Rouge River Bird Observatory research programs

Rouge River Bird Observatory
Research Projects

Please see our list of publications

Stopover ecology of migrant birds

There has been little research on how migratory birds use urban natural areas. By banding birds and later recapturing them, we find out which species use our area, which stay to rest and refuel, and how much weight they gain. In a rapidly urbanizing world, an understanding of how birds use urban areas during migration and how to manage these areas is critical for their continued survival.

Bird Population Monitoring
Bird banding is our primary research tool. We band at least five mornings a week during fall migration (mid-August to November, respectively) and less frequently during the spring migration. We have banded nearly 30,000 birds of 139 species.

Regular, year-round bird surveys help us keep track of both resident and migratory birds on campus and in the Dearborn area. They include the following:

Winter Bird Population Survey
This annual survey helps to determine the effects of weather on survival, winter territories, and winter site fidelity. Begun on campus in 1993, it runs from 20 December to 20 February. Details and previous results are available.

Christmas Bird Count
The Detroit River Michigan/Ontario Christmas Bird Count, held annually on 1 January, includes Dearborn and adds to the winter survey data. RRBO coordinates the Dearborn team. Previous results are available. For more information on CBCs, see the National Biological Survey's CBC Home Page or National Audubon Society's CBC page.

Wayne County Breeding Bird Atlas
RRBO coordinated field work in Wayne County for the second Breeding Bird Atlas of Michigan. An entire separate web site is devoted to this project.

Migration counts
Spring and fall daily migration counts supplement bird banding and help monitor the species and numbers of migrating birds throughout the campus and nearby areas. For information on the latest species seen on any of our surveys, visit our Latest sightings page. Our research focus is the stopover ecology of migrant birds.

RRBO has conducted studies on several bird species:

Wood Thrush nesting success in an urban forest fragment
Common Loon migration over Lake St. Clair, 1992-97
Eastern Bluebird site fidelity, 1996-97 at a sister site along the Rouge River in Farmington Hills

Avian influenza monitoring
Beginning in 2006, RRBO joined a network of migration monitoring stations that are part of the Landbird Migration Monitoring Network of the Americas (LaMMNA) in monitoring migratory birds for avian influenza, in conjunction with The Institute for Bird Populations (IBP), and UCLA’s Center for Tropical Research (CTR). The objectives are to catalogue the occurrence and distribution of avian influenza sub-types, identify transmission paths in North American migratory birds, and to further the goal of developing custom vaccines. RRBO collects feather and intestinal cell samples of many species of birds for this project.

Insect monitoring
RRBO has worked on several projects surveying and monitoring dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, and moths, in particular at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. See publications about insects below.

Strategic Planning
RRBO's Julie Craves has participated in the following major planning strategies.

Western Lake Erie Basin Migratory Bird Stopover Site Attribute Working Group
Michigan Endangered Bird Species Technical Group
Michigan Bird Conservation Initiative Steering Committee, in cooperation with the North American Bird Conservation Initiative
Michigan Wildlife Conservation Strategy

Cooperative Research
RRBO has contributed significant data to the following projects (sponsors in parenthesis):

Birds of North America (Academy of Natural Sciences)
Operation Wing Chord (Eastern Bird Banding Association)
Project Tanager (Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology)
Birds of Forested Landscapes (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Winter finch and Red-breasted Nuthatch tracking (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Ovenbird aging criteria (University of Missouri - Columbia)
Double-crested Cormorant migration (Canadian Wildlife Service)
Ecoregion planning to identify areas of biological significance for birds in the Midwest (Michigan Nature Conservancy )
Important Bird Areas planning process (American Bird Conservancy)
DNA fingerprinting to determine wintering areas of widespread breeding birds in North America (San Francisco State University, Purdue University, McGill University)
House Finch eye disease monitoring (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Tracking West Nile virus via bird migration (University of Pennsylvania)
Habitat preferences in fall migration (Valaparasio University)
Global climate change and wintering Dark-eyed Juncos (University of Michigan)

Publications

Birds

Craves, J.A. 1994. First state record: Virginia's Warbler Michigan Birds and Natural History 1(1):16-19
-----. 1994. Unusual migratory behavior in Double-crested Cormorants. Michigan Birds and Natural History 1(4):11.
-----. 1994. Passerines with deformed bills. North American Bird Bander 19(1): 14-18.
Craves, J.A. and O.G. Gelderloos. 1996. Birds of the Rouge River floodplain: Importance of an urban natural area to birds. Michigan Birds and Natural History 3:3-12.
Craves, J.A. 1996. The Birds of Southeast Michigan: Dearborn, Wayne Co. Bloomfield Hills, MI: Cranbrook Inst. of Science.
-----. 1997. 13-year-old Hairy Woodpecker in Wayne Co. Michigan Birds and Natural History 4:152.
-----. 1997. Extreme leucism in a Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata coronata). Michigan Birds and Natural History 4:199-200.
-----. 1998. Wood Thrush reuses nest. Michigan Birds and Natural History 5:60-61.
-----. 1998. Swainson's Thrush caught in Enchanter's Nightshade. Wilson Bulletin 110:569-570
-----. 1999. White-throated Sparrow with orange lores. Michigan Birds and Natural History 6:83-84.
Keith, R. and B. and J. A. Craves. 2000. Juvenile Gray Catbird undergoes complete prebasic molt. North American Bird Bander 24: 143-144.
Craves, J. A. and J. Schultz. 2000. Fall migration of Northern Saw-whet Owls at an inland, urban site: Univ. of Michigan-Dearborn, Wayne. Co. Michigan Birds and Natural History 7:87-92.
Craves, J. A. 2000. Brown Creepers nesting in Wayne Co.: Old records found. Michigan Birds and Natural History 7:91-92.
Schultz, J., Craves, J. A., and C. Fosdick. 2001. Hawkwatching at Lake Erie Metropark: Southeastern Michigan Raptor Research. Birding 33:403-406.
Craves, J. A. 2002. Northern “Yellow-shafted” Flicker (Colaptes auratus) with red feathers banded in Wayne Co., MI. Michigan Birds and Natural History 9:199-205.
Craves, J. A. and K. R. Hall. 2003. Notable bird sightings from Cuba, winters 2002 and 2003. Jrl. of Caribbean Ornithology 16:31-34.
Craves, J. A. and J. A. Fowler, Jr. 2003. Twenty-five years of the Detroit River Michigan-Ontario Christmas Bird Count. Ontario Birds 21:109-128.
Craves, J. A. 2003. High incidence of avian pox in southeast Michigan, fall 2003. North American Bird Bander 28:168-169.
Craves, J. A. 2003. "Yellow" Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum hypochrysea) banded in Wayne Co. Michigan Birds and Natural History 10:99-100.
Craves, J. A. 2003. First Michigan winter record of Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) in Wayne Co. Michigan Birds and Natural History 10:164-165.
Craves, J. A. 2004. Birdfinding guide to the Environmental Study Area, University of Michigan-Dearborn campus. In: Chartier, A. and G. Ziarno, eds. The ABA Guide to Michigan. Colorado Springs: American Birding Association.
Craves, J. A. 2004. Early nesting date for Eastern Screech-owl (Megascops asio). Michigan Birds and Natural History 11:60-61.
Craves, J. A. and P. McKenzie. 2006. Common Chaffinch in Missouri, with comments on its status in North America. Bluebird 73(2): 55-58.
Craves, J. A. 2006. Thirty years of the Rockwood Christmas Bird Count, 1975-2004. Report to the U.S. Fish Wild. Ser. Great Lakes Coastal Program. East Lansing, MI. 37 pp.
Craves, J. A. 2007. The Birds of Dearborn, An Annotated Checklist. Rouge River Bird Observatory/Lulu Press.
Craves, J. A. 2008. Current status of European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) in the western Great Lakes region. North American Birds 62:498-501.
Craves, J. A. 2009. A fifteen-year study of fall stopover patterns of Catharus thrushes at an inland, urban site. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 121:112-118.

Insects

Craves, J. A. 2001. Notable new dragonfly records. Michigan Birds and Natural History 8:185-188.
Craves, J. A. 2002. A preliminary list of the Odonata of Wayne Co. Michigan Birds and Natural History 9:7-16.
Craves, J. A. and D. S. O’Brien. 2002. [Flag-tailed Spinyleg] Dromogromphus spoilatus (Odonata: Gomphidae): New for Michigan. Great Lakes Entomologist 35:115-116.
Craves, J. A. and D. S. O’Brien. 2002. [Citrine Forktail] Ischnura hastata (Odonata: Coenagrionidae): New for Michigan. Great Lakes Entomologist 35:117-118.
Craves, J. A. 2003. Michigan range expansion for [Common Ringlet] Coenonympha tullia inornata (Lepidoptera: Satryidae). Mich. Entom. Newsletter 48(3&4):5.
Craves, J. A. 2004. Are there populations of the Miami Blue, Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri, in Cuba? News Lepidopterists' Soc. 46:43.
Craves, J. A. 2006. Archilestes grandis (Rambur) (Odonata: Lestidae): New for Michigan. Great Lakes Entomologist 39: 88-90.
Craves, J. A. 2006. First Michigan specimens of Libellula vibrans Fabricius (Odonata: Libellulidae). Great Lakes Entomologist 39: 91-93.
O'Brien, M. F. and J. A. Craves. 2006. Isodontia elegans: Now in Michigan (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae: Sphecinae). Great Lakes Entomologist 39: 94-96.
Craves, J. A. 2007. Baseline inventory of Odonata at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, Humbug Marsh Unit. Final Report. CCS MOA #2007CCS-98. USFWS Region 3, Fort Snelling, MN.
Craves, J. A. and D. S. O’Brien. 2007. [Band-winged Dragonlet] Erythrodiplax umbrata (Odonata: Libellulidae): New for Michigan. Great Lakes Entomologist 40:95-97.
O'Brien, M. F. and J. A. Craves. 2008. Megachile sculpturalis Smith -- A new bee for Michigan (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Mich. Entom. Newsletter 53(1&2):4.
Craves, J. A. 2008. Insect Inventory at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, Humbug Marsh Unit, 2008. Report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance, Grosse Ile, MI. 14 pp.
Craves, J. A. and D. S. O'Brien. 2009. The "Hearsay" Hairstreak: Satyrium favonius ontario in Wayne County, Michigan. Mich. Entom. Newsletter 54(1&2):10-11.

General interest, book chapters, reviews, other subjects

Craves, J. A. 2001. Bradshaw Swales: Early Detroit ornithologist, 1875-1928. Michigan Birds and Natural History 8:127-131.
Bull, J. N. and J. A. Craves. 2003. Biodiversity of the Detroit River and Environs: Past, Present, and Future Prospects. Pp. 141-170 in Honoring our Detroit River (J. H. Hartig, ed.). Bloomfield Hills: Cranbrook Inst. of Science.
Appel, L. M., J. A. Craves, M. K. Smith, B. Weir, and J. M. Zawiskie. 2004. Explore our Natural World: A Biodiversity Atlas of the Lake Huron to Lake Erie Corridor. Wildlife Habitat Council, Great Lakes Regional Office, Detroit, MI.
Craves, J. A. 2005. Book review: Our life With Birds. Quarterly Review of Biology 80:236.
Craves, J. A. 2007. Shush and pish. In Good Birders Don't Wear White: 50 Tips from North America's Top Birders. L. White, ed. Houghton-Mifflin, New York.

Rouge River Bird Observatory,

Environmental Interpretive Center., University of Michigan-Dearborn,
Dearborn, MI 48128

last update 4 Nov 2009