Projects Overview
Bird Counts
Maryland Biodiversity Project leads two fall morning flight bird counts in the state. These are located at Turkey Point (Cecil County) at the top of the Chesapeake Bay and at Dans Rocks (Allegany County) in western Maryland. The counts' timing and protocols align with the morning flights hosted by Cape May Bird Observatory (CMBO) in Cape May, New Jersey. Working together we have our clearest window to date into fall migration in the Mid-Atlantic. The counts run each morning from August 1st to November 30th (4 months). We provide all data in near real time via Trektellen and daily via eBird. Counters share regular updates to the MBP blog. Season reports are published in the peer-reviewed journal Maryland Birdlife. The data collected is valuable to our understanding of eastern U.S. bird migration.
Project Sites
Publications
- Engstrom, Carl A. 2023. Dans Rock Fall Migration Count: 2022 Season Report. Maryland Birdlife 72(1):78-96. Available at: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/docs/engstrom_2023.pdf.
- Heiser, Joshua S. 2024. Dans Rock Fall Migration Count: 2023 Season Report. Maryland Birdlife 73(1):52-73. Available at: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/docs/heiser_2024.pdf.
- Irons, Daniel J. 2023. Turkey Point Fall Migration Count: 2021 Season Report. Maryland Birdlife 72(1):15-34. Available at: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/docs/irons_d_2021.pdf.
- Irons, Jonathan D. 2023. Turkey Point Fall Migration Count: 2022 Season Report. Maryland Birdlife 72(1):56-77. Available at: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/docs/irons_j_2022.pdf.
- Reb, Aaron L. and Jonathan D. Irons. 2024. Turkey Point Fall Migration Count: 2023 Season Report. Maryland Birdlife 73(1):74-92. Available at: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/docs/reb-irons_2024.pdf.