Bird Monitoring & Science Along the Upper Mississippi River

Bottomland forests along the Upper Mississippi River provide ample resources to breeding and migratory bird species throughout the year.

While these forests are some of the largest intact forests in the region, they are also in decline due to a number of factors, like flooding and development. Managing these forests for the future and for the benefit of its associated wildlife is crucial to keeping this system productive for birds and people.

Starting in 2014 in St. Louis, Missouri, bottomland forest bird surveys were initiated in coordination with the US Army Corps of Engineers as a way to understand how birds were responding to management done along the river.  In the present day, we work with the US Army Corps, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Geological Service, Tribal Communities, state agencies and universities to understand bird interactions and associations to bottomland forests from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota to St. Louis, Missouri, at different conservation areas and islands along the Mississippi and lower Illinois Rivers. 

Our annual bird surveys help us understand the dynamics of the bird communities across this region and which are the most important for different bottomland bird species. Through density estimates, trends over time, identifying areas in the region that are the most productive for birds (spatial priorities), and identifying what characteristics that comprise these forest communities (e.g. canopy cover, basal area, trees per acre), we inform and influence management of this crucial habitat for birds and other wildlife.