Summary of Bird Monitoring at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve 2009

Munts, Michael

Bird surveys were run on 10 point count transects during June of 2009. The surveys were performed on ten routes in both the Monument and the Preserve. There were a total of 2011 individuals of 79 species observed on 175 point counts. The 10 most numerous birds were Brewer’s Sparrow, Rock Wren, Western Meadowlark, Western Tanager, American Coot, Mourning Dove, Spotted Towhee, Brewer’s Blackbird, Lazuli Bunting and Canada Goose. The Brewer’s Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Rock Wren, Western Tanager, Sage Thrasher, Common Ravens, Chipping Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, and Western Meadowlark were all recorded on six or more of the transects. A total of 143 species were recorded at CRMO during 2009. Two of these (Blue Grosbeak and Whitewinged Crossbill) had not been previously documented at CRMO. Forty-seven percent (67 of 143) of the species recorded are listed as sensitive by the state of Idaho, the BLM, the USFWS, or are a Partners in Flight priority species (Table 5). Sage-grouse lek counts were continued in 2009 and a total high count of 139 male birds were observed on the Golden Chariot lek complex in the northwest portion of the preserve. Although still below the peak in 2007 the five year average continues to increase. The Christmas Bird Count was restarted at Craters of the Moon in 2005. The 2009 count was done on 29 December. Two volunteers and one member of the park staff participated in the count. Over the day 213 birds of 20 species were recorded.

Summary of Bird Monitoring at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve 2009

Collections