Breeding
Bird Survey
www.pwrc.usgs.gov
Memorandum to Cooperators
WINTER 2005/06
1 — NEW BBS DATABASE 5
— 2005 ROUTE COVERAGE
2 — NEW PARTICIPANT INFORMATION 6 —
MAPS & SIGNS
3 — COORDINATOR UPDATES – AL, SC, FL 7 —
PARTICIPANT AWARDS
4 — RECENT MEETINGS & PLANNING 8 —
NOTES FROM THE FIELD
The long-awaited overhaul of the BBS database
and its web interface has finally begun to reach fruition. After more than two years of design and
development we recently started the first phase of implementation, Beta testing
the observer web entry portal. This is
an intensive and important step wherein we locate and work out program glitches
and streamline the web pages for most intuitive presentation.
The finished product will be available for
public use in early May, well in time for observers to use the system to report
their 2006 survey results. We encourage
all observers to use this new web entry portal to enter the coming year’s data since
this eliminates the tremendously costly and time consuming step of scanning
data sheets in the office, an especially important consideration given the
increasing demands on our staff of two.
Future phases will include the refinement and
completion of the coordinator web interface (mid-Aug) and then the release of a
stand alone data entry program (Jan 07).
This latter feature will enable off-line data entry and require just one
quick connection to the BBS web site for transmittal of completed data
files. We look forward to these and other
technological advances in the BBS and are confident that they will improve the
quality of your BBS experience and enjoyment of the program.
If this is your first year, thank you for joining the flock of thousands who make the BBS a success! Through your efforts and those of your peers, federal, state, and local conservation agencies have reliable bird population information on which to base sound conservation and management decisions. We want your BBS observer experience to be as enjoyable and meaningful as possible. In working towards this goal we provide many resources, conveniently located on our general web site, to assist you. For instance, there you can find and download previous years’ species lists for your route, see where neighboring routes are located in the state, map the location of species found in the region using the NBII mapping application, and view trend maps for particular species. If you would like, we can also loan you bird song CD’s and other resources to help you brush up on you identification skills during the winter months. You can find our contact information both online and at the close of this Memorandum and we are happy to accommodate requests whenever we can. And remember, if you have any questions or problems regarding the BBS, please do not hesitate to contact your state coordinator or us here at the national office.
Here are a few guidelines to follow to help ensure that your first year is as productive and enjoyable as it can be:
1) Complete the BBS Methodology Training program and the final review.
We can not use your data if you do not.
2) Scout your route before the actual survey day to avoid unexpected delays.
3) Pay close attention to the instructions regarding survey timing and to the
specific route start time indicated on your data form(s).
4) Submit your data electronically for faster feedback.
5) Return your completed forms and maps in a timely manner.
6) HAVE FUN -- take a friend, take pictures, or mentor a fledgling birder.
Thank you again for participating and we look forward to hearing about your adventures with the BBS.
It
is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Bob Reid, Jr., observer
since the program’s inception and long time coordinator for
Steve
Wagner has retired from his position as
Eric C. Soehren Laurel Moore Barnhill Karen Whitney
and Natural Resources Fisheries Div. Conservation Comm.
64 North Union Street P.O.
Box
334-353-7996 803-734-3886 352-955-2230
eric.soehren@dcnr.alabama.gov barnhillL@dnr.sc.gov karen.whitney@myfwc.com
Current state coordinator contact information is available on the BBS web page via the “Contact Us” link.
1) BBS International Strategic Planning Meeting -
2) Joint meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Society and Association of Field Ornithologists –
· BBS Coordinators’ Workshop – April 21, 2005 – Workshop to address route stop
description/coordinate needs, observer recruitment/retention issues,
training/certification/assessment considerations, and species detectability issues.
· BBS
Symposium - April 22, 2005 – A series
of presentations oriented towards sampling
effort and statistical
considerations followed by a facilitated discussion.
3) The
Wildlife Society 12th Annual Conference –
Comprehensive meeting minutes and lists of
other products from these events can be found at:
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/bbsnews/MeetingProducts/index.html
Our
thanks to everyone who participated in the 2005 BBS season! Data for 2844 routes have been submitted to
the national office so far (Table 1, page 4).
This year, six states experienced an increase in route coverage by five
or more routes. They were
While the numbers are not exact (a small percentage of 2005 data has yet to arrive), Table 1 provides a good indication of what your state’s route coverage situation looks like. Sixteen states witnessed their coverage decrease by five or more routes this year. Check and see if your state was one of them by comparing the “sampled in” columns from years 2004 and 2005 in Table 1.
Six
states are in special need of assistance for their sampling effort.
on our web site.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER - Do you have BBS data from previous years that were never sent in? Remember, it is never too late. Whether they are from last year or a decade ago, we can still use them. While we don’t wish to promote late data submission, don’t throw them out just
because they are old; send them to us!
Table 1. 2004-2005 Route Coverage Summary |
|
|
||||||
UNITED STATES |
||||||||
|
Number of Routes |
|
Number of Routes |
|||||
State/Prov |
Existing |
Sampled |
Sampled |
State/Prov |
Existing |
Sampled |
Sampled |
|
in 2005 |
in 2004 |
in 2005 |
in 2005 |
in 2004 |
in 2005 |
|||
|
91 |
77 |
65 |
PR |
44 |
13 |
8 |
|
AK |
103 |
78 |
66 |
RI |
5 |
1 |
1 |
|
AZ |
65 |
42 |
46 |
SC |
34 |
25 |
28 |
|
AR |
32 |
31 |
29 |
SD |
62 |
35 |
32 |
|
CA |
230 |
133 |
116 |
TN |
47 |
41 |
40 |
|
CO |
136 |
108 |
99 |
TX |
197 |
137 |
153 |
|
CT |
16 |
7 |
14 |
UT |
101 |
93 |
82 |
|
DE |
10 |
9 |
8 |
VT |
23 |
14 |
16 |
|
FL |
90 |
80 |
68 |
VA |
70 |
59 |
58 |
|
GA |
96 |
37 |
47 |
WA |
93 |
72 |
68 |
|
ID |
58 |
47 |
52 |
WV |
57 |
50 |
49 |
|
IL |
101 |
82 |
91 |
WI |
92 |
81 |
84 |
|
IN |
61 |
47 |
32 |
WY |
108 |
56 |
54 |
|
IA |
33 |
21 |
22 |
Totals |
3520 |
2535 |
2415 |
|
KS |
61 |
48 |
47 |
|||||
KY |
47 |
26 |
26 |
|
||||
LA |
68 |
35 |
32 |
|||||
ME |
70 |
35 |
34 |
AB |
179 |
81 |
89 |
|
MD |
56 |
56 |
56 |
BC |
136 |
74 |
66 |
|
MA |
24 |
17 |
15 |
NWT |
13 |
8 |
6 |
|
MI |
83 |
60 |
52 |
MB |
67 |
36 |
39 |
|
MN |
86 |
73 |
59 |
NB |
32 |
21 |
15 |
|
MS |
37 |
17 |
14 |
NF/LB |
29 |
14 |
13 |
|
MO |
53 |
45 |
49 |
NU |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
MT |
65 |
55 |
51 |
NS |
29 |
20 |
20 |
|
NE |
46 |
38 |
33 |
ON |
191 |
79 |
70 |
|
NV |
41 |
16 |
21 |
|
4 |
1 |
1 |
|
NH |
23 |
22 |
16 |
PQ |
156 |
53 |
61 |
|
NJ |
28 |
18 |
16 |
SK |
87 |
28 |
29 |
|
NM |
62 |
59 |
61 |
YT |
37 |
20 |
20 |
|
NY |
112 |
65 |
67 |
Totals |
964 |
435 |
429 |
|
NC |
95 |
71 |
65 |
|||||
ND |
44 |
29 |
26 |
|
|
|
|
|
OH |
68 |
47 |
47 |
PROGRAM-WIDE |
||||
OK |
65 |
52 |
41 |
BBS |
4484 |
2970 |
2844 |
|
OR |
122 |
86 |
80 |
|||||
PA |
109 |
89 |
79 |
|
|
|
|
Figure 1. 2005 U.S. BBS Route Coverage. Percentage of available routes sampled in 2005 by state. Lighter coloration indicates a greater number of vacant routes and the need for more participants.
Please
return your route maps and caution signs each year! Many observers believe they are doing us a
favor by keeping their maps since they intend to run the route again. We certainly appreciate this consideration, however,
we do not have the resources to track who has kept the materials intentionally and
so must err on the side of caution by resending a full packet of materials to
all observers. Over 500 maps were not
returned after the 2005 BBS season, causing weeks of wasted effort in copying
new maps and re-highlighting route paths in preparation for the 2006
season. In order to prepare for the next
BBS season and update our permanent map records we need you to return the maps
with your data in a timely manner each year!
We thank you for your cooperation.
With the completion of the 2005 BBS season, 137 participants have earned the following BBS awards:
Recipient’s appear in
alphabetical order grouped by award category
10-years
(Commemorative lapel pin) — 66 recipients:
Marilyn Ailes, Greg Anderson, Frederick Atwood, Robert Bastarache, Tom Becker, Sandy Berger, Mary Blackmore, Robert Boekelheide, Samuel Bowman, Robin Byers, Dennis Carter, Tom Clark, Barbara Combs, Bernie Daniel, Keith Day, Charles Delmas, Mark Delwiche, Robert Domagalski, Heyward Douglass, Steve Dubois, Tom Easterly, Carole Elder, Jeanne Fair, Stephen Fettig, Robert Fiehweg, Earl Gann, Robin Garwood, Frank Greenland, Bryan Hale, Robert Heagle, Tom Hodgman, Laura Hubers, Larry Igl, Mark Korducki, Mike Lundstrom, Robert MacDonald, Steve McConnell, Chris McGrath, Gretchen Mehmel, Doreen Miller, Don Munson, Perry Nugent, Susan Olcott, Jerry Oldenettel, Brian Parker, Royce Pendergast, Galen Pittman, Jonathan Plissner, Tim Reeves, Ray Robertson, Jon Roti Roti, Pelham Rowan, Terry Sadler, Bruce Seppi, Pearle Sandstrom-Smith, James Simmons, James Sipiora, Beth Siverhus, Eric Soehren, Carolyn Snow, Stuart Stewart, Clark Talkington, Cathy Taylor, William Truesdell, Marilyn Westphal, Russell Young, Elizabeth Zimmerman, and Tara Zimmerman.
20-years
(Commemorative key chain) — 39 recipients:
Margaret Brittingham, Daniel Brauning, Robin Carter, George Cole, James Campbell, Lynn Davidson, William D'Anna, James Evans, Thomas Fox, Charles Geanangel, Leroy Harrison, Carl Haynie, Jeffrey Harding, Douglas Harr, Hugh Kingery, James Lawrence, Steven Millard, Joseph Merchak, Nancy Martin, Chet McGaugh, Brent Ortego, Mark Oberle, John Peplinski, Frederick Pratt, J V Remsen, Terrell Rich, Thomas Shane, Hart Schwarz, Christopher Smith, David Stage, Susan Staats, Jim Story, Voni Strasser, Karen Stutzman, Nancy Herbert, Lydia Thompson, Steve West, Steven Wagner, and Susan Wise-Eagle,
30-years
(BBS cap) — 11 recipients:
Dale Birkenholz, Gilbert Blankespoor, Dennis Forsythe, Daniel Hatch, Steven Hedges, Daniel Martin, Bill Opengari, Lambertus Princen, Stephen Stedman, James Thompson, and Bill Tweit.
40-years
(award to be announced) — 6 recipients:
Danny Bystrak, Ralph Bell, Samuel Dyke,
50
Routes sampled (autographed Birds of North America guide) — 15 recipients:
James Baughman, Walter Ellison,
Keith Evans, John Fussell, Ron Gerstenberg,
Frank Howe, Wendy Howes, Terry McEneaney,
Lynn McKeown, Craig Miller, Lance Peacock, Lee Pfannmuller, J V Remsen, Hart Schwarz, and Herb Wilson.
Congratulations to all and thank you again
for your commitment to the BBS!
Since our last memorandum, many
observers have commented that they found Don Varner’s advice (printed Summer 2005 memorandum) to be very helpful. Don suggested running BBS routes on Sunday
mornings to help reduce the risk of having roadside noise interfering with your
count. We whole-heartedly agree with Don
as this is also the first line of advice that we offer to observers with
concerns about increasing traffic noise.
It pleases us to see that so many observers are proactively taking
measures to work around this issue.
Increasing traffic noise is an inevitable consequence of the high rate
of development that many areas of the country are experiencing. Though some observers may interpret these
changes as making their route(s) less desirable for birding, the information
gained from these routes is critical in building an accurate picture of what
our birdlife is actually experiencing out there.
Sadly, another consequence of increased
traffic is a greater number of wildlife/auto accidents. On his
On a positive note, it’s a rare
day when a wildlife biologist hears of birds, and especially game birds, doing
‘too’ well. We thank Ty
Baumann for passing along the sentiments of one fellow along his “Casco”
Two birders came close to crossing
the “using a method of coaxing” line on
Another incredible warbler
sighting was made by Nathan Kuhnert on his “Big
Cedar”
John Fedak
was treated to a new sighting along his “Rasselas”
Speaking of mammals, between her
seven routes in
As we so often point out here in
the national office, your personal safety should always be of primary concern
when conducting BBS routes. You probably
won’t get any argument from Jeremy Roberts though that we may have taken this
message a bit too far and wide. This
year it appeared that nearly everyone along his “Glen” Montana route was
equally concerned about his personal safety.
But then, can you really argue with a guy who’s had to convince an
ambulance full of paramedics that, despite the 911 calls of passing motorists,
he was indeed not slumped over having a heart attack ten minutes before at a
previous stop!
Even so, it seems that no matter
how careful we are in the field, it’s inevitable that even the safest of us gets
into a bind every now and then. Such was
the case with James Olson on his “Timber”
Thanks to all those who submitted
notes from the field this year (…we wish we could publish them all) and we look
forward to your stories in 2006!
Besides the thousands of you in
the field, we would also like to thank Naoko Griffin, Heather Seebach, Alan Hedin, and Jessica Zelt for their
outstanding help in the BBS office during the 2005 season.
Good luck & good birding
in 2006!
David Ziolkowski,
Jr. Keith
Pardieck
BBS Biologist BBS Director/Biologist
dziolkowski@usgs.gov
kpardieck@usgs.gov
301-497-5753 301-497-5843