3.1 Sampling Standards

The following standards are recommended to ensure comparison of data between surveys, and to mitigate several sources of bias common in surveys. Individual protocols provide more detailed standards applicable to the method(s) and design recommended.

3.1.1 Habitat Data Standards

• A minimum amount of habitat data must be collected for each survey type. The type and amount of data collected will depend on the scale of the survey, the nature of the focal species, and the objectives of the inventory. As most, provincially-funded wildlife inventory projects deal with terrestrially-based wildlife, the terrestrial Ecosystem Field Form developed jointly by MOF and MELP (1995) will be used. However, under certain circumstances, this may be inappropriate and other RIC-approved standards for ecosystem description may be used. For a generic but useful description of approaches to habitat data collection in association with wildlife inventory, consult the introductory manual, Species Inventory Fundamentals (No.1).

3.1.2 Office Procedures

Investigating past records and consulting the British Columbia Nest Records Scheme for distribution information is recommended. The British Columbia Nest Records Scheme is administered and conducted by volunteer naturalists who collect data on bird nests that they find during the breeding season. The information collected on each nest includes: species, nest description (height, position, material), number of eggs, number of young, exact location, altitude, habitat description, date, and observer's name. This data set has played an important role in the development of the 'Birds of British Columbia'.

However, caution must be taken when using nest records to help determine study areas. If no record exists in an area, it does not necessarily mean that no nests exist. Lack of nest records may simply be because no one has visited the area, or coverage of the area was incomplete.

3.1.3 Survey Design Hierarchy

Swallow and swift surveys follow a survey design hierarchy which is structured similarly to all RIC standards for species inventory. Figure 1 clarifies certain terminology used within this manual (also found in the glossary), and illustrates the appropriate conceptual framework for a point count survey. A survey set up following this design will lend itself well to standard methods and RIC data forms.

Figure 1. RIC species inventory survey design hierarchy with examples.

3.2 Inventory Surveys

The table below outlines the type of surveys that are used for inventorying swallows and swifts for the various survey intensities. These survey methods have been recommended by wildlife biologists and approved by the Resources Inventory Committee.

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

Survey Type	Forms Needed	*Intensity
Unlimited Radius Point Count Survey	Wildlife Inventory Project Description Form Wildlife Inventory Survey Description Form-General Animal Observation Form- Swallows & Swifts Point Count Ecosystem Field Form	PN RA
Nest Counts	Wildlife Inventory Project Description Form Wildlife Inventory Survey Description Form-General Animal Observation Form- Swallows Nest Count Ecosystem Field Form	RA

* PN = presence/not detected (possible); RA = relative abundance; AA = absolute abundance

3.3 Presence/Not detected

Recommended method(s): Unlimited radius point count survey for presence/not detected for all species.

3.3.1 Unlimited Radius Point Count Surveys

Point counts involve one observer who remains stationary at a point and counts all birds seen or heard during a predetermined amount of time. Many variations are played on this design such as distance between points, duration of observation at a point, and the radius in which the birds are recorded. Exactly which combination of design parameters is optimal for swallows and swifts is unknown, however, some clues are provided by the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). The BBS, using point count methodology successfully detects swallows in sufficient numbers to allow directional trend analysis. The BBS design has points spaced 800 m apart, with a three minute count per point and an unlimited detection distance. This design is recommended with only one change, and that is the distance between points be reduced from 800 m to 400 m. The distance between points should be such that the detections from different points remain statistically independent (Reynolds et al. 1980). This recommended distance represents a compromise between sample size generation and independence of samples (Hutto et al. 1986).

Office Procedures

• Review the section, Conducting a Wildlife Inventory, in the introductory manual, Species Inventory Fundamentals (No.1).
• Obtain relevant maps for project and study(s) (e.g., 1:50 000 air photo maps, 1:20 000 forest cover maps, 1:20 000 TRIM maps, 1:50 000 NTS topographic maps). At minimum 1:50 000 map of region is needed, so that study areas can be delineated.
• Determine Biogeoclimatic zones and subzones, Ecoregion, Ecosection, and Broad Ecosystem Units for the project area from maps.
• Select study areas from maps that are likely to have suitable swallow and swift habitat. Do this by stratifying the project area by habitat or based on expected densities.
• Identify all potential transect routes and mark them on the maps.
• Investigate past records. Consult the British Columbia Nest Records Scheme for distribution information.

Sampling Design

• Stratified random sampling: The habitat of an area strongly influences the distribution and abundance of swallows and swifts. Due to the clumped distributions of swallows, both when foraging and nesting, it is strongly recommended that the survey area be stratified into homogenous zones based on expected densities. Having knowledge of the preferred characteristics of a species allows for stratified random sampling.
• In British Columbia, there have not been any sample based surveys done, thus reliable knowledge for habitat stratification is lacking. Consequently, to stratify habitat it is suggested to use best guesses based on previous work elsewhere, local bird watcher experience, and habitat models.
• Hutto et al. (1986) recommend at least 25 point counts be conducted in a habitat. Individual point counts should only be used once, so that if repeated transects are planned for an area ensure that individual point counts are not duplicated. Such duplication only serves to inflate the index of abundance, because the time at each point is extended, thus rendering comparisons between sites invalid unless exactly the same number of visits are conducted at each site.
• A design which could be used in a number of areas is a transect of 4 km in length, with 10 point counts of 3 minute duration. This transect could be repeated 3 times over the nesting season (ensuring the same point count stations were not used), thus giving the area 30 independent sample points.

Sampling Effort

• Repeat transects 3 times over the nesting period ensuring that each point count station is an independent sample points.

Sampling Standards

• Weather: Surveys should only be conducted on days with wind speeds less than 10 km/hr and no precipitation. Temperature and sun will also cause variation in insect emergence.
• Time of Year: Surveys should begin in late May or early June, depending on timing of breeding, which can vary up to four weeks between years.
• Time of Day: The time of day is extremely important and to minimize variance, surveys should be conducted at times when there will be little change in the conspicuousness of the birds. Thus all the surveys must be conducted at the same time of day between the hours of 10:00 hours and 15:00 hours and under the same weather conditions.

Personnel

• Surveys should be conducted by a biologist with prior experience in bird surveys, and an expert in swallow and swift species identification.
• At least one person should be familiar with the collection of habitat data.

Equipment

• A vehicle (or bicycle if off-road) which provides good vision to the surrounding landscape
• Binoculars (minimum 7X)
• Field note books and data forms
• Compass
• Digital watch or stop watch
• Flagging tape and hip chain

Field Procedure

• Select a direct route (transect) 10 km long or shorter parallel transects separated by 800 m. Ensure that the transect(s) passes through habitat that is homogenous and visibility is equal at each point count.
• Mark starting point with flagging tape and note its location on the map.
• Points from which counts are to be made should be separated by 400 m, measured by odometer if in a vehicle, by hip chain if off-road.
• All point counts must be conducted outside of the vehicle.
• Identify and count all swallows and swifts observed during a 3 minute interval at each point count station. If a species that has not yet been detected is observed between point count stations or after the 3 minute period, record it with the observations of the closest point count station, making a note in the comments field.
• Collect habitat information at each point count station using the Ecosystem Field Form.
• When repeating the transect, initiate the start point 150 m from the previous start point to ensure independence of samples.

Data Analysis

Presence/Not Detected

• Record the presence of each species in each of the homogeneous habitat stratum.