Saving Nuthatches
Georgia Southern University students working to preserve the Brown-headed Nuthatch
About
Saving Nuthatches
Corina Newsome, Maya Allen, and Ellunde Montgomery (L to R) are three students working to make Georgia Southern University's campus welcoming to a climate-endangered bird species, the Brown-headed Nuthatch.
Dr. Elizabeth Hunter is the faculty advisor for the Saving Nuthatches project, and an assistant professor in the department of Biology at Georgia Southern University.
Lab website: https://hunterlab.weebly.com/
The Brown-headed Nuthatch has been classified by the National Audubon Society as climate endangered, which means that, because of climate change, this species may lose 50% of its range by 2050.
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Brown-headed Nuthatches live year round in the mature pine forests and savannahs of the southeastern U.S. The Audubon study predicted that by the year 2080, 95% of their habitat will be too hot for successful breeding.
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Georgia Southern University's campus contains habitat currently used by Brown-headed Nuthatches.
We are building nest boxes in these locations, measuring the area of the forest patches, and equipping the nest boxes with temperature data loggers in order to better understand Brown-headed Nuthatch habitat preferences.
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In addition, we will be placing video cameras inside nest boxes in order to share footage of nestling development. These videos will be available in the blog tab beginning in Spring 2020!
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