Sorry I have not posted in awhile.  It has been busy here a the Refuge and it seems the only time I get out in the field is to help check hog traps.  Over the past couple months I have drafted a feral and invasive animal control plan, and supporting environmental assessment.  I hope to have it done before spring.  Jim and I have also been evaluating our past warbler and vireo surveys to make sure we are spending our time as efficiently and effectively as possible.  It is likely we will switch gears this year to look at warbler and vireo occupancy and abundance across the Refuge.  This would be done with a series of point counts across the entire refuge and would be completed every 3-5 years to determine the rate of occupancy (% of Refuge occupied) by each species.  Obviously, the hope is that with time more and more of the Refuge is occupied.  This is something that we could identify as a goal for the Refuge and include in the Habitat Management Plan, another document I am working on...  Speaking of surveys, please check out the Refuge's annual report for both species.  This report is attached and details the work we did last year and also provides some basic analysis of current and past data.

2011 BCNWR GCWA and BCVI Annual Report.pdf