Daily Routine

The following is excerpted from PIBO's migration monitoring study protocol:

This section of the report provides a description of the field protocol for the migration monitoring study. The methodology follows the recommendations of Hussell and Ralph (1996) and McCracken et al. (1993).

Coverage Period

The field-crew will carry out a program of intensive monitoring of diurnal migrants on Pelee Island during the period April 1st - June 15th in the spring and from August 1st - November 15th in the fall. This represents the 'targeted' coverage period. Constant-effort (seven days/week - 180 days of field coverage).

Daily Coverage

The following fieldwork will be conducted on a daily basis:

  • ·  Six hours of visual field-observations by staff and volunteers within a well defined 'count area', seven days/week, beginning one half hour before sunrise.
  • ·  Six hours of 'standardised' mist-netting (10 nets) each day, beginning one half hour before sunrise.
  • ·  A ninety-minute walking-census of the official 'census' route each day, beginning one hour after sunrise.

    • During the official six-hour 'count' period, participants record the number of individuals of each species mist-netted, seen or heard in the count area. During the ninety-minute walking 'census' a single observer records all birds seen or heard along a clearly defined route. At the end of the daily count period (5.5 hours after sunrise) the field crew enters the banding and census data onto a 'daily log' sheet, along with additional field observations, and then (based on these totals) derives a Daily Total (DT) for each species recorded.
    home contact pibo helping birds funding pibo working with pibo bird lore keeping track who what where