Bird community monitoring at Arkansas Post National Memorial, Arkansas: Status report 2007–2019

Peitz, David; Kull, Kathleen

Breeding bird surveys were initiated on Arkansas Post National Memorial, Arkansas, in 2007 to assess temporal changes in the species composition and abundance of birds on the park. These data also improve our under-standing of relationships between breeding birds and their habitat and the effects of management actions, such as invasive plant species control and timber stand thinning, on bird populations. Birds were sampled using point counts with 36 variable circular plots located on a systematic grid of 200 x 200-m cells (originating from a random start point). All birds seen or heard on a plot during a 5-min sampling period were recorded. Birds were surveyed on as many of the 36 variable circular plots as possible in 11 of the last 13 years, resulting in 367 plot visits. Surveys have yielded records for 105 different species of birds. Ninety-three of the species recorded are classified as permanent or summer residents to the area, four are classified as migrants through the area, four are classified as winter residents to the area, and four as transient in the area. Eight species recorded are considered species of conservation concern for the Mississippi Alluvial Valley Bird Conservation Region, the bird conservation region in which Arkansas Post National Memorial is located. Seventeen of the 93 resident species were recorded on the park frequently enough to determine trends in their populations. With 71% of the 212 ha of terrestrial vegetation on Arkansas Post National Memorial in various woodland types, it is not surprising that about 32 of the breeding bird species recorded utilize this habitat type. Based on population trends, the bird community at Arkansas Post National Memorial is faring similarly to or better than the bird communities in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley Bird Conservation Region as a whole. Only the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) population on the park is faring poorer at the park scale than at the regional scale. Increasing diversity and richness values, along with stable evenness values, suggest that the park’s habitat is improving in terms of its ability to meet the needs of more breeding bird species, and the habitat currently present provides for the rich array of breeding species observed annually. However, this species-rich community structure could be altered if significant portions of the park’s woodlands were removed, or if some of the less common habitats were lost.

Bird community monitoring at Arkansas Post National Memorial, Arkansas: Status report 2007–2019

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