Wind Cave National Park Breeding Bird Inventory and Surveys, 1999 Progress Report

Peterson, Richard

(Abstract for 1999 Progress Report) 1999 was the second year of a 3 year project to inventory the breeding birds and establish a system of surveys for long-term monitoring of these birds at WICA. This effort will provide documentation of at least 90% of the bird species that breed in the Park and their distribution within it. During the 1998 field season a total of 863 bird observation records were submitted for the 46 "atlas block" subdivisions of the park. There were records of 88 species or subspecies and 1 hybrid (Lazuli x indigo bunting). Forty-four of these species were confirmed as breeding species based on behavior observed. In the just completed 1999 field season a total of 655 records of 100 species or subspecies were added to the database. There were more than 655 observations submitted but only those that documented new species in a block or breeding behavior upgrades were counted. There are now records of 105 species or subspecies and 1 hybrid in the project database. Seventeen of these 105 species have either a possible or probable breeding behavior record, and are considered to be of uncertain breeding status for several reasons: 1. They are not known to occur regularly; 2. the habitats of WICA are marginal quality; 3. There are not known previous confirmations so breeding. These 17 species are surrently considered to be migrants or summer visitors in WICA. Of the remaining 88 species and subspecies; 68 have been confirmed breeding, 15 are represented with probable records, and 5 have geen reported as possible in 1998 or 1999. Descriptions of possible, probable and confirmed breeding behvior are given in Attachment A: Breeding Behavior Criteria and Codes.

Wind Cave National Park Breeding Bird Inventory and Surveys, 1999 Progress Report

Collections