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Harlequin Duck Research and Monitoring in Montana: 1998 A Report to: ASARCO, Incorporated Box 868 MT Troy, 59935 Submittedby PAUL HENDRICKS MontanaNatural HeritageProgram 1515 East Sixth Avenue Helena, Montana 59620-1800 March 1999 639.97841 NllHDRM 1QQQ 1 \a£JJ^Ajl^1. MontanaStateLibrary 3 0864 1004 7140 1 ox aanssi ® 1999 Montana Natural HeritageProgram Thisdocumentshouldbecitedasfollows: Hendncks,P. 1999. HarlequinDuckresearchandmomtoringmMontana: 1998. MontanaNaturalHentageProgram Helena,MT.30pp. 1 ABSTRACT In 1998, approximately 235 kmofHarlequm Duck stream surveyswereconducted on six streams, with the majority ofeffon focused on fourLowerClark Fork streams(Rock Creek, SwampCreek, Marten Creek, Vermilion River) Additional streams surveyed wereTrail Creek (North Fork Flathead Riverdrainage) with one pairsurvey and one brood sur\ey. and Upper McDonald Creek (GlacierNational Park) with onebrood survey On the LowerClark Fork streams, stream flow was significantlybelow normal during early-May pairsurveys A minimum of24 adult Harlequins (13 males, 1 1 females) was seenon 3 streams These included ManenCreek(7 pairs, 2 males). Rock Creek (1 pair, 1 male, 1 female), Vermilion River(2 pairs)and SwampCreek(nobirds). Thenumberofbirdsobserved wasabout averageforall streams, although Swamp Creek again had no birds. Brood surveyswere conducted duringJuly and early August 1998. Seven broods were observed onthe Lower Clark Fork streams(2 eachon Marten Creek and Vermilion River, 3 on Rock Creek), successfiilly producinga maximum 11 youngon Marten Creek, 6 youngon Vermilion River, and 13 youngon Rock Creek. Ageofbroodsindicatedthat nestingamong these streams was initiated overa period ofat least three orfourweeks. Newbirdswerebanded on Marten Creek (2 males, 2 females, 5juveniles), Vermilion River(1 female, 3juveniles) and Rock Creek (2juveniles) Additionally, several previously marked birdswere re-observed, including4 third-yearfemalesbanded asjuveniles in 1995 (3 of which successfiilly raised broods ontheirnatal streams) Onethird-yearfemale, banded asa juvenileon Swamp Creek inAugust 1995, wasobserved paired in May 1998 on Rock Creek, an inter-stream movement ofca. 21 km, andthefirst documented between thesetwo streams Stream surveyresultsfrom otherareaswereasfollows On Trail Creek (N Fork Flathead drainage) 3 pairs and 1 male werecounted on 14 May, 1 female (alreadybanded) with abrood of 1 juvenile wascaptured and banded on 7 August On McDonald Creek in GlacierNational Park, park personnel reponed amaximumof8 pairsin spring. Duringbrood surveys, 2 females( alreadybanded)with 2 broods(8juveniles)werecaptured and banded on 6 August Three additional broods(3 females, 13juveniles)werecounted on 17 and 19 August by park personnel, and 2 females(1 alreadybanded) and 12juvenileswerebanded. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Muchfield assistancewasprovidedbyBryceMaxell, who conductedmostofthelate- springand early-summersurveys. Additional fieldhelp, identificationofpossibletrapping sites, and otherlogistical supportwereprovided byJ. Ashley, especiallyinGlacierNationalPark. C. Jones, andM. Millerassistedwithdataentryandmappreparation. J. Elliott served asaliaisonto ASARCO, Inc., andreviewed anearlierdraft ofthisreport. Informationfi-om surveysconducted byotheragencieswasprovidedbyJohnAshley(GlacierNationalPark). Thanksto KenWright, Cyndi Smith, and Janet Hardinforsharingreportsand sightingsofmarked ducksfromthePacific Coast. Primaryfinancial support fortheproject cameft"omASARCO, Inc. (throughthe generosityofDavid Young), withadditional supportfrom GlacierNationalPark (thanksto Steve Gniadek)andtheMontanaNaturalHeritageProgram(Montana StateLibrary, NaturalResource Information Systemand TheNature Conservancycooperating). IV TABLE OFCONTENTS ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv INTRODUCTION 1 METHODS AND MATERIALS 2 SURX'EYS .AND BANT)ING 3 MOVEMENT 6 DEMOGRAPHY ANDPOPULATIONS 9 CONSERVATION ANDMANAGEMENT 12 PRIORITIES FORFUTURERESEARCH 13 REFERENCES 16 APPENDICES 28 INTRODICTION The Harlequin Duck (Histrumicushistrionicus) isa small seaduck, which travelsinland to breed on fresh waterstreams. Approximately 150-200 pairsofHarlequins currentlybreed in Montana (Reichel and Genter 1995). with most located inthefollowingareas 1)tributaries ofthe lowerClark Fork River, 2) tributariesofthe North, Middle, and South Forks ofthe Flathead River, 3) streams coming of}'the east front oftheRocky Mountains, and 4)theBoulder River(Miller 1988, 1989, Kerr 1989, Carison 1990, Fairmanand Miller 1990, Diamond and Finnegan 1992, 1993, Reichel and Genter 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996). Duringthebreedingseason. Harlequinsarefound alongfast mountain streams(Bengtson 1966) In manyareas. Harlequins usestreamswith densetimberorshrubs onthebanks(Cassirerand Groves 1990), but theyare also found in relatively open streamsalongthe east slopesofthe Rocky Mountains, Montana (Markum and Genter 1990, Diamond and Finnegan 1992), and in the Arctic tundra (Bengtson 1972) In Idaho, 90°o ofobservationsoccurred nearold growth ormaturetimber stands(Cassirerand Groves 1990). Mid-stream rocks, logs, islands, or stream-sidegravel bars serveas safe loafing sitesand appeartobeimportant habitat components. Most ducksarriveontheirinland breedingareasin mid-April to eariy-May, unmatedmales typically arrivebefore pairs (Kuchel 1977) The males return to the coast shonly afterthe femalesbegin incubation, most aregone by earlyJuly (Kuchel 1977) Thefemalesand young remain onthe streams until August oreariy September. Thischronology isinfluenced by elevation and by thetimingofspring runoff, it may\ary up to several weeksbetweenyears. The HariequinDuck is listed as"Sensitive"bytheU.S. Forest Service, Region 1 (Reel eial. 1989) and asa SpeciesofSpecial Concernbythe Montanaand IdahoNatural Heritage Programs (Idaho Conservation DataCenter 1994, Montana Natural Heritage Program 1997) The MontanaNatural Heritage Programbeganbanding Harlequin Ducksto a limited extent in 199] Through 1997, a total of356 Harlequin Duckswere marked on 9 streams, representingthe largest marked "population" fromthebreeding streams. Birdsmarked in Montana have subsequently been captured and observed onthecoastsofOregon, Washington and BritishColumbia, with most reportscoming from Vancouver Island (Reichel and Genter 1996, Reichel et al 1997) Objecti\esforthe 1998 season included 1) surveyingthe Lower Clark Fork streams (Rock Creek, Manen Creek, Swamp Creek, Vermilion River) ofSanders County forpresence and statusof Harlequin Ducks, 2) gatheringduck productivitydataonthe LowerClark Fork streams, 3) markingas many individualsas possibleon thesestreamsforlong-term monitoring, and 4) surveying McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park, theonlyotherpopulation inMontanawith surveydatacomparable to the LowerClark Fork population This repon summarizes results from the 1998 field season and should not beconsidered a comprehensive analysisofall datacollected from previousyears(although someofthe olderdata are presented) Fora recent and relativelycomprehensive summaryofHariequin Duck research in Montana through 1996seeReichel et al (1997) The 1997 field seasonisreported in Hendricksand Reichel (1998) METHODS AND MATERIALS HarlequinDuckswere surveyed onpartsoftheKootenaiNationalForest and inGlacier NationalParkduringMay-August 1997. Areaoffocusincludedthefourprincipalbreeding streamsof theLowerClarkForkpopulationin SandersCounty, Montana. TheseClarkFork Rivertributariesare RockCreek, MartenCreek(includingthe S. ForkMartenCreek), Swamp Creek, andVermilionRiver. Singlepairandbrood surveyswerealsoconductedonTrail Creek(NorthForkFlatheadRiver) in Flathead County, asthis streammightfianctionasamovement corridorinto GlacierNational Park. SurveyswereconductedonMcDonald CreekinGlacierNational ParkbyParkpersonnel (pairsurveys) andMTNHP personnel inconjunctionwithParkpersonnel (brood surveys). Surveyswereconducted bywalkingthestreamchannel (whenpossible) or streambank. In mostcases, the surveyorwalkedupstream, givingmoretimeto observethebirdbeforeitmovedout of sight;incaseswherebirdswerenot tobemarked, the surveyormadealoop aroundthebirdsto minimizedisturbance. ForstreamsintheFlatheadand ClarkForkdrainages, weattemptedto capture andmark allbirds seenwhenalicensed, qualifiedbird-banderwaspresent onthesurvey. Capturedbirdsweresexed, aged, weighed, measured (wingcord andtail), marked, and released. Juvenileswereagedbased onfeatherdevelopment; Class lA-C: downy(1-14 days old), no feathers visible; Class IIA-C: partlyfeathered (15-35 daysold). ClassIII: fijllyfeatheredbut flightless(36-51 daysold). BirdswerebandedwithaUSFWS aluminumband andwithablue, plastic legbandwith2 whitealphaalpha(juveniles) oralphanumeric(adults)characters. Thesebirdsareindividually recognizablebytheimprintedcharacters, althoughthebandsarelessreadilyobservedthannasal discs, whichwerealsoused inyearspriorto 1997but discontinuedbecauseofconcernsabouttraumaand pairing success. Dates, locations, distance surveyed, andgeneral characteristicsofthe streamreaches surveyedwererecorded; location, number, age, and sexofallHarlequinDucks seenwererecorded, as werehabitat characteristicsofthe siteswhereduckswerefirst observed. All surveysand duck observationswereenteredinto adatabaseand associatedARC-INFO coverages. Not all streamsusedbyHarlequinDucksduringthebreeding seasonareused fornestingor brood rearing. Some streamswhereadultHarlequinsareobserved maybeused onlyduringmigration to and frombreedingareas. Inorderto classifyHarlequinDuckobservationsinaconsistent manner MTNHP hasadoptedthefollowingdefinitionsproposedbyCassireret al. (1996)(thefirsttwo ofwhich wouldbeconsidered "Element Occurrences" [EOs] byNatural HeritagePrograms/ConservationData Centersthroughout NorthAmerica). Seepreviousreports(Reichel and Genter 1996, Reichel et al. 1997)foraftill discussionofthedistributionofHarlequinDucksthroughoutMontana, andthe status andclassificationforeachoccupied streamordrainage. Harlequin Duckbreedingoccurrence: isdefinedbyadrainage, drainages, orportionofadrainagewherebreedingisknown(i.e., abrood ornest hasbeenobservedwithinthelast 15 years). EOsare separatedbyeither: Asubstantialbarrier(>2 kmoveramajordivide); or, A 10-km separationforcompletelyunsuitablehabitat (acrossland); A20-km separation(measured alongwatercourses) forbothrarelyused habitat (lakes, <1%gradient rivers)and forapparently suitablehabitat that is not knownto beoccupied. Probable harlequin duck breedingoccurrence: Same definition as above, except breedingis not known, but rather ishighly suspected (i.e., there havebeen at least 3 independent pairorfemaleobservations within the last 15 years) Breedingstatus unknown: Drainagesorportionsofdrainageswith at least 1 harlequin duckobseiA'ation but fewerthan 3 independent pairorfemaleobservationsdunngthebreeding seasonwithinthe last 15 years. Breeding unlikely: Observationsofmalesduring migration periods. Themale migrationperiodsarebefore 15 April and after 5 June intheNorthern Columbia Basin and Rocky Mountain Front areas and before 1 May and after20June in the Intermountain region Obseivationsofpairsoutsidethe pre-nestingseason The pre-nestingseason is from 15 April - 5 June intheNorthernColumbiaBasinand RockyMountain Front areasand from 1 May- 20June in the Intermountain area. Incidental observations in unsuitablehabitat suchaspondsor large, lowgradient (<1%) riversnot adjacent to knownbreeding sites, orobservations on streamswhich havebeen identified as lacking breedingactivity(eg migratory stagingareasor stopovers). SIRVEVS AND BANDING MONTANA SURVEYS - 1998 In 1998 ca. 54 1 km ofstreamswere surveyed forHariequin Ducks(Figure 1), in most cases multiplesurveysofthe same streamswereconducted on different dates. Thus, atotal of235 stream km was surveyed in 1998 by MTNHP crews Harlequin Duck pair surveyswereconducted on 41 5 km of 6 streamsby MTNHPcrews Rock Creek, Marten Creek, S Fork Marten Creek, Swamp Creek, Vermilion River, Trail Creek (Flathead County) Glacier National Park personnel conducted atotal of 814 stream km ofpair surveyson 37.8 km of9 streams(J Ashley, pers comm ) Brood surveyswere conducted inJulyand August on 54.1 kmof7 streams(theabove streamsplus McDonald Creek, from Loganto Mineral creeks, in GlacierNational Park) by MTNHP crews Park personnel conducted brood surveyson 34 3 km of3 streams LowerClark Fork Two pairsurveyswereconducted between 9-22 May 1998 on each Lower Clark Fork stream (Rock Creek, ManenCreek/S Fork Marten, SwampCreek, Vermilion River) A minimumof13 malesand 1 1 femaleswasobserved on thesefourstreams(Appendix 1) No adults weredetected on Swamp Creek. Total numbersofducks wereabout average on each ofthe major (four) streamsexcept Swamp Creek Swamp Creek has fluctuated between and 3 femalesduring 1992-1998 Light snow pack, early snow melt, and low stream flowsaided ourabilityto do complete Figure 1 Streams surveyed for Harlequin Ducks in Montana . in 1 998, by the Montana Natural Heritage Program. r 1 .A//f'f'''^^-^\ jzzzzzzzzz5q0 February03, 1999 Scaleinmiles MontanaNaturalHeritageProgram