NEWS BRIEFS
Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative
2011 Statewide Meeting
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Thursday, Sept 29 – Saturday Oct 1
Links to: GENERAL DESCRIPTION | AGENDA | REGISTRATION FORM | RECAP
To follow up with presenters via email, click on their names in the biographies below.
THURSDAY
Closing the loop on adaptive management – moving from surveillance to monitoring in service of management
Based out of Ashland on Lake Superior’s south shore, Ryan is a WDNR Research Scientist and WBCI’s Bird Monitoring Coordinator. He received his B.S. in Biology from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, and M.S. in Raptor Biology from Boise State University in Idaho. Now father to a two-year old boy, he spends his occasional free time photographing wildlife, conducting Northern Shrike research, and serving as Chair of the WSO Records Committee.
WBCI Grassland Evaluation Plan
Andy Paulios is the Coordinator for the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative (WBCI). His position is sponsored by the Wisconsin DNR - wildlife management but he answers to the orioles. Andy grew up in Rochester, MN; went to undergrad at Luther College in Decorah, IA; taught high-school in Webster, WI; got his M.S. from UW-Green Bay and now lives in McFarland (Bird City) with his wife Amy, two kids, and Buster the Boston Terrier.
Monitoring, adaptive management and partnership on the Leopold-Pine IBA
Mike Mossman (WDNR), Yoyi Steele (WDNR/WBCI), and Steve Swenson (ALF)
The three ecologists of the LPI IBA coordinating team include a scientist (Mossman, Commmunity Ecologist with DNR Bureau of Science Services), a planner (Steele, IBA Coordinator and Planner with DNR Bureau of Wildlife Management) and a land manager (Steve Swenson, Aldo Leopold Foundation Ecologist). They bring over 50 years of experience and diverse perspectives to this project, which they initiated together in 2005.
Ten steps to successful bird conservation through improved monitoring
Katie Koch still remembers receiving her first field guide and being the youngest Christmas Bird Count participant in elementary school. A tride and true midwesterner, she has her dream job with the USFWS leading the Midwest Coordinated Bird Monitoring Partnership, a regional network committed to informed bird conservation through enhanced coordination and exchange of monitoring information. She and her husband lead a homesteading lifestyle, along with their Siberian husky companion, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Detection probability, modern point count methods, and forthcoming advances in Wisconsin
Jason Riddle (UW-Stevens Point) & Joseph Dittrich (UWSP)
Jason Riddle – An Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. He studied bird management on agricultural lands and point count sampling methods in the Fisheries and Wildlife Program and in the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at North Carolina State University prior to moving to Wisconsin.
Joseph Dittrich – A Graduate Research Assistant pursuing a MS in Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. He worked 4 years as an environmental consultant in Duluth, MN prior to accepting the graduate position at Stevens Point. His project focuses on survey design for ring-necked pheasants in Wisconsin.
Evolution of a successful volunteer monitoring program – the Nicolet National Forest Bird Survey
Dr. Robert Howe is a Professor in the Department of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he has served on the faculty for 27 years. He also is Director of the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity and an active researcher on projects involving forest dynamics, Great Lakes wetlands, bird populations, theoretical ecology, and biological monitoring. In addition to his work on Wisconsin birds, Bob has conducted studies of birds in Central America and Australia, where he and his wife, Dr. Amy Wolf, will be leading a travel course in 2013.
FRIDAY
A new era of secretive marshbird monitoring in Wisconsin and beyond
Based out of Ashland on Lake Superior’s south shore, Ryan is a WDNR Research Scientist and WBCI’s Bird Monitoring Coordinator. He received his B.S. in Biology from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, and M.S. in Raptor Biology from Boise State University in Idaho. Father to a 21-month-old boy, he spends his occasional free time photographing wildlife, conducting Northern Shrike research, and serving as Chair of the WSO Records Committee.
Offshore Lake Michigan Waterfowl Survey, 2010-2011
William Mueller is Ornithologist at the Western Great Lakes Bird & Bat Observatory. He is the current Conservation Chair of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, and a member of its Board of Directors. He was a member of the State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan Advisory Team. . Mr. Mueller is actively involved with a number of ornithological groups around the state including the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative (WBCI), where he was former Chair of WBCI’s Issues Committee and a current member of the Issues and Outreach Committees.
Mr. Mueller is Project Coordinator for the Milwaukee BIOME Project, a group of eleven scientists and over 150 volunteers, operating in partnership with faculty and staff from Milwaukee’s Urban Ecology Center, the Wisconsin DNR – Bureau of Endangered Resources, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University of Hawai’i, and the University of Western Ontario.
Mr. Mueller coauthored the species accounts for Important Bird Areas of Wisconsin: Critical Sites for the Conservation and Management of Wisconsin’s Birds, and coauthored many species and wetland habitat accounts as part of the Wisconsin All-Bird Conservation Plan.
Mr. Mueller did his master's degree at UW-Milwaukee. His graduate research focused on the biogeography and recent decline of the Red-headed Woodpecker. He participates in several ongoing research projects focusing on migratory and wintering bird populations in Wisconsin. He co-authors the Annotated Checklist of Wisconsin Birds for the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology.
Nicolet National Forest Bird Survey: What we’ve learned
Dr. Robert Howe is a Professor in the Department of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he has served on the faculty for 27 years. He also is Director of the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity and an active researcher on projects involving forest dynamics, Great Lakes wetlands, bird populations, theoretical ecology, and biological monitoring. In addition to his work on Wisconsin birds, Bob has conducted studies of birds in Central America and Australia, where he and his wife, Dr. Amy Wolf, will be leading a travel course in 2013.
Patterns of tree-species use by neotropical songbirds during spring migration stopover in the Driftless Area
Eric is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison housed in the Forest and Wildlife Ecology department in the SiLVIS lab. He’s been researching birds in Hawaii, California, and Wisconsin for the past 13 years. For his dissertation research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his research focused on questions related to bird habitat selection during migration and the breeding season in southern Wisconsin forests and oak savannas.
Avian associations with old-growth forest characteristics in even-aged northern hardwoods
Mike has been a wildlife researcher with the WI DNR bureau of Science Services for over 9 years. He's been involved with research on northern hardwoods management, American Martens, Kirtland's Warblers, Spruce Grouse, Golden-winged Warblers, and St. Croix River bird communities.
Spruce Grouse ecology in Wisconsin
Nick Anich is a research scientist with the Wisconsin DNR, and lives in Ashland. He is currently working with Spruce Grouse and recently worked on the Wisconsin population of Kirtland's Warblers. He is also a reviewer for Wisconsin eBird.
Golden-winged Warblers in the Upper Midwest: Productivity, habitat associations, and management implications
Henry Streby (University of Minnesota), Sean Peterson (UM), and David Andersen (MCFWRU)
Henry Streby earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Ohio University and his PhD at the University of Minnesota. His graduate research focused primarily on the effects of various forest management practices on breeding songbird populations in Ohio and Minnesota. Henry recently completed the second year of a three-year study of Golden-winged Warbler demography in Minnesota and Manitoba, research he is conducting with graduate student Sean Peterson and their advisor David Andersen at the Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.
Using new technology to track Wisconsin Common Loon migrations
Mike has worked as a Research Scientist with WDNR since receiving a Ph.D. from UW Madison Wildlife Ecology in 1989. Beginning in 1991, Mike and colleagues have individually color-marked >3200 loons in Wisconsin to develop a population model that predicts population growth rates and assesses the impact of stressors such as mercury in fish and habitat alteration on the Wisconsin breeding loon population. In this talk Mike will describe how a USGS project lead by Kevin Kenow, USGS La Crosse, uses geo-locator dataloggers and satellite transmitters to assess the potential risk of botulism E toxicity to Wisconsin loons while staging in the Great Lakes during fall migration as well as the potential for impacts from the BP oil spill on the wintering grounds.
Impacts of climate change on birds
Ben is a new assistant professor with department of forest and wildlife ecology at UW-Madison. Most recently, he spent three years as a post-doc and research associate of citizen science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Ben received a Ph.D. from SUNY’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry, a M.S. in wildlife and fisheries conservation from UMass-Amherst, and a B.A. in zoology from Connecticut College. His research focuses on the use of citizen science to address impacts of climate change and habitat loss on birds.
Monitoring for Midwest bird conservation: Highlighting Wisconsin's role and successes
Katie Koch still remembers receiving her first field guide and being the youngest Christmas Bird Count participant in elementary school. A tride and true midwesterner, she has her dream job with the USFWS leading the Midwest Coordinated Bird Monitoring Partnership, a regional network committed to informed bird conservation through enhanced coordination and exchange of monitoring information. She and her husband lead a homesteading lifestyle, along with their Siberian husky companion, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
SATURDAY
Identification of hawks in flight: An overview
Vic Berardi (HMANA, IBSP Hawk Watch)
Vic Berardi is the founder of the all-volunteer Illinois Beach State Park Hawk Watch which has conducted eleven complete seasons of full time hawk migration monitoring. He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) and is the Central Continental Flyway Editor for Hawk Migration Studies which is HMANA’s biannual publication. In 2007 he was awarded the Grassroots Conservation Leadership Award for his leadership in raptor education and research. And in 2009 he was awarded the Service to Chicago Area Birders by the Chicago Audubon Society.
In addition to Vic’s dedication to the IBSP Hawk Watch and HMANA, he also finds time to write articles on hawk watching, give hawk identification seminars and raptor conservation related talks. Vic is also an accomplished photographer and many of his photos have been published in several magazines, including Hawk Migration Studies along with two new guide books, “Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America” by Donald & Lillian Stokes and “Hawks At A Distance” by Jerry Liguori.
Vic is also a member of the Raptor Research Foundation, HawkWatch International and several other birding organizations including the Illinois Ornithological Society in which he served as a Board member for 4 years and Field Trip Chair for 3 years.
When Vic isn’t out in the field watching and photographing raptors you will find him at his fulltime job as a Sales Manager for a Wisconsin based designer and manufacturer of plastic injection molds.
He is widely respected by the prominent leaders in the hawk watching community of North America.
Migrant waterbirds of the Great Lakes
Tom Prestby received a Wildlife Ecology degree from UW-Madison in 2008 and has since been working as a bird research technician for the Wisconsin DNR. He spent the fall of 2009 as the primary waterbird counter at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Michigan where tens of thousands of migrating waterbirds pass by each fall. Tom has been casually birding for the last decade and especially enjoys the north woods and the open water of the Great Lakes.