1989, in response to a documented decline in bird populations after the world's worst nuclear power accident occurred at Chernobyl in the former USSR (now Ukraine) in 1986, the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, located north of the San Francisco Bay, was made aware of the need to monitor bird populations as a way to take the pulse of our planet’s environmental health. They created the Monitoring of Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) Program.

Birds are among the few inhabitants on our planet that annually migrate between nesting and wintering grounds, crossing over many geopolitical boundaries in the process. For this reason, Birds are nearly perfect barometers of the health of a biological system for several reasons: scientists have already identified all 9,600-plus species of birds; birds are easy to track and record; they occur all over the world; and they respond quickly to changes in the environment. Therefore, they are ideal studies on the environment. Monitoring changes in the populations of each species gives scientists an indicator of the relative health of individual ecosystems, biomes and ultimately the entire planet’s biosphere.

Thanks to a handful of dedicated volunteers, and students in Mr. Deppe’s Birding class at the Mojave River Campus of the Lewis Center for Educational Research, has begun a monitoring program on May 17th, 2003. Each MAPS station begins the season at a different time depending on the latitude of the station. In general, the most critical information sought from this research project is data that points to changes over time (or time-trend data). For that reason, our program will continue for at least the next five-year.

Approximately once every ten days from May through July, a team of students and avid but specially trained and permitted birders will be setting up our mist nets in the Cottonwood Willow forest river from the Upper Narrows on the Mojave River Campus. Before beginning the program 10 or more openings called “forging lanes” in the forest’s undergrowth were identified and mapped.At the beginning of each monitoring session, lasting about 6 hours, delicate mist nests, which are nearly invisible to birds and help the volunteers temporary capture birds, are stretched across each lane. These lanes are then constantly monitored and with extreme care captured birds are removed from the nets, placed in soft, protective bags and brought back to a data collection station. Arriving at the collection station, each captured bird gets lightweight aluminum numbered band loosely fitted to it’s leg. Next, information on each captured bird (its species, age, weight, gender, and physical condition) is carefully recorded onto a special form. After being "processed", the birds are quickly released, unharmed, back into the wild.From capture to release, the entire process takes minutes. Netting generally occurs from dusk to an hour or two before noon every ten days when the young of the season are leaving the nest, becoming independent members of their wild community.

The Monitoring of Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) Program, is a continent-wide research program run through The Institute for Bird Populations out of Point Reyes, California. The purpose of MAPS is to provide long-term demographic information on the productivity and survivorship of North American land birds in an effort to aid in the identification of population trends and their causes, and to help formulate management strategies to reverse any population declines. At present, there are now over 500 MAPS stations continent-wide. The program starting on the Center’s campus is …… in California , and the ….. to monitor bird populations in the Mojave Deserts biologically diverse southwest riparian woodlands. Data collected using the M.A.P.S. Program protocols on the Mojave River Campus will become part of a nationwide bird-monitoring project, a cooperative effort between government and private organizations that provides critical information gathered by trained local volunteers on population and demographic parameters for up to 100 target land birds. Without this information it would be impossible to account for shifts in bird populations. Positive and negative population trends are impacted by factors such as climate changes and loss of habitat. So that data can be used from all other sites, the program employs a strict but manageable protocol that involves training, then periodic banding sessions during the summer breeding season. If you, would like to assist us in the Lewis Center’s new MAPS project, or just observe, contact Bill Deppe at (760) 946-5414 extension 283.

For more information about progress made at monitoring bird population visit The Institute for Bird Populations, which is dedicated to the research and dissemination of information on changes in the abundance, distribution, and ecology of bird populations.