Birds

Question 1

What are the 9 questions you have to ask before conducting a bird survey?

Answer 1

1. Which species should be surveyed? (One? Multiple?)
2. What measure of abundance should be obtained? (Presence/not detected, relative, absolute?)
3. What type of survey is most appropriate? (Transects, point count, spot mapping?)
4. What time of year will the survey be? (Breeding vs non-breeding, fall vs spring migration?)
5. What is the sampling area?
6. What is the size of the sampling effort? (Depends on precision needed, resources etc.)
7. How will survey sites be established to ensure results are representative of target population? (Systematic and random sampling?)
8. What is the appropriate survey duration? (Not too short where you miss species, but not too long so you can get enough samples)
9. What measures will he taken to ensure surveys are both precise and accurate? (Precise: a lot of training, accuracy: surveying at the right time, right weather etc.)

Question 2

What are the 5 common types of bird surveys?

Answer 2

Encounter transects 
Fixed-width belt transects 
Line transects
Point counts 
Spot-mapping

Question 3

Encounter transects (5)

Answer 3

Best for: any species

Methods: walk and record birds observed at any distance along route

Convenient but not rigorous

Good for presence/not detected or relative abundance surveys analyses

Used when resources are low and precision/accuracy is not essential

E.g. SPES bird monitoring

Question 4

Fixed-Width Belt Transect (3)

Answer 4

Best for: any species but often water birds

Methods: walk in transect line and count birds within transect belt limits. Width increases with increase in species detectability. Can also be done with boat or plane. Could also split transect into sections to increase sample size

Good for density estimates

Question 5

Line Transects (4)

Answer 5

Best for: any species

Methods: similar to strip transect but birds of all distances are estimated. Use software to find detection functions that are then used to improve density estimates

Great for increasing accuracy

Used for density estimates

Major challenge: need high number of observations for software to work (>40) and lots of training

Question 6

Point Counts (5)

Answer 6

Best for: any species (best for small land birds)

Methods: count all birds detected using set survey period (usually 5-10 min) from stations established along a ~200m transect line. Map bird locations to avoid double counting. Sit for 1 minute minimum to reduce effect on birds. Repeat >3 times per survey duration (eg. Week)

Note: often used for habitat studies by either noting habitat use during the survey, or later conducting habitat measurements within survey plots

Unlimited radius plots good for relative abundance estimates

Fixed radius plots good for density estimates

Question 7

What is the recommended set up for point count surveys? (3)

Answer 7

> 30 surveys (eg. >10 stations x 3 visits)

n still = # of survey stations (10)

Increasing visits only increases accuracy

Question 8

Spot Mapping (3)

Answer 8

Best for: small land birds, generally during breeding season

Methods: count birds detected on designated survey routes and record locations. Locations of singing males can be used to estimate territory and then the density of breeding birds

Different symbols can mean different things (mates, breeding males, nesting females etc.)

Question 9

Key methods for Point Count Surveys (6)

Answer 9

Independence (survey stations must be >200m)

Equal bias (methods must be held constant)

Survey timing (best at dawn for vocalizations)

Limit observer effects (period of silence before each survey ~1min)

Replication (conduct each survey at each station on >3 separate days)

Minimum sampling effort (need >30 total surveys per site for significance)

Question 10

Key data to record for point count surveys (3)

Answer 10

Method of identification - visual and/or sound

Supplemental information - habitat, behaviour, condition etc.

Map locations - used to avoid double counting, errors indicate flying overhead/movement direction