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Water Quality
Avian Point Count Study
Birds are important indicators of an environment’s health and by monitoring them we are able to gauge the environmental impact of the Wash stabilization and habitat enhancement program. This is why we expanded the bird monitoring program with the initiation of the Wash Avian Point Count Study in February 2005. The study is funded through a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. While the census conducted with the Red Rock Audubon Society allowed us to collect detailed information regarding the bird community at one specific site, the point count study gives us the ability to gather data along the length of the lower Wash, providing a snapshot of the bird community at more than 30 sites.
The term 'point count' refers to the method used to conduct the study. When using this method, ornithologists periodically visit a series of pre-established points at which they conduct time-limited counts. For the purposes of this study, we have established more than 30 sites and selected a five-minute count period. Sites are visited once every two weeks. This frequency allows us to better record migrants and other species moving through the area that use Wash resources for a limited period of time and then move on. It also allows us to more accurately identify when summer and winter resident species arrive at the Wash.
Las Vegas Wash avian point count study sites (PDF) (click for larger view)
Points are located in wetland, riparian and upland habitats, in areas where stabilization and revegetation activities have already occurred, as well as in areas where these activities will occur in the future or will never occur. Comparing birds in each of these environments provides information regarding the impact of the stabilization and enhancement program in the Wash over time. Vegetation data collected at each site allows us to make habitat/species associations and to track any changes in birds using a site as vegetation changes occur (e.g., tamarisk clearing, native plant revegetation, and revegetation site maturation).
Since its inception, the study has recorded more than 170 species, some of which have not been reported in the Wash for more than 30 years, including the ladder-backed woodpecker, gray flycatcher, dusky flycatcher, house wren, and winter wren. A nesting, long-eared owl also was identified, a bird for which no prior Wash records could be found. Annual reports for this study can be found in the Ecology Research section of the Document Library.
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