Posters
We will have a poster session on Saturday, November 23rd from 4 to 6 pm. The posters will cover avian topics by researchers or birders who are based in Maryland or nearby. We hope that this will be an opportunity for researchers and birders from our area to network, socialize and perhaps spark new projects or expand existing ones. Poster summaries are listed below.
Sincerely,
Robin Todd
MOS Convention Committee
Hoo Cares About Size? Using Foot Size to Determine Sex in Eastern Screech Owls
Grant Steer & Eric B. Liebgold, Dept. Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, MD
Eastern Screech Owls have sexual monomorphic plumage, making it challenging to differentiate between males and females based on appearance alone. To overcome this we have researched using foot size (toe pad length) as an additional measurement to determine the sex of the owls. By adding the toe pad length to existing formulas, we hope to increase in accuracy of sexing Eastern Screech Owls.
It is a Bird Eat Bird World: Potential Differences in Diets of Red vs Gray Eastern Screech Owls (Megascops asio)
Lillian C. Fooks and Eric B. Liebgold, Dept. Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, MD
The Eastern Screech Owl is a small, color polymorphic species in Eastern North America, with red and gray morphs in the same populations. Our research found that 90% of red owls’ diet was birds while gray owls ate a significantly lower percentage of birds (62%) and had more ground dwelling prey in their diet, especially amphibians (31%). This data suggests there is a potential effect of color morph on diet depending on color, which can reveal evolutionary causes of color polymorphism not only in this species, but other color polymorphic species, especially predators that rely on crypsis to capture prey.
Project Puffin: 50 Years of Seabird Restoration
Mary Roman Gunther, Department Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, MD
Salisbury University Senior Lecturer Mary Gunther will present the work of National Audubon’s Seabird Restoration Program in the Gulf of Maine. This program just celebrated 50 years and is the model for how seabird restoration is done around the world.
A Summary of Atlaser Effort from Maryland and DC’s Third Breeding Bird Atlas
Gabriel Foley, Coordinator, BBA3
The Maryland & DC Breeding Bird Atlas 3 concludes its five years of data collection at the end of 2024. Learn where and when folks went atlasing, how this atlasing effort compares to the last atlas, and how this effort corresponds to bird detections.
Testosterone Affects Grasshopper Sparrow Song Learning in Each Song Type
Rebecca Hill and Bernard Lohr, University of Maryland Baltimore County
We studied the impact of testosterone on grasshopper sparrow song learning, a species with two song types, by implanting a subset of birds with testosterone early during the sensorimotor phase. Our results revealed that early testosterone seems to accelerate learning; birds with implants completed the crystallization process, and did so 8-10 weeks earlier than control birds. This outcome contrasts with previous evidence suggesting that testosterone may function to arrest learning, potentially resulting in an abnormal crystallized song.
Results of 2024 Count at Turkey Point
Jim Brighton, Maryland Biodiversity Project
The fall of 2024 marked the fourth season of Maryland Biodiversity Project’s morning flight count at Turkey Point in Cecil County. This multi-year survey conducted from August 1st to November 30th aims to monitor avian populations and assess species diversity on Maryland’s inland coastal plain.
Salt Marsh Birds at Irish Grove Sanctuary – Monitoring for Marsh Restoration
Brittany Panos, David Curson and Henrietta Bellman, Audubon Mid-Atlantic
In 2024, Audubon Mid-Atlantic conducted marshbird surveys at Maryland Ornithological Society’s Irish Grove Sanctuary in Somerset County, to collect baseline data to inform a restoration project that is planned at the site. The project, which will be implemented by Audubon and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, will improve the health of the marsh, and habitat for Saltmarsh Sparrows, by reducing waterlogging. The Irish Grove restoration project is part of the Marshes for Tomorrow initiative to create a restoration plan for the tidal salt marshes of Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Conserving Maryland Bird Migration: Mapping Stopover Hotspots for the State Wildlife Action Plan
Claire E. Nemes1; Gwenda L. Brewer2; Jeffrey J. Buler3; Fengyi Guo4,5; Brian R. Tsuru1; Emily B. Cohen1
1University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; 2Maryland Department of Natural Resources; 3University of Delaware; 4Princeton University; 5Cornell University
Protecting stopover habitat is essential for conservation and recovery of migratory bird populations. In partnership with the Department of Natural Resources, we are using detections of nocturnally migrating landbirds from weather radar to produce maps of stopover hotspots across the state, which will be incorporated into Maryland’s 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) revision. By co-developing objectives, information needs, and outcomes relevant to state agencies and conservation groups in Maryland, we provide a case study for how migration can effectively be incorporated into widely used frameworks like the SWAP that have often overlooked this critical period of the annual cycle.
Demographics of Common Terns on a Human-made Staging Site in the Chesapeake Bay
Benjamin C. Springer, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Diann J. Prosser, Kyle E. Rambo, and J. Jordan Price, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, U.S. Geological Survey, and Patuxent River Naval Air Station
During the summers of 2021-2023, we identified 378 banded Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) on a pier at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in St. Mary’s County, MD. Banding records revealed that approximately 90% of these individuals were from Poplar Island, a major nesting site 50 km north of the pier, accounting for up to 37% of that island’s annual hatch-year population. Our data suggest that this pier acts as an important staging area for the Chesapeake Bay’s Common Tern population, particularly for those nesting on Poplar Island.
Investigating Potential Neuroprotective Mechanisms and Signs of Neurodegeneration in Woodpeckers
Daniel Tobiansky, St. Mary’s College, MD
This study explores the potential mechanisms that allow woodpeckers to tolerate repeated high-velocity impacts during behaviors like drumming. While these birds are often considered resistant to brain injury, preliminary findings suggest some evidence of neurodegeneration, though it does not seem to be related to classical mechanisms of cell death see after repeated brain trauma. This research aims to further investigate these mechanisms, focusing on physiological adaptations that may protect against mechanical stress.
Build an Island…..Terns Will Come! Stop-gap Measures to Save State-listed Endangered Species in Maryland
Kim Abplanalp, Maryland Coastal Bays Program
In 2020, less than 35 pairs of Common Terns were nesting in the coastal bays, deeming them state-listed Endangered. In 2021, a 2,300 sq ft artificial, floating island, a joint project of Maryland Coastal Bays Program, DNR’s Wildlife and Heritage Service, and Audubon Mid-Atlantic, was placed in Chincoteague Bay, MD to provide habitat for the Common Terns as a stop-gap measure while plans for restoring islands lost by sea level rise are planned and implemented. A highly successful project, the island has yielded @750 nests and fledged approximately 800 chicks over the last four years.