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Eileen M Kirsch

Eileen Kirsch

Science and Products

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Evaluating the Possible Effects of Wind Power Development on Refuging Waterbirds in the Great Plains, Upper Midwest and East Front of Northern Rocky Mountains

We will address the question of whether wind farms can be built near refuges for large concentrations of waterbirds and not cause mortality or critical habitat avoidance. Much is known about many waterbirds (waterfowl, cranes, shorebirds and others) and the places where they concentrate (refuge) during migration. The primary areas of uncertainty in placing wind turbines in relation to the location...
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Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife, Wildlife Program, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
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Evaluating the Possible Effects of Wind Power Development on Refuging Waterbirds in the Great Plains, Upper Midwest and East Front of Northern Rocky Mountains

We will address the question of whether wind farms can be built near refuges for large concentrations of waterbirds and not cause mortality or critical habitat avoidance. Much is known about many waterbirds (waterfowl, cranes, shorebirds and others) and the places where they concentrate (refuge) during migration. The primary areas of uncertainty in placing wind turbines in relation to the location...
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1990s bird and vegetation data from UMR floodplain forest

From 1994-1997 I surveyed breeding birds and sampled vegetation at 391 random points on UMR floodplain forest along a latitudinal gradient to characterize bird assemblages and associations with gradients in forest structure at the local survey point and land cover composition within 200m radius of survey points (landscape scale). We conducted 10 minute 50m fixed radius point counts (Ralph et al. 1
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Songbird use of interior and edge floodplain forest sites along the Upper Mississippi River, USA, during spring migration and breeding seasons

Floodplain forests of large rivers in the midwestern United States are naturally fragmented by sloughs, backwaters, wetlands, and shrub carr. On the highly altered Upper Mississippi River (UMR), resource managers want to protect and manage floodplain forests to benefit forest “interior” bird species. To discover bird relations with interior and edge floodplain forest, we characterized bird assembl
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Breeding birds of the upper Mississippi River floodplain forest: One community in a changing forest, 1994 to 1997

Floodplain forest on the upper Mississippi River (UMR), a unique habitat in the Midwest that is important for many bird species, has been reduced and is undergoing continued reduction and changes in structure and species diversity because of river engineering and invasive species. Hydrological changes are causing tree diversity to decline favoring Acer saccharinum (silver maple) and Fraxinus penns
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Tree species preferences of foraging songbirds during spring migration in floodplain forests of the Upper Mississippi River

Floodplain forest of the Upper Mississippi River is important for songbirds during spring migration. However, the altered hydrology of this system and spread of reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) and emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) threaten tree diversity and long-term sustainability of this forest. We estimated tree preferences of songbirds during spring migration 2010–2013 to help
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Differences in breeding bird assemblages related to reed canary grass cover cover and forest structure on the Upper Mississippi River

Floodplain forest of the Upper Mississippi River provides habitat for an abundant and diverse breeding bird community. However, reed canary grass Phalaris arundinacea invasion is a serious threat to the future condition of this forest. Reed canary grass is a well-known aggressive invader of wetland systems in the northern tier states of the conterminous United States. Aided by altered flow regimes
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Observation of sandhill cranes' (Grus canadensis) flight behavior in heavy fog

The behaviors of birds flying in low visibility conditions remain poorly understood. We had the opportunity to monitor Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) flying in heavy fog with very low visibility during a comprehensive landscape use study of refuging cranes in the Horicon Marsh in southeastern Wisconsin. As part of the study, we recorded flight patterns of cranes with a portable marine radar at
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Songbird use of floodplain and upland forests along the Upper Mississippi River corridor during spring migration

The Upper Mississippi River is thought to provide important stopover habitat for migrating landbirds because of its north-south orientation and floodplain forests. The river flows through the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota where forests are plentiful, yet forests of the floodplain and Driftless Area uplands differ greatly in landscape setting, tree species comp
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Habitat selection and productivity of least terns on the lower Platte River, Nebraska

Least terns (Sterna antillarum) were studied on the lower Platte River, Nebraska, where this endangered population nests on natural sandbar habitat and on sandpit sites created by gravel dredging adjacent to the river. Theoretically terns should select habitats according to habitat suitability. However, the introduction of sandpits and conversion of tallgrass prairies along the river banks to agri
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

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