Bird monitoring at George Washington Carver National Monument, Missouri: Status report

Peitz, David

In 2008, the Heartland I&M Network (HTLN) initiated breeding bird surveys on George Washington Carver National Monument (GWCA), Missouri to address three objectives: (1) to monitor changes in bird community composition and abundance, (2) to improve our understanding of breeding bird – habitat relationships and the effects of management actions on such relationships, and (3) to make our bird monitoring datasets for GWCA available to the larger bird conservation community. This report evaluates trends in the park’s breeding bird populations in the context of trends observed within the North American Bird Conservation Initiative’s (NABCI) Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region, the bird conservation region in which the park is located. By doing so, we can assess the influence of habitat management on the park on bird populations with an understanding of what population trends are doing regionally, outside the influence of GWCA natural resource management activities. Ninety-four species of birds were recorded during May-June site visits in the nine years since initiating monitoring. Ninety-one of the species are considered breeding species because they are permanent or summer residents. Seven of the breeding species recorded on GWCA are species of concern for the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region. Twelve species were observed during the survey period in sufficient numbers to calculate annual abundances and trends with some degree of confidence. The Dickcissel, Indigo Bunting, and Northern Cardinal were the most abundant and widespread species on GWCA. However, Dickcissel was the only species that had a population change (increase) in size over the nine years of monitoring. The remaining 11 species had population trends we were unable to detect with certainty, either positive or negative. Regional trends were uncertain for eight of the twelve species, including the Dickcissel. The Carolina Wren had a regional population that increased, while the Eastern Meadowlark, Indigo Bunting, and Northern Bobwhite had populations that declined. Results from our most recent bird surveys (2016) showed that three grassland obligate species were recorded, the Dickcissel, Eastern Meadowlark, and Grasshopper Sparrow. However, no woodland obligates were reported on the park. This report provides current regional and local trends for breeding birds for future comparisons with bird data collected as part of the long-term monitoring efforts at GWCA. With this report, park staff will be able to better plan management objectives, and assess the effectiveness of management alternatives. Monitoring data also provides park staff with additional information useful for interpreting natural resources.