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MIGRATION MONITORING

White-throated Sparrow

The LSLBO is part of an international effort to monitor landbird migrations. We are a full member of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network, sponsored by Bird Studies Canada and Canadian Wildlife Services (Environment Canada).

METHODOLOGY

Daily Constant Effort Mistnetting
A standardized daily constant effort mistnetting procedure, developed at the Manomet Bird Observatory in, is used. It produces a daily count from which trends in annual indices of abundance are calculated. These trends are positively correlated with trends derived independently from the Breeding Bird Survey.

Visible Migration Counts
At set intervals and locations, field staff conduct Visible Migration Counts. They record every bird species observed within a defined space. Visible Migration Counts provide the only real opportunity to track population changes in remote boreal breeding landbird migrants such as the Gray-checked thrush, Cape May warbler, and Bay-breasted warbler, all of which are encountered at the LSLBO.

Daily Estimated Totals
Using a combination of the mistnetting results, the visible migration counts, and casual observations, a daily estimated total is derived for each recorded bird species.