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Colorado Plateau:
Breeding Bird
Inventory at Colorado National Monument
In order to collect baseline breeding bird information, during Spring 2000,
RMBO conducted a breeding bird inventory at Colorado National Monument in
western Colorado. We conducted a series of point transects similar to those
conducted in the Monitoring Colorado's Birds program (hyperlink) that seeks to
monitor the breeding birds of Colorado. We established 27 10-point transects
throughout the 78 km2 of the Monument. Transects consisted of 10 five-minute
point counts spaced at 250 m intervals along a line. At the individual points,
observers recorded all birds seen or heard, and the radial distance to each
bird detected.
We obtained data on 60 breeding bird species. Species with large sample sizes
included White-throated Swift (n = 304), Pinyon Jay (n = 213), Bewick's Wren (n
= 212), House Finch (n = 197), Black-throated Gray Warbler (n = 138), and
Mourning Dove (n = 122). Only 16 individual raptors of six species were
detected. Passerine species detected in low numbers (n < 5) included Dusky
Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Mountain Chickadee, House Wren, Western Bluebird,
Vesper Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Bullock's Oriole, and Pine Siskin. A final report
of our findings was submitted to the National Park Service December 2001.
In 2001, we also conducted a songbird education and outreach project at the
monument by providing songbird banding demonstrations, bird identification
field trips, and interpretive campground talks. During the banding
demonstrations, monument visitors witnessed the banding process, saw songbirds
up close, and learned about songbird conservation. During the bird
identification field trips, we led visitors on guided trips through the
habitats of the monument, saw birds in their natural environments, discussed
songbird behaviors and ecological relationships, and described bird
identification techniques. The interpretive campground talks provided
campground visitors with late evening slide presentations and bird ecology
talks. Programs were conducted twice a month during the months of May, June,
July, and August, with over 100 visitors attending the presentations.
For More Information:
glenn.giroir@rmbo.org
337 25 3/4 Road
Grand Junction, CO 81503
(970) 241-4674
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