2005 Power of Flight Grants

The Power of Flight program is the largest public/private funding effort for bird conservation in the South. Grants in the Power of Flight program were awarded to:

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - This project, now in its third year, is accelerating translocation efforts for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Funds support the monitoring of clusters or families of woodpeckers on the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida to identify potential donor offspring to translocate to select locations in the Southeast where populations need to be increased to meet recovery goals for this species.
• Council for Environmental Education - To establish a network of partners in select Southeastern cities to teach primarily urban youth about migratory birds through the Flying WILD migratory bird education program.
• University of Southern Mississippi - Scientists will use weather radar, which can detect flocks of migratory birds, to map where they rest and feed during migration. The goal of this project is to identify areas in the South needing enhanced conservation and management.
• Invasive Species Management, Inc. - To inventory all vertebrate species, native and non-native, that inhabit Horn Island, MS. Research will then be conducted to determine the impact of invasive vertebrates, such as nutria, on native bird populations. Results from this project may be used to develop improved bird management plans for the many barrier islands in the Northern Gulf Coast.
• Mississippi State University - To monitor and develop baseline data for conservation of "secretive" coastal marshbirds (e.g., Least Bittern, King Rail, Clapper Rail, Black Rail, Purple Gallinule) found in tidal marshes of coastal Mississippi.
• Tall Timbers Research Station - To investigate the effects of growing-season burns on breeding birds (Bachman's sparrow, Northern Bobwhite, and other grassland species associated with longleaf pine forest) and to provide better information to the public on the impacts of growing season burns.
• National Wild Turkey Federation - To enhance management on 1,200 acres of longleaf pine in the Talladega National Forest, Oakmulgee District to improve habitat conditions for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Management activities will include thinning and burning, which will ultimately lead to the natural forest conditions preferred by the woodpecker.
• Avian Research and Conservation Institute - to produce site-specific management recommendations for swallow-tailed kite nesting habitat on industrial, corporate, and private timberlands in Georgia and northern Florida. The international component of the research project will be the first to describe the annual cycle of this species in South America, a population for which the most basic biology has received little attention.
• Georgia Southern University -This project will create a unique waterfowl pond outside the new Ornithological Center to compliment their bird educational programs. This 1/8 acre pond will mimic the flora and fauna native to Georgia and showcase a variety of waterfowl and elegant long-legged wading birds endemic to the state.