Bird Survey Opportunities in BC

What to do on your summer vacation? There are plenty of bird programs in British Columbia where you can contribute your valuable birding knowledge to bird conservation (and have fun at the same time). See below for details on a few programs below for Nightjars, Sandpipers, Hawks, Breeding Bird Surveys, and eBird… you’ll never be bored again!


BC Nightjar Surveys

  BC Nightjar Surveys Bird Studies Canada in BC has recently developed a collaborative agreement with another non government organization, WildResearch (www.wildresearch.ca) to work on nightjar surveys and other joint projects. Little is currently known about population trends of Common Nighthawks and Common Poorwills in BC and there is concern that that they may be declining rapidly. 
  Volunteers are needed to survey for Common Poorwills and Common Nighthawks across British Columbia between mid-May and mid-July. Each survey route will require two to three hours of surveying and one hour of data entry. Each route is a series of road-side stops and needs to be surveyed once per year during the nightjar breeding season. Anyone with a vehicle and good hearing is capable of conducting a BC Nightjar Survey! 
  To sign up for a route near you, visit the “Information for Surveyors” section of www.wildresearch.ca and click on “BC Nightjar Survey map”.  To find out more, please contact: nightjars [at] wildresearch [dot] ca


BC Shorebird Surveyors

  The British Columbia Shorebird Survey returns this summer. The project was launched in 2013 by Bird Studies Canada and Simon Fraser University to study Western Sandpiper abundance and behaviour with help from Citizen Scientists. We’re looking for volunteers able to commit to two to three days of surveys, lasting two to three hours each day.  The 2014 surveys will occur on the weekends of July 19-20 and August 16-17 at several sites around Vancouver, Victoria, Eastern Vancouver Island, Tofino, and Washington.    
  Volunteer surveyors will help collect accurate counts from numerous sites, some that are heavily used feeding sites and some used less often, and document the presence of falcons. To register as a new or returning volunteer, visit the BC Shorebird Survey webpage http://www.sfu.ca/~dhope/volunteer.html. 
  If you have questions, please contact Karen Barry (bcprograms [at] birdscanada [dot] org) or David Hope (dhope [at] sfu [dot] ca).


BC Red-tailed Hawk Project

  The BC Red-Tails Project started earlier this year to study the plumage variations of Red-tailed Hawks across the province of British Columbia.  It plans to create an image collection that is representative of actual populations (subspecies and morphs) across the province.  Images will be used primarily for identification (to the level of sub-species if possible), and don’t necessarily have to be of “professional quality.”  
Project managers anticipate that these data will provide more information on the distribution and interaction of different races and populations in this area.  
  The project is described in more detail on the blog/web-site: http://bcredtails.wordpress.com. For more information, please contact: bcredtails [at] gmail [dot] com


Breeding Bird Surveys

  Enthusiastic and skilled birders are needed to participate in the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). North America’s premier bird survey is coordinated in Canada by the Canadian Wildlife Service (http://ec.gc.ca/reom-mbs/default.asp?lang=en&n=416B57CA)
  Participants survey assigned routes one morning a year in June. Each route consists of 50 three-minute roadside stops, and takes about five hours to complete. Volunteers are asked to survey the same route for at least three years. 
  The results are used by countless researchers and biologists to monitor bird population trends, generate population estimates, assess the status of birds in Canada, and identify birds of conservation concern. 
  If you would like to lend your eyes and ears to this very worthwhile effort, contact Bird Studies Canada staff in  British Columbia (Dick Cannings, dcannings [at] birdscanada [dot] org). For other provinces/territories, click here (http://ec.gc.ca/reom-mbs/default.asp?lang=En&n=C6E31C35-1 )

eBird

  eBird is a real-time, online checklist program, that has revolutionized the way that the birding community reports and accesses information about birds. It provides rich data sources for basic information on bird abundance and distribution at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. It’s a great and easy way to organize your bird lists and contribute to knowledge and conservation of birds at the same time.
  A birder simply enters when, where (anywhere in the world!), and how they went birding, then fills out an easy checklist of all the birds seen and heard during the outing! The observations of each participant join those of others in an international network of eBird users. eBird then shares these observations with a global community of educators, land managers, ornithologists, and conservation biologists. More information can be found here: http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/973841-what-is-ebird-?t=400913 ; 

  Data from ebird and most of Bird Studies Canada’s programs can be found on NatureCounts.ca http://www.birdscanada.org/birdmon/ 

Good Birding!
______________________________________________________________________________________ 
Christopher Di Corrado
BC Breeding Bird Atlas Coordinator
Bird Studies Canada – Études d’Oiseaux Canada
5421 Robertson Road, RR1
Delta, B.C. V4K 3N2
T 604-350-1911 | F 604-946-7022
1-877-592-8527
cdicorrado [at] birdscanada [dot] org
web: www.birdatlas.bc.ca
DOWNLOAD FREE DATA: www.naturecounts.ca