Navigation
Content
Footer

Block title

Main Navigation Menu:

About Us
- Staff
- Lab
- Employment
- Transportation Grants
- Education
- Visit Us
- Mammal List
- Bird List
- Waivers
Live Cameras
- Trail Cameras
- Live Video
Photos
Videos
- MPG Conference Videos
Research
- Published Papers
Field Notes
Dispatches
Maps
- Habitat Restoration
- Raptor Tracker

What would you like to learn about?

2019 Fall Migration Report

You are here:

Home
Research
2019 Fall Migration Report

Block title

2019 Fall Migration Report

January 21, 2020

The UM Bird Ecology Lab (UMBEL) has been studying fall songbird migration continuously since 2011. This report highlights long-term trends and research directions.

2019-12-21_TR-1.jpg

Songbird Fall Migration Research Update

2019-12-21_TR-2.jpg

In 2019, we operated mist-netting stations at the northern Floodplain and Miller Creek meadow to monitor birds as they stopped over during their migration.

2019-12-21_TR-3.jpg

Long term, constant-effort mist-netting provides valuable information about birds that could not be otherwise acquired.

2019-12-21_TR-4.jpg

Between our two monitoring sites, capture rates at Miller Creek meadow were lower than at northern Floodplain

2019-12-21_TR-5.jpg

Our most surprising capture of the season was a Lesser Goldfinch

2019-12-21_TR-6.jpg

We have noticed a sudden increase in Evening Grosbeak captures over the last two years.

2019-12-21_TR-7.jpg

As we reported in our mid-season update, we captured significantly fewer Cedar Waxwings around the northern Floodplain than in 2018

2019-12-21_TR-8.jpg

We operated four temporary banding stations throughout the Bitterroot Valley to assist Project Night Flight (PNF) in 2019

2019-12-21_TR-9.jpg

Long term banding allows us to examine capture rates, among other metrics, to provide context for trends vs. annual variation.

2019-12-21_TR-10.jpg

In collaboration with MPG and UMBEL, Joely DeSimone (PhD candidate with Dr. Creagh Breuner at UM) is working to understand physiology and stopover ecology during fall migration.

2019-12-21_TR-11.jpg

In addition to detections from Motus towers, the crew also used handheld receivers to locate Pine Siskins at least twice a day while they remained on the ranch.

2019-12-21_TR-12.jpg

The migrations of two Gray Catbirds from MPG Ranch to the gulf coast of Texas.

2019-12-21_TR-13.jpg

Research Direction: Comparison of methods for monitoring migrating bird populations

2019-12-21_TR-14.jpg

Mist-net captures accounted for the largest species diversity, but ARUs picked up 16 additional species that were never captured in a mist-net.

2019-12-21_TR-15.jpg

This analysis suggests that the two methods do not provide exactly the same results; each performs differently in its ability to detect different species as well as relative abundance of a species.

2019-12-21_TR-16.jpg

Townsend’s Solitaire is a member of the Turdidae (thrush) family and can be identified by their buffy eye ring and distinctive buffy wing patch.

2019-12-21_TR-17.jpg

We captured this Dark-eyed “Oregon” Junco at the floodplain as it stopped to rest and refuel during its migration south.

2019-12-21_TR-18.jpg

Appendix I. Capture Summary for the 2019 Fall Migration Banding Season.

2019-12-21_TR-19.jpg

Appendix I (continued). Capture Summary for the 2019 Fall Migration Banding Season.

2019-12-21_TR-20.jpg

Appendix II. Species/groups of species that were detected by both banding and ARU methods and used to evaluate consistency of detecting relative abundance of species.

Previous Research Report

Fall 2017 UMBEL Migration Summary

Next Research Report

2020 Intermountain Grassland Songbird Project Report

Related Research Reports

2020 Woody Draw Songbird Research Report

January 29th, 2021

By: Anna Noson and Tricia Rodriguez

Avian Science Center 2014 Annual Report

November 25th, 2014

By: Tricia Rodriguez, Megan Fylling, and Michael Krzywicki

2013 Mapping Songbird Territories in Woody Draws on the MPG Ranch

October 1st, 2013

By: Anna Noson

Related Dispatches

Artificial Intelligence Helps Us Study How Birds Migrate at Night

March 30th, 2021

By: Debbie Leick and Kate Stone

Do Red-breasted Nuthatch Migrate Triennially?

February 4th, 2021

By: Kate Stone and Debbie Leick

Block title

About Us
- Staff
- Lab
- Employment
- Transportation Grants
- Education
- Visit Us
- Mammal List
- Bird List
- Waivers
Live Cameras
- Trail Cameras
- Live Video
Photos
Videos
- MPG Conference Videos
Research
- Published Papers
Field Notes
Dispatches
Maps
- Habitat Restoration
- Raptor Tracker

Protecting open space for future generations

Facebook