{"id":42176,"date":"2020-01-09T12:09:14","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T17:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/?p=42176"},"modified":"2020-01-09T12:09:14","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T17:09:14","slug":"irruption-takes-a-short-term-toll-but-doesnt-have-long-term-consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/irruption-takes-a-short-term-toll-but-doesnt-have-long-term-consequences\/","title":{"rendered":"Irruption Takes a Short-Term Toll, But Doesn\u2019t Have Long-Term Consequences"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/RBNU-Speiser-large.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/RBNU-Speiser-large-720x750.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/RBNU-Speiser-large-768x800.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/RBNU-Speiser-large-480x500.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/RBNU-Speiser-large.jpg 864w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption><em>Red-breasted Nuthatch by David Speiser.<\/em><\/figcaption>\n              <\/figure><\/div>\n<p><small><em>From the\u00a0Winter 2020\u00a0issue of\u00a0<\/em>Living Bird<em>\u00a0magazine.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/join.birds.cornell.edu\/ea-action\/action?ea.client.id=1806&amp;ea.campaign.id=24577&amp;ea.tracking.id=LBO&amp;__hstc=75100365.237ddccf7eb284fb9f6372467aa35c80.1557849168143.1576604739182.1576615806525.398&amp;__hssc=75100365.3.1576615806525&amp;__hsfp=4250418031\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Subscribe now<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared in print as a sidebar to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/how-ron-pittaway-developed-his-acclaimed-winter-finch-forecast\/\">How Ron Pittaway Developed His Acclaimed Winter Finch Forecast<\/a>.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n<p>Every two to three years, winter finches, along with Red-breasted Nuthatches (an \u201chonorary\u201d winter finch), are put to the test in an irruption\u2014a forced migration of sorts due to fluctuations in their food supply. For birders, irruptions can be a special treat, because they get to see uncommon birds from the Canadian North flock to backyard bird feeders. But research published last spring in <em>The Auk: Ornithological Advances<\/em> shows that for some birds, irruptions are a bit more intense.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright sidebar-space order-bottom\"><div class=\"article-list list-style alignright\"><h2 class=\"article-list-header\">More From Living Bird<\/h2><ul><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-living-bird-toc\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/TOC-FI-CRedpoll-Lentz.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/TOC-FI-CRedpoll-Lentz-720x405.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/TOC-FI-CRedpoll-Lentz-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/TOC-FI-CRedpoll-Lentz-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/TOC-FI-CRedpoll-Lentz-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/TOC-FI-CRedpoll-Lentz.jpg 1136w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"A Common Redpoll perched against a glowing backdrop of golden tamarack needles in Minnesota\u2019s Sax-Zim Bog. Photo by Mike Lentz.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Winter 2020\u2014Table of Contents<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-living-bird-toc\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest-240x180.png 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest-480x360.png 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"Living Bird-latest issue\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Magazine\u2014Latest Issue<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive-240x180.png 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive-480x360.png 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"Living Bird archives\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Magazine Archives<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Irruptions are difficult phenomena to study because the transient bird populations are literally \u201cmoving targets,\u201d says Erica Dunn, the author of the <em>Auk<\/em> research article. Dunn used several decades of citizen-science data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology\u2019s Project FeederWatch, the Christmas Bird Count, and eBird to analyze these waves of irruptions.<\/p>\n<p>Dunn is a retired scientist today, but back in 1976 she started the Ontario Bird Feeder Survey, and 10 years later she partnered with the Cornell Lab to expand the survey to the whole of North America and rename it Project FeederWatch. Today with more than 20,000 participants each year, Project FeederWatch is an international citizen-science program that monitors the occurrence and abundance of wintering birds throughout North America via weekly counts submitted by birders at backyard bird feeders.<\/p>\n<p>As a continuing independent researcher who studies FeederWatch data, Dunn has focused on the Red-breasted Nuthatch, a species that experiences regular irruptions in a two- to three-year cycle. For this research, she examined whether there was a negative relationship between a winter irruption and the next year\u2019s summer breeding population. Dunn found that after an irruption occurs, the next year\u2019s breeding Red-breasted Nuthatch population can be as much as 50% lower than the previous year\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>But Dunn also found that the population losses stemming from an irruption don\u2019t typically have long-term effects. Over the past 52 years, she found that the studied Red-breasted Nuthatch population had quadrupled, despite the 23 irruptions that had occurred during her study period.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group legacy-sidebar sidebar-alignright has-lightgray-background-color has-background\">\n<h4>Reference<\/h4>\n<p>Dunn, E.H. 2019. <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/auk\/article-abstract\/136\/2\/ukz008\/5432919?redirectedFrom=fulltext\">Dynamics and population consequences of irruption in the Red-breasted Nuthatch<\/a>. The Auk: Ornithological Advances.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Dunn says this kind of research is only possible through citizen science.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI simply had a great data set and wanted to see what I could learn from it,\u201d she says. \u201cCitizen-science data is great for this kind of exploration, because the data sets are so large and are freely available to anyone who wants to work with them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><small><em>Elizabeth Serrano is a student editorial assistant. Her work on this story was made possible by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Science Communication Fund, with support from Jay Branegan (Cornell \u201972) and Stefania Pittaluga.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the\u00a0Winter 2020\u00a0issue of\u00a0Living Bird\u00a0magazine.\u00a0Subscribe now. This article originally appeared in print as a sidebar to How Ron Pittaway Developed His Acclaimed Winter Finch Forecast. Every two to three years,<a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/irruption-takes-a-short-term-toll-but-doesnt-have-long-term-consequences\/\" title=\"ReadIrruption Takes a Short-Term Toll, But Doesn\u2019t Have Long-Term Consequences\">&#8230; Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":42177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc":0,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc_title":"","_birdpress_featured_image":false,"_birdpress_hero_toggle":false,"_birdpress_hero_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_image_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_style":"default","_birdpress_hero_ratio":"","_birdpress_hero_h1":"","_birdpress_hero_media_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_media_array_id":[],"_birdpress_hero_media_array":[],"_birdpress_hero_media":0,"_birdpress_hero_video_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_video":0,"_birdpress_hero_youtube":"","_birdpress_hero_content":true,"_birdpress_hero_byline":"","_birdpress_hero_byline_bottom":"","_birdpress_hero_button_link":"","_birdpress_hero_button_text":"","_birdpress_hero_button_color":"","_birdpress_hero_date":false,"original_guid":"","_birdpress_hide_search":false,"_birdpress_page_width":"","_birdpress_global_cta":false,"_birdpress_widget_sidebar":"","_birdpress_next_article":0,"_birdpress_next_article_title":"","_birdpress_prev_article":0,"_birdpress_prev_article_title":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_sub_navigation":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_title":false,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation":"","_birdpress_postType":"both","_birdpress_categoryID":0,"_birdpress_tagID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostTitle":"","_birdpress_menuID":0,"_birdpress_menuName":"","_birdpress_listHeader":"","_birdpress_listLayout":"card-display","_birdpress_listColumns":"","_birdpress_maxItems":12,"_birdpress_listPaginate":true,"_birdpress_displaySort":true,"_birdpress_sortOrder":"DESC","_birdpress_sortBy":"date","_birdpress_listID":"","_birdpress_listClass":"","_birdpress_displayImages":true,"_birdpress_displayCaptions":false,"_birdpress_displayExcerpts":false,"_birdpress_attTop":"","_birdpress_attBottom":"","_birdpress_showLogos":false,"_birdpress_post_logo":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_topic":0,"wds_primary_content-format":0,"wds_primary_cornell-lab-project":0,"wds_primary_host-project":0,"wds_primary_read-more-tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[998,1043],"content-format":[1055],"cornell-lab-project":[1069],"host-project":[],"read-more-tag":[],"class_list":["post-42176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-news-and-features","topic-science-conservation-news-and-features","content-format-article","cornell-lab-project-living-bird-magazine"],"metadata":{"associated-posts":[""],"wpa_off":[""],"_edit_lock":["1600710037:4"],"_edit_last":["4"],"_thumbnail_id":["42177"],"custom-byline":["<h5>By 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