Biologist's Journal 2001

October 1, 2001

We have come to the end of the second full field season of "Discovery for Recovery", the spring migration study of northern pintails. We will soon add a summary page displaying 2001 migration results to the web page. Please check back in December when we will again be trapping pintails in California’s Central Valley and tagging a sample of adult females with satellite transmitters (PTTs) to monitor their spring migration north. Additionally, we will be trapping and tagging pintails in Texas and New Mexico, and comparing the spring migration pathways of these wintering populations with those of the California birds. We look forward to an exciting third year of this project and we thank you for your continued interest in our work.

September 17, 2001

The Pinsat research team would like to take this opportunity to send along our most deep felt sympathies to the families who have lost loved ones in the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks. Our hearts go out to all New Yorkers and citizens of Washington, D.C., who experienced this destruction first hand and continue to live through this terrible ordeal. We will, as will all citizens, remember those who have died even as we, each in our own way, provide solace and assistance to the survivors.

August 27, 2001

The field season is winding down for this year. We have only about 15 PTT-tagged Pinsat pintails and 4 Point Mugu pintails still providing us with locations. Of the latter, #12889 is still on Alaska’s North Slope, 12892 is in Alberta near Edmonton, 12893 moved south from Malheur in Oregon to the northwest corner of Nevada (Alkali and Massacre Lakes), and 12896 is still in Saskatchewan near Old Wives Lake. The active Pinsat birds are distributed pretty much as they have been for some time; however, #17616 has moved south from the Yukon’s Nisutlin Lake to Kotcho Lake in northern British Columbia, #17611 moved into the San Joaquin Valley at Volta State Wildlife Area, and #17004 moved south a bit (just north of Mt. Tyrkeney) in Russia, but is still in the same general area south of the Anadyrskiy Bay. In summary, then, we have 2 Pinsat pintails still in Russia, 6 in Alaska, 2 in Prairie Canada, 1 in British Columbia, 1 in the San Joaquin Valley of California, and 1 near the Bear River NWR in southern Idaho; a few other PTTs (3 in Alaska, 1 in NWT) may yet provide us with additional locations in the next week. Of interest for next year’s work, we will be incorporating Texas pintails to complement the California birds. We will be working with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Region 2 in Albuquerque) to accomplish this objective. This additional sample of pintails will allow us to simultaneously monitor spring migration rates and routes in the Pacific and Central Flyway for a comparative analysis. We are also working on a plan to incorporate pintails wintering in Mexico as well. Stay tuned.

August 6, 2001

Only 24 Pinsat pintails are still providing locations. Nine still reside on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Alaska, whereas 5 are at other locations in Alaska; 2 pintails are in Russia, 3 are in the Norhtwest Territories, 1 is in the Yukon, 2 have returned to the Sacramento Valley, 1 is in Alberta, 1 is in southeastern Saskatchewan, and 1 is still on the Bear River wetlands in Utah. One of the Alaskan birds arrived recently from the MacMillan River lowlands in the Yukon, and one of the Russian birds moved east from the Vel'May River to just west of Neshkan. The NWT birds are split among the MacKenzie River Delta, south of the MacKenzie Delta northwest of Norman Wells, and on the Slave River Delta. The 3 active Point Mugu pintails are distributed on the National Petroleum Reserve on Alaska's North Slope, west of Cypress Lake in southwest Saskatchewan, and north of Malheur NWR in Oregon.

July 16, 2001

The Principal Investigator on this project will be out of action for several weeks because of upcoming surgery. Luckily, the spring migration period of frequent movements is over, and our PTT-tagged pintails continue to remain in long-term use areas established weeks ago; therefore, it is not so critical to keep maps updated frequently as was the case earlier in the year. Nonetheless, the Journal, Forum, and Migration Map pages will be maintained by other biologists at irregular intervals as time allows; we hope to get back to routine updates within 3 weeks. To our many visitors, please accept our apologies for this inconvenience, and we thank you for your continued interest in the Pintail spring migration project. All Pinsat and Point Mugu pintails remain in the same general or specific areas as last week, except that #22982 moved west from near Orkney in southwestern Saskatchewan to the Pakowki Lake area of southeastern Alberta. At present, PTTs are still active on 27 Pinsat female pintails, and on 3 male and 2 female Point Mugu pintails.

July 9, 2001

Not too much going on over the last week or so; 13 pinsat birds are still in Alaska, most on the Yukon-Kuskokwom Delta, 2 are still in the same locations in Russia, 2 are in the Yukon, 4 are in the Northwest Territories, 3 are in southern Saskatchewan, 1 in southern Alberta, 1 is at Lower Klamath NWR in California, 1 is in the Sacramento Valley (Sacramento NWR) after having returned from northwest Nevada-southern Oregon, 1 is at Malheur NWR in Oregon, and 1 is at the Bear River NWR in Utah (Great Salt Lake); 26 are no longer providing useful locations. Of the Point Mugu birds remaining, 1 moved from west of the MacKenzie Delta in the Yukon to Alaska’s North Slope, 1 is in northeastern California, 1 is along the John Day River in northern Oregon (might be dead), 1 is in southern Alberta, and 1 was last heard from on 30 June at Lake Francis in Montana. This is typically the brooding and, for some, the molting period for adult female pintails.

June 25, 2001

The Pinsat pintails are continuing to show some movements typical of the period after nesting, especially associated with failed nesting attempts. For example, #17778, which had been near Old Wives Lake in southern Saskatchewan since 25 April, left that area about 15 June and arrived at American Falls Reservoir in southeastern Idaho on the 17th, and then went on to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on the east side of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. She had spent about 50 days at Old Wives Lake, enough time to lay a clutch and hatch it, but not enough time to raise the brood to flight stage. Pintails, mainly adult males, make a major molt migration to the Great Salt Lake area annually in June, and this female probably has joined this flight. Pintail #18899, which had originally passed through southern Alberta to northern Alberta (Peace River and High Prairie), headed south and we recorded her in southern Alberta again on 8 June (Lousana area, and then Lethbridge). Then, she turned up at Malheur NWR in eastcentral Oregon on 18 June and then Idaho’s American Falls Reservoir on 21 June. Pintail #22982 spent from 10 April to about 10 May in southwestern Saskatchewan near Orkney, the moved west to central Alberta and then on to the Northwest Territories (Slave River area south of Great Slave Lake); she didn’t stay there long, and turning south again, arrived near Edmonton, Alberta on 26 May. On 2 June, we recorded this pintail near Old Wives Lake and then west of Orkney on the 6th, where she remains to date. The summary of distribution now is 15 in Alaska, 3 in the Yukon, 5 in the Northwest Territories, 2 in Russia, 3 in Saskatchewan, 1 in Alberta, 1 in British Columbia, and 4 in the Lower 48. Unfortunately, 21 PTTs are no longer providing locations. As soon as we’ve verified the list, we will post them under lost birds. The Point Mugu pintail #12887 has moved south from northern Alberta (Utikama Lake) to southern Alberta (Coal Lake), and recently to southcentral Saskatchewan southeast of Saskatoon (Last Mountain Lake). Bird #12889 is still on the MacKenzie Delta in far northern Northwest Territories, #12891 is still in northeastern California, and #12893 in still in the northern Sacramento Valley. Interestingly, bucking the southward trend, #12896 has moved north from southern Oregon (Chewaucan Marsh, Malheur) to the Columbia River east of Bonnieville Dam, and then to Lake Francis in Montana. Stay tuned.

June 12, 2001

There are 3 pinsat birds in Russia now. Two (#17552 and 17004) are on the lowlands south of Anadyrskiy Liman and the other (#17041) is along the Vel’May River west of Laguna Pyngopil Gyn on the north side of the Chukchi Peninsula. None of these birds are near the location of the bird that spent the summer in Russia last year (Kanchalan River lowlands north of Anadyrskiy Liman). Other than these birds, 18 of remaining active PTTs are in Alaska (with 7 on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta), 3 are in the Yukon, 5 are in the Northwest Territories (NWT; 4 on or just south of the MacKenzie Delta, 1 on the Slave River Delta on Great Slave Lake), 2 in British Columbia (1 near Dease Lake, 1 on Okanagan Lake’s north end), 3 in southern Saskatchewan, 1 in southern Alberta, 1 in South Dakota, and 2 in northeastern California. There are about 15 Pinsat PTTs that are no longer providing data, or do so only intermittently (17009, 17468, 17513, 17517, 17531, 17553, 17557, 17720, 17739, 22983, 17737, 17488, 17707 [confirmed dead on Babine Lake in BC], 17614, and 17053). Of additional note, a couple of birds have moved south recently: #22982 moved to the Orkney area of southwestern Saskatchewan from northwest of Edmonton in Alberta, and had been in the NWT on the Slave River before that; # 18899 moved south to Lousana and then Lethbridge in southern Alberta from High Prairie in northern Alberta. Of the Point Mugu pintails, 2 are in southern Alberta (one of these, #12887, had been in northern Alberta and moved south), 1 is on the MacKenzie Delta in NWT, 1 is at Lower Klamath NWR in northeast California, 1 is in southern Oregon, and 1 is in the northern Sacramento Valley (pintail flocks confirmed in that area - near Richvale).

June 4, 2001

Big news this week! On June 2, we recorded two of our pinsat pintails in Russia. The first one, #17041, had been on St. Lawrence Island and then continued west to an area on the Chukotskiy Poluostrov (Chukchi Peninsula) along the Vel’may River, which is north of the Arctic Circle and lying west of Laguna Pyngopil Gyn. This coastal lowland area is across the Bering Straits from the Seward Peninsula in Alaska. The second pintail, #17004, moved west from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta near Tooksook, and we recorded her on the southwest shore of Anadyrskiy Liman, a large embayment into which the Anadyr, Kanchalan, and Velikaya Rivers flow, and is adjacent to and west of the Gulf of Anadyr (lying south of the Chukchi Peninsula). Last year, the pintail that migrated to Russia was in the Kanchalan River lowlands, north of 17004's present location.

May 29, 2001

This Journal entry is a bit late owing to the long Memorial Day holiday. Here's a table that shows current distribution of Pinsat PTT-marked Pintails in Alaska. In summary, 7 birds are on the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta (YKD), and 16 are in other parts of Alaska:

May 23, 2001

We apologize for the Pinsat web site being off line for the last several days. We had a power outage at the Dixon field Station so we couldn’t feed data to our Center headquarter’s server, and then the main server crashed during a move at headquarters. Hopefully, we’ll have things working up to usual standards pretty soon. Our pintails are starting to congregate in northern areas now. There are 18 (39%) in Alaska, with many moving to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, 5 each in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory, 4 in northern British Columbia, and 3 in northern Alberta - these total 76% of all the PTT-marked pintails. One bird remains in sourthern Alberta, 3 in southern Saskatchewan, and 2 in South Dakota. These all seem to be in traditional pintail nesting areas. Two more are still in southern Oregon, 2 are on Lower Klamath NWR in northeastern California, and one is in northwestern Nevada. All of these latter are alive, and are in areas where pintails nest. Nine of our PTTs are no longer providing locations or only sporadically so. The 6 Point Magu birds with active PTTs are in Alberta (2), the Northwest Territories (1), northeast California (1), southern Oregon (1), and the Sacramento Valley (1). This latter bird, a female, is not in an area typical of pintails this time of year.

May 14, 2001

We have noted more movement northward this week. The number of PTT-marked pintails in Alaska doubled to 15; additionally, 6 birds are now in the Northwest Territories, 5 in the Yukon, 2 in northcentral British Columbia, and 6 in northern Alberta. There are only 6 birds in the southern prairies of Canada (3 each in Alberta and Saskatchewan) and 2 in South Dakota. Thus, it looks like pintails are overflying the dry prairies, heading farther north to find suitable habitat. Surprisingly, 17824 returned to the Sacramento Valley from northwestern Nevada, and is on Sacramento NWR. Three birds are still in northeastern California, 2 in southern Oregon, and 1 in western Washington along the Columbia River north of Portland, OR. Birds 17009, 17458, and 17700 are providing sporadic data only, but the birds seem to be alive. Bird 17739 is now missing, with the last location in northern Alberta on 5 May. Of the 8 Point Mugu birds, 12887 remains in northern Alberta and 12889 moved north from Tyrrell Lake in southern Alberta to Kakisa Lake in the Northwest Territories; Bird 12891 is south of Modoc NWR in northeastern California; 12892 moved north from Sacramento NWR to Washington State southwest of Spokane near Sylvan Lake; 12893 is in the Lower American Basin north of Sacramento; and 12896 moved north from Merced NWR to the Warner Valley of southern Oregon. Unfortunately, 12888 and 12894 have been missing since the first of the month.

April 30, 2001

Much to talk about this week. There are now 6 PTT-marked pintails in Alaska. The first bird to arrive, #17041, moved to Togiak NWR from Port Heiden; the other 5 flew direct to Alaska (we assume) from southern Oregon, northeast California, or the Sacramento Valley. Number 17005 was in the Sacramento Valley on 23 April and recorded on the Kenai Peninsula (Nuka Island, Kenai Fjords National Park - Alaska Gazetteer page 63) on 26 April; Pintail #17514 was recorded over the Pacific Ocean with several locations in a virtual straight line heading northwest on 25 April, and she turned up on the Kenai Peninsula in an unnamed bay in the Chugach Islands (Gazetteer page 62); #17552 was in the Warner Valley, Oregon on 23 April and on the Alaska Peninsula at Egegik Bay on 26 April (Gazetteer page 49); #17585 was at Malheur NWR on 26 April, but had moved up to the Susitna Flats across Cook Inlet from Anchorage on 29 April (Gazetteer page 82); lastly, #17615 was on the Upper Chewaucan Marsh in southern Oregon on 24 April and turned up in Cook Inlet on Susitna Flats at the mouth of the Beluga River on 27 April (AK Gazetteer page 82). Also of interest are 4 pintails that migrated north to west central British Columbia. Two are in an area west of Prince George along the Nechako River (#17032 - flew direct for Butte Valley State Wildlife Area in northeast California; #17707 flew from central Washington State), and 2 others are in the vicinity of Fort St. John north of Prince George on the Peace River (both of these pintails, #17850 and #18898 were located in the vicinity of Airdrie north of Calgary before turning up in British Columbia). In summary then, 16 of our pintails are in southern Alberta, 3 in northern Alberta, 8 in southern Saskatchewan, 6 in Alaska, 7 in southern Oregon, 2 in South Dakota (1 came south from eastern Saskatchewan), 4 in British Columbia, 3 in northeast California, 1 in the Sacramento Valley (last recorded west of Llano Seco Unit of Sacramento River NWR), 1 last recorded in the San Joaquin Valley (missing), and 1 in Nevada at Massacre Lake in the northwest corner of that state. Two of the Point Mugu birds changed locations this week: #12892 moved from Morro Bay to Woodward Reservoir on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley, and #12891 moved north to the upper Sacramento Valley near Corning. There are still 2 in southern Alberta, 1 in Newark Valley, Nevada, 1 at Merced NWR, and 1 just south of Mendota SWA. One other bird, which had been at Merced NWR, is now missing (#12894).

April 23, 2001

Interesting pintail movements to report this week. The most notable is that #17041 flew direct to Alaska from Malheur NWR in eastcentral Oregon! She had been at the refuge for a month and a half before making the flight. The bird is at the Port Heiden Critical Habitat area on the Alaskan Peninsula. For those of you with Alaska Gazeteers, look on page 139 just above the letter “A” in Peninsula and that is where 17041 is at present. Also of note, 3 birds have shown up in central British Columbia: #17032 and #17707 are 30-60 miles west of Prince George, and #17850 is just southwest of Fort St. John. Several birds made the move from the Lower 48 to southern Canada, as well, and in summary, 19 are in southern Alberta, 9 in southern Saskatchewan, 9 in southern Oregon, 5 in northeastern California, 3 in the Central Valley, 1 in South Dakota, and 1 in Montana, as well as the Alaskan and British Columbia birds. Within a couple of weeks, we suspect that the California and Oregon birds will make the flight to Alaska - at least, if last year’s results are any guide. As far as the Point Mugu birds are concerned, one additional pintail migrated north to southern Alberta. This bird had been in Montana near Cutbank. All the others are at the same locations as last week.

April 16, 2001

The vast majority of our pintails are now in two basic groups: The first remains in southern Oregon/ northeastern California, and the second is in Canada (Alberta and Saskatchewan). Only three are in Montana, and one each in Washington, Idaho, and South Dakota (3 in the Central Valley). This demonstrates that the migration through the Rocky Mountain states has been very rapid this year. In Canada, 15 are in southern Alberta (most between Cardston in the south up to Airdrie north of Calgary), and 9 in southern Saskatchewan (Macklin in the west to Estevan in the east). One Saskatchewan pintail was at Old Wives Lake, one of the lakes with perennial botulism problems. In Oregon, birds are at Malheur (4), Chewaucan (3), Goose Lake (2), Warner Valley (2), and south of Klamath Falls (1). In northeast California, birds are at Lower Klamath/Tule Lake (3), Butte Valley (2), and Willow Creek (near Eagle Lake). The Point Mugu birds have not changed locations since last week, except the bird that had been south of Hanford in the San Joaquin Valley moved farther north to just south of the Mendota Wildlife Area.

April 11, 2001

There has been a significant move of our PTT-marked Pinsat pintails into Canada, both Alberta and Saskatchewan. As of today, there are 15 in southern Alberta, 6 in southern Saskatchewan, 12 in Oregon, 5 in Montana, 6 in northeastern California, 1 in northwestern Nevada, 1 in northern Idaho, 1 in South Dakota, 1 in centeral Washington, and still 1 in the Sacramento Valley and 1 in the San Joaquin Valley. Most of the Alberta birds are south of Latitude 51o N (Calgary); the Saskatchewan birds are spread from west (Macklin) to east (Estevan). In Oregon, 11 of the 12 birds continue to be found at Chewaucan Marsh, Malheur NWR area, and the Warner Valley; the other is in northern Oregon in Fox Creek Valley. Butte Valley Wildlife Area and Klamath Basin NWRs are supporting the California birds. Our first bird reached the state of Washington this week, and she was flying south of Omak. The Point Mugu pintails are widely spread: 1 in Alberta near Calgary, 1 in Nevada’s Newark Valley, 1 in Montana near Cutbank, 1 in Suisun Marsh northeast of San Francisco, 1 in Morro Bay, 1 south of Hanford and 2 at Merced NWR in the San Joaquin Valley.

April 2, 2001

Welcome to April. Most of our PTT-marked pintails have departed the Central Valley. Here’s a couple of interesting exceptions: Bird #17482 had been in southern Oregon on Sycan marsh between March 17 and 27, but turned up in Butte Sink in the Sacramento Valley on the 29th, and #17706 remains in the northern Sacramento Valley after she returned from Malheur NWR on March 15 (and, #17555, which had been at Lower Klamath NWR and had returned to the Delta and then the lower Yolo Bypass for about 8 days, flew north again, this time to Butte Valley Wildlife Area); bird #22983 is still in the San Joaquin Valley in the North Grasslands, now on San Luis NWR. Of note, bird #17458, after having been silent for the better part of a month (last recorded on Yolo Bypass), gave us a location in Montana at the south end of Flathead lake. Hopefully, this PTT will now continue to provide locations. Here’s the summary breakdown of locations for the Pinsat pintails: Southern Oregon - 18 (Malheur and Chewaucan Marsh most important); Montana - 11 (Benton Lake NWR and Flathead Lake area most important); Northeastern California - 10 (Butte Valley Wildlife Area and Lower Klamath NWR most used); Alberta - 6 (all southern Alberta); Nevada - (Northwest corner); Saskatchewan - 1 (southern, near Old Wives Lake); South Dakota - 1 (eastcentral); and Wyoming - 1 (near Greybull). The Pt. Mugu birds have all finally departed the marking area. Two are at Merced NWR in the San Joaquin Valley; 1 is near Hanford in the San Joaquin; 1 moved north up the coast to Morro Bay (our first evidence of coastal migration); 1 is at Suisun Marsh east of San Francisco; 1 is in Montana on the lowlands east of Hebgen Lake; 1 is at Market Lake in Idaho; and the last one is in Newark Valley, Nevada. These interesting movements will provide you plenty of map reading time this week!

March 27, 2001

The birds are really moving around now. There are four in southern Alberta (17003, 17480, 17517 and 17586). Ten are in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Two are in Nevada. Six are still in the central valley of California and the largest group, 28, are in southern Oregon or northeast California. A couple of the transmitters seem to be failing or giving intermittent signals. The Pt. Mugu birds are on the move as well. One bird is in Nevada at Newark Valley. One is near Idaho Falls. One is near Modoc NWR in northeast California. One is in the Yolo Bypass west of Sacramento. Two are at the Merced NWR in the San Joquin Valley and two remain down at Point Mugu. Stay tuned for more updates soon!

March 19, 2001

Pintails are on the move. Probably the most interesting move so far, is that of pintail #17614. After showing up in northcentral Wyoming near Bighorn Lake northeast of Cody (from northern Sacramento Valley), we recorded her on Lake Oahe in South Dakota on the 18th! This is even more interesting because a colleague from Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center is trapping pintails along the Platte River in Nebraska now. He is interested in the birds coming north from the Gulf Coast, so it is significant that Sacramento Valley pintails have arrived in the Dakotas before Gulf Coast birds! Only 11 of our pintails remain in the Central Valley now, and of those, #17706 had been at Malheur NWR in eastcentral Oregon or Chewaucan Marsh in southcentral Oregon since March 3rd, but she turned up back in the Sacramento Valley near Howard Slough Wildlife Area on the 18th - she had originally been trapped at Llano Seco Unit of Sacramento River NWR. Homesick? Other birds have shown up in Idaho (Crane Prairie Reservoir), Nevada (Lahontan Reservoir, Newark Valley), Montana (Chestnut Valley along the Missouri River, eastern Montana near Glasgow). Still, the majority of birds can be found in the Klamath Basin, including Lower and Upper Klamath NWR, Butte Valley Wildlife Area, Modoc Plateau reservoirs, and Sycan Marsh, as well as Summer Lake Wildlife Area, Warner Valley wetlands, Goose Lake (Oregon side of border), and Malheur NWR.

March 5, 2001

Lots to talk about this week! We've had another round of powerful storms over the weekend -- 50 mph gusts and drenching rain. It would seem many of our birds rode the south winds north prior to the main storm's arrival. There are now 15 Central Valley PTT-marked pintails in northeastern California or southern Oregon, and another one in Nevada (Rye Patch Reservoir area near Winnemucca); also, one of the Point Mugu birds joined the crowd and flew north as well, to Modoc NWR south of Alturas, CA. Five of the Central Valley birds are at Lower Klamath NWR, with 2 at Upper Klamath NWR (Agency Lake), 3 at Malheur NWR, 2 at Goose Lake (large lake that straddles the California-Oregon border south of Lakeview, OR), 1 at Chewaucan Marsh in southern Oregon, 1 at Honey Lake, CA, and another in Oregon south of Klamath Falls (Poe Valley). Of the remainder, all but 2 are in the Sacramento Valley (1 still at Mendota Wildlife Area, and another in the north Grasslands west of San Luis NWR). The most used areas in the Sacramento Valley continue to be the Lower American Basin, Lower Colusa Basin, and Upper Butte Basin. One Mugu pintail (#12895) apparently has died, probably killed by a predator. The others are using the duck ponds or Mugu Lagoon. Of note, we have added something new to the site. If you click on the "Pintails" button on the home page, then click on "Distribution" on the Pintails: What are they? page, then click on Prairie Pothole Region of Southern Canada text hot link on the "Distribution" page, and you will be able to view a map that shows the long-term (1970-96) density of pintails in prairie Canada. You will note that distribution is quite heterogeneous, and this has important conservation implications. This will be another tool that you can use to see how our satellite birds settle this spring. Of course, long-term averages count less than current year wetlands!

February 26, 2001

We have added web page coverage of a new pintail satellite tracking project being conducted by Humboldt State University. Biologists caught and released 5 adult females and 5 adult males at Point Mugu on California’s South Coast on February 19, 2001. Click the hot link button at the lower right corner of the Pinsat home page to find a brief description of the project and a map, so you can follow the birds’ migration north. At this point, all the birds remain in the Point Mugu area. Most of our Pinsat birds remain in the Central Valley, with most in the Lower American Basin, Lower Colusa Basin, and Upper Butte Basin of the Sacramento Valley. There are still 2 in the San Joaquin Valley, and 5 in northeastern California. We have added a new summary map feature (summary map hot link on Pinsat home page), in which you can view migration maps from last year, and then compare progress this year for that same date. Our weather is continuing to ameliorate from the steady rain and wind over the last couple of weeks. Is a big migration far behind?

February 19, 2001

Happy President’s Day to all. Again, California has experienced a series of strong rain storms that began late last week. At least one of our pintails (17531) took this opportunity to head back south to the Sacramento Valley from Lower Klamath NWR. She is in the rice field country east of the Li Dry Creek Unit of Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Area, west of Thermalito Afterbay (west of Oroville). Four other birds remain in northeastern California: 17004, 17537, 17708, and 17720. Also of note, pintail #17524, which had been in the South Grasslands near Dos Palos, moved south to Mendota Wildlife Area, and #22983 also headed south, but to an area of the North Grasslands near Kesterson NWR. In summary, 16 birds are in the Lower American Basin between the City of Sacramento and the Bear River; 12 are in the upper Sacramento Valley (Llano Seco-Howard Slough/Little Dry Creek-Thermalito area); 6 are in the Yolo Bypass; 4 each are in the vicinity of Sacramento NWR, Lower Colusa Basin, and northeastern California; 2 each are in Butte Sink and the Upper American Basin (District 10, Olivehurst); and 2 are in the San Joaquin Valley (Mendota and near Kesterson). Our Habitat Assessment Technician has begun work to visit the locations visited by PTT-marked pintails for the purpose of obtaining habitat information and photographs, and activity data on pintails (not PTT-marked!) at those sites. Based on last year’s data, we can expect major northward movements any day, perhaps when our weather settles down a bit.

February 12, 2001

There are a total of 5 PTT-marked pintails north of the Central Valley now. Birds #17004, 17531, and 17720 are on Lower Klamath NWR just south of the Oregon border, #17537 moved from Big Valley to Fall River Valley in northeastern California, and #17708 moved from Oregon’s Agency Lake to Fairchild Swamp in northeastern California. We have had a series of powerful, cold and wet storms beginning February 9th, and this seems to have stirred the birds up. Nonetheless, all remaining pintails are in the Sacramento Valley, except #17524, which is still in the San Joaquin on the south “Grasslands” near Dos Palos. The most used areas in the Sacramento Valley now include the Lower American Basin, Lower Colusa Basin, Yolo Bypass south of the Yolo Wildlife Area, Butte Basin around the several wildlife areas and NWRs, and areas around Sacramento NWR. The birds seem to be spending a great deal of time flying, judging by the activity sensor data and inconsistent locations during this stormy period.

February 5, 2001

Tentative northward migration has begun! On February 5, we recorded Pintails #17720 and 17708 at Lower Klamath NWR in northeastern California near the Oregon border. These birds had been using the Llano Seco Unit of Sacramento River NWR, and the rice fields in the vicinity, until their move. It remains to be seen whether this will be a permanent move, or only temporary. Last year, a couple of the marked pintails went north only to return when weather deteriorated. At present, weather conditions are mild in the Central Valley, and well above freezing in northeastern California, but cold storms are expected over the weekend. All the other marked pintails remain in the Sacramento Valley, except #17524, which is using wetlands south of Dos Palos in the “Grasslands” of the northern San Joaquin Valley. Two PTTs are no longer providing locations (17468 and 17553) and another (17557) may be on a dead bird at Colusa NWR. We caught a large group of pintails at Llano Seco on Saturday January 27, and attached PTTs to 6 to round out our full sample of marked pintails, which now stands at 52 that are providing locations.

January 25, 2001

Most of our pintails continued to move about the Sacramento Valley and Delta region since the last journal entry. Of interest, pintail #17707, which had flown north to Humboldt Bay on California’s north coast, reversed course and returned to the Sacramento Valley. We found her west of the Howard Slough State Wildlife Area. Additionally, pintail #17517, which had flown south to Kern NWR in the southern San Joaquin Valley, turned tail and flew north, first to the Delta on Byron Tract and then to the Lower American Basin just north of Sacramento. Pintail #17524 used the Cosumnes Preserve, between Sacramento and Stockton, for some time, then flew south to the South Grasslands near Dos Palos, where she remains to date. We are having another powerful rain/wind storm today, so I suspect our birds will redistribute themselves again.

January 16, 2001

Some interesting movements since the last report. Some might be related to the powerful storm that hit central California on January 10. Heavy rain and strong winds up to 45mph accompanied this big blow, the first of the winter season. Pintail 17707 turned up on Mad River Slough, probably on the state wildlife area of the same name, at the north end of Humboldt Bay on California’s north coast. Bird 17517, after having flown south from Sacramento NWR to Bacon Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta), kept going south and has now turned up just nne of Kern NWR in the southern San Joaquin Valley! Pintail 17524 has moved south to the Cosumnes River Preserve, which lies midway between Sacramento and Stockton. All remaining birds have been moving about the Sacramento Valley north of the Delta.

January 8, 2001

PTT-marked pintails contine to move about the Sacramento Valley. Many have remained largely within the area in which we trapped and released them, and others have made long moves, primarily going east-west across the Sacramento River. We are picking up day time roosts and night feeding locations for most birds. We have a few more transmitters to deploy and we are waiting for trapping conditions to improve in the last location in which we want to mark birds (the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta region). Waterfowl populations seem to be lower than average in the Central Valley this year, and this apparently has affected numbers of pintails in the Delta, an area that is normally loaded with sprig in December and January.

December 28, 2000

We are underway! Trapping crews, using rocket-nets, have successfully caught pintails at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), the Llano Seco unit of Sacramento River NWR, the Howard Slough unit of Upper Butte Basin State Wildlife Area (SWA), and Gray Lodge SWA. To date, we have attached satellite transmitters (PTTs) to 49 adult female pintails and released them back into the wild at their point of capture (20 each at Sacramento NWR and Llano Seco, 8 at Howard Slough, and 1 at Gray Lodge). Most movements have been local so far, but a few have traded sides of the Sacramento Valley, and at least one has moved south into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta). We hope to mark one more bird from the Sacramento Valley and 5 in the Delta. Stay tuned.

December 11, 2000

Pinsat 2001 is underway! We welcome back all of our interested viewers from last year and those who are just tuning in to the Pinsat web site. Our field crews, consisting of biologists from USGS and the California Waterfowl Association, are now out and about the Sacramento Valley trying to capture pintails. We have rocket-nets set on Sacramento and Sacramento River NWRs, and Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Area. So far, the wigeon are beating the pintails to the bait, but we will prevail in the end. This year, we are going to outfit 55 adult females with back-pack type satellite transmitters (PTTs) attached with Teflon ribbon harnesses. Check back to this page in a week or so, and I’ll have an update of our progress in catching pintails - hopefully, I will have good news.