Initiated in 1989, the Vermont Forest Bird Monitoring Program (FBMP) is an effort to track long-term changes in populations of interior forest songbirds. As of 2005, monitoring sites have been established at 29 mature forest tracts representing 9 different forest communities across Vermont and New Hampshire. Each study site consists of a series of five sampling points spaced approximately 200 meters apart. During the height of breeding activities in June, each site is visited twice by a volunteer or a staff biologist skilled in visual and aural bird identification. At each survey point all the birds seen and heard are recorded. As one of the only projects in the Northeast that collects habitat-specific data across a broad range of forest types, the FBMP provides critical baseline data with which to monitor future population changes.

For more information, contact: Steve Faccio (sfaccio AT vtecostudies.org)