Streamside bird monitoring in the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network: Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site 2007–2019
Marshall MR. 2021. Streamside bird monitoring in the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network: Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site 2007–2019. Natural Resource Report. NPS/ERMN/NRR—2021/2311. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/nrr-2287583
This report summarizes the first 12 years of monitoring (2007 to 2019) the streamside bird community at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site (Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS). During that time period one observer conducted 372 point count surveys detecting 2,759 individual birds at 17 point count stations within the park. Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS contains a rich and diverse streamside bird community with a total 64 species detected; 58 of which are target species and presumed to be breeding in the park during summer months. The majority of the 20 most abundant species were forest-associated species including both forest interior species and forest generalist species but also a large number of species that thrive in human modified (in this case suburban) landscapes with sufficient tree and shrub cover. Fifteen species overall and six of the 20 most abundant species were of conservation importance in the Appalachian Mountains bird conservation region, highlighting the significance of even a relatively small park like Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS to avian conservation. Almost all of the species of conservation importance at the park were species dependent on intact, mature, deciduous forest as habitat for nesting and breeding. Management actions that maintain and improve the condition of forested habitats in the park (and regionally) will likely be beneficial to maintaining these bird populations as well. Trends in unadjusted abundance over the period of monitoring were assessed for the 58 species in the defined target population (Table E-1). Trends in adjusted abundance that take into account detection probability were estimated for 24 species for which there were sufficient data. Both estimates were included in this report to provide multiple lines of evidence when assessing population trends.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Marshall, Matt
- Date of Issue
- 2021-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/nrr-2287583
- Units
- ALPO , ERMN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, ALPO, avian conservation, bird monitoring, breeding birds, Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network, ERMN, long-term population trends, point count survey, streamside bird
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Subsurface Geologic Processes | Geothermal Features and Processes