Population Monitoring & Management

Our trained field teams set out across the country to search for raptors, performing surveys and documenting the life history of these understudied birds. The surveys provide insight into habitat preferences, range sizes, diet, nesting behavior, movement patterns, and more. While the program has performed surveys on dozens of raptor species over the years, active surveys are being performed regularly on Malagasy Harriers, Madagascar Fish-eagles, Madagascar Red Owls, Madagascar Serpent-eagles, Henst’s Goshawks, Madagascar Pochards, Madagascar Grebes, and other waterbirds.

To understand how reproduction and nesting success is impacting a population, our teams employ nest monitoring techniques. For example, field technicians rappel up the side of large trees to monitor Madagascar Fish-eagle nests. They also perform nest monitoring on Madagascar Serpent-eagles, Madagascar Red Owls, Malagasy Harriers, and many other raptor species.

With such incredible biodiversity in Madagascar and many species understudied, taxonomy is constantly evolving with new information. Our Madagascar Program helps acquire genetic samples, behavioral data, and morphological details to identify new species and subspecies. This has been completed for several undescribed lemurs suspected to be new taxonomic species.

By monitoring populations, we are able to draw conclusions about regions and threats that need to be addressed. The information provided helps guide our habitat restoration and protection efforts, community outreach and engagement, and every other aspect of the program. For example, the rediscovery of the Madagascar Red Owl and Madagascar Serpent-eagle led to the creation of Masoala National Park in northern Madagascar. Through nest monitoring at Bemanevika Protected Area, we discovered that the Madagascar Grebe was experiencing extremely low fledging success due to predation. We installed wire mesh above nests, which successfully boosted productivity for the Endangered water bird.

We’ve worked with Madagascar's national parks and other organizations to develop additional bird monitoring programs, using The Peregrine Fund’s methods. We trained park guards at several National Parks to monitor Madagascar Fish-eagles.