Klamath Bird Observatory
$49,979

Oregon Vesper Sparrow is an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species and one of the most imperiled birds in North America. We propose to use Motus technology to increase detection probabilities, and better estimate post-fledging survival, juvenile annual survival, and natal dispersal patterns. We aim to answer five questions: 1) what are post-fledging survival rates? 2) what are juvenile annual survival rates? 3) could these demographic rates be limiting population growth? 4) where do young from our main study site tend to disperse to? and 4) are survival rates different between Motus-tagged and control birds? New data collected during this study will be integrated into range-wide research that aims to disentangle potential causes of Oregon Vesper Sparrow population decline and develop conservation strategies to mitigate them.

Project Report