MECHANISTIC STUDY OF SONGBIRD ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IMPACTS
ANNUAL REPORT
STATE OF WYOMING
NONGAME BIRDS: Species of Greatest Conservation Need / Sagebrush Obligate Songbirds –
Brewer’s Sparrow, Sage Sparrow, Sage Thrasher
FUNDING SOURCE: General Fund Appropriation, Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Project Dollars
PERIOD COVERED: 1 September 2011 – 31 August 2012
PREPARED BY: Matthew G. Hethcoat, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Anna D. Chalfoun, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
SUMMARY
This period, we meet with colleagues and collaborators to incorporate comments and
suggestions into the 2012 methods. We presented our preliminary results and obtained valuable
feedback via oral presentations at the 2011 chapter meeting of The Wyoming Wildlife Society
and 2012 WLCI Science Workshop. In addition, we purchased and assembled necessary field
equipment and hired field technicians who assisted with the data collection for the second of two
field seasons.
The 2012 field season began April 30th and was completed on August 10th. We monitored over
400 nests, of which, 381 belonged to our focal species (234 Brewer’s sparrow, 61 sage sparrow,
and 86 sage thrasher). We deployed 83 nest cameras during the 2012 field season. The majority
of confirmed nest predators (~70%) were members of Rodentia, although other mammalian and
avian predators were confirmed. We conducted nearly 400 avian predator point count surveys,
80 diurnal predator surveys, and maintained 150 scent stations for meso-predators. Habitat
metrics were measured at nest sites and at a paired random site within each territory in order to
address questions relating to nest site selection preferences. In the coming months we will
present our preliminary analyses in a poster presentation at the 2012 international meeting of the
North American Ornithological Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia and the 2012
national meeting of The Wildlife Society in Portland, Oregon.