Silver City Bird Census
Southwestern New Mexico is a special place for birds. The region supports some of richest diversity of bird species in North America both year round and seasonally during breeding and migration. It is the habitats of our area, and the juxtaposition of our area with contrasting ecosystems of both tropical environments to the south and colder ecosystems to the north that attract so many species of birds to our region.
The Silver City Bird Census is a community citizen science project to monitor bird populations long-term and track environmental changes across a variety of bird habitats encompassing Silver City and its surroundings. The goal is to monitor regional bird diversity and relative abundance over the long-term with a focus on conservation, community science and education of all participants. Active participation by a diverse spectrum of community members is essential for the long-term success of these science and conservation efforts.
The project was the brainchild of WNMU professor William Norris brought to life through a collaboration with the Bird Alliance of Southwestern New Mexico.
Why Count Birds?
Bird populations are affected by human impact, habitat loss, avian diseases, climate change and wildfires. Long-term data provide information on species diversity, relative abundance, migration timing, and trends that help identify populations requiring conservation action. Changes in distribution and status can also serve as an early-warning system by highlighting potential environmental problems, can help refine research priorities, and can help track the success of conservation efforts.
Data and Reports
The bird census uses a standardized protocol that will allow reliable statistical comparisons of particularly rich bird areas ("hotspots") between months and across years. Repeated estimates of relative bird abundance at the same points on a monthly basis while noting the current weather conditions and the condition of the surrounding ecosystem will provide consistent data concerning the composition and health of the avian community.
Target Habitats
Point count bird surveys are done monthly at 7 locations: Bear Mountain Lodge, Little Cherry Creek Ranch, City of Rocks State Park, Iron Bridge, Lake Roberts, Mangas Springs, and San Vicente Creek. These sites were chosen because they are eBird hot spots and they represent different habitats and elevations: riparian, desert scrub, grassland, Pinyon-Juniper woodland, mixed conifers and a mountain lake. Two points at least 250 meters apart were selected at each location as being representative of that habitat, so a total of 14 points are being monitored.
Click the map to view full screen →
Click here to download Google Earth file (KMZ)
Click here to download GPS coordinates of observation points
Map courtesy of Megan Ruehmann
How to Participate
To be successful, this research effort requires the contributions from diverse members of our community, both experienced birders and those just beginning, all with an abiding fascination for birds and their natural history.
Birders of all skill levels are welcome.
One experienced birder is the team leader for each site. Other observers may be experienced birders or “birders in training”. The survey provides the opportunity for birders of different skill levels to interact and learn from each other. You can adopt a census site of your choosing.
The survey is done once a month in the morning for about 2-3 hours total time.
Experienced birders can volunteer as “back-up” observers to cover for vacation, illness, or unexpected absenteeism.
What’s Involved?
summary of protocol here
Resources for Bird Census Participants
Observation Protocol
Site leader contact info
Bird ID Skill Training and Resources
Training
Kim Scott’s Birding by Ear “tips and tricks” handout
Dendroica: Browse through species in particular regions to see pictures and listen to songs and calls, develop custom species list of species for study, and take quizzes.
eBird: Photo and sound quizzes based on date and location of your choosing
Apps
Merlin Bird ID: Cornell app for identifying birds by sight and song
Larkwire: Interactive games that simulate real birding scenarios, helping you identify birds by sound and sight.
Song Sleuth: Sibley bird song identification assistant
Dendroica: An interactive website that helps improve skills at identifying by sight or by sound
A useful free web training on Birding by Ear is available at: https://www.natureinstruct.org/dendroica
Collections of images and sounds
FAQ
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Birders of all levels are welcome
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Binoculars are critical! Bird Alliance of SW NM has binoculars to lend interested participants.
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Volunteers can participate regularly for a monthly site visit or be “on call” when their calendars allow.
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Email the site leaders to find out the upcoming site count dates:
Bear Mountain Lodge: Devyn Scott, devynscott01@gmail.com
City of Rocks: Bill Norris, william.norris@wnmu.edu
Iron Bridge: Linda Moore, raptors.linda@yahoo.com
Lake Roberts: Brian Dolton, tchernabyelo@yahoo.co.uk
Little Cherry Creek Trail: Madison Vasquez, madison.vasquez@wnmu.edu
Mangas Springs: Heidi Erstad, erstadh@gmail.com
San Vicente: Will Mora, healthassociates2003@yahoo.com
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The team in the field discusses observations and a group consensus is used to clarify what species you were hearing or seeing.
Get In Touch
If you're interested in being a part of the Silver City Bird Census or have questions, please complete the form and someone on our team will get back to you or email us at silvercitybirdcensus@gmail.com.
About Us
The Silver City Bird Census Planning Team meets periodically to discuss progress of the project and make adjustments along the way. Team members include: Maria Conklin, Yziah Jimenez, Will Mora, Linda Moore, Bill Norris, Devyn Scott, Madi Vasquez, and Jeff Yeo.
Any Silver City Bird Census participants are welcome to attend these planning meetings. Contact the team at silvercitybirdcensus@gmail.com for date, time and location.
Ebird user profile: Silver City Bird Census