Birds

Introduction

Because of its historical use for farming and later as the site of the Kalamazoo State Hospital the Asylum Lake property has been subject to substantial human alterations for over a century and a half. Despite the impacts of the many years of agriculture on the southern portion of the site, the extensive use of non-native vegetation for plantings, and extensive alterations of the landscape to accommodate the buildings, natural succession over the past 35 years has already resulted in land cover providing extensive habitat for birds.

The Asylum Lake property already had been recognized as a good site for watching birds by the mid 1970s. Ten years prior to that, the grasslands of the adjacent Lee Baker farm had been used for studies of grassland birds. By the time of this study the diverse nature of the recovering habitats was attracting numbers of birds and birders throughout the year.

During the summer, birds require plentiful food to raise families, water, and adequate cover for protection. During the spring and fall, bird populations build up as the resident species are joined by vast numbers of migrant species stopping to feed, replenish energy reserves and rest up from the demands of long distance flights. Winter is the period of decline as only the permanent residents and the

hardiest of the more northern species remain.

In the past 30 years there has been an increasing awareness of changes taking place in the populations of birds and the factors influencing these changes. For example, birds associated with grasslands and agriculture in general have shown significant declines. More recently it has become evident that species of other habitats characteristic of early stages of succession have been declining. Perhaps more relevant to Asylum Lake are the many studies in the past ten years documenting the impact of habitat fragmentation on area-sensitive forest bird species. These findings all provide ideas about techniques potentially useful for enhancing bird use of the Asylum Lake site.

With the Asylum Lake property situated in a rapidly developing urban/suburban environment, it is reasonable to view this site as an oasis, part of a larger unit including Parkview Hills and nearby open space. Long-term planning requires an understanding of current avian use to predict the potential impacts of future management. At the nearby Kleinstuck Preserve, population monitoring of birds by Kalamazoo Nature Center staff during spring migration over a period of about 30 years provides information on potential use of the Asylum Lake property by migrants. In addition, the southeast portion of the property abuts the Parkview Hills planned unit development that has been designed to accommodate birds and other wildlife within a largely human environment. Parkview Hills also has a substantial history of ornithological studies with potential relevance to Asylum Lake as birds probably move readily between the two areas.

Birds at the Asylum Lake property received substantial attention. Historical records of bird observations from the site were solicited from observers known to have visited the site on a regular basis. Observations were also solicited from members of the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo. Additional records were obtained from the archives at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. These records were tabulated by species per year and are summarized in Table G for the years 1976 through 2000. The species are listed in phylogenetic order with the source of the observations noted.

From September 1, 1999, through October 21, 2000, the property was visited almost every week to record the bird species present and the compartments in which they were found. These records are summarized in Table H. It provides species observations by 10-day periods throughout the course of this study. During the spring and summer of 2000 (April-June) a predetermined census route was walked over a period of 2- 2½ hours on roughly a weekly basis.

During each of these censuses an effort was made to tally every bird noted and the habitat units in which they were found. The route

of the census is illustrated in Map 6. Results of these censuses are included by season in Tables I and J. In addition, waterfowl counts were conducted throughout the period at roughly weekly intervals during the periods of peak waterfowl use. During much of February 2000 ice cover was nearly complete and waterfowl counts were not taken. Results of the waterfowl counts are summarized by season in Tables K-N and summary Table O that provides cumulative totals for the study period.

The bird data for the Asylum Lake property are briefly discussed in the context of comparative unpublished data from Kleinstuck Preserve. The Kleinstuck data illustrate the potential for use by avian migrants at Asylum Lake.

The Asylum Lake property has been luring birders and others interested in enjoying the out-of-doors since before the property was transferred to Western Michigan University in 1975. The site is well known locally for its diversity of birds, especially during the spring migration.

The presence of two primary bodies of water (Asylum and Little Asylum lakes), the connecting stream and the associated marsh habitats serves to attract many bird species attracted to water. Grebes, herons, ducks and rails have a substantial historical use of the site. The diversity of woodland habitat bordering the waterways and on the adjacent upland attract hawks, owls, woodpeckers and extensive numbers of resident and migrant songbirds.

Table G lists 180 bird species observed on the Asylum Lake site since 1976. Undoubtedly there there were additional species present at the site during this interval that were not observed or not reported. For example, a King Rail (Rallus elegans) remained into early winter at the west inlet to Asylum Lake and was seen on the 1975-1976 Kalamazoo Christmas Bird Count. On the Christmas Bird Count summary for that year, it was not indicated where it was observed and thus does not appear on this table. However, it was still alive and present at Asylum Lake in January of 1976.

The King Rail is not the only unusual bird species recorded at Asylum Lake. In 1996, while birdwatching on a May date, Peter Burke encountered a Townsend’s Warbler (Dendroica townsendi). This observation was documented and submitted to the Michigan Bird Records Committee and at that time was the only known occurrence of this species for the state of Michigan.

Although not as spectacular, Peter Burke also observed a Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) in 1987, as did Charles Glatt in 2000. This species is a rare migrant in southern Michigan.

The list of waterfowl observed during the 25-year period is impressive as is the list of warblers with 29 species and one hybrid. Shorebirds are mostly lacking, an indication that the water levels for the two lakes are relatively constant with few occurrences of exposed mudflats that tend to attract migrant shorebirds.

Overall, woodland birds are well represented and open country birds poorly represented. The species list for Asylum Lake compares favorably with that of nearby Kleinstuck Preserve that has been censused daily during spring by Kalamazoo Nature Center staff since 1973. The Kleinstuck list includes at least 206 species, including 39 species of Warblers and one hybrid.

During the course of this study 136 bird species were reported from September 21, 1999, through October 2000 (Table H). Of these only the Summer Tanager observed during the ten-day period commencing May 11 was noteworthy because of its rarity. Altogether, some birding was conducted during all but 6 of 40 ten-day periods during the study. The number of ten-day periods in which

each species was reported has been summarized at the right side of the table. In many cases only one type of survey was conducted during a ten-day period. Consequently, the absence of a sighting for that period does not necessarily indicate the species was absent from the site.

From April 3, 2000 , through May 30, 2000, Kalamazoo Nature Center paid staff and volunteers conducted 18 surveys of a predetermined census route shown in Map 2. The survey results are indicated in Table I. Total individuals ranged from 163 on May 23 to 504 on April 11. The number of species ranged from 29 on April 25 to 65 on May 12 with an average of 43.5 species per census for a total of 122 species.

This represents almost 90% of the species reported during this study and indicates the effectiveness of fixed-route surveys during the spring. Some of the most common species recorded were those known to flock during migration. The most abundant was the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelius phoeniceus) found in the marshes and open agricultural fields. Another common species was the American Coot (Fulica americana), a waterbird found on Asylum Lake. Most individuals are migrants in Kalamazoo County.

The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), and American Robin (Turdus migratorius) are all permanent or summer residents that occurred as common residents on the site. Of the warblers the Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata), a migrant, was the most common species followed by the summer resident Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia). While insectivorous species were well represented, the most abundant songbirds were generalists in diet eating both plant and animal matter.

The forested area along the south side of Asylum Lake seemed to attract many of the insectivorous species where they could be seen foraging among the newly emerging leaves. The presence of the remnant oak opening with the heavy shrub

layer also seemed to attract numbers of birds.

Table J provides the outcome of the three breeding bird census counts conducted during June of 2000. The most common summer resident was the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Starling young fledge by early June and the large numbers observed on June 7 represent a mixed flock of adults and young. Of the other resident breeding species, the Red-winged Blackbird was most abundant followed in order by the Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis), Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), American Robin and Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata).

One of the most pronounced changes among the breeding birds since the 1970s has been the loss of the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). At least three pairs were present in the mid 70s, typically in the area of remnant oak