Help FiRN Continue Evening Grosbeak Work in the Western United States
With a 92% decline since 1970, Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus) was cited as the steepest declining landbird in the continental United States and Canada in the Partners in Flight 2016 Landbird Conservation Plan. FiRN is looking to expand to the western United States our work to understand why the Evening Grosbeak is declining so dramatically. There are different populations of subspecies/call types out west, and during this year’s Giving Season, we are asking you to help support our trip west with our partners on the Road to Recovery for the Evening Grosbeak.
https://finchnetwork.org/donate
This is a collaborative project with Powdermill Avian Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Over the winters of 2021-22 and 2022-23, members of our team ventured into the field in at Sax Zim Bog Minnesota, Alleghany National Forest Pennsylvania, state forests of central New York and the Adirondacks of northern New York, and the northern Maine Woods to study Evening Grosbeaks. In the last two winters we’ve color-banding 272 birds and deploying 46 satellite tags and 85 nanotags. We also have given more than 25 presentations and written numerous blog posts about the project. From the 46 satellite tags we received over 10,000 positions transmitted, with birds moving from wintering areas to breeding areas in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. We presented a poster on the project at the Journal of Field Ornithology Fall of 2022 to the Association of Field Ornithologist Conference in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and we just went live again for the winter with the Finch Research Network feedercam in Woodland Maine with the help of Aspen Song Wild Bird Seed so we could bring the grosbeaks closer to you for your home enjoyment. FiRN also helped fund grosbeak student research as part of the project. All this work is part of the Road to Recovery for the Evening Grosbeak, and they need your continued support today.