Virginia Birders,
It's that time of year again where we are recruiting skilled Virginia birders
to volunteer for the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). The BBS has
been running for over 50 years and continues to generate population trend
information for a large number of landbird species; this information is
actively used by scientists and conservationists to monitor the status of bird
populations and identify species most in need of conservation attention. The
BBS is driven by the active involvement of volunteer citizen scientists.
There are 68 active BBS routes in VA of which 12 (nearly 20%) are in need of
observer. Once you sign up and familiarize yourself with a BBS route, running
that route requires only one morning per year, with 3-minute bird counts being
conducted at 50 stops over a distance of 25 roadside miles.
If you can identify the birds in your area by both sight and sound, have sharp
eyesight and good hearing (especially important for the higher-pitched species
that might otherwise escape detection), have access to reliable transportation,
and are willing to commit to running a route for a minimum of 2 consecutive
years (but multiple years are highly encouraged), please consider inquiring
about running a BBS route.
To view a map of currently vacant routes, go to
https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/index.cfm and click on ;'Vacant Routes'. Click on
the 'Info' button next to a route to view a list of species recorded to date
for that route. Current vacancies are found in the following counties:
Amelia/Dinwiddie, Amherst, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson/Wise, Henry, Mecklenburg,
Northampton, Patrick/Floyd, Rockbridge, and Washington/Smyth.
You can read up on BBS methodology and view results at
https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/. Please contact me with any questions, and ;
especially if you are interested in running a route.
We need your help - thanks!
Sergio
Sergio Harding | Nongame Bird Conservation Biologist | Virginia Department of
Game and Inland Fisheries | 7870 Villa Park Dr, Suite 400, Henrico, VA 23228 |
804-367-0143 | www.dgif.virginia.gov<http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/> |
www.vabci.org<http://www.vabci.org/>
