We review the extralimital occurrence of Cave Swallows (Petrochelidon fulva) in the United States and Canada since the 1960s. Nineteen (29%) of 65 occurrences not associated with an incursion in late autumn 1999 have been verified with photographs or specimens. Spring specimens of the West Indian subspecies P. fulva fulva are from Alabama and Nova Scotia; the subspecies of a Cave Swallow salvaged in Mississippi in spring is uncertain. Autumn specimens of the southwestern subspecies P. fulva pallida are from North and South Carolina. Cave Swallows measured and photographed at Cliff Swallow (P. pyrrhonota) breeding colonies in Arizona and Nebraska were P. f. pallida, as well as one bird photographed at a Cliff and Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) colony in Louisiana along the Mississippi line. Photographs of Cave Swallows in spring at California and in late autumn at New York were P. f. pallida. Subspecies could not be determined for six other records verified by photographs. Most of 46 sight observations of Cave Swallows have been reported at similar locations, seasons, and times as the verified records. Extralimital Cave Swallows in the United States and Canada have occurred along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and in the interior, especially during spring and late autumn, and extralimital occurrences in the 1999 incursion matched the pattern in other years. The majority of birds on the Gulf coast occurred before the 1990s, mainly in spring, and on the Atlantic coast and in the interior during the 1990s, mainly in late autumn. The pattern of extralimital occurrence is consistent with changes in the breeding and winter status of the two subspecies. In Texas, breeding and overwintering populations of P. f. pallida have rapidly increased since the mid 1980s, in contrast to the slight increase of breeding populations of P. f. fulva in southeastern Florida.

A sample of 22 radio-tagged male Great Bustards from central Iberian populations was studied from 1996 to 1998. All birds undertook seasonal movements to postbreeding areas located up to 167 km away from their leks. Departures from leks occurred between May and July, with most birds moving northeast to summering areas. Approximately 47% of the males spent only the summer away from their leks, returning to leks between September and December. Other males overwintered in areas located to the southeast, returning to lek sites between January and March.

The Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) is one of the most abundant shorebirds in northwestern Mexico; however, little is known about its winter ecology in this area. We studied residency patterns of male Western Sandpipers during the winters of 1995–1996 (1995) and 1996–1997 (1996) at Estero Punta Banda in Baja California, Mexico. We resighted 54 birds in 1995 and 56 birds in 1996. Birds arrived later in 1995 (median 1 December) than in 1996 (median 24 October). The median departure dates (6 March 1996 and 20 February 1997) did not differ between years. We observed two patterns of residency. Wintering birds in 1995 arrived on 17 November (median) and departed on 17 March (median), with length of stay of 120.0 ± 4.2 d; and in 1996 arrived on 12 October (median) and departed on 8 March (median), with length of stay of 146.9 ± 4.3 d. Transient birds in 1995 arrived on 7 December (median) and departed on 17 February (median), with stays of 33.7 ± 4.3 d; and in 1996 arrived on 23 October (median) and departed on 3 December (median), with stays of 33.7 ± 4.1 d. Residence time was independent of sighting effort. Both wintering birds and transients exhibited site fidelity between years. Both categories were independent with respect to age, trapping month, or year. The mid-season departures were not correlated with either age or the banding period. Older birds were more likely to depart earlier and switch their residency pattern from wintering to transient. While the ecological significance of variation in residency patterns remains unknown, evidence from this and previous studies suggest that such variation may be relatively common, with important implications for studies of shorebird populations and conservation strategies.

Effects of color bands on adult birds have been investigated in many studies, but much less is known about the effects of bands on birds banded at hatch. We captured Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) chicks at hatch on the Alaskan North Slope and attached 0–3 bands to them. The chicks were resighted and reweighed during the subsequent two weeks. The number of chicks banded varied from 18 to 21 among treatments; 6–9 were resighted, and 6–7 were reweighed, per treatment. The proportion resighted varied from 0.33 to 0.45. The estimated resighting probability, given that we encountered a brood, was 82%. We tested for effects of the bands on survival and mass gain by analyzing whether the proportion of chicks resighted, or their mass, varied with the number of bands. We found no evidence that bands affected the chicks and were able to rule out (with 95% confidence) a decline in survivorship of more than 13% and a loss of mass of more than 10%. Although bands had little if any effect on chicks in our study, we believe their effects should be evaluated whenever survivorship or mass gain are estimated using color-marked chicks.

Quantifying productivity of bird populations often involves calculating nest success from samples of nests found during a breeding season. Female reproductive output (annual or lifetime) is important to demographic modeling of birds, but nest success is a poor metric to compare productivity among areas or populations. Based on preliminary review, we hypothesized that avian literature poorly distinguishes annual reproductive success from nest success regardless of species' breeding strategies, and that the influence of renesting and multiple brooding on avian productivity is infrequently recognized. We investigated the reporting of nest success, annual reproductive success, renesting, and multiple brooding in 356 articles across 81 journal-years for nine journals that frequently publish ornithological literature. We found 54% of 356 articles reporting productivity estimators used variations of nest success. However, only 10% of articles reported estimates of annual reproductive output. We found that 28% of articles reported the breeding strategy of the species studied, and 47% acknowledged renesting or multi-brooded species. There was no temporal increase in acknowledgment of species' breeding strategy, renesting, or multi-brooding. Our review indicated little distinction between nest success and annual reproductive success. To accurately support conservation evaluations, we believe use of nest success in assessing avian productivity must be critically examined.

To learn more about mid-Pacific migration, we radio-tagged 40 Pacific Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis fulva) in spring 1999 on their wintering territories in Hawaii. The birds departed in late April, and with aerial monitoring we relocated 10 of them in Alaska. Seven individuals were in or near the Nushagak River lowlands in southwestern Alaska. Nesting Pacific Golden-Plovers were discovered there in 1994 disjunct from the previously known breeding range. The remaining three radio-tagged birds were found north of Bethel on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta. Our results suggest that breeding is continuous from the Nushagak region west through the uplands north of Bristol Bay to the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta. Thus, plovers wintering in Hawaii apparently nest across a wide area of Alaska. We present a revised Alaska breeding distribution map for the species which differs significantly from AOU Checklist boundaries. The temporary attachment of transmitters (they are shed during summer molting) had no apparent effect on survival within our sample population. Birds that had carried transmitters returned to their winter territories in Hawaii at a rate nearly identical to banded plovers not radio-tagged.

Checklist programs that compile birding observations are potentially useful for population monitoring. Previous analyses showed that trends in Quebec checklist data from migration seasons were significantly correlated with trends from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) in Quebec, although agreement of trend magnitudes for individual species was low. Here we analyze Quebec checklist data from the breeding season for comparison, using both the full data set and a subset of data collected at frequently visited (“standard”) sites. Checklist trends from the breeding season for standard sites corresponded much more closely to magnitudes of BBS trends than checklist trends based on all sites, although in both cases, checklists accurately reflected direction of BBS trend in >80% of species. Checklist trends from migration seasons for all sites and for standard sites were similar to each other, and did not correspond as well to BBS trends, probably because different populations were sampled in the two seasons. Checklist programs can be improved for population monitoring purposes by encouraging frequent reporting from standard sites, and by collecting recommended ancillary data that allow analysts to select data most appropriate to their research questions.

We conducted a four-year study on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington to assess the relationship between corvid (Gray Jay [Perisoreus canadensis], Steller's Jay [Cyanocitta stelleri], American Crow [Corvus brachyrhynchos] and Common Raven [Corvus corax]) abundance and the risk of nest predation. We assessed risk of predation through the use of artificial mid-canopy nests and assessed corvid abundance using a variety of techniques including point-count surveys, transect surveys, and the broadcast of corvid territorial and predator attraction calls. Point counts of corvid abundance had the strongest correlation with predation on artificial nests containing eggs. The relationship between nest predation rate and corvid abundance was strongest when study plots were used as replicated measures of landscape conditions rather than as independent samples. We suggest using the maximum value for each corvid species attained from several temporally replicated point-count surveys in each study plot. Corvid point-counts should be conducted on days with light winds (<20 kph) and no more than light precipitation. Use of attraction calls is important for gaining a meaningful measure of corvid abundance. Their use may overrepresent corvids at the local plot scale but is important in assessing the landscape scale presence of wide-ranging (American Crows) and often non-vocal (Gray Jays) corvids.

We assessed the effect of nest visits by researchers on the activity of nest predators and predation rate of eggs in a High Arctic Greater Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens atlantica) colony. The study was conducted in years of moderate (1996) and low (1997) overall nest predation rate. We first compared activity rate (number of presences per h) and behavior of nest predators in the colony with and without investigator disturbance. In one year out of two, activity rate and time spent in the colony were higher during nest visits than under undisturbed conditions for Glaucous Gulls (Larus hyperboreus) and Parasitic Jaegers (Stercorarius parasiticus). Moreover, presence of investigators significantly increased (4.8 times) the probability of nest attack by predators in one year. Nevertheless, the immediate revisit technique showed that the percentage of goose eggs robbed by predators in monitored nests was low (<0.7%) during a nest visit. In addition, we found no significant difference in mean clutch size at the end of incubation or nesting success between nests that were visited repeatedly (8 visits) and those less disturbed (<3 visits). Although some predators can be attracted by and take advantage of the presence of investigators, our results indicate that nesting parameters estimated for this snow goose colony are not biased by nest visits. However, the effect of investigator disturbance could be more important in other arctic nesting bird species that are unable to successfully defend their nest against predators or when predation pressure is very high.