Completion Form

2021

In 2018, a partnership of government, non-profit, and academic biologists began the Utah Rosy-Finch Project. The partnership was developed based on a shared goal to ensure rosy-finches persist into the future. In Utah, the State Wildlife Action Plan outlines a lack of information as a threat to the Black Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte atrata) and the partnership's goal was to understand this species' life history requirements. Since the Project's inception, the scope expanded to support data collection for our peers across state lines, where possible. This included the inclusion of North American's two other species of rosy-finch; the Gray-crowned (Leucosticte tephrocotis) and Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis),

One objective was not achieved, however: a Master's student was not successfully recruited to extend the project and publish the results.  This was due to pandemic-relate disruptions, and the loss of our academic project lead at USU (recruited to the University of Georgia).  The $8,000 in project funds allocated to stipend were not expended, nor were the $2,000 in USU student staff time (which were covered by Dr. Rushing out of other funds).

This report summarizes datasets that resulted from the Rosy-Finch Project between February 2019 and May 2021. Project objectives are to: 
1.	Use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) methods to collect data about Black Rosy-finch survival and distribution.
2.	Use an observational study supported by community scientists to collect data on rosy-finch abundance.
3.	Use stable isotopes from keratin samples to understand rosy-finch distribution. 
4.	Build an additional partnerships with community stakeholders to further research priorities.

We successfully completed objectives in many project themes:
Banding - 12 banding events were held (new project totals: USGS aluminum bands: 131 Black Rosy-finch, 593 Gray-crowned Rosy Finch; RFID bands: 71 Black Rosy-finch, 442 Gray-crowned Rosy-finch)
RFID feeders - four RFID stations were maintained, the data cards collected and data collated, and 10's of thousands of RFID visits were logged.
Feeder Counts - Over 1,000 feeder counts were received from volunteers, entered, and QA/QC'd, resulting in 1,792 observation of Black Rosy-finch, 3,759 Brown-capped Rosy-finch, and 9,395 Gray-crowned Rosy-finch.
Isotopic Analysis of keratin samples - 38 samples collected, and a lab/analyst contracted for d2H isotopic ratios (results & draft manuscript anticipated June 2022).

Preliminary results indicate rosy-finch are medium-distance migrants, with at least a portion of Utah's breeding birds wintering in northern AZ and NM, while at least a portion of WY and MT's breeding birds over-winter in Utah and likely CO.  Feeder counts and RFID band-detections indicate March as the peak transition for the departure of over-wintering birds and the return of local breeders. These preliminary patterns, however, are also clearly displaced by weather events.  And all are pending further analysis. Please see the attached 2020-2021 completion report for a thorough explication of the 2020-2021 project year accomplishments.

Our goals for 2021-2022 are:
RFID Feeders
1)	Maintain RFID-enabled feeders and banding stations at Alta, Powder Mountain, and Dutch John from December 2021 -- May 2022 to collect data on rosy-finch survival and movement.
2)	Estimate rosy-finch survivorship from 2019-2021 RFID dataset, evaluate effectiveness of methodology, and make recommendations to the Rosy-Finch Working Group for regional application.

Feeder Counts
1)	From December 2021 -- April 2022, recruit, train, and manage at least 100 volunteers to collect rosy-finch abundance and distribution data from across the species' range.
2)	Increase volunteer participation and coordination across the range of rosy-finches including in California, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada.
3)	Design, create, and test a new Survey123 application to streamline volunteer data entry and enforce data quality in the coming years.
4)	Provide data to eBird.org to supplement abundance map products.
5)	Investigate A. Seasonal timing (and potentially abundance) of Black Rosy-finch and B. If the proportion of marked individuals in the population can be estimated from feeder counts.

Isotopic Analysis of Keratin Samples
1.	We will use the hydrogen isotopes in rosy-finch keratin samples to understand the annual distribution of rosy-finches (Vander Zanden et al. 2018). 
2.	We will create origin maps or geographic assignments based on annual average stable hydrogen isotope precipitation models. These have been very effective in other systems at identifying and leveraging needed conservation partners by demonstrating seasonal connectivity.
3.	By June 2022, draft a manuscript for peer-review on rosy-finch distribution from isotopic analysis.

This project is on-going, with additional over-lapping support from the Tracy Aviary and multiple sources of significant in-kind support. Utah project partners have initiated a Pacific Flyway-wide Rosy-finch Working Group, co-facilitated by ID G&F staff, recognizing that Rosy-finch conservation will inherently be a multi-state project.  We are still hopeful a stable funding line can be found to support a student to bring a dedicated focus and advance the work.

Maggie Dalene

09/07/2021 21:25:05