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Society: Chapman's bird habitat rules the roost
Park designated for giving shelter to rare species
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by ANGELA BRECK
Bob Lukinic, president of the Southern Maryland Audubon Society, speaks from the porch of the Mount Aventine Manor House at Chapman State Park in Bryans Road recently about why it is important that the entire park has been designated as an Important Bird Area during a dedication ceremony.
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Chapman State Park in Bryans Road is an environmental treasure that contains thick forests, wetlands, stream valleys and a breathtaking view of the Potomac River.
The 2,254-acre park is also home to 18 species of forest interior dwelling birds, including several species that are on the National Audubon Society's watch list — the primary reason Audubon Maryland-DC recently designated the entire park as an Important Bird Area. The birds on the watch list are the wood thrush, Kentucky warbler and prothonotary warbler.
Audubon officials, environmentalists and bird watchers gathered June 7 at the historic Mount Aventine Manor House to dedicate the IBA, take a bird walk and listen to west county historian Elmer Biles talk about the importance of the historically and environmentally rich property.
Chapman's is the second IBA to be designated in Southern Maryland, said David Curson, director of bird conservation for Audubon Maryland-DC at Patterson Park in Baltimore. The other Southern Maryland IBA is at Parkers Creek near Prince Frederick.
In Maryland and Washington, D.C., the American Bird Conservancy began an IBA program in the late 1990s and the Audubon Naturalist Society coordinated a volunteer effort to identify sites. Curson said there are 28 IBAs in Maryland and more than 2,100 designations in 46 states across the country.
The IBA program is part of an international initiative that was established in Europe in the 1980s by Birdlife International, according to the Audubon Maryland-DC Web site. The program has spread to 150 countries.
The goals of the program are to identify the areas that are most essential for sustaining native bird populations and then to focus conservation efforts on these places, Curson said. An IBA provides habitat for one or more species of vulnerable birds, including nesting areas and migration stop-over sites or wintering grounds. The areas can be on either public or private land.
The IBA program — a focus of the Audubon's bird conservation effort — is developing an inventory of critical sites for bird conservation in Maryland and Washington, D.C., Curson said. The Nanjemoy and Mattawoman Creek areas in western Charles County and the Zekiah Swamp in Bryantown are subjects of the "bird blitzes" that are being conducted by volunteers, he said.
"We call them ‘citizen scientists,'" he said. "They're trying to identify the remaining IBAs in Maryland."
Chapman State Park is a popular place for birders to visit and is an ideal area for the IBA designation, said Bob Lukinic, president of the Southern Maryland Audubon Society.
"The park attracts a lot of birders," he said. "In some counties, they use the studies conducted for the IBA designation in the land planning process to maintain forest cover. Hopefully, they'll use it in Charles County."
Chapman State Park is a perfect venue for an IBA, Curson said.
"Quite a few birds need large intact areas of forest and they have a nice big area at Chapman State Park," he said. "The park provides good quality nesting habitat for forest interior dwelling species. The secret is the park has some old growth in there."
Southern Maryland Audubon Society members George Wilmot, Carol Ghebelian and Cora Fulton did a thorough survey and study of birds that inhabit the park between 1999 and 2000, Ghebelian said. The study was used as part of the criteria to designate the park an IBA, she said.
"We're thrilled to finally have the IBA recognized at Chapman State Park," she said. "This offers another layer of protection for the land and it shows how important it is to protect the forest."
Wilmot, Ghebelian, Fulton and Pat Bright, assistant manager with the Maryland Park Service at Smallwood State Park in Marbury, were presented plaques during the recent IBA dedication for their contributions to the designation.
The volunteers' dedication to documenting the habitat is commendable, Curson said.
"Having volunteers who go out under their own initiative and collect data is a wonderful thing," he said. "They have really provided a valuable service to Charles County. I appreciate the commitment of these folks. They basically saved the land."
Waldorf resident George M. Jett is a longtime member of the Southern Maryland Audubon Society. As a photographer he said he has documented many of the species that inhabit the forest at Chapman State Park and other parks in the area. It is important to conserve the FIDs habitat because they return to the same area every year after wintering in warmer climes, he said.
"If we destroy their habitat they'll perish and become extinct," he said.
Curson said the Audubon Society wants to save bird habitat as much as possible because many species of birds are suffering a steady fall in numbers around the world and the biggest reason for the decline is disturbance of habitat and damage and loss of the areas they need to survive and reproduce.
"We're not anti-growth; our message is that we can grow but developers need to put new houses in sensible locations," he said. "New growth needs to go next to existing areas where the infrastructure is already there. It's better for wildlife habitat, it's cheaper for taxpayers and better for agriculture."
