[CT Birds] Nightjar Survey Network

[Edward James Raynor]

For those CT birders interested in participating in citizen science:



From: okbirds [mailto:OKBIRDS at lists.ou.edu] On Behalf Of Dan Reinking
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 1:37 PM
To: OKBIRDS at lists.ou.edu
Subject: nightjar survey network

<< In the spring of 2007, The Center for Conservation Biology  
constructed the Nightjar Survey Network to begin the process of  
collecting data on the population distribution and population trends  
of Nightjars across broad regions of the United States.  The Network  
was initially introduced into the southeast and is being expanded in  
2008 to provide coverage throughout the contiguous United States.

The support I have received from many state and federal agency  
personnel in the Southeast has been great and very helpful.  I cannot  
thank you all enough.

I have added a brief report on findings from the initial year of  
survey on the project website.

The Nightjar Survey Network relies on volunteer participation by  
conservation-minded citizens, biologists, and other like-minded groups  
to adopt and conduct survey routes.  Surveys are conducted much like  
the United States and Canada Breeding Bird Surveys except for  
important modifications to accommodate the biology of Nightjars.   
Nocturnal behaviors of Nightjars are strongly influenced by moonlight.  
  Activities such as calling and foraging increase under bright  
moonlight and breeding may be directly tied to the lunar schedule.   
The Nightjar Survey Network was designed to take advantage of this  
life history trait by restricting surveys to bright moonlit nights.   
This protocol substantially improves the accuracy and precision of  
surveys by reducing the systematic errors associated with moonlight  
and will further act to strengthen the statistical power needed to  
draw conclusions from collected data.

The Nightjar Survey Network has both short-term and long-term  
objectives that are considered spatially and temporally scalable.  As  
soon as a significant portion of the Network routes are annually  
surveyed, they will begin to provide results of Nightjar population  
status for local regions and for broader geographic areas.

Short-term objectives have 4-5 year time horizons and include:
1)      Gaining a better understanding of the population distribution  
of Nightjars across their breeding ranges.
2)      Learning how the composition of different habitats in a  
landscape influences Nightjar abundance.
3)      Improving the performance of the survey design.

Long-term objectives have time horizons of 10 yrs or greater and include:
1)      Determining the scale and magnitude of population changes.
2)      Providing alarm signals at specific locations if Nightjars are  
becoming imperiled.

I welcome any interest, comments, or suggestions, and any distribution  
of the program by Southeast PIF members to the general public is  
valuable.  I have also created a 2-page flyer that contains much of  
the info above as advertisement of the project.  This is available for  
download on the website.

Please fell free to email me and I hope you visit the network's  
website if you haven't yet for more details:  
http://ccb.wm.edu/nightjars.htm   (older Southeastern Nightjar Survey  
link is also still active.)


Mike Wilson
Center for Conservation Biology
College of William and Mary
PO Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
phone: 757-221-1649
fax: 757-221-1650
email:mdwils at wm.edu
www.ccb-wm.org >>
birders interested in participatin in citizen science: