Tweets:

I've had a few replies to the Kitsap County breeding birds challenge,
and also a request for additional information on how the surveys were
conducted. Glad to oblige.

Surveyors worked only during the breeding season (May through July
for most species). They visited every one of the 64 blocks into
which the county was divided, usually for a total of five to eight
hours (often longer, rarely less). Typically a block was covered on
more than one date and by more than one party (different observers).
A full block is one quarter of a township/range consisting of nine
sections, i.e., it is a square three miles on a side with an area of
nine square miles. However, because of the irregular shape of the
county as determined by its extensive shorelines, the average block
in the county has a land area of about six square miles. Most blocks
-- even the smallest, down to 0.5 square mile -- have considerable
variety of habitat. The breeding bird atlas protocol is a simple
presence-absence study, that is, observers record whether or not a
given species is present on a given block and do not note the numbers
found. Observers try to sample all of the habitats and are free to
go anywhere within the block for as long as they like. They also
record evidence of breeding but this is not a factor in the present
game.

So, let's hear from some more contestants! What we are looking for
is your best guess of the 21 species encountered on the largest
number of survey blocks in Kitsap County, broken down into three
groups if you wish:

- nine species recorded on all 64 blocks

- seven additional species recorded on >90 percent of the blocks

- a further five species recorded on >85 percent of the blocks

Remember, only one of the 21 species is a non-passerine.

Hal Opperman
Medina, Washington
mailto:halop at accessone.com