Birds provide insight for stewardship of urban riparian areas Cooper Farr Conservation Science Program

Riparian Areas transitional zone between terrestrial and acquatic ecosystems

Urban riparian areas give us... resources (water), ecosystem services, recreational opportunities, access to natural spaces filtering pollutants from overland flow

Riparian areas are important for birds Less than 1% of land area Up to 75% of Utah bird species On average: 2x greater bird density 10x more birds during spring migration Especially in urban areas- serve as small, linear preserves also we want to support birds in Salt Lake City and provide them with habitat in Urban areas 42% breed or over-winter

Riparian Areas in Salt Lake County 7 Canyons: Drinking water for over 1 million Some underground in urban area Jordan River: Historically 12,500 acres of wetland/riparian habitat Since 1847: Great Salt Lake City Creek Red Butte Emigration Parley’s Jordan River Mill Creek Big Cottonwood Salt Lake County Little Cottonwood Channelization Straightening Dredging Development Jordan River: flows over 50 miles between Utah lake and Great Salt Lake, and goes through 3 counties and 15 cities along the way Channelization, Straightening, Dredging = reduced historic floodplain Development Domestic, industrial, and agricultural discharge City Creek = first water source for Mormon pioneers in 1847 Now – City Creek, Parley’s, Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood Utah Lake Domestic, industrial, agricultural discharge Changes in plant communities > Non-native encroachment

Channelization Straightening Dredging Domestic, industrial, resources (water), ecosystem services, recreational opportunities, access to natural spaces filtering pollutants from overland flow Domestic, industrial, agricultural discharge Changes in plant communities > Non-native encroachment Development

Birds are good indicators of riparian health

Tracy Aviary’s Citizen Science Program Number of Participants: 41 Citizen Scientist Hours: 980 Since 2011, Tracy Aviary’s citizen science program has developed and implemented a series of participatory bird monitoring projects in urban riparian areas throughout the Salt Lake County Watershed

Our work and partners Regional Athletic Complex Jordan River Golf Course City Creek Canyon Liberty Park Parley’s Historic Nature Park Scott Ave Park Big Bend Habitat Restoration Area Our projects include diverse objective, partners, stakeholders, and geographic locations, but they all investigate avian use of urban riparian habitat Alta Ski Area Galena Soo’nkhanni Preserve

? local avian ecology riparian health management/restoration Patterns of bird occurrence, distribution, and community composition can serve as important indicators of watershed quality and overall ecosystem health, and data we have collected over the years have increased our understanding of local avian ecology, best management practices, and how to balance competing objectives for our region’s riparian areas local avian ecology riparian health management/restoration balance competing objectives

Study sites and sampling points (80) Creeks: City Creek Canyon (400 acres) 31 sampling points Parley’s Historic Park (63 acres) 6 sampling points Jordan River: Regional Athletic Complex (44 acres) Jordan River Golf Course (15 acres) 2 sampling points Big Bend Habitat Restoration Area (80 acres) 8 sampling points Galena Soo’nkhanni Preserve (252 acres) 27 sampling points

Breeding Bird Surveys - Point counts 112m 32m 32 citizen science volunteers Breeding Season: April – July Dawn – 10am Multiple Visits (5-6) 87m

Question 1: Which bird species are using Salt Lake County’s urban riparian areas during the breeding season? ?

124 bird species 95% native birds 38% of all Salt Lake County species 82 66 54 51 Results 1 – Species Counts during breeding season at each of the areas Number of species out of how many riparian species % native vs. non-native 35 34

Species we observed most often at each site: Red-winged Blackbird Black-billed Magpie Northern Rough-winged Swallow Bullock’s Oriole American Robin Song Sparrow Bullock’s Oriole Bullock’s Oriole Song Sparrow American Robin American Robin Yellow Warbler European Starling Rock Pigeon Warbling Vireo Franklin’s Gull Yellow Warbler American Robin Jordan River Golf Course

Riparian Obligate birds Yellow-breasted Chat Willow Flycatcher

Question 2: What habitat factors make riparian areas better for birds? *Note: Jordan River sites only

Riparian Bird Index: 28 Riparian Obligate and Dependent Species Young et al. 2013, BLM PIF 1998

Riparian Area Characteristics Total size Overstory Canopy Cover (>3m) Understory Canopy Cover (0.25m – 3m) Percentage of Understory that is Non-native Grass Cover Forb Cover

Analysis Multiple Linear Regression Models 1 and 2 covariates AIC for model selection

Size, canopy cover, and native vegetation were best supported indicators of a healthy riparian bird community AIC = 192.7125 + 0.012 (0.04) + 0.044 (0.02) Total size Overstory Canopy Cover ? AIC = 192.7508 + 0.071 (0.03) Total size Percentage of Non-native Understory

Across all study areas, trees and shrubs were predominantly non-native Overstory 78.7% Russian Olive (non-native) 12% Siberian Elm (non-native) 3.5% Fremont Cottonwood (native) Understory 36.6% Russian Olive (non-native) 20.3% Rabbit Brush (native) 11% Tamarisk (non-native)

Conclusion: Urban riparian areas are important for native birds, and ours support many Despite the degredation and development, we have habitat that supports some fantastic bird communities.

Conclusion: Larger protected areas with canopy trees support healthy riparian bird communities Implications for management

Implications for restoration Conclusion: Russian Olives and other non-native vegetation support bird communities in disturbed habitat Implications for restoration When thinking about how to restore the area, need to keep in mind that birds are already using these trees, and need midstory and canopy structure in the vegetation.

Conclusion: There is more to learn! 11 new species detected this year Long-term monitoring: Restoration work Population growth Climate change new species, even in site we’ve been monitoring for 5 years

Interested in joining? www.tracyaviary.org/volunteer Acknowledgements Tracy Aviary Citizen Science Team Project Partners Interested in joining? www.tracyaviary.org/volunteer