Many Thanks to
MAGPIE MONITORS WHO KEPT WATCH ON NESTS AND MAGPIE NUMBERS

     Valuable data has been contributed by a number of citizen volunteers.  They kept track of nests multiple times weekly during the spring, collect feathers for DNA, and count magpies along their daily walks or bikes.  This data helped with each of the projects outlined here!

    The Magpie Monitor project is transitioning its volunteer effort to coordinate with EBIRD and California Audubon rather than collecting data separately.  See the adjacent notice and log all your magpie sightings onto EBIRD.

CHECK OUT OUR NEW EFFORT WITH THE :
HUMMINGBIRD MONITORING NETWORK

JOIN IN!
EBIRD and CALIFORNIA AUDUBON COUNT FOR MAGPIE CONSERVATION
JUNE 4-7 2010!

Find out how you can participate and learn

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ca

Ebird will share the data with us so that we can incorporate with magpie monitor information.

IN THE DNA LAB THIS YEAR
     Veterinarian/geneticist Holly Ernest, laboratory manager/technician Lisa Goldberg, PhD student Daphne Gille, and veterinary student Ben Harmeling are using Yellow-billed Magpie DNA analysis tools developed in our lab.  These DNA tools will help us learn more about magpie genetic diversity, how their populations are structured over the landscape, and whether magpie deaths due to West Nile virus caused a “genetic bottleneck”.  A genetic bottleneck occurs when a large number of individuals are lost from a population resulting in loss of genetic diversity.  Ben received a special STAR fellowship to work with us from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and Merck-Merial Veterinary Scholars program.
     This next year we will be finishing up the comparison of pre-West Nile virus magpie DNA samples with post-West Nile virus samples. We defined pre-WNV as before June 2004 and post-WNV as dates following June 2004. 
     Now hummingbird conservation genetics and disease assessments too!  Stay tuned!

UPDATE FROM LEVI SOUZA ON THIS WORK ON MAGPIE HABITAT ANALYSIS

     The Yellow-billed Magpie is a California endemic bird species (only found in California) that has suffered dramatic mortality from West Nile virus (WNV). Though familiar to many who live within its range, we know surprisingly little about various aspects of the Yellow-billed Magpie's life history. Gaps in our knowledge include dispersal patterns, subpopulation status, and habitat preferences, among others.
      To help answer what habitats magpies prefer and to understand how data gathered by citizen scientists compares to that gathered by trained scientists, I am currently working on building two computer models that describe the climate and vegetation types that Yellow-billed magpies use the most. One is based on observations made by birders and enthusiasts collected by ebird (www.ebird.org) and the other is based on observations made by trained biologists. I believe that this wonderful resource available from citizen scientists will result in an excellent detailing of the habitat most important to magpies.

SCOTT CROSBIE'S WORK TO IDENTIFY MAGPIE DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE

Scott Crosbie and Levi Souza (both Ph.D. students at U.C. Davis) recently finished their Yellow-billed Magpie surveys for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Magpie observations from these surveys are in use to estimate the species current distribution, population size and trend.   This information is very important since the establishment of West Nile virus has apparently caused population declines since 2004 (the arrival of WNV throughout the species range). Sightings will also be used to estimate magpie densities in different habitat types.  Because the species has not been studied in great detail habitat-specific information will advance the current knowledge about the species distribution in California. Scott has written a journal paper that detail the findings.  The work and paper is in review with the journal and once it passes peer-review, we'll send you an update!   … stay tuned!

SUBMIT YOUR MAGPIE SIGHTINGS AT EBIRD

Please log your magpie sightings data onto EBIRD.  This will allow our group to benefit from your information, and also other researchers and the public.

Magpie Monitors is dedicated to involving the public in research to better understand the relationships among Yellow-billed Magpie populations, their habitats, genetics, and diseases such as West Nile Virus. We invite and welcome participation from the citizen volunteers. The program is administered by Holly Ernest, faculty member at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.  www.magpiemonitor.org

contact us at   magpie-mail@magpiemonitor.org