Hi Folks,



 



I will also post the following in the bird forum to accomodate readers of both the listserv & the forum.



 



This will speak to how the 20 species were determined for Ohio.



 



Audubon scientists, based in our national science office in Ivyland, PA, worked with John Sauer and others at USGS Patuxent to determine trends for species recorded in Ohio on the BBS and CBC.  Statistics were run on the trends (see technical report on Audubon web-site for description of statistics methodology).  Statistical results were then scored for reliability, sample size, precision, etc.  The methodology used was based on peer-reviewed & published methods (see technical report for those papers), and have been used elsewhere to generate trend results; however this is the first time that the trends have been used together.  The national report will be written and submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication.



 



The species that were identified were “common” species or rather species with total population estimates (determined by Partners in Flight) of 500,000 or more and/ with ranges of 385,000 sq. miles or more (as determined by NatureServe), and/or do not qualify as a WatchList species.  So these species are widespread and abundant species, and are not necessarily endangered.



 



History has taught us that abundant and widespread species are important indicators of habitat quality and availability.  Passenger Pigeons, a common species which once dominated the skies over Ohio, and were estimated to have a total population of more than 2 BILLION birds, are thought to have become extinct at the beginning of the 20th century as a result of the loss of habitat and food supply as the eastern deciduous forests were felled for timber and farmland, and from pressure from over-hunting.



 



Each state office received a list of the species that had trends of -50% or more over the last 40 years on either the BBS or CBC or both.  



 



Each state was asked to identify 5 species to highlight from the list, to supplement the national list at the state level.  We worked to identify five species that were indicative of some of the major habitat types within Ohio (wetlands, forests, grasslands, human-dominated, and shrublands).  We also worked to identify five species that people throughout Ohio had a likelihood of being familiar with.  For example, if someone likes to go fishing, boating, or canoeing they’ve probably encountered a Green Heron a few times.  A lot of people, but farmers in particular, are probably familiar with seeing Eastern Meadowlarks perched on fence posts along farm fields and grasslands.  Red-headed Woodpeckers, a forest species, is occasionally encountered at bird-feeders and even in urban oases, like Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus.  I’m sure many backyard bird enthusiasts are familiar with Northern Flickers that visit their feeders.  Essentially, in appropriate habitat, you have a pretty good chance of encountering one of these five species.



 



Several of these five species have also been recognized elsewhere as declining in Ohio (e.g. Peterjohn’s Birds of Ohio), and much of this decline has been attributed to habitat loss. 



 



Now then, while we chose to highlight five familiar species that are declining, according to our data they’re not the only species that have experienced declines greater than 50% over the last 40 years.  We found that there are at least 21 species, which we have good reliable data on from the BBS &/or CBC, that have also experienced declines during that same period of time. 



 



OHIO TRENDS



1.) Northern Bobwhite= -99% 



2.) Grasshopper Sparrow= -97% 



3.) *Henslow’s Sparrow= -85% 



4.) Green Heron = -82% 



5.) Vesper Sparrow= -81% 



6.) *Cerulean Warbler= -80% 



7.) *Red-headed Woodpecker= -78% 



8.) Eastern Meadowlark= -75% 



9.) Bobolink= -70% 



10.) Hairy Woodpecker= -68% 



11.) Northern Flicker= -67% 



12.) Bank Swallow= -64% 



13.) Red-winged Blackbird= -64% 



14.) Yellow-breasted Chat= -63% 



15.) Savannah Sparrow= -62% 



16.) Acadian Flycatcher= -61% 



17.) Eastern Wood Pewee= -60% 



18.) Field Sparrow= -59% 



19.) American Redstart= -58% 



20.) *Prairie Warbler= -54% 



21.) Great-crested Flycatcher= -52% 



 



(note: there were a couple of errors in the lists previously reported=Vesper Sparrow has experienced an 81% decline, not 91% as reported elsewhere, and Grasshopper Sparrow has experienced a 97% decline, not 99%).



 



Several of these 21 species are already captured by the state or national WatchList (*bolded), so were omitted from the state fact sheet (you’ll note that Red-headed Woodpecker is a WatchList species, but one that many people in Ohio are probably familiar with in some way).  Other species would probably be more recognizable by skilled birders, and while they’re in decline we felt that other representative species would be better to highlight to a broad audience.  For example, Northern Bobwhite, Grasshopper Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Henslow’s Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Bobolink, Savannah Sparrow, and Field Sparrow are all species of grassland habitats, but more people are probably familiar with Eastern Meadowlarks than most of the sparrows, the Bobolink, or the bobwhite.



 



Declining species were highlighted initially, though additional trends, including species that are potentially increasing, will be covered at a later time.  Additionally, current WatchList species will be evaluated as well as potential WatchList species.  We currently have data for 131 species from the BBS for Ohio and 126 species from the CBC for Ohio (194 species—overlap of 64 species).



 



So hopefully this helps explain things to some extent.  If you have specific questions contact me directly and I can do my best to answer those questions for you.



 



Here are some additional resources that might be helpful, if you’re interested in learning more about this.



 



Audubon Common Birds in Decline Technical Report (http://www.audubon.org/bird/stateofthebirds/CBID/report.php <http://www.audubon.org/bird/stateofthebirds/CBID/report.php> ) 



 



Partners in Flight (PIF) High Priority Needs for Range-wide Monitoring



(http://www.partnersinflight.org/ <http://www.partnersinflight.org/> )



 



PIF Species Assessment Handbook



(http://www.rmbo.org/pif/process/process.html <http://www.rmbo.org/pif/process/process.html> ) 



 



North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) Opportunities for Improving Avian Monitoring



(http://www.nabci-us.org/main2.html <http://www.nabci-us.org/main2.html> )



 



Monitoring the Abundance of Bird Populations by Jonathan Bart (The Auk. 2005)



(http://cmsu2.cmsu.edu/public/classes/vjackson/Karla/bird_abund.pdf <http://cmsu2.cmsu.edu/public/classes/vjackson/Karla/bird_abund.pdf> ) 



 



Thanks,



 



Casey Tucker



Education Specialist



Audubon Ohio