Bird Community Monitoring at Homestead National Monument of America, Nebraska
Peitz DG. 2010. Bird Community Monitoring at Homestead National Monument of America, Nebraska. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/HTLN/NRDS—2010/046. National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center. Fort Collins, Colorado
Bird surveys and habitat assessment work were initiated at Homestead National Monument of America, Nebraska in 2009, to assist the park in assessing the ecological integrity of both the prairie and woodland habitats through time. Forty-three of the 47 bird species are permanent or summer residents to the area (Stokes and Stokes 1996). Two grassland obligates species were recorded in the prairie, the Dickcissel and Grasshopper sparrow. Three species--Barred owl (Strix varia), Worm-eating warbler, and Yellow-throated vireo (Vireo flavifrons)--are more or less obligates to mature hardwood forest (Stokes and Stokes 1996). The remaining 38 resident species are habitat generalist, mixed woodland species, shrub species, or edge specialist. Habitat diversity (structural composition) is important to high priority species, as their microhabitat requirements will vary (Pashley and Barrow 1993). For example, Red-bellied woodpecker prefers woodlands and urban / suburban forest, and Grasshopper sparrow prefers prairie, dry weed fields and pastures, but most other species of continental importance observed require thick shrubby or old field habitat (Stokes and Stokes 1996). Current efforts to restore and maintain the prairie and woodlands at HOME should provide a diversity of habitats necessary to support the nine species of continental importance observed in the survey.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Peitz, David
- Date of Issue
- 2010-04
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center
- Units
- HOME , HTLN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Abundance (Biodiversity), Bird, Communities, Distribution (Biodiversity), HTLN Breeding Birds Monitoring Reports, Observations, Populations, Prairie, Presence (Biodiversity), Species, Taxa Links To Datasets, Woodland