Monitoring the birds of Badlands National Park: 2011 report
Birek J, White C, Drilling N, Van Lanen N, Pavlacky D, Blakesley J, Sparks R, Fogg J, McLaren M, Hanni D. 2014. Monitoring the birds of Badlands National Park: 2011 report. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/NGPN/NRTR—2014/836. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) of the National Park Service (NPS) and Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) conducted landbird surveys in the North Unit of Badlands National Park in 2011 as part of NPS’s Vital Signs monitoring program. RMBO developed a spatially balanced sampling design and field survey procedure based on those implemented in 12 states as part of a program titled “Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions” (IMBCR). The IMBCR design produces estimates of avian species occurrence and population sizes from local to Bird Conservation Region (BCR) scales, facilitating conservation at local and national levels. In the North Unit of Badlands National Park, twenty-five 1-square-km cells were selected in each of two substrata (alluvial soils and non-alluvial soils) using generalized random-tessellation stratification (GRTS), a spatially-balanced sampling algorithm. Point count technicians surveyed landbirds at each of 16 points spaced 250m apart in a 4 x 4 grid within each selected cell. Each count, conducted within 5 hours of sunrise, lasted 6 minutes during which technicians recorded all birds heard and seen. RMBO completed 581 point counts between 22 May and 8 July, 2011. Field technicians observed 81 bird species including 20 priority species. Technicians also conducted the Cedar Pass Breeding Bird Survey and detected 12 species, including three species of concern, on the 13 stops that occur within the Badlands National Park boundary. Point count data was used to estimate density, population size, and occupancy for species with sufficient sample sizes.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Birek, Jeff; White, Chris; Drilling, Nancy; Van Lanen, Nick; Pavlacky, David; Blakesley, Jennifer; Sparks, Rob; Fogg, Jora; McLaren, Matthew; Hanni, David
- Date of Issue
- 2014-01
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- BADL , NGPN , NRSS
- Keywords
- landbird monitor, landbird monitoring, monitoring report
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Birds