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| Becoming a Bird Monitor What's Involved? How do I Monitor? Detailed Instructions How do I report my results? Who do I call for more info? |
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The Bird Conservation Network has created a set of standardized methods
for studying the birds of the Chicago Wilderness region. These methods can
serve a variety of research purposes while also allowing birders to
participate at three different levels of intensity. The goals of this
study are to generate a general picture of bird distribution in the
region, to collect data to assist land managers and conservation planners
in decision making, and to create a database compatible with other types
of habitat data being gathered in the region which can be used by
researchers investigating specific ecosystem questions.
We invite birders to participate at different levels:
The Bird Conservation Network cooperates with forest preserve districts and other land managers in the greater Chicagoland area. The instructions that follow apply in a general way to bird monitoring done in this area, but there may be some differences or additional instructions depending on where your site is located.
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| What's Involved in Monitoring? |
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| Bird monitors participate in the management of natural
areas by providing information to land managers and site stewards about how
birds use the site. Having a bird monitor for individual sites ensures that
consideration of the possible effects of management activities on birds will
be made a part of the planning and management process. Bird monitors with responsibility for a particular site should:
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| How do I Monitor? |
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| We are collecting data at three levels. Forms
are provided to cover each of these different activities, and there are
equivalent web forms for direct data entry. Point Counts: We can track changes in breeding bird populations over time or make comparisons between sites with similar habitats by conducting point counts. Scientists favor point counts because they are objective, standardized, reputable, and least biased of the methods. They provide us with a comparative index of occurrence, not a complete inventory. Points are laid out at regular intervals along a transect, and the surveyor spends a certain amount of time at each point and records all birds detected during the time period within a specific radius. While it's most important that monitors conduct point counts during the breeding season, they can be continued throughout the year. We hope to collect point count data for all high priority sites chosen by the various land management agencies, and from any site that is of conservation significance to the breeding birds of our region. Transects: Transects are imaginary lines drawn through the site to be surveyed. The surveyor simply follows the transect or transects through the site, recording all birds detected along the way. The surveyor should cover the transect in the same amount of time on each visit. A transect provides a "snapshot", an index of abundance of birds at a site. Transects will be used outside of the nesting season to record the presence of migrating and wintering birds. Transect data will also be collected during the breeding season at important sites that do not have the highest priority; for example, a small preserve with many common breeding birds and a small number of uncommon breeders. Timed Observations: Will also accept data collected by simply visiting a site and recording species and numbers, along with the time spent, as birders have traditionally done for Christmas Counts and Spring Counts. Certain sites, particularly "migrant traps", are better suited to this type of reporting, as transects at these sites would often either be very short, or not as useful because of the type and size of the habitat. When reporting observations to BCN eBird, you will need to choose between two types of timed observations. “Timed observations with area estimate” would be used when you have made a thorough search of the whole site; these require that you give an estimate of the area’s size in acres or hectares. “Timed observations without area estimate” can be used for less intensive site visits and also to record sightings between points while doing a point count.
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| These instructions apply to point counts
and transects. Please keep disturbance of birds during this sensitive time in their life cycle to an absolute minimum. We ask that you conduct a minimum of two visits during the first three weeks of June. In order to collect the best breeding bird information, consider also conducting counts at other times of year: late April and Early May, when resident breeders have begun nesting, and early July, when many young are being fed. Surveying should be started as close as possible to sunrise, which during the month of June ranges from 5:15 a.m. to 5:20 a.m. Additional evening visits to detect woodcock, whip-poor-wills, nighthawks, snipe, owls, etc., are encouraged at appropriate times of year. You may need a permit from the land management agency to conduct your survey, depending upon the site. If you are unsure, check with the appropriate land management agency before beginning (see below). Transects and points need to be identified by latitude-longitude coordinates. This will allow us to compare your data with landcover data being developed by the state and counties and with monitoring data collected on plants, mammals, herps, butterflies, etc. If your site is not listed as a BCN Survey Hot Spot, please contact Lee Ramsey for more information. Conducting a point count: The main innovation of this study is that surveyors can use point counts along a transect, rather than on a grid, during nesting season, although a grid can be used by any who prefer this method. Surveyors conduct point counts with points located at 150-meter intervals along the transect(s). You may determine the length of your stride in advance and pace off the points, or use a measured string or tape measure. Mark each point on the map. Spend five minutes at each point recording all birds seen or heard. Only count birds detected within a 75 meter radius of your point. Birds detected outside this radius, or while you are moving between the points, will be noted in a separate column on the form and entered as timed observations for that date, so no observations will be discarded. Birds observed flying over (i.e., not actually using the site) should also be reported on the timed observations list. Begin at the first point on one day, and the last one on the next, to maximize the number of birds detected during the hours when birds are most active. Points for surveying water and marsh birds may be placed at intervals designed to get the best views of the areas being surveyed. They can be more or less than 150 meters apart. Conducting a transect count: The easiest way to create transects is to follow existing trails. To minimize edge effects, these trails should tend toward footpaths where possible, as opposed to bike trails or bridle paths. If no trails are available, a transect can be a straight line created by following a compass heading. Where practical, consult with the agency that owns or manages their site about how to lay out permanent transects. Transects should sample all the habitat types on the site, and it should be possible to cover each transect in three hours at most. Shorter times are preferable, especially during nesting season. Walk the transect in approximately the same amount of time during each visit. This would normally be approximately one mile per hour. Record species and numbers of all birds seen and heard. Visits are scattered throughout the year but should be more frequent during height of migration. Transects may be used during non-nesting season at those sites that use point counts during the nesting season.
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You can keep field notes in any fashion that is comfortable for you. Forms for conducting surveys are available on the BCN Survey page, but you may use whatever method works best for you. Enter data directly at the BCN eBird Website. For more information about entering your data, see the BCN eBird help page. For those without Internet access, send your reports, on BCN Survey forms, to the Bird Conservation Network office at the address below. If you have web access, it would be helpful if you volunteer to enter the data of one person who does not. We hope to avoid backlogs of unpublished and therefore unusable data through use of the BCN eBird Website. Send lat-long coordinates or a copy of your map with the points and transect clearly marked to: Bird Conservation Network
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| To volunteer to monitor/collect data or for more information contact Lee
Ramsey []; or Judy Pollock ] at the BCN office (847-328-4026). |
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