Birds & Their Forest Of Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center

1. Birds & Their Forest Of Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center

2. Birds and Their Forest • The forest in this story is in the northeast corner of Minnesota, along the forested hills of Lake Superior. • Two groups of scientists study bird populations in this forest. • 16,000 students spend 3 to 5 days each roaming this forest each year.

3. Who is NRRI? • We are a group of scientists that work at the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth, MN • The Institute is a part of the University of Minnesota • Our mission is to make sure that any development of natural resources is done in an environmentally friendly manner Check out our web site www.nrri.umn.edu/mnbirds/

4. Who is Wolf Ridge? • We are an accredited residential environmental school for persons of all ages. • Our campus consists of 2,100 acres on the highlands of Lake Superior in Minnesota. • Students are immersed in outdoor experiences and observations that focus on ecology, human culture and history, personal growth, group building and outdoor recreation. Check out our web site www.wolf-ridge.org

5. Who is MAPS? • The World Bird Population Institute (WBPI) investigates the reasons why bird populations change. • The MAPS project is a part of the WBPI • The Monitoring Avain Productivity Success (MAPS) studies birds while they nest in the spring. Birds are temporarily caught and then released. Scientists estimate the number of birds born and that survive into adulthood from this information Check out are Web site www.birdpop.com

6. Meet The Scientists:JoAnn Hanowski • As a child, I spent a lot of time “in the woods” hunting and fishing with my Dad and brother. I became interested in birds in high school when I was fortunate to be able to take an ornithology class. I was intrigued with how many bird species there were and their beautiful colors. After specializing my education around birds (6 years of college), I have been documenting how birds respond to changes that humans make to the environment, for almost 20 years. I hope that my research results will help people make good decisions regarding development and forest management.

7. Meet The Scientists:Jim Lind • I have had a fascination with birds for as long as I can remember. I spent a lot of time outdoors with my family while growing up in northern Minnesota and I began “birding” in my teens. The diversity of birds we have in Minnesota, even in the middle of winter, has always amazed me. When it came time to choose a career, I knew I wanted to have a job that involved birds, preferably songbirds. During and after college, I took a variety of temporary “field jobs” which allowed me gain experience in bird research and ecology while seeing different parts of the country. Bird research is critical to understanding basic biology, as well as the potential impacts of human activities. Birding as a hobby is a low-impact, relatively inexpensive pursuit, and is something you can do just about anywhere, at any time. I feel lucky to be able to combine my love for birding with a career in bird research.

8. Meet The Naturalists: Lori Walewski • My first and second grade teacher began my interest in birds. In college a course in ornithology further excited me. An introduction to bird banding put wild birds right in my hands! Now as a teacher and bird bander, I find it rewarding to be able to be show students birds up-close and personal. It is an excellent way to expose students to research methods. Seeing research in action helps them understand where data teacher’s present comes from. It opens their eyes to different careers. Bird banding with students helps them make a more personal connection with the natural world and inspires wonder. Nothing is more awe inspiring than recapturing for the third summer a 10 gram ball of features that has recently returned from wintering in Central America.

9. Meet the Naturalists:Peter Harris • My early memories as a kid involve trekking around with my dad looking for birds. We sometimes wandered in the woods, made quick stops on the highway or ventured onto cemeteries in pursuit of birds. I did not particularly care if I was looking at a Song Sparrow or Black-capped Chickadee, I just wanted to fly into a tree like a bird. • In college I started wandering the woods and streams assisting ecologists in gathering information. From that point on I was hooked on observing birds up close through the use of bird banding. My favorite birding activity is watching a child’s expression fill with enthusiasm as a Black-capped Chickadee flutters nearby or a Common Raven rolls over there head. My job at wolf Ridge ELC enables me to take kids out to learn about birds and at the same time study birds thru bird banding.

10. Why Study Birds? • Birds are good indicators of the health of our environment • Information that we gather on bird populations can alert us to potential problems in the ecosystem

11. Wolf Ridge Forests • Over 80 species of birds nest in the forests around Wolf Ridge. • Over 150 species of forest birds occur in Minnesota.

12. Why Are There So Many Bird Species In Minnesota? • Great bird diversity is due to the many habitat types that occur here • Wolf Ridge has diverse habitats and therefore, diverse bird species

13. Forests provide a nesting spot, a home and food for birds

14. Each bird species uses a specific habitat for nesting, home and food

15. Wolf Ridge Habitat Map Scientists in a plane took pictures of the forests at Wolf Ridge. Scientists looked at these pictures to identify the different habitats Each color represents a different type of forest. We call these different forest types, habitats

16. Birds Of Upland Conifer Forest

17. Birds Of Lowland Conifer Forest

18. Birds Of Upland Deciduous Forest

19. Birds Of Lowland Hardwood Forests

20. Birds Of Upland Mixed Deciduous/Coniferous Forests

21. Birds Of Young Forests

22. Birds Of Non-forested Wetlands

23. Birds that Need Tree Cavities

24. More Cavity Birds • Wood Ducks nest in tree cavities • Northern Saw-whet Owls nest and sleep in tree cavities

25. Birds That Need Big Or Tall Trees

26. Birds: Not Just Pretty Forest Decorations • Provide important ecological functions that maintain the health of our forests.

27. Birds Plant The Forest • Blue Jays disperse acorns. • Crossbills disperse spruce and pine tree seeds.

28. Birds Control Insect Populations Nesting birds consume 50,000 caterpillars/pair/2 weeks

29. Birds Save People Money The State of Minnesota would need to spend $118,000,000/year to control insects that birds eat for free!!

30. Studies At Wolf Ridge Part Of Larger Monitoring Projects • Ornithologists from NRRI started surveying MN nesting birds in 1990. • There are over 500 MAPS bird banding sites in the US and Canada.

31. NRRI Counting Birds Almost all birds NRRI counts are heard but not seen We try not to feed the bugs

32. Why Count The Spring Birds? • NRRI’s main purpose for counting singing birds is to develop population trends for breeding birds. • NRRI is interested in letting land managers know which bird species may be in trouble

33. Why Study Birds at Wolf Ridge? • NRRI’s study plot at Wolf Ridge is one of nine, square mile areas where bird studies are conducted in northern Minnesota • NRRI uses information from our monitoring points to predict which birds should occur on these square mile plots • Data from these plots are used to check how good these predictions are.

34. Who Is That Bird? • Each kind, or species of bird sings a different song • Only male birds sing • They sing to attract a mate and defend their territory from other males • People who count birds must know a lot of bird songs

35. NRRI Surveys Many Locations NRRI counts birds at over 1400 points every summer

36. MAPS Catches Birds Researchers set up nets to catch birds during the nesting season. After catching the birds they are studied and released. Banders need special training to make sure birds are not injured. Wolf Ridge has special permits for banding birds.

37. MAPS Nets at Wolf Ridge This study site sits in the center of the NRRI bird survey. Scientists do this to make sure that changes in bird populations are not due to moving the net sites. The same net sites are used each year

38. Bird Captures at Wolf Ridge • The species, age and sex is noted for each bird caught. • 1679 individuals have been captured in mist nets at Wolf Ridge for the MAPS study • 112 individuals have been caught in more than one year

39. Who Are You? • A small band is put on the foot of each bird. • The banded birds are often caught again. • The band does not hurt birds.

40. Survivors? • The MAPS biologists look to see how many adult birds are surviving. • A higher number of survivors usually means the wintering and nesting habitats are in good condition

41. How Many Chicks? • Productivity is the number of young born. • Populations change due to changes of adult survivorship and productivity

42. Most Birds Only Live One Year • Over 90% of the individuals are captured in only one year • Adults return year after year to the same territory • Young birds “born” at Wolf Ridge disperse to other areas, most often quite a distance from their natal area

43. Old Timers Returns Home • An American Redstart has been recaptured in mist nets for 7 consecutive years. • Another individual has been caught in 5 consecutive years.

44. Year After Year • A Veery was recaptured at Wolf Ridge for 7 consecutive years. • It’s truly amazing that these birds can find the same location after a 2,000 mile trip from Central America.

45. Listen or Band Birds? • Listening and observing birds gives a great picture of the real population of birds in an area. • Banding birds only provides information on birds that fly close to the ground, but it can tell biologists more details about the population of birds than listening surveys can.

46. Most common banded 1st Nashville Warbler 2nd American Redstart 3rd Chestnut-sided Warbler 4th Ovenbird 5th Canada Warbler 6th Veery 7th White-throated Sparrow 8th Mourning Warbler 9th Black-and-white Warbler Most commonly heard 1st Ovenbird 2nd Red-eyed Vireo 3rd Chestnut-sided Warbler 4th White-throated Sparrow 5th Veery 6th American Redstart 7th Nashville Warbler 8th Black-throated Green Warbler 9th Alder Flycatcher What Birds Are Nesting At Wolf Ridge? Mist nets adequately capture the most common birds Especially those that “live” closer to the ground

47. Numbers Numbers ? Biologists take the information generated from studies such as NRRIs and MAPS and construct trends in bird populations Increasing Productivity? MAPS study suggest a slight increase of young hatched overall for all species banded at Wolf Ridge. Decreasing Population? Both studies suggest a stable to slight decrease in overall breeding bird population at Wolf Ridge. Some species are increasing and others decreasing.

48. Trends Trends Trends Wildlife managers, foresters and politicians want to know how bird populations react to various changes in their habitat, so they can: • Manage forests • Write laws • Manage housing developments • Manage recreational activities • Manage hunting • Etc.

49. Going Down ! Wolf Ridge Compared to Nearby Superior National Forest • Nine species declining in Superior National Forest including species in graph • All species at Wolf Ridge, except the Black-throated Green Warbler agree in general with declining trends in the Superior National Forest

50. Going Up! Wolf Ridge Compared to Nearby Superior National Forest • Eight species increasing in SNF, 4 are uncommon at Wolf Ridge • Four species, the red-eyed vireo, black-capped chickadee, magnolia warbler and swamp sparrow show increases at Wolf Ridge and in the Superior National Forest