Bird Communities at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site

Large tracts of public land, such as national parks, have become more isolated due to increased development and urbanization, changing land-uses, and fragmentation of land ownership within the eastern United States. These tracts of public land are extremely valuable for the long-term maintenance of biological diversity and the functional integrity of ecosystems. Therefore, the National Park Service has determined the need for in-depth inventorying and monitoring of animals and plants within Pennsylvania's national parks and historic sites. The National Park Service in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State University is conducting a comprehensive inventory program for birds at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (HOFU). The objectives of the research project are (1) to obtain a comprehensive inventory data set on birds at HOFU and (2) to develop guidelines for establishing a long-term sampling plan to monitor birds at HOFU. To meet objective 1, researchers will conduct surveys for 2 years at HOFU using standard methodology for inventorying birds. Protocols for inventorying birds were selected based on special needs, taxonomic groups of interest, habitats, and the infrastructure of HOFU. To meet objective 2, we will develop guidelines for establishing a long-term sampling plan to monitor birds based on the inventories that will be conducted and the data that will be collected at HOFU. Selecting protocols to survey birds, establishing permanent sampling points, and collecting data on bird populations will lay the groundwork for developing a long-term sampling plan to monitor birds at HOFU.

We completed breeding season and fall-migratory bird surveys between 25 May and 10 October 1999, and are currently conducting inventories of winter bird communities at HOFU. We identified 64 different bird species during the breeding season and 46 species during fall migration at the sample locations within the park. The following table contains the birds located within the park during the breeding and fall seasons, highlighting those identified as species of management concern by the National Audubon Society and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Information obtained from the research project and guidelines for continuing the bird inventories will be valuable for monitoring bird populations and for sampling specific taxonomic or functional groups of birds at HOFU in the future.

BIRD SPECIES BREEDING SEASON FALL MIGRATION
Acadian flycatcher X ---
American crow X X
American goldfinch X X
American kestrel X X
American robin X X
Baltimore oriole X ---
Barn swallow X ---
Belted kingfisher --- X
Black vulture X X
Black-and-white warbler X X
Black-billed cuckoo X X
Blackpoll warbler X X
Black-throated blue warbler1 --- X
Black-throated green warbler --- X
Blue jay X X
Blue-gray gnatcatcher X ---
Blue-headed vireo --- X
Brown-headed cowbird X ---
Carolina chickadee X X
Carolina wren X X
Cerulean warbler1,2 --- X
Chimney swift --- X
Chipping sparrow X X
Common grackle X X
Common yellowthroat X X
Downy woodpecker X X
Eastern bluebird X X
Eastern kingbird X ---
Eastern phoebe X X
Eastern towhee X ---
Eastern wood-pewee X X
European starling X X
Field sparrow1,2 X ---
Fish crow X ---
Gray catbird X X
Great-crested flycatcher X ---
Great-horned owl X ---
Hairy woodpecker X X
House finch X X
House sparrow X X
House wren X ---
Indigo bunting X ---
Louisiana waterthrush1,2 X ---
Magnolia warbler --- X
Mourning dove X X
Nashville warbler --- X
Northern cardinal X X
Northern flicker2 X X
Northern mockingbird X ---
Northern parula X ---
Orchard oriole X ---
Ovenbird X ---
Pileated woodpecker X X
Red-bellied woodpecker X X
Red-breasted nuthatch --- X
Red-eyed vireo X ---
Red-headed woodpecker2 X ---
Red-tailed hawk X X
Red-winged blackbird X ---
Ring-necked pheasant X ---
Rose-breasted grosbeak X ---
Scarlet tanager X X
Sharp-shinned hawk --- X
Song sparrow X ---
Tennessee warbler --- X
Tree swallow X ---
Tufted titmouse X X
Turkey vulture X X
Veery2 X ---
White-breasted nuthatch X X
Wood thrush1,2 X X
Worm-eating warbler1,2 X X
Yellow warbler X ---
Yellow-billed cuckoo X ---
Yellow-throated vireo X ---
1 Listed on the 1999 State Watchlist for Pennsylvania by the National Audubon Society
2 Listed as a species of management concern in the Migratory Non-game Birds of Management Concern for 1995 released by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
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