1. Analysis and Assessment Tools
Mike Green
Jay Carlisle

2. Online Tools outline BBS eBird AKN Recent BMPs from FWS IPaC
Birds of North America/All About Birds
IMBCR

3. Breeding Bird Survey 1966 https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/
“We feel certain that great changes in abundance of birds have taken place in the past as a result of environmental changes, but until recently we have had very little documentary evidence of the magnitude of these changes.”
-- Aldrich and Robbins 1970
1966

4. Breeding Bird Survey https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/
Great Basin 40 yr trend

5. How BBS Data are Used Breeding Bird Survey Species Assessment db
Population Estimates db
BBS is used in species assessment for over 400 species, which feed the species assessment db, and the population estimates db, both of which feed the BCC, the SOTB, SWAPs, and each of these resonate beyond mere reports.
The BCC is used by other agencies, e.g. FS, BLM.
SOTB is a report to Congress by multiple partners – ABC, Audubon, other agencies, Bird Observatories.
SWAPs – State-based conservation priorities. 1

6. Birding, Science, Conservation & Technology
eBird is a global database of bird sightings, sitting at the intersection of birding, science, conservation, and technology. By providing tools for birdwatchers worldwide, eBird is able to use the reports from people to enjoy birds in order to inform science and conservation efforts to help the birds that we all care about. This map shows all of the locations for eBird sightings; with the brighter the light, the more sightings. There is no underlying country map here; only showing where eBird sightings have been reported.
Your Name
Your relevant title/position/something about you

7. What does it mean to take part in eBird
What does it mean to take part in eBird? It means that you’re part of a global community, all working together to learn more about birds. This map shows 118 species migrating throughout their annual cycle, and is generated using only eBird data. This is what is possible if we all work together. These sorts of visualizations and data outputs are not possible without harnessing the passion for birds that so many people feel.

8. Growth in Monthly eBird Observations and Checklists
eBird’s popularity continues to grow; another testament to the excitement for birds that we all feel. eBird strives to provide tools that engage birders, continuing this growth. As it grows (exponentially), more information is available for birders, conservationists, and researchers. You may notice some seasonal spikes—one in May, one in early Jan. This is due to the dual phenomenon of people birding more in the spring (in the northern hemisphere, where much of eBird’s data comes from), and when people start their year list at the beginning of the year, excited about the prospects of birds to come.
Checklists

9. Visualize seasonality
The eBird Bar Charts can be accessed from any region or hotspot overview by clicking the “Bar Chart” link just above the species list, or from the Bar Charts section in the Explore Data tab.
These charts, like this one for New York, show the seasonality of species. This lets you know what birds you can expect at any given week of the year, which can be incredibly valuable if planning a trip to a new location or area, or sometimes when you’re trying to decide between two similar-looking species! In some cases, tricky species pairs (or trios, or more!), can be around at different times of the year, and these Bar Charts can help with identification! For example, lets look at waterthrushes, shown at the bottom of this chart. Louisiana Waterthrush arrives at the beginning of April, where Northern Waterthrush doesn’t arrive in numbers until the third and fourth weeks of the month. An early-April waterthrush is far more likely to be Louisiana.
Like the Hotspot Explorer, Bar Charts are a great trip planning tool, letting you know what birds are most common in a region (e.g., most frequently reported) throughout various times of the year, and can help you find what specific weeks might be best to find a certain bird. If you wanted to see Gray Catbird in New York, you’d want to come between May and September to stand the best chance. Bar Charts are available for any hotspot or region in eBird, and can be really great tools to learn more about birds near you!

10. Understand trends
If the information that is available in the Bar Charts isn’t enough, the eBird Line Graphs have really in-depth and valuable information.
The Line Graphs specialize in information about the frequency, abundance, birds-per-hour, average count, high count, and species totals, all plotted on a graph for each week of the year. You can compare up to 5 species here in one year, or one species in up to five different years. The graph that you’re seeing here is of Carolina Wren in Massachusetts, where each line represents a single year. The current view is Frequency, so this is showing the percentage of checklists reporting Carolina Wren for each week of the year. This is a really exciting way to view changes in years for a species. Wondering if there are more goldfinches in your area this year as compared to last year? More hawks on the side of the highway? eBird has the answers.
The interesting thing about the graph shown here is the huge drop in mid-February in occurrence. Carolina Wrens often spend the winter in Massachusetts and New England, but this behavior can be risky if there is a cold winter. You can see that in early 2015, during that frightfully cold period, Carolina Wren reports plummeted from the highest rates of winter reports in 5 years, ending up at the lowest levels throughout the summer—the brown line. These Line Graphs can answer questions that you might have, without having to do comprehensive analyses yourself.
Of course, if you want to look at and analyze raw data yourself, you can always download raw data from eBird for free at the bottom of the Explore Data page.

11. Map entire species
The eBird Species Map is one of the most exciting ways to interact with eBird data. Enter any species in the search bar, and see all reports of that species in eBird. Here is the range map of Gray Catbird. When zoomed out, these sightings appear as blocks of frequency of occurrence—the darker, the higher percentage of checklists that report that species in that area for the specified month and year range. Gray blocks show areas where someone has reported a complete checklist of birds to eBird, but that species has not been reported. Zooming in on the map will show specific points, taking us to our next topic…

13. Why the AKN? What is the problem? Network Avian Knowledge
We have a vast amount of information scattered throughout the ornithological community. The way we have been managing information makes it difficult to leverage this investment to help inform important bird conservation decisions from local to continental scales.
To do science-based conservation we need data.
The ornithological community has vast data resources, birds being among the best studied of all organisms.
This slide alone shows only a small cross-section of projects, but the message is clear: Every project collects and stores data in their own way.
We don’t have a data problem. We have lots of data. We have a data management problem. That is, we have a people problem.
For the type of conservation solutions we want to deliver to our partners, it is important that we aggregate these data and use them in larger spatial and temporal contexts.

14. What is the AKN? Network Avian Knowledge AKN
MIDWEST US
MWADC
Midwest Coordinated Bird Monitoring
WORLDWIDE eBird Cornell Lab of Ornithology
AKN
RMBO
CLO
GBBO
SE PIF
KBO
PRBO
USFWS
BSC
LAMNA
[KATIE] – The AKN seeks a collaborative approach for meaningful conservation through:
Efficient data management
Coordinated development of useful solutions
Using best-science practices based on the data [click]
The AKN spans the Western Hemisphere. Nodes are located across the United States and Canada, with data collections covering North, Central, and South America and all migratory bird flyways.

15. Who is the AKN? Network Avian Knowledge
[KATIE] – We are a community of institutions working together to provide solutions for our needs and the needs of our partners.
Who is the AKN ? The AKN is a large. Clearly, we must acknowledge all our partners, but we can’t do it in one slide. These are just the tip of the iceberg.
Our approach is simple in concept: Common data structure + collective problem-solving = growth in collective knowledge and best practices to answer local needs

16. AKN Nodes as Monitoring Tools
Avian
Knowledge
Network
AKN Nodes as Monitoring Tools
DATA LIFE CYCLE
CAPTURE
ANALYZE
Our approach consists of providing the infrastructure to easily capture, maintain and analyze data to deliver products useful for management; we call this process the “data life cycle”
We understand data management to be more than databasing.
We follow a concept that is closely linked to adaptive management, and which we call the data “life cycle”.
We developed the infrastructure to enable our partners to capture data…
Curate it using best practices to ensure its quality and proper integration…
We work collaboratively to analyze and understand it…
And then develop intuitive and easy means for people to query the results of our analyses and obtain information meaningful for management decisions, which includes monitoring methods.
We will give you three specific examples on how we do this and how it helps conservation.
MAINTAIN
DELIVER

17. AKN nodes and Strategic Bird Conservation
Avian
Knowledge
Network
AKN nodes and Strategic Bird Conservation
Data collection
Management
Data management
Now we can put the AKN data lifecycle into the adaptive management (or SHC) paradigm.
We collect monitoring data
Upload to an AKN node
Use node technology (and possibly additional analyses) to retrieve useful summaries and other information to make management decisions
We review the information and make management recommendations
We collect data… and so on.
Analysis, Decision-support (DST)

18. Managing for climate change Prioritizing conservation
Avian
Knowledge
Network
Managing for climate change Prioritizing conservation
This tool exemplifies prioritization of areas based on their relevance for bird conservation into the future – a theme that other tools also address. Except that here we do it for all of CA, for 199 species, and species are weighted according to their conservation importance. But who uses this for management and how?
The Ecological Change Network (ECN) is a large group of partners interested in establishing a network of “sensor” stations, collecting data that will allow them to measure and monitor ecological change at multiple geographic scales.
They are interested in understanding how changes will happen on the ground. For example, the identification of areas of little climatic change equates with the identification of ecological refugia.
They started with distribution models and models of the magnitude of climatic change, but the main thrust of the project is to aggregate many types of data from many partners, analyze them and produce visualizations that will help them understand the changes and make better management decisions.
Here is an example of an area that is projected to contain the largest number of species (weighted by conservation concern). That area is where Kings Canyon NP, Sequoia and Inyo NF are located, and it is projected to retain many species of conservation concern.

19. Currently Under Development
Avian
Knowledge
Network
Currently Under Development
Eastern Avian Data Center
Southwestern Data Center
IWMM Avian Data Center – just happened
National Node

20. Avian Knowledge Network – National Node
Federal agencies funding this effort (BLM, FHWA, NPS, USFS, FWS, BOEM)
The national node becomes a clearinghouse for bird data
Why needed:
Federal Agencies and Partners want improved access to bird data
Develop decision-support tools and data products for decision making
Completion of project expected -- Fall 2017

21. Information for Planning and Conservation (IPaC)
Eric Kershner
Meghan Sadlowski

22. Information for Planning and Conservation (IPaC) System
What is IPaC?
An online tool to obtain information about responsibilities for trust resources and obtain lists of spp that may be affected by a project or activity.
Anyone can view and interact with IPaC at:

23. Information for Planning and Conservation (IPaC) System
What Does IPaC Do?
Draw a polygon representing the project area and receive a list of resources: T&E species, wetlands, refuges/hatcheries, & Birds of Conservation Concern potentially there.
The migratory bird list includes the seasons of occurrence.
Information about statutory responsibilities and links to conservation measures are also provided.

24. Information for Planning and Conservation (IPaC) System
What’s New or Upcoming in IPaC?
IPaC will have a new look soon:
Migratory Bird information and lists will be hosted on their own page (currently all resources appear on one long page).
Users will have the option of creating an account to save their project information and IPaC results.

25. Information for Planning and Conservation (IPaC) System
What’s New or Upcoming in IPaC?
As part of the Avian Knowledge Network (AKN) National Node Project, detailed graphs of seasonal bird occurrence will be provided with the migratory bird species lists in IPaC (expected Spring/Summer 2017).
These graphs will be generated based on the real-time and constantly growing body of survey and point count data within the AKN.

26. National Conservation Measures
Best Practices for any project or location
Recommendations to reduce impacts to birds and habitats that can be applied to any project or location;
Simple and cost effective -- incorporate into any project development plan. For common stressors such as:
Veg Removal, Noise, Chem Contamination, Lighting, Collisions, etc.
Accessible at:
guidance/conservation-measures/nationwide-standard-conservation- measures.php

27. Reducing Collisions with Towers & Glass
New FAA Obstruction Lighting Circular -- tower lighting policy
6.8 million birds die annually from communication tower collisions
In December 2015, the FAA now requires:
New towers >150ft AGL may only use flashing obstruction warning lighting (takes effect September 2016 for towers ft AGL); ADLS may be used on all towers
ment.current/documentNumber/70_7460-1
These lighting changes may reduce collision mortality by 70%
FWS will update its communication tower guidelines on webpage soon

28. Recommendations for Building Owners, Building Tenants, and Home Owners
Reducing Collisions with Towers & Glass
Recommendations for Building Owners, Building Tenants, and Home Owners
Released January 2016 by USFWS;
Includes all best available measures for residences and office buildings;
A ‘living document’
Accessible at: ent/project-assessment-tools-and- guidance/conservation- measures/building-glass-and- lighting.php

29. Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) Program
Jay Carlisle
Intermountain Bird Observatory, Boise State University
With help from Chris White, Nick Van Lanen, and Christian Meny

30. Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR)
Designed to meet partner needs at multiple scales
One of the largest breeding bird monitoring programs in the nation
Directly addresses NABCI’s “Opportunities for Improving Avian Monitoring” 2007

31. NABCI “Opportunities for Improving Avian Monitoring”
Goal 1: Integrate monitoring into bird management and conservation practices.
Goal 2: Coordinate monitoring programs among organizations and integrate them across spatial scales.
Goal 3: Increase the value of monitoring information by improving statistical design.
Goal 4: Maintain bird population monitoring data in modern data management systems. 31

33. Program Growth (2008 – 2014)

34. IMBCR Funding Partners
Effort is possible w/ all these partners

35. IMBCR Implementation and Analyses Partners
I included the COSLB logo in the pictures folder for you

36. Overview of the Design BCR is the sampling frame Not road biased
Grid-based, scaleable sampling design
Stratified with fixed (not ephemeral) strata
Spatially balanced sample selection
Increased precision – reduces variance
Not road biased
Collect site characteristics at the sampling points
For evaluating changes in populations 36

37. IMBCR sampling design allows inference at multiple spatial scales:
Land Ownership
Management Units
within units
Sampling locations selected such that all scales of inference are sampled randomly and in a spatially balanced fashion X

38. Stratification
Strata are defined by areas to which we want to make inferences
Strata are based on fixed attributes
Federal/state land ownership
Elevation, latitude, soil type, eco-region
All vegetation types available for sampling
Flexible
Each state within the BCR and each BCR within a state can be stratified differently depending on local needs

40. Inform Conservation Design: Informing staff of IMBCR & uses
Rocky Mountain Avian Data Center
Specialized queries available
User’s guide exists
Recorded demonstrations available
User’s guide to IMBCR program and products for USFS
Available soon!

41. Inform Management and Policies: Comparing Estimates Across Space
4 Goals:
Integrate monitoring into bird management and conservation.
Coordinate monitoring among organizations and spatial scales
Increase statistical rigor of monitoring program designs
maintain data in high quality Database

42. Questions?

44. Determine Causes of Population Change: Investigating correlations with process variables

45. Determine Causes of Population Change: Investigating correlations with process variables

46. Determine Causes of Population Change: Investigating correlations with process variables

47. Capture Example: Store Study Area Geography
Avian
Knowledge
Network
Capture Example: Store Study Area Geography
For example: in CADC you may upload geospatial data from a waypoint file or kml file or some other format, or you can digitize on-screen 47

48. Capture Example: Add data interactively or in bulk
Avian
Knowledge
Network
Capture Example: Add data interactively or in bulk
We can take your data via a bulk uploader application, or you may enter it on-line. The beauty of on-line data entry is the data quality checks behind it. It is much more than meets the eye.

49. Analyze Example Trends in Count Data
Avian
Knowledge
Network
Analyze Example Trends in Count Data
An example displaying a trend from a heuristic CADC on-line tool. We also have problem-specific tools – we will show you examples

50. Managing bird habitats KBO and ABC are AKN partners
Avian
Knowledge
Network
Managing bird habitats KBO and ABC are AKN partners
This tool exemplifies one approach we took to using birds as indicators of important habitats, but also about changes in these habitats into the future, which can be extremely valuable for planning monitoring activities across the landscape
The NPLCC wanted a tool to predict the occurrence, abundance and future abundance of 26 indicator species they chose carefully to represent 4 habitat types, so as to see not only what may happen to the species, but also to their habitats.
They partnered with PRBO, KBO, ABC and other institutions, managed to compile ~1 million records (which we aggregated with ~2 million we already had in the databases) and produced this tool.
The models for this tool include relationships to vegetation types, and are the only tool I am aware of that provides abundance estimates, and corrected for imperfect detection
One of the surprising results is that, contrary to the story in CA, in OR grasslands are projected to lose extent, while conifer forests may expand. The VESP shown here is thus projected to find less habitat in OR in the future.
You can quickly identify key areas to monitor into the future to determine how populations may be faring in OR

52. Sample Unit Selection Spatially balanced sample distribution (GRTS)
All sample units ranked within each strata in selection order
Not Road biased

53. Sampling Points within Sampling Unit
Sample unit = 1 km2
• 16 points per cell
• 250 m spacing
Survey points
• Fixed radius = 125 m
• Survey area per point 4.9 ha
Six minute point-counts
• Three 2-minute intervals
Sampling technique depends on the species of interest and the question being asked.
Landbirds: 16 sampling points are evenly distributed within the cell (250 m apart).
Flams
Sage Grouse
Other taxa: bats, elk, insects
It is a monitoring design and does not have to be specific to birds.
Rule sets for eliminating transects based on safety concerns, mixed ownership, private lands access permissions
Point count layout for songbirds; sampling technique will vary with taxa, methods

54. Point Count Methods Visit 1 grid cell per day
Attempt to survey all 16 points
Ocular vegetation data collection
6 minute point count
1 minute intervals
Measure distances to each bird detected

55. Benefits of this approach
Increases collaboration
Decreases costs of monitoring (more partners)
Ability to compare bird trend to habitat trend
Compare local trend to broader scale trend
Increases precision
we can combine data across programs/efforts
Decrease time to detect trend

56. Benefits of IMBCR …
Increase the credibility of monitoring programs with a robust sampling design and the scientific method
Engage resource managers to ensure relevance
Multi-scale results & tool development to support project planning and unit assessments
All-lands monitoring, with the ability to generate wildlife estimates specific to management units
Provide confidence to policymakers, funders and the public by increasing accountability and leveraging resources among partners
Go beyond monitoring and meeting requirements to data application, informed management, feedback loops, metrics of success and impacts of restoration and habitat work.
X % of USFS priority species are monitoring through IMBCR and other special projects including citizen science?