Bird Community Monitoring at Pea Ridge National Military Park, 2021

Hairy Woodpeckers are year-round residents on Pea Ridge National Military Park.

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Why Do We Monitor Birds?

Birds are an important part of the world we live in. They eat pests, disperse seeds, pollinate plants, and feed us, and birdwatching is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Park interpretive programs often feature birds because of the enjoyment they provide. Birds are also great indicators of environmental change. They serve as the canary in the coal mine for an ecosystem—an early warning system for environmental change.

The mix of woodlands and grasslands at Pea Ridge National Military Park supports the approximately 114 species of birds that are known to breed in the area. Widespread habitat loss to agriculture and urban and industrial development threatens bird habitat in the region around the park. Unfortunately, 23% of the birds that breed on the park are in decline in the region and Bewick's Wren, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Northern Bobwhite are declining at alarming rates.

Scientists in the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network measure changes in birds and their habitat to determine the health of bird communities and park ecosystems. During the breeding season, we survey birds at Pea Ridge National Military Park and gather information about the structure and composition of the park plant communities that birds live in. We also compare park bird trends to bird trends in the larger region. Together, these data help us determine how bird populations are faring and how birds respond to changes in their habitat. Knowing how birds are doing can help the park take effective steps to restore and maintain the park's beautiful landscapes.

Bird Monitoring Highlights (2008_^–2021)

Bird monitoring locations at Pea Ridge National Military Park. The majority of survey points are in woodlands, the primary vegetation type at the park. The remaining points are in grassland and grassland-shrubland habitats.

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Park Bird Community

We started surveying birds at the park in 2008 and have found 111 different bird species in 14 years of surveys. Ninety-three of the species are classified as permanent or summer residents to the area and have the potential to breed in the park. Eleven species are classified as winter residents, six as transients, and one as a migrant through the area. Forty-four of the park breeding birds are eastern forest species, eight are grassland species, and the other resident breeding species are habitat generalists, wetland species, or edge species favored by the mix of park habitats and creeks and ravines that run through the park.

The number of bird species and the distribution of birds across the park has been stable over the 14 years of monitoring.Nine breeding species on the park are considered species of conservation concern for the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region, the region in which the park is located.

Breeding Bird Species of Conservation Concern at the Park

Breeding birds at Pea Ridge National Military Park that are considered species of conservation concern in the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region. The American Ornithologists' Union Code (AOU Code) and the park residency status of each species are also shown.

Common Name	Scientific Name	AOU Code	Park Resident?
Bald Eagle	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	BAEA	resident
Bewick's Wren	Thryomanes bewickii	BEWR	resident
Blue-winged Warbler	Vermivora cyanoptera	BWWA	summer resident
Eastern Whip-poor-will	Antrostomus vociferus	EWPW	summer resident
Kentucky Warbler	Geothlypis formosa	KEWA	summer resident
Prairie Warbler	Setophaga discolor	PRAW	summer resident
Red-headed Woodpecker	Melanerpes erythrocephalus	RHWO	resident
Wood Thrush	Hylocichla mustelina	WOTH	summer resident
Worm-eating Warbler	Helmitheros vermivorum	WEWA	summer resident

Bird Habitat

Pea Ridge National Military Park in Arkansas is in the western edge of the Ozark Highland section of the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region. The area is largely rolling hills with broad flat ridges throughout. Historically, the landscape contained a habitat of oak-hickory forest with a prairie grass understory in ravines and grass savanna habitat on ridges.

When bird monitoring began in 2008, woodlands dominated grasslands by a 3:1 margin. The increase in forests over time has occurred throughout the Ozark Highlands. Ongoing forest thinning and stand clearing operations within the park since 2008 have created a more balanced mix of woodland to grassland habitat. The park has a large diversity of habitats for birds and this is especially important for the species of regional concern because their microhabitat requirements vary. Red-headed Woodpeckers prefer farmlands, open woodlands, orchards, and urban/suburban forest. Kentucky Warblers and Wood Thrush prefer moist deciduous bottomlands and ravines and deciduous woodlands. The other species of regional concern require thick shrubby or old field/grassland habitats.

The stable bird community over the 14 years of monitoring suggests that the park habitat is meeting the requirements of bird species. We will continue to monitor birds and how they respond to changes in their environment to help the park manage habitat for birds. Conserving bird habitat preserves entire ecosystems for the benefit of all species.

The Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region is one of 67 regions identified in the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. Pea Ridge National Military Park is on the western edge of the region in northwestern Arkansas.

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Red-bellied Woodpecker populations are increasing at Peak Ridge National Military Park. This woodpecker lives on the park year round.

NPS/NEIL LEWIS

Trends of Common Bird Species

Four breeding bird species in grassland and 11 in woodland habitats had populations that were large enough for us to measure abundance (how many individuals there were). Knowing how many birds there are helps us examine trends in bird populations over time on the park. We can then compare park bird trends with trends in the larger Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region. Overall, the park bird community is faring similarly or slightly better than the bird communities in the region.

• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher increased in the park, but are in decline in the region.
• Eastern Wood-pewee and Red-eyed Vireo increased in the park and remained stable in the region.
• Tufted Titmouse populations increased over time in the woodland habitat on the park and were undetermined in the region.
• Red-bellied Woodpackers in woodland habitat are increasing in the region and were stable on the park.
• The other 10 common birds on the park had uncertain trends. This means that we did not see significant increases or decreases in their populations, but we are not completely certain that their populations experienced changes of less than 5%. More surveys will help us determine park population trends. Most of these 10 species had stable regional populations. The exceptions were Field Sparrow and Indigo Bunting populations that are declining in the region.

Barred Owl is a year-round resident at Pea Ridge National Military Park.

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Did You Know?

When we survey for birds, we have standard protocols that allow us to compare results between different areas and across time. However, we don't always see all the species that occur in an area during a survey, which can lead to underestimates of the number of bird species. To account for this, we use statistical estimators that use the information in species distribution and abundance patterns to produce an estimate of the true number of bird species. We track trends in the estimated number of bird species along with trends in the observed bird species to better understand how bird communities are changing over time.

For More Information

Read the Full Report.

Check back later for updates. We will update this page each year as we gather more information.

Visit the Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network website.