Ecosystems and Habitats

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and partners identify bird species that are declining or at risk using information gathered through our monitoring efforts. When these results show declining populations, we seek to determine factors causing the decline.

The Bird Conservancy conducts research to assess the effects of human-related and natural disturbance on bird populations in ecosystems and habitats in the United States and abroad. Results of this research help land managers design and carry out conservation efforts that facilitate the recovery of declining species.

This research includes, but is not limited to, investigations on:

  • Overwinter survival and habitat use of Vesper Sparrows, Baird’s Sparrows and Grasshopper Sparrows on their wintering grounds in the Chihuahuan Desert grasslands
  • Habitat use of Mountain Plovers on their breeding grounds in western Nebraska
  • Distribution and diet of Black Swifts breeding in North America
  • Survival, productivity and habitat use of Baird’s Sparrows and Grasshopper Sparrows on their breeding grounds in the northern Great Plains
  • Distribution and habitat requirements of Western Yellow-billed Cuckoos
  • Occupancy of Burrowing Owls in prairie dog towns in the southern Great Plains
  • Aspen trees and cavity-nesting birds, such as Red-naped and Williamson’s Sapsuckers, in Rocky Mountain National Park
  • Location, status and use of playas by migrating waterfowl and shorebirds in eastern Colorado and western Nebraska

For more information:
Brandt Ryder
Chief Conservation Scientist
970-482-1707 x 43

Arvind Panjabi
Avian Conservation Scientist
(970) 482-1707 x20

Photo Credit:
Colin Woolley