Bird Research Projects
Bird Banding
This research project focuses on documenting the difference in migrant species abundance and diversity between two bird banding sites to assess the impact of such factors as increased human activity, noise, and encroaching urban development. One site (a public park) experiences high volume human traffic and site disturbance (noise), while the other site (a private nature preserve) has low human traffic and minimal site disturbance. Both sites have very similar habitat – forested areas of beech-maple and oak-hickory, secondary growth species, shrubby thickets, streams, and fields that provide diverse habitats for migrating, nesting, and wintering birds. By comparing the banding results at these two sites over a number of years we hope to demonstrate the impact of increased human activity and urban growth on migration patterns and provide habitat management guidelines for improving avian biodiversity at both sites.
Nest Box Monitoring
This research project is an ongoing nest box monitoring project at the Ellington Agricultural Center site in Davidson County. The purpose of this project is to track survival and reproductive success of a wide range of cavity nesting species (primarily bluebirds, Carolina chickadees, titmice, Carolina wrens, and tree swallows). Throughout the nesting season we collect such records as nest site location, habitat, species, and number of eggs, young, and fledglings and evaluate population success rates. The results of this ongoing research can be used to study the current condition of breeding bird populations and how they may be changing over time as a result of climate change, habitat degradation and loss, expansion of urban areas, and the introduction of non-native plants and animals. This project is part of the NestWatch program sponsored by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and our data becomes part of their database.