Camp Gruber Bird Survey

Camp Gruber Bird Survey


Dan recording the results of a count.	Marker for the start of a count.

Camp Gruber is an Oklahoma Army National Guard training center located near Muskogee, Oklahoma. A wide range of training activities takes place there for National Guardsmen and other military personnel as well as federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel. One task of the Environmental Section at Camp Gruber is to monitor and maintain environmental quality, including the health of wildlife populations and their habitats.

Over 60,000 acres (24,000 ha) of habitat are available at Camp Gruber, much of it undisturbed except for a network of rough, little used, one-lane dirt roads. About half of this total acreage is available for training use and the other half is set aside as a game management area with limited access by the public.

The Sutton Center was contracted to conduct bird surveys along 100 m transects at 89 randomly selected points distributed between the training portion of the site and the game management area. A comparison can then be made between species diversity on the training site and that off the training site in a largely undisturbed adjacent area. Occurrence of less common species can also be evaluated to determine any preference for one or the other areas.

The surveys took place in May and June, 1998, and again in 1999. On the 89 counts surveyed in 1998, we recorded 93 bird species and approximately 2,750 individuals, including year-round residents and wintering, transient, and breeding migrants. In 1999, we recorded 81 species and 3,289 individuals.

Click here for details on the results of the survey.


Dan talking with Sergeant Ted Lawrence at Range Control office.	Access to much of the camp is difficult, requiring fording of rivers and driving many rough roads.

Partial map of Camp Gruber, showing roads, forests (blue), and grasslands(yellow).

Bird Song: Summer Tanager

Unique visits since 8 October 2004