This is forwarded to anyone interested in contributing their backyard
list(s) to Science. (I probably should have forwarded this earlier).


Phil Hotlen <n8540429 at henson.cc.wwu.edu>
Bellingham, WA

**************************************************************************

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 95 13:24:39 EDT
From: Mark Hostetler <hos at zoo.ufl.edu>
To: n8540420 at waldorf.cc.wwu.edu
Subject: Bird Lists

Hi Phil!

Did you get my protocol? And yes I would be interested in your list!

Thanks!

Hi folks!

Well, I got a wide range of responses about backyard bird lists (thanks for
the responses!). I was in a bit of a quandry on how to reply to all of the
various interests. . . But I think I'll do it in three steps. First I'll
give a brief background about an ecological theory and how backyard bird
surveys will be used and why they are important; then I'll sugget how to
send me bird lists that were already collected more informally (i.e., just
species occurences but little quantitative data); and then I'll outline a
more precise (fast and easy) bird survey protocol that will be extremely
useful for future analyses.

1. Imagine a wren and an eagle flying over a landscape in search for a
habitat that provides foraging sites, nesting sites, and adequate
protection from predators. When selecting a habitat, both birds base their
decision on the quantity and distribution of objects (e.g., tree canopy
coverage) available to each bird. Each bird, however, perceives different
sizes of objects as a function of its body size; the small wren samples
small areas and selects small objects, whereas the large eagle samples
large areas and large objects (e.g., small objects could range from small
trees, bushes, and even limbs of trees to small branches whereas large
objects range from large patches or tracts of forest to isolated large
trees). Given that the size of the bird dictates what it "perceives" in
the landscape, the distribution of bird sizes in a habitat could actually
be used as an "ecoassay" of the sizes of landscape objects (important to
birds) present in the environment.
Suburban/urban areas (because of their fragmentation) is the perfect
place to determine the sizes of objects important to different sizes of
birds (e.g., a wren is happy with a small isolated tree in ones backyard
but an eagle ignores this tree and searchers for a large patch of trees).
Thus, if researchers could determine the sizes of birds that utilize a
suburban lot, then this information along with distribution of the
different sizes of landscape objects in the general vicinity could be used
to get an idea of what is important to each type of bird. (A number of
different backyard surveys is important in this type of analysis)

That is some background in a nutshell. Here is specifics about data.

2. For those people that have lists of birds already (but used an informal
way of censusing the birds), the information is very useful to me. The way
to summarize the data in a useful form is the following:

*For each year, break the species list into 4 seasons (and give dates of
when you censused during these seasons) - Fall migration, Spring migration,
winter, and summer.

*For each season, list the species sighted in your backyard (if you have
the dates for when you first sighted each bird species and when you sighted
the last bird of that species - that would be useful but not critical).

*For each species, qualitatively gestimate (if you can for each season) the
number of individuals visiting your backyard (e.g., rare= of all the times
surveying your backyard, only a few records per season, uncommon= more then
a few records per season, but of all the times surveying in your backyard,
less than 50% chance of sighting this species, common = more than 50%
chance of sighting a bird species)

*The best way to send me info is on e-mail and send it in the following format:

Season (Fall migration of 1988, surveyed from Sept.29 - Oct. 29)

SPECIES ABUNDANCE WHEN SIGHTED(not essential)
Cardinal common Sept.29-Oct.29
Veery uncommon Oct. 3-Oct.22

Or you can send it to me a hard copy, in the same format, by mail (address
below)

*Please also send me the exact location of your house, (street address,
nearest intersection, city, and state or province). Further, if you could
obtain an aerial photograh over your house (at a scale of 1" = 300'or 400')
this would be the most important bit of info you could send me. One can
obtain a copy of an aerial photograph from your local property appraiser's
office for a nominal fee of $3.00. Plus, it is neat to see (for yourself)
what your lot looks like from a bird's eyeview!

3. For those people who are interested in doing a more formal census;
please use the following protocol (which is fast and easy to do).

The variable circular-plot method (Reynolds et. al. 1980) will be used to
estimate the number and the diversity of birds in your area. Each observer
will walk to a point in their backyard and after a 1-minute "rest period",
all birds seen or heard will be recorded in a 10 minute period (even if
they are off the property). Observers could also record calls (with a tape
recorder) to reduce ambiguity of what species are in the area. Birds that
are flushed while approaching a station should also be recorded as well as
those birds flying over your area.

Also, if any birds are unidentified, but you know which family they are
in, note it down as an unidentified species (e.g., unidentified warbler).

An observer should estimate the distance (in feet) to each bird that is
sighted or heard (this is important to estimate densities). Take a
measurement of 100ft. in your backyard to get an idea of estimating
distances. Also, only one observer should do a point count at a time
(additional observers can census birds at the same place, but at different
times).

Censuses should be done in the morning (no later than three hours after
sunrise). No censuses should be conducted during a rainstorm or otherwise
windy conditions. Also, censuses 1/2 hour after dusk could be done to
count (by hearing calls) the number of nocturnal species.

One can census their backyard as often as they want during each of the four
seasons (its up to you- the more censuses, the more accurate the data will
be for that season).

A sample data sheet would look like this:

Date: 10/17/95
Location: 1752 S. Central, Gainesville, Fl 32611
Observer: Mark Hostetler
Time start: 8:30 a.m. Time end: 8:40 a.m.
Temperature: 67 F

SPECIES MODE (of detection*) QUANTITY DISTANCE (to bird)

Cardinal A 2 70 ft.
Unident. warbler V 1 40 ft.

*A=audio
V=Visual
FOA= flyover audio
FOV= flyover visual

***With your survey data, please send a copy of an aerial photograph (see
above) taken over your house (during each of the seasons - if possible-
when you did the censuses). This is very important.

This is a fairly simple protocol (only ten minutes each day) but the use of
the data would be invaluable. With this data (and the subsequent analyses
that use this data) researchers will be able to provide information about
how to design residential/urban areas to maximize the number of species
that use these "impacted" landscapes. This type of data will benefit a
number of urban wildlife managers, developers, city planners, and even
homeowners who are concerned about making suburban/urban areas beneficial
to avian species.

Please e-mail me if you have any questions (about the surveys) or thoughts
about organizing citizens in your neighborhood.

****************************************************************************
MARK HOSTETLER PHONE: 904-392-1040
223 BARTRAM HALL EMAIL:HOS at ZOO.UFL.EDU
DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY FAX: 904-392-3704
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
GAINESVILLE, FL. 32611