
Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship, or M.A.P.S.
Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship, or M.A.P.S for short, is a continent-wide collaborative effort among public agencies, non-governmental groups, and individuals to assist the conservation of birds and their habitats through demographic monitoring. Our M.A.P.S Station is located in Montgomery County, Tennessee on 50 acres where we use a standardized, constant-effort protocol with mist nets to capture birds during the summer breeding season.
The birds are banded using lightweight stainless steel metal bands issued to us by the Bird Banding Lab. We collect and record information on the birds’ age, sex, body condition, and reproductive status and then the bird is released unharmed. Subsequent recapture data provides information on survival, reproductive rates, and sometimes, movement patterns. Southeastern Avian Research was proud to have been a member station since 2014 but unfortunately the land used for our station has been sold so we ended our study in 2018.