Shrub-Nesting Passerine Collaborative
Overview
The Shrub-Nesting Passerine Collaborative is a research program dedicated to understanding the impacts of commercial wind turbines on shrub-nesting birds.
If you are interested in supporting this program, please contact Caleb Gordon.
In the prime wind resource regions of the U.S., grassland and shrubland habitats are a predominant component of the landscape. These habitats host a variety of breeding birds, including federally protected songbirds (or passerines) such as the Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapilla) and the Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia).
Little scientific information exists regarding the potential impacts of
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Project photos by Bryan Suson.
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commercial
wind development on these and other North American shrub-nesting bird species. This lack of information is an obstacle for the effective management and conservation of this habitat and its wildlife, as well as for the development of North America’s wind resources.
By advancing the frontiers of our knowledge in this area, we aim to provide information of critical importance to wildlife managers, regulators, and the wind industry.
Study Design
We are using state-of-the-art analytical techniques and old-fashioned field ornithology to characterize the potential impacts of commercial wind turbines on bird fitness (defined as overall biological success).
To characterize bird fitness, we are using an intensive nest searching and monitoring effort that yields a measurement of bird reproductive success. First, we find nests (the hard part) and then we return to each nest every two to four days thereafter until the nest is completed or destroyed. During each visit, we record the number of eggs and fledglings of the host bird species and the Brown-headed Cowbird – a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of other species, which usually prevents the host bird from successfully raising its own young.
The resulting data are then analyzed using the Mayfield Method to determine the daily survival rate (DSR) of each nest. This method is widely regarded in ornithology as the most richly informative way to measure avian reproductive success.
To characterize the potential impact of the turbines, we are conducting statistical analyses that combine data on bird reproduction with the spatial placement of the nests on the study site. We are applying three complementary, state-of-the-art analytical techniques to determine whether there are any statistically significant relationships between the reproductive success of nests and the distance of the nests to the nearest wind turbine.
Results to Date 
In the spring and summer of 2009, our field crew found and monitored 327 nests of 16 bird species at NextEra Energy’s Wolf Ridge Energy Center in Cooke and Montague counties, Texas. The crew obtained sample sizes sufficient for substantive analysis of distance-to-turbine effects on five species: Northern Cardinal, White-eyed Vireo, Painted Bunting, Lark Sparrow, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
For the 2010 field season, we focused exclusively on Black-capped Vireos at NextEra Energy’s Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center in Taylor and Nolan counties, Texas, finding and monitoring a remarkable 153 nests of this Federally Endangered species. This sample size allowed a robust analysis of the relationship between Black-capped Vireo nesting success and distance to the nearest wind turbine, including separate analyses for brood parasitism and nest depredation effects.
Presentation of 2009 and 2010 SNP results at the NWCC Research Meeting VIII in Colorado (Oct 2010)
NEWS: SNP Results Make Professional Debut at Ornithology Meeting (Feb 2010)
Vision for the Future
The SNP project is envisioned as a long-term research program.
Our current work is directed at the immediate goal of advancing the state of scientific knowledge regarding the potential impacts of wind facility development on the fitness of Black-capped Vireos and other shrub-nesting songbirds that share its shrubland habitat in central Texas and Oklahoma. We are hopeful that after a highly successful 2010 field season, a single additional field season may provide enough evidence to publish an original research manuscript reporting our findings for Black-capped Vireos in a major peer-reviewed technical journal. Once we have accomplished that goal, we expect to broaden the spatial, temporal, taxonomic, and ecological envelope of our research program to continue to advance knowledge frontiers on pressing scientific issues regarding wind-wildlife interactions in shrub-nesting bird communities and beyond.
Publications and Presentations
Effects of wind turbine proximity and other variables on the reproductive success of shrub-nesting passerines. Presented at the Joint Meeting of the Cooper Ornithological Society, American Ornithologists Union, and Society of Canadian Ornithologists; Feb 08, 2010, San Diego, CA.
Relative influence of ecological and anthropogenic effects on passerine nesting success at a wind energy facility in north-central Texas. Presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers; April 14-18, 2010, Washington, D.C.
Reproductive success of Black-capped Vireos and other shrub-nesting passerines in relation to distance from wind turbines. Presented at the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative’s (NWCC) Wind-Wildlife Research Meeting VIII; October 19-21, 2010, Lakewood, CO.
Program Supporters
The Environmental Bioindicators Foundation, Inc., Pandion Systems, Inc., and Normandeau Associates Inc. would like to thank the following organizations for their generous support of this program:
To support this program, please contact Caleb Gordon for information.
Normandeau (formerly Pandion) Team
Key Personnel
Sub-Contractors and Associates
- Harold Greeney, PhD, Yanayacu Biological Station
- Amanda Hale, PhD, Texas Christian University
- Kristopher Karsten, PhD, Texas Christian University
- Scott Turner and staff, Turner Biological Consulting, LLC
- Joseph Grzybowski, Ph. D., University of Central Oklahoma and Sam Noble Natural History Museum
- Victor Fazio
- Kenneth Meyer, Ph. D., Avian Research and Conservation Institute
Period of Performance
2009 to current
Location
2009 season: Wolf Ridge Wind Energy Center, Cooke and Montague counties, Texas
2010 and 2011 seasons: Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center, Taylor and Nolan counties, Texas
