Birds Keeping Count

Written By: William McReynolds - Highlands Plateau Audubon Society | Issue: October - 2022

The health of our birds tells us volumes about the health of our forests and ecosystems. Every year for over 100 years, the National Audubon Society leads an international bird count that gives us a good idea how our North American bird populations are doing according to how many we can find around us each winter. These bird counts and population estimates tell us that we have lost 3 billion birds in the last 50 years. The leading cause is habitat degradation or loss due to climate change. The Highlands Biological Station, in association with the Blue Ridge Bird Observatory and the Institute for Bird Populations, does a yearly examination of a sample of birds in our area to determine which birds are present in the summer and their individual states of health. This is part of a national multi-year monitoring project called MAPS or Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship. Birds are examined in hand, individually, in this ongoing field research. To examine birds individually – have them in hand – you first must catch them. The biologists at the Highlands Biological Station are experts at that. They know that the safest and most gentle way to catch birds is a specially designed “mist net”. A mist net is a loosely woven, small gage, nylon stretch net that gently entangles birds that fly into it: a foot might be caught or a wing. They are removed immediately by the certain hands of the field scientist. Individual birds are quickly given a full physical before being released. They are weighed and measured (e.g., wingspan), examined for feather and skin health, age, gender, body mass, and molt status. They are also given a small band, attached to a leg, which identifies individual birds in case they are captured again. These data on individual birds are then fed into the very large and growing MAPS database. The Highlands Biological Station conducts these banding sessions eight times a year, examining 20 or more birds each session. The birds individually examined and banded this year include Song Sparrow, Slate-colored Junco, American Goldfinch, Indigo Bunting, Northern Parula, Hooded Warbler, and Worm-eating Warbler. Because this has been going on for only three years, longitudinal data and trends concerning the general health and distribution of songbirds in our area are not yet available. This important field research helps us understand and safeguard our natural heritage which includes our forests and all the creatures that live therein. Find out more about the Highlands Biological Station at highlandsbiological.org.

by William McReynolds, Highlands Plateau Audubon Society