Breeding bird atlas survey in Maryland

January 20, 2003

by Dave Wilson. Wilson is the public outreach coordinator for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program.

This year, the Coastal Bays Program will be helping out with an ambitious project to measure changes in breeding bird populations in the watershed. In 1983, the Maryland Ornithological Society along with other conservation groups gathered researchers and volunteers from around the state to conduct a 5-year breeding bird atlas survey of Maryland. In 1987, this landmark effort culminated in the 500-page "Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Maryland and the District of Columbia."

Twenty years later, the time has come to reassess what is going on with birds breeding in the state. Have distributions changed? Are populations increasing or decreasing and why? Do certain habitats need to be protected? For this second highly touted Ornithological Society effort, the Coastal Bays Program is contributing funding and volunteering staff time to study breeding birds in the 17 specified blocks that make up the county. With the most diverse bird population in Maryland, Worcester County is of particular interest to researchers.

The 1983 survey showed Worcester to boast not only more species, but more rare, threatened and endangered species than any county. This next round, scientists expect increases in several southern species and decreases in forest- and grassland-dependent species. Pelicans, ibis, some egrets and some songbirds continue to spread north as global climate temperatures increase.

Breeding species the county was at the top in for 1983-1987 included great egrets, snowy egrets, little blue herons, tri-colored herons, black-crowned night herons, northern harriers, clapper rails, American oystercatchers, willets, laughing gulls, herring gulls, great black-backed gulls, gull-billed terns, royal terns, common terns, Forster's terns, least terns, black skimmers, chuck-wills-widows, red-headed woodpeckers, boat-tailed grackles, seaside sparrows, salt marsh-tailed sparrows, summer tanagers, Louisiana waterthushes, ovenbirds, worm-eating warblers, prothonotary warblers, black and white warblers, prairie warblers, pine warblers, yellow-throated warblers, yellow throated vireos, blue-gray gnatcatchers, Carolina wrens, brown creepers, and brown-headed nuthatches. In addition to breeding, the county serves as the primary north-south thoroughfare for migrating ducks, raptors, wading birds and songbirds. County residents should be proud of this natural legacy and strive to protect the habitat these creatures need in order to continue to enrich our lives.

To volunteer, above-average or better birders should contact Walter Ellison at 410-778-9568 or visit www.mdbirds.org/atlas.html. Property owners interested in which birds are breeding on their property can help by calling Ellison to allow researchers access to their land. This project represents the most comprehensive bird work in Maryland.

Part of the National Estuary Program, the Maryland Coastal Bays Program is a cooperative effort between Worcester County, Berlin, and Ocean City which have come together to produce the first ever management plan for their bays. Home    |    About Us    |    Contact Us    |    Site Directory Copyright 2003 - Maryland Coastal Bays Program Questions? Email: mcbp@mdcoastalbays.org