Bird Conservation and Monitoring

As part of a land management agency, wildlife biologists on the Superior are actively involved with the conservation and monitoring of the 225 species of birds who visit the Forest, including the 163 species which breed here.  Land management projects take avifauna into account and are sometimes designed specifically to create or maintain habitat for certain species of birds.  We work with many partners to help maintain the Superior as an excellent place for birds, one that has been designated a Globally Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society.

Throughout the year, special surveys are done for species of interest including northern goshawk, boreal owl, northern hawk owl, bald eagles, as well as game species such as ruffed grouse and woodcock.  The Forest has had a long-term commitment to surveying avian species using off road point surveys conducted by a partner organization, the University of  Minnesota's Natural Resource Research Institute.  We also survey birds each year along several routes as part of the national Breeding Bird Survey program. 

Bird banding is done at MAPS (Monitoring Avian Production and Survivorship) stations where birds are caught in mist nets, recorded, banded, and released.  We often get “repeat customers”, and it is always a thrill to welcome back a bird after a long migration south.

You can help as well through involvement with several ornithological citizen science projects, as well as reporting unusual species through ornithological unions.  On our Bird Watching (Birding) page, we have additional information on recreational bird watching, and below are links to several publications to help with finding birds and locating bird hot spots on the Forest, including a bird checklist of all recorded Forest bird species.

For more information on our avian monitoring programs, see these websites:

• Minnesota’s Breeding Bird Atlas
• Minnesota National Forest Breeding Bird Monitoring Program
• Northern Forest Bird Network of Upper Mississippi/Great Lakes

Bird Watching Resources

• Bird Checklist for the Superior National Forest
• West Zone (Kawishiwi, LaCroix, and Laurentian Districts) Birding Location Guide
• West Zone (Kawishiwi, LaCroix, and Laurentian Districts) Birding Georeferenced PDF Map for wayfinding apps
• East Zone (Tofte and Gunflint Districts) Birding Location Guide
• East Zone (Tofte and Gunflint Districts) Birding Georeferenced PDF Map for wayfinding apps

Unusual observations should be reported to eBird.

Research

• 2022 Arrowhead Bird Banding Summary (pdf)