Songbird Monitoring

Songbird Monitoring

Banding Data
Season Highlights

The importance of the Boise Ridge as a major concentration point for migrating raptors has been known since 1993. Throughout the early years of the Boise Ridge raptor monitoring project, it was noted that large numbers of migrating songbirds were also present along the Ridge during fall. During 1994 and 1995, informal daily counts of songbirds were conducted at Lucky Peak by Idaho Bird Observatory field crews. It was found that throughout the fall, species composition and abundance of songbirds present at Lucky Peak changed dramatically on a daily basis.

In 1996, a pilot songbird monitoring project was initiated at Lucky peak during fall. This pilot study was conducted to determine the best methods for censusung songbird diversity and abundance, and to develop a protocol for long-term monitoring during future seasons. In 1997, a long-term songbird migration monitoring project was begun by the Idaho Bird Observatory at Lucky Peak. The main goal of this project is to identify and monitor migration patterns of western songbirds to provide an index to population trends. Such information will help warn us of population declines, and help identify individual species in jeopardy. The monitoring study is also designed to identify habitats important to migrants so that public agencies can better conserve and manage important migration stopover sites.

As with the raptor monitoring activities, because of the quality wildlife viewing experiences these studies provide, high priority is also given to promoting public viewing, education, and involvement.

Jay Carlisle, songbird project coordinator, is studying aspects of songbird migration for his PhD Degree in Biology at the Universty of South Dakota; contact him at: jcarlisl@usd.edu