Request For Help —
Seeking Assistants to help me run my three Breeding Bird Survey routes in June
2019.
I need 3 Assistants with good time-management skills, and willing to
drive/navigate us.
Last summer all 3 of my assistants and myself, had a really fun day!
Mine are beautiful routes,
all three begin at mountain lakes,
half on forest roads.
Opportunity, if you like, to spend the night out before, under stars — listen
for owls — I have had every species of Oregon owl heard in summer in these
areas except for Short-eared and Spotted (still working on Spotted!)] All 3
routes have Great Gray Owl (40% chance of encountering, was my 2018 BBS success
rate).
Opportunity, if you like, with the Davis and Elk Lake routes, to afterwards
leisurely bird Davis Lake and Wickiup Reservoir — Central Oregon’s top summer
birding spot.
You would be driving and keeping me on schedule/track, and if willing, also
tabbing in the bird counts on the paper as I call them out during the counts.
I would be doing the official 3-min point counts, and also ebirding our lists
during the drives between spots.
You get to bird along with me as I am birding, and your observations get
included in our ebird lists.
It can be fun to do the counts as a game, compare what species and numbers we
independently come up with, and miss !
Below is the email I sent out last year, with more specific info about
assisting running these routes.
Please let me know if you are or may be interested in helping me this June.
I won’t be able to choose specific dates until semi-spontaneously each week of,
as routes need to be run on good weather days,
so I’m hoping to line up enough interested potential-assistants, that I’ll for
sure have help for each route.
Thanks!
Courtney
Courtney Kelly Jett, Bend, Oregon
Sent from a phone that is all brevity, no wit
Sent from a phone low on wits, high on bits
On Jun 28, 2018, at 5:59 PM, Courtney Kelly Jett <ckjannabirds@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Wednesday June 27, I joined with Paul Adamus as he ran my/his Wizard Falls
BBS (Breeding Bird Survey) route for me, thanks Paul!
This was our first day meeting eachother, and we enjoyed this day birding
together.
Paul did the official 3-min. BBS counts, while I merely leisurely enjoyed
birding and eBirding :-)
We encountered total of 62 species,
including our best-ever views of poorwills, roosting and flying,
and a close-up Great Gray Owl! — first time I have ever randomly encountered
one! (Location: Sensitive.)
Also, Wild Turkey and Peregrine Falcon and White-headed Woodpecker were new
Jefferson county birds for me.
I include our complete bird list, of June 27, at bottom of this post.
* But first, to ask: *
Is any birder willing to help assist me in this next week, running the Elk
Lake BBS route? along Cascades Lakes Hwy in Deschutes Co.
(Warning: we may need to do two separate trip days, since I haven’t yet
scouted the 50 route stops, so if we go overtime as learning the route, would
need to redo another day.)
It needs to be run before July 7, on good weather day.
If I don’t find someone to help assist me, I won’t do the route, and no data
will be submitted for 2018.
This spring I signed up for 3 BBS routes: Wizard Falls, Elk Lake, Davis Lake.
May 27, 2018, I attempted to run my first BBS, Wizard Falls, but I failed,
determined the BBS protocol is too difficult (for me) to do alone by myself,
I would need help, an Assistant, and I don’t have one,
so I gave back my routes, I told BBS coordinator Paul Adamus that I can’t do
them.
So, this week, Paul decided to run one of my abandoned routes for me, Wizard
Falls, invited me along to join him, to demonstrate/inspire me to rethink how
fun a BBS can actually be!
The 50 stops with 3-min birding at each stop is a long day, but this part I
can do, and enjoy,
but the 25-mile route is supposed to be done in “4 or 5” hours, (with maximum
time allotment of 6.5 hours, if adverse weather), any time beyond which and
they don’t use the data:
and my attempt May 27, took me ca. 9.5 hours.
June 27, Paul and I were able to do it under 6-hours, (would have been 5.25
hours if we hadn’t mistakenly birded 9 stops that weren’t the right stops! -
to redo).
Alone, however, I am not capable of doing a route under this tight protocol.
Keeping to a tight schedule is not one of my gifts, or joys.
I need an Assistant who enjoys schedule/order/protocol, as I enjoy
birdsong/spaciousness.
Also, I’m terrible at multitasking —
while identifying and counting birds, timing counts, driving and paying
attention to mileage and where are stop points, and watching weather and
tallying cars, and filling out forms, ... is so much mental energy for me,
and probably I move too slow/relaxed ...
May 27, I backed off a road into a ditch, vehicle fell over almost on its
side, cradled by two trees. I was extremely lucky that people were nearby
camping for Memorial Day weekend, and 3 fellow forestlovers quick freely
offered and helped tow me out with 2 large trucks, I am so so grateful to
them, (and, to feel more hopeful about humanity’s spontaneous/natural
goodness!)
But this is not an experience I want to duplicate; driving forest roads alone
while multitasking, is not safe.
It’s all too much for me, to do by myself.
And anyway, 5+ hours of car birding is only enjoyable for me, with good
companionship.
June 27, I did really enjoy doing the Wizard Falls route with Paul, and it
did inspire excitement in me to do the Elk Lake route after all,
if I can find someone to help me.
I need an Assistant to do the driving and time management, keep me on track;
and enjoy quiet birding alongside me as I do my counts.
BBS route starts birding at 4:50am.
There are 50, 3-min. bird count stops, at 0.5-mile intervals; if we plan for
only 3-min. between counts to get back into vehicle and drive to next spot
and out of vehicle, and without any breaks, or follow-up on other birds, the
route would take 5 hours (300-min.), to give an idea of how to schedule.
During car drives between stops, I need to fill out forms/eBird.
An Assistant can’t point out or ID birds for me, during my 3-min. counts.
If desired, I am willing to say aloud what I am hearing/seeing as I count.
Please let me know ASAP if this sounds like a doable and fun day (or two), if
you wish to join and help me.
BBS data has a 40-year-history as very important for habitat Conservation,
etc. Its data is more useful than a CBC’s, because of more scientifically
rigorous protocol.
I am excited to contribute, but
only willing to run the Elk Lake route if I find help.
Thanks!
Courtney Jett
Bend, Oregon
ckjannabirds@xxxxxxxxx
https://m.facebook.com/tat.pand?fref=nf
**************************
On Mar 18, 2019, at 8:07 AM, <adamus7@xxxxxxxxxxx> <adamus7@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi Courtney,
I’d appreciate it if you could pin down commitments soon from people who will
accompany you on those 3 BBS routes, or let me know if you’re unable to. If
I recall correctly, last year Tim Shelmerdine, Jake Schas , and one or two
other birders agreed. If you still have their email addresses, could you ask
them again? Or better, if you’ve gotten to know someone locally in the past
year who would just navigate and data-record, please see if they’ll commit to
doing it with you. If neither of those strategies works, then I guess a
general request on OBOL like you suggest might work.
Thanks!
Paul
From: adamus7@xxxxxxxxxxx <adamus7@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, March 9, 2019 7:21 PM
To: 'Courtney Kelly Jett' <ckjannabirds@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: Bbs
Hi Courtney,
I have a feeling you told me that awhile ago and I forgot. If so, many
apologies!!!! I’d happily to be your assistant for at least one of the
routes (your hearing is better than mine) but it probably makes more sense in
the long term for you to find somebody living closer to Bend. If that
doesn’t pan out, please let me know in May and I’ll plan a trip your way in
June.
Happy birding!
Paul
From: Courtney Kelly Jett <ckjannabirds@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, March 9, 2019 8:48 AM
To: Bird Paul Adamus <adamus7@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Bbs
Paul, I had intended to do my routes. I just need to get an assistant, and I
am fully prepared to do all my 3. I had planned to post onto OBOL to get
assistants .
Does this work for you?
Courtney Kelly Jett, Bend, Oregon
Sent from a phone that is all brevity, no wit
Sent from a phone low on wits, high on bits
