Hello again
everybody. It’s me again, Neal Cowan, back for another exciting summer at The
World Bird Sanctuary.
This year
I will be taking over as Field Studies Coordinator for World
Bird Sanctuary.
With the help of Ameren Missouri, we
are studying the effects of vegetation control
techniques on cavity nesters in the right-of-ways under the major power
lines. I am very excited to be a
part of this study.
One of the nestboxes we will monitor
Our work
began mid-February when I was introduced to our Ameren Missouri liaison, and
together we began planning for the new season. Starting in the cold weather of February, I have been finding, cleaning, and repairing (in many
cases replacing) the 240 nest boxes we have in the field.
Spring is
in the air now and I have begun monitoring every
box for signs of life as Missouri songbirds start looking for an inviting spot
to raise a family. The weather has
not been particularly cooperative as of late, but I have faith in the resolve
and determination of the songbirds of Missouri. I am looking forward to a good
year.
The study centers around right-of-ways such as this one
The World
Bird Sanctuary was initially contacted by Ameren Missouri for this study back
in 2004. There are two main
methods used by Ameren to keep the right-of-ways clear: spraying herbicide, and
mowing. It was their concern for
the environmental impact of these methods that started this study, which aims to
understand precisely how these procedures used to control the vegetation within right-of-ways
are impacting the ecosystem. To
this end we have eighty nest boxes along each of three lines: a line that is
mowed only, a line that is just sprayed with herbicide and one that is managed
using a combination of mowing and spraying.
I know
what you must be thinking: a study that focuses only on songbirds is not likely
to give you a very complete picture, but I would beg to differ. Songbirds are an excellent indicator of
the overall health of any environment (at least any environment that is
naturally home to songbirds).
Trying to determine the environmental health of, say, Antarctica through
songbirds might not work out as well.
Overall, songbirds are well understood in their habits and anatomy, they
stand out in their respective environments both visibly and audibly, and are
relatively sensitive to subtle changes in their respective ecosystems. When
times get tough, we see it in the birds; that is why they make an excellent
indicator species, and why they are the focus of our study.
Over the
past nine years of this study, it has been passed down to many people, all of
whom have brought new insight and ideas for getting the most out of the
data. Last year’s Field Studies
Coordinator brought things forward and did some amazing work cleaning up the
process. I am very excited to be a
part of this study for the 2013 season and hope that I am able to contribute to
this fascinating work.
Submitted
by Neal Cowan, World Bird Sanctuary Field Studies Coordinator
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