Birding News and Features
Final Push for Rusty Blackbird Blitz
In 2009 and 2010, birders scoured the countryside for wintering Rusty Blackbirds to increase understanding of their distribution and find important local concentrations (hotspots). Much was learned from the last two year’s efforts. Already, the information gained is being used to implement research and conservation efforts! However, there is still more to learn. The Rusty Blackbird Hotspot Blitz will be repeated for the last time in 2011 to locate more hotspots and determine how stable known hotspots are from year to year. Don’t miss your chance to contribute to this monumental survey effort for this declining species! Mark your calendar now!
Louisiana Winter Bird Atlas 2011 (January 10-February 20)
We started this project on a leap of faith that you, the birding community, would participate. We were repeatedly impressed with the dedication and determination shown by our fellow birders. Thousands of hours of field time have been logged and these data will contribute to a first of its kind atlas where relative abundance of wintering bird populations will be shown on a large regional scale.
This year will be especially important since it is the first since the Gulf oil spill. We (you too) will have the ability to compare data from previous years and post-spill data. Consider a coastal quad if you haven't already.
Summer Bird Atlas Data Make a Difference
Beginning the first of June and continuing for six weeks, volunteers will once again take to the field to document Louisiana's birdlife quantitatively. We all know birders don't need much of an excuse to get out, but Summer does require a little extra push given the deer flies, heat, humidity, and the slower pace. As we are all acutely aware, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill continues to leak effluent and the effects on Gulf birdlife are on the minds of many.
For the last two years atlas participants entered data for barrier island ground nesting species and now those data are more important than ever. This year will also be an important year for coastal parishes and we hope to gain support to get observers out to the islands to repeat what has been done in the past and expand to islands yet surveyed.
No matter where you are in Louisiana, Summer Atlas data are valuable for multiple scales for current and future inquiry. Computing power and eBird data visualization techniques continue to grow and our data offer scientists and tourists alike current information on our avian largesse.
If that isn't enough to get you out the door, consider the spike in discovered rarities. Not only is Louisiana a large state with unexplored areas, but bird distribution continues to change. The breeding ranges of many species continue to expand and contract across the state for reasons known and unknown. By submitting your checklists, you provide more lines of evidence to current and future inquiries.
To all the participants from years past, we thank you for your efforts. To the birder considering our project, we encourage you to join us and help make the Summer Bird Atlas as complete as possible. Let's get it done.
Winter Bird Atlas Begins Fourth Year-Rusty Blackbird Targeted
The Louisiana Winter Bird Atlas begins its fourth sampling period January 10th and continues for six weeks ending February 20th. Many quads have exceeded the completion threshold and others are waiting for their first checklist to be submitted.
This year we are asking observers to help out with the Rusty Blackbird Blitz. Rusties have declined precipitously in recent history and biologists have asked for our help to gather pieces to the puzzle. Louisiana has a significant wintering population of Rusty Blackbirds so we're stepping up to do our part.
If you can identify Louisiana birds -even if they're just the neighborhood birds- you can help us document the distribution and abundance of wintering birds in Louisiana.
Summer Bird Atlas, get it while it's hot!
It’s hard to believe we are starting the third season of the Louisiana Summer Bird Atlas, but it's that time again. Many of you have developed an appreciation for your quads and others have explored far and wide while gathering atlas data. Either way, your data are appreciated and will be used for many, many years to come.
Remember, the threshold for quad completion is only ten hours for the Summer Bird Atlas. These ten hours should be primarily in the morning when most birds are singing. Save the aquatic areas for later in the day when birds are less vocal. There are six weeks to gather data so get your calendar and map out and plan your quad surveys.
Last year we found some amazing birds during the Summer Atlas. I wonder what we'll find this year.
Good luck and be safe.
Winter Bird Atlas: Third Year Begins January 10th
With Christmas Bird Counts completed and birders primed, the third year of the Louisiana Winter Bird Atlas begins January 10th. We welcome back all the hard-working volunteers that have put so much energy into the atlas. We are truly inspired by the quality and dedication of Louisiana birders.
New to the atlas and want to get involved? You can check out the project description and instructions at the Louisiana Bird Resource Center website by visiting the atlas web pages here.
The short story is this: if you can identify Louisiana birds -even if they're just the neighborhood birds- you can help us document the distribution and abundance of wintering birds in Louisiana.
Come on out, winter's great!
Welcome to the Louisiana Bird Atlas
The Louisiana Bird Atlas is a project developed by the Louisiana Bird Resource Center at LSU using the eBird framework developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. The Louisiana Bird Atlas is one of several eBird portals that provide a simple way for birders to keep track of the birds they see anywhere in North America. The LWBA program will generate maps of relative abundance of birds in the state during late winter and early summer. To do this the Atlas follows a more specific protocol than eBird, borrowing the familiar, standard CBC methodology in terms of party-hours and party-miles to generate indices of relative abundance, and apply these to 7.5 minute USGS Quadrangle survey units, which are roughly one third as large as a CBC circle. It requests a minimum of twenty party-hours (total; not necessarily all in same day or year) is necessary to characterize a quad in the winter and ten morning hours for the summer period. These can be distributed in any way within the 6-week survey periods over the three year project duration. In fact, the same areas can be resampled multiple times as long as the numbers of birds are calibrated by party-hours and party-miles. More information about the Louisiana Bird Atlas, including how to participate, can be found here.
