Brian S. Ebers 29

DE. Campus Life Editor

Wading through the waters of a lush wetland on a site once ravished by surface mining, Slade Moore makes observations of a tiny bird known as the least bittern.

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The bird begins to mimic the swaying movements of the dense foliage around it a camouflaging technique Moore refers to as bittering.

The least bittern is a miniature master of disguise, clinging onto cattails and reeds and going largely unnoticed in many of Southern Illinois’ restored wetlands. But because of surface mining and agricultural techniques wetlands are not as common as they were 200 years ago, which also accounts for the bird’s rarity.

To see the bird up close, Moore exhibited extreme patience and adapted a high tolerance for being waterlogged.

Moore, a graduate research assistant with the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, ventured into 16 separate wetland locations this summer literally up to his neck in cattails and marsh waters in search of Illinois’ smallest heron, the least bittern.

Moore decided to study the occurrence of the endangered least bittern in Southern Illinois’ wetlands on reclaimed coal mine lands as a graduate project funded by the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory. Moore’s research, which began in May, is expected to be completed next August.

For every five hours of searching, I would find one nest, Moore said. It was systematic searching through robust vegetation and 100-degree heat, but when I found a nest it was definitely rewarding.

With losses of more than 80 percent of original wetlands in Illinois, much caused by agricultural drainage and clearing, the Mined Land Reclamation Program is providing essential wetland habitats for numerous waterfowl and other species. With fewer than 1 million acres of wetlands in Illinois, Moore speculates that the decline in wetlands may be responsible for the decline in least bittern populations.

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The population statistics are either uncertain or in decline, Moore said. I don’t know, but the loss of wetlands is an important factor.

Moore is studying the association between habitat characteristics, such as water depth and vegetation, and the presence of the least bittern in individual wetlands.

The least bittern is on Illinois’ endangered species list, in part, because researchers have not yet devised a method for accurately numbering population sizes of the 4-inch bird. Because the bird hides so well in difficult to search landscapes, researchers have a difficult time counting total populations.

After Moore discovers a nest, he monitors it. Finding the birds to be environmentally adaptive and over-protective of their young, he examined factors such as the number of young, egg size and behavior and growth patterns.

The young quickly develop large, webbed feet to cling onto cattails and reeds, Moore said. And the adults were so attentive to their nests that they wouldn’t leave even in my presence.

The least bittern is one of the least studied marsh birds not only because it is hard to find, but also because it is not an economically important bird, Moore said.

Jack Nawrot, associate scientist with the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, works with area mines that have engaged in surface mining and are required by law to reclaim and restore mined land. Nawrot, who works with the Mined-Land Reclamation Program, assists the coal companies to create restoration plans, which often call for the implementation of man-made wetlands.

The reclamation program has helped area mines such as the Burning Star No. 5 mine in DeSoto restore their reclaimed lands into more than 60 acres of wetlands. The Burning Star mine, owned by Consolidated Coal Co., was one of 43 potential sites where Moore detected the presence of the least bittern.

It was in these scattered wetlands where Nawrot and Moore found an opportunity to examine the occurrence of a rare bird.

Slade hasn’t actually determined any specific number of birds in the area, Nawrot said. The least bittern is on the endangered species list, but it may not be endangered because it so difficult to actually find the bird.

Because the least bittern is a secretive, small bird, Moore conducted a standard call survey. By playing a recording of the bird’s call, or song, during nesting season in May, Moore was able to determine which of his targeted 43 wetland sites contained the least bittern. He discovered 16 sites where the least bittern was present.

Nawrot said an index of population was generally accepted in counting least bittern populations. For every one bird that calls back to the recording, there are an estimated two more birds present, and for every one wetland where the bird is present, two more wetlands contain the birds.

There really is no feasible way to do a normal census of the least bittern populations because they hide so well, Nawrot said.

The size of the wetlands where least bitterns live is not an as much of an issue as their presence. The presence of least bitterns is a good sign that a wetland ecosystem is healthy and diverse.

Lee Drickamer, professor of zoology, has spent hundreds of hours bird watching and has only come across the least bittern a few times.

The least bittern is a good indicator that an ecosystem can sustain a fair number of marsh birds, Drickamer said. The least bittern is more restricted in what habitat it will use so if you find the least bittern living in an area, then birds with less strict (living) requirements are likely [to live there].

Ducks, geese and great blue herons are other waterfowl that reside in wetland areas.

The Mined Land Reclamation Program initially began working with mined land restoration in the 50s, even before the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act required all surface mining activities be restored to original condition.

Although surface mining has been tagged negatively as strip mining, Moore is optimistic about the wetland projects.

About reclaimed lands, Moore said, it’s hard to find these as negative places when they make new habitats for bitterns.