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Dean Hill |
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With the help of experienced birders
and enthusiastic volunteers, the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy has been monitoring
the resident and visiting landbirds on Catalina since spring 1999. Information
collected during spring and fall surveys each year improves our understanding
of the abundance, distribution, and habitat requirements of various bird species,
especially those known only to exist on Catalina and the other Channel Islands.
Regular monitoring also has the potential for signaling us if populations are
in jeopardy and in need of management to restore their numbers.
Data collected over the past four years suggest that on the island, some landbirds
may be more generalized in their habitat requirements, while others appear to
be more specialized than on the mainland. The Orange-crowned Warbler, for instance,
is found most often in scrub oak woodland habitat. More specific information
on the breeding biology and foraging behavior of this warbler in scrub oak habitat
on Catalina is currently being investigated by a team of researchers from the
Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the University of California, Riverside.
Orange Crowned Warbler, a Channel Island Endemic
Researchers initiate a long-term study to better understand the life history
and ecology of the Orange-crowned Warbler, a Channel Island endemic. |
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