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Greetings from the Resident Naturalist

For the past four years, I, along with many families and friends of 3 Creek Ranch residents have enjoyed the unique experience of handling and banding songbirds on 3 Creek Ranch as a part of our MAPS program. The Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) Program was created by The Institute for Bird Populations in 1989 to assess and monitor the vital rates and population dynamics of over 120 species of North American landbirds in order to provide critical conservation and management information on their populations. The MAPS Program utilizes constant-effort mist netting and banding at a continent-wide network of monitoring stations staffed by both professional biologists and highly trained volunteers. MAPS is organized around research, management and monitoring goals. Data is used to describe temporal and spatial patterns in the vital rates of specific bird species, and relationships between these patterns. Information from these patterns and relationships are then used to identify the causes of population declines; formulate management actions and conservation strategies to reverse declines and maintain healthy populations: and evaluate the effectiveness of management actions and conservation strategies.

Since its first season, MAPS has grown from 16 to over 800 banding stations and has received the support and endorsement of many federal agencies and conservation groups, including the Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the International Cooperative Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Initiative.

Our bird banding program is a core element of our unique stewardship program on 3 Creek Ranch. I chose to participate in this effort to help us evaluate the long-term health of our Ranch by observing changes in the total abundance and diversity of songbirds utilizing the Ranch. As many of you know, the presence, or absence thereof, of specific songbirds are indicators of overall environmental health. Another reason I wanted to collect these types of data is to have the ability to measure the effectiveness of future habitat restoration and rehabilitation efforts on private lands within 3 Creek Ranch. My hope all along was to work with property owners at 3 Creek Ranch who would have the desire to reclaim and restore specific areas of their property from a slightly degraded habitat condition from years of agricultural use to a more natural state. Examples might include replanting native grasses, planting a diversity of shrubs, restoring natural stream flows and restoring wetland/streamside vegetation. Such efforts have shown time and again, from every corner of our precious earth, that songbirds will indeed respond in a positive way to such habitat improvement, and quickly; thus supporting proof in the old adage, "build it and they will come". So, this is a simple 'before and after' project—quantify the types and numbers of birds in an area before the work then see what happens to those numbers sometime after the work.

A quick glance at bird banding results from this past summer: total number: 150; total species: 17; most abundant captures: American Robins, Pine Siskins and Oregon Junco's; total recaptures (birds captured with a band): 36. A few other interesting birds I enjoyed seeing this year: Western Wood Peewee's, Western tanagers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Yellow warblers, Red-breasted Nuthatches and a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

It is important to realize that the significance of this story lies not in my desire to band birds, but rather in knowing that 3 Creek Ranch has in fact attracted the type of conservation-minded property owners I dreamed of years ago. It is they who really care and are really making the important contribution and I am delighted to be working with them in this exciting effort. And the result so far is terrific. 3 Creek Ranch residents have learned more about our precious birds in a unique and hands-on manner. Also, our ranch property owners are embarking on significant habitat improvement projects. We are truly standing behind our message that at 3 Creek Ranch, "Stewardship Comes with Ownership"

Please call me at the Center if you would like to participate in banding next year or simply to learn more about this exciting and unique program. Until then, I hope to see all of you at the 3 Creek Ranch Nature Center, with or without your trusty pair of binoculars.

All my best,

Roger
Resident Naturalist