Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
Common
Name: Nelson's
Sharp-tailed Sparrow (NSTS)
Scientific
Name:
Ammodramus
nelsoni
Global/Continental
Conservation Status: Not on IUCN 2004 Red List
National-level
Conservation Status:
U.S.
– Bird of Conservation Concern
Key
Reference(s):
BNA No. 112 (Greenlaw and Rising 1994) written before the split of
the Sharp-tailed Sparrow into the Saltmarsh and Nelson's Sharp-tailed
Sparrows; NPWRC Doc (Dechant et al. 2003)
Distribution:
Breeds from ne British Columbia, s Mackenzie, n Alberta, c
Saskatchewan, ne Montana, s Manitoba, North Dakota (except sw), se South
Dakota (probably), nw and c Minnesota, and c Wisconsin (probably); in n
Ontario and nw Quebec near Hudson Bay and around James Bay, and in s
Quebec (along the St. Lawrence River from Lac St. Pierre eastward), and
along the Atlantic coast from e Quebec (including the Magdalen Islands),
New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia south to s Maine
(Scarborough Marsh, Popham Beach). Winters
in coastal marshes along the mid- to south Atlantic coast south to s
Florida
, along the Gulf coast west to s
Texas
and n Tamaulipas, and rarely in coastal California (AOU1998).
Habitat
Associations:
Freshwater marshes and wet meadows in interior and brackish marshes
along coast; in winter in salt and brackish marshes (AOU 1998).
Source(s)
of Research/monitoring Needs (Number in ( ) is Physiographic Area number):
Spruce-Hardwood Forest Bird Conservation Plan(28); East Gulf
Coastal Plain Bird Conservation Plan (04); South Atlantic Coastal Plain
Bird Conservation Plan (03); Southern New England Bird Conservation Plan
(09)Canadian Action Plans (Dunn 2002); BNA No. 112 (Greenlaw and Rising
1994); PIF Monitoring Needs document (Partners in Flight Science Committee
2004)
PIF
Continental Plan Monitoring Needs Category: Mo2 (BBS trends have very
low precision)
RESEARCH/MONITORING NEEDS (source(s) of needs)
Monitoring
- Priority
monitoring action – Improve the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) (PIF
Monitoring Needs doc); (similar) Evaluate quality of BBS coverage of
NSTS in prairies (Canadian Action Plan)
- Second
priority monitoring action – Conduct species-specific surveys in the
Maritime Provinces
and
James Bay
(PIF Monitoring Needs doc)
- Develop
methods/Establish Program to Monitor NSTS (many
of these are similar to the priorities listed immediately above) -
Improve monitoring in areas of NSTS concentration (perhaps with
species-specific protocol) (Canadian Action Plan); Complete inventory
of NSTS in Atlantic Canada, develop methods for estimating population
size, monitor populations at key sites (Spruce-Hardwood Forest);
Monitoring program to track NSTS population trends & estimate
population size (Southern New England); Develop techniques to monitor
important species in emergent wetlands including NSTS (winter) (South
Atlantic Coastal Plain; East Gulf Coastal Plain); Monitor Black Ducks
in the South Atlantic Coastal Plain, management should benefit other
priority species like NSTS (wintering) (South Atlantic Coastal Plain);
Expand Marsh Monitoring Program outside Great Lakes area; assess
quality of CBC data, and update analyses (Canadian Action Plan)
- Compare
James Bay NSTS status to that in 1981-85 once 2001-2005 Ontario
Breeding Bird Atlas completed (Canadian Action Plan)
- see
needs under "Wintering"
Habitat
Needs/Ecology/Life History
- Determine
factors that influence habitat suitability and quality for NSTS;
identify threats to sites (
Spruce-Hardwood
Forest
)
- Studies
of social and ecological relationships in different regional
populations (BNA)
- Information
on NSTS mating system (BNA)
Effects
of Management Practices
- Effects
of land use practices (ditching, impounding, dredging, open marsh
water management, burning & restoration) on abundance &
distribution of NSTS populations (
Southern New England
; BNA)
- Determine
Best Management Practices NSTS (
Southern New England
)
Wintering
- Locate
NSTS Wintering Grounds
- Determine wintering grounds of Canadian population of NSTS (Canadian
Action Plan); More information on winter ecology and wintering ranges
used by different regional populations (BNA)
- see
needs in "Monitoring”
Demographics
- Conduct
demographic studies in core Canadian range of NSTS (Canadian Action
Plan)
- Study
productivity & survival to understand limiting factors (
Southern New England
)
Habitat
Restoration
- Examine
feasibility of marsh restoration for NSTS; effects of ditch plugging
on nesting success (
Spruce-Hardwood
Forest
)
- see
needs under "Effects of Management Practices"
Global
Change
- Determine
possible negative impacts of rising ocean levels from global climate
change (
Southern New England
)
Genetics/Taxonomy/Systematics
- Note:
many BNA research needs focus on relationships between northern &
southern populations that are now two different species (no longer
appropriate)
[Link
to References]
[Link
to PIF Bird Conservation Plans]
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