Monitoring ecosystems helps us determine our success in
restoring native habitat and warns us if an area is suffering declining
health. Our bluebird and wood duck monitors actively facilitate breeding
success.
Our results are combined with those of other organizations and agencies -
such as the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Chicago Audubon Society
and Chicago Wilderness - so that an overall picture emerges. We learn which
restoration activities are working and watch for any warning signs. Since
West Nile Virus is attacking many bird species and decimating local populations
of certain species (more famously crows, but also songbirds like chickadees and
some bluebirds), our efforts have become especially important.
Anyone can become a monitor as long as he or she can be committed to be in the field
checking the status of the subject area at the appropriate times. Training is
available. Most monitoring
takes place on CFC property, but as resources permit, may also include local forest
preserves and parks. We have a definite need for birdhouse monitoring as there
are many established bluebird and wood duck trails that need to be maintained.
Types of monitoring:
If you are interested, please contact rob at neff.net or
monitoring@CitizensforConservation.org
for additional details. You will get information on training, record keeping, and property assignment.
Birdhouse monitoring requires weekly trips for most of the summer. There are
established "trails" with several man-made birdhouses along each trail. Early in
the spring the houses must be cleaned and repaired if necessary. Then the monitor
opens them regularly during nesting season to check for inhabitants. This can be
an interesting activity for younger children, provided that one continues to
monitor all summer.
It takes bluebirds about a week to build a nest and lay eggs.
The birds incubate the eggs for two weeks and care for the nestlings another
three weeks (6 weeks total)
before the fledglings leave the nest. The house shouldn't be opened during the
last ten days to avoid frightening the young birds out of the nest. Then the
monitor cleans the houses to be ready for another brood.
Wood duck houses tend to be located near water, and high off the ground, so
some of these trails can be difficult to navigate, particularly while one carries
a stepladder. Otherwise the process is similar to that for bluebirds.
The bird monitor takes early morning trips in June to the monitoring site. All
bird species seen in the vicinity of a data point in a five-minute period are recorded;
then the volunteer moves to the next data point. Monitors need binoculars and training
in identifying bird species. There are many potential species, and it isn't always easy
to get up at dawn in June (at least for me!), but it's very peaceful to be in the middle of
a field listening and watching the birds while everything else is quiet. Data is
coordinated by the
Bird Conservation
Network.
Monitoring butterflies is similar to monitoring birds (observe all species at a
particular point, then move to the next point). The hours are different, however; as
butterflies prefer the heat of the day. Again one needs to be able to identify quite
a few species. The
Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network
has information on butterfly monitoring and collects local data.
Frog monitoring is performed three times a year, from early spring to early summer.
The volunteer goes to a wetland around dusk and listens
to the frog calls. Individual species are identified and recorded.
This is probably one of the easier monitoring activities, provided you have plenty of
insect repellent and don't have an early bedtime.
Some new resources for frog monitors:
Frog Calls and Video and
ChiFrogs, a free Yahoo group to discuss Chicago frogging.
Once a year, the volunteer takes samples from a stream and brings them
indoors to analyze the invertebrates. Some magnifying lens work is needed, but
you can take as long as you want to identify the species.
The Plants of Concern program is sponsored by Chicago Botanic Gardens. For this program,
monitors are trained to identify particular species of endangered and rare plants. They
look for these species in specially assigned locations several times during the year.
