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 locations in the woodlot and 5 locations in the adjacent grassland. The researcher walked along the transect and observed the surrounding area for birds. Data for sighted birds included frequency of species, bird's common name, wind speed and estimated distance to the bird. Frequency of species was recorded by counting number of birds that were together in a group. The common name of the bird was determined by observing the bird's morphology and with reference to a bird guide. Wind speed was recorded using the Beaufort scale which divides wind speed into 13 different categories from 0 (no wind) to 12 (strongest winds).