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2008 Ohio Winter Bird Atlas Instructions
PREFACE
 Our knowledge of the wintering avifauna (as opposed to
those merely visiting during the season) is as
depauperate as the avifauna of the wind-swept corn
stubble of western Ohio in January. Consider our
principal source of knowledge for the December through
February period. Birder attention shifts from late fall
waterfowl, to the Christmas Bird Count, wanders to
feeders, cemeteries, and arboreta in January, only too
quickly to embrace an ever earlier spring migration
underway the first few days of February. While it is not
much to go on, the Christmas Bird Count, nationally, has
been our source for winter bird ranges. But this ‘early
winter’ survey, from but 65 or so locations in Ohio,
often comes (and possible increasingly so) during the
active migration southwards of waterfowl, Snow Buntings,
juncos, and others. Most Ohio counts are attempted at
the earliest opportunity so as to max out the species
list. Kemp (2001) notes some 240 species recorded on
Ohio Christmas Bird Counts over the years, and yet no
more than half that number may actually survive the
winter on an annual basis in Ohio. What then would allow
a more accurate biogeographical representation of the
winter range of Ohio birds? I suggest an Ohio Winter
Bird Atlas project akin to that completed for the
breeding season.
INTRODUCTION
An Ohio Winter Bird Atlas will require the assistance of
the entire Ohio birding community. It would focus solely
on sightings during the month of January so as to keep
to a minimum confusion with late fall migrants and early
spring migrants. These sightings would be reported by a
standardized geographical block - the quadrangle. These
quadrangles are readily determined from the ubiquitous
birder aid, the Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer published by
Delorme. All examples of this publication over the past
6 years or more carry forward the same page numbers. All
pages are marked by cross-hairs which correspond to
blocks identified vertically by letter and horizontally
by number. A sighting of a Common Redpoll from Headlands
Beach State Park would be reported by the observer as
Block B1, page 32. As the purpose of this information is
specifically to generate maps, rather than monitor
population trends, the observer need
 not be concerned
with numbers. Merely the presence or absence of a
species is required. For most observers who stick to a
few fixed sites through the month, such reporting will
require only the knowledge of a handful of block
locations. However, for those traveling it would do well
to mark up the respective pages within a Gazetteer,
laying out the gridlines so that when that Cooper’s Hawk
shoots across the highway, you can quickly ascertain the
appropriate block for the sighting. Although numerical
data will not be required, at the option of the
observer, presence/absence may be recorded as X, XX,
XXX, etc. matching whether the bird was present in
single digits, double digits, triple digits, etc. The
presence of a species will be recorded as Visitor or
Resident; the two distinguished by length of stay,
arbitrarily set at 16 days or more for a species to be
regarded as a resident. This project is planned for five
years beginning in 2003 and is underwritten by Aves.Net
Productions.
MATERIALS
Apart from the usual binoculars, the only materials you
need is a Delorme Gazetteer and Atlas. Preferably a more
recent publication, although any version showing the
maps starting with page 24 is just fine.
If you typically observe birds
from any one of 300 popular birding locales, then an
atlas is unnecessary as a site index
is provided for those
sites listing the corresponding Delorme page and block
reference on the
Winter Bird Atlas Instruction
page.
INSTRUCTIONS
Winter Bird Atlas Instructions (PDF)
RECORDING FORM
Winter Bird Atlas Form (Excel Format)
Winter Bird Atlas Form (PDF format)
LIST OF SPECIES BY GRID
Winter Bird Atlas Species by Grid for Grids 20-29 (PDF)
Winter Bird Atlas Species by Grid
for Grids 30-39 (PDF)
Winter Bird Atlas Species by Grid
for Grids 40-49 (PDF)
Winter Bird Atlas Species by Grid
for Grids 50-59 (PDF)
Winter Bird Atlas Species by Grid
for Grids 60-69 (PDF)
Winter Bird Atlas Species by Grid
for Grids 70-79 (PDF)
Winter Bird Atlas Species by Grid
for Grids 80-89 (PDF)
SITE INDEX - SITES BY GRID
Southeast Quadrant of
Ohio
Southwest Quadrant of Ohio
Northwest Quadrant of Ohio
Northeast Quadrant of Ohio
PROOF-OF-CONCEPT SURVEY IN JANUARY 2002
The 2002 season provided for a trial run of this survey.
For all of January, participants were asked for bird
sightings from any one of 760 blocks. This trial served
as an introduction to the survey methods for
participants as well as a basis for testing the
logistics of collating the data. One of the questions to
address at this stage is a matter of thresholds. At what
point should a block be considered reasonably well
covered? The Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas used species
richness aiming at set minimums to gauge relative
coverage of blocks. In this trial season, Anchor Points
(one per page) will need a volunteer who can contribute
a minimum of 4 mornings (total sixteen hours in the field) through the
month of January in an attempt to determine the number
of species. There are 60 such blocks. They are:
24D3, 25D5, 26D2, 26C5, 28D3, 31D6, 32D2, 33B4, 34C2, 35B5, 36D3,
37D7, 38D3, 39B5, 40A3, 41C5, 42C1, 43C6, 44B3, 45C6,
46B2, 47D7, 48B2, 49C5, 50D3, 51C6, 52A2, 53B5, 54D3,
55C6, 56A2, 57C5, 58B1, 59D5, 60B2, 61D6, 62C3, 63B6,
64D2, 65B5, 66B2, 67B6, 68A1, 69D5, 70A2, 71B6, 72C1,
74C3, 75D6, 76B2, 77D5, 78C2, 79D6, 80A1, 81A7, 82A2,
83B7, 84B4, 85D7, 86C3.
More than one individual may volunteer for a block
sharing the coverage.
Anchor Blocks will also be filled out in 2003.
See FAQ
for more on the role of Anchor Blocks.
Click here for a map
of Anchor Blocks.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
As per the introduction, sightings of any bird species
in January are logged by the page number and the
corresponding block reference. Note also the date and
observer. These sightings are simply a checklist of the
birds seen on particular day in January.
Presence/absence is recorded as X, XX, XXX, etc.
matching whether the bird was present in single digits,
double digits, triple digits, etc.
Ultimately, the presence of a species will be determined
as Visitor or Resident; the two distinguished by length
of stay, arbitrarily set at 16 days or more for a
species to be regarded as a resident. It will be
desirable to revisit a block 16 days or more after the
one set of observations is made in order to allow for
this determination.
A separate list should be made for each block and for
each date. A visit to five different blocks in a day
would generate 5 different lists. These lists can be
written, typed, in a spreadsheet, or on a checklist.
This form is also available for download
here.
HOW TO REPORT YOUR SIGHTINGS
Please send your reports to:
Black Swamp Bird Observatory
13551 West State Route 2
Oak Harbor, OH 43449
Or Email to:
julieshieldcastle "AT" bsbo.org (repace the "AT" with @
Last updated on
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 |
