Ornithological research plays an important role in understanding conservation and ecology. Studies of bird populations, habitats, and flyways can help with assessment of the overall health of the environment and help us understand the ecosystem of a particular region. Research helps identify factors that affect our birds and enables us to better understand the relationship between species within a habitat.
DOAS has coordinated a number of different research efforts. Some are annual events; some are targeted at specific species.
Raptor Research:
Migration Counts and transect studies:
- Franklin Mountain Hawk Watch
- Betty and Wilbur Davis State Park Hawk Watch
- Hawkcount/HMANA
- Kestrel Project
Eastern Golden Eagles are a small isolated at-risk population. For general information on Golden Eagles, please refer to this article: The Golden Eagle – New York’s Other Eagle (NYS Conservationist, December 2014)
- 2009 Spring migration count – Delaware County Transect pdf
- 2010 Spring migration count – Otsego County Transect pdf
- 2015 Delaware County Winter Raptor Count- 2015 Raptor Count
- Golden Eagle Telemetry and tracking
- Annual Christmas Bird Counts in the Otsego County and Delaware County regions as well as territories in the Fort Plain area.
- Annual Winter Waterfowl census (January)
- Great Backyard Bird Count each February.
- Big Day Bird Count each May.
The general public can assist with research through some of the above programs as well as through various Citizen Science projects. Citizen Science projects are typically used for data collection. Some of these include the annual Christmas Bird Count (in our area, DOAS oversees three areas – Otsego County, Delaware County and the Fort Plain region), Project Feederwatch (through Cornell Lab of Ornithology), and the Great Backyard Bird Count (a collaborative project that runs for a weekend each February.
To get involved with any of the above programs, please email us with a message at DOAS or speak with one of our board members at a member meeting!
