Volunteer Birders Needed!
Grasshopper Sparrow, photo © Bob Schamerhorn • www.iPhotoBirds.com
What: Virginia IBA survey efforts within the Central Piedmont Important Bird Area
When: Friday, May 14th, 2010 through Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
Who: Volunteer birders, individually or in groups
Where: The Central Piedmont Important Bird Area. Prime public birding locations include but are not limited to the Featherfin, Horsepen Lake and James River Wildlife Management Areas, the Appomattox-Buckingham and Cumberland State Forests, and the Bear Creek Lake, Holliday Lake and James River State Parks. (Note: Due to the end of Spring Gobbler Season (turkey hunting), WMAs and State Forests should not be surveyed on May 14th or 15th).
Why: This survey is being conducted in order to foster bird conservation through citizen science while it will also help the Virginia IBA Program learn more about species living within the Central Piedmont IBA. This information will help us in our outreach efforts and in preparation for future events within the IBA.
Protocol: Volunteers will conduct eBird-style traveling counts within the Central Piedmont IBA. They will travel distances of less than 5 miles, recording the date, their start and end times, the number of birders in their group and distance traveled. Participants will search for species of conservation interest including the Northern Bobwhite, Wood Thrush, Louisiana Waterthrush, Prairie Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Grasshopper Sparrow and Field Sparrow. However, participants will record the presence and numbers of all species seen or heard. A protocol data sheet is available upon request to help in this effort.
How to Participate: Email or call David Bryan, Outreach Coordinator for the Virginia IBA Program, at dbryan.audubon@gmail.com or (804)-766-7880 to notify the Program of your interest in volunteering. Please inform the Program of which location(s) and day(s) you would like to bird, as ultimately we would like to work with birders in order to spread out survey coverage throughout the IBA. Notification will also help the Program gauge interest and participation. Thanks for contacting us as soon as possible.
Data Submission: Please compile and submit your
data to David Bryan by Monday, May 24th, 2010. Data may be submitted by
email or snail mail to 530 E. Main Street, Suite 810, Richmond, VA,
23219. Additionally, participants are encouraged to record their
results via the Virginia eBird website.
