Songbird Monitoring at the COC

A Black-throated Blue Warbler

This summer a new conservation program was started at the Outdoor Center. We have joined the Vermont Center for Ecostudies’ Forest Bird Monitoring Program (FBMP) which was initiated in 1989. The FBMP’s goal is to track long-term changes in populations of interior forest songbirds. Monitoring sites have been established at over 30 mature forest tracts representing 9 different forest communities across Vermont and New Hampshire.

I conducted two sets of bird surveys in June at five different locations in the mixed hardwood and conifer upland habitat on the Center’s property. Starting around 5:00am, I recorded every bird I heard or observed for 10 minutes at each of the five stations. The most frequent birds counted in one morning were Hermit Thrush (11), Ovenbird (11), Red-eyed Vireo (12), American Crow (9), Black-throated-green Warbler (8), and Winter Wren (7). Less frequently detected birds included Black-and-white Warbler, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Northern Parula (a warbler), Northern Waterthrush (another warbler), Pileated Woodpecker, and even a Sharp-shinned Hawk. I detected 21 species of birds and counted about 100 birds during each morning. I also tracked the number of red squirrels since they are a major nest predator.

The Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) has detected significant declines in four species since 1989: three short-distance migrants (Hermit Thrush, Blue-headed Vireo, and White-throated Sparrow) and one long-distance migrant (Wood Thrush). The short-distance songbirds spend the winters in the SE United States. This region had the largest increase in human population from 1990-2000, and thus one factor contributing to these population declines could be a decrease in overwintering habitat and habitat quality. A few Blue-headed Vireos were observed on Craftsbury lands but no Wood Thrushes.I hope to start some less formal survey routes of the wetlands and other habitat types in the future. If anyone is interested in assisting, please contact me at ehanson@vtecostudies.org or 802-586-8065. For more information about VCE and the FBMP, go to www.vtecostudies.org.

- Eric Hanson, COC ski trail groomer