06/11/2026
As part of BSBO's ongoing research and conservation work, our team is thrilled once again to begin breeding bird monitoring in the habitat surrounding BSBO. In conjunction with Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and as part of the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program, we will be looking at avian demographics throughout the scrub and wooded habitat around BSBO.
MAPS Update: Black Swamp Bird Observatory
Date: June 11, 2026
Pictured: Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia), Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), and Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
- Number of Birds Banded: 21
- Number of Recaptures: 4 (being our first day out at BSBO, these were all return birds from prior years)
- Number of Species Banded: 4 (+1 recap only)
- Top Five (Four) Species Banded: Gray Catbird 8, Yellow Warbler 7 (+1 recap), Northern Cardinal 3 (+2 recap), and Red-winged Blackbird 3.
- Total Number of Species Recorded: 36
- Total Number of Hours Station Operated: 5.33
Notes: With the morning temperature starting off at about 78F, we didn't have high hopes of getting a full day in, but a breeze and partly cloudy skies meant that we were able to keep running longer than we'd feared. Similar to our first day at Oak Openings yesterday, the heat and the time of year combined to give us a pretty slow start to the season. This is common, though, as many birds are sticking close to the nest at the beginning of the summer; activity usually picks up in mid- to late summer when young birds fledge and family groups start moving around.
The slow morning just meant that we had plenty of time to listen to the birds! In particular, a Carolina Wren and an Eastern Wood-Pewee were singing their hearts out all morning, and we were even treated to the distinctive clucking of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
The MAPS program, developed by The Institute for Bird Populations, is a continent-wide collaborative effort to assist in the conservation of birds and their habitats through demographic and standardized monitoring.
All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey's BBL.
