Bird Monitoring at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, 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 Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Missouri (WICR) 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 and park-wide baseline data on populations and breeding habitat of birds at WICR. Forty-seven species of birds were recorded during site visits in May. The most common and widely distributed species was the Indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea). The Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) and Blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 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 ten species found at WICR as species of continental importance. Species richness of birds is similar to the species richness observed in similar habitats elsewhere. Two grassland obligate species were recorded, the Dickcissel (Spiza Americana) and the Eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna). No woodland obligates were reported. Grasslands, deciduous woodlands, and shrub habitat dominate at WICR; other habitats are less prevalent.