Pilot Landbird Monitoring throughout the Southeast Coast Network, 2009-2010 - Data Package

The Southeast Coast Network (SECN) initiated a pilot program using the Variable-radius circular plot point count method as a way to establish a quality-control method for data collected via automated recording devices (ARDs). Landbirds were selected as a vital sign for monitoring due to their interaction with several trophic levels in the environments they reside in, leading to landbird populations being an effective way to analyze the ecological conditions of those environments. The monitoring was performed in the spring of 2009 and 2010, where selected park units were surveyed once. Observations were made from sampling locations scattered throughout each park. Observed birds, either visually or audially, were recorded throughout a 12-minute time period at each sampling point. Over 19,000 observations of 173 species were made across 14 NPS park units in 2009 and 2010. Data collected under this protocol are stored in the SECN data management system and are available online in the Integration of Resource Management Applications (IRMA) database maintained by the Inventory and Monitoring Division national office located in Fort Collins, Colorado.