In 2010, the Iowa DNR's Wildlife Diversity Program is initiating a new bald eagle territory monitoring survey. For many years we have tracked eagle nests on an opportunistic basis, encouraging citizens and natural resource professionals to report anything they could about eagle nests in their area. This approach has worked well but a few things have happened in recent years: 1) The number of nesting pairs in the state has grown exponentially making it more difficult to track all of them, 2) the eagle was taken off of the Federal Endangered Species List, and 3) while eagles are doing very well they still face some old threats (habitat loss) as well as some threats recently brought to light (lead poisoning). For these reasons we would like to put into place a more standardized and comprehensive eagle nest monitoring plan that would help us keep a better eye on trends of bald eagle productivity and population.
Volunteer Eagle Nest monitors are assigned an eagle nest to observe and report on yearly. It requires about a ten hour time commitment annually and volunteers must participate in some form of training either through attending a workshop or if you are unable to attend a workshop, the online training video and materials.
Iowa Colonial Waterbird Rookery Monitoring
One of the most unique groups of birds to occur in Iowa are the Colonial Waterbirds. Colonial Waterbirds are birds that depend on water for their food source and who nest in colonies called rookeries. These rookeries can have as many 100 or more nests and as few as two. The rookeries most often occur adjacent to or very close to water and depending on the species be in a tree or on the ground.
Only conservative estimates of the number of rookeries in the state are available, because Iowa DNR staff does not have the resources to monitor many of the Iowa nests, nor to adequately search for new colonies. Great Blue heron rookeries are by far the most common and can be found statewide. Monitoring these rookery sites is important as it provides data on the reproduction and population of these important species which among other things serve as indicators of our water quality. Monitoring of nests is left mostly up to volunteers and concerned citizens. Therefore, the discovery of new nests, which is often by chance, is primarily by volunteers, other citizens, and agency staff.
For more information and to learn how you can volunteer visit:
http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/WildlifeStewardship/NonGameWildlife/VolunteerWildlifeSurveys/ReportingRookeries.aspx
BirdSleuth
Are you still looking for a citizen science project to participate in with your class? Check out Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s BirdSleuth K-12! BirdSleuth is an inquiry-based science curriculum that engages kids in scientific study and real data collection through an exciting citizen science project. BirdSleuth encourages kids to answer their own questions about nature, spend time outdoors connecting with nature, and motivates kids with the real-world importance of the data they enter online which scientists use to study and help conserve birds. BirdSleuth offers educators kits, free resources, and training.
International Migratory Bird Day
International Migratory Bird Day takes place the second Saturday in May every year. On this day we celebrate migratory birds. What a fun way to celebrate after a citizen science project that has focused on birds! 