November 29, 2016

USACE Funding Opportunity

Understanding avian flocks near and entering civil infrastructure for species of concern

Responses to this Request for Statements of Interest will be used to identify potential investigators for a project to be funded by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). Estimated funding for the first, 1-yr period is $48,000. Option year funding could be available for three additional years for a total project funding of $457,000 and a total period of performance of 5 years. The full funding announcement can be found here.

Brief Description of Anticipated Work:  

The purpose of this research is to understand how flocks of Vaux’s Swifts, one of the fastest small birds in North America and a species of concern due to their range-wide population decline, organize and avoid predators and other stressors as they gather each evening for their entry into infrastructure for roosting, i.e., a chimney in this case. The study will use a location where the birds are present every day at twilight for approximately 3-4 weeks every September. The annual appearance of Vaux’s Swifts at known chimneys and dates in the Pacific NW provide a rare opportunity to measure flocks in their transition to roosting that would otherwise be far more difficult to execute successfully at unpredictable and ephemeral sites. Hypotheses will be generated based on how the measured bird flocks organize themselves and move into the chimney at the site. Such understanding could inform future management decisions involving infrastructure configurations in both urban and DoD installations such as Joint Base Lewis-McChord that is one of four Vaux’s Swifts roosts in the State of Washington designated as an official Important Bird Area (IBA), as this DoD property is a significant roosting site for migrating swifts. The initial agreement will be for 1 year, but additional years of effort are anticipated.

SOI W912HZ-17-0006

posted 11/29/2016