Brown, Kewaunee, Shawano, and Oconto Bird Surveys: May 26 to June 24, 2010 by Erin Gnass

As I mentioned in one recent blog posting entitled “May 26, 2010 by Erin Gnass,” I performed bird surveys for the greater part of the month of June for my thesis project—the index of ecological condition model, as applied to northern hardwood forests of Wisconsin. In order to most appropriately create this model, I surveyed additional hardwood forested sites considered to be of poorer forest condition so as to sample across a wide range of environmental condition. This enables the model to be more accurate and effective at calculating forest condition. Therefore, I went in search of hardwood forest sites on both public and private lands near and within heavily managed, fragmented, and human-disturbed or developed areas. Within Brown, Kewaunee, Shawano, and Oconto counties here in east-central Wisconsin, I found 27 sites that I surveyed, with the much-appreciated assistance of Joan Berkopec (the same wonderful volunteer who helped with the Wild Rivers Legacy Forest surveys and the Nicolet National Forest Bird Survey that I described in the two previous posts).

From May 26 until June 24, I observed 49 total species at these 27 additional sites, including the following species of interest:

Seven warblers:  Chestnut-sided, Common Yellowthroat, Mourning, Northern Waterthrush, Ovenbird (in moderate numbers), Pine, and Yellow Warblers

Seven woodpeckers:  Downy, Hairy, Northern Flicker, Pileated, Red-bellied, Red-headed, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Woodpeckers

Four flycatchers:  Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Wood-Pewee (in moderate numbers), Great Crested (in moderate numbers), and Least Flycatchers

Three thrushes:  American Robin (in moderate numbers), Veery, and Wood Thurshes

And one vireo:  Red-eyed Vireos (in large numbers)

Please feel free to look at the photographs that I took shown below:

 

 

Hardwood forest in Brown County
WI DNR sugar maple forest plot in Shawano County
While scouting out potential survey sites in Brown County, I heard then observed this spectacular Mourning Warbler pictured here
Red-headed Woodpecker that I found at the Brown County Pet Exercise Park, which is full of sugar maple hardwoods
Red-headed Woodpecker
One of the two Red-headed Woodpeckers at their nesting cavity site

Thank you to professional photojournalist, Scott Giese, my boyfriend, for taking these additional photographs of me while I completed a bird survey in Brown County:

Me, Erin Gnass, obtaining a GPS coordinate at a bird survey site in Brown County
Recording data for a bird survey in Brown County
Me, Erin Gnass, trying to obtain a visual observation of a bird during a bird survey in Brown County