– Module 5 – Count or estimate? Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa – Training Course – 1

Module 5 – Count or estimate? 2 Authors Revised and designed in 2012 by: Nathalie Hecker Designed and written in 2001 by: Nathalie Hecker & Marc Lutz Photographs Steve Garvie Illustrations Cyril Girard Translation Rachel Wakeham This training course is one of the tools of : Hecker N., Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa – A toolkit for trainers. ONCFS, Hirundo-FT2E. France

Module 5 – Count or estimate? Presenting the Module Technical explanations Indoor exercises 3

Module 5 – Count or estimate? How to count waterbirds Knowing how to count waterbirds is: Knowing when to count and when to estimate Knowing how to count a small group of birds Knowing how to estimate a large group 4

Module 5 – Count or estimate? Count or estimate? Objectives of the Module At the end of this Module you will be able to: List the deciding factors between counting or estimating Make a quick decision whether to count or estimate when faced with a given situation 5

Module 5 – Count or estimate? Count or estimate? Indoor exercise Procedure: working alone or in groups One trainee examines the scenario, describes what they see and chooses whether to count or estimate, and explains the decision The decision is discussed with the other trainees 6

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Module 5 – Count or estimate? Count or estimate? Indoor exercise Summary of parameters and choice of method Procedure: group work Make a summary of the scenarios encountered Present this summary as a table of “When to estimate? When to count?” 19

Module 5 – Count or estimate? Count or estimate? The main questions to be asked when deciding whether to count or estimate are: What time is available for this census? What is the approximate group size? Is the group dense? Are the birds moving around? Could a possible or real disturbance disrupt the count? Is the count site extensive? Is visibility good? 20

Module 5 – Count or estimate? How to count waterbirds? Knowing how to count waterbirds is: Knowing when to count and when to estimate Knowing how to count a small group of birds Knowing how to estimate a large group 21

Module 5 – Count or estimate? 22 Thanks for your attention!