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U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Chapter 6 of
Section A, Biological Science
Book 2, Collection of Environmental Data

Landbird Monitoring Protocol for National Parks in the North Coast and Cascades Network

Prepared in cooperation with the
North Coast and Cascades Network, National Park Service

By Rodney B. Siegel, Robert L. Wilkerson, The Institute for Bird Populations; Kurt J. Jenkins, U.S. Geological Survey; Robert C. Kuntz II, North Cascades National Park Service Complex; John R. Boetsch, Olympic National Park; James P. Schaberl, Mount Rainier National Park; and Patricia J. Happe, Olympic National Park

Introduction

This protocol narrative outlines the rationale, sampling design and methods for monitoring landbirds in the North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) during the breeding season. The NCCN, one of 32 networks of parks in the National Park System, comprises seven national park units in the Pacific Northwest, including three large, mountainous, natural area parks (Mount Rainier [MORA] and Olympic [OLYM] National Parks, North Cascades National Park Service Complex [NOCA]), and four small historic cultural parks (Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve [EBLA], Lewis and Clark National Historical Park [LEWI], Fort Vancouver National Historical Park [FOVA], and San Juan Island National Historical Park [SAJH]). The protocol reflects decisions made by the NCCN avian monitoring group, which includes NPS representatives from each of the large parks in the Network as well as personnel from the U.S. Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (USGS-FRESC) Olympic Field Station, and The Institute for Bird Populations, at meetings held between 2000 (Siegel and Kuntz, 2000) and 2005. The protocol narrative describes the monitoring program in relatively broad terms, and its structure and content adhere to the outline and recommendations developed by Oakley and others (2003) and adopted by NPS. Finer details of the methodology are addressed in a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) that accompany the protocol narrative. We also provide appendixes containing additional supporting materials that do not clearly belong in either the protocol narrative or the standard operating procedures.

Contents

Narrative
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Background and Objectives
2. Sampling Design
3. Field Methods
4. Data Handling, Analysis, and Reporting
5. Personnel Requirements and Training
6. Operational Requirements
References Cited
SOP 1: Preparing for the Field Season
SOP 2: Workspace Setup and Project Records Management
SOP 3: Training Observers
SOP 4: Field Tour Preparation
SOP 5: Establishing, Relocating, and Describing Survey Points
SOP 6: Conducting Point Counts
SOP 7 Classifying Vegetation
SOP 8: Reporting Rare Bird Detections
SOP 9: Field Form Handling Procedures
SOP 10: Collecting GPS Data
SOP 11: Managing Photographic Images
SOP 12: Data Entry and Verification
SOP 13: After the Field Season
SOP 14: Data Quality Review and Certification
SOP 15: Metadata Development
SOP 16: Data Analysis and Reporting
SOP 17: Special Considerations for Small Parks
SOP 18: Product Delivery Specifications
SOP 19: Sensitive Information Procedures
SOP 20: Product Posting and Distribution
SOP 21: Revising the Protocol
Appendix 1. Roles and Responsibilities
Appendix 2. Yearly Project Task List
Appendix 3. Schedule for Project Deliverables
Appendix 4. Example of Trend Analysis for the American Robin
Appendix 5. Simulation Methods Used to Estimate Power to Detect Trends in 22
Representative Avian Species in Olympic National Park Based Upon the
Proposed Augmented, Serially Alternating Panel Design (n = 72 Transects)
Appendix 6. BirdTrend 1.1 User’s Manual
Appendix 7. Landbird Monitoring Protocol Database Docume ntation
Appendix 8. Administrative History for Landbird Monitoring Protocol Development

This report is available online in Portable Document Format (PDF). If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader, it is available for free download from Adobe Systems Incorporated.

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Send questions or comments about this report to the author, K.J. Jenkins, (360) 565-3041.

For more information, visit the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center home page.