GUIDE TO BLACKSTONE RIVER TREES SUPPLEMENTS FOREST BIRD SURVEY

An old growth Yellow Birch shows bark characteristics unlike those of younger trees.

In order to maximize their usefulness, data from forest bird surveys should be related to data on forest habitats.  During the Forest Bird Survey of Southern New England, Bird Conservation Research, Inc. gathered data on a variety of habitat parameters along with data on bird distributions.  Such information has proven useful for uncovering relationships between bird communities, bird species and habitats occupied.

An ongoing part of the Forest Bird Survey has involved student-conducted studies on forests bordering the Blackstone River in Massachusetts.  In addition to gathering data on winter bird occurrence, students also conduct an in-depth analysis of the forests in which the birds live.  They use plotless point-quarter sampling to characterize characterize the composition, density and basal area of canopy and understory trees.  

To help with identification of the tree species encountered along the river, BCR has prepared a full color, downloadable guide to winter trees of the region.  It provides photos of 33 tree species, profiles of their distinguishing characteristics and descriptions of their ecological relationships.