Mountain Birdwatch Releases Peer-reviewed Monitoring Standards Document

We are pleased to announce the release of “Mountain Birdwatch: Protocol and Standard Operating Procedures for Monitoring High-elevation Landbirds in the Northern Appalachian and Laurentian Regions” (download PDF). This peer-reviewed document represents nearly two years of effort to increase the scientific and conservation value of high-elevation bird monitoring from the Catskills to Cape Breton.

The new program, developed by dozens of scientists and bird conservation professionals, builds on the success of previous mountain bird monitoring initiatives by:

* Establishing unified and measurable monitoring objectives linked to an international Bicknell’s Thrush conservation action plan;
* Standardizing field methods across four northeastern states and three eastern Canadian provinces;
* Adopting modern count procedures that enable estimates of avian density and occupancy; and
* Enhancing the management and exchange of survey results to provide more timely information to conservation decision-makers.

In addition, the new protocol emphasizes the importance of delivering useful conservation tools and increasing public understanding of mountain bird ecology.

The Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE), Bird Studies Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service will implement the program, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and state and provincial natural resource agencies playing vital supporting roles. Representatives of several other institutions made key contributions to this document, including American Bird Conservancy, North Carolina State University, the University of Massachusetts, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (USGS).

Beginning in January, John Lloyd will oversee VCE’s involvement in this international collaboration, with Julie Hart continuing to provide volunteer coordination and data management services in the U.S. After 10 years as VCE’s Mountain Birdwatch director, Dan Lambert will spend the next couple years at home with his kids - except in June, when he’ll head back into the mountains as a volunteer observer. In Canada, Yves Aubry of the Canadian Wildlife Service (Quebec) and Becky Whittam of Bird Studies Canada (Atlantic program) will lead the charge.