PROJECT OBJECTIVES As recommended in the 2019 Westfield Wetland Delineation Report, a rare species survey was conducted at the Westfield Armory property in the Spring of 2020 in order to assign resource value to the on-site wetlands.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND PROJECT RATIONALE Federal, state, and public rare species databases, including the Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) database, Natural Heritage database, Ebird, and Herpmapper, were queried to collect historical observational data for any rare species in the area. In May, acoustic recorders were deployed at the site to determine presence/absence of protected bird and bat species. Intern Ethan Freeman developed digital call libraries and recognizers specific to the targeted bird species and analyzed over 165 GB of acoustic data using Songscope and Kaleidoscope software. Ethan gained valuable experience with reviewing natural resource databases, acoustic analysis, and report writing. Results from this survey, including any state or federal wetland protections, have been summarized in the 2019-2020 Westfield Wetland Delineation & Rare Species Survey Report.
DELIVERABLES
BENEFITIS TO SUEIP INTERNS Through this project, interns received:
Knowledge on natural resource databases, acoustic analysis, and report writing.
Experience with digital call libraries and recognizers specific to the targeted bird species.
Experience with Songscope and Kaleidoscope software.