Bird Monitoring at George Washington Carver National Monument, Missouri: 2008 Status Report

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Overview

During 2008, the Heartland I&M Network and Prairie Cluster Prototype Monitoring Program (HTLN) initiated breeding bird surveys on George Washington Carver National Monument, Missouri (GWCA) to address two objectives. The first is to monitor changes in bird community composition and abundance. The second is to monitor the responses of bird communities to changes in habitat structure and other habitat variables related to management activities. This report provides plot-specific, habitat-specific, and park-wide baseline data on populations and breeding habitat of birds at GWCA. Forty-nine species of birds were recorded during site visits in May. The most common and widely distributed species was the Dickcissel (Spiza americana). The Brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), Indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea), Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), and Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) occurred frequently as well. Partners in Flight, a coalition of agencies and individuals whose mission is to conserve North America's declining bird populations, classify six species found at GWCA as species of continental importance. Species richness for birds in the grassland habitat of the monument is similar to values reported elsewhere. Three grassland obligate species were recorded, the Dickcissel, Eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna), and Grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum). Species richness in the woodland habitat, however, was lower than values reported elsewhere. No woodland obligates were reported. Nearly 68% of the habitat on the monument is grassland dominated by the field/prairie and brome/fescue habitat types.