut to make sure they don't fall off the birds.

The next thing we check for on birds is we measure their wing length, and also age birds based on their plumage and molt. In these pictures, we are checking the wing molt of an adult godwit (top) and a juvenile Whimbrel (bottom).

Bill length and total head length are also measured with calipers, in addition to the length of their tarsus (leg). These measurements can help to sex birds (females have longer bills than males). The final measurement that we take from birds is their mass. Mass can also help us to sex the birds, as females are again heavier than males.

While we mostly caught our target species while netting, we caught a few gulls with one capture. In one particular netting, we caught a Franklin's Gull (above) and a Brown-hooded Gull (bottom). The Brown-hooded Gull is a first year bird, and does not have a complete brown hood.

Cannon Netting*

One of the only ways to catch large numbers of shorebirds away from the breeding grounds is to use cannon nets. Cannon nets are exactly what they sound like. They are nets that are propelled by small cannons. While I was in Chile, I learned the basics of cannon netting, and in the process, realized that it is difficult, and whether or not a firing is successful depends a lot on luck. Cannon netting requires a bit of reconnaissance work, namely to figure out where the high tide roost sites for the target birds are. Once that key piece of information is acquired, the team can then proceed to set the net up the next day. Now, because birds are caught on their roost site, it is necessary to set the net up well before high tide, which often means setting it up at low tide, when the birds are dispersed, so that we have enough time to hide before birds are considering roosting.

Step 1: So, the first step of cannon netting is to set the net and the cannons up. This step is fairly straight forward, although the exact placement of the cannons does certainly require an experienced eye. The placement of the net is also important, because if the net isn’t in the right place, then it may turn out that no birds end up in the catch area. Now, the catch area is an area that is about 30 ft. by 30 ft., so the margin of error is quite small. Anyway, to set the net up, first, we need to dig a shallow trench to place the net in. It was important to make sure the leading edge of the net was on top, otherwise it wouldn’t fire properly. Next, we needed to dig the holes for the cannons, and attach the ropes of the nets to the projectiles of the cannons. Okay, now the net and the cannons are set up.

The net trench is dug, and now the net can be laid out in the shallow trench.

One of the two cannons that are placed at either end of the net. Here, the bottom is wrapped in several plastic bags to prevent them from getting wet

Step 2: The next important step of cannon netting is to disguise the net. I enjoyed this part, because, if done right, the net and cannons should be almost invisible. Some sites were far easier to camouflage than others, and for some sites, we got quite creative. Now, this wasn’t as easy as just piling seaweed and algae on top of the net… the layer of cover had to be thin and light, so as to not weigh the net down and hinder firing (we actually made this mistake once). If all goes well, there should be very little evidence of the net area.

Adding sedge clumps to further hide the net.

Step 3: The next step is to wait. And wait some more. Usual wait times ranged from 3-6 hours… it all depended on how fast the birds began piling into the roost area. This part was both boring, fun, depressing, and stressful.

Step 4: The second to last step of cannon netting is probably one of the most important. It involves twinkling and jiggling. Now I don’t know where these names came from, but they are fun to say. Twinkling is to gently push birds toward the catch area. Sometimes this involved flushing birds from an alternate roost site farther down the beach in hopes that they would move to the roost site where the net was set. Other times, it would involve trying to gently push birds a few meters to try and position them better in the net area. Regardless, twinkling was important, as its success often dictated how many birds ended up in the catch area. When twinkling failed, it usually means birds flushed and flew away and didn’t come back. Jiggling is usually the last step before actually firing. Jiggling is done by jiggling the jiggler. The jiggler is a small rope about 2 meters in front of where the net is set up. The point of jiggling the jiggler is to get birds out of the zone 2 meters in front of the net. Those two meters are called the “danger zone.” The “danger zone” is the area in front of the net where birds could be injured by the net. So, by jiggling the jiggler, one was able to safely and effectively move birds out of the “danger zone” without making all the birds in the capture zone fly.

The flock is in place...

Step 5: 3….2…1… FIRE!

Step 6: Run like hell to the net to get birds out (if it is a “wet catch,” where birds are caught in the net in the water, you run like hell faster). After removing birds from under the net, they are placed in keeping cages, which are simple cages that are set up to keep birds in and keep them calm.

While removing birds from under the net, we would cover the net with a dark tarp to keep them calm. Birds would then be placed in the keeping cages, where they would wait to be banded.

Step 7: Process birds as fast as possible. Now, when there is the potential of catching up to 200 birds in a catch, this sounds easier than it actually is. Birds that we caught would get a metal band, a color band (indicating the year it was caught), and a unique color flag with a code on it (the color of the flag indicates the location it was banded: red is for Chile, orange for Argentina, green for Alaska, and white for Churchill). Birds would be checked for their molt condition, have their bills, head length, and tarsus length measured, and some would have blood taken for later genetic work.

The assembly line of godwit banding. This would ensure that we could process at peak efficiency.

Step 8: Release birds!

*No birds were harmed during our stay in Chile while cannon netting