For each of the past five years, Associate Professor Dave Gammon has conducted an annual bird count in the Elon University Forest, and his most recent census indicates plenty of good news for those with avian DNA.
Judging by the number of birds that call it home, the Elon University Forest is alive and doing quite well. Carolina chickadees chirp throughout the wildlife preserve, as do blue-gray gnatcatchers. A Cooper’s hawk has even made a place for itself.
With nearly two dozen other species of feathered creatures, it’s enough to make Associate Professor Dave Gammon smile.
Gammon completed this month the fifth annual Elon University Forest bird count as part of a two-prong initiative: to track the biodiversity of the 56 acres of woodland just north of main campus, and to remind people that they share the planet with other creatures.
His most recent findings show that highest levels of species diversity to date.
“We humans assume that the world is ours when, from any other species’ perspective, it’s not,” Gammon said. “At Elon, we make such a big deal about global awareness. That applies not only to disempowered people, but to disempowered species. Other species live here and call it their home, too.”
Gammon conducted his bird count the morning of April 10, 2015, by standing silentlly for three minutes at a time, in seven different locations throughout the forest. All of the birds are “fairly common” to the region, he said. Gammon leaves room for the possibility that even more species are present.
“Just because I didn’t detect them doesn’t mean they’re not there,” he said.
Gammon’s interest in the bird count stemmed from his ongoing research into the vocal mimicry of the northern mockingbird. As part of his research, he learned to recognize the acoustic patterns and calls of dozens of other bird species, all of which a mockingbird can imitate.
The Elon University Board of Trustees established the Elon University Forest in 2010 as a dedicated land preserve and natural area. Some trees in the hardwood sections of forest are estimated to be 150-200 years old. The board’s action protected the largest remaining intact forest in the Town of Elon and safeguarded thousands of species of plants, animals and other organisms.
A faculty member in the Department of Biology, Gammon said he may one day create an audio field guide to the Elon University Forest and, to a broader extent, the entire university – though visitors are unlikely to hear or see as many species on main campus as they would in the woods.
“The forest is ours, but it’s also not ours,” Gammon said. “And that’s a beautiful thought.”
SPECIES IDENTIFIED in ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DAVE GAMMON’S 2015 BIRD COUNT of the ELON UNIVERSITY FOREST
- American crow
- American goldfinch
- American robin
- blue jay
- blue-gray gnatcatcher
- brown-headed cowbird
- brown-headed nuthatch
- Carolina chickadee
- Carolina wren
- common grackle
- common yellowthroat
- Cooper’s hawk
- dark-eyed junco
- downy woodpecker
- eastern towhee
- mourning dove
- northern cardinal
- ovenbird
- pine warbler
- red-bellied woodpecker
- red-eyed vireo
- ruby-crowned kinglet
- tufted titmouse
- white-breasted nuthatch
- white-throated sparrow
- yellow-rumped warbler