Environmental Studies at Airlie's (ESA's) investigations with birds occur in two major areas:  waterfowl and small land birds.

Swans and other waterfowl are large and relatively easy to observe, as they are dependent upon wetlands and tend to congregate in large numbers while on their wintering grounds.  The study of waterfowl is important to the understanding of their migration, use and dependence on wetlands, and their role in maintaining balanced wetland ecosystems, which benefit all wetland-dependent species.  To learn more about ESA's role in adding to the body of scientific knowledge about waterfowl, explore our Swan Research Program pages.

In contrast to waterfowl, many of the small landbirds are shy, elusive and hard to spot, much less easy to observe.  They don't congregate in great flocks and many species never venture near a bird feeding station.  Yet these birds are just as important as indicators of the health of their habitats, as the waterfowl are of wetlands.  In particular, ESA is focusing efforts on monitoring birds of the Early Successional Eastern Deciduous Forest habitat. In this group of birds are found many neotropical migrants.  They breed in this habitat, but overwinter in Central and South America.  To see the "birds you only see in books," (the summer residents, and the year-round residents) that regularly raise their families in our area, explore our MAPS Program pages.

MAPS Banding