Surveys should be done as stationary counts, meaning you stand in one place and record birds seen or heard from that location, and should be conducted for exactly five minutes each with a maximum of three observers to reduce variability. For each point in your square, you should record a five-minute survey and enter each checklist individually for a total of 12 checklists.
Using your preferred method, record for each point: (apps may recorded some this data automatically)
- Date, start time, length of survey (even though it must be 5 minutes)
- Number of observers (1-3 observers maximum per survey
- Latitude and longitude of point
- Total number of each species (target species and other bird species you are able to identify) that you see or hear within 100 meters of your location, line of sight permitting.
- The presence or absence of any nestboxes or feeders at your survey location
Record and submit your data regardless of whether or not you saw any target species at a given point. An important part of this effort is conducting surveys in areas where the target species are not yet likely to be. For AFT funding, you are required to record and report all species identified. Do not chose the option to record only target species for checklists being submitted for AFT funding.
