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FW: BBS routes for 2001



FYI


The 2002 Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) field season will soon be upon us all.
The BBL office in Patuxent has worked up a package of new routes to give the
state better overall strata coverage for the outer Coastal Plain, Inner
Coastal plain, Piedmont and Southern Blue Ridge areas. At the National BBS
meeting this past August, it was decided to try and get better overall route
coverage for specific lat/long blocks in each strata. As a result, North
Carolina has some of the best overall route coverage in the lower 48. This
will just make BBS data an even more useful and important tool in bird
conservation efforts in the 21st century.

The North American Breeding Bird Survey started in 1966 to monitor bird
populations over large geographic areas. BBS is a long-term, continental
avian monitoring program designed to track the status and trends of North
American bird populations. The USGS Patuxent Research Center and Canadian
Wildlife Service jointly coordinate the BBS.

Each year during the height of the avian breeding season ( in June for most
of the U.S. and Canada), participants skilled in avian identification by
sight and sound collect bird population data along roadside survey routes.
Each survey route is 24.5 miles long, with stops at 0.5 mile intervals. At
each stop a 3-minute point count is conducted, and during the count every
bird seen within 0.25-mile radius or heard is recorded. Surveys start
one-half hour before local sunrise and take about 4-5 hours to complete.
Before running your route, you would also need to do a quick "scouting run"
to check for road construction problems, bridges out, etc. and to avoid
confusion when running the route. Over 4100 survey routes are located across
the continental U.S. and southern Canada.

BBS data provide an index of population abundance, that can be used to
estimate population trends and relative abundances at various geographic
scales. Declining population trends can act as an early warning system to
galvanize research and management action to determine causes of avian
declines and reverse them before populations reach critically low levels.
Currently there are trend estimates provided for 420 bird species via the
web, plus raw and summarized data provided for over 650 species. Both the US
Fish and Wildlife Service and the Partners in Flight Program use BBS trends
(along with other indicators) to access species management priorities. BBS
data were instrumental in focusing research and management action on
neotropical migrant species in the late 1980's, and on grassland species in
the mid-1990's. More than 270 scientific publications have relied heavily on
BBS data. Also, some Breeding Bird Atlas projects and State Natural Heritage
programs use BBS data to enrich their species databases.

Dedicating a morning, or two, each year to the BBS is a great way to give a
little back to the birds by insuring the wildlife managers and researchers
have the information needed to manage bird populations effectively. If you
are very familiar with the birds of your area by sight and especially sound,
consider becoming part of the BBS team in North Carolina. The BBL will
provide you with data sheets, maps and instructions. You provide the
vehicle, birding skills and time. You can now also submit findings via the
BBS website. Contact me if you are interested in running a route, or taking
on another route. Those of you already running routes should not give that
route up to start a new one, since  BBS data is at its most valuable after a
route has been run for several years.  Please also forward this e-mail to
others that you feel are qualified AND motivated enough to participate in
BBS. Good Birding in 2001!

You can access the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center via the web at:
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov



Four already established North Carolina routes are now open:

106 Rowland (starts near here): begins in lower Robeson County near NC/SC
line and runs northwest along the NC/SC state border

203 Cypress Creek: starts near border of Onslow County and Duplin County in
western Onslow County and runs along lower Duplin County north of Angola Bay
Gameland

230 Hertford (starts near here): begins in mid-western Perquimons County and
heads northwest crossing Chowan County and ending in lower Gates County

234 Mount Airy (starts near here): starts in northeast Surry County and
heads east into Stokes County



These NEW routes (never run) are now available for the 2002 BBS season:


302: Starts in southeast Surry County and runs south through Yadkin County
to end just over the Davie County line

306: Starts in lower Pasquotank County and runs mostly north to finish in
mid-Camden County

312: Starts in northwest Duplin County and runs west to end in Sampson
County

315: Starts in lower Hoke County and ends in mid-Robeson County

316: Starts in lower Cumberland and ends in mid-Robeson County

317: Starts in Northern Onslow County and runs mostly south to end in Onslow
County


Mark E. Johns
NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program
NC Coordinator, Partners in Flight and Breeding Bird Survey
PO Box 564
Cary, NC  27512
(919) 852-5124
johnsme@mindspring.com