Summary of Bird Monitoring at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve 2007

Munts, Michael

Bird surveys were run on 10 point count transects during June of 2007. The surveys were performed on ten routes in both the Monument and the Preserve. There were a total of 1775 individuals of 73 species observed on 167 point counts. The most numerous birds were Brewer’s Sparrow, Rock Wren, Spotted Towhee, Mourning Dove, Western Meadowlark, American Coot, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Chipping Sparrow, Sage Thrasher, and Brewer’s Blackbird. The Mourning Dove, Rock Wren, Brewer’s Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Common Raven, Violet-green Swallow, Mountain Bluebird, Chipping Sparrow, and Northern Flicker and were all recorded on six or more of the transects. A total of 145 species were recorded at CRMO during 2007. Three of these (Trumpeter Swan, Western Sandpiper, and Lesser Yellowlegs) had not been previously documented at CRMO. All were recorded during migrant surveys in the vicinity of Lava Lake. Fourty-nine percent (71 of 145) of the species recorded are listed as sensitive by the state of Idaho, the BLM, or are a Partners in Flight priority species (Table 5). Sage-grouse lek counts were continued in 2007 and a total high count of 196 birds were observed on seven leks that were visited. Most of these were part of the Golden Chariot lek complex in the northwest portion of the preserve. The other lek visited was on the Grassy Flow near Little Park. As of 2005 this was the only other active lek documented in the Preserve. The Christmas Bird Count was restarted at Craters of the Moon in 2005. The 2007 count was done on December 21. Eight volunteers and one member of the park staff participated in the count. Over the day 203 birds of 26 species were recorded.

Summary of Bird Monitoring at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve 2007

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