Volunteer Bird Monitoring at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield

Birds are an important part of the world we live in. They eat pests, spread seeds, pollinate plants, feed us, and provide enjoyment. And, they are beautiful, flying creatures. Who hasn’t wanted to soar like a bird at one time or another? Birds are a significant component of park ecosystems. Their habitat requirements and diverse diets make birds good indicators of changes in an ecosystem – the canary in the coal mine, so to speak. But, many grassland and woodland birds are declining in number. There are many reasons, such as habitat loss, global warming, wind turbines, and cats.

We track the types and numbers of birds that nest in national parks to determine the health of bird communities. We do this by surveying birds during the breeding season. We also characterize their habitat. For example, the amount of forest and grassland, and vegetation structure. Over time, we look for trends in the community. For context, we compare our findings to trends in the region. Long-term population trends in the bird community help us to assess the quality and sustainability of park ecosystems.

Figure 1. Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region.

NPS

Methods:

For details on methods of bird surveys see Peitz et al. (2008).

• Bird communities were monitored at 37 points by Brad S. Thornton, between May 18th and June 5th.
• All birds seen or heard in a 5-minute sampling period at each plot were recorded.
• Residency status of each species was established prior to analysis of the data (Robbins and Easterla 1992).
• Using hot-spot-analysis in ArcGIS, areas of higher and lower species richness on the battlefield were determined.
• Calculated number of individuals encountered per plot visit, and proportion of plots occupied by a species.

Figure 2.Concentrations of plots with high (yellow) to higher (red) and low (light blue) to lower (dark blue) breeding bird species richness at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Missouri in 2018.

NPS

Summary of Findings:

• Fifty-one bird species were observed during surveys. Fifty of the 51 species are resident or summer resident species thus considered breeding species at WICR (Table 1).
• The most commonly occurring and widespread bird species on WICR are the Northern Cardinal, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Indigo Bunting, respectively.
• Four species – Bell’s Vireo, Bewick’s Wren, Kentucky Warbler, and Prairie Warbler – are of conservation concern for the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region (Figure 1).
• Hot-spot-analysis showed that species richness was quite variable across the Battlefield (Figure 2).

Table 1. Number of individuals encountered per plot visit, and proportion of plots out of 38 occupied by breeding bird species at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Missouri during the 2018 bird surveys. Number of individuals per plot, and proportion of plots occupied includes all individuals recorded on plots during a 5-minute survey, including flyovers.

Common name	Residency1	Individuals / plot visit	Proportion of plots occupied
Acadian Flycatcher	SR	0.03	0.03
American Crow	R	0.38	0.30
American Goldfinch	R	0.24	0.16
American Robin	R	0.03	0.03
Barred Owl	R	0.03	0.03
Bell’s Vireo	SR	0.11	0.08
Belted Kingfisher	R	0.03	0.03
Bewick’s Wren	R	0.03	0.03
Blue Jay	R	0.46	0.27
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	SR	0.87	0.62
Brown-headed Cowbird	R	0.32	0.27
Carolina Chickadee	R	0.08	0.05
Carolina Wren	R	0.24	0.24
Cliff Swallow	SR	0.27	0.08
Common Yellowthroat	SR	0.16	0.16
Dickcissel	SR	0.51	0.24
Eastern Bluebird	R	0.11	0.11
Eastern Kingbird	SR	0.05	0.05
Eastern Meadowlark	R	0.16	0.16
Eastern Phoebe	R	0.05	0.05
Eastern Towhee	R	0.32	0.32
Eastern Wood-pewee	SR	0.05	0.05
Field Sparrow	R	0.60	0.50
Great Blue Heron	SR	0.03	0.03
Great Crested Flycatcher	SR	0.08	0.08
Gray Catbird	R	0.05	0.05
Hairy Woodpecker	R	0.03	0.03
House Wren	SR	0.03	0.03
Indigo Bunting	SR	0.86	0.62
Kentucky Warbler	SR	0.03	0.03
Mourning Dove	R	0.19	0.14
Northern Cardinal	R	0.89	0.62
Northern Parula	SR	0.19	0.16
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	SR	0.03	0.03
Orchard Oriole	SR	0.03	0.03
Pileated Woodpecker	R	0.05	0.05
Prairie Warbler	SR	0.03	0.03
Red-bellied Woodpecker	R	0.49	0.43
Red-eyed Vireo	SR	0.16	0.14
Red-tailed Hawk	R	0.05	0.05
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	SR	0.05	0.05
Swainson’s Thrush	SR	0.03	0.03
Tufted Titmouse	R	0.49	0.46
Turkey Vulture	R	0.08	0.05
Vesper Sparrow	M	0.03	0.03
White-breasted Nuthatch	R	0.03	0.03
White-eyed Vireo	SR	0.14	0.11
Wild Turkey	R	0.08	0.08
Yellow-breasted Chat	SR	0.24	0.19
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	SR	0.54	0.46
Yellow-throated Vireo	SR	0.05	0.05

¹ Residency status: R = year around resident; SR = summer resident; T = transient (Robbins and Easterla 1992).
*Species recorded outside 5-min survey period.
Bolded species names are those species considered of conservation concern for the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2008).

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Data in this report were collected and analyzed using methods based on established, peer-reviewed protocols and were analyzed and interpreted within the guidelines of the protocols.

Data for year 2018 have undergone quality control and certification, but not previously published.