Shorebirds - Plovers, Oystercatchers, Stilts, Avocets, Sandpipers, Phalaropes and Allies

Resources Information Standards Committee

Shorebirds

Plovers, Oystercatchers, Stilts, Avocets, Sandpipers, Phalaropes and Allies

MARCH 1997

PREFACE

This manual presents standardized methodologies for inventory of Shorebirds in British Columbia at three levels of inventory intensity: presence/not detected (possible), relative abundance, and absolute abundance. The manual was compiled by the Elements Working Group of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Task Force, under the auspices of the Resources Inventory Committee (RIC). The objectives of the working group are to develop inventory methodologies that will lead to the collection of comparable, defensible, and useful inventory and monitoring data for the species component of biodiversity.

This manual is one of the Components of British Columbia's Biodiversity (CBCB) series which present standard protocols designed specifically for group of species with similar inventory requirements. The series includes an introductory manual (Introduction to RIC Wildlife Inventory) which describes the history and objectives of RIC, and outlines the general process of conducting a wildlife inventory according to RIC standards, including selection of inventory intensity, sampling design, sampling techniques, and statistical analysis. The Introduction to RIC Wildlife Inventory manual provides important background information and should be thoroughly reviewed before commencing with a RIC wildlife inventory. RIC standards are also available for animal capture and handling, and radio-telemetry. Field personnel should be thoroughly familiar with these standards before engaging in inventories which involve either of these activities.

Standardized data forms are required for all RIC wildlife inventory. This is important to ensure compatibility with provincial data systems, as all information must eventually be included in the Species Inventory Datasystem. The manuals and data forms are available from:

Superior Reproductions

#200 -1112 West Pender Street

Vancouver, BC V6E 2S1

Tel: (604) 683 2181

Fax: (604) 683 2189

Internet: http://www.superiorprint.com

It is recognized that development of standardized methodologies is necessarily an ongoing process. The CBCB manuals are expected to evolve and improve very quickly over their initial years of use. Field testing is a vital component of this process and feedback is essential. Comments and suggestions can be forwarded to the Elements Working Group by contacting:

Wildlife Diversity Inventory Specialist

Resource Inventory and Data Management Branch

Victoria, BC V8V 1X5

Tel: (250) 387 9765

Funding for manual development and production was provided by RIC and Forest Renewal British Columbia.

Table of Contents

3.1 Sampling Standards

3.1.1 Habitat data standards

3.1.2 Personnel

3.1.3 Difficulties in identification

3.1.4 Effort and speed

3.2 Inventory Surveys

3.3 Protocols for Migratory and Wintering Shorebirds

3.3.1 Aerial encounter transect

3.3.2 Boat offshore island encounter transects

3.3.3 Ground counts

3.3.4 At-sea transects

3.4 Protocols for Breeding Shorebirds

3.4.1 How to determine if a shorebird is breeding

3.4.2 Transect method

3.4.3 Call Playback

3.5 How to Count Flocks of Shorebirds

3.5.1 Estimating numbers in large flocks

3.5.2 Counting mixed-species flocks

3.6 Nest Finding Techniques

GLOSSARY

LITERATURE CITED

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Summary of status, distribution, and habitat of shorebirds that occur in British Columbia

Table 2 Types of inventory surveys, the data forms needed, and the level of intensity of the survey

Table 3 Summary of recommended survey techniques for regularly occurring shorebirds in British Columbia

Table 4 Summary of breeding habitat, general nest site location, density of nests, and practical method of determining breeding status for breeding shorebirds in British Columbia

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Division of Habitat into survey sectors

Figure 2 Methods of estimating numbers of shorebirds in flocks

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Funding of the Resources Inventory Committee work, including the preparation of this document, is provided by the Corporate Resource Inventory Initiative (CRII) and by Forest Renewal BC (FRBC). Preliminary work of the Resources Inventory Committee was funded by the Canada-British Columbia Partnership Agreement of Forest Resource Development FRDA II.

The Resources Inventory Committee consists of representatives from various ministries and agencies of the Canadian and the British Columbia governments as well as from First Nations peoples. RIC objectives are to develop a common set of standards and procedures for the provincial resources inventories, as recommended by the Forest Resources Commission in its report "The Future of our Forests".

For further information about the Resources Inventory Committee and its various Task Forces, please contact:

The Executive Secretariat

Resources Inventory Committee

840 Cormorant Street

Victoria, BC V8W 1R1

Tel: (250) 920-0661

Fax: (250) 384-1841

http://srmwww.gov.bc.ca/risc

Terrestrial Ecosystems Task Force - Biodiversity

The background information and protocols presented in this document are base on the unpublished draft manual, Manual of Inventory Methods for Shorebirds in British Columbia, prepared for the Resources Inventory Committee by John M. Cooper, Purnima Price, and Stephen Price of Sirius Environmental Research. The draft manual was edited to its present form by Ann Eriksson, Leah Westereng, and James Quayle. All decisions regarding protocols are the responsibility of the Resources Inventory Committee. Data forms and coding instructions for this manual were developed by Naomi Pope and Leah Westereng in consultation with the Elements Working Group.

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Main entry under title:

Standardized inventory methodologies for components of British Columbia's biodiversity. Shorebirds : plovers, oystercatchers, stilts, avocets, sandpipers, phalaropes and allies [computer file]

Compiled by the Elements Working Group of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Task Force under the auspices of the Resources Inventory Committee. Cf. Pref.

Available through the Internet.

Issued also in printed format on demand.

Includes bibliographical references: p.

ISBN 0-7726-3238-3

1. Shore birds - British Columbia - Inventories - Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Ecological surveys - British Columbia - Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. BC Environment. Resources Inventory Branch. II. Resources Inventory Committee (Canada). Terrestrial Ecosystems Task Force. Elements Working Group. III. Title: Shorebirds : plovers, oystercatchers, stilts, avocets, sandpipers, phalaropes and allies.

QL696.C4S72 1997 333.95'833'09711 C97-960119-3

Additional Copies of this publication can be purchased from:

Superior Reproductions Ltd.

#200 - 1112 West Pender Street

Vancouver, BC V6E 2S1

Tel: (604) 683-2181

Fax: (604) 683-2189

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