Taking Flight

Glacier National Park’s MAPS station is just 1 of 25 stations active across national parks as of 2024. NPS

Since 1989, efforts to monitor the populations of songbirds have been in motion by the Institute for Bird Populations (IBP). A program the IBP started called MAPS, Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship, took flight with stations across the North American continent. Since its liftoff, more than 1,200 stations have collected more than 2.5 million bird capture records. About 300 are active today. Each contributes to a large and detailed database for ecologists to use in research related to birds, giving insight into a species that’s constantly on the move.

A collaboration between public agencies, private groups, and motivated individuals, each site collaborates toward the larger goals of conservation. MAPS stations in places like national parks are particularly important because they’re protected from development or extractive industries. They serve as wilderness “rest stops” on a bird’s migration route or as the final destination for those ready to start breeding season. With 25 stations active in national parks during 2024, scientists are working in tandem with researchers across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada to collect information on how birds are doing.

A handler at Grand Teton National Park documents data from a chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina). NPS

Like any commitment, MAPS is not just an acronym, but an act. Every ten days from May through August, researchers wake up before sunrise and are out in the field for over seven hours: putting up nets, making rounds every thirty minutes, and then processing, documenting, and banding each bird they encounter.

Trained and permitted banders participate in America’s longest and largest running program to study the demographic rates of birds, which measure the health of bird populations. They evaluate a species’ productivity and survivorship. Productivity measures how many offspring are born, or birth rate effects. Survivorship measures how likely a bird is to survive from year to year, or death rate effects.

Rangers at Yellowstone National Park’s MAPS station inspect the wings of a Red-Naped Sap sucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis). NPS

Along with tracking population numbers, MAPS also gathers data on a bird’s molting, reproduction status, and age by looking at their feathers. By tracking birth rate and length of life for birds across North America, conservationists and wildlife managers can hone in on where in a bird’s life cycle the population declines occur.

Data from MAPS has shown that weather, especially precipitation, greatly impacts the productivity and survivorship of birds. Birds are sensitive to the warming climate and drastic changes in weather. Trends in decreased body size across bird species show that they aren't adjusting the timing of their breeding fast enough; as spring comes earlier, so does summer. Caring for their young and the survival of their chicks can be close to hopeless after a hard season.

“Things with bird populations and the environment are changing rapidly with climate change. Landbirds and songbirds are indicators of what is happening in the environment as a whole. If landbird populations are not healthy, that indicates larger problems in the environment.”

Where this belongs

• Glacier National Park

Where this page came from

This page was imported from National Park Service. Produced by the U.S. National Park Service and, as a work of the United States government, in the public domain.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.