What is the Breeding Bird Survey and what does it do for the birds?

All of us reading this article enjoy birds and want to protect the birds and the places where birds live. One of the most important ways that we both protect birds and our environment is by monitoring bird populations. Unlike nearly all other taxa, birds can be effectively monitored across large geographic areas and over long periods, this is primarily because of the number of competent bird watchers that are willing to volunteer their time and expertise to monitoring birds.

The primary program used to monitor birds in North America is the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). The BBS started in 1966, at a point in time when the general public was greatly concerned about the health of the environment and birds were the way to monitor the environment. The BBS was one of the contributions provided by Chandler Robbins. Chandler Robbins recently passed away at 98 and was the key figure in the development and use of the BBS. (You can read more about him in this article by the Washington Post.)

The BBS has a rather simple protocol, the US Geological Service at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center randomly choose routes along rural roads. Each route is approximately 25 miles long and there are stops every ½ mile, at each stop a 3 minute survey is conducted and all birds within ¼ mile that are seen or heard are recorded. These routes are conducted from sunrise to about 9:00AM once per year. In Illinois we have 101 routes and in general they are conducted between late May and early July. While we, as a state, have improved the percentage of routes that are completed each year we still often have 8 to 12 routes that are not assigned to a person. This map provide the location of routes and which ones are available.

Why it is important

With the data collected from across North America over the last several decades, statisticians at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center use complex statistician approaches to model how the population of birds are changing. These population trend data are one of the key pieces of data used to determine conservation priorities at various organizations. For example, the US Fish and Wildlife Service use these data to determine priority species. Here in Illinois the Illinois Department of Natural Resources uses these data to help determine which species should be considered in greatest needed of conservation. Partners in Flight has recently produced a very interesting report, Species of Continental Concern, which primarily uses the BBS data.

The BBS data not only can be used to inform us about which species is increasing or decreasing, but the data provides the distribution of species. You can view Relative Abundance Maps for each species on the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Web site.

With the distribution data we can further refine conservation priorities. For example, Illinois is an important area for Dickcissel and Henslow’s Sparrow because we are in the core area of their distribution and a relatively large percentage of their population is in our state. Therefore when determining how to use limited conservation resources we can have additional data to determine where the funds should be used.

Finally, the BBS can provide the “large scale” view of how bird populations are faring. We all have our favorite areas to go bird watching, and these areas may or may not be representative of the greater population of a given species. In addition, there is a natural tendency for birdwatchers to be more interested in the rarer species. To this end many of us have noticed an increase in Henslow’s Sparrows over the last couple decades and the BBS survey also shows this increase. However, common species that are declining, often are not noticed by the casual observer. For example, if you look out your window right now you might see both American Robins and Common Grackles, both common species in the state, however their population trends are completely different. Where American Robins are exhibiting a steady increase in population, Common Grackles have been declining. Many people have remarked to me about the decline in Red-headed Woodpeckers and sadly the BBS also shows the same decline, however again species that are still relatively common such as Brown Thrashers are showing an alarming decline. The “take home” is that the BBS provides the data to accurately model the population of bird species and with these data we (the conservation community) can hopefully determine why the species is declining and then striving to either reduce or hopefully reverse the decline.
 

Involvement

I (Mike Ward) am the BBS coordinator for the state of Illinois and therefore one of my responsibilities is to find competent volunteers that can identify the breeding birds of Illinois by sight and sound. Luckily we have many great volunteers in Illinois, but we could use more. It is likely too late to get people signed up for the 2017 breeding season but we will need more people in 2018. Given my career, I work with BBS data often and I often get firsthand experience regarding how important these data are to the conservation planning process. For a different perspective of the BBS I asked a volunteer to provide their impression regarding the data collection process and Ray Boehmer, an IOS member from Urbana, was gracious enough to provide the following:

“I have been doing Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes for eight years, starting with one, adding another a couple years later, and then adding a third route this year. Birding is normally a relaxing, low-intensity activity for me, but doing a BBS “kicks it up a notch.” At each of the 50 stops, I have to be alert and on my toes to record every bird seen or heard. It reminds me that I am taking part in the scientific aspects of birding. I have to be as objective and accurate as possible. I really like that about participating in the BBS program.

The starting points for my routes range from 30 minutes to a little more than an hour from my house. So having to get up early is an understatement. But I have always been an early riser, so a 3 AM alarm is not too bad.

My routes mostly go through agricultural areas, with a surprising number of wooded creeks crisscrossing, providing some fairly “birdy” stops. In one 3-minute count, I managed to record 35 individuals representing 15 species. That was intense! Then quickly on to the next stop.

The people organizing, supporting, and promoting the BBS program, at both state and federal levels, are well qualified and easily accessible, making the effort on my part about as easy and smooth as I could possibly want. Recording and submitting the results are easy and user-friendly. I plan to continue participating in the BBS program as long as I can while my vision and hearing remain sharp.”

If you are interested in conducting a BBS route please contact Mike Ward.

The Illinois Spring Bird Count is here at last. For those, like myself, that look forward to this day every year, getting ready for the count can be a bit hectic. I like to think of it as preparing for that comprehensive final you might have at the end of the semester in school. With a running species list of around 350 species tabulated over the last 45 years, anything would seem possible during the count. That being said, that running list has taken many years of hard work to put together, which brings me to how the count began in the first place.

In 1959, the soon to be organizer of the Breeding Bird Survey, Chandler Robbins organized the first Spring Bird Count in Maryland. At the time 23 counties were counted in Maryland. Because these counts take lots of work Chandler could not do it alone. Mentored by Chandler at the time was a young man named Vern Kleen who had been birding since the age of seven. While compiling data for Chandler Vern learned the value of scientific data. He went on to earn a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Maryland in 1965 and then attended Southern Illinois University where he earned a M.A. in Zoology. Vern was also a multistate editor for Bird Notes for six states. Realizing how confusing it can be to try and make something out of data when there are many different projects going on using different methods Vern understood the need for consistency and connectivity among data. So when asked by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, whom he later worked for as State Ornithologist out of Springfield, to organize a statewide bird count, he realized that it would require all counties working together was what it would take to have a data set that could be used to benefit birds. With the help of Illinois Audubon Society Vern was able to recruit 650 volunteers in 62 counties and coordinate the very first SBC on Saturday, 6 May 1972. From there Vern grew the count so most, if not all, counties were counted during consecutive years. Vern continued to organize the count for over 30 years before transitioning the count to the Illinois Natural History Survey where Mike Ward and I currently coordinate.

While going out and counting birds that you hear or see is always a good time, the real purpose behind the count is to use the data to monitor birds and benefit them. Because we have over four decades of SBC data to work with we can use the data to look at population trends of birds. Are species increasing or decreasing in number, and if so, why? We can also use the data to determine range movement and distribution of birds. For instance, if an exotic species enters the state we can look at the data to see how quickly the bird colonizes throughout the state. Or if bird ranges are shifting due to changes in climate over time we would expect to see shifts in the distribution of species. We can also use SBC data to document rare or vagrant species. When you have over 1,000 volunteers out on the same day you have a much greater likelihood of documenting these occurrences. Finally, we can use the data to contribute to conservation management decisions.

We are always looking for new volunteers for the count and in a testament as to how much volunteers enjoy the count, we still have volunteers that have been around since the very beginning. Vern himself continues to contribute as a county compiler for Union county. This popular count allows birders and nature lovers alike to go out for one day and simply bird, albeit with a few stipulations. For those interested in the count, this event occurs every spring on the Saturday that falls between the 4th and 10th of May. The censuses are conducted in all 102 counties in Illinois, however in any given year a few counties are not censused. Each county has a compiler responsible for recruiting volunteers and assigning volunteers to areas to count within their county. This is especially important to avoid double coverage of an area. While the count is a fun bird-a-thon volunteers need to keep in mind that we do want to be comprehensive and cover as much of the county and its habitat types as possible. Counting common birds such as robins and blackbirds might get boring, but we can’t overlook them simply because there are an abundance of them. Volunteers record all birds seen or heard, along with the number of hours they spend “owling” (pre-dawn hours), the number of hours spent looking for birds during the day, the number of miles driven in a car, and the number of miles walked. Compilers also tabulate all data collected within their county and send it to the state compiler.

Each year SBC reports are published in the Meadowlark, a journal of the Illinois Ornithological Society. Members from IOS along with Illinois Audubon Society are a large portion of the SBC volunteer group. Please see the SBC Web site for more information and contact Tara Beveroth, if you would like to volunteer.

by Tara Beveroth

The Grant applications are in! This year we received 9 applications in all.

Grant awards will be announced the first week of May. Some funds have already been received but more contributions are needed so more of the grants can be funded. Any organization or individual may fund all or part of a Grant. Donations can be for any amount. Donors/sponsors will be recognized on the IOS web site.

Funding for the 2017 IOS grants can be provided via PayPal (using either PayPal account or credit card):

Or you can send your check made out to IOS to:

Bob Fisher
715 86th Place
Downers Grove IL 60516

With spring rapidly accelerating, now is the ideal time for a little spring migration review. But rather than focusing solely on identification, let’s look over some of what we know about migration itself, specifically its timing, its interaction with weather, and how to predict it. Being able to predict migration—of course within a margin of error—can amplify everything that makes spring migration exciting. Indeed, merely by visiting a few websites, you have the godlike power of knowing when to expect arrivals, influxes, and fallouts, and when the best time to get out there may be.

To get you started, here are five simple steps to help you become your own migration-forecasting guru:

Step #1 – Know what the atmosphere’s doing

For this, I use Intellicast’s Mixed Surface Analysis, which provides two handy pieces of information: 1) Where the frontal boundaries (fronts) and centers of air masses are, and 2) Where precipitation is happening. The atmosphere is composed of air masses, which can be rising, falling, warm and wet, cold and dry, and anything in between. These characteristics interact to make them behave either as low pressure systems or high pressure systems. Here’s the key thing to remember: low pressure systems rotate counterclockwise, while high pressure systems rotate clockwise. This means that when there’s a big “H” on the map, a high pressure center, the air is moving clockwise around it. The opposite is true for the big “L’s” on the map, low pressure centers around which air moves counterclockwise. This allows you to predict where winds will be favorable or unfavorable for migration before you’ve even checked the winds.

Having the fronts depicted brings another benefit: many migrants move ahead of or just behind fronts—if they’re going the right direction. Migrants seem to have a particular affinity for cold fronts, which tend to move faster. But if a front—and the precipitation it carries—is moving the opposite direction of migrants, they can cause migratory fallouts. Either way, keeping an eye on fronts can help you spot those critical moments when your favorite migrant traps will be the busiest with birds.

Step #2 – Focus on the winds

After you’ve ‘read’ the surface analysis map, take a look at a earth map only depicting wind. This is mostly to check your interpretation of the surface analysis map. Are the winds going the direction you predicted? The wind map should make it especially clear where conditions are favorable for migration: anywhere with southerly (from the south) winds has potential to facilitate spring movement. Tailwinds—southerly in the spring and northerly in the fall—are the name of the game, though don’t be surprised when there are exceptions! If you’re interested in forecasting migration further ahead of time than the night before, this Intellicast wind forecast is extremely useful.

Step #3 – Check the radar

Now that you know where to expect migration, and why you’re expecting that migration, is there any migration? NEXRAD radar is exactly what you need to answer this question (Check out a map of the contiguous US or any of the 3-letter stations codes on the National Center for Atmospheric Research real-time weather data map). NEXRAD stations record images from numerous locations around the country, picking up anything made of water in the atmosphere. Most of the time, this just means clouds and storms systems. But because living things are also comprised largely of water, this means that in large enough numbers they show up on radar too. During the spring and fall, this is exactly what happens with birds, which show up as blue and/or green donut shaped forms on the radar. As the blue gets brighter and then goes green through the night, migration is getting heavier. Massive, mostly green orbs on the radar means extremely heavy migration, or, in other words, that you should probably go birding tomorrow morning.

Step #4 – Check eBird and BirdCast for what to expect

While radar tells us that migration is happening, it doesn’t tell us what’s migrating. For this, I use eBird frequency charts to predict which species are arriving and influxing based on what time of year it is. Scrolling through these charts can give you a good idea of which species will be most abundant tomorrow morning, and which species might just be arriving. Even better, these charts are a handy reminder of those species that you might have forgotten to look for. BirdCast, another Cornell Lab of Ornithology project, provides succinct, regional migration forecasts to enrich what you learn from eBird charts. If there’s anywhere online to visit for condensed migration information, BirdCast is the place.

Step #5 – Get out there!

Now that you know how to read a surface analysis map, how to interpret winds, how to track migration using radar, and how to keep track of which species are moving, you have the power to predict migration. You can predict when it’s happening, explain the weather behind why it’s happening, and even name which species should be part of the mix. All that’s left now, of course, is to go apply it in the field!

by Nick Minor

On March 25, 2017, Chicago Audubon held its Biennial Environmental Awards Banquet to honor those who have made contributions to conservation, the protection of migratory birds and other wildlife, and have helped to conserve, preserve, and enhance the varied habitats and open spaces of the greater Chicago region.

Recipients included several IOS and Illinois Young Birders (ILYB) members. Congratulations to all!

• Young Environmentalist: Henry Griffin – Oak Park Bird Walks
• Service to Chicago Area Birders: Matthew Cvetas and Josh Engel – Leading/advising ILYB
• Protector of the Environment — Avocation: Bob Fisher – Bird Conservation Network (BCN) and bird monitor
• Protector of the Environment — Group: Steve and Jill Flexman – Poplar Creek Prairie Stewards