MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 30, 2023
John Hagan, a research biologist at the Manomet Bird Observatory, was one of the organizers of an international symposium in 1989 to examine the decline of the neotropical migrants. He was inspired to undertake a study in the North Maine Woods from 1992 through 1994 to examine the impact of forestry on bird diversity and abundance. Hagan decided that repeating the earlier study 30 years later would have value. The 2021-22 data provided some positive news. Forest management practices have improved the population trajectory of many birds. Forty-two species are more abundant now than they were in 1992-94 and only 19 species show a decline. ~ Herb Wilson