Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network Breeding Bird Data Package

This monitoring dataset consists of variable circular plot - continuous distance - point count bird observations and site conditions along with extensive habitat data for breeding birds in the National Park Service Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network Parks. The dataset includes approximately 65,000 individual bird observations covering over 200 bird species observed at 12 NPS park units taken between 2001 and 2022. The overall goals of Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network breeding bird monitoring are the following: to identify significant temporal changes in the species composition and abundance of bird communities that occur on parks during the breeding season; to improve our understanding of relationships between breeding birds and their habitat and the effects of management actions, such as prairie restoration or prescribed fire, on bird populations. These goals are accomplished by examining potential correlations between changes in specific habitat variables, for example, vegetation structure and ground cover, and changes in bird community composition and abundance. The 12 park units included in this study are in Arkansas - Arkansas Post National Memorial and Pea Ridge National Military Park; Indiana - Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial; Iowa - Effigy Mounds National Monument and Herber Hoover National Historic Site; Kansas - Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve; Minnesota - Pipestone National Monument; Missouri - George Washington Carver National Monument and Wilson's Creek National Battlefield; Nebraska - Agate Fossil Beds National Monument and Homestead National Historical Park; and Ohio - Hopewell Culture National Historical Park.