Observation data for colonial nesting water birds (pelicans) and colonial nesting wading birds (egrets) in Louisiana in 2011

This report contains nest tracking observation data for colonial nesting water and wading birds collected by observers working from boats located near nesting grounds, and provides additional context for the posted dataset, including information about the collection, analysis, and organization of the data. Characteristics of this dataset include the following: • This dataset contains nest observation data for colonial nesting water birds (pelicans) and colonial nesting wading birds (egrets) in Louisiana in 2011. • This dataset was collected independently by BP contractors as part of the NRDA process. • Before posting, extensive work was done independently by BP contractors to verify some aspects of the posted data (e.g., positional coordinates and field data). These observations were made at 31 Louisiana colonies from April 2011 into August 2011 under a work plan titled Productivity Estimates for Colonial Nesting Water and Wading Birds in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. This work was conducted independently by BP to support and inform the NRDA. This dataset includes nest observation data for colonial nesting water birds (pelicans) and colonial nesting wading birds (egrets) in Louisiana in 2011. The following types of data are included in the dataset: nest location and identification, observation date, species, adult activity, and nest content descriptions. Because the methods used to record data varied across observers, the dataset includes columns “as recorded in the field” and “as standardized” during database construction. In addition to the cross-observer variation noted above, sampling variations may exist across methods, locations, and times.