This project is designed to determine wintering populations of the various species of birds of prey throughout the state of Oregon.  Through a collection of preapproved survey routes established in all parts of the state, volunteers completing the once a month surveys from December through March will count the various species that they find and report their findings to the project coordinator.

A survey protocol has been developed to assist the volunteers with collecting the data.  It describes how to go about doing a survey, when best to do them, and what to watch out for that might adversely effect their efforts.  The protocol is designed to have all of the volunteers attempt to use a standard surveying procedure so that differences can be kept to a minimum.

Volunteers will play an integral part in determining their survey routes.  A proposed route will be provided by the project coordinator during the route development stage.  The volunteer will then have the opportunity to fine tune the suggested route based on their local knowledge of the area to be surveyed in order to maximize bird numbers observed for their time spent conducting the survey.  They will be able to adjust the route size to meet their time restrictions for completing the surveys.

Volunteers are required to provide their own transportation while conducting the surveys.  Driving safety is the number one priority so volunteers are instructed not to take unnecessary risks during the surveys.  ECBC will not be held accountable for vehicle related or volunteer induced problems that may arise during a survey.  Once surveys are completed, data collected will be passed on to the project coordinator via preapproved data collection forms.  These forms are designed specifically for each survey route.  Data can be transmitted via email through computer or by using the regular mail service.

Volunteers should have good raptor identification skills and be able to have the ability to locate birds while physically driving their survey route.  A functional pair of binoculars is mandatory.  A spotting scope can be of additional help for identifying birds at long range but is not mandatory to have.  Volunteers can conduct these surveys by themselves or with the help of friends and/or family.  If driving and looking for birds at the same time is a physical problem, volunteers are encouraged to bring someone else along to help spot birds or to just enjoy the experience with them.