Projects
Statewide
The following are avian projects and programs with a statewide scope that have been implemented in Virginia through the work of VABCI, or independently by VABCI partners. For a more comprehensive overview of avian survey and monitoring activities in Virginia, please refer to the Virginia Bird Survey Database section.
Virginia Important Birds Area (IBA) Program: the VA IBA Program has been operating since 2002 through the Virginia Audubon Council and the National Audubon Society. To date the Program has identified 19 IBAs within Virginia, which are areas that provide essential habitat for nesting, migrating, or wintering bird species, and has initiated conservation actions within several of them. Through funding by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (State Wildlife Grants), the Virginia Society of Ornithology and others, the Program has produced the 'Important Bird Areas in the Commonwealth of Virginia: 2007 Report' and the 'Conservation of Important Bird Areas in the Commonwealth of Virginia 2007 Report'.
Downloads
- Important Bird Areas in the Commonwealth of Virginia: 2007 Report (PDF)
- Conservation of Important Bird Areas in the Commonwealth of Virginia 2007 Report (PDF)
Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS): the MAPS Program 'was created by The Institute for Bird Populations in 1989 to assess and monitor the vital rates and population dynamics of over 120 species of North American landbirds in order to provide critical conservation and management information on their populations. The MAPS Program utilizes constant-effort mist netting and banding at a continent-wide network of monitoring stations staffed by both professional biologists and highly trained volunteers.' In 2008, the MAPS Program developed an analysis of historical MAPS data in Virginia and the surrounding region through funding by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (State Wildlife Grants).
Downloads
Virginia Quail Action Plan: the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has renewed its efforts to restore wild quail populations and promote the sport of bobwhite quail hunting through the development of a Bobwhite Quail Action Plan. The Plan encompasses the management, research, education, outreach, and interagency coordination necessary to address environmental and other factors limiting quail numbers; and to establish official habitats to demonstrate the effectiveness of habitat management. The Plan is being implemented through the efforts of the Virginia Quail Council, a consortium of partners with an interest in the restoration of quail and the early-successional habitats upon which they depend.
Rusty Blackbird Blitz: the Rusty Blackbird is one of the fastest declining North American passerines. Despite the species' critical status, our knowledge of many aspects of its distribution and ecology are rudimentary. The bird is a breeder in boreal forested wetlands of northern New England, Alaska and the Canadian Provinces and winters largely in the southeastern United States, including Virginia. The Blitz harnesses the power of the birding community to collect baseline information on Rusty Blackbird winter flock locations, composition and habitat use as a starting point for future monitoring and conservation activities. The Blitz was launched in 2009 and saw increased participation in 2010, encompassing thirty-one states across the bird's wintering range. The Blitz is being repeated for a third and final time Jan 29 - Feb 13, 2011. Follow the link for more information.
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