In September 2004, PWA began a weekly bird survey of birds seen from the Shollenberger Park trail. The goal was to establish which species were present, in what numbers, and in which seasons. As long as the observation took place from the trail system, every bird seen was recorded, whether in the park, flying overhead, or even outside the park. Since the beginning of the annual surveys, the data collected have been sent to PRBO Conservation Science. Beginning with the second annual monthly survey, the data were also posted on the California eBird Web site at www.ebird.org/California (a real-time online bird observation checklist developed by a partnering of Audubon California, PRBO Conservation Science, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology).
Data will be used to help evaluate the quality of the habitat at Shollenberger Park, as well as provide information on the stability of our migratory bird populations.
Team bird survey leaders are Peter Colasanti, Lisa Hug, Andy LaCasse, Peter Leveque, and Richard Merriss. Len Nelson coordinates the effort and compiles the statistics. An Excel document of observations can be obtained by e-mailing Len at lennelsn@comcast.net.
Results of the first year weekly survey, ending 17 September 2005
142 species were identified, including the rare species Clapper Rail and Black Rail, in over 115,000 observed birds
Peter Colasanti, one of the team leaders commented on the marvelous diversity. “…over 140 species in an urban park with no appreciable forest, mostly just marsh and meager grass. I have county lists for four or more counties in Massachusetts, some of which I’ve birded over the years, and my Shollenberger list is higher than any of them.”
Results of the second year monthly survey, ending 22 September 2006
NOTE: because the team leaders enjoyed leading the bird surveys and wanted to continue them, but not as often, the surveys were changed from weekly to monthly
128 species were identified, including several species newly recorded at Shollenberger, in a total count of 28,243 birds
Results of the third year monthly survey, ending 15 September 2007
125 species were identified in a total count of 27,333 birds. These results are very similar to those reported in the second year survey.
