The purpose of the Regional Wetland Secretive Bird Monitoring project has been to collect statistically robust data from across the region that can be used by regional land managers and wildlife managers in assessing ecosystem health. Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems on earth and studies have shown that wetland birds can be excellent indicators of health of wetland systems and yet, little is known about the biology of many of these species. Conservation of these species, and potentially wetlands, could be facilitated by a better understanding of factors that regulate wetland bird populations. The project was designed as a long-term regional monitoring program to provide landscape-scale status and trends as well as site-specific data of select wetland bird species throughout the Puget Sound trough. This project also creates opportunities for volunteers to participate in field work and data collection for an extensive bird monitoring effort.
This type of marsh bird monitoring, conducted using standard protocols, requires specialized equipment for broadcast surveys and distance sampling. For several years, PSBO has struggled to supply volunteers with the necessary equipment to monitor across the full scope of the Regional Wetland Secretive Bird Monitoring project. In 2023, an award from CREOi helped PSBO to onboard the Puget Sound Seabird Survey, including its nearly 250 volunteer community scientists. Almost half of these volunteers, new to the PSBO community, were eager to engage across other projects. So, the 2024 wetland bird monitoring season was honored with more volunteers than ever before, but leaving PSBO constrained by a limited inventory of survey equipment and training materials.
This Regional Wetland Secretive Bird Monitoring award provided funding to purchase standardized speakers and rangefinders and to produce a revised participant guide to support strict adherence to standard marsh bird monitoring protocols, fully equipping both returning volunteers (about 60 people) and birders newly engaged with PSBO via the Puget Sound Seabird Survey. In 2024, almost 100 new volunteers expressed interest in wetland monitoring, and PSBO was able to add 30 new survey teams and dozens of new individuals to support seasoned volunteers. We are truly grateful and celebrate the contributions of our avian community scientists, honoring the knowledge, integrity, and honed skills they have graciously gifted our efforts. We recognize that because birding is a passion of choice, our volunteers add a depth of understanding that is born out of a true, reciprocal relationship with the birds we study and with the landscapes needed for those birds to thrive. PSBO’s work is grounded in sound science. The protocols and study criteria are derived from standard bird monitoring protocols and refined specifically for our South Salish Sea region, and it is our volunteers’ strict adherence to protocol that provides confidence that the data we collect, document, and upload for analysis and reporting are robust and accurate.
From the beginning, our monitoring efforts were meant to bridge the work of community scientists with the work of research institutions and government agencies to inform policy and to drive conservation initiatives. The quality of our research is reflected in the data collaborations we have developed. Our last five years of data were uploaded to the Northwest regional portal of a widely accessible data management program, the Avian Knowledge Network, a data-driven decision support system for scientists, natural resource managers, and other individuals interested in advancing bird and habitat conservation. In addition, Washington State Fish and Wildlife Department is in the process of revising the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), a document which not only serves as the guide for conserving the state’s fish and wildlife and the natural habitats on which they depend, but is the basis for participation in the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants (SWG) Program. The purpose of the SWG Program is to support state actions that broadly benefit wildlife and habitats, but particularly Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). Upon invitation, PSBO is providing data collected from the Regional Wetland Secretive Bird Monitoring project in support of protection considerations for American Bittern. New to the SWAP, which will be finalized in 2025, is a documenting category for Species of Greatest Information Need (SGIN). Using the data from and experiences of our surveyors, PSBO will be advocating for wetland/wading birds to be considered for SGIN designation. ($9,750)