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Mariana crow fledgling tagged at start of the breeding season
Survey finds 92 breeding Marianas crows
Biologists under the Rota Avian Behavioral Ecology Project make their first catch and band a Marianas crow at the start of the breeding season this year. (Lena Ware)
Biologists under the Rota Avian Behavioral Ecology Project made their first catch and band of a Mariana crow fledgling at the start of the new breeding season two weeks ago on Jan. 2.
According to research coordinator Dacia Wiitala and field crew leader Henry Fandel, the endangered bird is captured as chicks and banded with color-coded bands that resemble bracelets, which enable biologists to track and identify individual birds. Biologists survey known Marianas crow (aga in Chamorro) habitat for nests.
“Being able to tell individual birds apart helps us make survival estimates and understand crow movements across the island,” Wiitala told Saipan Tribune. “The second portion of our research is a continuation of the Adult Mortality Study. This study is intended to help us understand some of the pressures affecting adult aga on Rota.”
She explained that if pressures are identified, steps can be taken to reverse the striking decline of the crow population. Biologists also found that the feral cat population puts “unnatural pressures” on the population.
“For the adult mortality study we have radio-tagged 10 adult crows across the island. We check on the birds using telemetry gear twice a day to ensure they are still alive,” she added.
RABEP’s last survey conducted in 2013 found 92 breeding Mariana crows. The group has also collected blood samples from over 100 crows that are currently being analyzed at the Smithsonian Wildlife Conservation Institute in Washington, D.C.
RABEP no longer holds captive crows. Instead, the San Diego Zoo Global facility run by Phil Hannon and Sarah Faegre separately hold all the captive crows on the island. This fall, the facility will start a captive rear-and-release program of Mariana crows in an effort to help bolster the wild population as well.
RABEP began their efforts on island in 2005 and is contracted through the CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources from a Section 6 Endangered Species grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.
