Rocky River Important Bird Area Survey Final Report 2012 Breeding Birds. Learn more about saving IBAs at http://www.wcaudubon.org/saving-ibas.html
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Rocky River Important Bird Area Survey Final Report 2012 Breeding Birds
1. I Vtts sitting in 1ny Living rooin one day et¥1y in 2005 1¥1.d V<IS
thinking th:it Vestem CU)'tih~a AudubonSociety needed to
1no,·e lx.;.vnd its traditional1nission ofpublic education. ~
had a strong BoardofOirectM, and I kne·thnt '''C'''Ore
c<1p:ible ofdoing 1nore. ~ nocdcd a cooscn·ntion project At
1ny firs.t 00.1rd n1ccting ~ WCAS president in 2003, I
1nentioned this to Jen)' TiniOOO', then E.xecuti'C Directorof
Audubon Ohio. lole said. "Vhy don't you adopt the Rocl..1·
River hnportnnt Bird Area Md do ll·ian n1oni1oringf ' This
piqued 1ny interosi becauselhe Rocky River 161 is in the
1niddleofour geographical area 1¥1.d muchofit is in the
Clevclond Mctrop.,ks (CMP).
I had spcfll the inten-cning t'Oye..-s trying to gencnrte
interest 1¥t1ong the VCAS mcinbcrshipto undertake an IB,1-
project M)•elTorts hOO fallen ondeafears. By c.arly 2005. I
had dciem1ined to'"t:ike the bull by the horns: ·~1ly next step
Vt1s to pick up the telephone und call Or. D:in Petit fooncr
ChiefofN<1tural Resources ofCf1P. Ikne' O;u1~ o''-ell-
knOvn ornithologist IS<lid, "Dan. 'WS is going to;1dopt
the Rocky Ri'Cr IBA. C:in you useour helpconducting bird
sun·eys therc·r· Dan replied, ..,.,.e been vtiiting fora force of
'vlunteers toolTer their help. lolov1n;u1ypeople do )VU
have':'" He '''l'IS<tsloundcd '"hen I boldly told hiLu Icoukl
1nusterover 60 people, Ln<1ny ofvhoin ''-ere skilled birdc.-s!
This "·as hO' ii all lx.-tan!The rest as thC)·SU)', is histOI)'. and
this report viii rt..'·ie' hO' 'e did it.
Our rclutionship 'ith CMPbccaine otrue partn<.-rship. Our
go:il '''as o liulc fu:t.z,y at first. but '''Ckne' ii hod ro1ncll1ing to
do ,,·ith ht1bitl'lt prescn·lrtion. 'hl'll bccai11ccleor to us '''as th;1t
Cf1P Vl'ls t<llltcting an expanse ofland bel'OOI ~linck&C)·
R~·l'ltion <ind ~1lill St.rean1 Run Reservation nlong the East
Br<1nch ofthe Rocky Riv« Titis critical habitut '"'IS l;1rgcl)•
private property, ond C~1IP had a plan to ocquire this propcrt)·
piece b)· piece in orderto helpcre.<1te ocontiguous p:ui; land
t¥Uund Gre~1ter Cle,'Cland. CloilP nocdcd ourd:ita tobolster
propos.1ls forfunding to purehose p;"trccls. This bc:crune our
,go.II <ind ourdestin)·.
WCAS botni mcinbcr StanSct¥1essun1mari...OO the
iinportancc oflhe 161 projoct by stating, "TI.e Rocky Ri"er
ln1portanl Bini Arco is lhe niost i1nportont con.scn·ntion
initi<1ti'e VCAS couldundertnke. This project is identifying
not onl)•,,·hat birds <ire ti.ere. but 'vhat binls ore not there.
This project is rcnlly niorc <1bou1pt'Ople lhon binls.. bccouse it
,,·ill study the in1pact ofconsen·ntionon the quality oflife of
poople '"ho li,·e in the Rocky River'''Olershed."
Our fi'C·)'C-~1r project ofsun'C)·ing the Rocky Ri'Cr 16A is
O'Cr, ond this docu1nent n..")>Orts on our,,'Ofk. Ne,·erthelcss.
our n1issionofpro,·icling 'OluntC<.'fservices to the con1munity
eontinucs. We <1nS'et' the call to docwncnt bird species in
other locations ond continue to raise public Qvtircness li>oul
the need foroonscn·tttion through cdue.1tion and fund-raising
octi,·ities..
101n /(01niTo. Prtside111
ff'tsu•rn C"}'<1hog<1 Audubon SQl:it(v
3. Important Bud AIN SurveysI In WOO, Audubon Ohio, lhcn
the st:m: offigc of lhc NmM'lnlll AudubonSociety, design3tcd
theRocL~ R.'cr"a111d(Eas1 Orn:b)11Sm lmponsn1
BudAroa(IBAl In 200$. llCAS adopocd lhc Rooi.') ltin"
IBA,.on1a.,..,._bad-""-"'lhcEasaBranch as
., ..i..,_-orlhchcol1h ofdns«OS)=m Ourl!P'Iwas.,
collocccnxbblodau., helpCl<'cbnd M~ sustain lhc
na&w'al rcsourccsof&hc: Roel~ Rncr,,atcnhed for furure
gcnc:rnbons.
FundralS1n9 & Awart"ntU·llil$ingIVe did not need a lot of
mone) tosu•''C) an IOA, bu1 '¢ nocded some.'k raised
funds by 1nailing nn nnnunl n1>pcnl k:1lcr, selling rJuulc.gro11
colToc, pwticip:1ti111lin llio m111nl GrcnterO c'clnnd
Cotnbincd Fcdcrol C'11np1ugn, offering bird guides for
don.;ilions,;indconducti"I ~ MJtunl Ult:rnValk nnd
Ultrall&rd. One Jo>nl 1CAS member1nOOc a signif.JC31ll
donobon.,help defno) lhc•ol"') orourIBACoon!.._
UJt..w..& Ult•.S•dIOn I~ 26, 2001. s-Scorlcs.
fonncr C..-ofa..t.• lhcCbcb>d Mcuoparu 2"".
11Lcd ll mab tlnu.s.h lhc kocL.") R.i,cr IBA., raisefunds
forthe IBA pqOCI IRd tmtt pubhc a""llrCDCSS for
conscn11t1011 m &he Roel) R1,cr "'"t:ershed The Ultralafk
has bocon1c a popul11r nnnual CCnt, Mmore 11lkcrs hac
joined Stancmch )CN The nlkco: rniscd funds to support
the IBA c0·«l b) '1-Clllng pkdgcs for the miles th~· ,,;itlr..cd.
Acompant0n fund.f'OUCr bo,n .ns the Ult:raBird bcg:m in
2003 Sl.dlcd birders c01n'ass Ill.I three rcsc:n <llioosin the
Roel~ JU,ct IBA. WI> mg bird obscn-..rions during m-o
~s beforedt.c lllara~ and lhc cb_·mthat C"'UIL The
ClOWll UUPf'Ocd each ye•. adding to lhc funds raised f« lhc
lBAJll'OlCCI
Ultra
SJ•nS...dft (lo~) ON/ Tom Romito (right) .,meUltraW.it<.
4. PIA*:0-ffdl j 11usperiod ol...,.h~ ,. rqibc ~11h
c.urupk:s ofho nicrubers o(1CAS rc:ochcd OUf IO our
conununi1y n11 cit1.-.c11 Jicicniiscs n~c result'> aro cSe11r.Thac i11
DO' 3 bird $1)1CIWlf' 1111 I.be Eincrakl Necklace Inn u• Rocl....v. .
Rn..-;• bonl""' box,,..;i'" oh<Cbdaod ~~ L>o;
mad oo:mnutd CAS pt'C$Cll(lC ot the Cled:md ln11ematioo3l
FiJn1 Fcsti' Ill,Scimcc O~m1)1~ nt CICdand St114c
University, Nortlkl.mcm Oluo Science aud Ens,1noc:nng Fair,
and &z.mrd o.,,. Ill Hindd~, lllnortg otheroutrtochCOllS.
Ea:il year, WCAS members spc& " KM1111is Club ond od>er
mcdJngs1h.roughoutGtclllerCle,cl.and. m.lk1ns people tn-an::
oflhc Roc:L:y Ri,cr'Otcrshod nnd the imporumccof
prc5Cfing h~1tot in lbc region
WCAS memb.rs voluntetf1t apublicoutre.ell event.
Recognition IIn 200CJ, Do1ninion Foundnrion and Biodicrsi~·
AH......,,•GremerCJc,·cJ.md Coll1bon1frc&wCon..,...m,
ro.:ogniird VCAS ''1tha Nonhc.1Oluo e..,...,,..,.a11al
Aord. In 1n:iL.1n& the m,·nrd,1hc8C1ponllOC'S cited u1 for
111al..in&'lhe1mi11111ion l'ro1n set''1ng os n local chn1>1crofthe
NotionalAud11bon Socicty to bcooining oneofI.hemost active
cun:n-bascd Cftvunmcotal gtQUpl ID aorthcmlcrn OlilO and
ll modeJ progrnm forotherAudubon ch:1p1:rs...Aho. 1n ~t~·
2U12, Pan1el::i Oobst, Mayor o( Roe&.) Ricr, ond f11kc
P•lllc:rson,Scheduler for Congrcss1uon Dennis Kucinttl1.
armed the U!tna'alkn "h::n t.l'C) concluded the• ,,.. a1
die Emerald ).cd.bccMarina Mr P.acnoo pn:f<ftood
WCAS ''db"Ccrtif1e<1te ofSpcc1ill Congrcssion:il
Recognitionsisncd h)· Congre5S1nm1 Kucinich.
<!trlifiratr of &ptrial
<£1111~rtliliiouuI lt1•rll1lniiiuu
-·"boll .. ( tl HQ(> tt;l9U"()C1fT
What To Do with th• Data?IA' lhl!i: report has s1n1cd, our
goal -OS to help Ct>.iI>sustain nlltur11l rcsouroes. 'c did
dus ~ colJecrina tccral )eats ofd•a lhat described a,i..
eommuruties m three Cb:cJ:snd iic:trop.;vb tescnlbOlls
Ve ewne to belic'e that ,,.e noedccl to share our dnlll 1th
'-SCncies outside of Cleclnnd 1llclrc>pnrks that hod sin1ilnr
goals Aocordin1I), ''e entered our dota into the Oluo
Onxding Bud Adas II, "hic:h rs aruiic-"idc eoopcrac1'-c:
clTort thnt relic$ upon lhc p:inietp;itK>n ofbird cnthol •asts
10 documen1the CUITcnt distribution 1111d nbundnncc of
brooding birds in Ohio. Further, ''centered the dtlln 11110
o-Bird.This online database ofobtcnatioos. de eiopod ~
lhcC'omdt labol'Onulholog, ond lk Na1ioaal Auduboa
Soc1ct), proYidcs sc1entt.'IS. rese11tthcn:, and amateur
no1urnlists "·i1h rc.1l4
tin1e data about bird distribution wul
iabundnnoc.
P.,tnoffin~ I'CAS held tO -Orl.shops ·ith e1gh1
~ta&.choldcr org.an11011ons in 2009 nnd 2010 to detcrnunc
" here ourcll'orts nrc best needed in the future. Th-c
c:onJCnsus ofthe ''Ol'lshops BS that 'CAS is best
-IJoncd IO marl.a oh<IBA th...,sh public OUll"<4<h, ..i
''CeontJnoc to rill that role.
Wtb·based Mappin9 Tool IJn 20IO. Professor Sun1~Ghocl
(Gd) JllOJ!and h;, undawaiu3U:rncorchcn,. Cle.clond
StMr:: Lnnl:nir) ~1111 • ''-c~ba:sc:d C"<pbatoc~• m-s>Pina tool
th>tt aiablcs e.i1i1c11 and profcss:ion:d aciaitists to explore: the
ti, O-)'ear sun'C)' dn10 ofbrocdins bi1'd11 oollo::.tcd by V.lC:AS
111 lhc RocL:y R.i, er IBA.Th.is 100111 public~ access1btc a1
h1tp:J/.,;to~k:.C'Om/Ji1drod.-,ri,crimporuntbird1ra..
5. 1ostem Cuyahoga Audubon Society is one of500chnptcrs
ofthe National1udubon Society.Ve ore nol a birding
organiT..ation per sc, but an org<1ni:zation tha1 educates people
aboul oon.sen•ing n<1turnl resouroos. Our area of interest is
the '''Ost side ofCIC'Ch1nd, Ohio in Cu)·ahoga C.Ount)'.
approxin1atcly fro1n the Cuyahoga Ri'<.T ''"Cst toA'On Lake
and L<1ke Erie south to Hinck!~, To,vnship. There <ire fi"e
other Audubon chapters in Northeast Ohio, including
Blockbrook1udubon Society, the AudubonSociety of
Greld<.TCleveland, AkronAudubon Socict)'. Cnnton Audu-
bon Socict)', nnd Black Ri'erAudubon Society. In the
acoon1pnnying niap. the purple area is the Rocky Ri'Or IB;.
Area In purpleindicates Rocky River /mportctnt BirdArea.
The Rocky Ri'<.T IBA exists'''Ost ofClc'cl;1nd in CU)'<1hoga,
f1cdina, nnd Sumniil Counties.The IBAO'Orl;1ys the Rocl.1·
Ri,·cr, includipt lho Mnin Stein froni the city of Rocky Ri'<.T
to L;1ke Erie and the East Br;1nch fro1n Rocky Ri,·cr to
l•linckloy To,,·nship. Tho area oonsists ofri'Or gorges.
forests. ,,"Ctfnnds, nnd n11tn)' urb;1nii".od nreas. TI1rcc
rescn·ntions of the Cle.,.eland f1ctroparks oon1prise a l<ute
portion ofthe IBA<ind pri,•a1e parccls exist along the East
Branch in lhe southern portion ofthe IBA.
THE NEED FORDATA
;udubon Ohio reoognizcd tl.e in1portnnoo ofthe Rocky
Ri,·cr b)· dosignatin,t it ;1s nn IBA in 2000. ~lo,,"C,'<.T, a
sun 'C)' ofsuch tuagnitude of bird populntions had no,·or been
done before, nnd thus no data existed. l/CiS nnd Cleveland
f1ctroparks fonnod a partnership in order to fill this 'Oid.
We vantcd to conduct a fi,·c-yoar forest breeding bird
sun 'C)' in ocdcr to cst:1blish credible and dctnilcd infom11rtion
about bin! populations in the Rocky Ri'er valley. 'ith this
infonnntion. 'C '''anted to bo able to ni<lke defensible
stldetuents about bin! population trends and their link to the
health ofthe h;1bi1<1t.
METHODOLOGY
Our plan '''l'IS to occurntely <1s.wss the diversil)•<ind
abundnnce offorest brooding birds in the IB1. We etuployod
a point count syste1n used by lho Cu)r<lhog,a 'alk.')' Nationnl
Park nnd the Sniilhsonian Migratory Bird C-enter. 'enrT''X>
ofthe bird sur'~' (2007) fcntured a 'Cgctntion surve,· at our
point counl stntions in order to mnkc stldetuent.s aboul the
6. kinds ofhubitne"'here birdgtond 10 brlXXI. TI1is report
describes these h'OS)'ltc1us in detail.
CITIZEN SCIENTISTS &AMBASSADORS
As the rcsuh ofourcrf'o111.. r'CAS has 100members Md
fria1ds ''-1'°111rc1raincd tnd experienced in cooductingbird
or 'qctarion AltC)1 Rtahll~ eaUod citin::n scientists.. "-c
se on call to tapond eo r'CqllC$b rrom Clc-dald
HN J. DONNELLY
ocky
ATURE CENTER
$Cleveland Me
[1ctropurks nnd c0tnn1m1ity Orgnnizntions to sun 'C)' bird
populntion11. Da1a oollOl.lLion. hO"C'CI". is just one part ofour
oonscn·:.tion initiUC1C lit Lhe Rocky River '''trtcrshed. 1c
ulso eS1nblish bird Ja1~tut1riC$ and olTcr adYioe oo. prcscr'ing
h111bitt1l. More intportantl).. ''-eregul<lf'ly condoc.1 public
outrcd appemwtoet10 inf0nn and cduCllle the pobl~ 111bou1
WCAS and ti~ Rod.;~ RIYC.T IBA.. e are~· ambassadors
to the commun1~
7.
8.
9. In order to tqin thefi-O-}-c.lt btoodinsbttd SW'q of the
lB-A. 20 'CAS '-oluntccnaucmblcd M• ono-dl)
planning meeting al the Rod.,_ Ri'u Ntirurc Cc:atcr10
August 2005. ~ Tmian<n' and Dr 0111 Pct1t111Cftdcd
the mooting. The ouieomc of lhc mcctina 11 the
fonnation ofthree eoinmittoes th11 ''"Ou.kl lddtcs1 I.he
csscn1ial oomponenl• ofI.heprojccl prior10 the f1uheh or
the finl sun~' in ~toy 2006:a Stud) Group: 1 Coonlinmor
Group: Md a Dcdtcm.ton Group.
TheS1udy Group addre11scd ,,roecduros. 1estina. :ind
Ir.lining. Dr. PeLil ins.trudcd tbc WCAS bo:ird 1n sc.ient1fie
protocols andde,-cloped ii tcch1ic:il 1nur1ut1I for C 01') ono·11
use.Thegroup recruited obscr,·crs ur1d rocordcr1 to
actually conduc::I the surv¢)'.11•cconcept ,.,.-111 tl1n1one
observer. V'bO '''Oil usu:1Jly tcmuod u1>·ith n 11ocond pcni<)n
10 record dt1to. ''-ould stond al dc!l111inn1cd coordin1uos f()r
1cn 1ninutes. on three dilTcrcnt da,11110colloct dnlnon
breeding birds during tho SUl''C)'.
The Coordinator Group hil'Cd ur& IBA Coordinator,.,.i.oso
role ,,-..s. to mon~e the ~llC':1ion or d:1u1th111''ould rO!lult
fron1 the bcotxHng bi.rdsuncy. Other duties includod
representing. the IBA ot public mtctina1. •ohci11na p~irtiei·
p:i1ion of,·oluntcen. and socL.ift.M fundJftl for the IBA
project
The lkdica:lion Group·s rcspe>niibilit) '~as orpn111n: .,
a ·cnt tocelebrate the adoption oflhc RociQ, R1'-cr IBA
II
nus planning rcsuhed in 00 Open ilomcin ~larch 2006...
the Roel,_ Ri'er N1tnre Ccntcr. Hundreds of'-isit<n
•1Cftdcd the Open Houseand lc.ancd about 'Oluntc:cr
opportunitiesduring the IBA projoct.
From the Open l~ou.se cmert.ted a group of50 ,·otuntccrs
,,-ooilnled lO pmticipate in the sun~'. They altcndod a
session in April 2006 during •hjch Or. Pelil administered
llft indoor qu:ilificlllion lest for obset'CS"S. based. on their
i.bili~· to identif)· birds~· sight and song. Cilndida1es had
to i;eorc 80 1:1ercmt occuroc.y on the test in order to qu<lli~·
iw obscr'crs. T'Cl'e e:indidates qualifiod to scn--e as
obscr'crs und th<.~n unden'cnt an outdoor trninin~ session
on es-1inu11in,1& distance on the ,!&round.
OBJECTIVES
Tho IBA sun•ey hnd t'Oobjectives. First. 'C '''anted to
llS!'CSS the nbundl!llCe of forest breeding bird populations and
n1onitor ctu1ngcs in those populations Ott time. The duta
thnt a nc1J:1,cd fro1n this ,,·orkenabled us toc-.·aluate habitat.
lwki use. und en1 ironmcntol foe.tors that i1npacted fort$1
breeding bird popul;1tions.
Second, 'C '111ttod to cc11nmunic<1tc the results ofour efforts
to stakeholders 'ithin lhc region. Stakeholders are c:itizen
IJ'<>'IP5 tmd public ngcncics ''ho have a ,·cstcd interest in the
he11lth of die Rocl.·y R.i-cr ,.., W. coos,,·stem. This report
disscmi:n;ues results to these stal.;eholdcn.
10. PROTOCOLS
Clc,·clood ~1e1rop;irks pro' idcd VCAS ,,jth 1unps of 200
1>olcntial bird 1ur''C)' poin111 These points fell 1hroughout
the 1natun: ro~l and "nodl11nd &lands orthe East Branch
ofthe Rod.) R1'C1" ma random (mbn >.U.u~ forests and
malure ·ocxllMds MC St:md.$ orltt:CS CO'cring Q COOllgUOUS
nn:o of m Jeos1 fi,·c ocrcs, the cnnopy of" ·hich OCragcs at
lcnsl si.x lUe1Ct1 In height 'ilh CllllOl>Y CO'Cr o( nl lc<i!il fifiy
pcrca:IL 'e gJcc&cd 62 pointt th• met (our enlCl"la:
I) Sqxn~'d ~ a llllfUIQIJO'I dbWK.~ of250 mi.."'h'fi.
A IBl"&c edge is rt linear <>1>cning orn eloliCd canopy nl least
30meters ''idc, 1oob as a road or u1ilj1y right-or•II). or a
~· openins~.ata- lhan 1,000 sqwwe meters. slleh as
bonbs of (11nn fields. residentti.I ) ~or picnic amts.
Dr. Petit trttincd IC·crnl VCAS 'Olunlccrs enllod J>oinl
Finders10 locat.c the points on die ground. Eventuoll)-,
clghl Poin1 Findcn''eremined llld rooci'cd :mcqu.a.I
d1stnbu1jon orthe points. TheirJob 'ttS three-fold
Firs.I. onned ith 1nops, hand-held GPS units., ca.npnsscs,
and m.t.in_g tool.1. ~· ·cnrun:d OUI in h~ teams
111 c~· ~14') ro find lhcir nssipc:d points. ~ oOcn
bra,·cd min, "ind, deep fol'C$t, '1nd treacherous •klpcs in
hite· breasted Nuthatch. Sittl carolinens;s
order10nonigs lhcchallcogiag hlbata1. ofthe Roel~
R1(T. ~fill Stream Run. mnd ~linc~lc,. Rc:scn·:itiont.. ''hich
COCr 26 1niles ort11c Rocky Ri,·er·ii Ens1 Brunch.
Second.the Point Finders clearl~ a'll'Lod theirpointJ"ith
C'.04oml nDbons so lhc Obscn·cr-Rccordcr teams coakl find
1he111''hen lh~· ''°"1 out to oondoot their bjrd suncys.
Tiurd. the Point Finders pn.."J>:lrl-d "riuendescriplie>ns of
hO' to reach the pointi. Each Obien er-Recorder tc:1ru
tU(t-cd • Cop) ofthese instructionJ
111 tin1e progres11ed. 'C added lllOl'Q points lrt lhe CCQUC!ll or
Clc,clund ~1elrop.111ks. In Yc;v TO of the IB1 projoc.1
(2007). "-cadded l'O points al the 1crrid;: pri·ate
rntdcncc in lfincLlc, Rescn~ioa. In YcarTiutt (200I).
''c lidded sc·erul po1nlJ in Rising Voll¢) north o( IhRC.~IC)'
Rc11cr,..-.iion. In Ycnr Fh·c(20I0), ''c OOdod cigl1t 1>oints in
I.he L.ul..c..-o-Lllke Tnil in ).iiddlebu"* l ltights.
MORE PROTOCOLS
Ob.90n·crs usod a stm~nrd procedure to locme dit-:irpoints.
roco1'd data <ind dclr'CI' bird SUf'C)' doui roons to the IBA
Coonlumx. Eich ~u'35 assiancd aset offne pomts
Indrccxn-roa map. COmpass. and nllCn instructions llO troch
c-.;ich point Each Ob!tOl'<:r·Rccorder ICO'llU,·isitcd cuch l)Oint
tlu'OO1i111es. once ndir,.· IOrten n1inutos during tJ1ebnx."<fi111
5CalOla fn.:>m ~~· 2S to Jul~· 15. Md teplnlod each iiit b) tll
~ k.' ~"5. TheselSdJ bc:canclno,n • "'poirltcounu.-
11. Obscr,·cr-Rccorder tc<1n1s used Rocky Ri.,.er huport<1nt Bird ObSCf'CfS stood at their points during the counts, but could
Areo Forest Bird Sur.,.ey data sl•oots to rocord obscr,«1tions shift positions son1e,vh;1t to get beuer detection. keeping
at coch point. At the COlnpletion of the three visits to each their1nO'Clnents to a n1inin1un1. They only counted birds
point, the ObserYers sent their conipleted data shoots to the thal thC)·detected during the 1en-1ninute period.
IBA Coordinator for codin,t and co1npiln1ion.
it.....-:..............._
P,,..otB"'S..,.....
- · I",,.._ =-1- -
..•
-
> -
-
Surveydata 1heeteumple.
To ensure consistOOC)' in dnto collec1ion, only ObserYers
counted birds. Rococdcrs, ifpresent, did nol identify or
point out birds to the Obs.en'<.n. TI•e ObSCf'Cf and the
Recorderdid nol speak to C<1ch other during the sun·C)',
other than vhen the Ob.sen·er identified a species and the
distance to the bird <ind oonununicatcd this infonnn1ion to
the Reoocdcr. The Roe.order. if present, kept time and
announood to the Ob.sen·cr vhen the sur,·cy Vt1s O'Cr.
Othenvisc, the Ob.ser,·cr kepi tin1e.
Our Obscr,·ers conducted their point oounts beh'Cen the
hours of6:00 a.in. and 10:30 a.n1. OnO'eruast. oool. or olher
da)·s '"hen teinpcrature and sky conditions did nol appenr to
be cnusing a decrease in singing orother;1cti,·ities ofbirds.
Ob.sen'CJ'S could continue their poinlcounts until 11:00 <t.ln.
It "·as nppropriatc to ,.I'll) ' the tin1es nt <1 point to c<1pture
1noredata. 'leath<.'fconditions "·ere importnnl for oc.cur<1te
dnta oollection. Obser.··oo aYoided mind;1ys <ind dll)·s "·hen
'vinds "·ere trc-~1ter th;1n ten 1niles per hour.
ObSCf·crs onl)•reoocdcd birds nomiaUy found in forest or
"·oodh1nd habitats, and nol birds loc<1ted in other habitnts,
such as vdlands, ;1djaccnt fields, or bx kyard.s. In addition.
they only counted birds using the habitat. They counted
"Oy-throughs'·(bclovthe cnnopy). but not ''Oy-oYCfS.,
(O'Cr the canopy) unless they '"erespocies th;1t usually
forage aboYe trees vhile in Oight. such as ChimnC)· s,vifts.
Distnncc fro1n the Ob.sen·er V<IS<1n in1portant con1poncnt
in identifying bird population density, and this is ' "here our
training in distance estiniation C<1n1e in hnnd)•. ;n Observer
recorded each bird detected by call or sight '"ithin three
distanoo b;inds: 0-25 lnctcrs, 26·50 nieters. nnd greater than
50 meters.
Forconsistency, Obser"ers <ind Recorders recorded c-~1ch
specieseither by full n;1n1c or by the four-letter;1ncrican
Ornithologists Union (AOU) acronym. Upon receipt of the
d;1t<1 sheds fron1 the ObSCf·ers, the IBA Coordin<1tor coded
all bird species nn1ncs usin,t AOU acrony1ns.
Dr. Dan Petit (left) and Tom Romito (right) markapoint
in the Rocky River IBA.
12. PERSPECTIVES
Here is''hm ''''O Ob!cncnsaid abou1 t.hcir IB..sun-~-ins
c.~·
lterc i1 ,,·h:ll lOVCAS ,oJuntiocn said .about their
experiences 11 Poant findcn:
13. SUCCESSES
The goal ofthe 'CAS IBA projo:t "!IS to help protect natural
resources. By oollcctins SC'Cral years ofdat.a I.hat describe
avianco1n1nunitics in throe Clcvclru1d Mctro1>arks
n::savations, 'C laid d1c foundation forfuture habiln1
protection. Folk>'ins arc significnnt outoo1ncs ofour efforts:
• 2007 I1CASoonductod a breeding bird survc~' at the
Merrick residence, located in thecenterof HincklC!o'
Rcscr'ntion. This farnily-o'ncd parcelCO'Crod 42 ocrc:s of
forest and 'Clland the d1c family had plnocd on the real
cstruc n1arkcLAdc'Clopcr m:dc lhc farnily rn1offa ,and
O.<fPCQuntcrod ,,;th a bid lhrough grant funding. Vhile lhc
bid 'a<i k>'Ct, the ftunil)•agrocd to sell the parcel to CMP.
Our sun 'C)' data helped Cf...fP bolster it~ grant propooals by
sho,,ing d1maviru1s1>0Cics Ihmcan be used to as."SCSs I.he
health and cn•irontncntal vnluc of the habitat
• 2008IVCAS sun·~'Cd OOditionnl points located in Risins
Vnllc)',just north of HincklC)1
Rcscn·ation.
• 2009IVCAS sun·~·cd 62 ocn:s of forest land along lhc
En.~ Orru1chofLhc Rocky River in North R~·nlton. C~1P
'anted to pun:ha..c this ~reel fmrn ru1out~f-stmc
dc'ck>pcr. Thcdc.,.clopcr ngrocd,,·ith O fP's plan, and our
sun 'C)' data helped Cti.fP ocquirc the funds to socun:: it.
• 2010&2011 IVCAS sun'C)'od eight points along the
Lake-to-Lake Trail in Middlcburs Heights near Lake
Abrnrns. Thisclfort sup1>0rtcd O fP's Sustain OurGreat
Lakes StC•ardship proposal for thc i'O,,.lfesJl/a1:·h /Jflhilal
Restoration Praj£'CI.
• 2012IWCAS '''Orkcd'''ith Clcvdand ~1ctroparks to
publish this report.
THE METRICS
Estimatin9Species Diversity & RichnessIA di'crsity index is
a n1athc1natical1ncasurcofspecies di,,crsi~· in acom1nunity.
Ald1ough a varict)•ofdi'crsity n1ctrics c.xist, 'Cchose to
calculate species diversity a<; the Shannon index (H'). The
Shannon index reflects d1c di,·crsiry ofs1>ocics rcprescntod in
thc con1n1unit)1• Species C'enncss refers to ho,,.c'cn~·
distributed. or hovclose in nu1nbcrs, CDCh species is ,,;thin
thc con1n1unit)1
• All bird species obscn<od at cooh SUt'~' point
'ere usod in calculations ofbird species di'crsity and s1>ocics
C'atnCSS.
Landscape MetricsIWe c'nluatcd t'O landsca1>c criteria
relatod to forest CO'ct(pro1>0rtionoflandscape 'ith cano1>Y
CO'ct) and forest frag1ncntation (configurationofforest as
an1ount of linear forest o:lgc) ,,;thin a 500 meter radius of
e.1chsun·c)' point (Sec Figure I). To charnctcri.7..c the an1ount
ofcanopy cover sutTOttnC!ing point count sites, Ve used aerial
imagCI)'collected in2(J()C) b)· the National Agricultural
ln1agcr:r Prograrn (one meter resolution), Googmphic
lnfonnation S)'Slcans (GIS) sofh'an:: ArcGIS, Environmenlnl
14. Systerus Rc11c1WCh ln111ituto. Redlnnds. Ctdifomiit Ve scloctOO
the 500111cier md1ustoencornpass the ruluti,·c Vicfth ofniost
Cl<.n·cloiKI l1ctroplll'kll •'CSCn 11tion.s muund each SW"~' poinL
Sun~ p<>inLS '''Cl°Cloc11edin the foUo;ng rcscn·utioos:
I) i-bnddc) ~~ b:otcJM1-lin..idq TCMnsbtp, Mcdlm
c-·°""'
2) ~flll 'Sbic:mDRun KncnllllOll. locad mIlene."-~
·~-JW,-onJ-,Jk. CU,llh>gaC"""'J".<ho.
3)RocL1 fb,vRc::tcn....._"Nellnn dwougb Bc:n:a.. Bloot Plrk.
tbdanl.1 .Ult' t>.l.. l~ood. Norflamsacd. CJlm;tcd
T<ft'lWiapW Roclt.) RJct, Cu)ahasaCounl)'.Cbo.
Pogure1(A«"'_offo-t.,.,_""'°'ina SOOmete<
radNs(,,_inr'4) MOund.,..srudypoinrpositionedin rhe
aonre<ofrho ordo. MS1Jl<knrifies rhis spedf;csrudypoinr
localedin Mil5.....,RunR.-rionin CuyahogaCo..,ty.
Nowrheamounrof....idenrl,/Midcommercialencroad>menr
._,CNPn.>runl-. Jhowlng rheimport<1<>eoofpror.cting
whdtis temaWng ofrhese naturalareas.
Patd1Me11lcsIAlthou.sh nlruycr suite of"Cgctation
chi.-octcn!tiic:s llS"''aill'!blc ff"Ofn the "egctntion sun~'S, '''C
selected a 11ub!ICI ofthese' nrinbles to describe the stn1cturc of
I.heforest wKicl"AOl)' SllCI OCfllOI)' ''ithin 50 meters ofaich
sun"C} poinL Sclcctccl habt111t ,·:iriablesincluded: Forbs (a
broad-lca'cd hcrbae~IS pl:mt C)lhc:I- dun a grass ). 'c:>oct,.
Slaru (~p<:lll) uhtob o,.J..)).Jik species). Canoi>l Ccm:r.
md Canoi>l He....1 Com.._"°5l<d bctwa:o rhcsc
sck-ckd '~ lhhoagh the mrcimmnoom::brion 115
on~ .tI pc:rcc:nc. tndaunss dcac:nein Forbs"ithaa
mcn:asc in C'anop) Co'et.
WHAT WE FOUND
~
~
.s
l
g
.."
1.1
1.5
1.2
O.t
o.•
0.)
o.o
Hlnc.~tey Mill StrMm R«:ky RNw
.....
This9..,,it..,..,.na t/tecl.ttJ from rt..IBA"""Y' It"->
,,... rhefllbiLKIn rho/o-t<led...,.,.,ofHinddey/lese<vadon
f-sn"9"""Y'*"'IN•-•in"'migrate rlwu<jo rt..Rody
RiwerlBA CMf rite oil.twO~
15. DATA ANALYSIS
Ob1cr1CQ collected dat11 nt cl'teh sun 'C)' site three tin1cs
during the nesting scllSon over the fi'e yc.nr period. 2006-
2010. E0
nluation ofthi1 cl.Ma for specie$di,·crs•I) ond
nchDCM i:ndicatcs th• our di,·crsi~· and ridmca dalehaYe
o -pl~ 1m>ponl hocrwrchical S1n1Cb1n:. To oc:com-
modate: and bettcrc'alurrte this structure, 'C ullCd linear,
1n1xied~ITects models fit lo oon1pare relationships bal'Cell
spcciot di'crsi~· and C'Cnnc11 and the lnndscnpo and P'dch
mclries described below.
RESULTS
Throushout ourstudy, the pc:rccntageof landsca1>e area in
rorcs.t C:O'cr mngcd oon1ide:rnbly, frQni 37 IJCl"nl 1095
percent. Similarly, the linear extent of forcs.t cdac rimscd
ftonl aboul fi'C miles to aboul 73 miles. f1cun lpctiCI
dJct1iry and a ·cnncss clad no1 differ sigpif~d) ~cc:o
JUnC)'S, nor across ye...1ltercu-crc, bm1-c'-cr11p.d9C8'11
n::lationships bct'u:n spccii:s dR·crs:i1y and the ltndJCaPC
and forest patch mctrK:a.
A 1i;nif1CMt pnttcru 'Ill oppan:nt bch'OCll lpc:cic:s
d1,enit)•(H') ..dthe proportion ofthe landscl!pC " 'ithin
' 00mctcn ofc:acb sunC) point,,;mcaoop) 00'Cf
; I.A
•j ,.
' '-' .~
J •
"
t:--'8"'4DWp.,._• .:ii$~~ ,II')...
~not'11oibc•lllC-.f""'fl t.iltldfftl
C'IU!ud~ n1l!r4diIC'illhl.fimd ~it'llldo.•ItO!Oif
iho.-mapu.w• ._.....,,1c''•IKilprw•""- •
~.,-c-.
~.-..spo<iosdi-.Jty....,..__Jin'-ls-
wfclt ~mat8y60 ,,.,cent forest O»W. 1Mre WJiS no
-ship~spoanrldtnessandtn.fom1-mcs
musuredwithin 50 mer.rsofNdlsurwypointm~uredat
tho lluidscetpesCdle.
At the locl of the forest p:i&eh (,,•ithin SO meters oreach
suJVCy 1>0int), species di,·ersity po1iti'cly correlates ,,·ith
Woody S1cn1s ttnd Forbs and lC!lllli,·cly vith Canopy
CoYel'. This suggests th:i1 lowet +C&etntion structure
suppOl'tl I di,-c:ne populatioa orbtrd species. Jhcrt: VIIM no
rclationdlip bct"-ceopatch bathtat metricsaod species
C"'CMCSI. Examples of this include doer br'O'SC and
invasi,•o pl!S't spe.eies.
From the dota collcctod, ''-ecnn conclude tb:rtactivities
which inc:misc or decrease~ OO'Cr m~· not tt1n1lt1tc
clinlctl) to a sabstaotial change m 8'-ian di'wsil)•wilhla the
stud)·area. H~'CU, thc~scofsomcspoeicsofbuds
may noc n1atch thjs general pattcm. Thus., the habitat
rcquit01nents of those species cloo9ncd to be in greatest
conser'otion concern, includirtjl those associated '"ith
mature fOteSls and carly-succcasion hllbi141, should be
C-.IUll!Cd on a caseb)' c.asc basis. An cxamp~orthis
C0Dcetn II Cefb1ca tarblcr. "hic:h "-.S poori)•rqx'CICtl1od
in our stud)· area and has cxpcriCAOCd a population doc.line
in Ohio.
16. Vegetation Survey
A COMPANION STUDY
WCAS cOflduccoda Clctall'°" sunc:>' in 2007 at au point count loc•iofts 1unCl)cddunna the Rcd"1' R.r:er IBA
conson'Mion in111n11'-c Or Pait tnulKd 'Oluo1eers in plant idcnti.fic1tKM'I andsunc, procooo1s. Thosun-e")' identified the
''e&etllli,,·cCCOS)stem 11each polot Eachofthe 62 poin1s had four subplots.. c11eh one mc:asurina(ive meters in radius
'vithrn nl1raor 30n1ctcrcirtlc. Tho prolocols WCASused to SUJVC)' the subplocs nro us follo,,·s:
Tho protocols WCAS used to survey lbc subplocsare
flS follOVS:
• ldcnlifictuion, 1ncnsurtrncnl, and countina of trees and
shrubs()Cf I 4 nlCICl'S Ulll.
• Count oody pfan1 sccdlinas aod shrubs above 25
ocnlimetcrs,or ankle hci&)~L
• Determine the '"Clctllioft profile structure"itha
~ing pole b) rcconling oumbcrof"llits"wbea
leaC$ touch the pok bct'CCll 0.0-0.-' meters,.
0 )·I 0 .....,., I 0.2 0 mch:rs. 2.0.3.0 lDCIOI'$.
3.M .Ometers. and< 0.$.0 m&n.
•Measure ~ hci,Pt rrom thecen1ercftbe circle
using an infmn::d ranac finder.
• t.ilellSurc canopy lcnfCO'Ct from I.he centersubplot
using ndcntito1nctcr,
• Docuntcnt tlopo, 1agpcot,dircccion orslope. and distance
to large nnd 11n1dl open lll'C-lls nnd 'Oler sources.
20. Finances
COSTS OF FINANCING AN IBA PROJECT
When vre cmb1ri.od on our LBA breedma birdsunC)' in
200-S. ,,-e k,nc 11 ,,., soinato cosc money.'c hid noidea
how much it 'OUld cosc. butCL'no'' ''"e'Ould find out as
,,"Ogot into it. Mnny t3sks' "'ouldrequire fuodina. suchas
cquippina nnd 1rainina ''olun•ocrs. collect:inidata fron1 the
lute)'S. and•ct1ina lhe wordout to che publJc aboil•"bat
"e,,-eredoma
Management 'Maoingto be another issoo. Our board
could only can') us so far. because lhereisoot) IOfar
Ohm&eefl c• ao before the) bumout. We ·anttid a
professional liO do cc:rtain thin.a•·Wedidn't knowJUSt ''bat
,,"O'''antedsuch npcnonto do al first. Ve'''oukl disco,·er
tha1. too, as ,,.c "'cnt alona,. WCAS sol;citcd applicancs
lh""'lh ClcCIM<I Me<ropor~s (CMP) for apait~imc IBA
CoonfmMOT A panct offi,-cWCAS members 1-nlM~ed
fj,-o cand1d111cs Md sefectod 1hcbosc one.
Inspiteofourunccrtaint)' abouc ''h"'ourC'(pon.50! 'OUkl
be11M1 "-h• the IBACoonl1ftll0t IS aolaJ to do. ''e
mo,-od fon,sd bocwse"·c ''an&ed chis proJOCC 10 succeed.
Fundingfor cho IBA Coordinator'•salary can10 fron1CMP
;-s pnrt ofour partncr1hi1>. aod fundina forother cot1t1ca1ne
(rom the Guncl FouAdt11ioo. Cle,·cl:md Zooloa,ical Soc1cl)'.
Clc,cl'""1Muocumof N*"ral HoSIOr), ..iAudubon 01110
As1.unc"-en1on.WCAS became c~pcn infv.nd·ra11ins. as
1hi1 ropon explainson pase I. CM1>funded the project
throu!lh tbe founh yoar, nnd WCAS p•id1he IBA
Coordinator's sal:M') for the fifth )'CM
SoJUSt ,,-stdid 11 co1110 run afi,c-,c• IBAbroodins bird
sutvoy? As thepie cha11 oo th.is paac sho'"'s. the101111cosc
,,.Ms~.ooo ,,,hh 11pcrceocoftho cos1 aoioa 10,"'ard 1hc
IBACooo!inator's solory.
Our method orsWflin&and manaain.a1heIBA proJoct
'Otkcd f"or USbOCllUSOthe Board tllUoCk 1
ith i1 th_rouah
thick and thin. Other Auduboo 9(K:icdcs tllld COCUC~llM>fl
Otp1izariooslha1,...,,., run IBApn>J«U"iU 6nd "'>'S
th11 ,,-Oft for than. HO''e'·er thc)1
do 1t.someone"'II hl-e
10 rocn1it and train volunteers'vhon1us:t already beexpert
birders and be·able to follo''' pro«ocols. Other people '''ill
ha'o IO raise funds. educate the pubhc, anda,;ncr tho
suppon ofelcd<d offoaols. duoas we lcomed10 do
ourseJ,·cs.
Financing the five-year IBA project
$6,000 9•. $J.OOO ~·.
$6,000
9'"
• IBA~ts
• Eqjpmenl and ..Pl>lioo
21. VOLUNTEERS
Folloing arc the people "hohave 'Oluntccrcd I.heirtituc und tolcnts for t1'° Rock)' Ricr IBA projoct.
Poinl Fi111h:n
Liz Clingmoti
~ Ot81n
Jo;mocGcqcs
T~ Go.tics
Ooo JW..,-cll
Jljch Kas<0uf
And) Lihaiu
L;;ira Role1cnc1.1
Ton) RonJito
Colin Shep1):1rd
Eli.1_,;1bcth Spi11ncr
KatJ1loon 1ibur1.i
Phnt1>Jtra1Jl1c:r11
TCft} Gorges
Oilc LC'11
Penn} O'Connor
Tern ~b11nt.1t
O.ancS1gk:r
Pogc S.cphcnJ
~t~ Anne Rom110
C. H 'arrcn
Bari) Volfc
Obll(.'ncn
Ken Ballm
Bdl Deininger
O.:nc lhonk
Oms ~-.m
lien~ FortJ:tgc
0'11C Gras:cmpa
None) llocll
Ma~ Lou l.fura
Ti1n K~·nnk
Pouht LoT.ano
Ten·i ti..lnrlincic
Dr 01m Petit
ti..lnl)' Anne Ro1uito
0 11111 •.nnt~·s:is
Su7:inne Aklrich
NtlllC) Bucher
M") Cnu
~l:M) Anne Romrtt>
0.Cl Hoffmatt
Jcari Holl'mm
fem A1sninc.1c
Or TCtl) Robison
Dr Soo11 Rush
Rl.."CordetS 1
c.'j,,~lution Sunl")Ors
John Andes Nwl1;i Aryucdas Eric Ol>I~
DamisllUdl Andl"C' BtJolonsk) L...,.Ob~
Kil Birch K11 81n:h R)MOblo,
M..Ull<m<m• Kahlccn Bnid~ ~O'c.,._
~f;ary Cru1. Niii<) s....~ Bedi P3$CI.
C.a~ r:t,·nn ~11n1 Buno""' Jessica Ped.
Robert Finl..elsacin ~13n~n Corniel Michelle Peet..
Elizabeth llagcn Karen C;r.cmia'ski Dt. Dan Peut
Ed lnnocco.1j Leo Cl'cm111,,·ski Laro Rol.e.1cnct1.
Anna Julnos On'e Q,omk Ji..lal')'An1h~ Ro1ni10
t>.1ikc Pacek Jonnne Gori:tes To1n ROl'l)ilO
Ellie Rct1gan Terry Gori:tes Lir'lda Sekura
t>.f<1rty Rcyn:ird Seti)· Grt.oen Colin Sheppard
Toni Runiit(l Don IIO'C'll LisoSheppatd
Stefooie Spear Jolin K:itlo [);aneS;glc<
Kadtloon TiburLi Terra Martincic R~ S•e,,art
Adoun ~lnrtiiteic ~t:wie SuJJi,ai
Jamie lmti:ncic KA'lhleen Tibw'zi
Joe lmtmcic Carol rtls<>n
TbaalUi to all or thtM:1M:Oplc. all CAS manbcrJ and
~a1•1>ortcn. and ~~I') ont' ctU'. "ho hdpal " ·itb tbe IBA projL"Cl.
hut ,,·hu!iC namo 1H•) hllC: been o,·,~rtookt.-d and arc not on
listt--d thir. 1•~1i;te.
22. WCASBOARDMEMBERS DROVE THE IBA PROGRAM
Throughout the fivo-yciw IOA sun·C)·period. VCAS bo:n:I mc:inbcrs1ua1ntoincdthe 1tlOtntnl111n or lhe project. So1uc l¥C no
longer actJ,•c on the ~'ltd, and $l01nc nre nC'v, but the follovring people!lt!ncd on the bootd td so1uc tinle in some,,.3).during
this period·
G~lcAlbcn M•l Horctich Perut~ o·c........ St.. Scotles
O:tud1aAndcn N~ H°"cll ~tat) Anne Rom1ao D1...SoglcT
K.1 Bm:ll Tern ~laruneic Tom Rom110 Kahleeft Ttbum
1,.,,c1._.. Kun }.l1sl.e Sc<>u Rosh ~ Wotre
23. Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society
Connecting People with Nature Iwcasohio.org
4310 Bush A11enue, Cleveland. OH 44109
phone: 216·741 2352 fax: 216-741-1879 email: nfo@wcasohio.org
Proc..ctionofthis documentand the wo<'<o'tne RodcyRe-Important 8'-d A~• Br...Oong
Bird~ and Vtgetat'°"Surveyweresupponecl by tnefollowon<J
Audubon Ohio
Clevet.nd Museum ofNatur•IHi.story
Gund Found1tlon
Clevelond Motrop•rkJ
ClevelondZoologiu lSodety
WestemCuy1hogoAudubonSociety
OJ
...
: '.... -~
' ' .~
@Cleveland Metropaitts
Noponion ofthd doc"""'1Imaybe reproduced w·t'leut:tie•-wrmO<l ~ ol
w.,..,,,Cuyal>O<J•A..dubot' Socoety
Ci~ Pnnttd on ~t Contumw R.eqd.d F'".ber
•