Mountain Bird Protocol and Standard Operating Procedure

This protocol represents an effort to strengthen monitoring of high-elevation landbirds from the Catskill Mountains of New York to the Cape Breton Highlands of Nova Scotia through improved coordination, statistical design, and data management. It builds on knowledge and experience gained by several institutions over sixteen years of mountain bird research and monitoring in the region. A standardized international protocol, aligned with the information needs of land stewards and policy-makers, will promote conservation of a vulnerable bird community. A unified approach will also achieve efficiencies necessary to sustain high-elevation landbird monitoring over the long term.