Taking Flight

Glacier National Park’s MAPS station is just 1 of 25 stations active across national parks as of 2024.

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Since 1989, efforts to monitor the populations of songbirds have been in motion by the Institute for Bird Populations (IBP). A program the IBP started called MAPS, Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship, took flight with stations across the North American continent. Since its liftoff, more than 1,200 stations have collected more than 2.5 million bird capture records. About 300 are active today. Each contributes to a large and detailed database for ecologists to use in research related to birds, giving insight into a species that’s constantly on the move.

A collaboration between public agencies, private groups, and motivated individuals, each site collaborates toward the larger goals of conservation. MAPS stations in places like national parks are particularly important because they’re protected from development or extractive industries. They serve as wilderness “rest stops” on a bird’s migration route or as the final destination for those ready to start breeding season. With 25 stations active in national parks during 2024, scientists are working in tandem with researchers across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada to collect information on how birds are doing.

A handler at Grand Teton National Park documents data from a chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina).

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Like any commitment, MAPS is not just an acronym, but an act. Every ten days from May through August, researchers wake up before sunrise and are out in the field for over seven hours: putting up nets, making rounds every thirty minutes, and then processing, documenting, and banding each bird they encounter.

Trained and permitted banders participate in America’s longest and largest running program to study the demographic rates of birds, which measure the health of bird populations. They evaluate a species’ productivity and survivorship. Productivity measures how many offspring are born, or birth rate effects. Survivorship measures how likely a bird is to survive from year to year, or death rate effects.

Rangers at Yellowstone National Park’s MAPS station inspect the wings of a Red-Naped Sap sucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis).

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Along with tracking population numbers, MAPS also gathers data on a bird’s molting, reproduction status, and age by looking at their feathers. By tracking birth rate and length of life for birds across North America, conservationists and wildlife managers can hone in on where in a bird’s life cycle the population declines occur.

Data from MAPS has shown that weather, especially precipitation, greatly impacts the productivity and survivorship of birds. Birds are sensitive to the warming climate and drastic changes in weather. Trends in decreased body size across bird species show that they aren't adjusting the timing of their breeding fast enough; as spring comes earlier, so does summer. Caring for their young and the survival of their chicks can be close to hopeless after a hard season.

“Things with bird populations and the environment are changing rapidly with climate change. Landbirds and songbirds are indicators of what is happening in the environment as a whole. If landbird populations are not healthy, that indicates larger problems in the environment.”

—Dani Kaschube, MAPS program coordinator

The first group of MAPS stations had 16 sites and included Point Reyes National Seashore. David F. DeSante, IBP’s founder, was working for the Point Reyes Bird Observatory in the late 80s and saw a large gap in data due to few bird monitoring stations with inconsistent protocols. His idea to spread stations across North America while following the same protocols grew, and since its founding, 1,400 MAPS stations have been established. Ninety-three have been in national parks. Point Reyes National Seashore’s station is still in operation today, 35 years later. With the MAPS program data set covering a wide geographic area over a long period of time, researchers can use this data to more accurately make conclusions.

“The amount of research that has come out of the MAPS program is vastly greater than Dave’s original goals,” Dani Kaschube said. “Knowing what is happening to the demographics allows conservation efforts to be more directed to the help of increasing populations.”

A MacGillivray's warbler (Geothlypis tolmiei) is released at Glacier National Park’s MAPS station.

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MAPS has allowed scientists to flock together and compare data, strengthening the stories it can share. Each bird at each station helps the search for answers to long-standing questions and new ones that will arise as time goes on and climates warm. Thousands of banders have participated in MAPS over the years. There were likely over 1,500 participants for 2024 alone. For the researchers in national parks, the idea of wilderness and conserving it is all the more apparent as they witness shrinking habitats and dwindling wildlife populations directly in front of them. Although each bird has a part in the conservation of their species, each human has a part in the conservation of nature. Everyone does what they can to survive a rapidly changing world and to help each other do the same.

Funded by Glacier Conservancy, Glacier’s MAPS is a product of a community caring about conserving wild places.

Read more about MAPS in Glacier:

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  The Buzz of Bird Banding

  There is nothing quite like the feeling of holding a wild bird in your hands in the name of science.

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  Birds of a Feather

  By evaluating the condition of birds, feather by feather, scientists can get a better picture of the health of an entire species.