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..:: Projects » Winter Raptor Survey::..Wednesday, February 22, 2012
 ECAS Projects - Winter Raptor Surveys

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.  ECAS 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.

 

  

 Current News from Jeff ...Minimize

Well, the first full month of survey work has been completed for this eighth winter of the Winter Raptor Survey Project sponsored by the East Cascades Audubon Society based in Bend, OR and what a month it was!!  In play were 4 new routes located on the CA side of the Klamath Basin, 1 new route west of Corvallis, OR, and 24 new routes in Idaho, the latest state to become a part of this growing project :)  A total of 139 of 154 (90%) Oregon/Washington/California routes were surveyed and 21 of the 24 (88%) Idaho routes were surveyed.  A total of 10,264.5 miles were covered for the O/W/C routes while 1,378.7 miles were covered for the Idaho routes.  Total bird count for the O/W/C routes was 10,731 for a 1.05  birds per mile average while the Idaho routes produced 1,505 birds for a 1.09 birds per mile average.  The last December to average higher than one bird per mile was back in 2005 (second winter of the project) when the average of 1.13 was the highest so far in the project.  This years 1.05 reverses the downward trend of 0.99 in 2009 and 0.90 in 2010 and is noticeably higher than the low 3 Decembers of the project in 2006 through 2008 when the respective numbers were 0.83, 0.81, and 0.80.

Historically for the project, 5 species have accounted for more than 90% of all birds counted and they are Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, and Rough-legged Hawk.  We are definitely seeing noticeable increases in total birds this winter and RTHAs are  leading the way.  For the O/W/C routes a total of 23 had new all time high bird counts while 26 routes had new high counts for RTHAs and 21 routes had new high counts for AMKEs.  New high counts for the other 3 primary species were 11 routes for NOHAs, 7 routes for BAEAs, and 5 routes for RLHAs.  For the past 7 winters, RTHAs have averaged 47% of total birds counted during December while AMKEs have averaged 24%.  This December the corresponding numbers were 52% and 22% respectively. 

A truly eye opening reality discovered so far in Idaho is the noticeable reversal of dominant species with AMKEs accounting for 49% (733 birds) and RTHAs for 34% (515 birds).  Of the 21 routes surveyed, 18 had more AMKEs than RTHAs.  I was not surprised that good numbers of AMKEs were found because throughout the past 7 winters, AMKEs have been a solid part of the routes in the Ontario/Nyssa/Vale area of SE Oregon.  But, I was surprised at this species being noticeably number one ahead of RTHAs.  It will be interesting to monitor this throughout the winter :)

Population densities on routes has been one of the interesting points for the project.  In December, a total of 62 O/W/C routes (45%) had better than a one bird per mile average, with 10 of those higher than two birds per mile.  For the Idaho routes, 11(48%) averaged better than one bird per mile with one of those higher than two birds per mile.

As most of you are aware, this winter we are experiencing what is called an irruption winter for  Snowy Owls.  We were fortunate to get into the data base one bird found on the Linn County Unit 2 route that has been hanging around Albany, OR for nearly a month now and two birds that were found on the Nampa, Idaho route.  Both locations attracted quite a few visitors.  In addition to these two documented birds, Snowy Owls were also found along the route path of a few other routes but unfortunately were not seen during official counts.  I refer to those as asterisk birds, destined for the project footnote file :)  Also found was one Gyrfalcon on the Howe, ID route.  Hopefully, we can get a few more of these arctic tundra birds into the data base before the winter is over :)

Okay, enjoy the summary chart information and remember, it is only because of your continuing effort and support of this project that we are even able to bear witness to this activity!:)  A big thank you to each and every one of you for that support and let's see what we can come up with this month! :)
 

Well, the first full month of survey work has been completed for this eighth winter of the Winter Raptor Survey Project sponsored by the East Cascades Audubon Society based in Bend, OR and what a month it was!!  In play were 4 new routes located on the CA side of the Klamath Basin, 1 new route west of Corvallis, OR, and 24 new routes in Idaho, the latest state to become a part of this growing project :)  A total of 139 of 154 (90%) Oregon/Washington/California routes were surveyed and 21 of the 24 (88%) Idaho routes were surveyed.  A total of 10,264.5 miles were covered for the O/W/C routes while 1,378.7 miles were covered for the Idaho routes.  Total bird count for the O/W/C routes was 10,731 for a 1.05  birds per mile average while the Idaho routes produced 1,505 birds for a 1.09 birds per mile average.  The last December to average higher than one bird per mile was back in 2005 (second winter of the project) when the average of 1.13 was the highest so far in the project.  This years 1.05 reverses the downward trend of 0.99 in 2009 and 0.90 in 2010 and is noticeably higher than the low 3 Decembers of the project in 2006 through 2008 when the respective numbers were 0.83, 0.81, and 0.80.

Historically for the project, 5 species have accounted for more than 90% of all birds counted and they are Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, and Rough-legged Hawk.  We are definitely seeing noticeable increases in total birds this winter and RTHAs are  leading the way.  For the O/W/C routes a total of 23 had new all time high bird counts while 26 routes had new high counts for RTHAs and 21 routes had new high counts for AMKEs.  New high counts for the other 3 primary species were 11 routes for NOHAs, 7 routes for BAEAs, and 5 routes for RLHAs.  For the past 7 winters, RTHAs have averaged 47% of total birds counted during December while AMKEs have averaged 24%.  This December the corresponding numbers were 52% and 22% respectively. 

A truly eye opening reality discovered so far in Idaho is the noticeable reversal of dominant species with AMKEs accounting for 49% (733 birds) and RTHAs for 34% (515 birds).  Of the 21 routes surveyed, 18 had more AMKEs than RTHAs.  I was not surprised that good numbers of AMKEs were found because throughout the past 7 winters, AMKEs have been a solid part of the routes in the Ontario/Nyssa/Vale area of SE Oregon.  But, I was surprised at this species being noticeably number one ahead of RTHAs.  It will be interesting to monitor this throughout the winter :)

Population densities on routes has been one of the interesting points for the project.  In December, a total of 62 O/W/C routes (45%) had better than a one bird per mile average, with 10 of those higher than two birds per mile.  For the Idaho routes, 11(48%) averaged better than one bird per mile with one of those higher than two birds per mile.

As most of you are aware, this winter we are experiencing what is called an irruption winter for  Snowy Owls.  We were fortunate to get into the data base one bird found on the Linn County Unit 2 route that has been hanging around Albany, OR for nearly a month now and two birds that were found on the Nampa, Idaho route.  Both locations attracted quite a few visitors.  In addition to these two documented birds, Snowy Owls were also found along the route path of a few other routes but unfortunately were not seen during official counts.  I refer to those as asterisk birds, destined for the project footnote file :)  Also found was one Gyrfalcon on the Howe, ID route.  Hopefully, we can get a few more of these arctic tundra birds into the data base before the winter is over :)

Okay, enjoy the summary chart information and remember, it is only because of your continuing effort and support of this project that we are even able to bear witness to this activity!:)  A big thank you to each and every one of you for that support and let's see what we can come up with this month! :)
 

  

 Contact Information .....

We would like volunteers to drive new and existing routes.  The main recorder needs to be able to identify raptors.  We encourage non experts to come along as well.

Jeff Fleischer is the project coordinator (tel. 541-928-7288) [e-mail].  Please contact him for any additional information or if you would like to start a new route.

  

 Results and Maps
 TitleModified DateSize 
Dec 20111/13/2012UnknownDownload
Nov 201112/13/2011UnknownDownload
Protocol12/13/201116.68 KBDownload
Routes12/13/2011929.15 KBDownload
  

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