Twenty birds were located, mostly near their nesting islands. The five year goal established by the Department calls for a reduction in cormorant numbers from the current level of about 5,100 pairs to 1,500 within five years. Some late hatching is expected due to re-nesting attempts, but is not expected to significantly decrease the effectiveness of suppression efforts. In addition to the activities conducted on Little Galloo, over 1,300 cormorant nests were removed from Gull and Bass Islands to prevent the establishment of new colonies within the Lake Ontario eastern basin. Due to this secretive life history, it's sometimes difficult for years at a time to find evidence that their populations still exist.
Biologists therefore see rainy years as the best time to check on the status of the spadefoots.
During the month of June, DEC's Endangered Special Unit staff went searching in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, hoping to find evidence of the resident toad population hoping to see tiny spadefoot tadpoles swimming in the preserve's ephemeral vernal pools. And there they were, by the dozens, in each of many shallow wet spots in the woods and fields of the preserve. Many of these tadpoles were unlikely to survive, however, owing to the shallowness of the puddles. Members of the survey team scooped up several dozen of the tadpoles, taking them away to be raised in captivity. The Albany Times Union newspaper dispatched a reporter and photographer to accompany the biologists and to cover the story of the rare toads of Albany.