Thursday, December 11, 2025

Magnificent Molt and MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) by Scott Markowitz

Magnificent Molt and MAPS, a two-part presentation by ornithologist Scott Markowitz of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory will take you through process of molt in birds and will share the focus and operations of the PSBO bird banding lab.

Scott will take you through the fascinating topic of molt, the why and how of the process, its evolutionary foundation, and how it can help you as a birder. We will talk through the three molt strategies of our local passerines, and will take a brief look at the more complex molt strategies of waterfowl and raptors.

We will also take a look at how the Puget Sound Bird Observatory bird banding lab operates, and what research we are doing with the help of wildlife tracking and banding. PSBO operates a MAPS bird-banding station that is part of a nation-wide network of MAPS stations monitoring the reproduction and survival of bird populations.

Markowitz is the director of research at PSBO and is a faculty fellow at Pacific Lutheran University where he is working on the mechanics of sexual selection in Sialia mexicana (Western Bluebird) with regards to coloration as an honest indicator of successful foragers and the connection with the rate of extra-pair copulations. He lives in Gig Harbor with two very wise cockatiels, twelve wonderful hens, and 80,000 lady honeybees.