Bird and Terrestrial Species Conservation

The Challenge: Since 1966, the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) has filled a vital role in identifying at-risk bird species for Federal, State, and private entities. The BBS is a scientifically rigorous population count performed by a highly skilled, largely volunteer work force of nearly 2,500 observers. Every year these observers visit most of the survey’s 4,500 routes, which consist of...

The Challenge: A Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA) is a widespread survey method that provides distribution maps for all bird species that nest in a specific state or province. Hundreds of participants fan out over several seasons to their assigned blocks on a systematic survey grid; they search for breeding evidence such as a male/female pair of a species on a branch (“possibly breeding”), or an adult...

The Challenge: The North American Bird Phenology Program (BPP) houses a data set of 6 million historical observations of over 800 bird species, documenting occurrences and migration times from the 1880s through the 1970s -- the longest and most comprehensive legacy data set on bird migration in existence. In an effort to rescue this invaluable data set, the BPP has scanned and are in the process...

The Challenge: Each autumn, millions of landbirds migrate southward from breeding areas in the U.S. and Canada. Because these migrations occur during hurricane season, the impacts of hurricanes on migrating birds and their en route resting and foraging sites (stopover sites) are a real concern. Hurricane Sandy occurred late in the landbird migration season. By the time the storm made landfall in...

The Challenge: Concerns have arisen about the potential impacts of wind power development in the Appalachians on migrating birds, creating a critical need for information on their distribution and flight characteristics as they pass through the region. This study focuses on the spatial and temporal distribution of nocturnally migrating birds in the Central Appalachians (MD, VA, WV). The overall...

The Challenge: Most landbird conservation efforts focus on protecting or enhancing breeding habitat. For migratory species, however, mortality is highest during the biannual migration periods. In fall, juvenile birds are making their first migratory flights; their success, and that of adult birds, depends on availability of suitable sites to safely rest and forage. Identifying important stopover...

The Challenge: The Department of the Interior (DOI) and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration are trustees for a wide variety natural resources that belong to all Americans. Additional natural resources are overseen by Native American tribes, states, and other federal agencies. Migratory birds are an example of a trust species for DOI, under the US Fish and Wildlife Service. When wild...

Several types of experimental attachment techniques were tested on each study species (Surf Scoters ( Melanitta perspicillata), Red-throated Loon ( Gavia stellata), and Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus)), including traditional Teflon-ribbon style harnesses, sutures, and harnesses made of silicone moulding. Silicone harnesses, which were deployed in 2014 and 2015, offered the best balance between...

Overall, this study tracked movements of over 400 individuals of three species over the course of five years; one of the most comprehensive satellite tracking studies of marine birds ever conducted in Atlantic North America. Results provide a better understanding of how diving birds use offshore areas of the mid-Atlantic U.S. and beyond, and, in combination with results from other types of...

As diving foragers, sea ducks are vulnerable to underwater anthropogenic activities, including naval sonar activity and gillnet fisheries. Bycatch in gillnets is a principle driver of mortality for sea ducks, killing hundreds of thousands of seabirds annually. To reduce gillnet bycatch, underwater hearing tests were conducted on affected sea duck species to assist with possible development of...

American black duck ( Anas rubripes) utilize inland and tidal freshwater and brackish marshes throughout the Chesapeake Bay and are considered to be an indicator species of the ecosystem’s health. Thus, conserving and increasing black duck habitats will subsequently benefit the general health of the bay. The goal of this study was to create a mechanistic model to determine the amount of...

Once common to forest and backyard habitats, the eastern box turtle ( Terrapene carolina) has declined sharply.