Streamside Bird Monitoring in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

The black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) is one of the most abundant bird species at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve point count stations. Photo © Bill Thompson

A new report from the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network summarizes the first 12 years (2007 to 2019) of monitoring the streamside bird community at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. During that time period 19 observers conducted 4,158 point count surveys detecting 23,114 individual birds at 230 point count stations within the park.

New River Gorge NP & PRES contains a rich and diverse streamside bird community with a total of 89 species detected; including 68 target species presumed to be breeding in the park during summer months. The vast majority were forest-associated species dominated by forest-interior species whose life-histories depend on large tracts of mature, unfragmented, deciduous forest.

Figure 1. Twenty most abundant streamside bird species at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve point count stations from 2007–2019. Bars represent the mean birds per point (+1SD) across all years of monitoring. *Species of regional conservation importance.

Nineteen species overall and four of the five most abundant species were of conservation importance in the Appalachian Mountains bird conservation region (Figure 1). It is notable that the most abundant species at the park were also the top conservation priorities regionally, highlighting the significance of New River Gorge NP & PRES and the surrounding forested landscape to avian conservation.

Trends in abundance over the period of monitoring were assessed for the 68 species in the target population. Of those species, 42 (62%) appear to be stable or increasing and 26 (38%) appear to be declining during the period of monitoring.

New River Gorge NP & PRES was one of several parks in the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network where the majority of species exhibited stable or increasing population trends including many species of regional conservation importance; this was one of the more significant findings of the monitoring program to date and an encouraging sign in the face of recent overwhelming evidence of dramatic declines in bird populations. However, several species do appear to be declining at New River Gorge NP & PRES and warrant close attention.

This report provides the first information regarding long-term population trends of breeding birds in New River Gorge NP & PRES. Continued monitoring will provide new insights and future analyses will explore specific factors linked to population trends. As anthropogenic land use and climate change continue to reshape the Appalachian landscape, park managers will need this information to best allocate effort that aligns with regional conservation planning and other park priorities.

Report citation: Marshall MR. Streamside bird monitoring in the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network: New River Gorge National Park and Preserve 2007–2019. Natural Resource Report. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/nrr-2288217

For more information, contact the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network Program Manager, Matt Marshall.