Puget Sound Bird Observatory monitors bird activity

— Created April 12, 2026 by Samantha Goodman

Puget Sound Bird Observatory Monitors Bird Activity

Whidbey Audubon Society welcomes all to its Thursday, April 9 general meeting and program.

Ornithologist Scott Markowitz of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory (PSBO) will present on the MAPS program — Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship. He will discuss additional banding research and walk attendees through the reasoning and methodology behind the Institute for Bird Populations’ MAPS study.

MAPS is a continent‑wide network of bird‑banding stations that monitor the reproduction and survival of bird populations. Markowitz will explain how the Puget Sound Bird Observatory’s two MAPS stations operate and how the data they collect contributes to scientific understanding of bird population health.

Scott Markowitz is the director of research at PSBO and a faculty fellow at Pacific Lutheran University. He is also conducting research on sexual selection in Sialia mexicana (Western Bluebird), focusing on coloration as an honest indicator of successful foraging and its relationship to rates of extra‑pair copulations, which he will also discuss.

This event will take place at the Coupeville Recreation Hall, located at 901 NW Alexander Street in Coupeville. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. for socializing and refreshments. A brief meeting begins at 7:15 p.m., followed by the program at 7:30 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.

Photo: Scott Markowitz