The 2012 Ameren Missouri/World Bird Sanctuary nesting box study has come to a close.
You never know what you will see while doing field studies
The data collected still must be analyzed before any solid conclusions can be drawn. The study this season went well and now it is time for the birds to migrate to their winter homes.
The official end of the study was August 10, and unfortunately a large percentage of the last clutch was lost because of extreme heat. The good news is that the first half of the study was very successful.
Another great finding was that the newest power line cut we have nest boxes in, or the Rockwood Substation line, produced fledglings at the rate of the other two established lines. Despite the very hot weather, overall I still kept busy with banding and monitoring throughout the summer.
So down to the numbers; The Rockwood Substation nest boxes yielded 32 nests, 171 eggs, 92 babies banded, and 107 fledged. Robertsville and Robertsville State Park yielded 43 nests, 288 eggs, 118 babies banded, and 145 fledged. Highway 100 yielded 27 nests, 156 eggs, 92 babies banded, and 95 fledged. Overall the study produced 102 nests, 615 eggs, 302 babies banded, and 347 fledged.
This year would not have been as successful without the help of many people. I would like to take the time to thank personally my Ameren Missouri representative Tim Webbers for taking the time to answer many emails and phone calls this last nesting season. I would also like to thank The Landowners who were involved in the study. The interns this summer at WBS helped me push through the hot times and I would like to think that they enjoyed going out to monitor the nest boxes. To the boy scouts of America; thank you for providing us with the nest boxes used in the study.
In closing I would like to thank the WBS staff for training me on how to find all 240 nest boxes and conduct field studies in a timely fashion.
Submitted by Adam Triska, World Bird Sanctuary Field Studies Coordinator
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