Targeted monitoring by trained professionals has been the standard to inform evidence-based regulatory and conservation planning decisions for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife in North America. As inferential expectations derived from professional surveys grow and funding wanes, decision-makers are turning toward citizen science as supplemental or alternative data sources. However, external validation of citizen science data, in cooperation with experts, is recommended before their use in management decisions. We compiled data from professional surveys across 7 U.S. states within the Upper Mississippi / Great Lakes Joint Venture (JV) for 16 species of waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans) to compare with and potentially validate temporal trends in weekly relative abundance predictions (i.e., migration curves) by eBird citizen science data. We demonstrated that eBird weekly relative abundance produced similar migration curves to those derived from professional surveys for most species. Concordance between migration curves for uncommon or vagrant species was less reliable, especially at the county level. However, at spatial scales more relevant for regulatory or conservation planning decisions (e.g., state or JV scale), correlation between eBird and professionally derived migration curves increased to adequate levels of concordance for most species (p ≥ 0.70). We concluded that eBird weekly relative abundance is a suitable supplement to professional surveys to generate migration curves for waterfowl conservation planning during the nonbreeding season. Additionally, states and JVs that lack monitoring at appropriate temporal frequency may consider using eBird relative abundance to derive migration chronologies for priority species that are well-distributed throughout their region. Broadly, we encourage continued external validation of citizen science data—which requires close partnership between researchers and decision-makers—for its wise use in management decisions.

AbstractWaterfowl use a diversity of resources (e.g., food, structure, sanctuary) to meet energetic, social, and other life‐history demands during the non‐breeding period. Waterfowl often seek areas with limited human disturbance (i.e., sanctuary) during autumn and winter when hunting seasons are open perhaps to reduce exposure to mortality risks, minimize energy expenditure, and increase foraging efficiency, all of which should enhance survival and subsequent fitness. Prior studies of sanctuary use by waterfowl have mostly focused on patterns of abundance and behavior, with many documenting differential diel movements of marked birds in and around sanctuaries. Although reduced mortality risk is likely associated with sanctuary use, much less is known about the potential effects on energy expenditure, body condition, reproductive consequences at the individual level, and seasonal distribution with respect to viewing and harvest potential. We consider these aforementioned factors among the most significant gaps in our understanding of the function of sanctuary in waterfowl management. As waterfowl hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation have become a major initiative of many natural resource agencies and a core principle of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, we discuss the potential role of sanctuary relative to these efforts. Herein, we review historical aspects of waterfowl sanctuary, introduce hypotheses about its potential role in habitat resource management and conservation planning during autumn and winter, discuss our knowledge of the effects of sanctuary on waterfowl, and share insights to inform decisions about the role of sanctuary in waterfowl management given currently available evidence and remaining uncertainties. Our review describes the existing evidence for the biological and social outcomes of sanctuary, draws some conclusions about the role of sanctuary in natural resource management given the available evidence, and outlines potential research opportunities to help us make informed decisions regarding sanctuary implementation for waterfowl.

The northern Gulf of Mexico is facing high rates of wetland loss due to subsidence and sea lev-el-rise, which has encouraged the application of various wetland restoration techniques. Marsh terracing is a restoration technique that has been implemented since the early 1990 s in Texas and Louisiana, yet few studies have been conducted to evaluate its effectiveness. Marsh terraces are segmented berms of soil built in coastal ponds that were once vegetated marshes. Marsh terracing is hypothesized to dissipate wind waves, encourage marsh expansion, and reduce shoreline erosion. This study (1) assessed the effectiveness of the most common terrace shapes (linear, chevron, and square) and spacing (100, 110, and 120 m) at reducing significant wave height (Hs), (2) assessed the effectiveness of alternative terrace designs for reducing Hs during different wind conditions, and 3) estimated the construction costs of alternative terrace designs. The Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model was used to simulate wind-driven waves in ponds with real and hypothetical terrace designs. Results revealed that: (1) The chevron shape provided the greatest reduction in Hs during all wind conditions, reducing Hs by up to 54%. (2) Hs reduction was not affected by terrace spacings. (3) Based on wave attenuation, the chevron design with a 120 m terrace spacing provided the optimal outcome with an estimated construction cost/ha of $6332 in a 250,000 m2 site compared to the terrace shapes and spacings evaluated in this study. This study will help coastal managers design marsh terraces to address wetland erosion in the Gulf of Mexico and other coastal areas facing similar environmental problems.

Marsh terraces, constructed as a restoration and protection strategy, consist of a series of earthen berms in open water areas of the coastal wetland landscape and are being implemented across the Louisiana coast. To assess the efficacy of the marsh terraces as a nature-based solution, a small-scale, high-resolution hydrodynamic model was developed based on field sampling of vegetation and physical parameters (water level, waves, sediment, turbidity, and terrace elevation). This study tested common marsh terrace designs (e.g., chevron, linear, box, T-shape, etc.), ultimately selecting a preferred design based on the evaluation of factors such as vegetation, water depth, and sediment type on terrace stability and sediment retention under calm and storm conditions. The model results revealed that the 100 m box and the chevron designs exhibited greatest terrace stability and sediment trapping, particularly when installed perpendicular to prevailing wind and waves. The preferred terrace design was the box design due to its higher modeled resilience to wind and waves from multiple directions. Vegetation presence enhanced terrace resistance to erosion, with variations depending on vegetation type. Higher vegetation biomass, especially during the summer, contributed to the greatest stability of terraces. Greater water depth between terraces led to increased sediment retention, and terraces predominantly composed of organic-rich mud demonstrated greater stability than those with higher proportions of sand. Overall, vegetation had the greatest impact on sediment retention in the terrace field compared to water depth and sediment type. However, the potential habitat for submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) was more influenced by water depth (i.e., 0.1 m < depth <1 m) than shear stress (<0.5 Pa). Even under storm conditions, shear stress rarely determined potential habitat for SAV, as shear stress remained relatively low within the terrace field. Potential SAV habitat was most abundant in shallow areas and increased where sediment stability was lowest (i.e., no vegetation and sand), primarily due to eroded sediment increasing the shallow area. While this model was developed using field data specific to Louisiana marshes, it can be adapted as a tool for terrace restoration project design and planning in most coastal wetlands.

Geographical distributions of waterfowl exhibit annual variation in response to spatiotemporal variation in weather conditions, habitat availability, and other factors. Continuing changes in climate and land use could lead to persistent shifts of waterfowl distributions, potentially causing a mismatch with habitat conservation planning, wetland restoration efforts, and harvest management decisions informed by historical distributions. We used band recoveries and harvest records (i.e., hunter-harvested wings) from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Waterfowl Parts Collection Survey as indices of duck distribution in autumn and winter, and quantified intra-annual, interannual, and interspecific variation in their geographic distributions across 6 decades (1960-2019) for 15 duck species in the Central and Mississippi flyways in North America. Specifically, we tested for annual and decadal shifts in mean latitude and longitude of recoveries for each month (Oct-Jan) by species and taxonomic guild (i.e., dabbling, diving ducks). Overall, species varied in the extent, timing, and sometimes direction, of distributional change in recoveries. From 1960-2019, mean recovery locations for dabbling ducks shifted south 105-296 km in October and 27 km in November (wings only), whereas mean latitudes shifted north 144-234 km in December and 186-301 km in January. Mean recovery locations for diving ducks shifted north 162 km in October (wings only), 84-173 km in December, and 66-120 km in January, but shifted 99-512 km south in November. Shifts in longitude were less consistent between guilds and data types. Finally, distributional change rarely accelerated during recent decades, except for southward shifts of band recoveries of diving ducks in November and northward shifts of band and wing recoveries of dabbling ducks in January. Although anecdotal accounts of large-scale northward shifts in duck distributions are prolific in the land management and hunting communities, our data demonstrate more subtle shifts that vary considerably by species and month. Observed changes in recovery distributions could necessitate changes in timing of habitat management practices throughout the Central and Mississippi flyways and may result in fewer hunting and recreational opportunities for some species in southern states. Quantifying patterns of historical change is a necessary first step to understanding temporal and interspecific variation in waterfowl distributions, which will help with landscape-scale conservation and management efforts in the future and enable effective communication to core constituencies regarding ongoing changes and their implications for recreational engagement.

Our aim was to describe shifts in autumn and winter harvest distributions of three species of dabbling ducks (blue-winged teal [Spatula discors], mallard [Anas platyrhynchos], and northern pintail [Anas acuta]) in the Central and Mississippi flyways of North America during 1960-2019. We measured shifts in band recovery distributions corrected for changes in hunting season dates and zones by using kernel density estimators to calculate 10 distributional metrics. We then assessed interannual and intraspecific variation by comparing species-specific changes in distributional metrics for 4 months (October-January) and three geographically based subpopulations. During 1960-2019, band recovery distributions shifted west- and southwards (blue-winged teal) or east- and northwards (mallard and northern pintail) by one hundred to several hundred kilometers. For all three species, the broad (95% isopleth) and core distributions (50% isopleth) showed widespread decreases in overlap and increases in relative area compared to a 1960-1979 baseline period. Shifts in band recovery distributions varied by month, with southward shifts for blue-winged teal most pronounced in October and northward shifts for mallard and northern pintail greatest during December and January. Finally, distributional metric response varied considerably among mallard subpopulations, including 2-4-fold differences in longitude, latitude, and overlap, whereas differences among subpopulations were minimal for blue-winged teal and northern pintail. Our findings support the popular notion that winter (December-January) distributions of duck species have shifted north; however, the extent and direction of distributional changes vary among species and subpopulations. Long-term distributional changes are therefore complex and summarizing shifts across species, months, or subpopulations could mask underlying finer-scale patterns that are important to habitat conservation and population management. A detailed understanding of how species distributions have changed over time will help quantify important drivers of species occurrence, identify habitat management options, and could inform decisions on where to focus conservation or restoration efforts.

Despite a historically large degree of philopatry to the Gulf Coastal Plains wintering area in the United States and Mexico, the midcontinent population of greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) has demonstrated changes in their winter distribution in recent decades, warranting investigation into the timing and magnitude of change. We evaluated spatiotemporal patterns in winter band recovery distribution from 1974-2018 and midwinter waterfowl survey counts for midcontinent greater white-fronted geese. We used an overlap similarity index to compare annual winter band recovery distributions with a historical reference distribution of 1955-1974, followed by a changepoint analysis to assess the timing and magnitude of distributional change. Our analyses revealed a 2-stage shift in the distribution of winter band recoveries from midcontinent greater white-fronted geese that occurred following the 1994-1995 season and the 2009-2010 season. As a result, the spatiotemporal distribution of midcontinent greater white-fronted goose band recoveries can be explained in 3 distinct time eras: the historical era (1974-1995), the transitional era (1995-2010), and the current era (2010-2018). Patterns in midwinter waterfowl survey counts were consistent with changes in winter band recovery distributions, providing further support that midcontinent greater white-fronted geese have shifted their core winter distribution nearly 750 km northeast over the last 5 decades from the Gulf Coastal Plain to the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Quantifying the timing and magnitude of this shift in winter distribution of midcontinent greater white-fronted geese provides clarity to previous patterns in and changes to harvest distribution and could be used to facilitate future decisions regarding harvest management, regulatory frameworks, and habitat conservation planning efforts.

Marsh terracing is a coastal restoration technique that has been implemented in Louisiana and Texas for almost 30 years. Marsh terraces are segmented ridges of soil built in inland coastal ponds for the objectives of creating new marsh, disrupting fetch, and dissipating wind-driven wave energy, which causes marsh erosion. Despite widespread implementation, no numerical modeling studies have been conducted to understand the effect of terraces on wave climate in marsh environments. The objectives of this study were to: 1) simulate wave climates in marsh terrace fields using the Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model and evaluate the agreement between modeled and observed wave conditions and 2) assess the effectiveness of marsh terraces at reducing significant wave height by comparing wave climates in terraced sites with hypothetical unterraced sites. The SWAN model was used to simulate wind-waves at two terrace fields in coastal Louisiana. Model validation was performed using data collected with in situ wave instruments and wind data measured by NOAA stations located 25 km to the east and 62 km to the northeast of the study area. Results from this study modeled and measured small (0.03-0.14 m) and high-frequency waves (0.80-1.29 s) in the marsh terrace fields. Model validation revealed agreement between modeled and observed data, particularly for significant wave height and direction. Additionally, a comparison of wave climates in terraced and unterraced marsh environments indicated an average significant wave height reduction of 45% (min:18%, max: 84%) when terraces were present. Overall, the model was able to evaluate wave climates in marsh terrace fields and assess the effectiveness of this restoration technique in reducing significant wave height. The model's performance in this low energy and complex environment (shallow water, nonlinear shoreline, marsh fragmentated) is encouraging given the lack of research assessing wave parameters in marsh terrace environments.

Global climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events (ECEs) which may be especially detrimental during late-winter when many species are surviving on scarce resources. However, monitoring animal populations relative to ECEs is logistically challenging. Crowd-sourced datasets may provide opportunity to monitor species' responses to short-term chance phenomena such as ECEs. We used 14 years of eBird-a global citizen science initiative-to examine distribution changes for seven wintering waterfowl species across North America in response to recent extreme winter polar vortex disruptions. To validate inferences from eBird, we compared eBird distribution changes against locational data from 362 GPS-tagged Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in the Mississippi Flyway. Distributional shifts between eBird and GPS-tagged Mallards were similar following an ECE in February 2021. In general, the ECE affected continental waterfowl population distributions; however, responses were variable across species and flyways. Waterfowl distributions tended to stay near wintering latitudes or moved north at lesser distances compared with non-ECE years, suggesting preparedness for spring migration was a stronger "pull" than extreme weather was a "push" pressure. Surprisingly, larger-bodied waterfowl with grubbing foraging strategies (i.e., geese) delayed their northward range shift during ECE years, whereas smaller-bodied ducks were less affected. Lastly, wetland obligate species shifted southward during ECE years. Collectively, these results suggest specialized foraging strategies likely related to resource limitations, but not body size, necessitate movement from extreme late-winter weather in waterfowl. Our results demonstrate eBird's potential to monitor population-level effects of weather events, especially severe ECEs. eBird and other crowd-sourced datasets can be valuable to identify species which are adaptable or vulnerable to ECEs and thus, begin to inform conservation policy and management to combat negative effects of global climate change.

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act provides funding and administration for wetland management and conservation projects. The North American Wetland Conservation Fund, enabled in 1989 with the Act, provides financial resources. Resource allocation decisions are based, in part, on regional experts, particularly migratory bird Joint Ventures (JV; partnerships established under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan to help conserve the continent's waterfowl populations and habitats). The JVs evaluate funding proposals submitted within their respective regions each year and make funding recommendations to decision makers. Proposal evaluation procedures differ among JVs; however, it could be helpful to consider a transparent, repeatable, and data-driven framework for prioritization within regions. We used structured decision-making and linear additive value models for ranking proposals within JV regions. We used two JVs as case studies and constructed two different value models using JV-specific objectives and weights. The framework was developed through a collaborative process with JV staff and stakeholders. Models were written in Microsoft Excel. To test these models, we used six North American Wetlands Conservation Act proposals submitted to the Upper Mississippi/Great Lakes JV in 2016 and seven proposals submitted to the Gulf Coast JV in 2017. We compared proposal ranks assigned by the value model to ranks assigned by each JV's management board. Ranks assigned by the value model differed from ranks assigned by the board for the Upper Mississippi/Great Lakes JV, but not for the Gulf Coast JV. However, ranks from the value model could change markedly with different objective weights and value functions. The weighted linear value model was beneficial for ranking NAWCA proposals because it allows JVs to treat the ranking as a multiple objective problem and tailor the ranking to their specific regional concerns. We believe a structured decision-making approach could be adapted by JV staff to facilitate a systematic and transparent process for proposal ranking by their management boards.

Geolocators are small devices that record and store time-stamped light levels that researchers typically use to approximate the latitude and longitude of small birds across the annual cycle. However, when geolocators are affixed to leg bands of larger-bodied birds, nest incubation by females interrupts the daily pattern of light and darkness. Thus, geolocators can provide information on nesting propensity, nest success, and renesting intensity; these demographic parameters are both difficult to measure unobtrusively and are critically important in determining population dynamics of birds, especially ducks. Here, we deployed 240 geolocators on mottled ducks Anas fulvigula in Louisiana and Texas in 2018-2019 to evaluate their utility in providing nesting data. During July 2018-January 2022, we recovered 16 geolocators from hunter-harvested birds, and learned of 6 other unreported recoveries, yielding a realized recovery rate of 7.1% (9.1% unrealized). Three of the recovered units provided breeding-season data. Two of these clearly indicated a single nest initiation in the early spring of 2019, and one of the units also logged an attempt in spring of 2020. Ducks incubated all three nests for approximately a month, suggesting that they all successfully hatched. The final geolocator logged five putative nest attempts over the course of 2 y. In 2019, both attempts were unsuccessful (incubated < 10 d). In 2020, we documented three attempts spanning 20 February-10 June, all of which appeared to have failed. For all failed attempts, the hen left the nest at dusk or overnight and did not return, which is suggestive of mammalian predation. Geolocators successfully provided information on breeding-season activities of mottled ducks, and we documented renesting rates following nest depredation. However, we achieved a smaller sample size than anticipated (three usable returns), resulting in an effective cost of $11,800 per usable return. Where possible in other species, capturing birds immediately prior to the breeding season, and improvements to geolocator attachment have the potential to improve recovery rates and increase cost effectiveness of the technique.Copyright: All material appearing in the Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission unless specifically noted with the copyright symbol &. Citation of the source, as above, is

Methods are being developed to capitalize on citizen science data for research and monitoring, but these data are rarely used within established decision-making frameworks of wildlife agencies. Citizen science data are often collected at higher resolution and extent than targeted monitoring programs, and may provide complementary information. Here, we demonstrate that carefully filtered semi-structured citizen science observations, when paired with targeted survey data, can produce ecological predictions at higher resolution and extent than targeted surveys alone, and both datasets can represent complementary aspects of species' ecology. We present case studies demonstrating how citizen science data can enhance or supplement decision-making of government and conservation organizations. First, we show how the continuous spatial coverage of citizen science projects, when coupled with targeted surveys, can improve estimates of metrics used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in regulatory processes to estimate population size, and inform take limits of federally managed species nationwide. Second, we show that the spatial coverage of citizen science accommodates dynamic avian space use patterns during key times of the year, relative to standardized monitoring protocols carried out by the Illinois Natural History Survey. Lastly, we demonstrate that citizen science information can replicate estimates of migratory chronologies for the Illinois Natural History Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for some waterfowl species, and in some contexts can supplement missing data on abundance. These findings illustrate the value of integrating validated information from semi-structured citizen science into the current evidence base used to justify, inform, and evaluate conservation decision-making.

Coastal wetlands along the Gulf of Mexico support a wide diversity of wildlife, are important nurseries for sport and commercial fisheries, provide erosion and flood control, and serve many other ecological functions and services. These marshes have been declining in area and degrading at alarming rates since the 1930s. Effective conservation planning is vital to protect these ecosystems, but decision makers often lack knowledge of expected future conditions to strategically target conservation actions. To address this issue, we focus on a species of conservation concern, the mottled duck (Anas fulvigula), that resides year-round in the coastal marshes of the Gulf of Mexico. We used location data collected from radiomarked hen mottled ducks from 2006 to 2011 to create an ensemble model of habitat selection for 2010. We then projected future habitat states using models of sea-level rise and human development. By combining future predictions with our ensemble model, we predict future habitat for mottled ducks through 2100, in 20-year time steps beginning with 2020. Sea-level rise models predicted reductions in coastal marsh habitats and our ensemble model predict corresponding declines in overall habitat quantity and quality for mottled ducks, with the largest rate of habitat loss predicted within the Chenier Plain of Louisiana, USA at 71%. In some areas, particularly the Texas Mid-Coast, USA, future urbanization and human development is expected to reduce the ability of wetland habitat to migrate inland with rising sea-levels. Our results also highlight areas of coastal marsh particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise; and conversely, identify areas most likely to persist into the future that could be targeted for habitat conservation to help mottled ducks persist on the landscape.

Resource allocation for land acquisition is a common multiobjective problem that involves complex trade-offs. The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service currently uses the Targeted Resource Acquisition Comparison Tool (TRACT) to allocate funds from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund (MBCF; established through the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Act of 1934) for land acquisition based on cost-benefit analysis, regional priority rankings of candidate land parcels available for acquisition, and the overall biological contribution to duck population objectives. However, current policy encourages decision makers to consider societal and economic benefits of lands acquired, in addition to their biological benefits to waterfowl. These decisions about portfolio elements (i.e., individual land parcels) require an analysis of the difficult trade-offs among multiple objectives. In the last decade the application of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods has been instrumental in aiding decision makers with complex multiobjective decisions. In this study, we present an alternative approach to developing land-acquisition portfolios using MCDA and modern portfolio theory (MPT). We describe the development of a portfolio decision analysis tool using constrained optimization for land-acquisition decisions by the NWRS. We outline the decision framework, describe development of the prototype tool in Microsoft Excel, and test the results of the tool using land parcels submitted as candidates for MBCF funding in 2019. Our results indicate that the constrained optimization outperformed the traditional TRACT method and ad hoc portfolios developed using current NWRS criteria.

ABSTRACTBiomass estimates of potential waterfowl foods are fundamental to estimating foraging carrying capacity of waterfowl habitat by conservation planners and managers of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan‐Gulf Coast Joint Venture (GCJV). Rice and moist‐soil seeds in Gulf Coast rice fields provide principal sources of energy for waterfowl during migration and winter. We investigated spatio‐temporal biomass dynamics of these seeds and modeled their variation in production and idled rice fields in southwestern Louisiana, southeastern Texas, and the Texas Mid‐Coast, USA, in August and November 2010–2013. We hypothesized that previous estimates of November rice and moist‐soil seed biomass from the Mississippi Alluvial Valley were not applicable to the GCJV region because climate and agricultural production practices (e.g., ratooning, crayfish [Procambrus spp.] aquaculture) are primary inter‐regional contrasts. Waste‐rice biomass was greatest in November in fields with an unharvested second crop of rice from tillers of original plants (i.e., ratoon crop; 837.7 kg[dry]/ha; CV = 16.7%) and least in fields without a ratoon crop (119.3 kg/ha; CV = 18.5%). Moist‐soil seed biomass was greatest in idled rice fields in October (477.3 kg/ha; CV = 24.8%), where substrate and rice stubble were disked at the time of sampling, and in idled fields with standing native vegetation in November (304.8 kg/ha; CV = 17.1%). Field‐level variation in waste rice in production fields in November was best explained by an interaction between field management (e.g., harvested ratoon) and rice variety. We were unable identify a reliable predictor of field‐level variation in moist‐soil seed biomass in idled fields for July–August or November (i.e., null model was best or competitive). Substituting existing seasonal moist‐soil and rice seed biomass estimates in GCJV planning models with those from our study would result in a seasonally flooded habitat objective 76% (101,974 ha) greater than the current GCJV estimate for 3 rice‐growing planning areas. We encourage conservation planners in the GCJV region to use biomass estimates from our study because they are reasonably precise for planning and implementation (i.e., CV ~ 20%) and represent most contemporary patterns of farming practices and food abundance in this region. Further, programs and incentives that promote production of ratoon rice crops and allow growth of naturally occurring vegetation in idled rice fields, followed by shallow flooding during November–February, would significantly enhance food resources for waterfowl and other waterbirds in this important landscape for North American avifauna. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

SUGGESTED CITATION: DeMaso, S. J., M. G. Brasher, J. S. Gleason. 2019. GoMAMN Strategic Bird Monitoring Guidelines: Waterfowl. Pages 229-274 in R. R. Wilson, A. M. V. Fournier, J. S. Gleason, J. E. Lyons, and M. S. Woodrey (Editors), Strategic Bird Monitoring Guidelines for the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station Research Bulletin 1228, Mississippi State University. 324 pp. Pair of Mottled Ducks (Anas fulvigula). Photo credit: Ron Bielefeld Strategic Bird Monitoring Guidelines for the Northern Gulf of Mexico