Avian Habitat Use Monitoring at the Edmonds Marsh

Background

The Puget Sound shoreline, from Everett to Tacoma, is an almost continuous scene of human activity and impact. Within this landscape lie constrained natural systems still critical for environmental functions, but characterized by degradation and loss of ability to support clean water and healthy wildlife. The story of the Edmonds Marsh is also chronicled within this landscape. It is a remnant of a historical barrier estuary and marsh complex and represents one of the few remaining such ecological features in Puget Sound.

While the Edmonds Marsh is a shadow of a former expansive estuary, it remains a favored spot for birders and nature enthusiasts as a place for passive recreation. It holds the distinction of being the first stop on Audubon Washington's Great Washington State Birding Trail - Cascade Loop and enjoys a rich legacy for the many and varied species identified among the wetlands, mudflats, uplands and within the surrounding buffer areas. However, systematically collected and documented data for how birds utilize the Marsh's varied habitats and trend data for change over time does not exist.

Pilchuck Audubon Society, with the generous support of local donors, has begun a long-term project to collect data to monitor avian species use of the marsh and the surrounding buffer habitat to better understand the value of the Edmonds Marsh to birds. This study, which began in December 2018, will continue for a total of 10 years. The data collected during this time will allow the researchers to look at the relative diversity in the marsh, and will give us a baseline by which to evaluate the impact of the upcoming changes to the marsh on its avian residents and visitors.

Volunteers Needed!

Do you like to go outside? Do you like to watch wildlife? Do you know a bit about birds? Come join our team! We need more volunteers to help us carry out this important project.

Time Commitment

This project allows flexibility in how much you’d like to volunteer. It is not a very time intensive commitment as there are only 24 surveys each year (2 per month). Each survey will be completed within a couple hours, starting around sunrise.

Skills

Being able to identify birds is a large component of this survey. Visual identification skills are important, and auditory identification is helpful but not required. You will be walking around the marsh, sometimes through thick mud, so your comfort level with that type of activity should be considered.

We will provide training on data collection and accessing the survey locations at the marsh.

For more information and to volunteer, please contact:

Brian Zinke (director@pilchuckaudubon.org)

Executive Director