Distance Based Sampling of Birds at York University’s Keele Campus

Distance based sampling was used to survey bird species at the Danby Forest at York University. 25m belt transects were set in 5 spots in the woodlot and 5 spots in the adjacent grassland. The researcher walked along the transect and observed the surrounding area for birds. Data for spotted birds included frequency of species, bird common name, wind speed and distance to the bird. Frequency of species included noting the number of birds spotted at the same time. The species of the bird was determined by external appearance of the birds, and a bird guide was used for reference. Wind speed was recorded using the Beaufort scale into 13 different categories from 0 (no wind) to 12 (strongest winds).