Monitoring Programs and Common Forest Birds of

Minnesota“You’ll learn the things you

never knew, you never knew” -

Vanessa Williams from “Pocahontas” – Colors of the Wind

Ecological Services

Division of Fish & Wildlife

(game spp.)

Forest Wildlife Populations & Research Group (Grand Rapids)

Farmland Wildlife Populations & Research Group (Madelia)

Wetland Wildlife Populations & Research Group (Bemidji)

Central Office (St. Paul) & Biometrics Group (Carlos Avery WMA)

Minnesota County Biological Survey

Monitoring & Control

Natural Heritage & Nongame Research

Nongame Wildlife Program

Scientific & Natural Areas

Monitoring for Tomorrow’s Habitat-Approach

• Statewide

• Comprehensive

• Focus on key habitats

• Identify a common set of indicators• Integrate existing information

• Fill monitoring gaps

• Amount

• Quality

• Associated species in greatest conservation need

• Prairies, surrogate grasslands, savannas

• Key river reaches

• Lakeshores

• Wetlands

• Upland & lowland coniferous forest

KEY HABITATS

Forest Wildlife Research Group

Prairie-chicken Lek Survey (1960’s, 1974-2003, 2004-2006)

Sharp-tailed Grouse Lek Survey (1940’s, 1976-2006)

Ruffed Grouse Drumming Survey (1949-1981, 1982-2006)

Waterfowl Breeding Population Survey1968-1971 (archives) & 1972-2006 (digital)

May 1-25 (focus on breeding mallards in Prairie and Transition zones)

115 aerial transects (0.25-mi wide)

Stratified sampling design based on density of wetlands and lakes >4 ha (1968 data)

Double sampling (14 air-ground segments) to estimate visibility corrections

Estimated total ducks (by species) and May ponds in sampling frame

Annual report (MNDNR public website)

Steve Cordts (MNDNR, Bemidji)

Statewide Bald Eagle Surveys

• Statewide surveys every 5 years: 2000 & 2005 completed

• In 2005, added a random plot survey to known nest survey methodology

Statewide Bald Eagle SurveyNumber of known active bald eagles in Minnesota 1973 - 2005

Northern Goshawk Project 2003-2005

– Surveys for goshawk in new areas in NE

Minnesota

– Monitoring an average of 64 nests per year

– Habitat assessment and management plans for

territories

Minnesota Loon Monitoring Program

– 1989 Loon Survey• 12, 052 + 1398 adult loons in Minnesota

– Developed monitoring program (MLMP) in 1994 because:

• Historical declines have occurred• Minnesota contains over 50% of breeding adults in the lower 48

states• Current anthropogenic threats exist• People care about loons.

Piping Plover and Common Tern Monitoring

– The Lake of the Woods (LOTW) area is the only remaining breeding site for piping plovers in Minnesota.

– Nesting common terns are also assessed annually

Number of breeding Adult Plovers Lake of the Woods (US)

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Minnesota County Biological Survey

Breeding bird surveys

MCBS Statewide 1988-2006breeding season bird surveys

• 69 counties completed

– +5 partially completed

• 5,431 survey locations

– 4,454 point counts

– 977 species lists

• 73,000+ bird records

Animap : MCBS common animal data

Minnesota Owl Survey Routes

• In 2005, 51 MFTCS routes used to conduct owl surveys.

• 31 new routes added to initial study area in 2006.

• In 2007, remainder of MFTCS routes added in state (~86).

Wisconsin Owl Survey Routes

• Used BBS routes to survey for owls.

• Approximately 91 routes exist in the state.

• Addition of new routes under consideration.

For more information:

-Check out the WBCI website: www.wisconsinbirds.org

-Check out the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory

website: www.HawkRidge.org

OR

Photo credit: www.michaelfurtman.com

HAPET Bird Monitoringin Minnesota

Diane Granfors, USFWSBCM Breeding Bird Inventory and Monitoring WorkshopDuluth February 14-15 2007

Pairs = 2.718[-0.63+0.55(lnsize)+a]

Playback List5-minutes silenceBlack RailLeast BitternYellow RailSoraVirginia RailKing RailAmerican BitternPied-billed Grebe

SECRETIVE MARSHBIRD SURVEYS

2002: 31 plots – 2 reps (morn, eve)2003: 9 routes – 2 reps2004: 11 routes – 3 reps2005: 6 routes – 3 reps2006: 11 routes – 3 reps

Rex Johnson

SECRETIVE MARSHBIRD SURVEYS

Christmas Bird Counts-68 COUNT CIRCLES IN 2005

What is MAPS?• The World Bird Population

Institute (WBPI) investigates the reasons why bird populations change.

• The MAPS project is a part of the WBPI

• The Monitoring Avain Productivity Success (MAPS) studies birds while they nest in the spring. Birds are temporarily caught and then released. Scientists estimate the number of birds born and that survive into adulthood from this information

Check out are Web sitewww.birdpop.com

www.ThreeRiversParkDistrict.org

Carol W Carter, Wildlife Specialist ccarter@threeriversparkdistrict.org

763-694-7848 Cell: 612-490-0882

Wildlife staff and volunteers conduct three kinds of bird surveys annually (28 years of data):

1) Bike Trail Surveys

2) Habitat Transects

3) Woodland Point Counts

Also some special purpose surveys suchas volunteer raptor search, periodic rail counts, osprey monitoring

Breeding Bird Surveyhttp://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs

• 3,100+ routes across US and Canada (random – systematic)

• ~80 roadside routes in Minnesota

• Experienced volunteers

• 24.5 mile routes, 3 min stops every 0.5 mile

Where?

House Finch

• Western species• Introduced on Long Island in 1940• Rapid growth in numbers with expanding

geographic range in Eastern US• Expansion detrimental to native Purple

Finch

House Finch

Eastern US

Purple Finch

Eastern US

Minnesota’s Forest Bird Diversity Initiative

• Funded by Legislative Commission for Minnesota Resources through Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

• Program Leader –– Lee Pfannmuller– Head, Ecological

Services Division, MN DNR

“Forest songbird conservationefforts should be directed at…the largest tracts of forest suchas the Smokies, Adirondaks, and the North Woods of Minnesotaand Maine.”

John Terborgh, “Why AmericanSongbirds are Vanishing”Scientific American - May 1992

Reasons/Objectives to Initiate Regional Monitoring

• Conduct off-road, habitat-specific monitoring

• Better our understanding of bird-habitat relationships

• Link population trends with habitat and landscape changes

•

Monitoring Design• Proportional-stratified but restricted

random design – ‘proportional’ with available habitat and ‘restricted’ by logistics

• 10-minute point counts (subdivided by 3 and 5 min) with about 12 points per morning

• Experienced (tested for song ID and hearing ability) and trained (standardize field methods for 3-4 days) observers

Monitoring Design Continued

• All birds seen or heard are identified from point – a concerted effort made to eliminate double-counting

• We use those individuals detected within 100 m in trend estimates - > 90 % of all observations

• > 1600 points censused annually

General Summary of Results –1991 to 2007

• 24,500 surveys

• 377,000 birds observed

• 175 species

• 73 species tested for trends in 2007

World Wide Web

www.nrri.umn.edu/mnbirds

Common Forest Birds of northern MN/WI –NRRI/U of MN Forest Bird Monitoring 1991-2007

Rank Species Count1 Ovenbird 488112 Red-eyed Vireo 374233 Nashville Warbler 200164 White-throated Sparrow 177865 Chestnut-sided Warbler 164226 Veery 135377 Least Flycatcher 101838 Hermit Thrush 99059 Blue Jay 963010 Black-throated Green Warbler 821611 American Robin 802812 Common Yellowthroat 714013 Mourning Warbler 608014 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 579915 American Redstart 553916 Black-capped Chickadee 512817 Winter Wren 498818 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 495619 Blackburnian Warbler 492620 American Crow 4872

Ovenbird

Ovenbird Breeding Habitat

• Mature deciduous and coniferous forest

• Most abundant in forests with an open understory

• Long-distance migrant

Red-eyed Vireo

Nashville Warbler

White-throated Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow breeding habitat

• Recent 3-20 year old logged areas

• Black spruce/tamarack forested wetlands

• Requires thick coniferous understory

• Species over-winters in southern United States

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Veery

Least Flycatcher

Hermit Thrush

Blue Jay

Black-throated Green Warbler

American Robin

Common Yellowthroat

Mourning Warbler

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Winter Wren

Black-cappedChickadee

American Redstart

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Blackburnian Warbler

American Crow

Northern Goshawk

Boreal Chickadee