Field Procedures

Breeding Pair Counts and Brood Counts

• Do not survey in rain, high winds, fog or any other conditions that reduce visibility.
• Record numbers of birds on tape-recorders.
• Count by species, all the birds on the entire wetland.
• Breeding Bird Counts - Record the number of pairs, lone males, and males in groups, noting the number of males in each group.
• Brood Counts - Record the number of ducklings and age class of each brood using the system devised by Gollop and Marshall (1954).
• If vegetation obscures part of the area, indicate the proportion of the wetland surveyed.
• Do not survey more than seven hours per day and take breaks to avoid observer fatigue.

Data Entry

• The Design Component for this survey is a block/polygon that contains essentially the entire wetland being surveyed. When digitally entering the survey data, choose `Block' from the `Design Component Type' picklist.

Data Analysis

For each Study Area or wetland:

• Calculate the number of breeding pairs or broods or non-breeding birds (depending on survey type) of each species per wetland at a given time.
• Each bird count survey of a wetland on a given day is one replicate.
• Sum the number of birds counted at each replicate survey at a wetland by species, then divide by the number of replicate surveys (birds by species/wetland).
• Precision is calculated as the square root of the variance around the mean of replicate counts.
• Calculate abundance estimates for each wetland by dividing the number of birds by species per wetland by the area of the wetland that was sampled (birds/km²).

3.4.4 Transects

See Tables 2 and 3 for species-specific recommendations.

Ground Transects - Relative Abundance for detecting breeding pairs and broods of Sandhill Cranes and for detecting non-breeding birds in wetlands for some species.

Boat Transects - Relative Abundance for detecting non-breeding birds on the ocean and in large wetlands (e.g., lakes or rivers) or along shorelines. Boat transects are suitable for surveying flocks of moulting and wintering sea birds in defined areas (Savard 1982). Birds may be counted from a motorboat, airboat, kayak or canoe.

Aerial Transects - Relative Abundance for detecting breeding birds (geese, swans and Sandhill Crane), brooding ducks, and non-breeding bird counts breeding bird counts on a large geographic scale.

Office Procedures

• Review the introductory manual No. 1 Species Inventory Fundamentals.
• Obtain relevant maps of the project area (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). Any map which is used to record data should be referenced to NAD83.
• Outline the Project Area on a map and determine Biogeoclimatic zones and subzones, Ecoregion, Ecosection, and Broad Ecosystem Units for the Project Area from maps.
• Delineate on topographic maps or air photos one to many Study Areas within this Project Area. Study Areas should be representative of the Project Area if conclusions are to be made about the Project Area. Generally, a Study Area will be equivalent to a single wetland.
• Aerial: Observers should practice counting birds from the air using computer simulations.

Sampling Design

• Stratify habitat, if appropriate, based on expected bird densities (e.g., low, medium, high). Select transect start points from the strata or areas along shoreline - identify start and stop points.
• Transects must have a fixed-width so that relative abundance can be determined.
• Transect length should be determined such that a minimum of 40 birds of each species of interest will be recorded along it (Bibby et al. 1992).
• Space transects to avoid recounting the same birds (at least 250m apart in open habitats, Briggs et al. 1985). This ensures that each transect is an independent sample.
• Identify shortest routes between samples and refuelling stops.

Sampling Effort

• Where practical, transects should be repeated every few days until required precision is obtained.
• Care must be taken during the counts to avoid biases as much as possible (e.g. consistent over or under counting). When biases are inherent in the counting method, no amount of additional sampling will remove them.
• The use of alternating observers may help to average some observer biases. Ideally, if several observers are participating in each survey, they should rotate areas between surveys; otherwise, all sites should be surveyed by the same observer during each survey. The order in which basins are surveyed should be rotated between surveys.

Time of Survey

• Choose time of day and tidal height when birds are most likely to be in open habitats (e.g., 3.4 m (11 foot) tide for aerial surveys in the Fraser River delta, McKelvey et al. 1985).
• Aerial - Conduct surveys from two hours after sunrise to two hours before sunset to avoid contrasting and confusing shadows.
• Non-breeding Birds: Surveys of moulting, migrating and wintering birds should be timed according to the chronology of these events for each species (see Table 1).
• Breeding Pairs and Broods: Aerial surveys of breeding birds (geese and swans) should be timed according to the chronology of these events for each species (see Table 1).

Personnel

• Highly trained observers with experience estimating numbers of birds on the water.
• Bird identification and chart/map reading skills.
• Qualified boat operator
• Aerial
• A pilot with previous aerial survey experience, preferably in the study area. Pilots with no previous survey experience should receive a training flight on a portion of the study area.
• Two highly trained experienced observers with recent practice at estimating numbers.

Equipment - Ground

• Vehicle, boots/chest-waders
• Binoculars
• Spotting scope with window mount and tripod
• Maps and/or aerial photographs
• Night vision telescopes (with high power and high contrast)

Equipment - Boat

• Surveys at sea - A boat and motor that is suitable for rough ocean water and allows observers to stand at least 5 m above water at eye level.
• Wetlands - Birds may be counted from a motorboat, airboat, kayak or canoe.
• Navigational equipment (e.g., LORAN-C)
• Binoculars
• Charts/maps/aerial photographs
• Split image range-finder

Equipment - Aerial

• Aircraft - helicopter/fixed-wing (refer to Simpson et al. 1993 for logistical and financial considerations in choosing appropriate aircraft)
• Topographic maps (1:20,000 or 1:50,000) for the Study Area
• 1:5000 air photo maps
• Navigational system (GPS NAD83)
• Tape recorders for each observer, extra tape cassettes and extra batteries
• Intercom and headsets
• Binoculars
• Personal gear including watch, ear plugs, anti-air-sickness devices, warm clothing, sunglasses
• Survival gear
• Window-cleaning rag

Field Procedures - Ground

Non-breeding Bird Counts

• Observe birds by walking a transect with binoculars and a spotting scope along the shoreline.
• Count all birds along the transects and record the number of birds in each sex and age class.
• Count slowly to see diving and resurfacing birds.
• Estimate the area of the wetland covered by the fixed-width transects.

Field Procedures - Boat

Non-breeding Bird Counts

• Record start and stop points of each transect (relative to NAD83).
• Travel at 20 km/h along each transect.
• Two observers scan strips 150 m on each side of the boat (total fixed-width of transect is 300 m).
• Count birds within two distance zones (0-50 m and 51-150 m).
• Lateral boundaries can be estimated with a split image range-finder.
• Only count birds that are on the water and taking off from the water (not flying).
• Record the birds by sex and age class.