News >

This section highlights our newsletter and local/national press releases.

Is there life after atlassing? – Welcome to IBA Bird Blitz
By David Curson, 12/14/06

Now that fieldwork for the Maryland-DC Breeding Bird Atlas project has come to a close many birders who became hooked on atlassing must be wondering how they might achieve ornithological fulfillment next spring. A new kind of bird count, “Bird Blitz,” may hold the answer. Bird Blitz combines a good morning’s birding with the fun of putting birds on the map (literally) and also helps bird conservation.

The purpose of Bird Blitz is to provide population data on at-risk bird species in order to determine which places are most critical to protect and manage for these vulnerable birds. We call such places Important Bird Areas. It is surprising how little we know about population levels of even the highest priority at-risk birds at a given site. Breeding Bird Atlas results simply tell us whether a species is present or absent, and local birders often stop searching for a species after they have seen their first for the day, or year, depending on their listing timeframe. It is breeding season estimates of songbird population that are most lacking from the data available for likely IBAs so Bird Blitz focuses on these.

The Bird Blitz method is designed to provide a minimum estimate of a species population at a site, based on a single visit. This is hardly rocket science, but it works because we identify Important Bird Areas by determining that the actual population of a particular species is greater than a threshold number given in the IBA criteria for site selection. The method involves walking a route through habitats where at-risk species are likely to be found, and mapping the locations of individuals of these birds on a large scale map. The way it works is this:

1. Birders select a site they know reasonably well and which they believe may qualify as an IBA
2. They compile a list of bird species at risk from Table 2 of the IBA criteria that breed regularly at the site. These are the primary target species for the survey at this site
3. Select a section of the site that can be covered in a morning and plan a route that covers as much as possible of the habitats where the primary target species occur
4. Walk this route in the morning during the breeding season, tally individuals of primary target species on the Bird Blitz survey form and plot the locations of all individuals of these species on a large scale map. Also plot the route walked

The total of individuals for each primary target species provide the minimum population estimate for the area covered. Most of the birds encountered are likely to be singing males, and it can be assumed that that each of these represents a pair. For this assumption to hold true only breeding birds, and not migrant individuals, should be counted, so a Bird Blitz should be done within Breeding Bird Atlas safe dates for the primary target species. Each species total can then be compared directly with the threshold number of breeding pairs listed in Table 2 of the IBA criteria. This method does not yield population estimates accurate enough for tracking trends over time, but the data is just what’s needed for evaluating likely IBAs!

Several teams of volunteers field-tested the Bird Blitz method in 2006 in the Patapsco River valley west of Baltimore. During late May and June, 23 volunteers participated in 8 different counts covering almost half of this area and produced totals for nine at-risk species that suggest this forested valley does indeed qualify as an IBA (see Table below).

Bird Blitz is an ideal bird survey method for volunteer “citizen scientists” because it can be done in groups and does not require complex training. A regular bird club field trip can be adapted to function as a Bird Blitz. There is no need for distance estimates or timed counts – all it requires is that at least one observer in the team can identify all birds at the site by sight and sound and can read a map well enough to locate their own position and to plot that of a detected bird.

Organize your own Bird Blitz in 2007
There are still plenty of sites in Maryland-DC that may well qualify as an Important Bird Area but which so far lack the right kind of data to fully evaluate this. We hope to identify all remaining IBAs in the state in 2007.

Why not organize a Bird Blitz this spring at a potential IBA near you? It is not necessary (and often not even possible!) to cover an entire site, but if several teams coordinate on a single day, or if one team covers different sections of the site on different days, a significant proportion of a larger site can be “blitzed”. Sites for which Bird Blitz data would be particularly useful include:

• Garrett State Forest, Garrett County
• Potomac State Forest, Garrett County
• Mount Nebo Wildlife Management Area, Garrett County
• Dans Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Allegany County
• Warrior Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Allegany County
• Sideling Hill Wildlife Management Area, Washington County
• Indian Springs Wildlife Management Area, Washington County
• South Mountain, Washington/Frederick Counties
• Catoctin Mountain, Frederick County
• Sugarloaf Hill/ Monocacy Natural Resource Management Area, Frederick County
• Little Bennett Regional Park, Montgomery County
• McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area/Seneca Creek State Park, Montgomery County
• Patuxent Research Refuge, Prince George’s/Anne Arundel Counties
• Mattawoman Natural Environment Area/Myrtle Grove Wildlife Management Area, Charles County
• St. Mary’s River State Park, St. Mary’s County
• Calvert Cliffs State Park, Calvert County
• Gunpowder Falls State Park, Baltimore County
• Susquahanna State Park, Harford/Cecil Counties
• Elk Neck State Park, Cecil County
• Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area, Cecil County
• Millington Wildlife Management Area, Kent County
• Idylwild Wildlife Management Area, Caroline County
• Somerset County coastal marshes
• Pocomoke State Forest, Worcester County
• Maryland Coastal Bays marshes, Worcester County

Bird Blitz instructions and survey forms are available by contacting Audubon MD-DC’s Director of Bird Conservation, David Curson, at Audubon MD-DC, 2437 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21224, or 410-558 2473. IBA criteria and nomination forms are available at Audubon Maryland-DC’s website.

Site map of Bird Blitz results showing walking route and locations of target species. Map prepared by Keith Costley. Click image for larger view.