Mountain Birdwatch 2004

Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS)

Scanned report of birds in northern New England. Gives information on procedures, habitat, and identification of species. Mountain Birdwatch is a long-term monitoring program for songbirds that breed in high-elevated forests of the Northeast. Since 2001, the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) has prepared skilled volunteers to conduct annual surveys along 1-km point count routes located in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Primary emphasis is placed on Bicknell's Thrush, a montane fir specialist that breeds only in the northeastern U.S. and adjacent portions of Canada. Other focal species include Blackpoll Warbler, Swainson's Thrush, White-throated Sparrow, and Winter Wren. In 2004, Mountain Birdwatchers gathered observations from 131 locations, with point count surveys completed on 131 routes. Bicknell's Thrush occured in lower numbers than in previous years and was detected by point count on just under half of the surveys. Counts of Winter Wren increased dramatically in 2004. For the first time, this species surpassed White-throated Sparrow and Blackpoll Warbler in measures of relative abundance and frequency of occurence. Once the most common mountian birds, White-throated Sparrows and Blackpoll Warblers have steadily declined in the survey area since 2001. The Swainson's Thrush populations remained stable, experiencing the least change over the four-year period. In addition to monitoring population levels, VINS and the Antioch New England Graduate School completed a manuscript that describes a Bicknell's Thrush distribution model constructed in GIS and validated with Mountian Birdwatch data.