Protocols for Successful Translocation of Ptarmigan.

Abstract

—We developed procedures for successful capture, holding, transport, and release of ptarmigan (Lagopus spp.) based on field work in Colorado and Alaska during the last four decades. Use of improved translocation protocols led to successful establishment of new populations of White-tailed Ptarmigan (L. leucura) in four states, and reintroduction of Evermann’s Rock Ptarmigan (L. muta) to Agattu Island in the Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska. One of six translocation efforts failed due to inadequate site knowledge and transport in the Wallowa Mountains, Oregon (1967-1969). Translocations of birds in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California (1971-1972), Pikes Peak in Colorado (1975), Uinta Mountains in Utah (1976), New Mexico (1981), and to Agattu Island (2003-2006) in the western Aleutian Islands were site-specific and based on local knowledge (except in California). Procedures included capture of birds with noosing poles and ground nets at different times of year; holding birds under cool, quiet conditions for the shortest time possible (< 3 days), rapid transport, and release into vacant or restored habitats that were suitable for ptarmigan. Numbers of birds and sex ratios per release varied, and spring transplants of breeding birds were most successful. Post-release monitoring of banded birds in Colorado, Utah, and banded and or radiomarked birds at Agattu Island provided critical insights that were useful in refining our protocols for future translocation of ptarmigan and other grouse. Received 31 December 2010, accepted 21 June 2011. BRAUN, C. E., W. P. TAYLOR, S. E. EBBERT, R. S. A. KALER, AND B. K. SANDERCOCK. 2011. Protocols for successful translocation of ptarmigan. In R. T. Watson, T. J. Cade, M. Fuller, G. Hunt, and E. Potapov (Eds.). Gyrfalcons and Ptarmigan in a Changing World. The Peregrine Fund, Boise, Idaho, USA. http://dx.doi.org/10.4080/gpcw.2011.0313