Landbird Monitoring Protocol for the U.S. Fish ...

This protocol is a standardized tool for monitoring breeding landbirds by use of point counts and was designed for use in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Regions 3 (Midwest) and 5 (Northeast). Our goal was to promote the use of compatible field sampling methods among land managers in the Midwest and Northeastern U.S. and facilitate interagency habitat conservation and monitoring in the future. The protocol was developed in cooperation with the National Park Service, Great Lakes Network and Northeast Temperate Network, and the Northeast Coordinated Bird Monitoring project. The protocol evolved from a passerine monitoring protocol used by the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and other agencies in Alaska since 2004. It includes a Protocol Introduction and a set of 11 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and adheres to national standards of protocol content and organization. The Protocol Introduction describes the history and need for the protocol and summarizes the basic elements of objectives, sampling design, field methods, training, data management, analysis, and reporting. The SOPs provide more detail and specific instructions for implementing the protocol. A central database, managed by the U.S. Geological Survey, is available for archiving the data to prevent loss and promote data sharing. We welcome use of the protocol by other FWS Regions and partners, as appropriate for their bird monitoring objectives.