Hi all, Virginia birders might be interested in this
Associated Press article below.--Jeanette
Biologists Conduct Fowl Census
Fri May 31, 2:19 PM ET
By SONJA BARISIC, Associated Press Writer
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) - Daniel A. Cristol and Josh
LeClerc don't golf.
In fact, Cristol jokes, "My handicap is 100 percent."
But the pair will hit Virginia's links this month in
search of birdies the feathered kind for what they
believe is the first census of birds on golf courses.
Criston, a biology professor at the College of William
and Mary, and LeClerc, a graduate student, want to
learn what the golf course building boom is doing to
wildlife.
"We're changing the face of this country without
anyone really knowing what's happening," Cristol said.
"Is it good for birds? Is it bad for birds? It's
certainly going to change habitat, and we want to know
what birds are using this new habitat."
Citing statistics from golf trade publications,
Cristol said new courses are opening at the rate of
one per day in the United States, many as part of
suburban housing developments. Birds can be an
important environmental indicator.
"Birds, being high on the food chain, are a good
indicator of everything that is happening below them,"
Cristol said. "So if a golf course can support a good
food chain, there will be birds at the top of it, and
you can count those birds and know everything is OK."
From Saturday until June 15 peak breeding time, when
birds are "singing like crazy," Cristol said the
researchers and about 100 volunteer amateur
birdwatchers will spend four hours every morning on
fairways, looking and listening to try to identify
birds.
They will visit about a third of Virginia's estimated
350 courses.
Some volunteers also will take a bird count in
different habitats, from pine forests to agricultural
areas to neighborhoods, so researchers can compare how
birds are faring.
LeClerc, a 25-year-old from Pennington, N.J., will
spend the summer crunching the data. The census is
part of his master's thesis.
The United States Golf Association supports the
project.
"There is little more than anecdotal evidence of birds
breeding on golf courses in the eastern U.S.," Michael
P. Kenna, research director for the USGA, wrote in a
letter of endorsement. "We need to gain a better
understanding on which birds use golf courses and what
specific features of golf courses encourage bird use."
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