Birding group with binoculars.
Wildlife Research
Bird Research
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Avian Research Section conducts original research on the ecology and management of birds and their habitats. The team focuses on addressing needs for high priority bird species in the state of Colorado.
Our Work
Greater Sage-grouse
The largest grouse in North America, the greater sage-grouse is a species of state concern due to range-wide population and habitat declines. CPW is participating in a collaborative conservation effort designed to support greater sage-grouse populations and protect greater sage-grouse habitat. The Avian Research team is conducting a variety of studies to identify and evaluate different management and monitoring strategies.
Gunnison sage-grouse
Smaller than the typical sage-grouse, the Gunnison sage-grouse is a unique species of sage-grouse found south of the Colorado River. About 3,500 breeding Gunnison sage-grouse occur among seven separate populations throughout southwest Colorado and southeast Utah. Due to diminishing habitat, the species is of special concern in Colorado. CPW, along with landowners and other partners, has led conservation efforts for the Gunnison sage-grouse for decades. The Avian Research team aims to learn more about the Gunnison sage-grouse and how populations may respond to different conservation strategies.
Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse
A species of special concern in Colorado, the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse is a state game species. The sharp-tail has lost much of its habitat along its former range in North America. But in recent years, through the Conservation Reserve Program, which contracts private landowners to conserve habitat on their property, the sharp-tails have increased in density and distribution. CPW is working to further improve the habitat-suitability of the lands enrolled in this program to further progress the recovery of this important species.
Lesser-Prairie Chicken
A federally and state listed threatened species, the lesser-prairie chicken is found in small fragmented populations in the grasslands of southeast Colorado. In collaboration with other states and partners, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is working to conserve lesser-prairie chickens and their habitat. Current research aims to understand the factors threatening LEPC habitat and to evaluate the effectiveness of various habitat improvement treatments.
Northern Bobwhite
Northern bobwhites are a game bird found in small, isolated populations in eastern Colorado. Few bobwhites are harvested each year in Colorado due to their limited distribution and declining populations. To better understand the factors limiting bobwhite populations and distributions, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is conducting research to evaluate potential habitat management strategies aimed to benefit bobwhites.
Waterfowl
With the onset of fall each year, thousands of hunters begin to prep for Colorado’s upcoming waterfowl hunting seasons. Colorado Parks and Wildlife is dedicated to ensuring that all those who receive a license have a successful and satisfactory hunting experience. This involves studying the impacts of hunting management and evaluating habitat conditions and population health.
Research Projects
Breeding Habitat & Population Dynamics
About the Project
This research monitors breeding ducks in North Park, which provides many different types of wetland habitat. From 2018-present, researchers have been counting ducks, monitoring nests, and banding ducks in North Park to track their survival and reproduction.
Flood Irrigation
Based on extensive nest monitoring, hens are not actively selecting flood-irrigated hay meadows as nesting habitat, but birds that do nest there have similar nest survival rates to birds nesting elsewhere. Hay meadows and irrigation ditches provide marginally less food to breeding ducks, but can provide movement corridors as broods begin to hatch.
Demography
Ducks banded in North Park have been harvested all over Colorado and the surrounding states (even into Canada and Mexico). Banding data have helped researchers verify that survival rates are similar to those in other regions, and identify that North Park provides vital breeding habitat for the birds harvested in Colorado.
Research Publications
Food availability in North Park wetlands
Researching Impacts of Solar Energy Development
Utility-scale solar facilities are being developed in sagebrush and grassland habitats, and have the potential to affect bird populations. Researchers are working to evaluate whether there are impacts, and how to best mitigate them as new developments are approved.
This project, initiated in 2024, is ongoing and evaluates breeding bird density, nest survival, and potential drivers of impacts (e.g., vegetation changes, construction noise, etc.) at solar facilities. Some of the study species include sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus), vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus), savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), and many more.
Researching Impacts of Plague and Plague Management on Birds
Avian Researchers are studying the effects of plague and plague management on bird species associated with prairie dog colonies, such as burrowing owls, golden eagles, ferruginous hawks, thick-billed longspurs, and mountain plover. These species are not susceptible to plague but are impacted when plague kills the prairie dogs that create the food or habitat they need. We have surveyed birds, their mammalian predators, and vegetation in and near colonies of black-tailed and Gunnison’s prairie dogs, including both areas where plague is and is not being controlled with oral vaccine baits and insecticide.
Publications
Progress Reports
Video: "Prairie Dog Burrow Timelapse" - CPW
SPOTLIGHT
Featured Project
This is the story of how Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Avian Research and Wildlife Health Programs teamed up with partners to study and test a new plague vaccine and improve habitat for endangered black-footed ferrets and other wildlife. Avian Researchers have documented the benefits of maintaining active prairie dog colonies for many species such as ferruginous hawks, golden eagles, various grassland songbirds, coyotes, and badgers.
Meet the Research Team
Avian Research personnel also serve on various committees and working groups with other partners (state, federal, and local governments, and non-governmental organizations) in bird research and conservation.
Jim Gammonley
Avian Research Program Leader
Education
Ph.D., Fisheries and Wildlife Department, University of Missouri
M.S., Fisheries and Wildlife Department, University of Missouri
B.S., Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, University of California – Davis
Brett Walker
Senior Avian Research Scientist
Education
Ph.D., Fish and Wildlife Biology, University of Montana-Missoula
M.S., Organismal Biology & Ecology, University of Montana-Missoula
B.A., Environmental Sciences, University of California at Berkeley
Adam Behney
Senior Avian Research Scientist
Education
Ph.D., Zoology, Southern Illinois University
M.S., Wildlife Science, Texas Tech University
B.S., Wildlife and Fisheries Science, The Pennsylvania State University
Reesa Yale Conrey
Avian Research Scientist
Education
Ph.D., Ecology, Colorado State University
M.S., Wildlife Biology, University of Montana
B.A., Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Dartmouth College
Nick Jaffe
Wildlife Spatial Ecology Research Scientist
Education
Ph.D., Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University
M.S., Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University
B.S., Environmental Studies, University of North Carolina Asheville
Jody Hergott
Avian Research Program Assistant
Education
Business and Finance Studies, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, Nebraska
Daniel P. Thompson
Wildlife Habitat Research Scientist
Education
Ph.D., Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, 2020
M.S., Wildlife Biology and Conservation, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 2013
B.S., Wildlife Biology, Colorado State University, 2004
Casey Setash
Avian Research Scientist
Education
Ph.D., Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University
M.S., Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University
B.S., Wildlife Science, Virginia Tech
Bird Research
Research Library
The Research Library was created in the late 1960s to provide support primarily to the wildlife research sections. The Research Library evolved to serve the broader information management needs of CPW staff. Library collections are focused on wildlife ecology and associated ecological information and CPW public historical records such as Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting agendas and minutes.