Population trends of colonial waterbirds nesting in Hamilton Harbour in relation to changes in habitat and management

Abstract

Since 1975, the diversity and abundance of colonial waterbirds breeding in Hamilton Harbour have increased, making it an important nesting site on the Great Lakes. An adaptive management approach has been employed to control hyper-abundant species and guide conservation efforts for vulnerable species, with the goal of maintaining a diverse waterbird community. Four species exhibited increasing or stable population trends (1975–2013): Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus; from 0 to 4747 nests); Black-crowned Night-Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax; ranged from 6 to 259 nests); Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus; from 0 to 244 nests); and Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia; from 0 to 496 nests). Cormorants are currently above (2,500 nests), while Caspian Terns (400–600 nests), Night-Herons (100–200 nests) and Herring Gulls (200–300 nests) are within population targets set out in the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan. Despite conservation efforts, Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) declined from a peak of 1,028 nests (1990) to 333 nests (2013), although currently within the population target (300–600 nests). Ring-billed Gulls (L. delawarensis), through long-term management and habitat restrictions, were reduced from a peak of 39,621 nests (1990) to 11,133 nests (2013), but still exceed the target (<10,000 nests). Changes in the amount of available habitat have affected waterbird distributions: the loss of 42 ha (peak in 1999) of former nesting areas to development has been partially offset by the creation or securement of 1.9 ha of dedicated breeding habitat. Continued management, assessed and refined annually, is required to maintain species diversity in the area. Current management techniques focus on preventing Ring-billed Gulls from nesting on private lands and dedicated Tern nesting habitat, excluding Cormorants from nesting at specific sites, and reducing inter-specific competition with Night-Herons and Herring Gulls. Recommendations and considerations regarding future management and conservation efforts to reach Remedial Action Plan targets in the harbor are outlined.

Keywords:

• colonial waterbird population trends
• population targets
• management techniques
• conservation
• Great Lakes Area of Concern

Acknowledgements

The Hamilton Port Authority and the City of Hamilton accommodated nesting waterbirds on their lands for many years and integrated and funded various habitat creation projects. Members of the Colonial Waterbird Management Sub-Committee, Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan, especially, Marilyn Baxter, Lisa Geyer, Sue Gilpin, John Hall, Ralph Morris, Kathy Trotter and Robert Wagner, for supporting and guiding waterbird conservation goals. John Helka, Marilyn Baxter and Bill Fitzgerald provided access to sites and logistical support. Marcus Vujacic, Safia Mai, Dan Re, Katherine Dielman, Kyna Intini, Florence Gonzalves Prabhu, Jasmine Farahbakhsh, Janine Wong, Carolyn Zanchetta, Beth Nagai, and Shakil Salim performed monitoring and management in the Harbour from 2007 until 2013. Jeffrey Costa calculated site areas and extracted data on waterbird management from annual reports. Numerous volunteers assisted with data collection and conservation/management activities, including McMaster biology students, who helped cover Tern nesting habitat every winter. Thank you to Shane de Solla and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments and suggestions.

Supplemental material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher's website.

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the following: The Hamilton Port Authority (HPA) and the cities of Hamilton and Burlington for providing annual funding support for monitoring and management work.