Steps Toward Bird-friendlyForest ManagementLearn more. Call Audubon Vermont for additionalbird and wildlife management resources and to askabout upcoming workshops offered by Audubonand other conservation organizations.

Call Audubon Vermont for a Forest Bird HabitatAssessment. Find out if your property is in the forestblocks where Audubon is working and if it qualifiesfor a habitat assessment.

Consult with a professional forester. Ask yourconsulting forester to update your forestmanagement plan to include goals and actions thathelp protect and enhance habitat for forest birds.Call your County Forester for general guidance onmanaging your forest; he or she can connect youwith a consulting forester - if you don’t already haveone - and provide information on other programsthat provide forest landowners with technical andfinancial assistance.

Monitor forest bird populations. Call AudubonVermont for assistance with keeping track of thebird populations in your forest.

Talk to your neighbors about management for forestbird habitat. Increase the value of your forest ashabitat for birds by collaborating with neighboringlandowners.

255 Sherman Hollow RoadHuntington, VT 04562Phone: (802) 434-3068vermont@audubon.org

vt.audubon.org

Support and Services for ForestLandowners and Managers

Forest Bird Habitat Assessments

Audubon Vermont collaborates with municipalities, community organizations, foresters,and other land managers to incorporate consideration for forest bird habitat into forest andnatural resource planning. We also provide technical assistance to individual landownersthrough the following programs:

Since each forest offers unique opportunities forbird-friendly management, Audubon Vermont’sconservation biologists can visit and assess privateforests in areas that have been identified asparticularly important to breeding forest birds. Eachlandowner receives information on the existinghabitats on their land, as well as practicalrecommendations for protecting and enhancinghabitat for responsibility bird species in their forest.

Forest Bird MonitoringHow will you know if your approach to managingyour forest is in fact helping forest birds? Audubon Vermont can help you keep track of thebird species on your property with simple monitoring protocols and by connecting you withknowledgeable Audubon volunteers who can provide assistance and training.

Programs and Demonstrations at the Green Mountain Audubon CenterAudubon Vermont’s Green Mountain Audubon Center in Huntington regularly hosts forestbird and wildlife habitat management workshops, trainings, and demonstrations forlandowners, as well as other programs. Call Audubon Vermont or visit us online at

vt.audubon.org to learn about upcoming events.on CommonGround Contact Audubon Vermont

Phone: (802) 434-3068 Email: vermont@audubon.org

FOREST BIRD INITIATIVE

Blackburnian Warblers nest in mature coniferous and mixed forests.

Unless otherwise indicated,bird photos courtesy of

Keeping Birds

and People

Why are our northen forests so special to birds?

Can working forests work for forest birds?

We share our northern forests with as much as 90% of the global breeding populations ofdozens of species of migratory birds, including the Bicknell’s Thrush, Black-throated BlueWarbler, and Canada Warbler (Partners in Flight). The North American Bird ConservationInitiative refers to these birds as responsibility species; the responsibility of looking out for thefuture of these birds is in our hands because our forests are the core oftheir breeding range. Fortunately, because these birds are still commonin our region, we have the opportunity to protect and enhance theirbreeding habitat now before they become threatened or endangered.

Audubon Vermont’s Forest Bird Initiative is integrating science, education, public policy, andmanagement expertise to conserve forests in our region that are important to birds. Incooperation with many partners, Audubon Vermont is developing strategies for stewardingand monitoring a network of large forest blocks that have been indentified as being particularlyimportant breeding habitat for responsibility species in our region. These strategies includesupporting policies for land conservation funding, teaching educational programs in schools,communities, and at the Green Mountain Audubon Center, and demonstrating managementfor wildlife habitat at the Center. Audubon Vermont conservation biologists also providetechnical assistance to landowners, land managers, and communities who wish to protect andenhance habitat for forest breeding birds in the forest blocks .

Every year, millions of migratory birds make the long journey back to the forests of northernNew England from their wintering grounds in Central and South America to nest, breed andraise their young. The eruption of song marking their return is as common a sign of spring astrees leafing out. However,many of these seeminglycommon northern forestbirds, such as the WoodThrush, White-throatedSparrow, and CanadaWarbler are experiencinglong-term populationdeclines (Common Birds inDecline, National AudubonSociety, 2007). Our forestsare more important thanever as a refuge from thestresses of habitat loss anddegradation.

How important is private forestland to birds?

Our northern forests are home to the highest concentration ofbird species breeding in the continental United States

Very. Roughly 80% of our region’s forests are privately-owned. Whenconsidered within the broader landscape, even the smallest properties can becritical parts of the large blocks of forest in our region that support breedingbirds. Small actions by individual forest landownerscan have a global impact.

Absolutely, with careful planning and thoughtful implementation.Forest products from timber to maple syrup can generate incomethat helps landowners to offset the costs of land ownership. In thisway, income from forest products helps to protect forest bird habitatby minimizing subdivision and conversion to non-forested uses. In

addition, forest management activities have the potential toenhance habitats for some forest birds. For example, growingand cutting firewood can improve future timber potential in aforest stand while also enhancing understory nesting habitats forBlack-throated Blue Warblers.

Chestnut-sided Warblers nest in young, early-successional, deciduous forest orovergrown fields.

Wood Thrushes nest in mature deciduous forest with a dense understory and thick leaf litter.

Black-throated Blue Warblers nest in interior deciduous and mixed forests with a dense understory.

Photo courtsy of the US Fishand Wildlife Service

FOREST BIRD INITIATIVE

Photo courtsy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Map coutresy of The Nature Conservancy; Vermont Chapter