M.A.P.S. Bird Monitoring Station
"Citizen Science" projects are becoming popular throughout the United States. One such project is called M.A.P.S. (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship). It is a research project coordinated by the Institute for Bird Populations in Point Reyes, California. The purpose of this long-range project is to monitor breeding birds from late May to early August at over 500 sites in the United States and Canada. The MSUM Regional Science Center has operated a MAPS Station on land that includes its Buffalo River Site and adjacent Buffalo River State Park since the summer of 2000. About 25 volunteers donate over 600 hours of service each year.
The Buffalo River Bird Monitoring Station encompasses fifty acres. Two monitoring methods are utilized--bird banding and field surveys. Ten large mist nets are used to capture birds. On seven mornings throughout the summer, birds are banded, processed and released. Recapture of banded birds provides extremely useful data. Field surveys are conducted to determine the birds' breeding status--migrant, probable breeder, likely breeder or transient. The goal is to analyze site fidelity (will birds return to the site?), recruitment (will birds fledged at the site return as adults?), and productivity (how many birds are produced?)
Here is a link to a PowerPoint that includes pictures illustrating the banding process at our station and data from the years the station ahs been participating in the MAPS program.