Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship and other Banding Research

Whidbey Audubon Society hosts ornithologist Scott Markowitz of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory for its monthly program meeting. He will take you through the reasoning and methodology of the Institute for Bird Population’s Monitoring of Avian Productivity and Survivorship study. He will share the how the Puget Sound Bird Observatory’s two stations operate, and how the data contributes so the scientific understanding of bird population health. PSBO operates MAPS bird-banding stations that are part of a continent-wide network of research stations monitoring the reproduction and survival of bird populations. Markowitz is the director of research at PSBO and is a faculty fellow at Pacific Lutheran University. Scott is also working on the mechanics of sexual selection in Sialia mexicana (Western Bluebird) with regards to coloration as an honest indicator of successful foragers and the connection with the rate of extra-pair copulations, of which he will also share. Doors open at 7 p.m. for socializing, followed by a brief meeting at 7:15. The program begins at 7:30. This event is free and open to the public.