Initiative Leader: Mark Shieldcastle, Black Swamp Bird Observatory
The goal of the Banding and Ground Surveys Working Group of the Midwest Migration Network is to develop and implement a coordinated bird banding and ground survey program to answer regional questions about migration patterns and migratory landbird demographics across the Midwest.
To address goals, the Banding & Ground Surveys Working Group will lead:
- Development, implementation, and administration of a long-term multi-level monitoring program for landbirds during migration, including training
- Standardization of avian migration banding and point count data collection
- Development of a network of collaborators and cooperators
- Filling knowledge gaps in existing programs (e.g., MAPS and MoSI) to better inform full life cycle models for North American landbirds.
Coordinated multi-level data collection will maximize both researcher participation and spatial coverage across the region. Data collection standardization is of utmost importance for long-term regional analyses but must be flexible to accurately characterize the variety of habitats across the Great Lakes/Upper Mississippi River Region.