Participating in the North American Breeding Bird Survey

Get Involved!
Each spring over 2500 skilled amateur birders and professional biologists volunteer to participate in the North American BBS. And we are always looking for highly skilled birders to join the team. Meet some of the BBS crew and see their routes at the photogallery.

Our requirements for participation are:

1. Access to suitable transportation to complete a survey.
2. Good hearing and eyesight.
3. The ability to identify all breeding birds in the area by sight and sound. Knowledge of bird songs is extremely important, because most birds counted on these surveys are singing males.
4. New BBS participants must also successfully complete the BBS Methodology Training Program before their data will be used in any BBS analyses. The training program is available from the national BBS offices and the state, provincial, and territorial coordinators.

If you meet the first 3 criteria and would like to participate in the BBS, please contact your state, provincial, or territorial BBS coordinator, or the USGS or CWS national BBS office to inquire about available routes in your area and to complete the training program.

• Route Location Maps & Route Vacancies
• Instructions for Conducting the North American Breeding Bird Survey
• New! Region Specific Field Sheets
• Internships
• Contact Us

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Laurel, MD, USA 20708-4038
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs
Operations Contact: Keith Pardieck, email: Keith_Pardieck@usgs.gov
Analyses Contact: John Sauer, email: John_Sauer@usgs.gov
Last Modified: 10/31/01
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