SELECTED REPORTS AND LITERATURE OF THE LIGHT-FOOTED CLAPPER RAIL AND
BELDING’S SAVANNAH SPARROW
There has been annual monitoring of the California population and studies leading to implementation of management measures for the Light-footed Clapper Rail since 1979. These activities were summarized in annual reports to the California Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Selected reports and publications are listed below with a summary or abstract of their contents. Papers have been published on most aspects of the life history of this rail. However, recent work on the development of a protocol for captive breeding including the translocation of wild eggs and captive-bred rails is summarized in the annual reports since 1998. Additionally, the state population of the Belding’s savannah sparrow has been surveyed and reported upon every 5 years starting in 1986.
Massey, B.W. and R. Zembal. 1980.
A comparative study of the Light-footed Clapper Rail
Rallus longirostris levipes populations in Anaheim Bay and Upper Newport Bay, Orange
County, California. Report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Office,
Sacramento, CA. 69pp.
Other than Paul Jorgensen’s thesis published in 1975 on the rails in Tijuana Estuary (CA State
University, San Diego), this manuscript documents the pioneering fieldwork on the Light-footed
Clapper Rail. Many aspects of the rail’s life history were documented including the development of a credible survey technique (most of this work was subsequently published, see below). A comparative study was commissioned by the Fish and Wildlife Service because Anaheim Bay (now
Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge) had twice as much salt marsh habitat as Upper Newport Bay but Newport seemed to have many more clapper rails. We discovered that Anaheim Bay had subsided and consequently the rail nests were being destroyed by tidal wash. This led to the design and finally beginning in 1987, the placement of artificial nesting rafts for the clapper rails in
Anaheim Bay.
Zembal, R., and B. W. Massey. 1981.
A census of the Light-footed Clapper Rail in California.
Western Birds 12:87-99.
A survey of the California population of the Light-footed Clapper Rail was conducted in spring
1980. Censusing was done by listening to spontaneous vocalizations of the rails at dusk and plotting locations of calling pairs on maps. Nest searches of the marshes corroborated the findings of the vocalization census. Fifteen coastal saltmarshes were censused and 203 nesting pairs were found. The birds were concentrated in 5 marshes, Carpinteria Marsh, Anaheim Bay (Seal Beach
National Wildlife Refuge), Upper Newport Bay, Kendall-Frost Reserve, and Tijuana Marsh. An addendum summarizes the 1981 survey of 23 southern California marshes and two marshes in
Mexico. There was a 15% reduction in the California total.
Jorgensen, P. D., and H. L. Ferguson. 1982.
Clapper Rail preys on Savannah Sparrow.
Wilson Bull. 94(2): 215.
Describes an attack on an adult Belding's Savannah Sparrow by a Light-footed Clapper Rail.
Reviews published accounts on foods of Clapper Rails that hinted at birds in the diet.
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Zembal, R., and B. W. Massey. 1983.
To catch a Clapper Rail --twice.
North American Bird Bander 8(4): 144-148.
Reviews techniques for rail capture from the literature and summarizes success and failure with the live-capture of Light-footed Clapper Rails in southern California. Three hundred and seven hours of trapping over 85 dates, 16 February 1981 – 9 September 1983, resulted in 1,905 trap-hours and the capture of 52 Clapper Rails and recapture of 13. The highest success in Southern California was with drop-door traps but a variety of possible techniques were explored.
Zembal, R., and B. W. Massey. 1983.
The Light-footed Clapper Rail: distribution, nesting
strategies, and management. Cal-Neva Wildlife Trans., 1983:97-103.
Censusing by vocalizations of the known populations of Light-footed Clapper Rails in California revealed 203 pairs in 11 coastal marshes from Carpinteria to Tijuana Marsh in the spring of 1980,
173 pairs in 15 marshes in 1981, and 221 pairs in 18 marshes in 1982. The rails were detected, in order of decreasing abundance, in marshes with abundant, dense cordgrass ( Spartina foliosa ), in pickleweed ( Salicornia virginica ) dominated marshes with little or no cordgrass, and in brackish to freshwater marshes with dominant reeds ( Typha spp. and Scirpus spp.).
Dense cordgrass provides a highly utilized habitat, but all of a marsh and its environs are used to some degree. A most productive situation is apparently provided by a large marsh comprised of numerous habitats as exemplified by Upper Newport Bay, where nearly half of the nesting pairs in the state were detected in 1980 and 1982. Birds do occur, however, in very small marshes with nearly monotypic vegetational cover. In contrast, populations have disappeared from several marshes that were, and in most cases still are, periodically subjected to closed ocean entrances and subsequent prolonged flooding. Additionally, viable populations have not been detected in those coastal brackish to freshwater marshes comprised totally of open water and emergent reeds.
A total of 221 nesting sites was examined at Upper Newport Bay, Tijuana Marsh, and Anaheim
Bay during 1979 through 1981. Incubation nests were placed, in order of decreasing frequency, in dense cordgrass, in higher marsh plants and usually in stands isolated by low marsh or mudflat, in tumbleweeds or wrack lodged mostly in lower marsh plants, and in stands of freshwater reeds.
About 95% of the incubation nests examined were built directly in or were isolated by lower marsh habitats. Known agents of nest destruction were high tides in the lower marsh and upland predators in the upper marsh. Optimally, therefore, nesting sites must be densely vegetated and high enough to afford protection from high tides, yet isolated enough in the marsh to be effectively protected from upland predators. The hatching success of 57% for poorly isolated upper marsh nests was significantly lower than that of about 81% for all other nests.
Habitat quality, as affected in part by weather, appeared to influence nest placement. Upper marsh sites were most heavily utilized where and when tall, dense cordgrass was least abundant. The scarcity of suitable nesting habitat appears to be a major limiting factor for several Clapper Rail populations. Methods are suggested for providing additional nesting habitat and for improving the quality of existing habitat.
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Massey, B.W. and R. Zembal. 1984.
Light-footed Clapper Rail Census, banding, and telemetry
Study, 1984. Report to CA Dept Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA. 10pp.
The report summarizes the 1984 activities including the fifth statewide survey, trapping and color banding of 9 rails in Upper Newport Bay, and telemetry of 4 additional rails. Measurements of 119 males and 107 females were taken of specimens from 5 collections. Wing, bill, and tarsi measurements were all larger in the males but there was considerable overlap. Live weight still appears to be the most reliable indicator of sex in mature birds with the males generally over 400 gm and the females in the low to middle 300 gm. Analysis of movement data from 9 rails fitted with radio-telemetry revealed minimum home ranges of 0.36 – 1.66 ha.
Massey, B. W., R. Zembal, and P. D. Jorgensen. 1984. Nesting habitat of the Light-footed
Clapper Rail in Southern California. J. Field Ornithology 55(1): 67-80.
Nesting activities of the Light-footed Clapper Rail were observed for 3 seasons in 3 Southern
California coastal saltmarshes. We found 208 nests, representing about 85% of the breeding pairs in the study areas. Nests were grouped into 5 categories. The rails' preferred breeding habitat was tall, dense cordgrass ( Spartina foliosa ) in the low littoral zone, where they build platform nests out of dead cordgrass stems. Where or when such habitat was not available, the birds still nested preferentially in low marsh, using tide-deposited materials as nesting cover. Nests were also built in pickleweed ( Salicornia virginica ) and other upper marsh plants on hummocks of high ground surrounded by low marsh. Only rarely did the rails nest in high marsh that was contiguous with uplands. Stands of freshwater reeds were present at one marsh and were used regularly for nesting, as well as foraging and roosting. Clutch size, hatching success, and causes of nest failure were documented whenever possible. Major causes of nest failure were flooding of nests in low marsh and predation of high marsh nests. The dearth of j suitable nesting habitat in coastal marshes of
Southern California is a severely limiting factor to the growth of the Light-footed Clapper Rail population.
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1985.
Recovery plan for the Light-footed Clapper Rail. U. S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon. 121 pp.
This is the revision of the original 1977 plan. Available biological information and recovery needs are presented. According to the plan, recovery to threatened status would require 800 pairs within
4,000 ha of adequately protected, suitably managed, secure wetland habitat consisting of at least
50% appropriate marsh vegetation in at least 20 marsh complexes. Copies of the plan are available through the FWS Reference Service.
Zembal, R., and B. W. Massey. 1985. Function of a rail "mystery" call. Auk 102(1): 179-180.
The contextual use of the "ornithological mystery" call, "kicker" song, or "kek-burr" is described for the Light-footed Clapper Rail. The observations leading to the conclusion that this is the primary advertising call of the female are related.
Zembal, R., and B. W. Massey. 1985.
Distribution of the Light-footed Clapper Rail in California,
1980 - 1984. American Birds 39(2): 135-137.
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This is a status review of the endangered Light-footed Clapper Rail following 5 consecutive annual censuses of the U. S. population. The population total was lowest in 1981 with 173 pairs detected in
15 marshes, and highest in 1984 with 277 pairs in 19 marshes. The vulnerability of this species and need for additional habitat are emphasized.
Zembal, R., J. M. Fancher, C. S. Nordby, and R. J. Bransfield. 1985.
Intermarsh movements by
Light-footed Clapper Rails indicated in part through regular censusing. Calif. Fish and Game
71(3): 164-171.
The Light-footed Clapper Rail, a state and federally listed endangered species, was monitored at 5 coastal marshes on or in the vicinity of Camp Pendleton, U. S. Marine Corps Base, San Diego
County, California. Monitoring was accomplished mostly through censusing for vocal responses to systematic playing of recorded calls during both morning and evening hours on 13 dates spanning the period 10 May - 22 November 1983. The results of monitoring the relatively larger breeding population at Agua Hedionda Lagoon, the single study site located off the base, aided in interpretation of results at the other 4 marshes. A small breeding population was verified at the mouth of the Santa Margarita River and dispersing transients were detected at Las Flores Marsh.
The evidence for movements by Light-footed Clapper Rails away from home marshes is presented and discussed.
Zembal, R. and B.W. Massey. 1986.
Light-footed Clapper Rail census and study, 1986. Report
To CA Dept Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA. 25pp.
This report documents a terrible crash in the state population which plummeted 48.7% to 142 pairs in 1985 with no substantive improvement in 1986. The subpopulation in the Tijuana Marsh dropped to zero in 1985 due to the closure of the ocean entrance to the estuary. A partial survey of the Light-footed Clapper Rails in Baja California, Mexico wetlands is also reported with the detection of 64 breeding pairs in El Estero, Ensanada and 179 pairs in San Quintin. These numbers are lower than detected in 1981 in these Mexican wetlands but the survey was later and the vocalizing may have been reduced because many of the rails may already have been incubating eggs. Alternatively, whatever caused the crash in U.S. numbers may have affected the Mexican subpopulations too. Twenty-five rails were color banded in Upper Newport Bay and the movements of the 63 rails banded between 1981 and 1984 were confined mostly to a few hundred meters of their banding sites. We video-recorded the activities of a mated pair at their nest.
Finally, raptor activity and potential predation was monitored at Upper Newport Bay over about
100 hours and 49 dates.
Massey, B. W., and R. Zembal. 1987.
Vocalizations of the Light-footed Clapper Rail. J. Field
Ornithology 58(1): 32-40.
Eight calls are described in the repertoire of the Light-footed Clapper Rail. The major calls are the
"clapper", "kek", "agitated kek", and the "kek-burr". The "clapper" is the basic species call, used both for general territorial pronouncements and in contexts where mutual recognition of mates is important. Both sexes "clapper". The "kek" and "kek-burr" are advertising calls of non-mated males and females, respectively. The "agitated kek" is a response to intrusion or disturbance. All
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calls are variants on a single note; differences in sounds are due to changes in pitch, length of notes and of intervals between notes, and intensity.
Zembal, R., and B. W. Massey. 1987.
Seasonality of vocalizations by Light-footed Clapper Rails.
J. Field Ornithology 58(1): 41-48.
Weekly monitoring of the spontaneous evening vocalizations of Clapper Rails at two marshes in
Southern California was carried out for one year. Information resulted concerning the relative use of the common calls, and the frequency and seasonality of calling. The most commonly heard calls were the "clapper", "kek", and "agitated kek". Vocalizing showed a bimodal curve over the year, with strong peaks during the spring breeding season and again in late summer when juveniles join in the calling.
Zembal, R. and B.W. Massey. 1987.
Light-footed Clapper Rail census and study, 1987. Report
To CA Dept Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA. 18pp.
The 1987 annual report covers the annual survey of the California population, a third survey trip to
Mexico, banding and observations at Upper Newport Bay, and the design, deployment, and use of artificial nesting platforms on the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. The CA population decreased dramatically in 1985 and only Upper Newport Bay has fully recovered. Of the 10 small subpopulations that decreased greatly by 1985, only one has shown significant recovery. The rail numbers were higher in Mexico during this third trip there with 90 pairs detected in El Estero and
156 pairs in San Quintin. Six additional rails were color banded in Upper Newport Bay and there were 19 re-sightings of 10 banded rails whose locations were 0 – 610 m from their banding sites with an average distance of 91 m. An artificial nesting raft was designed and 28 were deployed in the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. There were nests on 6 of them just 2 weeks later and by season’s end 18 held nests. There were 12 clutches of eggs in the initial nesting attempts and 4 renests. Eight clutches hatched, 1 was predated, and the outcome for 3 was uncertain.
Eddleman, W. R., F. L. Knopf, B. Meanley, F. A. Reid, and R. Zembal. 1988.
Conservation of
North American Rallids. Wilson Bulletin 100(3): 458-475.
This is the report of the Conservation Committee. An overview is provided for the 9 species of
Rallidae that regularly breed in North America including general habitat requirements, trends in habitat loss, habitat manipulation, effects of hunting and trapping, the plight of the rarer taxa, and research needs. Recommendations for enhancing habitat and populations are made.
Zembal, R., and J. M. Fancher. 1988.
Foraging behavior and foods of the Light-footed Clapper
Rail. Condor 90: 959-962.
Foraging Light-footed Clapper Rails were observed for approximately 180 hours and mostly at
Upper Newport Bay, Orange County, California. A total of 50 gm of regurgitated pellets from three marshes was analyzed and the motions involved in 11 foraging bouts, totaling about 45 min, were video taped and analyzed. Over 90% of the time that Clapper Rails were observed foraging, they hunted the marsh executing numerous surface gleans and usually shallow probes. The average gleaning and probing rate for 11 foraging bouts was 67/hr, resulting in the capture of about 250 tiny
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morsels/hr. This rai1 eats a wide variety of animal foods, executing many different foraging strategies that include crabbing, fishing, and scavenging. Crabs are probably important in the diet, along with snails, insects, and the many tiny, quite mobile invertebrates of the marsh. Plant mater1al is uncommon in the diet.
Zembal, R. and B.W. Massey. 1988.
Light-footed Clapper Rail census and study, 1988. Report
To CA Dept. Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA. 28pp.
Regular annual activities and results are reported including the annual statewide call counts; winter high tide counts; video monitoring of nesting activity; banding and observations at Upper Newport
Bay; placement and monitoring of additional nesting rafts; and a fourth survey trip into Mexico.
The calling in Mexico was dominated by advertising males and the total pairs were down.
Observed and threatened development in Mexico led to the planning for a first meeting of a binational organization, pro-esteros.
Zembal, R., B. W. Massey, and J. M. Fancher. 1989.
Movements and activity patterns of the
Light-footed Clapper Rail. J. Wildlife Management 53(1): 39-42.
We monitored 54 individually color-banded Light-footed Clapper Rails (9 were harnessed for radio telemetry) to determine movements, home range, and activity patterns. Resightings over 3 years indicated strong site tenacity. Maximum distances between locations for a given rail were generally
< 400 m (averages were 12 - 289 m). Minimum home range sizes varied from 0.36 to 1.66 ha.
Territorial rails maintained small home ranges all year. Young birds moved more than established adults. Rails usually covered only small portions (~ 30%) of their entire ranges on a daily basis. All of the marsh and environs were used by rails. Larger movements were associated often with chases, predator alarms, and high tides. Daily activity peaked in the early morning and late evening.
Wiley, J.W. and R. Zembal. 1989.
Concern grows for Light-footed Clapper Rail. U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin XIV(3): 6-7.
The problems faced by this endangered bird are summarized leading to the conclusion that extinction is imminent without meaningful intervention. Research progress and future needs are summarized.
Zembal, R. 1990.
Light-footed Clapper Rail census and study, 1990. Report to CA Dept. Fish
And Game No FG 7609, Sacramento, CA. 28pp.
The eleventh consecutive annual census of the endangered Light-footed Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris levipes) revealed 189 pairs of Clapper Rails breeding in 9 marshes in Southern
California. One hundred and thirty-one pairs, or 69.3% of the state total, were detected at Upper
Newport Bay. All of the small subpopulations face serious problems that should be dealt with through increased management and the provision of additional habitat or they will be lost. There is little security in the continued existence of the Light-footed Clapper Rail without the addition of at least one other large viable population center.
High tide counts were continued on the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge and 69 Clapper
Rails were sighted in November. This is the highest total recorded since organized counts were
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begun in 1975. Effective control of nonnative red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) allowed the manifestation of the Clapper Rail's high reproductive potential and may lead to the recovery of this important subpopulation. In addition, there have been increased sightings of Clapper Rails on the adjacent
State Ecological Reserve at Bolsa Chica.
Nine trapping sessions at Upper Newport Bay with 7 - 8 drop-door traps and 197 trap-hours, resulted in the capture and unique color-banding of 11 more Clapper Rails. There were 36 resightings of 10 banded rails. The average movement detected of these rails was 72 meters. The largest spread of detection points for any rail was of 210 meters and included an entire family group. This particular family was observed repeatedly over 9 different dates, traversing a total area of 0.53 ha. The longest time span between banding and resighting of any one of the 126 rails banded since March 1981 has been 5 years. The longest banded of the 10 Clapper Rails resighted in 1990 was a rail banded in 1987 or earlier (this could have been any 1 of 6 different rails, see text) and resighted 400 meters southwest of the banding site.
Nesting behavior studies were conducted at Upper Newport Bay through a video recorder. One nest was monitored over 4 days, primarily spanning the hatching period, for a total of 33 hours.
Information was gathered on various behaviors including incubation times, eggshell eating, chick feeding, nest refurbishment, vocalizations, chick vulnerability at pipping, and asynchrony in hatching.
Thirty-six Clapper Rail nests were found on the 45 rafts and 50 staked tumbleweeds made available in the Seal Beach NWR. Twenty of the nests held 23 clutches of eggs and there were at least 7 additional brood nests. Recruitment was very high due to decreased predation. There were at least two additional nests placed in the marsh. One was in a small patch of cordgrass (Spartina foliosa) enhanced with fresh water; the other was on an isolated high marsh berm made suitable during a 1982 restoration project. The 15 nesting rafts deployed at the Kendall-Frost Reserve contained 9 Clapper Rail nests. Seven of these nests held 10 clutches of eggs. Hatching success was 60% - 80%.
Another Clapper Rail was reported killed by a domestic cat (Felis domesticus) and for the first time, a Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) was observed on a freshly killed Clapper Rail. This particular harrier had apparently keyed in on Clapper Rails and was trapped and relocated. There was further documentation of the hazards for Clapper Rails of busy roads and red foxes and a pair of nesting rails was observed fending off a gopher snake (Pituophis melanoleucus). Predator monitoring, study, and perhaps control are needed at all of the marshes inhabited by Clapper Rails.
Predators were observed for several hundred hours at Upper Newport Bay. Coyotes (Canis latrans) were of particular interest since their occurrence apparently disallows mesopredator release. Trapping for coyotes was conducted on 57 nights, three were captured, and one adult was radio-collared twice and followed from June into November. Coyote activity was concentrated along one side of Upper Newport Bay. The uplands along the other side are in need of habitat restoration. The long-term viability of the two corridors used by the coyotes to access the bay is being greatly affected by land use changes that could result in the isolation of this important wetland. The food items identified in coyote scats indicated minimal use of foods obtained in the marsh.
No rail remains were among the contents of 15 pellets regurgitated by Great-horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) at Upper Newport Bay. Radio telemetry will be used to further examine the relationship between these owls, the wetlands, and the rails in the near future.
Zembal, R. 1991. The Light-footed Clapper Rail, secretive denizen of the lower marsh shadows.
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Western Tanager 57(8): 1-3.
This is a popular account of what it is like to work with such a secretive and rare creature. Its life history and troubles are summarized.
Zembal, R. 1993.
The need for corridors between coastal wetlands and uplands in southern
California. In Interface Between Ecology and Land Development in California , J.E. Keeley,
ed., pp 205-208.
Endangered light-footed clapper rails (Rallus longirostris levipes) were surveyed during the breeding season, 1980 - 1992, throughout their United States range in California from Santa
Barbara County south to the Mexican border. In 1992 there were 275 pairs detected in 13 coastal marshes and 87% of them were in 3, Upper Newport Bay (UNB) (136 pairs) and Seal Beach
National Wildlife Refuge (SBNWR) (36 pairs) in Orange County, and Tijuana Marsh NWR (67 pairs) in San Diego County. Of these three, UNB is the only one that has consistently maintained a large number of clapper rails, up to 71% of the state total, and it is threatened by isolation and the same consequences of mesopredator release that nearly extirpated the rail from SBNWR. Coyote
(Canis latrans) visitation to SBNWR was interrupted and population explosions occurred in the smaller predators, particularly nonnative red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Heavy predation reduced the clapper rails to 5 pairs in 1986 on the SBNWR. Over 300 foxes were trapped off the SBNWR and environs and the rails rebounded to 159 individuals by fall 1992. At UNB, coyotes were monitored with radio telemetry to better understand their habitat use and to plan for their continued presence.
The need for interconnectedness between southern California's small coastal wetlands and much larger habitat blocks is emphasized. The alternative is intensive perpetual management or the loss of native wildlife including endangered species.
Zembal, R. 1993.
Light-footed Clapper Rail census and study, 1993. Report to the CA Dept Fish
And Game, Sacramento, CA. Report No. 94-06, 32pp.
The fourteenth consecutive annual census of the endangered light-footed clapper rail (Rallus longirostris levipes) was conducted by call counts throughout the bird's range in California, 3
March - 15 April 1993. There were 300 pairs of clapper rails exhibiting breeding behavior in 13 marshes, a 9% increase over 1992. One hundred and forty-two pairs, or 47.3% of the state total, were detected at Upper Newport Bay. The subpopulations in the Tijuana Marsh National Wildlife
Refuge (NWR), Seal Beach NWR, and Upper Newport Bay totaled 270 pairs, or 90% of the
California population. Most of the subpopulations are small and face serious problems that should be dealt with through increased management and the provision of additional habitat or they will be lost. There is little security in the continued existence of the light-footed clapper rail without several large viable population centers.
High tide counts were continued on the Seal Beach NWR and 143 clapper rails were sighted in
October. This count demonstrated the maintenance for a second year of high clapper rail numbers on the refuge. Effective control of nonnative red foxes (Vulpes) allowed the manifestation of the clapper rail's high reproductive potential and is leading to the recovery of this important subpopulation. With proper management, rails could establish on the adjacent State Ecological
Reserve at Bolsa Chica.
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Ten trapping sessions at Upper Newport Bay with 13 - 19 drop-door traps and 518 trap-hours, resulted in the capture and unique color-banding of 16 more clapper rails and 1 recapture. There were 18 re-sightings of 7 banded rails. The average movement detected of these rails was 85 meters. The largest spread of detection points for any rail was of 437 meters. This rail was a firstyear bird that moved to a new section of marsh and then established itself in one locale where it was observed repeatedly. The longest time span between banding and re-sighting of any one of the
179 rails banded since March 1981 has been 5 years. Six of the 7 re-sighted rails were first banded in 1992, the other in 1993. Banding success over the 12 years of banding is compared, and resightings of banded rails are summarized for the 11 banding sessions accomplished 1981 - 1992.
Over half of the 163 rails banded during this period were reencountered and 12.7% of the 157 rails captured in drop-door traps were recaptured in them, 1 hour to 48.3 months later.
Seventy-nine clapper rail nests were found on the 100 rafts made available in the Seal Beach NWR.
Fifty-two of the nests held 73 clutches of eggs and there were at least 9 additional brood nests.
Recruitment was very high due to decreased predation. Hatching success was 86% for initial attempts and 60% for re-nests. The 15 nesting rafts deployed at the Kendall-Frost Reserve contained 13 clapper rail nests but only 5 clutches of eggs. Hatching success was 100% but there is additional evidence that predation is a major problem at Kendall-frost. More rafts are recommended for both these wetlands and several others.
Twenty-six rafts were placed in the Sweetwater Marsh NWR too late in the spring to expect any use. In spite of the lateness, two of the rafts were nested upon successfully by clapper rails. A nesting raft project was also initiated on Middle Island in Upper Newport Bay. The rafts were placed too late for nesting but clapper rails did use them for cover during a high tide.
Continued coyote (Canis latrans) use of the wetlands at Seal Beach NWR and Carpinteria Marsh was documented during predator monitoring activities. Raptor watches at Upper Newport Bay quantified bird of prey activity and interactions with marsh birds. Activities and abundance of 10 diurnal species were summarized for 10 winter sessions.
Zembal, R., S.M. Hoffman, and Dr. J.R. Bradley. 1997.
Light-footed Clapper Rail
Management and population assessment, 1996. Report to CA Dept Fish and Game,
Sacramento, CA. Bird and Mammal Conservation Program Report No. 98-01. 23pp.
The eighteenth consecutive annual census of the endangered light-footed clapper rail (Rallus longirostris levipes) was conducted by call counts throughout the bird's range in California, 4
March - 1 May 1997. There were 307 pairs of clapper rails exhibiting breeding behavior in 16 marshes, a 5.5% decrease from the 1996 population estimate. However, this was the second highest count since annual surveys began in 1980. One hundred and forty-nine pairs, or 48.5% of the state total, were detected at Upper Newport Bay. The subpopulations in the Tijuana Marsh
National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Seal Beach NWR, and Upper Newport Bay totaled 263 pairs, or
85.7% of the California population. The other subpopulations are small and in serious jeopardy that could be counteracted with increased management and the provision of additional habitat.
A high tide count on the Seal Beach NWR in October 1997 resulted in the sighting of 40 clapper rails. The tide was as high as ever observed during winter counts over the past 20 years but the
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count was low. Effective control of nonnative red foxes (Vulpes) and other management measures resulted in encouraging expansion of this subpopulation in the mid-1990s, but it has declined since then, by 29% between 1996 and 1997. In contrast, the clapper rails in Tijuana Marsh NWR are maintaining a recent high population level, as evidenced by a count of 98 during a November high tide.
Ten trapping sessions at Upper Newport Bay with 14 - 19 drop-door traps and 496 trap-hours, resulted in the capture and unique color-banding of 9 more clapper rails and 2 recaptures of previously banded rails. There were 78 re-sightings of 7 banded rails in 1997. The average movement detected of these rails was 67 m. The largest spread of detection points for any rail was of 300 m. The longest time span between banding and re-sighting of any one of the 219 rails banded since March 1981 has been 61.9 months. One of the 7 re-sighted rails was banded in 1994,
2 in 1996, and 4 were banded in 1997. Banding success over the 16 years of banding is compared, and re-sightings of banded rails are summarized for the period 1981 - 1996. Nearly half, 46.7%, of the 210 rails banded during this period were reencountered and 12.7% of the 204 rails captured in drop-door traps were recaptured in them, 1 hour to 48.3 months later.
Thirty-six clapper rail nests were found on the 125 rafts made available in the Seal Beach NWR.
Twenty-five of the nests held 26 clutches of eggs and there were at least 27 additional brood nests.
Hatching success was 88% for initial attempts and 100% for one re-nest. The 15 nesting rafts deployed at the Kendall-Frost Reserve contained 5 clapper rail nests and one clutch of eggs which hatched successfully. However, there is continuing evidence that predation is a major problem at
Kendall-Frost.
Two of the 24 rafts placed in the Sweetwater Marsh NWR held clapper rail nests. One of these was an incubation nest first, that hatched successfully, the other was a brood nest. None of the rafts on
Middle Island in Upper Newport Bay, in Bolsa Chica, nor in Carpinteria Marsh supported clapper rail nests in 1997. However, one of the rafts in Carpinteria held evidence of chick feeding.
Raptor watches at Upper Newport Bay and the Seal Beach NWR quantified bird of prey activity and interactions with marsh birds. Activities and abundance of 12 species were summarized for 10 winter sessions, 5 at each study site. The abundance of Red-tailed hawks was noted on the Seal
Beach NWR with 19 distinct individuals within attack distance of the Refuge on one of the visits.
Zembal, R., and S.M. Hoffman. 2002.
A survey of the Belding’s savannah sparrow ( Passerculus
Sandwichensis beldingi ) in California, 2001. CA Dept. Fish and Game, Species Conservation
And Recovery Program Report No. 2002-01, Sacramento, CA. 12 pp.
Thirty-two coastal salt marshes were surveyed for state-endangered Belding’s savannah sparrows
( Passerculus sandwichensis beldingi ), 18 March – 30 May 2001. Belding’s savannah sparrows exhibiting breeding behavior were detected in 30 of these wetlands from Goleta Slough in Santa
Barbara County on the north to Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge on the Mexican border.
A minimum total of 2,902 pairs was detected. This is the highest state total reported since periodic counts began in 1973 and is 23.5% higher than the next highest count, reported in 1996. Point
Mugu alone accounted numerically for this difference, wherein twice as many Belding’s were recorded in 2001 than previously.
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The major need of this little endangered songbird remains habitat restoration, security, and management. At least 75% of southern California’s former coastal wetlands have been lost and the remainder suffers ongoing degradation. The long term fate of a few of the occupied wetlands is still uncertain and most are affected by trespass and the side effects of so many millions of people living on their edges and in their watersheds. Counteracting these problems by rebuilding a larger habitat base, with better security, and increased management would greatly benefit a significant suite of species with which the Belding’s savannah sparrow shares its habitat.
Zembal, R., and S.M. Hoffman. 2004.
Light-footed Clapper Rail management, study, and
Translocation, 2003. CA Dept. Fish and Game, Species Conservation and Recovery Program
Report No. 2004-01, Sacramento, CA. 21pp.
The twenty-fourth annual census of the Light-footed Clapper Rail in California was conducted from 6 March – 21 June 2003. Thirty coastal wetlands were surveyed by assessing call counts from
Goleta Marsh in Santa Barbara County, south to Tijuana Marsh on the Mexican border. Major effort was expended surveying marginal habitat that is not usually covered but only 3 pairs were added to the count totals.
A total of 284 pairs of clapper rails exhibited breeding behavior in 16 marshes in 2003. Although this is 12% below the 24-year population high in 1996, it is the highest count in the 2000s so far and surpasses all of the counts done in the 1980s. The Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR) subpopulation after doubling in size from 2001 to 2002, nearly maintained its numbers into
2003, but is still much less than half of its former high in 1994. The subpopulation in the Tijuana
Marsh NWR reached its second highest recorded level in 2002 but dropped 14 pairs in 2003. The
Newport subpopulation comprised 50.7% of the state population in 2003 at its fourth highest level since 1980. The combined number of rails in the three largest subpopulations in the state including
Newport, Seal Beach NWR, and Tijuana Marsh NWR equaled 231 pairs, or 81.3% of the total breeding population.
Excluding the 4 largest subpopulations, the remaining 12 totaled 39 breeding pairs of clapper rails,
13.7% of the state total. Six wetlands held just one or two pairs each and the Sweetwater Marsh
NWR subpopulation is in serious jeopardy. Without restoration and species-specific management in these wetlands, there is little likelihood of the clapper rail’s survival in them.
Multiple nest searches revealed evidence of site-specific breeding activity in at least 12 of 14 territories at Point Mugu. Signs of chick rearing were observed in at least 10 of the 12 territories.
Although 6 egg-nests were discovered in Upper Newport Bay none was synchronous with a wild nest. However, two eggs were taken from each of two of these nests and hatched at Sea World to form an additional captive pair. No nests were found on the rafts in the Sweetwater NWR. At the
Kendall-Frost Reserve there were 12 clutches of eggs on 10 rafts and 10 clutches hatched. Finally, on the Seal Beach NWR 17 of 53 rafts held 24 incubation nests, 88% of them successfully hatched.
Thirteen additional brood nests were indicative of as many as 7 additional egg nests in natural cover. A nesting perch is being developed to replace the rafts in 2004 in the higher, more poorly inundated marshes.
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Four captive pairs of clapper rails produced 1 – 3 clutches each resulting in the release to the wild of 20 rails at Point Mugu, 5 rails at Kendall-Frost, and 7 youngsters went back to Seal Beach.
These 7 were the survivors of a 9-egg clutch swapped with 8 eggs produced by a captive pair but hatched by wild parents. Additionally, a new captive pair was formed by two of the rails hatched from 4 eggs taken from two Newport nests. Since 1999, 15 eggs and 60 rails have been translocated into 4 target marshes.
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